Feature Archives

In the early morning hours of Wednesday June 8th, several groups including the Worker Run Legal Clinic for Domestic Workers and Day Laborers and the Coalition for Domestic Worker Rights, joined to support Dominga Lugo's demand that her former employer, Maria Giron of Giron's Housecleaning Services, immediately stop committing illegal and unjust acts against her employees. Dominga Lugo, together with dozens of supportive domestic workers and day laborers, held a press conference and passed out know-your-rights information to Giron's current employees at the business place in Menlo Park to inform the employees about their rights and the public about this abusive employer. La Raza Centro Legal is representing Giron's former employee in an action to recover unpaid wages and penalties totaling thousands of dollars. Dominga also demands that Giron immediately cease similar abuses against the present workers of the company. Photos, Video, & More Info

On June 15, members of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) held an informational picket outside the United Airlines maintenance terminal in San Bruno, California. Theirs is the last unsigned contract for United workers.They've been without one for the past two years.

Engineers from Boeing Aircraft, which supplies United with many of their aircraft, came from Seattle, Oregon to support the San Francisco Airport crew. Jennifer MaKay, President of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace and Boeing engineer, said that United's engineers are being paid up to 40% less than market value. In the last two years, 150 engineers have left.

Lawrence Tongas, member of the IFPTE Local 20 bargaining committee said United is expected to exit bankruptcy this year, and when that happens the stock held by employees will no longer be of any financial value. Tongas, a 14 year veteran with the company explained that United employees all took salary cuts in exchange for stock. However, the stock which was valued at $100 a share in the early 90's quickly dropped to $1 a share. Pensions were terminated and retirements ruined.

United employs about 310 engineers nationwide. 250 at SFO, 50 in Indianapolis, 10 in Chicago. Negotiations are ongoing.

Read More With Photos

On June 1, 2005, the Doten family sold their Honda dealership after 40 years in Berkeley. The service department employees, mechanics, service writers, detailers and parts technicians were represented by the Machinists Union (IAM Local 1546) and Automotive Teamsters Local 78. The new owner told workers that he would recognize the union. Workers asked him to honor their old union contract, with a one-year freeze in wages, giving them time to negotiate a new contract. He refused. They asked him to maintain the current staff for a period of 100 days before making any decisions about which employees to keep or terminate. He refused. He replaced a 31-year employee and Honda-certified technician with a mechanic who just graduated from technical college and does not yet possess a journeyman card or his own tools. He replaced Doten's most experienced parts technician with a friend of his. He re-hired only one of the existing experienced service writers. None of the employees who clean and detail cars have been rehired and cars are being sent off-property for this work.

All of Doten's service department employees, whether rehired or not, have decided to take a stand against the owner's actions. They are filing unfair labor practice charges against the owners at the NLRB.

Picketing in front of the dealership started in earlly June | Photos
A large solidarity rally was held on August 18th | Video
Another large rally was held on September 17th | Photos
More Picket Photos from December 10th

6/22 Update: Report from Berkeley event
Six Iraqi labor organizers are touring the US to speak with the labor movement, and they are in the Bay Area this week. Their plan is to educate US trade unionists about the conditions faced by Iraqi workers and their struggles, and to build direct worker-to-worker, union-to-union solidarity and support for Iraqi trade unionists in their effort to build a progressive, secular Iraq. The Iraqis are speaking in San Jose on Sunday, June 19th at 1:30pm. They will be in Berkeley on Sunday night at 7:00pm. They will speak in Martinez on Tuesday, June 21st at 6:00pm.

Unemployment in Iraq stands at 50% nationwide and as high as 70% in some areas. The base industrial wage of Iraqi workers was lowered by the Occupation Authorities from $60 to $40 a month, but prices for food and other necessities skyrocketed. The occupying forces also set wages for workers employed in the public sector at 69,000 dinars a month, or about $35. Most Iraqi workers are employed in the public sector.

