Feature Archives

The Bay Area Coalition to Fight the Minutemen called for an action to oppose the Minutemen Project's rally to gather public support for their attempts to harass poor, undocumented border-crossers and to announce their support of a new initiative that would establish a state border police in addition to the existing federal border patrol.

There was a rally on the West Capitol steps in Sacramento on Saturday October 29th. It featured the founder of the Minutemen Project, Jim Gilchrist, and the legislative sponsors of the California Border Police Initiative, amongst others. About 600 people representing anti-racist groups throughout California arrived at the Capitol in busses and carpools from the Bay Area and the Central Valley to confront the Minutemen. Among those attending the protest against the vigilantes were Mexican American Political Association National President Nativo Lopez, former Green Party gubernatorial candidate Peter Camejo, and representatives from Bay Area Coalition to Fight the Minutemen, Deport the Migra Coalition, Zapatista Solidarity Coalition, Brown Syndicate, various anarchist collectives, and other statewide organizations. Three people were arrested Saturday at an anti Minuteman rally at the State Capitol, and two were treated for injuries. Photos | Press Release on Arrrests | Read more

Volante en Español | Flyer in English

Read more on Indybay's Immigrant Rights News Page and Indybay's Central Valley News Page | En Español

Hundreds of Foster Farms employees, upset about wages and working conditions, went on strike Tuesday at the company's largest chicken plant. Union leaders claimed that about 80 percent of the day shift stayed out and that much of the night shift would follow suit. "We need respect," said 19-year employee Juana Santiago of Atwater, who works in packaging. "We need better treatment from the foremen. There are people working 30 years getting $9.33 an hour. That's ridiculous." Walsh said the average wage is about $10.50 an hour, and health and other benefits bring total compensation close to $17 an hour. The workers are seeking 50-cent-per-hour wage increases in each of the next three years. Foster Farms has proposed no raise the first year, 15 cents the second and 20 cents the third. The employees rebuffed the company's offer in May and talks have been at a standstill since. They were represented by the League of Independent Workers of the San Joaquin Valley, which has since affiliated with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. "We want the company to be fair with us, that's all, and realize that we are human, not slaves," said Singh, who said he makes $9.28 an hour on the processing line. Workers also complained about high health insurance costs, favoritism by supervisors, short notice of overtime shifts, pressure to increase production, and threats against union supporters. "They treat us like product instead of employees, instead of people," said warehouse worker David Reos of Livingston, who has spent three years at Foster Farms. Read More | Interviews with Workers

View the Fresno Copwatch Oct 22nd Protest Video Here.

Saturday, October 22nd, 2005 was the 10th Annual National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation. Police continue to brutally beat and kill people all over the United States, including in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina. Muslim, Arab, and South Asian immigrants are still being arrested, detained, and deported. Every year, people wear black on October 22nd to remember people who have died at the hands of the police. The October 22nd Coalition is part of the Stolen Lives Project, which documents cases of people who have died at the hands of law enforcement, and it says that murder by police is increasing. The "Presente" tradition of October 22nd | List of endorsers for October 22nd, 2005

In San Jose, some 75 people gathered for a rally and march in Emma Prusch Farm Park. Photos The protest was held in San Jose because over a dozen people have been killed by law enforcement in Santa Clara County in the two years since Cau Bich Tran was fatally shot by the San Jose police in 2003. New Stolen Lives Wall panels were made to include many of the people who have died in the last several years.

In Fresno, a Vigil For Lives Stolen by Police in the Valley was held on Saturday at 5:30 pm, at the park in front of the Main Library.
On Sunday, October 23rd, a Civil Rights Cookout will be held at the Idriss Stelley Foundation offices in San Francisco at 3:00pm.
On October 22nd, there was a Copwatch conference San Diego. In Los Angeles, 300 people attended a march that was stalled by a bomb scare. At around 4:00, there was a conflict between demonstrators and the police. Two teenagers were arrested. March organizers said, "It is time to hold the murdering police accountable for the stolen lives of our loved ones! We must stand up against this system’s war on the people here in Los Angeles and all over the world! It is time to demand justice for all Stolen Lives!" There was also a march to the police department in Santa Ana.
In New York City, 100 people braved the rain forecast to carry on with the scheduled protest. Photos Many carried hand-drawn signs with photos of loved ones who had been killed by police.

Many other cities held October 22nd protests: Greensboro, North Carolina; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Washington, DC; Cleveland, Ohio; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin were amongst them. Read more on the National October 22nd website

Past Indybay Coverage of October 22nd Protests

Gathering for a anti-war rally at 16th & Broadway in Sacramento on Saturday October 15, 2005, a few hundred Sacromentans, showed their support for the anti-war movement, and called for an end to the US led occupation of Iraq. Joining the protest was Cindy Sheehan, as well as the Capoeira Arts Academy Performing Group. Pictures from the event can be viewed here.

Earlier in the week, Cindy Sheehan, the grieving mother whose courageous battle to meet with George W. Bush at his Crawford, Texas ranch this August has reinvigorated the anti-war movement, delivered a letter today to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office at the State Capitol in Sacramento pleading with him to pull California National Guard troops out of Iraq.

Sheehan’s sister, Dede Miller, and members of Veterans for Peace, Gold Star Families for Peace, Military Families Speak Out & CODEPINK Women for Peace accompanied Sheehan as she walked from the Capitol’s West Steps, through the Capitol, to the front of the governor’s office. The CA Highway Patrol stopped the group from going into the governor’s office, but Sheehan was able to meet briefly with one of the Governor’s staff while her supporters and the media waited. Read More

The Bay Area Coalition to Fight the Minutemen is mobilizing an action to oppose the Minutemen Project's rally to gather public support for their attempts to harass poor, undocumented border-crossers and to announce their support of a new initiative that would establish a state border police in addition to the existing federal border patrol. This rally will take place in Sacramento on the Capitol steps on October 29th from 10am to 12:30pm. It will feature the founder of the Minutemen Project, Jim Gilchrist, and the legislative sponsors of the California Border Police Initiative, amongst others. Governor Schwarzenegger has also been invited to speak. Read more about the event here.

Despite a recent federal court ruling, timber cutting continues in and near the Sequoia National Monument. On September 9th, Justice Charles Breyer from the US District Court for the northern district of California halted logging on a 2,000 acre commercial logging project called the Saddle fuel reduction sale. However, the ruling left open the fate of the Ice, White, and Frog timber sales, all of which are areas contiguous with or in the immediate proximity of the Saddle project. The focus of Breyer’s ruling was the absence of credible scientific evidence in the Forest Service’s guidelines for these timber sales. Of particular concern was the critical condition of the Pacific fisher population in the southern Sierras. Further decrease in canopy cover and disruption of fisher habitat could likely bring about the extinction of the species (the Bush administration has refused to accept the recommendation of scientists for listing the southern fisher as an endangered species). Sierra Nevada Earth First! activists were in the woods again this past weekend surveying timber sale units in the Frog, White, and Ice sale areas. :Read reports from Earth First! activists here.

On September 29th Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed Equality California-sponsored Assembly Bill 849, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, which had passed the state Senate and Assembly. In his veto statement, he said that he did not feel that the legislature can overturn an initiative that the voters had decided. As a result of his veto, hundreds of thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Californians and their families will continue to live without equal protection of the law. Equality California chapters and allied organizations are hosting community gatherings in response to the Governor's veto on Friday, September 30th. Most of the gatherings will take place between 5 and 6pm. In the central valley, protests are scheduled for Bakersfield, Modesto, and Sacramento. More info here.