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https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2023/08/12/18858305.php
No Contract, No Coffee!Starbucks Bus Tour Stops in San Francisco, Rallies with Allies to Support Unionization2023-08-12T23:02:49Z2023-08-12T23:02:49Zen-US
On August 7, Starbucks customers at more than 320 locations across the U.S. held a day of action targeting locations of the coffee chain where employees have not yet unionized. Starbucks Workers United said this would be the first of a series of national days of action to activate allies and hold Starbucks accountable. Since December 2021, when workers at a Starbucks in New York formed the coffee company’s first U.S. union, Starbucks has been repeatedly accused of using illegal tactics, including closing stores where workers have tried to form unions.
In Fresno, around 200 people marched through downtown to advocate immigrants' rights. The march was organized by the Coalición 1 de Mayo and supported by many community groups, including the Dolores Huerta Foundation and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA).
Related Feature: May Day Marches Return to the Bay Area (2021)
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https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2023/04/25/18855640.php
French Working People Will Not Accept Retirement Age IncreaseTradition of Revolutionary Protest Continues in Paris and Across France as Labor Fights On2023-04-25T16:41:14Z2023-04-25T16:41:14Zen-US
The French left, with its revolutionary tradition, has a history of almost, but not quite, achieving power. The times they really did achieve dominance, as in the pre-WWII Blum government, they failed to support the Spanish Republic in its fight against the Hitler and Mussolini supported General Franco. This led to generations of fascism for Spain. The Socialist Mitterrand government did make social achievements. President Holland was socialist in name only. His presidency turned into something of a joke when he was photographed sneaking out of the Elysee palace on a scooter to go visit his mistress.
Currently, the French labor movement is more unified than it has been in a long time. Still, labor's relationship with the political left under Jean Luc Mélenchon is bumpy. As the leader of the "Insoumis" (unsubmissive) party, Mélenchon somewhat combines the qualities of Jean Jaurès, Eugene Debs, and Bernie Sanders.
Historical Background:
The Revolution and The Commune]]>Front PageGlobal Justice and Anti-CapitalismGovernment & ElectionsHealth, Housing, and Public ServicesInternationalLabor & Workersimage/jpeg
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2023/02/17/18854388.php
No Free Speech or Democracy with OligarchyAs Sole Owner, Elon Musk Bends Twitter Toward His Own Personal Ends2023-02-17T22:42:11Z2023-02-17T22:42:11Zen-US
On the content side, through his personal account, Musk regularly engages with some of the worst actors on the right-wing. He has welcomed back to the platform avowed neo-Nazis and trolls who were once banned. COVID disinformation is allowed again and hate speech is on the rise. Simultaneously, he banned popular leftist accounts such as CrimethInc, It’s Going Down, and Chad Loder, at the behest of right-wing trolls. Journalists, comedians, and others critical of Musk have also been banned. All of this under the reign of a self-proclaimed "free speech absolutist." In the last week, he had remaining engineers rework Twitter software to boost his own tweets above all others.
A series of protests have been held at Twitter's main headquarters in San Francisco since November, including one that painted a huge mural on the street that read, "No Free Speech or Democracy with Oligarchy." At least one related protest was held at the Tesla plant in Fremont. Musk owns over 20% of Tesla's stock .
Related Features:UC Berkeley Graduate Student Workers Demand COLA (2020) |
UC System Wide Day of Action in Support of Fired UCSC Workers (2020) |
Strike Escalates After UCSC Fires Nearly 100 Graduate Student Workers (2020) ]]>CaliforniaCentral ValleyEast Bay AreaEducation & Student ActivismFront PageLabor & Workersimage/jpeg
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2021/04/30/18842039.php
May Day Marches Return to the Bay AreaInternational Workers' Day 2021 Filled with Marches, Rallies, and Direct Actions2021-05-01T06:51:09Z2021-05-01T06:51:09Zen-US
This year, beginning to emerge from a deadly year-long pandemic, actions marking May Day across Northern California demanded worker rights, housing for all, and racial justice, expressing solidarity with the Chilean general strike. Marches and rallies were held in San Francisco, Oakland, San José, and Fresno. In Oakland, a vacant house was reclaimed to highlight real estate speculator greed and a nighttime march which called for abolishing the police was met with a large and aggressive police presence. In Alameda, protesters rallied outside the homes of those who called police on Mario Gonzalez, leading to his death in April. A "Love Over Hate Unity march and rally" was held in Mountain View. Online events examined the history of May Day, celebrated social justice struggles, and looked back at America's imperialist war in Vietnam.
