Included Participation by More Than One Social Class

INCLUDES PARTICIPATION BY MORE THAN ONE SOCIAL CLASS. "Class" has many definitions, for example income, education, cultural rank. The GNAD defines class by occupation. Owning class consists of people who receive a satisfactory income from what they own and see no need to work for a living. Their income may come from ownership of stocks, bonds, property. This class also consists of CEOs of larger corporations and others with large incomes from what they own but who choose to work in a job anyway. Middle class includes teachers, nurses, computer programmers, accountants, engineers, social workers, lawyers, managers. They have in common the economic function of managing and supervising workers, training them and grading them, keeping them functioning, and providing medium-level services and entertainment. Within that broad category there are occupations that put people in the upper middle class: top managers, top government officials, doctors, small business owners, law partners. These manage on a higher level (often managing other managers), they interface with other entitities/systems, they offer specialized services, guide and advise. Working class includes retail workers, factory workers, secretaries/clerical, miners, police, soldiers. They have in common that they produce goods and services, do day-to-day keeping track of machinery and work processes, enforce the system’s rules (like security guards). Within the working class is the poor, with typical jobs as day labor, farm labor, dishwashers, janitorial/housekeeping, and semi-skilled criminal activity. Their economic function is to do what few want to do and provide a surplus labor force, keeping down wages of low-wage workers. Farmers may be owning class, having such a lot of land that they do not actually need to work personally, or middle class, needing to manage their farms in order to generate a suitable income, or working class, formally owning their small farms but highly indebted. We use this tag for cross-class participation that is significant or meaningful in terms of the campaign. A random owning class member joining the audience of a labor rally would not justify the tag, but an owning class member of the executive committee of the Chamber of Commerce speaking at that same labor rally would be. In the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory workers strike in New York City a group of owning class women joined the campaign as a visible support group, for example.

Showing 1-25 of 315 results

Irish citizens campaign against conscription by the British Government, 1918

Country
Ireland
Time period
14 April, 1918 to 18 July, 1918
Classification
Defense
Cluster
National/Ethnic Identity
Peace
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Zach Lytle, 29/05/2019

World War I broke out on 28 July 1914, pitting an alliance spearheaded by Germany and Austria-Hungary against the forces of the United Kingdom (UK), France, Russia, and their allies. Due to paradigm shifts in military technology, the war quickly turned continental Europe into a charnel house. Nations soon found themselves requiring more manpower than ever before to maintain their war efforts.

Incarcerated people and allies rally to turn on heat and power in NYC federal jail, 2019

Country
United States
Time period
1 February, 2019 to 3 February, 2019
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Olivia Robbins, 29/05/2019

On 5 January 2019, Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn (MDC Brooklyn), a federal jail in Brooklyn, New York that housed 1,500 incarcerated people, lost power for the first time that year for unknown reasons. Three weeks later, an electrical fire caused the entire building to lose heating capabilities as well. This loss of power and heat took place over some of the coldest days and nights of the 2019 winter in New York City (NYC).

British Ramblers campaign for greater access to right of ways and the right to roam (1985-2000)

Country
United Kingdom
Time period
Fall, 1985 to 30 November, 2000
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Environment
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Zach Lytle, 16/05/19

The enclosure system involved fencing off plots of arable land. The land would then be deeded to an individual or group of owners who could use it as they saw fit. Despite slowly losing access to the commons, commoners preserved their access to rights of ways (the right to pass through someone else’s or public property on a specific path), even those now enclosed on private land, through the countryside. Foot paths, roads, carriageways, and trails were considered highways to which all individuals had the right of way.

American Labor Activists rally to build support for the Employee Free Choice Act, 2003

Country
United States
Time period
02 December, 2003 to 10 December, 2003
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Zach Lytle, 28/05/19

The AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States, moved to counteract the shrinking union strength and the ever growing corporate power via legislation, the Employee Free Choice Act. Andy Levin and Stewart Acuff, two veteran union organizers, spearheaded the effort. In the summer of 2003, Acuff and Levin agreed on what the act would entail.

Canadians demonstrate against Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines, 2010-2014

Country
Canada
Time period
2 December, 2010 to 20 June, 2014
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Sacha Lin, 27/05/2019

Proposed in the mid-2000s, the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines was a project to build a 731.4-mile-long twin pipeline from Bruderheim, Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia. While its eastbound line would have carried 193,000 barrels of natural gas condensate per day, its westbound line would have moved 525,000 barrels of crude oil per day to a marine terminal, where it would be picked up by oil tankers destined for Asia. The initial budget for the project was $5.5 billion.

Armenians protest for resignation of Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, 2018

Country
Armenia
Time period
31 March, 2018 to 8 May, 2018
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nerissa Nashin, 28/04/2019

Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia has spent almost two decades as a quasi-authoritarian state with the ruling Republican Party controlling most of its political, economic, and social institutions. Serzh Sargsyan became President in 2008 and under his rule, Armenia endured slow economic growth, high unemployment rates, and corruption.

