Feature Archives

On May 3rd, Local 2 of UNITE HERE and its many allies marched from Union Square through downtown San Francisco ending up at the Hilton Hotel . Forty activists entered the Hilton lobby and brought business to a stand-still for several hours until arrested and cited by police. Since the summer of 2004, San Francisco's hotel workers have been struggling to win a new contract. Despite management's decision to end their 7 1/2 week lockout last fall, little progress has been made toward settling the workers' key issues. The members of Local 2 have called on visitors to boycott the 14 Multi-Employer Group hotels. These include the Argent Hotel, the Crowne Plaza Union Square, the Four Seasons, the Fairmont, the Grand Hyatt Union Square, the Hilton San Francisco, the Holiday Inn Civic Center, the Holiday Inn Express, the Holiday Inn Fisherman's Wharf, the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero Center, the Mark Hopkins InterContinental, the Omni Hotel, the Sheraton Palace, and the Westin St. Francis.
Photos | Unite Here Local 2 | Previous Coverage From The Hotel Lockout: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

MayDay is the original labor day in the United States- it started as International Workers' Day in the late 1800's. It has also been observed in Celtic culture as "Beltane," a holiday in observation of the coming of spring. Walpurgisnacht, the night of April 30th, is a night on which people, including witches, conduct rituals to ward off the evil spirits of winter, and children play pranks on unsuspecting victims around midnight. Read more Many people still dance the MayPole every year on May 1st. San Francisco has also recently had a tradition of Reclaim MayDay events, which included labor, pagan, and artistic celebrations of MayDay.

MayDay 2005 was celebrated in many ways in the San Francisco Bay Area. A Labor May Day Rally took place in San Francisco on May 1st at 12pm at Harry Bridges Plaza, across from the Ferry Building. The event demanded jobs with a living wage, help to bring back MayDay, and remembering Albert R Parsons, who was executed by the US government during the fight for the eight hour day. Read more
A May Day March and Rally in Solidarity with Local Labor Struggles and Immigrant Workers took place on Sunday May 1st. At 3pm there was a march from Jefferson Square Park to a 5pm Rally at Dolores Park. There was also be a Town Hall meeting, with food, music, and film screening, all starting at CellSpace at 7pm. At the 5:00 rally, there were speakers from recent and ongoing local labor and immigrant workers struggles, including a report-back from the recent delegation, which went to Arizona protesting the racist, vigilante Minuteman Project. The Town Hall focused on organizing against the proposed cuts and fare hike of San Francisco’s public transportation system. Read more

A May Day Labor Forum, entitled "Workers and The Struggle Against Government Repression" took place May 1st, 2005 at 7:30PM, at ILWU Local 10, 400 North Point St. San Francisco. During the 2002 contract struggle, the employers' lock-out of longshore workers was followed by Bush's invoking of the Taft-Hartley act. Organizers say that government and employer attacks have increased in tandem with the globalization of trade. "What challenges for workers lie ahead? How can the labor movement defend against joint attacks?." Speakers addressed these questions. More about the event

Other events: Community Speak Out against War at 5pm in Sacramento | Other Central Valley Events | Free Mind Media Grand Opening Art Show at 6pm in Santa Rosa | CounterPULSE (formerly 848 Community Space) Opening May Day Celebration at 7pm in San Francisco | Street Level TV Screening of Episode 13 | Reclaiming's Annual Beltane Ritual took place in SF's Golden Gate Park at 12pm | More May 1st Events from Indybay's Calendar

Indybay Coverage of MayDay 2004 | MayDay 2003 | 2002 Festivals of Resistance | 2002 Anti-Capitalist and Union Marches in SF and Oakland | 2002 Reclaim the Streets in Berkeley on 4/30/02 | MayDay 2001 was one of the first global MayDays | MayDay Reclaim the Streets 2001

On April 14, staff and students at the University of California held a statewide 1-day strike. The strike effected campuses throughout the UC system (Picket Info for all campuses), including UCSF, UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, and UC Berkeley.

In Berkeley, over a thousand labor activists, staff and workers engaged in flying pickets and rallies all day culminating in a rally in front of International House where Robert Birgeneau was being sworn in as chancellor. Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
The union that called for the strike in Berkeley, AFSCME Local 3299, represents service workers, who are among the lowest paid workers on campus. The union is struggling for a fair contract and for workers' (especially immigrant workers') rights. A recent report issued by the National Economic Development and Law Center found that 46% of UC service workers earned wages to low to support a family. It also found UC workers earning much less than workers at California State University (CSU) and many community colleges. Supporters are asking for students, faculty, and other staff to show solidarity with campus workers by not crossing the picket lines on April 14th.