The unionization drive has garnered national attention. Even Joe Biden has (sort of) expressed his support. A successful drive will create the first union at the giant corporation, headed by the world's richest man, Jeff Bezos, who makes $35 million an hour. He has defeated all previous unionization attempts and is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on union busting law firms and consultants to defeat this one.
See Also: Seven Hundred SEIU 87 Janitors In SF Strike For PPE & A Contract: 26 Have Died From Covid |
Stop Union Busting! Namibian Mineworkers Swakop Uranium Miners Protest Chinese Bosses
]]>City of San FranciscoEast Bay AreaFront PageLabor & WorkersU.S.image/jpeg
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2020/10/08/18837400.php
Poor People's Caravan Targets Senators Feinstein and HarrisGlide Memorial's Ongoing Work on Behalf of Economic Justice2020-10-09T05:33:09Z2020-10-09T05:33:09Zen-US
Glide Memorial, though nominally a United Methodist Church has forged its own moral mission, engendering much friction with the United Methodist establishment. Dispensing with almost almost all traditional Christian narrative and ritual, it has recast its mission as a celebration with art and music of all of humanity in all of its diversity.
Glide Memorial, with its many years as a unique San Francisco institution, has taken up the cause of society's impoverished and ignored. Declaring poverty a sin and those who inflict or ignore it sinners, the Poor People's Campaign embodies this activism.
Next, they turned to the “Mexicans” and other Spanish speakers, but that would require the creation of a myth. They needed a ruthless bandit who could simultaneously appear in distinct and distant locations, steal horses and valuables and allegedly kill a few defenseless settlers.
Read More |
En Español]]>Central ValleyFront PageLabor & Workersimage/jpeg
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2020/07/21/18835242.php
Strike for Black Lives and Working People at McDonald'sProtesters Shut Down Drive-Thru at Oakland McDonald's2020-07-22T05:09:09Z2020-07-22T05:09:09Zen-US
Protesters marched up Telegraph Avenue and into the parking lot at the McDonald's at Telegraph and 45th Street. They proceeded to block off the drive through with big signs that read that the restaurant was closed due to Covid health hazards. Demonstrators also kneeled for eight minutes and forty-six seconds in remembrance of George Floyd, murdered by police.
The combined rooftop and ground demonstration was emphasizing not only the Black Lives Matter movement but demands by McDonald's workers for respect, dignity and, specifically, for adequate on the job protective equipment. The action was part of an evolving movement reaffirming rights and respect for working people and demanding that genuine racial equality be finally achieved.
Read More |
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https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2020/05/24/18833238.php
Stanford Cuts Costs on the Backs of Hospital EmployeesStanford Health Care Imposes Wage Cuts on Frontline Workers During Pandemic2020-05-24T15:49:42Z2020-05-24T15:49:42Zen-US
On May 21, dozens of hospital workers joined by concerned members of the public protested in Palo Alto on all four corners of a busy intersection. They hoisted signs including ones that read “Stanford caregivers deserve respect” and “Stanford thanks its healthcare heroes with pay cuts!” Many people driving along the El Camino honked their car horns in support.
Critics point out that Stanford is cutting costs on the backs of the workers even after receiving federal funding to pay them. Stanford Health Care received more money from the federal CARES Act stimulus package than any other health system in California. The $102.4 million is more than twice what they are estimated to be saving by cutting frontline employees’ pay during the coronavirus pandemic.
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https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2020/05/02/18832784.php
Dueling May Day Protests at SF City HallLabor and Human Rights Groups Demand Rent and Mortgage Strike, Others to "Reopen"2020-05-02T21:54:30Z2020-05-02T21:54:30Zen-USLeon Kunstenaar writes: The COVID-19 pandemic has exploded the myth of American equality to reveal a society of medieval injustice and fascistic racism. The accumulations of bodies, too numerous to bury, in parked trucks and old age home closets; a government controlled by a deranged clown; a major political party devoted to the wealthy few and reconciled to massive deaths of working people as it uses catastrophic unemployment to consolidate control, are symptoms of national dissolution.
