Feature Archives

IMC Ecuador: More than 10,000 people demonstrated in the streets as the trade ministers of all the countries of the Americas (except Cuba) gather in Quito, Ecuador to further the negotiations of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). In their usual fashion, police lofted tear gas, beat protesters, and shot lead bullets in the air, even though the thrust of the protests was aimed at getting "a seat at the table" with the government and corporate crooks -- who at best would allow them in to humor them, not out of any genuine desire to comply with their demands. Solidarity actions took place in Sao Paulo, Montreal, Seattle, Washington DC, and other cities thoughout the hemisphere.

In the Bay Area, on 11/1 an emergency demonstration to protest repression in Quito was held at Chevron-Texaco, which has been responsible for decades of ecocide in Ecuador. The Bay Area Social Forum met on 10/27 to hold workshops on the FTAA, globalization and its impacts locally, as well as a mock trial of George W. Bush. On 10/28, a protest was held at the world headquarters of the Bechtel Corporation (near Beale and Market in SF). Report | Photos Bechtel is suing the government of Bolivia, after massive popular resistance in the city of Cochabamba forced the government to end its water privatization deal with Bechtel. stopftaa.org

President Bush won a federal court order Tuesday to end the Pacific Maritime Association's lockout of ILWU workers from West Coast docks. The Taft-Hartley Act allows federal authorities to end a strike or lockout for 80 days, if it poses a "threat to national security." Judge William Alsup has imposed a temporary restraining order until 10/16, when the court will most likely extend the restraining order for the full 80 days. Currently the order prevents the ILWU from engaging in slow downs and strikes.

Read more: San Diego IMC/San Francisco IMC/Portland IMC/Seattle IMC - SF IMC Full coverage

10/17: Approximately sixty day laborers and supporters attended a planning commission meeting at City Hall today to protest the indefinite postponement of a hearing to obtain builiding permits for their new Cesar Chavez Street location. As winter approaches, it is imperative that the day laborers move into the facilities, which will provide improved shelter as people await employment. As a result of moving testimony from supportive neighbors, laborers, and allies, the commisioner set a hearing date for Nov 21. However, the city is requiring a Traffic Impact Study, which could cost the program close to $7000 and take a minimum of several months to complete, prior to allowing tenancy in the new building. That the program will bring increased traffic to the neighborhood, the city's pretext for ordering the study, is absurd; the vast majority of workers are sent directly to job sites via public transportation, drawing no new traffic to the area.

Despite an apparent victory for the Day Labor Program, Mayor Brown appears to be pushing ahead with his campaign to withdraw the city contract from La Raza Centro Legal. Several weeks ago, City Hall announced that the SF Immigrant Rights Commission would oversee the distribution of funding- a positive development, as the Commission had previously endorsed La Raza’s program administration. However, the Mayor’s Office is now giving mixed messages and it appears possible that there will be a third request for proposals, forcing La Raza to jump through further bureaucratic hoops.Details

10/6: Hundreds rallied at the Port of Oakland on 10/5 to show their support for the locked-out longshoresman and their struggle against the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) - Photos. ILWU portworkers are still locked out, 9 days after the PMA accused them of a work slowdown and shut the gates at 29 West Coast ports, though military shipments and cargo to Alaska and Hawai'i are now being allowed through.

Whether Bush will invoke the Taft-Hartley Act to impose the 80-day "cooling off" period (read: put a gun to the union's head) remains to be seen. ILWU Local 10 has requested help from supporters to staff picket lines at the port of Oakland immediately, including the following docks: Sealand, Maersk, Berth 5, Jack London Square, and APL (foot of Adeline St).Picketline photos

Lessons of PATCO | "It's All About Power on the Docks" | October Surprises

IMC coverage: SF | Seattle | Portland | LA | Friends of Labor | Portworkers Solidarity | ILWU | PMA

On 9/18, SF Day Laborers picketed in front of Volunteers Of America’s (VOA) Oakland Office to oppose the agency’s application to administer the SF Day Labor Program. Three weeks ago, a delegation of SF community organizations held a meeting with VOA President John Bailey to inform him of the contentious political context in which Mayor Willie Brown placed Day Labor Program up for public bid. A variety of community leaders explained that the transfer of services away from La Raza Centro Legal would be extremely disruptive to Day Laborer organizing. Despite these grave concerns, Bailey and VOA have decided to pursue their application. “We don’t want VOA running our Day Labor Program because in Oakland, they support the police moving workers off the public sidewalks and we don’t want that here. No one will support our rights as human beings as La Raza has,” says day laborer Hector Valdez. On 9/9, approximately 250 day laborers and supporters, joined by visiting workers from other West Coast cities, marched to city hall in a related protest. Background

Since June 1, workers at the Marriott Courtyard Fisherman's Wharf have been on strike, demanding a contract with the same wage and workload standards as the rest of the union hotels in the City. “The strikers are in it for the long haul," says housekeeping supervisor Gladys Espinosa. Photos 1 - 2 I Video | marriottcourtyardstrike.org

Clerical workers at UC Berkeley and at the UC Office of the President to went on strike from Aug 26-28th in order to protest the University's Unfair Labor Practices. About 2000 clerical workers -- including phone operators, child care workers, librarians, and secretaries -- started a three-day strike to protest the lack of progress in labor negotiations. photos: 1   2  3 | CUEunion.org