Organized labor in Fresno faces significant challenges as residents celebrate Labor Day 2008. Service Employees International Union - United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) is now the largest and most influential union in Fresno County. SEIU-UHW is the "local" affiliate of SEIU - International, which is the largest and fastest growing union in the country. But, the rapid pace of growth has not been easy for SEIU. The local (SEIU-UHW), with approximately 10,000 workers in Fresno County and150,000 workers statewide, is under attack. The attack is not only coming from corporations that would like to weaken organized labor's influence at the workplace, but by the International, which would like to dismantle the local and give a significant number of SEIU-UHW's members to a local in Los Angeles.

SEIU-UHW's dispute with the International, which has heated up in recent months, is about differences in how to organize workers, union democracy, what health care legislation to support in Sacramento, and the balance between growth and securing good contracts for workers. SEIU-UHW president Sal Rosselli, the local's president, elaborated on these issues earlier this year, when he wrote a letter to Andy Stern, the president of the International. Rosselli wrote, "In United Healthcare Workers West (UHW), we have always believed that our international union should be about more than numbers and headlines. Over the past two years, a stark difference has evolved between SEIU's projected image and its real world practices. An overly zealous focus on growth - growth at any cost, apparently - has eclipsed SEIU's commitment to its members. As labor leaders, we are obligated to place the needs of our members first and to uphold democratic principles not only in the workplace, but also in our union. That is increasingly being blocked, circumvented and manipulated."

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MADERA -- The Lawyers' Committee filed a lawsuit today on behalf of Latino voters against the Madera Unified School District (MUSD), charging that the school district's at-large method of election is racially polarized and violates the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (CVRA). The suit challenges the school district's discriminatory voting system and seeks to protect the Latino community against vote dilution.

Latinos constitute approximately 44% of MUSD's voting eligible population. Yet, only one of the current school board members is Latino. And over the past 25 years, no more than one Latino has ever occupied a seat on the board. This is a result of MUSD's at- large voting system, which along with a racially polarized electorate, has repeatedly resulted in a school board with little or no Latino representatives despite the significant Latino population in MUSD. The at-large method of election prevents Latino residents from electing candidates of their choice or influencing the outcome of school board elections.

The Lawyers' Committee recently sent letters to 25 school districts encouraging them to voluntarily end their practice of at-large elections or risk litigation. Approximately 90% of the school boards in the state are elected at-large.

Robert Rubin, Legal Director of the Lawyers' Committee and co-lead counsel, said: "We have put on notice city councils, school boards and other bodies throughout the state that conduct at-large elections that we will sue them if their voting is characterized by racially polarized voting. Voting is perhaps our most cherished liberty and any attempt to dilute that vote will be challenged."

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California based (Chowchilla in the Central Valley) political prisoner Sara Olson was released from prison on March 17, 2008 and re-arrested 4 days later. What was behind this bizarre incident which played out in the mainstream media? Some commentators speculated that it was behind the scenes maneuvering by right wing politicians that forced her re-arrest. Other analysts speculated that it was the incompetency of prison staff to properly calculate her release date. It was also suggested that this was a cruel hoax played on her by prison staff. The truth might be something even more sinister.

For the first time anywhere, Sara tells her story about what was behind her release and re-arrest. The article, on the link below, tells you the real reason why she and many other prisoners get released and re-arrested.

Read Sara's article here

This week, motorcycle bike clubs, riders, and supporters in the Modesto and greater Central Valley area made a historic show of solidarity against the police harassment of local bike club, “Most Envied”, of West Side Modesto. Things have been brewing for some time between police and the motorcycle club. According to members of Most Envied problems stem from continued harassment, intimidation, terror, violence, raids, threats, and what many bikers believe, an attempt by the police to create an all out ‘gang war’ between Most Envied and other local bike crews. But, the united show of support from local clubs shows that the bikers of the Central Valley aren’t going to take this repression lying down.