With the so called "bailouts," reeking of incompetence and corruption to the benefit of Trump's contributors, the economic cataclysm is reimposing on the supposedly strongest and wealthiest country in the world, the food lines and soup kitchens of the Great Depression. Those attempting to resist, the ones at the bottom who can't "work from home" the food workers, truckers, nurses, warehouse people, emergency workers, not to mention the homeless, are reclaiming the traditional international workers' day of May 1.
May 1 has been recognized throughout the world, especially in Communist and Socialist countries, as the holiday to celebrate working people. Though supressed by the anti-communist and anti socialist hysteria of post WW II America, it is a genuine American holiday, having been originated by the unjust hanging of four labor activists in Chicago in 1887. The embers of May 1, May Day, the holiday that refuses to die, were rekindled today in front of San Francisco's Ciy Hall by those facing destituion as the nation faces its greatest threat since the Civil War.
Related Feature: SF May Day Car Caravan 2020]]>City of San FranciscoFront PageGlobal Justice and Anti-CapitalismGovernment & ElectionsHealth, Housing, and Public ServicesImmigrant RightsLabor & Workersimage/jpeg
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/25/18832639.php
SF May Day Car CaravanCancel Rent, Homes For All, and a Debt Free FutureFriday, May 1 to demand the cancellation of rent, mortgage, and utility payments as well as homes for all and a debt free future for tenants, homeless residents, workers and families. The COVID-19 pandemic has further unveiled the deep inequality in our economic and housing systems. In California, renters make up almost half of the population. 55% of renters are considered cost-burdened, with low-income people and people of color suffering the worst instability.]]>2020-04-26T02:16:50Z2020-04-26T02:16:50Zen-USFriday, May 1 to demand the cancellation of rent, mortgage, and utility payments as well as homes for all and a debt free future for tenants, homeless residents, workers and families. The COVID-19 pandemic has further unveiled the deep inequality in our economic and housing systems. In California, renters make up almost half of the population. 55% of renters are considered cost-burdened, with low-income people and people of color suffering the worst instability.
As a historic 22 million workers filed for unemployment in the US in the last four weeks, people are demanding legislators provide immediate relief by cancelling rent, mortgage and utility payments, and establishing emergency housing for those without the ability to safely shelter in place. Residents can’t follow Governor Newsom’s call to “Stay Home, Save Lives” if they don’t have a secure home, or if they fear future evictions or homelessness should they not be able to make their rental or mortgage payments. Current temporary eviction moratoriums without rental forgiveness will leave many facing insurmountable debts and will mean that any wages one is able to secure will be redirected to the real estate industry.
Read More]]>City of San FranciscoFront PageHealth, Housing, and Public ServicesLabor & WorkersU.S.Womynimage/jpeg
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/12/18832324.php
Campesino Appreciation Caravan in WatsonvilleWatsonville Community Members Give Thanks to Farmworkers2020-04-13T00:41:56Z2020-04-13T00:41:56Zen-US
Another participant wrote, "It was great to see the happy faces of the hard working gente en los campos when we all drove up to thank them for their service... not just during this time of the pandemic but always."
Read More and View Photos]]>Front PageHealth, Housing, and Public ServicesImmigrant RightsLabor & WorkersSanta Cruz / Monterey Bay Areaimage/jpeg
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/12/18832291.php
McDonald’s Employees in Bay Area Disrupt Business at Three LocationsWorkers Risking Their Lives at McDonald's Demand Hazard Pay, Protective Gear2020-04-12T12:13:58Z2020-04-12T12:13:58Zen-US
In the early morning of April 9, employees from several of the chain’s Bay Area locations gathered in the parking lot of a San Jose McDonald’s. They rallied outside of their cars, making a large circle in order to maintain physical distancing required by California law. They also formed a caravan of their cars to disrupt the drive-thru lane in an act of civil disobedience. They went next to a McDonald's on Watkins St. in Hayward to repeat their demands and finally protested at a McDonald's location in Castro Valley.
Labor organizers from Fight for $15 have been helping employees rally to get the protection they need and hazard pay during the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent years, they have organized demonstrations to fight for an increased minimum wage at McDonald's in San Jose and Oakland. The publication Business Insider recently reported that McDonald's paid its CEO almost 2,000 times as much as the average worker in 2019, with executive compensation topping $18 million.
