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D.A.A.A. Report from Livingston Picket Lines

by D.A.A.A. Collective (modanarcho [at] yahoo.com)
Report from Livingston picket lines.
Today members of the D.A.A.A. Collective stood with strikers at the gates of Foster Farms in Livingston CA, (about 20 minutes south of Modesto). Armed with a large pot of posta, and some various class struggle handouts, we feed teams of strikers while the party around us went on. And, it was a party. Far from being a stale, unhappy environment, people sang labor songs, danced, played music, and ate.

Our large pot of past was small however to the huge community kitchen that was set up right behind us. Strikers on the lines were largely Indian and Latino, and foods from both cultures were represented, as people worked hand in hand to make sure people were fed. A great part of the day came when a whole group of strikers both latino and Indian took to marching around the sidewalks blasting Indian pop music while people danced. Teams of people bringing in drinks, plates, and food came throughout the time we were there, and a union rep. told us that these were all people from the community.

Spirits were high, and several truckers entering the plant were supportive of the strike at least in spirit, and gave us the thumbs up and numerous supportive honks.

Our literature went over well, despite us having english only flyers. In one situation, a woman asked the person next to her to tell her what one of our flyers said, to which she told her it stated, (in spanish), "We don't need the boss - the boss needs us". She nodded along and said, "Very true!" A union person also took down our address, in order to send the collective a thank you card.

Strikers also have organized themselves into shifts, and even stay out on the lines in the night, we were told by various strikers. According to the Modesto Bee, the strike will end on Saturday morning, however, workers are prepared to continue fighting if talks between management and the union do not go back on track. The solidarity, mutual aid, and community support shown by the workers in Livingston is great. It takes a strong group of people to not go to work for a few days, and risk taking money away from their families, to stand up for better pay, respect, and conditions while on the job. We were happy to at least in a small way help support them.

For more info: http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/10/1777904.php
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