On Tuesday, July 1 about 100 bikers gathered outside of Modesto City Hall as they prepared to go before the City Council to demand that the police end the harassment against Most Envied. Once inside, several speakers took the floor representing Most Envied and demanded that the Modesto Police Department end their war of repression and profiling. One speaker, John Mataka, detailed a list of complaints of continued harassment by the police against members of Most Envied. These included police raids, helicopter fly bys over members homes, attempts to get club members fired from their places of employment, harassment of club members on various holiday outings, intimidating family of club members, and constant harassment of those within the group.

Once the large crowd had left the meeting and as police looked on nervously, one member of another motorcycle club yelled, “They want us to go to war [with Most Envied,] but it’s not going to happen!” People then cheered and clapped. But, as the bikers left, they were followed by the police. A short distance away one reporter saw a member of Most Envied slammed stomach first into an unmarked police car, with an officer right behind him. The reporter then pulled into a parking space and began to watch as two members of Most Envied were taken from their bikes, had their tattoos and bodies photographed, and held by police for close to an hour. Modesto Police Officers were also joined by Stanislaus County Sheriffs, as well as several other law enforcement officers armed with various weapons and armor. About 10 police officers and about 5 police cars were used in the arrest of one man who was charged with “assault with a deadly weapon,” and the lengthy detention of another.

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They were lined up in front of the Fresno County clerk's office in downtown Fresno on Tuesday morning. Over 100 gay and lesbian couples waited to either marry or to get their marriage license. Tuesday was the first full day that same-sex couples could legally marry or obtain marriage licenses in California.

In the first hour after the doors opened, at least 25 couples had wed or were waiting to be married. Many others were filling out the license paperwork.

The first to be wed was an African-American lesbian couple who have been together for over 10 years. Their moms were present when they were married by retired Fresno judge A. Dennis Caeton.

Noticeably absent were anti-marriage protesters. A counter protest was expected, so County Clerk Victor Salazar had security in and around his offices increased. Fresno police on horseback and in vehicles, and county security officers were visible.

Local supporters of same-sex marriage also turned out in force to support those taking the plunge. Members of several community groups, including Central California Alliance, No On The Initiative, and United Student Pride (the LGBT group at Cal State, Fresno) mingled with the couples.

Elsewhere around the Valley, protesters were expected to be at the Tulare County Courthouse as marriages begin in Visalia. The Kern County clerk opted to stop performing marriages altogether; ceremonies are planned to be held on the grounds of the county administration building in downtown Bakersfield.

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United States District Judge Oliver W. Wanger gave preliminary approval today to a $2.35 million dollar class-action settlement between a class of hundreds of homeless Fresno residents and the City of Fresno and the California Department of Transportation. The court had already determined that Fresno's practice of immediately seizing and destroying the personal possessions of homeless residents violates the constitutional right of every person to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. The homeless plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Kincaid v. Fresno, were represented by a team of attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC), the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights (LCCR) and the law firm of Heller Ehrman LLP.

"The Court's ruling and the settlement should send a strong message to other cities throughout our country that if they violate the rights of their most vulnerable residents, they will be held accountable," said ACLU-NC staff attorney Michael Risher.

Plaintiff Al Williams suffered the effects of the raids on three occasions. In addition to losing clothes and food, his wife's wheelchair was destroyed and her medicines confiscated by Fresno police officers. "I felt like everything was taken away from me, but this settlement gives me hope for the future for myself and all the other people who suffered," said Williams, who now hosts a local radio show in Fresno.

"Many homeless people lost everything they owned to the City's trash compactors and bulldozers. With this settlement, they can access what has always been the solution to homelessness: a safe, clean place to live," said Elisa Della-Piana, an attorney with the Lawyers' Committee.

Read More | Judge Orders Mayor into court over PR statement after settlement

Utah Phillips, a seminal figure in American folk music who performed extensively and tirelessly for audiences on two continents for 38 years, died Friday, May 23rd, 2008, of congestive heart failure in Nevada City, California a small town in the Sierra Nevada mountains where he lived for the last 21 years with his wife, Joanna Robinson, a freelance editor.

