Feature Archives

On October 30th, a Halloween-themed rally drew a large crowd of employees to the front doors of the Santa Clara Hyatt hotel where they demonstrated for a fair process to choose a union.  Despite intermittent rain, protestors and their supporters chanted and carried placards in Spanish, English and Tagalog. Some wore masks and doled out tiny Halloween candy treats, mocking management’s attitude toward employees. Hyatt management has continually rejected its workers’ request for the company to stay neutral while workers decide for themselves whether or not to have a union.

The California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA) held a conference in San Francisco on October 13th. CARA unites retired workers and community groups to win social and economic justice. Members of CARA took a bus from the conference on the afternoon of October 13th to demonstrate in solidarity with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union at a Rite Aid store at the corner of Van Ness and Market Streets.

On Saturday. September 27th at 11 am, nearly a hundred workers from local UC campuses, including members of UPTE, converged in the Oakland hills to make pancakes for newly appointed president Mark Yudof at his Oakland Hills mansion on Woodmont Way. They demanded Yudof come out and explain how he intends to end poverty wages at the University of California.

On Sept. 26th and 27th, members of United Healthcare Workers West (UHW) will protest in San Mateo against an attempt by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) leadership to take over their local. SEIU President Andy Stern has called for a hearing at the San Mateo Events Center that could put the 150,000-member local under trusteeship. UHW supporters are condemning the move as an attempt to silence dissent and stifle union democracy.

On September 4th, nearly 300 hotel workers of the labor union Unite Here! Local 19 rallied in front of the San Jose McEnery Convention Center to draw public attention to the daily struggles of hotel service employees. They then marched to three downtown hotels that are currently undergoing contract negotiations - the Marriott, the Hilton and Towers, and the Crowne Plaza.

On Saturday, September 6, thousands of members of United Healthcare Workers and allies marched through the streets of San Jose to maintain a strong, member-controlled union and a labor movement accountable to the rank-and-file. The march, held after UHW's annual Leadership Conference, denounced the threatened trusteeship of UHW by SEIU International President Andy Stern and Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger.

Service Employees International Union - United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) is under attack. This article is about the reasons behind the attack and how it will affect workers in Fresno.