Related Features:The Fight for $15 Takes the Bay Area by Storm |
Demonstrators Say "Low Pay is Not Okay" at Bay Area McDonald's
]]>CaliforniaEast Bay AreaFront PageHealth, Housing, and Public ServicesImmigrant RightsLabor & WorkersSouth Bay Areaimage/jpeg
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/30/18831952.php
Instacart Strikers Demand Proper Safety PrecautionsList of Demands Includes Hazard Pay and Improved Working Conditions2020-03-31T00:56:57Z2020-03-31T00:56:57Zen-US
The striking workers state, "This is an extraordinary time in history, and as Shoppers, those of us who are able — and have the means to protect ourselves — do want to help those in our community by delivering groceries and supplies. But with Instacart neglecting the basic wellbeing of its 150,000+ drivers, we believe there is no choice but to not only walk off, but to raise awareness to the company’s practices. They are putting us directly in harm’s way while profiting greatly. We cannot let this be considered normal."
Read More |
Instacart Emergency Walk Off Update]]>City of San FranciscoFront PageLabor & WorkersU.S.image/jpeg
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/21/18831707.php
California on Coronavirus LockdownMutual Aid Efforts to Assist Those Most at Risk Increase as COVID-19 Spreads2020-03-21T09:01:23Z2020-03-21T09:01:23Zen-US
Beyond the expectation that medical facilities will soon be overwhelmed with a surge of severe coronavirus cases — complicated by shortages of supplies and healthcare workers becoming sick themselves — life is changing drastically for everyone, infected or not. As the state adopts more stringent measures to mitigate the rapid spread of coronavirus, millions find themselves without an income with which to pay bills and meet their basic needs. School closures mean students who depend on school lunches face the possibility of going hungry. Curbside communities, always on the edge of survival, are in dire straights. Persons incarcerated in overcrowded prisons and jails are especially at risk for contracting the virus. The stress and requisite isolation of the pandemic are taking a toll on mental health everywhere.
While many have long known of the painful cruelties of our capitalist system, a wider recognition grows that it is grossly ill-equipped to rise to the challenge of this time. Politicians on the national level are pondering solutions that were anathema to them just a few weeks ago, such as direct payments to individuals to bolster the economy. It remains to be seen whether elected officials choose a single payment or a monthly Universal Basic Income, or whether such emergency relief will be adequate to meet people's needs. Some prefer that the bulk of pandemic-related financial assistance goes to corporate bailouts. ICE announced that they will decrease raids and deportation operations, prioritizing instead immigrants with criminal records. On a state and local level, moratoriums on rent, mortgage, and utility payments are under consideration. The California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) determined that energy, water, sewer, and communications companies under CPUC jurisdiction should halt customer disconnections for non-payment as a result of the COVID-19 State of Emergency. In order to alleviate the pandemic dangers related to mass incarceration, officials are directing law enforcement to arrest fewer people now that courts are closed and unable to offer timely arraignments. Limited release of inmates has begun in a number of counties.
Not waiting for government action, allies and effected peoples are stepping up with ad hoc and coordinated mutual aid efforts to assist those most in need. Numerous groups listed in the posts below can use your physical and/or financial support during this crisis.
Related Features: Santa Cruz Police Evict Unhoused Community, Despite Pandemic |
Station 40 on Rent Strike Against Gentrification and the Pandemic |
COVID-19 Pandemic Threatens Most Vulnerable Populations
]]>Arts + ActionCaliforniaCity of San FranciscoEast Bay AreaEducation & Student ActivismFront PageGlobal Justice and Anti-CapitalismGovernment & ElectionsHealth, Housing, and Public ServicesLabor & WorkersPolice StateSanta Cruz / Monterey Bay AreaU.S.image/jpeg
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/06/18831340.php
Massive Turnout at UC Berkeley Day of ActionUC Berkeley Graduate Student Workers Demand COLA2020-03-06T22:22:16Z2020-03-06T22:22:16Zen-US
CAL COLA states, "We demand that the University of California Administration grants all graduate students across the UC System a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) proportionate to their local housing market. We demand that this occur without raising tuition and fees on undergraduates, without laying off workers, without slashing graduate admissions, and without any retaliation against students. We demand that the University stop behaving as a for-profit landlord - charging above market rate for university housing. We demand that the UC demilitarize their police force. We do not accept that the UC System 'does not have the money.' The UC has always found ways to fund initiatives it deems important in the past. If teaching is truly at the core of the UC's mission, it is high time that they start paying graduate students — who do the vast majority of teaching within the UC system — a living wage."
