Feature Archives

Workers and activists in support of the Korean Railway Workers Union and its jailed leaders rallied on January 17 at the San Francisco Korean Consulate. The government mobilized a counter-demonstration of retired Korean military veterans and elderly pro-government women to harass and attack the solidarity rally. They failed and the rally took place. Another solidarity action was held at the consulate on February 25.

According to an article published on Indybay's newswire, at 7am on January 21, a group went to the home of Anthony Levandowski, a Google X developer. After ringing his doorbell to alert him of the protest, a banner was held in front of his house that read "Google's Future Stops Here" and fliers about him were distributed around the neighborhood. The fliers detail his work with the defense industry and his plans to develop luxury condos in Berkeley. After blocking his driveway for approximately 45 minutes, the group blocked a Google bus at Ashby BART.

Civil rights attorney Dan Siegel announced his candidacy for mayor of Oakland on January 9. Siegel spelled out an ambitious agenda focused on social and economic justice which includes a $15 minimum wage, public schools to develop into community centers, neighborhood gardens to flourish throughout the city, Oakland police to stop abusing citizens, and the Domain Awareness Center to be shut down.

Community members continue to protest La Playa Carmel owner Sam Grossman's refusal to rehire the workers who were laid off in 2011 when the hotel was closed for a remodel. La Playa Carmel re-opened in 2012 and only three of the former workers, who were all union members, were hired back. At the holiday rally held on December 20, a former worker named Sergio said, "I miss working here. I worked for 23 Christmases in this restaurant, and the last three I haven't worked."

San Francisco and Oakland residents are being evicted as a result of increasing housing costs caused in part by an influx of tech employees, many of whom are provided private buses by their employers to get to offices in the Silicon Valley. Activists first blocked a Google bus in the Mission District of San Francisco on December 9. On December 20, protesters blocked a Google bus at the MacArthur BART station and another at 7th and Adeline in West Oakland. In San Francisco, an Apple bus was blocked at 24th and Valencia Streets.

Lively protests took over McDonald's restaurants in the Bay Area on December 5 as part of a nationwide series of actions organized by Fast Food Forward, a joint effort by community and labor groups. Young workers in Oakland celebrated and danced as much as they protested, and a raucous rally was held in San José. The rallies demanded a $15 an hour minimum wage for fast-food workers.

On November 29, Black Friday 2013, Walmart employees, family members, and allies protested at hundreds of Walmart stores across the U.S. to demand improved working conditions, including increased wages, full-time jobs, and an end to retaliatory practices against those who stand up for workers' rights. Among other Northern California outlets of the retail giant that were targeted, demonstrations were held in San Leandro, Roseville, and Fresno/Clovis. Fifteen people in Roseville and five people in San Leandro were arrested for civil disobedience.