Born Bruce Duncan Phillips on May 15, 1935 in Cleveland, Ohio, he was the son of labor organizers. Whether through this early influence or an early life that was not always tranquil or easy, by his twenties Phillips demonstrated a lifelong concern with the living conditions of working people. He was a proud member of the Industrial Workers of the World, popularly known as "the Wobblies," an organizational artifact of early twentieth-century labor struggles that has seen renewed interest and growth in membership in the last decade, not in small part due to his efforts to popularize it.

Phillips died at home, in bed, in his sleep, next to his wife. Read More | Memorial on 6/01/08

see also: U. Utah Phillips Has Passed Away | A Note From Utah | A short jog through a long memory (UtahPhillips.org) | Utah Phillips Blog || Utah Phillips Live 2004 Performance FRSC Raid Benifit || Amy Goodman interviews Utah Phillips || Utah Phillips Interview with John Malkin || Utah Phillips at the Fiddle Down the FBI Rally, May 2002 || Utah testifies at Judi Bari's trial || Family requests memorial donations to Hospitality House

A U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of California has ruled that the City of Fresno's practice of immediately seizing and destroying the personal possessions of homeless residents violates the constitutional right of every person to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.

"The question is no longer whether the City will have to pay damages to class members, but how much," said attorney Oren Sellstrom of the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights. "Given that many homeless people lost everything they owned in these illegal sweeps - including their medicines and items of tremendous sentimental value - we believe the damage award will be significant."

"The Court's ruling in this class-action lawsuit makes it clear that our Constitution protects the rights of everybody, rich or poor," said attorney Michael Risher of the ACLU of Northern California. "It should send a strong message to other cities throughout our country that if they violate the rights of their most vulnerable residents, they will be held accountable."

Six plaintiffs provided testimony in the case, Kincaid v. City of Fresno, on behalf of the entire class, which includes all homeless people in Fresno who had their property seized and destroyed by the City or by the California Department of Transportation. The case was bought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, and the firm of Heller, Ehrman, LLP.

The case was filed in October 2006. The court issued a temporary restraining order against the City of Fresno two days later; in December 2006 it issued a preliminary injunction after hearing evidence from both sides over the course of five days. Read more

Eric McDavid was sentenced to 235 months for "conspiracy to damage or destroy government property by means of fire or explosives." He was convicted in February of 2008 for a crime that was never committed, and which was fabricated by "Anna", a young FBI informant who was paid over $65,000 to entrap him. Now that the sentencing is over, Eric will be able to start the appeals process. Two jurors from the trial wrote declarations about their views that Eric was wrongfully convicted.

Eric will likely be sent to a federal facility in the near future. Although he could be housed farther from his loved ones, his supporters are hopeful that the move will bring many improvements in his overall standard of living. They hope that he will no longer be kept in total separation, that he will have access to more vegan food, that he will be able to spend more time outside and away from his cell. Eric and his family are looking forward to finally having "contact visits" - after almost two and half years of not touching each other at all. Read More

Sentencing Notes | Support Eric | Eric's Sentencing Memorandum | Analysis of Elle Magazine's story about Anna | Some past coverage of Eric's case on Indybay: 1/9: Motion for New Trial for Eric McDavid to Be Heard

Modesto Anarcho writes, "The central valley's journal of insurrectionary class struggle, Modesto Anarcho, is happy to announce the publication of it's seventh issue. In this issue you'll find articles on crime in the valley, indigenous resistance at D-Q University in Davis, the rise of taser gun use by local police, poetry, direct action and repression reports, and much more!

"Modesto Anarcho is a project to document and expand resistance to class society, specifically in the Central Valley of California. We want to use this publication to focus on local issues and highlight what regular people are doing in this area to confront and combat the misery of daily working class life."

download the PDF file | Modesto Anarcho #6 | Modesto Anarcho #5 | Modesto Anarcho Distro Catalogue!