Related Features: Massive Turnout at UC Berkeley Day of ActionUC Santa Cruz Shutdown in UC-Wide Blackout
]]>CaliforniaEast Bay AreaEducation & Student ActivismFront PageLabor & Workersimage/jpeg
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/05/18831316.php
UC Santa Cruz Shutdown in UC-Wide BlackoutUC System Wide Day of Action in Support of Fired UCSC Workers2020-03-06T00:40:09Z2020-03-06T00:40:09Zen-US
Striking graduate students explain, "The administration’s response has been to minimize the significance of the crisis from the beginning, to bemoan the interruptions caused by the strike, and to deflect blame for these consequences onto the strikers. This is why business cannot carry on as usual, and why students, faculty, and workers across University of California campuses statewide are taking action today. The strike began because there was a crisis that demanded to be acknowledged, that had been swept under the rug for too long. Every administrative response since, from indifference to tear gas to termination letters, has only further illustrated the depth and breadth of the crisis perpetuated every day by this university system. Classes are cancelled today because things must change if anything is to carry on at all."
Related Feature:For Wildcat Strikers at UCSC, There's No Turning Back]]>CaliforniaEducation & Student ActivismFront PageLabor & WorkersSanta Cruz / Monterey Bay Areaimage/jpeg
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/29/18831164.php
For Wildcat Strikers at UCSC, There's No Turning BackStrike Escalates After UCSC Fires Nearly 100 Graduate Student Workers2020-02-29T21:44:20Z2020-02-29T21:44:20Zen-US
In response to the administrative escalation, graduate students are calling for the cancellation of classes on Monday, March 2, and for everyone to join them on the picket line for a press conference in the morning. "On Monday, we wear red for the future of higher ed. The strike continues. See you on the picket."
On February 27, UC Santa Barbara began a full teaching strike to demand their own COLA (cost of living adjustment) and in solidarity with UCSC, while UC Davis also began a grading strike. UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Merced, and UC San Diego are organizing toward strikes of their own. Meanwhile, the statewide UC graduate workers union UAW 2865 has filed Unfair Labor Practice charges against the University of California, and Senator Bernie Sanders again called on Janet Napolitano and UCSC to negotiate with striking graduate students and stop union-busting.
California graduate students on wildcat strike |
Santa Cruz Faculty Association Solidarity with Graduate Students |
No COLA, No Grades. We Will Not Submit]]>CaliforniaEducation & Student ActivismFront PageLabor & WorkersSanta Cruz / Monterey Bay Areaimage/jpeg
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/20/18830866.php
Causa Justa :: Just Cause Marks 20 Years of StruggleA Force for Justice and Unity Among Black and Brown Communities2020-02-21T02:52:01Z2020-02-21T02:52:01Zen-US
The first just cause eviction protection effort ran into a snag, failing to collect enough valid signatures to get it on the ballot due to an error made in the campaign. But, in 2002, a new just cause eviction protection campaign kicked off and Measure EE was passed by the voters that November in a narrow victory against landlords and realtors. Since then Oakland’s just cause eviction protections have worked to save tens of thousands of renters from no-cause evictions.
On January 1, 2010, Just Cause Oakland and St. Peters Housing Committee began a transition period to merge into what is now known as Causa Justa :: Just Cause (CJJC). The organization has successfully transitioned to do much more than being just being involved in tenant rights. In 2015, CJJC merged People Organized to Win Employment Rights (POWER) into their organization, expanding their issue and geographic reach even further. With offices in East and West Oakland and in San Francisco’s Mission and Bayview neighborhoods, CJJC are "a force for justice and unity among Black and Brown communities."
