Hello world,

I'm really behind on operating the distro, with getting orders out and with getting new stock in and listed. Thanks for your continued patience and understanding.
But I couldn't wait on this one.
This is a special mass e-mail for a specific topic.

FOR THE FOLLOWING WEEK:

100% OF SALES OF SPHC AND BIP RELEASES WILL BE DONATED TO MY FEDERAL UNION, AFGE.
This includes the brand spankin new Dirty Wombs/Sludge split 7" and Detesto EP, which are shipping now and will come up in conversation in a proper distro update later this month.
This also includes the new Kuroishi LP. I was planning to wait for some other stuff to finish up before I dropped it, but fuck it, it's actually ready to ship now, so, let's go.
And this even includes a pre-order for the Dart LP, which is something I was waiting to finish up to drop alongside the Kuroishi LP....but fuck it man.....please read the note at the bottom of the page if/when you purchase.

50% OF SALES OF EVERYTHING ELSE FROM THE DISTRO WILL BE DONATED TO MY FEDERAL UNION, AFGE.



BECAUSE OUR UNION IS UNDER DIRECT ATTACK IN THE LARGEST ATTACK ON ORGANIZED LABOR IN THE USA IN OUR LIFETIMES, AND THIS IS SOMETHING I CAN DO TO HELP.

What's happening? Read below.

And if you read it and find it moving but you don't want more records cluttering your space, I feel you, and you can definitely donate directly to AFGE and I will send you all the good karma I can muster. 

And if you read it and find it moving but don't want to spend money, I feel you, and you can make a helpful phone call that doesn't cost a dime really.
There is a bipartisan (!!!!) bill currently on the House floor, the Protect America's Workforce Act, to permanently codify our ability to unionize.
Please, call your Congresspeople and tell them to support the Protect America's Workforce Act.

AND IF YOU ARE A FEDERAL WORKER THAT HAS NOT YET SWITCHED TO E-DUES, LOL WTF, DO IT NOWWWWWWW. AND IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE BUT NOT YET UNION, LOL DON'T EVEN, WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU.

See you in downtown Minneapolis on Wednesday at our union protest.

-Dan

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The situation:

The reason for all this is because last weekend, there was an Executive Order from the Trump admin to strip over 1,000,000 Federal workers from our unions and deny us our right to unionize, followed by a lawsuit from the Department of Justice on Monday this week to directly attack our union as an illegal entity that must shut down immediately, and tear our Collective Bargaining Agreements to shreds. 

This is the most heinous attack on us Feds yet.
And if you think this doesn't impact you because you're not a Fed worker, I'm sorry but I think you're mistaken.

Why it's important: 

Government workers ought to be on the leading edge of labor rights. Because we're not in the business of profit, so there's no profit-driven excuses to cut corners on our treatment. And this is good for the private sector! Because working class people always lift each other up; when one benefits, we all benefit, by virtue of stronger negotiating positions. For every good thing that happens to government workers, private sector employees can go argue with their bosses "fuck you, give me that too or else I'll quit and get a government job". And in the same way, if private sector eclipses us, lord knows government employees are often more than ready to get out of our nonstop firestorm and go where the money is in the private sector, so government better keep up with the times.

In this way, government workers are the canary in the coal mine right now. Whatever happens to us, it'll trickle down to the private sector. For example, Trump admin passes an EO ending DEIA as a government priority, and what do you know, corporations around the economy, from Major League Baseball to Victoria's Secret, from Target to Ford, are suddenly rolling back and removing DEIA policies.

So when Federal workers are stripped of our right to unionize, what do you think is going to happen in the private sector??

Why I'm raising money for our union:

I've been doing everything I can, every day, to raise awareness and talk to people. Another week in fancy shirt and tie everywhere I go, and when people comment (I wish more people would ask me why the fuck I am dressed like this lol), I got a little shpiel about being a Fed worker, and a flyer about calling our Congresspeople etc. I've been going to protests, calling Congresspeople, going to Congressional townhalls, speaking out on stage when I'm playing a gig, anything I can think of to fight back.

And one thing I can do to fight back is raise money for my union. 

I heard another Fed ponder "why donate more money, this is what we pay our dues for". Yes! This is true! And the union does great work for us all the time. But let's unpack this more.

First, Federal unions are already knee-capped by legislation mandating that they must bargain for all eligible employees regardless of their union membership ("collective bargaining"). This opens the door to lots of free riding. I've been shocked and appalled by the number of Feds I've encountered who never joined our unions because "they already benefit from union work anyway, why pay for it?". Disgraceful and embarrassing, in my opinion. The tragedy of the commons, a tale as old as time. But as such, I think it's a stretch to claim that our union is fully-funded and ready for war in the first place. 

With that in mind, our unions are hopefully prepped to do their work for us under normal circumstances. But this is hardly a normal circumstance. AFGE seems like it's filing lawsuits nonstop, so much so that Elon Musk is retweeting how "Almost every single lawsuit filed against the second Trump administration has come from" AFGE and other allied Federal unions. Our union is obviously, publicly, fighting as hard as it can for us, but lawsuits are fucking expensive.

And amidst all these expenses, the Trump admin is removing dues-paying Feds from the playing field, whether it's through illegal firings, RIFs, or this latest move of stripping union members from the union. So the number of dues-paying members, the amount of dues collected, is continually decreasing. Not to mention the Trump admin's efforts to revoke payroll deduction, our default method of paying union dues, which is why it's so critically important for every union member to switch to e-dues NOW. 

So, I want to do what I can do, and try to raise money to keep the lawsuits going and keep fighting for myself and my comrades. 

I've had several non-Fed people commentate that we ought to strike. I don't disagree. But I'm telling you, from the inside, the chances of this happening are so slim, it's next to 0. Because it's illegal for Federal workers to strike, and you know who actually cares a surprising amount about laws? Federal workers LOL. I'd like to see Feds strike, but given my sense of the people and the culture/environment in Fed gov, I don't think it's possible to get a critical mass of people willing to break the law over it.
Lawsuits from our unions are still our best way of continuing the fight right now.

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I could keep rambling about the finer details, the legalese, the fascinating trickle-down effects, for several more pages. But I'll stop there. 

I will send a more standard "new arrivals!" type e-mail later this month, with proper attention on my 3 or 4 new releases, when I have more time.
Please look forward to it!
Until then!

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coming later in April:
GOREGRIND
POLISH PUNK REISSUES
SOUTH AMERICAN HARDCORE REISSUES

more More MORE

Thanks and talk more later.
FEDERAL WORKERS, HOLD THE LINE AND DON'T RESIGN.

-Dan