Mike Reynolds, author of the infamous Three Strikes legislation, is also the author of the Runner Initiative, which he says "will use a three-prong attack of tougher laws, cheaper jails, and more funding for public safety without raising taxes." Reynolds held a press conference on April 24 in front of the Fresno County Clerk's office. Joining Reynolds was Fresno County initiative chairperson Debbie Poochigian, Fresno Police Department Chief Jerry Dyer, Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims, Fresno City Council member Jerry Duncan, and Fresno District Attorney Elizabeth Egan who were there to support the effort.

Throughout the press conference, members of the California Prison Moratorium Project (CPMP) could be heard criticizing the initiative. Debbie Reyes, the Fresno director of CPMP, said "the initiative would bankrupt the state by directing billions of dollars to fund prisons, probation, and police in the midst of a budget crisis that has caused drastic cuts to education and health care."

Reynolds, in his press release, referred to himself as the "father of three strikes" and said "when it comes to punks with guns, they've got to be stopped the first time. You can't wait for three strikes."

The purpose of the press conference was to announce that they were turning in over 700,000 signatures in 58 counties to qualify the Safe Neighborhoods Act for the November 2008 ballot.

Video and article | Defeat the Runner Initiative coalition grows

On Wednesday, April 17, sophomore Jesse Carrisalez was shot and killed by Fresno Police Department (FPD) officer Junus Perry at Roosevelt High School. The FPD, shortly after the incident, released information to the public that indicated officer Perry shot the student in self defense. Carrisalez was said to have hit Perry with a baseball bat and a knife was found nearby. Police Chief Jerry Dyer said that "this was a case of suicide by cop."

The first reports of this shooting said Perry, after being hit with a baseball bat, was knocked to the ground. The magazine to his handgun fell out as he hit the ground and Perry grabbed a second gun from his ankle and shot Carrisalez in the chest. On Friday, a pathologist's finding raised questions about what happened. According to The Fresno Bee, Harry Bonnell who is a San Diego pathologist, said the trajectory of the bullet is not consistent with Perry's description of the incident. Instead of an upward trajectory, as would be expected if someone was shooting from the ground up, the bullet had a slightly downward angle.

At Saturday's press conference, Gloria Hernandez, speaking on behalf of the Central California Criminal Justice Committee demanded a public hearing on this shooting incident. "We need a public forum, we demand that the City Council call a public forum and let the people listen, let the people talk, because sometimes the people have recommendations that are outside of the box," Hernandez said. She also said that this incident is further evidence of why we need an Independent Police Auditor in Fresno.

Ben Benavidez of the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) said "we feel that the Fresno Unified School District let Jesse down. He was a Special Education student. Where was his support and intervention? We want answers, we will get them!"

Video and story

On March 31st at 9:45 am, the Yolo County Sheriff's Department raided D-Q University, California's only Tribal college. 18 elders, students and community supporters were arrested after police stormed onto campus with guns drawn. In a similar incident on February 20th, Sheriff's deputies came onto the sovereign campus and arrested three Native students. Their court date will be on Wednesday, April 2nd at 7:30 am at the Woodland Courthouse. Supporters are asked to contact the CA Office of the Attorney General Jerry Brown in defense of the students and to denounce the abuse of power by the Board of Trustees and police. A comment on the newswire reports that two more students were arrested at the sacred sweat lodge grounds on campus bringing the total number of arrests to twenty since the March 31st raid.

D-Q U was born of struggle in the 70's when people occupied an abandoned Army facility and retained it for the purpose of providing traditional and formal education for Indigenous people. The Board of Trustees who legally preside over D-Q U have become corrupt, betraying the true purpose of the university and abusing their power. In 2005, D-Q U lost its accreditation and the board demanded the school be shut down. Students who condemn the board's negligence have been holding classes themselves and have taken up residence on campus. They are dedicated to protecting D-Q U for the benefit of future generations and the education of all Native people.

