Simon Oosterman is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

political activist,

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

, and

syndicalist Syndicalism is a revolutionary current within the left-wing of the labor movement that seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes with the eventual goal of gaining control over the means of pro ...

. He is best known for coordinating the

Unite Union Unite Union (Unite) is a trade union in New Zealand. It represents a number of workers across various industries, and was the sponsor of thSupersizemypay.comcampaign directed towards improving working conditions for fast food workers in the c ...

campaign ' Supersizemypay.com', which targeted the fast food industry and advocated for the abolition of youth rates and for a $12 minimum wage, and the world's first

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 ...

strike, and for his involvement in the

World Naked Bike Ride The World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) is an international clothing-optional bike ride in which participants plan, meet and ride together ''en masse'' on human-powered transport (the vast majority on bicycles, but some on skateboards and inline skat ...

, on which he was arrested for indecent exposure. He also previously worked as a media liaison in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

for the

National Distribution Union The National Distribution Union (NDU) was a national trade union in New Zealand. It was formed in 1986 as the ''Northern Distribution Union'' by the merger of The Northern Drivers Union, The Northern Stores and Warehouse Union, The Auckland an ...

and the ShelfRespect.org supermarket pay campaign.

Early years

Oosterman grew up in Ramarama, an area south of

Drury Drury may refer to: Places * Drury, New Zealand, a town * Drury, Flintshire, Wales, a village * Drury, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community * Drury, a village in Florida, Massachusetts, United States * Drury, Missouri, United Sta ...

, and on a farm in Rerewhakaaitu, south of

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompa ...

. Simon and his siblings (twin brother Paul, older brother Jonathan, and sister Kate) were put through private schools by their mother Allison, a journalist and now lecturer of communications at

AUT University Auckland University of Technology (AUT) ( mi, Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college (originally established in 1895) was granted university status. AUT ...

. She told Metro magazine that she wanted the best education for them and "remarkably" was able to send them to King's School (Jonathan), Southwell School (Paul & Simon),

King's College King's College or The King's College refers to two higher education institutions in the United Kingdom: *King's College, Cambridge, a constituent of the University of Cambridge *King's College London, a constituent of the University of London It ca ...

(Jonathan, Paul, & Simon) and St Cuthbert's College (Kate), despite being on her own after she and her husband separated when the twins were nine months old. Oosterman studied for a

bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...

and

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...

but pulled out of a

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

environmental sociology Environmental sociology is the study of interactions between societies and their natural environment. The field emphasizes the social factors that influence environmental resource management and cause environmental issues, the processes by whic ...

to join an anti-war protest.

Activism

He has been a prominent

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

and anti-

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including ...

activist, and has been involved in

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

issues. Oosterman is credited with organising the ' Supersizemypay.com' campaign for the world's first Starbucks strike, as well as coining the name and designing its website. Oosterman's first public protest was in 2003 with a week-long

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to m ...

in downtown Auckland outside the US embassy. He, his brother Jonathan, and other activists, were protesting US actions in Iraq. That same year he was involved in an anti-

vivisection Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for experimen ...

protest in Christchurch where he lay in front of a bus carrying scientists. He was arrested but received diversion because this was a first offence. In February 2005, Oosterman received worldwide attention when he was arrested at the start of the

for refusing to put on underwear. He was covered in thick blue body-paint at the time. In court he pleaded not guilty to the charge of

indecent exposure Indecent exposure is the deliberate public exposure by a person of a portion of their body in a manner contrary to local standards of appropriate behavior. Laws and social attitudes regarding indecent exposure vary significantly in different ...

. To protest this charge, he stripped off in front of the courthouse with three other activists wrapped in a banner reading "STOP indecent exposure to vehicle emissions". He then ran into the court naked, but put his clothes back on for the plea hearing. The charges were later dropped due to lack of evidence. On 22 March 2005, he and other protesters publicly complained about police brutality while passively resisting arrest for obstructing a footpath, following a peace demonstration that went inside an

ANZ ANZ may refer to: People * Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician Banks * ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia ** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand * ...

bank. In May 2006 he filed papers at the Auckland district court seeking NZ$50,000 in damages from the New Zealand police after being pepper sprayed at a January 2005 protest against an alleged genetic engineering experiment outside the Forest Research Institute in Rotorua. On 2 July 2008, Judge Chris McGuire awarded Oosterman $5,000 damages and $25,000 court costs, saying police actions had not been reasonable, but rejected Oosterman's claim of assault saying the officer's actions did not quite meet the necessary "high threshold of blameworthiness". In July 2007, Oosterman, who runs a web hosting service for community groups, was forced to remove a

Save Happy Valley Coalition The Save Happy Valley Coalition (SHVC) is an environmental activist movement formed with the express purpose of preventing the Cypress mine, an open cast coal mine on the West Coast of New Zealand, from proceeding. The Coalition is a member of ...

spoof annual report of

Solid Energy Solid Energy was the largest coal mining company in New Zealand and is a state owned enterprise of the New Zealand Government. The company was formed from the former government department State Coal Mines. It was then established as a state owne ...

's environmental record, which included a logo of the state-owned enterprise, due to infringement of their copyright and trademark. He was involved in a 2007 protest in support of Iranian hunger striker Ali Panah at

Mount Eden Prison Mount Eden Prisons consists of two separate facilities in the Auckland, New Zealand suburb of Mount Eden — the Mount Eden Prison and the Mount Eden Corrections Facility. History The original Mount Eden prison was a military stockade built ...

, during which he was arrested.

References

External links

ShelfRespect.org

Supersizemypay.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oosterman, Simon 1980 births Anti-corporate activists Living people New Zealand activists New Zealand left-wing activists New Zealand trade unionists Anarcho-syndicalists Syndicalists

Early years

Activism

See also

References

External links