From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
On February 1, at a peaceful labor protest honoring the 50th Anniversary of low-wage African American workers and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr organized by AFSCME Local 3299, the University of California deployed police tactics more befitting of the Jim Crow South--unjustly assaulting a 51 year-old African American UC Berkeley employee named David Cole. A video of the assault was captured and posted to Facebook. The person posting it added the inscription, "What a sick feeling".
Shocking video of a trade unionist being slammed to the ground by university police was captured today [Feb. 1, 2018], sparking calls for a rally at UC Berkeley until the worker is released.
Pickets occurred at all University of California (UC) campuses [on Feb. 1] to coincide with AFSCME 3299’s, which represents service workers, ongoing contract negotiations with the administration. David Cole, a housing and dining services employee, was picketing with co-workers at UC Berkeley. The video shows three UCPD officers body slam Cole onto the asphalt. It is unclear how the confrontation started.
AFSCME 3299 workers were picketing to fight for fair wages and benefits, which the University of California Regents are attacking. The universities proposal for 0% wage increases is an insult to the dignity of workers, all while Regents and upper-management enjoy lavish raises and bonuses. The union is also demanding increase protections for the undocumented community among other social-justice demands.
The video highlights the real role of the UCPD. As in wider society, the role of university police is to protect those in power and to persecute effective resistance. This is not an isolated incident, but rather part of a long history of UCPD brutality.
Peaceful UC Berkeley protests raising awareness for the #IAmColeAndWalker movement took a violent turn Thursday as several police appear to body-slam a man during the protest near the school's campus.
Fifty years ago, Memphis sanitation workers Echol Cole and Robert Walker were crushed to death in garbage compactors due to defective machinery. The protest raises awareness of 150 U.S. workers dying from preventable work-related illnesses or issues each day across the country.
"I just saw an AFSCME Local 3299 worker peacefully protesting for a labor contract slammed by police at Cal Berkeley campus. What a sick feeling. #IAMCOLEANDWALKER #IAM2018," wrote Paul Darwin Picklesimer on his Facebook page.
Picklesimer, who lists himself as an organizer at Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), first posted the video to Facebook Thursday showing the University of California, Berkeley protester being slammed on the ground.
The unidentified man seen protesting in the video is a member of AFSCME 3299, the largest union for University of California workers throughout the statewide education system. The union represents more than 24,000 employees across the UC system's 10 California campuses.
Local authorities have not yet responded for comment.
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