Feature Archives

6/21/04: Fresno County homecare workers won their first contract agreement, after several years of difficult negotiations. The homecare workers, represented by SEIU 250, the largest Health Care Workers union in the Western United States, became one of the largest bargaining units in all of North America to secure a first contract this year. In the long fight, Fresno County homecare workers rallied, marched, picketed, and pressured county supervisors to adopt standards that called for better wages, medical insurance and access to job training.

5/14/04: Over 200 of us march in Reedley to: * Pressure the California state legislature to pass SB 1160, new driver license bill - For all immigrants and - for all our safety. * Pressure congress to pass S1645, a federal bill to legalize all working immigrants Click here for more information.

5/13/04: Recent FBI Terror Alerts have marked events held in the valley to raise money and awareness on behalf of Jeff ‘Free’ Luers as eco-terrorist plans for protests. These allegations are an intimidation tactic intended to stop groups from fund raising for Jeff ‘Free’ Luers legal defense. Letters in defense of Free Speech and against the witch hunt have started to appear in the Modesto Bee. For more information go: here.

5/18/04: Occupied Territory is no longer envisioned to be just a "conference." The organizing collective has decided to take the final step, and make the gathering the most interactive and self-managed gathering they could think of. Instead of creating another conference, they have decided to make the participant decide what the direction of the gathering will be. It has been created to showcase anti-authoritarian activism and anarchist collectives, and also to create a platform to talk about organizing and networking on the west coast. This gathering, like the future, is up to us.
More info Occupied Territory Anarchist Gathering Gets Underway

3/21/04: Anti-war marches and rallies were held in Fresno, Bakersfield, Visalia, and Chico. In Sacramento The Veterans for Peace unveiled their memorial wall commemorating the thousands of dead and injured resulting from G.W.'s invasion and occupation of Iraq. In Fresno, Peace Fresno secretary Ken Hudson was arrested while showing a deputy sheriff the groups permit to hold a rally. A link to video of that arrest is available here. Many Central Valley activists joined the 50,000 protestors in San Francisco with at least one activist from Fresno getting arrested in a breakaway march. A couple of other Fresno activists were able to keep one step ahead of the police and posted their photos here. Seth Sandronsky, a member of Sacramento Area Peace Action and co-editor with Because People Matter, Sacramento’s progressive paper files this report from the San Francisco march.

3/19/04: The life of farm labor organizer Cesar Chavez is being celebrated throughout the Central Valley. Events are taking place in late March and Early April in Delano, Fresno, Madera, and Sacramento. The United Farm Workers Union empowers and brings dignity & respect to the workers that harvest our food. These workers continue to struggle for a living wage, legalization, and safe working conditions. Viva la Causa!

7/03/04: Peace Fresno is a visible voice for peace in the Central Valley. Recently, Attorney General Bill Lockyer agreed to conduct an investigation into the undercover surveillance of Peace Fresno, a community organization that was infiltrated by a member of the Fresno County Sheriff Department’s Anti-Terrorism unit in 2003. In January, Peace Fresno held a Press Conference to provide information about the infiltration of their organization by the Joint Terrorism Task Force. See a one minute video, produced by SunMt, of the press conference here. The infiltration of Peace Fresno is also a part of Michael Moore new movie - Fahrenheit 911. See Peace Fresno raise the temperature at the local opening of Fahrenheit 9/11. Read the article here Background Peace Fresno