Workers often work 11 and 13 hour shifts without additional pay. Children often have to sell motor oil that is given to their parents instead of wages. Some workers used to receive bonuses, but these have been abolished. Electricity, healthcare, clean water and basic services are in short supply, in addition to the hazardous security situation faci ng many Iraqis.

Without a process to settle serious problems at the workplace, many Iraqi workers have gone on strike to correct grievances on the job. They are striking for the right to organize, wage increases linked to inflation, a ban on overtime, improved health and safety standards, payment of promised bonuses, and the removal of corrupt managers. In some cases, they have been shot at in response.

Read more on the US Labor Against the War website

Clerical workers at the University of California say that UC is "OUT of excuses for why it treats its lower-paid workers so badly, causing AFSCME and UPTE to strike over UC's unfair labor practices, and causing CUE to strike over our terrible wages." In the last two years, the Coalition of University Employees (CUE) has attempted to win modest pay raises for clerical workers, and the university has steadfastly refused to grant them. The contract that was being negotiated two years ago still has not been settled. A state-appointed arbitrator has ruled the UC can afford to pay increases for clerical workers. It has also been determined that UC has money available that could be used for these pay raises, and has diverted funds that were meant for clerical workers to other areas. UC claims the state budget crisis makes it impossible to give increases, but only 1/3 of the funding for clerical salaries comes from the state. CUE workers say, "Please join us in this 100% legal strike to tell the administration what you think of clerical salaries at UC." Read more

Workers were out on picket lines in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Davis, Santa Barbara, and San Diego since Monday (Video from Monday June 13th at UCSF Medical Center).
On Tuesday, June 14th, they were at Parnassus in San Francisco (ACC, Dentistry Plaza, Med. Sci. Bldg., Millberry Union) until 5:30pm.
On Wednesday, June 15th, there was a picket at Parnassus from 7:30am to 5:30pm, with a 12pm rally. There will also be a 12pm special Rally at the Office of the UC President in Oakland (UCOP, at 1111 Franklin Street) on Wednesday, where people were on the picket lines since 7:00am. More picket locations

CUE Website | UPTE, or University Professional and Technical Employees | AFSCME, or American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees | Coverage of 4/14/05 Strike at University of California

A boycott of Gallo Wine kicked off on Tuesday, 6/14 on the steps of SF City Hall (1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, at Polk & McAllister St). Protesters, including UFW President Arturo Rodriguez, came together to demand a fair contract for Farm Workers at Gallo of Sonoma Vineyards. Photos Recently, Gallo's workers have received public attention when an unsafe three bedroom house where 29 farm laborers lived was raided by state and federal officials. Read more

GalloUnfair.com | Gallo's website

Hundreds of Registered Nurses from throughout the Bay Area celebrated the birthday of Florence Nightingale May 12, with a protest rally at the downtown San Francisco office of pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson.
May 12th, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, has become the official day to honor nurses nationally, and on that day nurses throughout the Bay Area will hold a protest against the pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson at their downtown San Francisco headquarters.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors declared May 12th San Francisco Nurses’ Day with a formal proclamation honoring the work of the California Nurses Association (CNA). “National Nurses Day has become trivialized by hospitals, which typically pay tribute to their nurses by giving out free coffee mugs and t-shirts,” said CNA President Deborah Burger, RN. “By honoring the legacy of the original nurse activist, Florence Nightingale, bed side RNs will be protesting the hypocritical policies of Johnson & Johnson.” Johnson & Johnson was a major contributor to a ballot initiative intended to silence the voices of nurses and other public employees from participating in the political process, a sharp contrast to their much-hyped image as an advocate for nurses.

Last year, after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed four bills that would have allowed Californians to buy cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, Johnson and Johnson contributed almost $50,000 to defeat the measure. Now the industry has pledged $10 million to defeat a ballot initiative that would create drug price controls with real teeth. Johnson & Johnson has already donated $1.3 million to the campaign.
Photos | California Nurses Association