Read More by Lynda Carson |
Causa Justa :: Just Cause (CJJC)]]>City of San FranciscoEast Bay AreaFront PageHealth, Housing, and Public ServicesImmigrant RightsLabor & Workersimage/jpeg
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2019/11/21/18828344.php
Solidarity with Chile's Rebellion in San FranciscoChilean People’s Movement for Economic Equality and Political Freedom Rises2019-11-21T18:59:38Z2019-11-21T18:59:38Zen-US
On October 22, an emergency protest was held in San Francisco to protest the military repression in Chile. Speakers talked about the role of the US government in the 1973 military coup that brought in the dictator Pinochet and his implementation of the capitalist policies which privatized pensions, water, transportation, education, and all public services.
On October 24, dozens of Chileans and Chilean Americans rallied at the Chilean consulate in San Francisco against the use of the military to torture and beat protesters in Chile. They also demanded an end to privatization and Milton Friedman economic policies.
On November 19, with bandaged eyes, the Do No Harm Coalition held a lunch hour protest in sympathy with the Chilean people. With songs and signs showing eye wounds, protesters demonstrated on the steps of UCSF's Medical Science building. The Do No Harm Coalition considers the actions of the Chilean authorities as constituting a medical emergency, hence the action at the major health facility.
“Santa Cruz County taxpayers provide the majority of Janus’ funding, and we have a stake in making sure that Janus is operating in the best interests of its clients,” said Santa Cruz County Supervisor John Leopold, who walked the picket line. “With the high turnover of staff and reports of retaliation against employees, Janus needs to respect their employees and ensure that our county has the strongest team to help clients succeed.”
See Also:Join Us on the Picket Line: Janus of Santa Cruz |
Santa Cruz Drug Rehabilitation Workers Take Center Stage at Film Festival
]]>Drug WarFront PageHealth, Housing, and Public ServicesLabor & WorkersSanta Cruz / Monterey Bay Areaimage/jpeg
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2019/05/09/18823370.php
Billionaire John Fisher's New Baseball Stadium: "It's Insane!"ILWU Longshore Workers & Truckers Challenge Oakland A's Billionaire Owner2019-05-10T06:12:03Z2019-05-10T06:12:03Zen-US
Fisher also owns the GAP and controls the Rocketship and KIPP charter schools. He previously tried to grab land at Laney Community college but was defeated when the community and the Peralta Federation of Teachers organized against the scheme. The present privatization deal at Howard Terminal is backed by Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf who has ignored the ILWU and even the capitalists who profit from the port in her support for Fisher's A's stadium.
ILWU Local 10 business agent Aaron Wright called it an "insane" idea since there is no infrastructure for the new stadium and it would completely disrupt the longshore and trucking jobs along with the community. It would also force thousands of trucks onto the streets of Oakland further polluting the community.
On January 22, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence made a phone call to opposition politician Juan Guaidó, essentially offering him the presidency of Venezuela. The next day, Guaidó swore an oath in which he appointed himself "Interim President of Venezuela." Minutes later, Donald Trump officially recognized that self-appointment, in effect instigating a coup against the Bolivarian government of Nicolás Maduro. Since then, many corporate media outlets have been supporting a coup, flooding the air waves and Internet with stories about chaos, poverty, corruption, and violence in Venezuela, exclusively covering anti-government marches, and showing clips of world leaders calling for the overthrow of the Venezuelan government.
On 6pm, Wednesday, February 27, organizers are holding a rally and community event to honor 104 years of economic and social justice at the Redstone and to work for a community solution. The tenants of the Redstone Labor Temple are committed to keeping the building an organizing center for both the Mission neighborhood and city-wide.
Honoring 104 Years of the Redstone Labor Temple! |
Save the Redstone Building! |
Petition: Keep the Redstone Labor Temple a Community Center!]]>City of San FranciscoFront PageGlobal Justice and Anti-CapitalismHealth, Housing, and Public ServicesLabor & Workersimage/jpeg
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2019/02/20/18821316.php
Oakland Teachers Shut It DownTeachers Strike and Picket City-Wide to Demand Better for Oakland SchoolsUPDATE 3/3: Oakland Education Association members vote to ratify new contract with OUSD, return to work on 3/4.
