Feature Archives

The 7th Annual Reel Work May Day Labor Film Festival features events running from April 25 through May 11 in Santa Cruz, Monterey, Watsonville, and Santa Clara County. This year’s Reel Work is celebrating International Workers’ Day (May 1) with music, films, dramatic performances, slam poetry, and conversations with documentary film makers, immigrant activists and union organizers about the past, present, and future of the labor movement. Reel Work is using the 7th annual festival to encourage Central Coast residents to learn about the origins of May Day and to participate in the immigrant rights movement.

In the fall of 2007, workers at Lakeside Organics in Santa Cruz County filed numerous complaints against their employer, including denied breaks and unpaid overtime totaling more than $10,000, sexual and discriminatory harassment, unsafe working conditions, lack of medical compensation for job related injuries, and "dumping" injured workers. Long drawn-out legal efforts to hold Lakeside Organics accountable for its labor abuses have highlighted the discrepancy in legal resources between the laborers and the corporation. Traditional legal support systems for migrant laborers such as California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA) have been systematically targeted and de-funded by corporate interests that the government has come to represent.

The international network demanding accountability for the murder of US journalist Brad Will released secret documents detailing proposed military support for Mexican security forces implicated in murder, torture and continuing arbitrary detentions.

Maestra writes, "The Pajaro Valley Unified School District board of trustees voted to send pink slips to 201 teachers, nurses, and school support staff. In a desperate move to balance a budget and save their own jobs, the administrators of PVUSD have decided not to trim the fat from the top of the pyramid, rather preserving their high salary positions while instead removing a possible 130 teachers from the classroom. What does this look like for students? Larger class size, for one."

Teachers at the San Francisco Institute of English will go on strike starting Monday, March 17 at 8:30 am to demand livable wages and the return of health care benefits. The English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers have not had a cost-of-living adjustment in 12 years and have been without health care benefits since 2004. The strikers are asking for community support on the picket line and for their strike fund.

On February 28th, UC Santa Cruz workers represented by the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299, and backed by students, demonstrated for justice, dignity and a fair working contract. Over 350 people took part in the largest demonstration of the school year in support of UCSC's most underpaid workers. Instead of making demands outside the Chancellor's office, workers and students got UCSC's attention by lining McLaughlin Drive and twice shutting down Hagar Drive. Students and workers felt empowered by seeing how easily they can bring UCSC to a halt.

On February 7th, more than 100 UNITE HERE Local 19 service sector employees and community activists protested across the street from Google Inc. headquarters in Mountain View to support workers' rights. The rally was held adjacent to the site of Google's future four-star hotel and conference center. Despite repeated requests, Google has refused to address concerns about whether future hotel workers will be able to freely choose to join a union.