Simon Oosterman is a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

political activist,

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

ist, and

syndicalist Syndicalism is a labour movement within society that, through industrial unionism, seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes and other forms of direct action, with the eventual goal of gainin ...

. 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 the campaign directed towards improving working conditions for fast food workers in the country, in addit ...

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 List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

strike, and for his involvement in the World Naked Bike Ride, on which he was arrested for indecent exposure. He also previously worked as a media liaison in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

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 a ...

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, a village near Buckley, Flintshire, Wales * Drury, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community * Drury, a village in Florida, Massachusetts, United States * Drury, Missouri, ...

, 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. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

. 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 in

. 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 Southwell School is an independent co-educational Anglican boarding and day school set in 32 acres of park like grounds in central Hamilton, New Zealand. Southwell offers education to children aged 5 to 13 years. A number of international stude ...

(Paul & Simon), King's College (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 Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ( ...

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

and

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

but pulled out of a

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate 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 prac ...

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 wh ...

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 Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

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 Genetic engineering techniques, technologies used to change the genet ...

activist, and has been involved in

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

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 mo ...

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 Animal test ...

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

World Naked Bike Ride 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 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 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 ow ...

'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, during which he was arrested. In 2008, he was identified as an

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

after he enrolled to vote in the 2008 New Zealand election.

References

External links

ShelfRespect.org

Supersizemypay.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oosterman, Simon 1980 births Anti-corporate activists Living people New Zealand left-wing activists New Zealand trade unionists Anarcho-syndicalists Syndicalists New Zealand anarchists 21st-century anarchists

Early years

Activism

See also

References

External links