Feature Archives

The Vons supermarket at Shaw and Marks in Fresno put up a new sign on their front door. With contract negotiations looming, they are on the lookout for scabs. The sign welcoming customers today offered drivers $16.85 an hour. In Fresno, where the “official” unemployment rate has been over 10% for decades, this sign is sure to get some attention.

When I asked a checker what was going on, he said that “the sign is the companies way of preparing for negotiations.” He went on to say that “they (the company) had put the sign up as a way to get the names of replacement workers,” in the event of a strike. “They want us to know that they are preparing to bring in scabs to take our jobs.” [ Read full article ]
For Grocery Contract Bargaining Updates see the Bay Area Coalition's website.

Farmworkers marched in Reedley today to draw attention to problems they are having with the California Highway Patrol. The CHP has been setting up check points on roads frequented by farm workers during the height of harvest season. They are checking to see if the driver has a drivers license. If the driver does not have a license the vehicle is impounded. Fees for retrieving the car from storage often exceeds $500 - one or two weeks salary for the typical farmworker.

The CHP told farmworker representatives today that they were directed to set up the check points by the Labor Commissioner. The purpose of the check points was to inspect farm labor vehicles that are used to transport workers. But, the vehicles used by contractors to transport farmworkers are 10 - 15 passenger vans, not the passenger cars that have been confiscated. Neither the CHP or farmworker representatives could explain the apparent contradiction. [ Full Article ]

Read more on Indybay's Central Valley Page

10/16: Photos from the Picket Lines | Map of Locked-Out Hotels
10/13: Strikin' to Survive in San Francisco | Stop Deliveries to Scab Hotels | Picket lines on Wednesday | Labor on the Job TV segment
10/12: SF Hotel Strike: Fat Cats, Scabs, Fires & Marines | Report From Hotel Picket line | UNITE HERE Local 2 rally at Union Square | Audio | John Edwards joins the hotel workers | Video: Lybon Mabasa supports hotel workers
10/11: Jesse Jackson joins hotel workers' rally | Stop Bosses’ Business or Watch Another of our Unions Smashed
10/10: Working Class Solidarity Flying Picket | Photos | Audio: 1 | 2 | 3 | Future Flying Pickets
10/07: Video: Domestic Workers Rights Coalition supports Local 2 hotel workers | Danny Glover joins the picketline | Rally at CCSF
10/05: SF Hotel Strike: Report from the Front | Strike Breakers Out of SF Hotels
10/04: Hotel Strike: Stop Scab Labor Ads; Build A Labor Movement
10/02: Photos from the Picket Lines | Sheraton | Argent | Hyatt | Support Needed for Hotel Strikers: We All Can Help
10/01: Ten SF Hotels Lock Out Workers | General Strike is Needed Response to Hotel Lockout | Boycott of Comfort Suites
09/29: Two-week strike called at four SF hotels | Photos from the First Day of the Strike: 1 | 2 | 3

09/15/04: From the Newswire - By a vote of 3139 to 88 (97.3%), workers at 14 San Francisco hotels have voted to authorize a strike if their negotiating committee is unable to move management to sign a fair contract. 77% of eligible members turned out to vote. These members have been working without a contract since 08/14, while the hotel corporations have continued to take a hard line in negotations. In addition, 1271 workers from dozens of other San Francisco hotels turned out to sign a solidarity pledge -- committing to support their sisters and brothers in the event of a strike or lockout. [ Read full article ]

09/07/04: From the Newswire - "Thousands of hotel workers, Local 2, turned out in San Francisco in the searing heat to demand the big hotels sign a union contract. About a hundred were arrested for sitting on the cable car tracks in front of the St. Francis Hotel.

"The hotel workers' contract expires 09/14 at most of the big hotels, with other hotel contacts expiring soon thereafter . The big hotels are Argent Hotel, Crowne Plaza Union Square, Fairmont San Francisco, Four Seasons San Francisco, Grand Hyatt, Hilton San Francisco, Holiday Inn Civic Center, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Fisherman's Wharf, Hyatt Regency San Francisco, Mark Hopkins Inter-Continental, Omni San Francisco Hotel, Sheraton Palace Hotel and Westin St. Francis. Not all hotels are union; that must change." [ Read full article ]

Read More: Strike Decision [ 1 | 2 | 3 ] | Labor Day Action - Photos [ 1 | 2 ] Video [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 ]

From the Newswire - Today is Labor Day in the United States (of course the authentic workers’ holiday is May 1). What does “Labor” mean though to most Americans? Perhaps images of factory workers, construction workers, or even teachers and nurses come to mind. Indeed, workers in these occupations and others traditionally associated with organized labor will be out in force at marches, rallies, and those ubiquitous Labor Day picnics.

However, a whole new set of workers has begun to organize to rise out of poverty, gain access to health care, and make their workplaces safe. Even though most people would never associate this group of working people with organized labor, many unionists believe that as jobs are outsourced en masse, these workers may represent the final hope of reviving the labor movement in the United States. They are the working people we interact with every day of the week and many of them are employed by the most well-known brands in the world. [ Read full article ]

8/01/04: The United Farm Workers union held a march in Fresno today. Over 400 union members and their allies protested the intimidation of farm workers through immigration raids and called for support of the AgJobs bill which will allow undocumented field laborers to earn permanent legal status. The march, the first held by the UFW in Fresno for many years, is an indication of the unions interest in having a greater presence in this area.

7/31/04: A sweetheart deal struck between the City and Port of Oakland and Simeon Commercial Properties is bringing the first Wal-Mart store to Oakland. After being foisted on the city with little or no community input, the store is being built near Oakland Airport to anchor the new "Metroport" development project. Studies show that when Wal-Mart enters a community, 3 jobs are lost for every 2 jobs gained, due to job losses at small local businesses, and tax receipt growth actually declines. On July 31, Oaklanders rallied at the Wal-Mart construction site at I-880 and Hegenberger Road, and walked the surrounding neighborhoods to raise awareness of Wal-Mart's use of low-wage, non-unionized jobs with no benefits, and unfair racist, sexist employment practices, the subject of ongoing class action lawsuits. A new study by UC Berkeley reports that Wal-Mart costs the state of California $86 million each year in public assistance for its workers; Wal-Mart is funding Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown's campaign for Attorney General. Report by Poor News Network

7/21/04: The United Farm Workers union is organizing a march in Fresno to protest immigration raids and intimidation and boost public support for the AgJobs bill allowing undocumented field laborers to earn permanent legal status. Several similar UFW-led marches and rallies have taken place this month in the Salinas and Central valleys and in Ventura County. The march will take place Sunday, August 1,starting at 11 AM at the Sal Mosqueda center (Maple & Butler) and finish at Holmes Park (First and Huntington). For more information call (559) 352-0548. Photo: © Jocelyn Sherman