Feature Archives

1,800 Santa Cruz County workers have launched a one-day strike against a Board of Supervisors which they say, "so far refuses to provide wages comparable to that of comparable workers in comparable counties." Their struggle is the same struggle facing all working families in our communities -- farm and food processing workers fighting for decent pay and basic human rights, UC workers fighting for pay parity, Ralph's employees fighting the company's scheme to de-unionize their workplace, Natividad workers fighting the privatization of the Monterey County Hospital, hotel workers rising up to fight for a living wage -- and this strike will be an opportunity to build our solidarity across the Central Coast. Read more to support the strike

see also: County Workers Appeal for Equal Treatment || SEIU 415 emergency strike solidarity alert - action requested

strike coverage: Santa Cruz County Workers’ Strike: A Success || SEIU Strike Rally Shakes SC County Building || Why I Didn't Strike On March 14th 2006 || SEIU 415 Workers Strike and Rally at the Santa Cruz County Building || Santa Cruz County Workers Strike Cripples Services for a Day

Law enforcement in Santa Cruz, CA this week, launched a 24-hour, spanish language hotline for day laborers to anonymously report abusive employers. FSRN reporter Vinny Lombardo has more. To leave an anonymous report about abusive employers in Santa Cruz, call (831) 420-5997.

La Policia de Santa Cruz, CA. esta semana, empienza a funcionar una linea telefonica, para denunciar los abusos laborales. Esta linea funciona las 24 horas, es en español, y la llamada es anonima. Tu puedes llamar al (831) 420-5597. FSRN reportero Vinny Lombardo tiene mas informacion.

Audio: Download the mp3

On the night of March 7, custodians of AFSCME 3299 and their families, along with student and worker supporters, marched to the gates of UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Denice Denton's on-campus home. The more than 200-strong crowd demanded the Chancellor support workers' struggles for dignity and justice, including wage parity with other regional colleges where workers make dollars more per hour for the same (or less) work.

The march, organized by AFSCME 3299 in coordination with MEChA de UCSC and the Student and Worker Coalition for Justice (SWCJ) continues the legacy of labor struggle at the UC Santa Cruz campus. On April 14 of last year, over 1,000 students and workers shut down the campus for the day as a part of a state-wide AFSCME strike for justice. Days later, the workers won a significantly better contract.

In the past year, student and worker solidarity and militancy has lead to significant gains for AFSCME, CUE (clericals), and Santa Cruz County bus drivers, represented by UTU. The struggle continues... Read more and view photos

A protest rally will be held at Oakland City Hall on Tuesday, March 7th at 4PM. The rally, which was initiated by the Transport Workers Solidarity Committee and endorsed by ILWU Local 10, the longshore union, will take place while the City Council is meeting to take a final vote on the settlements in the case of the bloody police attack on April 7, 2003 against anti-war demonstrators and longshore workers at terminal gates in the port.

The attack, in which the police used so-called "non-lethal" weapons, was condemned by the UN Human Rights Commission as one of the most violent acts of government repression. The Transport Workers Solidarity Committee says that it is necessary for all organizations that are concerned about civil liberties, civil rights, trade union rights, and police brutality to mobilize their members to protest this police attack and the government cover-up. Speakers at the rally will include some of the survivors of the police attack and their messages of solidarity. The group says that paying financial settlements to victims of police brutality does not solve the problem of the violation of democratic rights.

A press conference was held on February 21st | TWSC Website | Read Jack Heyman's article "When 'Port Security' Targets Workers"

Masters, Mates, and Pilots and the Inlandboatmen’s Union of the Pacific (IBU) will hold a 4pm rally on Wednesday, March 1st in front of the San Francisco Ferry Building at the foot of Market Street on the Embarcadero. They will be joined by the ILWU Drill team, members of Locals 10, 34, 6, Teamsters, the Sailors Union of the Pacific, the SF Labor Council, and other supporters.

Workers will be protesting the National Parks Service’s (NPS) illegal and union-busting bidding process for their controversial new contract for the Alcatraz Ferry service with the anti-union company Hornblower Yachts, Inc. The Service Contract Act (SCA) of 1965 is a federal law that requires contractors that provide services to the government to pay prevailing wages and benefits, or what the previous contractor paid. Ignoring the law, the NPS awarded the contract to Hornblower, a non-union company. The NPS has argued that the law doesn’t apply to them. On January 6th, the Department of Labor issued a preliminary determination that the law does apply to them and the Alcatraz Ferry Contract, and asked for a response within 21 days if they disagreed. To date no response has been received. Read more

IBU | ILWU

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and its allies are gearing up for the McDonald's Truth Tour 2006, which will be from March 26th to April 4th. They will caravan from Immokalee, Florida to Chicago, which is the home of McDonald's. On April 1st, the fifth anniversary of the launch of the successful Taco Bell Boycott, the caravan will be joined by supporters from the area for a rally in Chicago, where they will call on the fast-food giant to work with the CIW and help establish real labor rights for the workers who pick tomatoes for McDonald’s suppliers. The workers and their allies will be calling for fair wages, the right for farmworkers to participate in decisions that affect their lives, and the right to a code of conduct based on modern labor standards. Since the CIW's Taco Bell boycott victory last year. McDonald’s has taken a path that threatens to undercut the wage gains won by farmworkers in the Taco Bell Boycott and to push workers back away from the table where decisions are made that affect their lives.

The fast-food company recently announced an agreement to purchase fair-trade coffee for over 650 of its restaurants, paying a reasonable premium over market price so that the workers who pick their coffee can receive a fair wage and enjoy humane labor conditions. Yet McDonald’s refuses to pay even a penny more per pound for its tomatoes so that Florida farmworkers can earn a better wage.

Farmworkers are some of the most exploited and impoverished workers in the US. Florida’s tomato pickers earn 40-50 cents for each 32lb bucket of tomatoes they pick. At that rate – a rate that has remained virtually unchanged since 1978 – workers have to pick more than two tons of tomatoes just to earn minimum wage. They receive no overtime pay and no benefits, and have no right to organize in order to improve these conditions. Read more

Student Farmworker Alliance Coalition of Immokalee Workers

Hotel Workers Rising event in San Francisco, Feb. 15, 2006 Over 2000 people are reported to have converged on San Francisco's Parc 55 hotel on February 15th to kick off a nationwide campaign to raise awareness about the status of hotel workers. Photos | Video 8000 San Francisco hotel workers have been without a contract since 2004, and faced a holiday lockout that year. Speakers at the San Francisco kickoff event included Senator John Edwards, Mayor Gavin Newsom, and the United Farmworkers President Arturo Rodriguez. Hotel Workers Rising is a new campaign to raise awareness and build support as hotel workers seek to improve their jobs and secure better lives for themselves and their families. Events were held the same week in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston.

Indybay's Previous Coverage of the Hotel Workers | Unite Here website | Local 2 website | Hotel Workers Rising Website