The First Father's Day Followed a Mining Disaster

The very first Father's Day commemoration was in remembrance of a mining disaster that brought attention to the plight of working people and unsafe working conditions across the US, when hundreds of fathers died in one mine in W. Virginia in 1908. With this holiday's origins in mind, members of the San Jose and Redwood City Occupy groups performed mic check demonstrations at branches of various corporate entities on the San Francisco Peninsula that have a record of anti-labor practices or have been in the news for perpetuating unsafe working conditions. Targets included the following locations.

Los Altos Whole Foods is one of that company's flagship stores. Whole Foods has a record of anti-union and anti-labor practices. Whole Foods terminated en masse employees in Wisconsin who tried to unionize. Whole Foods has earned a reputation for poor treatment of the low-wage workers of color who bottle their private, "365" label bottled water.

Safeway continues to build on the San Francisco Peninsula without union labor, despite building elsewhere with union labor. The UFCW, which oversees the cashiers and shelvers, have been without a contract since October. Safeway top brass is trying to eliminate health benefits for retirees and employee families despite raking in massive profits every quarter. Demonstrators targeted the Mountain View Safeway today.

In Palo Alto the owner of Pizza My Heart has been working against efforts in San Jose to raise the minimum wage. And last but not least, also in Palo Alto--Apple has recently been in the news for its labor practices in China. Nothing hearkens back to the first Father's Day commemoration better than to highlight the unsafe and horrific working conditions Chinese workers have to face, said James Lee, speaking on behalf of Occupy Redwood City. The Raging Grannies joined Occupy members at Apple's store on University Ave, the final stop of the protest tour.