As predicted, the leaders and achievers are standing out from the Occupy Wall Street crowd.
GlobalRevolution.tv has moved from a tarp in Zucotti park to a second floor office in NoHo (North of Houston), and is being led by a former Wall Street derivatives trader, Vlad Teichberg.
On the other side of the country, Occupy Wall Street protesters are depriving the working class of their paychecks by blockading ports.
As surely as oil floats over water, and cream rises to the top of milk, it is inevitable that leaders stand out in a movement, even while they’re insisting that it’s a team effort. In this case, it’s Vlad Teichberg who has become the face of GlobalRevolution.tv.
GlobalRevolution.tv started out under a tarp in Zucotti park. After weeks of frustration due to equipment theft and fighting the elements, they made the wise business decision to seek a secure – and weatherproof – site for their budding media outlet.
They found what they needed on the second floor of a building owned by the A.J. Muste Institute. Rent is a bargain at around $400 per month. It’s no palace, but it gives them a reliable working space for their enterprise. You can get an idea of what it looks like in this video of an interview they did with CNNMoney.
The media has definitely caught on to this enterprise. Vlad has been featured with his own caricature in The New Yorker, and media from Huffington Post to the New York Times are covering their efforts. If all goes well, Vlad hopes this media enterprise will take off and provide him with the means to get a home for himself and his pregnant wife.
Contrast this organised, productive enterprise with the efforts of OWS participants on the west coast.
Although their video content is being streamed through GlobalRevolution.tv, that seems to be where the commonality ends. Rather than trying to build anything, or even be constructive, they’re attempting to block ports in Alaska and the Western U.S.
Even the unions these OWS participants claim to be supporting have come out in opposition to the blockades. They want their members to be able to go to work safely, and get a full paycheck at the end of the week.
In a recent USA Today article, one trucker was quoted as having lost $600 – a day’s wages – because the protesters succeeded in closing the port facility.
Article comments
1 - Dr Joseph S Maresca
A big part of the challenge involves restructuring work from the smoke stack industries to information technologies, infrastructure, clean energy and a plethora of new activities people will be engaged in for profit and non-profit alike. Pay equity is another continuing challenge in this mix.
2 - Dr Joseph S Maresca
At some point, the OWS Movement will be held accountable for improvement in the lives of the protesters and people impacted by the cause.
The only way improvement can happen is through the institutions of businesses both large and small. The Boards of Directors, personnel departments and major strategic constituencies must embrace improvements for ordinary workers before any meaningful change can happen.
3 - Conrad Hall
Hi Dr.,
Doctor, I truly feel sorry for you and everyone who thinks in similar fashion.
You've said that meaningful change is outside the capacity of the ordinary worker. They need the change to come from their employers, the unions, or some other major strategic constituency.
It this mindset that keeps people firmly rooted in the 99%.
Please be so kind as to show me the major strategic constituency that made the development of GlobalRevolution.tv possible. The people behind this effort have done it as a team focused on a goal.
We all need a team. We all need support. But none of us needs any major strategic constituency to ride to our rescue. Waiting for that to happen - thinking we're entitled to have it happen - is the primary reason the U.S. is in the hole it's in.
The one thing you've said I can easily agree with is that change is going to happen through the effort of small business owners. My clients and friends are small business owners - often with fewer than 10 employees - who are doing millions of dollars in gross sales each year. And they are happy to empower, support and facilitate anyone who wants to follow their example.