Brown University students campaign for Brown to cancel contract with Adidas, 2012-2013

Country
United States
Time period
November, 2012 to 24 April, 2013
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Zach Lytle, 02/05/2019

PT Kizone, an apparel factory in Tangerang, Indonesia, held major contracts with Nike and Adidas. In September of 2010, the factory started to withhold its workers’ severance pay. In January 2011, the factory failed to pay its workers their monthly compensation. At the end of the month, the owner of PT Kizone, Jin Woo Kim, fled to his home country of South Korea. The factory declared bankruptcy and closed on 1 April 2011. PT Kizone fired all its workers, to whom the factory owed $3.4 million in severance compensation.

Congolese protest for end to President Kabila's presidency, 2016-2019

Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
4.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Khan B. Shairani 17/05/2019

Following the assassination of his father, Joseph Kabila took power and the position of President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on 26 January 2001. He subsequently won re-election in December 2011, with charges of an illegitimate election surrounding the outcome. On 17 January, 2015, students began mass protests over an announcement that President Kabila would remain in power until the government completed a census. This began the nonviolent protest movement to remove President Kabila from office and prevent him from remaining in power for a third term.

Georgian students protest against prisoner abuse 2012

Country
Georgia
Time period
September 18, 2012 to October 1, 2012
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Juli Pham 23/03/2017

In November 2003, tens of thousands of Georgians took to the streets to protest against the contested results of a parliamentary election. This campaign ousted President Eduard Shevardnadze, a hold-over from the former Soviet leadership, and put in place a pro-Western party, the United National Movement (ENM), headed by Mikhail Saakashvili. After the demonstrations concluded, altogether known as the Rose Revolution, Saakashvili’s newly elected administration implemented a zero tolerance approach to petty crimes.

Citizens of South Korea campaign for investigation of the Sewol ferry accident, 2014-2017

Country
South Korea
Time period
10 May, 2014 to 16 April, 2015
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Seimi Park, 23/03/2017

On the morning of 16 April 2014, as the MV Sewol was traveling its usual route, from Incheon, South Korea to Jeju, South Korea, the ferry capsized, killing 304 of the 476 passengers onboard - most of whom were high school students on a class field trip. As the boat was sinking, Captain Lee Joon-seok and his crew told passengers to stay seated, while they fled the scene and were among the first to be rescued by the Korean Coast Guard.

Australian citizens force end to nation’s military participation in Vietnam War through Vietnam Moratorium Campaign 1970-1971

Country
Australia
Time period
8 May, 1970 to 1 June, 1971
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Peace
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Shayla Smith 22/02/2017

Australian citizens offered little opposition to their country’s early involvement in the Vietnam War. Opposition came from groups like Youth Campaign Against Conscription (YCAC), founded in 1964, and Save our Sons (SOS), founded in 1965. Other early dissenters included: trade unionists, religious groups, and those affected by the National Service Act.     

Environmentalist groups stop construction of oil export terminal in Philadelphia, 2016

Country
United States
Time period
9 March, 2016 to 22 November, 2016
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Yin Xiao, 09/02/2017

Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) is a private oil and gas manufacturer that owns the largest oil unloading and refining facility on the East Coast of the United States. Labelled by the Environmental Protection Agency as a high priority violator since April 2012, the PES has long been criticized by environmentalist groups for releasing air and water pollutants and failing to  comply with the Clean Air Act.

Harvard University Dining Services workers strike and win higher salary, 2016

Country
United States
Time period
5 October, 2016 to 26 October, 2016
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Ploy Promrat 08/02/2017

In 2016, Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts was one of the most elite universities in the United States. It had the largest endowment of any university in the country at $35.7 billion. However, despite the wealth of the university, its treatment of its employees, specifically dining services employees, came into question in 2016. Starting in early June 2016, the dining services workers of Harvard began a series of negotiations with the university in order to demand a higher yearly salary.

New Zealand declares nuclear free zone 1963-1985

Country
New Zealand
French Polynesia
Classification
Change
Cluster
Environment
Human Rights
Peace
Total points
7.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Madison Shoraka, 09/02/2017

In 1963, the CND began their campaign by organizing a petition they called “No Bombs South of the Line,” which  argued for the establishment of a nuclear free zone in southern New Zealand. The CND collected over 80,000 signatures which was the largest petition in New Zealand since the  petition calling for equal voting rights between women and men collected in 1893.

Nigerians strike to protest reduced fuel subsidies, 2003

Country
Nigeria
Time period
30 June, 2003 to 8 July, 2003
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
5.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Meghan Kelly, 29/11/2015

Nigeria, the most populous African country, is filled with oil reserves, particularly in the Niger River Delta. Oil was the main national export, comprising 98% of Nigeria’s export earnings and 83% of government revenue in 2002. Starting in the mid-1980s, the Nigerian government subsidized fuel, letting Nigerians buy oil and gasoline at prices significantly below market levels.