In Santa Cruz, workers and students gathered starting as early as 4:30 AM to set up a strike line at the Base Entrance to UCSC. As more community members arrived groups set up a precence at the West Gate as well, letting arriving students, staff, workers, and visitors know that AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and CUE (Coalition of University Employees) among others were on strike for better wages and working conditions at the University. More than a thousand people took part in shutting UC Santa Cruz for the entire day.
Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Audio: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Video: 1

In San Diego, around 1000 workers went on strike at UCSD. At 4pm, several hundred protesters gathered for a solidarity rally. Students spoke about how they appreciate the work being done by the service workers and how they feel in solidarity with them. Union reps spoke at the rally as well. Read More

In Santa Barbara AFSCME Local 3299 was joined by CUE, students, faculty and more for a strike demanding livable wages and respect. Read More

On April 3rd, media workers and labor activists held a rally outside of the National Cable Telecommunications Association Convention in San Francisco.
Photos: 1 | 2 | Flyer | Indybay's Indy/Media Page

Comcast and other giant cable monopolies control more and more of our media. In addition to cable access, Comcast also controls how many of us access the Internet. They use this power to raise rates and invade customers' privacy, to harass and punish employees who speak up for their rights, and to ignore the demands of the communities where they operate. In the Bay Area alone, Comcast holds over 100 cable franchises, most of which function as monopolies. Comcast has sued San Jose and Walnut Creek, has failed to pay the money it owes to Sacramento, and won’t renew contracts that expired years ago in dozens of other cities. Now Comcast is sponsoring a cable industry convention in San Francisco, a city where cable negotiations are just starting.

On April 14, campus workers will go on strike to fight for their rights and for a fair contract. Read More

At noon on April 1st 2005 over one hundred labor activists and students gathered in front of UCB's California Hall to protest the UC Regents' bad-faith negotiations with unionized workers on campus. The protest has an "April Fools" theme with a flyer reading:
UC diverts funds from executive salaries to raise worker wages.... April Fools! UC says it values its work force but while UC has plenty of money for its "priorities," it does not have a dime for unionized workers?! How much longer can UC get away with this bad joke?

For years unionized workers at UC have been suffering stagnant wages. In addition, continuous and drastic work force reduction have resulted in an increased workload for rank and file workers. Workers say that this has led to declining quality of education or services in classrooms, libraries, laboratories, dining facilities and administrative offices.

Photos | Previous Coverage Of UC Service Workers | Coalition Of University Employees

3/30/2005 Union bricklayers representing the northern 46 counties in California will be picketing Recon Refractory Services at the Criterion Catalyst Technologies Plant in Pittsburg, CA on April 1 at 7:00 am, and again for the week of April 4, 2005, to express their concerns that Recon Refractory Services does not meet safety, area wage, and benefit standards. The Criterion Catalyst Technologies Plant in Pittsburg is located at 2840 Willow Pass Road off Highway 4 at Bailey Road.
The Bricklayers and Allied Craftsworkers Local #3 of Northern CA have a NLRB Settlement in regards to this contractor. Work being performed at this time by Recon is in violation of the settlement. In light of the recent events at BP oil refinery in Texas City, Texas, Union organizers contend that Recons practices could expose plant personnel and the local community to unnecessary risk. "Fifteen people died and eight more are in critical condition at area hospitals. At least 100 people were injured, officials said. The massive blast shook buildings and broke windows for miles around and sent a huge cloud of black smoke billowing into the sky. Refinery equipment and buildings nearby were leveled, leaving a rubble-filled landscape reminiscent of a war zone at the 1,200-acre complex 35 miles southeast of Houston" According to reports on Labor Net, a spokesperson for the Pipefitters stated the tragedy was caused by the use of non-union personnel who are untrained and unskilled for this type of work.
Read More

On March 19, 2005, hundreds of Bay Area trade unionists and workers joined together in San Francisco for a rally and march against the war. In their rally that gathered in Dolores Park before the march began, labor organizers spoke about the connection between the war and the attack on workers at home. The local International Longshore and Warehouse Union protested the war in Iraq and the deadly cuts it has forced locally and nationally by holding a stop-work meeting and shutting down all Bay Area ports on Saturday, March 19th. It led the labor contingent in the anti-war marchunder its banner, "An injury to one is an injury to all." Photos | Video