Feature Archives

On March 23rd, students from across the UC system protested the UC Regents meeting at UCSF Mission Bay and their proposal to rewrite the UC’s fee policies with little to no public input. Currently, a student can reasonably expect that the fee levels when one enters school will stay consistent throughout one’s education. However, the new policy would give the Board of Regents the right to “establish fees at any level it deems appropriate.” This new policy will have implications for the future accessibility of the UC system.

On March 23rd some San Francisco Board of Supervisors, community groups, and local residents held a press conference on the steps of City Hall to denounce the "lies and manipulations" in Pacific Gas and Electric' mailers and television commercials over Proposition 16. Supervisors also took this time to re-iterate their commitment to Clean Power SF, which is a plan adopted in 2007 that will set San Francisco on the path to using clean renewable energy from cheaper sources.

On March 21st, Congress approved legislation designed to extend health care to tens of millions of uninsured Americans and crack down on some insurance company abuses. Members of Direct Action for Single Payer, who continue to push for a system where everyone in America would receive comprehensive medical benefits under a government run organization, pointed out that the bill falls far short of addressing some of the worst abuses of the insurance company industry. They protested inside the building at Anthem Blue Cross offices in San Francisco just days before the legislation passed.

Friends and colleagues of Tristan Anderson rallied on March 15th at the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco to demand that the Israeli government take full responsibility for shooting and critically injuring Bay Area activist Tristan Anderson on March 13, 2009. Israel recently released its official report of the shooting which has been called a cover-up of crimes of Israeli forces by those who witnessed the shooting of the high velocity tear gas canister that nearly took Tristan's life.

On Saturday, March 20th, thousands of people marched in cities across the country calling for an end to wars and occupations in Afghanistan, Iraq and everywhere. The protest marked the seventh anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
In San Francisco, protesters gathered at Civic Center Plaza at 11am. There was a rally and then a march through the downtown area, returning to Civic Center for a closing rally. The Executive Board of UNITE-HERE Local 2 and many other unions endorsed the March 20 march and rally. The march went by two boycotted hotels, the Hilton and the Westin-St. Francis in solidarity with the hotel workers.
Regionally, protests were also held in San Jose and Monterey.

Cynthia Papermaster describes a Bybee Action at the Ninth Circuit Court in San Francisco on March 10th: In the past we've had only a few seconds to say something before Bybee disappeared at the end, but this time we caught a break when the gavel came down. Proctor Hug, the first of the three judges headed for the exit, was moving very slowly, leaving Bybee waiting and fully exposed for at least three minutes...

On March 1st, hundreds of MUNI workers from TWU Local 250-A, riders, and community organizations rallied and marched in downtown San Francisco to oppose the MTA's proposed budget cuts and threatened layoffs. The march began at Powell and Market and went to the MTA offices, and then to City Hall for a forum led by union organizer Eric Williams, who called for unity between MUNI workers and riders.