Bahrainis protest for democracy, February-March 2011

Country
Bahrain
Time period
14 February, 2011 to 16 March, 2011
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Total points
3.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Caroline Dreyfuss, 01/11/2015

Inspired by the protests in Egypt and Tunisia in 2011, Bahrainis rose up against the monarchy in February and March of 2011. Initiated by activists and propelled by the “February 14th Revolution in Bahrain” Facebook group, the protests had clear goals: disband the Bahraini National Assembly, abrogate the current constitution, and form a Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution. They demanded the new constitution stipulate that an elected parliament hold legislative authority  and that an elected Prime Minister exercise executive authority.

Guatemalans Force Corrupt President and VP to Resign, 2015

Country
Guatemala
Time period
April, 2015 to September
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Irina Bukharin, 25/10/2015

From 1960 to 1996, Guatemala was embroiled in a civil war fought between the government of Guatemala and the rural poor.  In the early 1980s, under the leadership of military dictator Efraín Ríos Montt, the Guatemalan military massacred 250,000 indigenous Mayans leaving deep wounds in Guatemalan society, which have contributed to the high murder and crime rates that continued to plague the country.  Additionally, the government was famously corrupt; one non-governmental organization asserted that up to thirty percent of the annual national budget was lost to corruption.

Nepalese Maoists strike for integration of Maoist Soldiers into Nepal's security forces, 2009

Country
Nepal
Time period
May, 2009 to May, 2010
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Molly Murphy 25/10/2015

The ten year civil war in Nepal that claimed over 13,000 lives ended in 2006 when Maoist insurgents gave up their armed revolt in order to integrate themselves socially and politically. At the end of the war, more than 19,000 former Maoist combatants remained sequestered in barracks controlled by the U.N. Part of the peace agreement called for their gradual integration into Nepal’s security forces, but army chief Rookmangud Katawal, who strongly opposed the integration of politically indoctrinated enemy soldiers, blocked this process.

Canadians sit-down for nuclear disarmament of the United States Bomarc Missile in La Macaza, Quebec, 1964

Country
Canada
Time period
13 June, 1964 to 9 September, 1964
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Peace
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Meghan Kelly, 27/09/2015

In fall 1958, Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker agreed to house 56 American Bomarc missiles in North Bay, Ontario and La Macaza, Quebec, in keeping with the terms of the NORAD agreement. The American manufacturers designed the Bomarc missiles to be fitted with nuclear warheads, but when the missiles arrived in Canada, the nuclear warhead parts had not yet arrived.

Chilean students protest for free public education, 2011-13

Country
Chile
Time period
March, 2011 to November, 2013
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Meghan Kelly, 20-09-2015

On 11 September 1973, Chilean dictator Augusto Pinoche came to power and during the 1970s, he privatized Chile’s education system. The central government gave money to some private schools, while the public schools remained grossly underfunded. This commercialization of education began a legacy of educational attainment disparity along socioeconomic class lines—the poor received poor quality education, received jobs that paid meager wages, and remained poor, while the wealthy received high quality education, went on to university, and obtained well-paying jobs that increased their wealth.

French citizens campaign to close five concentration camps for North Africans, 1959-60

Country
France
Time period
June, 1959 to May, 1960
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Caroline Dreyfuss, 20/09/2015

The May 1959 opening of French government internment camps for Algerians suspected of being subversive agents of the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) came towards the end of the Algerian War (11/1954-03/1962). The war, which ended with Algeria winning its independence from France, featured a wide variety of tactics, including torture by both sides. This torture led to the original conferences and protests of l’Action civique non-violente, a group dedicated to the right to resist oppression.

Mexicans protest drug violence, 2011

Country
Mexico
Time period
28 March, 2011 to 30 June, 2011
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
Peace
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Timothy Hirschel-Burns 04/19/2015

In 2011, Mexico faced huge costs from the drug trade and efforts to
counteract it.  Mexico constituted a key part of the global drug trade,
as cartels trafficked illegal drugs through Mexico to their main buyer,
the United States.  Cartels committed extensive violence as they tried
to ensure compliance from citizens and maximize profit.  The most
frequent victims of drug violence were poor Mexicans, and some cities,
such as the border town of Ciudad Juarez, were particularly dangerous. 

South Korean media workers resist privatisation of television networks, 2008-2009

Country
South Korea
Time period
26th December, 2008 to 8th January, 2009
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Dong Shin You, 19/04/2015

Following President Lee Myungbak’s inauguration in February 2008, media workers criticised his policies on the press. The workers accused Lee of attempting to exert greater control over the media by handpicking the chair of the national broadcasting committee and YTN, a prominent television network in South Korea, and by pressuring the executive of the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) to resign.

Tibetan "Unchain the Truth" campaign for prisoner release, 2013-2014

Country
China
Japan
Brazil
Austria
United Kingdom
United States
Switzerland
Bulgaria
India
Costa Rica
Germany
Time period
October 25th, 2013 to June 5th, 2014
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Jasmine Rashid 04/17/15

In August of 2008, Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen was premiering his new documentary, “Leaving Fear Behind”, to a group of journalists in a Beijing hotel when Chinese police interrupted and forcibly shut down the screening.