Feature Archives

On June 6th, George Blumenthal was inaugurated as the 10th Chancellor of UC Santa Cruz during a ceremony on the East Field overlooking the Monterey Bay. Students and workers, organized through the Student and Worker Coalition for Justice (SWCJ) and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), rallied at UCSC, marched to the Chancellor's Inauguration and blocked California Highway One during a 10-hour day of action to end poverty wages at the University of California.

AFSCME Local 3299's strike, planned for June 4 - 5, has been postponed indefinitely. UC hired the infamous anti-union law firm Littler Mendelson, a firm that boasts on their website about their expertise in avoiding unionization and busting unions. Suddenly, UC Executives claimed to have new proposals for AFSCME and asked for negotiations to resume -- even though they already gave AFSCME their "last, best, and final proposal." In the eyes of a Republican-dominated state labor board, these alleged new proposals were enough to overturn AFSCME's right to strike.

University of California patient care and service staff announced the results of a statewide strike vote that took place between May 17th and May 22nd. Results were tabulated at midnight on May 22nd, and an overwhelming majority of voters voted to authorize the strike. The workers gave UC Executives notice that a strike could begin as soon as June 4th for the 20,000 workers at the University's five hospital/ten campus system.

The campaign against science experiments on animals at the University of California continues to grow stronger, but not without opposition. Over the last several months, activists have been conducting frequent demonstrations outside the homes of UC animal researchers -- a handful of people with signs, a bullhorn and some literature to hand out to neighbors.

On May 22nd in Los Angeles, the California Court of Appeals ruled that the state limits on medical marijuana possession and cultivation that were established under state law SB 420 are unconstitutional. In the case People v. Patrick Kelly, the court overturned the defendant's conviction for possessing 12 ounces of dried marijuana, saying that the prosecutor had improperly argued that the defendant was guilty because he possessed more than the 8-ounce limit established in Health & Safety Code Section 11362.77 and did not have a doctor's recommendation that authorized more. The court wrote, ""The prosecutor's argument was improper... because the CUA [Compassionate Use Act] can only be amended with voters' approval."

On May 5th, Foster Gamble and the Economic Action Team of the California Alliance to Stop the Spray (C.A.S.S.), released a forty page report on the economic impact to the state of California in response to the CDFA/USDA plan to spray multiple California counties with a micronized concoction of synthetic “pheromone” and chemicals to "eradicate" the Light Brown Apple Moth – a moth with zero history of causing crop damage anywhere in the world.

On May 15th, the California State Supreme Court ruled that laws that have excluded same-gender couples from the right to marry were unconstitutional. Gatherings will be held around the state to celebrate the ruling. The California court cited the state's equal protection clause in striking down the discrimination. It also ruled that marriages performed outside of the state must be recognized as legal by the State of California.