Feature Archives

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and its allies are gearing up for the McDonald's Truth Tour 2006, which will be from March 26th to April 4th. They will caravan from Immokalee, Florida to Chicago, which is the home of McDonald's. On April 1st, the fifth anniversary of the launch of the successful Taco Bell Boycott, the caravan will be joined by supporters from the area for a rally in Chicago, where they will call on the fast-food giant to work with the CIW and help establish real labor rights for the workers who pick tomatoes for McDonald’s suppliers. The workers and their allies will be calling for fair wages, the right for farmworkers to participate in decisions that affect their lives, and the right to a code of conduct based on modern labor standards. Since the CIW's Taco Bell boycott victory last year. McDonald’s has taken a path that threatens to undercut the wage gains won by farmworkers in the Taco Bell Boycott and to push workers back away from the table where decisions are made that affect their lives. Read more

More of this story on Indybay's Labor News Page | Student Farmworker Alliance | Coalition of Immokalee Workers

March 6th Update: South Dakota's governor today signed into law a ban on abortion in that state. The governor said that he expects that the law will be disputed in court and would not be allowed to take effect in July, as had been planned.
Both houses of the South Dakota legislature passed HB 1215 on February 22nd, agreeing to ban abortion in that state. The law does not make exceptions for women who seek abortions due to rape, incest, or threats to their health. The Senate decided after debate that the only abortions that would be allowed in South Dakota would be those that are needed to save a woman's life. Also rejected was an effort to allow South Dakotans to decide the question in a referendum, and an effort to prevent state tax dollars from financing what is certain to be a long and expensive court battle. The bill now goes to anti-choice Governor Mike Rounds, who will have 15 days to make his decision about signing.

Tennessee faces similar legislation this week: Tennessee IMC coverage

Read more on Indybay's Women's News Page

MoveOn members from Tennessee to Maryland to Seattle organized Constitution Vigils to speak out about government spying. Last week, the Justice Department announced that it will be opening an internal review. This was seen as a major admission that laws may have been broken by the US government. MoveOn said, "it's time for Congress to do its job, defend the Constitution, and fully investigate the president's illegal program. In order for them to do that, they need to hear from us." With reports of wider abuses in the National Security Agency and growing concern from leading conservatives MoveOn said that it's "obvious that Congress needs to do its job, enforce the law and fully investigate the president's dangerous power grab." MoveOn called for Constitution Vigils to be held on Wednesday, February 22nd, to send a message to Congress that "we're watching and we expect them to do their job and hold the president accountable." Read more about the vigils

In San Francisco, people gathered at 5:30pm at Justin Herman Plaza for a "Stop Illegal Wiretapping Now!" vigil. Photos: 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 In Oakland, three dozen people gathered at Grand and Lake Park Avenues Photos There was also a lively demonstration in Fresno. Video 100 people gathered at the Town Clock in Santa Cruz. Audio

The ACLU is also concerned about warrantless surveillance. The organization is challenging this unconstitutional program in the courts, and reaching out to leaders and regular citizens through a campaign of grassroots action and public education. The ACLU is encouraging people to call on Congress to end its illegal spying and fully investigate the Bush Administration’s illegal spying programs.

MoveOn.org | ACLU | ACLU of Northern California | People for the American Way

Betty Friedan, who helped launch the contemporary women's movement, died of congestive heart failure on Saturday, February 4th at the age of 85. When she was young, she was active in Marxist and Jewish radical circles. She attended Smith College. In 1963, she wrote the groundbreaking book The Feminine Mystique. In 1966, she and 27 other women and men founded NOW, the National Organization for Women. During her time as president of NOW (from 1966 to 1970), the organization lobbied the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to enforce laws against sex discrimination in employment, and to ban ads that were segregated by sex. In 1968, NOW became the first national organization to endorse the legalization of abortion.

Ms Magazine's Statement from the Feminist Daily News Wire | Statement from NOW | Wikipedia's Betty Friedan page

Stew Albert, a prominent member of the "Youth International Party" (Yippie!) an unindicted co-conspirator in the infamous Chicago 1968 "Conspiracy Trial," an instigator of People's Park and so much more died in his sleep on January 30th. Albert had incurable and inoperable liver cancer. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, February 1st at 1:00 at the Havurah Shalom at 825 NW 18th Ave in Portland, Oregon. Albert kept a weblog- "a personal log by an American radical activist who knew he was dying of cancer, but stoically continued to rant against empire." Read more

Stew Albert's Yippie Reading Room website | Stew Albert's Blog | Read more about the Yippies

On Friday, January 20th, the Justice Department announced that 11 individuals were being charged in a 65 count indictment handed down by a Eugene, Oregon grand jury. The indictment charged the individuals with a series of arsons, sabotage and vandalism that were claimed by the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front, between 1996 and 2001. The FBI has called these actions terrorism. The indictment includes further charges against some recent arrestees, including Daniel McGowan. On January 25th, McGowan was released into the custody of his sister. He will be required to live with his sister, wear an electronic monitor, and report weekly to pretrial supervisors in New York.

The indictments were announced the week that a tape from Osama Bin Laden was released. Bin Laden promised a continued campaign of violence against the United States. The close proximity of the announcement regarding the indictments caused many to wonder if this was a diversionary tactic meant to draw attention away from the FBI’s failure in the international terrorism arena and to distract the public from the current debate regarding illegal wire taps being perpetrated by the government. Read more

Read more on Indybay's Police and Prisons News Page

On Wednesday, January 18th, the US Supreme Court announced its decision in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, et al. The court recognized its precedent that abortion laws must protect women's health and safety. The case began as a challenge to a New Hampshire law that prevents doctors from performing an abortion for a teenager under the age of 18 until 48 hours after a parent has been notified. Contrary to 30 years of Supreme Court precedent, the law contained no medical emergency exception to protect a pregnant teenager's health. The lower courts had struck down the law because of this omission. The Supreme Court asked the lower court to consider whether the New Hampshire legislature would have wanted this law with a medical emergency exception. If not, the Court said the law should be struck down in its entirety.

"Today's decision tells politicians that they cannot jeopardize women's health when they pass abortion laws," said Jennifer Dalven, Deputy Director of the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project, and the attorney who argued Ayotte before the Court. "We are relieved that the Supreme Court left in place protections for women's health and safety in abortion laws," said PPFA Interim President Karen Pearl. "We continue to believe that the law should be struck down by the lower court." "The New Hampshire legislature intentionally omitted a medical emergency exception when it passed this law," Dalven added. "We continue to believe that the lower court will recognize this and strike down the law in its entirety." Statement from Planned Parenthood and the ACLU

Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood website | More Women's Health Stories on Indybay's Womyn News Page