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We Are One Rally in Santa Cruz Stands with Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida, etc..

Published on April 4, 2011 in Labor

We Are One Rally in Santa Cruz Solidarity actions with embattled workers in the states continue this week as part of the April 4 Days of Action, with more than 1,200 events, including teach-ins, vigils, faith services and town halls. In the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Area, demonstrations were held on April 4 in Salinas, Hollister, Watsonville, San Jose, Oakland, Berkeley, Vallejo, San Mateo, San Francisco, Marin, Novato and elsewhere. In Santa Cruz, over 500 people rallied at the County Courthouse to support local public service workers, as well as those in Wisconsin and other states. In addition to Martin Luther King Jr., the work of Cesar E. Chavez was recognized at the Santa Cruz rally. Read More and View Photos

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ILWU Rally and Shut Down All Bay Area Ports Demanding “Justice for Oscar Grant! Jail Killer Cops!”

Published on October 24, 2010 in Labor, Police, Race, Solidarity & Outreach

On October 23rd, the ILWU Local 10 longshore workers closed all bay area ports (Richmond, Benicia, Redwood City, Oakland and San Francisco) and rallied in Oakland’s Frank Ogawa Plaza to protest the murder of Oscar Grant with the demand “Justice for Oscar Grant! Jail Killer Cops!” ILWU union port workers joined the rally which brought together many organizations, including labor unions, high school and college students, the faith-based community and the general public in a call for justice.

The rally was initiated by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 10 after Cephus “Uncle Bobby” Johnson of the Oscar Grant Family spoke to union members about the similarity between the murder of his nephew and a mural on the union hall depicting the 1934 West Coast waterfront strike. On “Bloody Thursday,” July 5th, 1934, a striking seaman and a strike sympathizer, Nicolas Bordoise and Howard Sperry, were killed by a police officer who fired a shotgun into a crowd.

Johanes Mehserle, the ex-BART cop who shot Oscar Grant in the back on January 1, 2009 while Grant was being held face down by multiple officers, faces sentencing in Los Angeles on November 5th. Read More and View Photos

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Rally and Walkout at UC Santa Cruz to Defend the Future of Public Education

Published on September 24, 2009 in Education, Labor

Demilitarize and Deprivatize UC On September 24th, students, faculty, staff and alumni at University of California (UC) schools participated in a day of coordinated walkouts and rallies in defense of the future of public education. Hundreds rallied at the base of the UC Santa Cruz campus to protest the privatization of the UC system, which includes student fee hikes, faculty and staff furloughs and layoffs, executive pay increases, and cuts to courses, programs and services. The University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE) held a daylong strike at all UC schools, with pickets at the main and west entrances of UCSC from 6am–6pm.

Rallies took place at the base of UCSC, amplified courtesy of People Power!’s human-powered bicycle generator, at 12pm and 3:30pm. After the 3:30pm rally, students marched and occupied the intersection by the Bay Tree Plaza. From there, it was announced that a building occupation was underway, and people moved to the Bay Tree Plaza to support an ongoing inhabitation of the Graduate Student Commons. Read More and View Photos

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Labor Organizing and Independent Media are Not Crimes

Published on August 31, 2008 in Government, Labor, Media, Police

On August 31st, members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) were accompanying their fellow worker, Erik Forman, to his first day back on the job at Starbucks in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. Erik was recently fired for labor organizing, although that was not the official explanation given by Starbucks.

Police from Plymouth, a town outside of Bloomington, prevented Erik’s supporters from getting off the light-rail and entering the mall. Erik was eventually allowed into the mall so he could get to work, although he was late as a result of all the police harassment and misinformation.

My friend David and I caught up with the group of people that were turned away from the mall. David recorded a video interview with Jake Bell about the day’s events and the future plans of the Twin Cities branch of the IWW. A Metro Transit Police officer drove past us in an SUV. The interview was finished and as we were walking away, the police officer turned around and drove to the spot where the interview was conducted. At that point the officer appeared to be looking for an unattended item that may have been left behind. No such items were found, but the police officer decided to follow us for about two miles.

Neither labor organizing nor independent media are against the law, but both activities are being repressed in the Twin Cities, and elsewhere. Read More and View Photos

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Neighbors and Labor Rally Against La Behemoth; Change to Zoning Law

Published on August 21, 2008 in Environment, Labor, Solidarity & Outreach

On August 21st, workers and Santa Cruz community members rallied in front of La Bahia protesting a variety of issues, including the ratio of unionized labor during the reconstruction and then operation of the new hotel. Neighbors, particularly those that live on First Street, are upset that the proposed project exceeds the current legal height limit and because the site is not zoned for such a large building. Other people want to preserve, rather than destroy, the historic landmark built in the 1920s.

A press release by the Build a Better La Bahia Coalition, a group of neighbors, construction and service workers, and community representatives interested in the successful development of a hotel at the site of La Bahia, states that they want the new hotel to be “both economically and environmentally successful.” However, concern for the environment, at least from the labor unions, appears to be token at best. In 1999, Mary Spicuzza wrote an in-depth article in Metro Santa Cruz about the plans for La Bahia. In the article, Spicuzza notes, “Union advocates concede that the their primary concern isn’t preserving landmarks or keeping neighbors happy, it’s organizing workers.”

On the other hand, Ross Gibson and the City of Santa Cruz Historic Preservation Commission seem to be the most influential in regards to architectural preservation and environmental concerns, as well as the relocation of residents. Read More and View Photos

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AFSCME on Strike During New Student Orientations at UCSC

Published on July 17, 2008 in Education, Labor

Incoming UC Santa Cruz students and their families got an official orientation to college on July 17th while campus service workers were striking for the fourth day in a row. Since 2004, the Student and Worker Coalition for Justice (SWCJ) at UC Santa Cruz has been working to spread awareness and solidarity with the hardest-working and lowest-paid employees at the University of California (UC). In the last year alone, the demand to end poverty wages at the UC has been carried far and wide, including meetings of the UC Regents, dorms, dinning halls and classrooms, an alumni fundraiser luncheon, a $1,000 a plate dinner with Chancellor George Bluementhal, the Chancellor’s inauguration, Highway 1, as well as to representatives in Sacramento. Service workers are vital to the UC, however AFSCME, the union representing the workers, reports that they are nowhere near reaching a fair settlement with the UC. Read More and View Photos

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