Oakland teachers are the lowest paid teachers in Alameda County. Students are under-resourced with only one academic counselor per 600 students and 21 nurses for all 37,000 students. Oakland teachers are demanding smaller class sizes, more student support, a moratorium on charters, no more school closures, and a living wage. To fight for those goals, teachers went on strike city-wide on Thursday, February 21. There are morning and afternoon picket lines every weekday. Teachers and allies request folks to join them on the line and show solidarity at mid-day rallies.]]>2019-02-21T05:32:17Z2019-02-21T05:32:17Zen-USUPDATE 3/3: Oakland Education Association members vote to ratify new contract with OUSD, return to work on 3/4.
Oakland teachers are the lowest paid teachers in Alameda County. Every year, 1-in-5 teachers leave the district. On top of high teacher turnover, students are already under-resourced with only one academic counselor per 600 students, and only 21 nurses for all 37,000 students. Oakland teachers held a one-day wildcat strike on January 18 as a warning, yet the Oakland Unified School District still refuses to approve an adequate contract with the Oakland Education Association or resolve the ongoing student resourcing issues.
Teachers are demanding smaller class sizes, more student support, a moratorium on charters, no more school closures, and a living wage. To fight for those goals, teachers went on strike city-wide on Thursday, February 21. There are morning and afternoon picket lines at all 86 school sites, 19 of which are considered priority locations and five high priority. Teachers and allies request folks to join them on the line and show solidarity at mid-day rallies. You can show your support by donating food and supplies to the teachers, parents, students and community allies on the picket lines or turnout for picket line help from 7-10am and 2-4pm at targeted locations.
Related Feature: Teachers Striking in LA and Promising to Strike in Oakland If Funding Needs Not Met]]>East Bay AreaEducation & Student ActivismFront PageGovernment & ElectionsLabor & Workersimage/jpeg
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2019/01/16/18820419.php
Get Up, Get Down! Oakland Is a Union TownTeachers Striking in LA and Promising to Strike in Oakland If Funding Needs Not Met2019-01-17T02:15:09Z2019-01-17T02:15:09Zen-US
Los Angeles public school teachers went on strike for the first time in three decades. On Monday, January 14, tens of thousands of teachers braved pouring rain on the picket line for the strike’s first day. Some 20,000 people marched through downtown Los Angeles, demanding smaller class sizes, higher pay, the regulation of charter schools and more nurses, counselors and librarians. Over 31,000 members of United Teachers Los Angeles are striking.
Oakland teachers are promising a wildcat strike on Friday, January 18.
As a result of Trump's government shutdown 70,000 to 85,000 low-income households already face possible higher rents or eviction. By the end of January, the shutdown will affect another 30,000 to 40,000 low-income households. If the shutdown continues past February millions of public housing and Section 8 renters will be placed at risk of higher rents or eviction because HUD does not have any funding to cover those programs in March.]]>2019-01-15T04:57:12Z2019-01-15T04:57:12Zen-USUPDATE Jan 25: Hours after staffing shortages forced LaGuardia Airport to cancel all incoming flights, Trump agreed to end the shutdown and, by the end of the day, a 3-week continuing resolution was passed and signed.
Many functions of the federal government were shut down on December 22 after Trump refused to sign a Continuing Resolution to at least temporarily fund government operations. Trump reneged on a previous deal with the U.S. Congress after right-wing media figures attacked him for not demanding funding for a xenophobic wall on the southern border. The shutdown has now become the longest in the history of the United States. The pain and suffering being inflicted upon the American public increases day by day, most directly for federal workers forced to work without pay, for contractors out of work, and for those dependent on assistance from government agencies such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
As a result of Trump’s government shutdown, and the incompetence of HUD Secretary Ben Carson, on December 18 around 1,150 HUD subsidized project-based housing contracts were allowed to expire, placing at risk around 70,000 to 85,000 low-income households that may face higher rents or eviction if the government shutdown continues. If it continues unabated through January and February landlords that are partnered in HUD’s subsidized housing programs are likely to consider raising the rents on the poor low-income, elderly, and disabled renters residing in their projects, or evict them outright.
By the end of January, HUD expects around an additional 500 Section 8 Project-Based contracts to expire and be up for renewal. This would affect another 30,000 to 40,000 low-income households. Another 550 Section 8 Project-Based contracts are expected to be up for renewal in February, affecting tens of thousands more low-income renters. Additionally, if the shutdown continues past February, millions of public housing and Section 8 renters will be placed at risk of higher rents or eviction because HUD does not have any funding to cover those programs in March.