Call for Support | Sheriff Visits DQU; Elders, Students and Supporters Prepare for Possible Raid | D-Q University Students Face New Threats of Arrests | Solidarity Needed | News Advisory | D-Q University Students and Elders Arrested | Students and Elders Arrested in Overwhelming Police Assault on DQ University | Police Raid D-Q University: Eighteen Students, Elders and Supporters Arrested | Update from April 1st

On March 19th, Dr. Marion "Mollie" Fry and Dale Schafer walked out of a US Court in Sacramento free on bail pending appeal after being sentenced to a five-year mandatory minimum for conspiracy to cultivate and dispense medical cannabis. US District Judge Frank Damrell deplored the sentence as a "tragedy" that should "never have happened." Supporters were elated by Judge Damrell's decision to grant release the defendants on bail after much of the hearing had resulted in rulings in favor of the prosecution. Defense attorney Tony Serra called it "one of the saddest days I've confronted in a long career" after Damrell turned down all the defense's motions to avoid the mandatory minimums.

Dr. Mollie Fry stirred the courtroom to tears as she related the story of her struggle with breast cancer and subsequent desire to help people with medical cannabis. "We caused no harm to anyone," she said, "There were no victims." Judge Damrell acknowledged the legitimacy of Fry's medical use of marijuana, but said that the couple had "spiraled out of control. ' He concluded that he had "no choice" but to impose the mandatory minimum of 5 years, a sentence dictated by the jury's finding that the couple had grown a total of slightly more than 100 plants over a period of three years.

On the final issue of the day, Judge Damrell agreed that the couple had "substantial" grounds for appeal so as to justify their release on bail. Following expert testimony by attorneys J David Nick and Ephraim Margolin, Damrell found substantial appeals issues relating to entrapment, the defendants' state of mind, and the conflict between state and federal laws. He added that the couple's precarious state of health was further extraordinary grounds for keeping them out of prison. He reprimanded Dr. Fry for her loose standards in recommending marijuana, and stipulated as a strict condition for her release that she desist from further recommendations, to which she assented. Dale Gieringer of California NORML writes, "Judge Damrell effectively declared the bankruptcy of US laws regarding mandatory sentencing and medical marijuana, and rightly referred the matter to higher authorities to decide. There are good grounds to hope that Dale and Mollie will be vindicated by the Ninth Circuit and/or a change in administration." Doctor Fry reportedly sold her practice by the end of March.

Reports from the Sentencing | Announcement of the sentencing | 8/22/2007: Medical Cannabis Doctor and Attorney Found Guilty of Growing Cannabis Plants | Doctor Fry's website

There have been a series of renewed attacks against homeless people in Fresno over the last couple of weeks. These attacks have been carried out by city officials, a vigilante businessman, and gang members. This week also featured a Press Conference where our mayor announced a crack down on crime in homeless areas. Asked if homeless people should be concerned about the increased police presence in their encampments, mayor Alan Autry reminded his audience that jail might be a good thing for homeless people. "In my studies of this over the last 15 or 20 years, a lot of folks made a decision to get off drugs and pursue a better life while in a jail cell," Autry said. Looking on the sunny side of the jail experience, Autry concluded that jail might be "the only place they could go to get dried out or off of it for a while."

Autry also commented on the ongoing lawsuit against the City of Fresno by homeless people who had their property taken and immediately destroyed by the city. Autry said "I still feel that when we took the encampment that we did it was a good thing. When we cleaned out all of the horrible stuff that was there, hypodermic needles, mattresses that had hepatitis all over them, that a good thing was done. But, the way it was done in terms of unfolding to the media was poorly done and I have regrets on that because if we had done this same type of process, even though the right thing was done, I do not agree with the court decision." In other words, if the city had properly spun the taking of homeless peoples property to the media, it would not have been a problem. The entire Press Conference centered on treating homelessness as a police problem. There were no proposals about ending homelessness, rather the approach was to put an end to the homeless through police suppression.

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