Mac Urata Photography © 2010 – 13 All rights reserved.m.urata@btinternet.com
Posts Tagged ‘union’
My May Day thoughts
Where were you and what were you doing on 1 May? I was in London and took part in the May Day march from Clerkenwell Green to Trafalgar Square. 1 May is an annual leave in the CBA that our office staff are covered with and one could be doing almost anything away from work. [...]
Until the bottom of the bucket falls
I met a worker in Charleston, South Carolina who had to drive her school bus with a temperature of 102°F. The management often refuses to take drivers off the roster when they are ill, claiming that no substitute is available. A few days later in Pensacola, Florida, another driver employed by the same company told [...]
One step forward, two steps back
In 2008, repression towards the May Day demonstrators in Istanbul was far too excessive. Riot police attacked protesters with batons and fired pepper spray and water cannon at them as they demanded reopening of Taksim Square. This historic site has been banned from labour events before, during and after the military coup of 1980. I [...]
When present turns into past
This top photo is one of my best shots in 2012 so far. I took it in Kathmandu. As I walked the Durbar Square, I saw this group of local men. It was a showery afternoon and a day before the Janmashtami festival of 9 August. It looked like they were sitting there for hours [...]
Workers of the world, unite
400,000 people poured into the Taksim Square in central Istanbul for the May Day celebration. The top photo captures that massive gathering well. Unfortunately, however, I did not take that picture. I had no clue that you could access to the Taksim Hill Hotel which faces the Square but if I have another opportunity there, [...]
Sitting on the fence (not!)
“Wow, things have really taken a step forward in Turkey”. This was the comment by my friend Jeff who saw my photos of May Day this year in Istanbul (see below). He and I were there in 2009 when a small number of unionists could enter the Taksim Square. It has been closed on May [...]
30 November – It was a beautiful day
I leave home as usual in the morning to work. It’s sunny and a clear blue sky is above me. On my way to office, I walk pass a hospital. The workers are on the picket-line with their flags and banners. I reach out my hand to get a copy of their leaflet. I say [...]
Happy birthday Monica
It has been more than a month since I last met Monica. I visited Oslo in mid-October to address a rally held in solidarity with her dismissal case. That day – 10 October – we called upon the affiliates of our federation worldwide to stand behind her in a global day of action (Top photo [...]
Basic matters
It was one of those moments that I really regretted for not taking photos. It wasn’t that I did not have my camera. The equipments were ready, in my bag. but I decided not to use them although some of the scenes there were so attractive. Let me explain. I was briefly in Drammen with [...]
Celebration at Trafalgar Square
They deserved it – a celebration. That’s what it was at Trafalgar Square today. “Good-bye to dictatorship, hello freedom”. The people I captured through my camera finder looked joyous. The tenacity of the Egyptian people who did not compromise with Mubarak deserves to be complimented. As one speaker said at the rally which Amnesty International [...]
Soy sauce or tomato ketchup … or both (if so how?)
After surrendering unconditionally to the Allies in 1945, Japan was occupied by these allied powers for seven years. It was the period when every necessity of life was badly lacking as the nation struggled to recover from the devastation of World War II. There is a well-known episode of a public prosecutor who refused to [...]
How my ‘teach-in’ started in Mersin
“Tell us about the history of your organisation, then?” said Esin. I had a few hours before my departure. Our rally was over and she said we could visit some places in the city. I said, “no thanks”. It was OK for me just to hang around at the picket-line in front of the Mersin [...]
When you join a demo in Mexico City…..
We held our quadrennial congress in Mexico City this August. On the last day, we organised a demonstration in the city centre, through Avenida Madero to the Zócalo square in support of Mexican workers’ rights. Many international delegates marched with workers from the mine, electricity and public transport sectors. I’ve been to quite few places [...]
