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Local Workers Strike Back Against Sexual Harassment

On February 23, 2018, the New Orleans Hospitality Workers Committee (NOHWC) held a March to End Sexual Harassment and Discrimination in the Workplace. Starting at Congo Square, the NOHWC along with 50 workers marched down Decatur, taking over the street all the way to Bamboula’s. This action was organized on behalf of a committee member who used to work at Bamboula’s, where a manager sexually assaulted her on several occasions. When she confided in her General Manager about the continued harassment, no action was taken and the harasser was allowed to remain employed at Bamboula’s.

NOHWC marched on the establishment. At Bamboula’s, committee members went inside to deliver a set of demands that will be continuously delivered until they are met. Bamboula’s responded to the action by closing their own door. Almost all guests left the bar. However, management did not accept the demands.

This is only the beginning of a campaign to end sexual harassment and racism in all New Orleans workplaces. Please keep in touch with NOHWC and upcoming actions either on Facebook at NOHWC or online at www.nowhc.org. United and organized, the 88,000+ hospitality workers of this city have the power to demand our rights.

Here are our Demands:

  1. Bamboula’s will no longer foster a culture of sexist or racist harassment.
  2. Terminate the manager, Jim, in a timely fashion for the sexual assault of workers.
  3. Terminate the General Manager, Jen, in a timely fashion for supporting sexual harassment in the workplace.
  4. Post the Rules and Regulations provided by NOHWC where customers and employees can easily read.

As the march went through the Quarter, many workers came out of their workplaces to applaud, raise a fist of solidarity, and show support for their fellow workers.

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Capitalism Breeds Sexual Harassment: Women Should Take to the Streets to Show Our Power!

By Gavrielle Gemma

For thousands of years before class society developed, men and women, expressing many forms of gender identity, lived and worked together with mutual respect. In fact, if anything, women were held in the highest regard.

Once class society developed based on individual rather than shared accumulation, mother right, the rights of women, was overthrown as women and children became the property of rich men and the family a unit to advance further private wealth and inheritance.

Just as U.S. imperialism demonizes countries, other religions and people to justify genocidal bombings and occupation, women were and are brutally depicted as less than human. Men suffering the worst exploitation and oppression could feel superior to women who were the servants of even the humblest peasant or worker. As the heroic Lucy Parsons said, “We are the slaves of slaves”. Racism among white workers is designed to make them feel that at least they are better than Black people. In both cases the rich white capitalist class laughs all the way to the bank.

The problem lies in the private ownership of all the means of production and the capitalist class that owns the Congress and the Presidency and the Supreme Court. This is a Congress that has never been able to pass an Equal Rights Amendment. The problem lies in that women workers do not control and run things as we would under socialism. Congress has allowed a rapist pig to be president – Donald Trump – for fear that firing him over being a sexual predator would not serve Wall Street’s interests.

Even while new exposes are constantly being revealed, the real condition of working class and oppressed women sinks lower every day. But what cannot be undone is the potential revolutionary force that women workers are in capitalist society.

In the meantime, we must not be handcuffed to internet petitions and phone calls to Congress. We need to get out into the streets by the millions to say no to Sexism, Racism, Poverty, Homophobia & War. They need to be afraid of our power.