Since early July of 2004, 210 Stockton owner-operator truckers working out on the rails and ports in Stockton have unionized with the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and won several victories. Today, 20 workers for the Kach Trucking Company went on strike as well. Harjit, a IWW organizer from the bay area, commented that, "One worker estimated that they are losing over $1,000 a month", and that's $1,000 that is going straight into the companies pockets. Workers are being swindled out of over time pay, being forced into making extra trips that are not paid for, and also having to cover tire, fuel, and other costs themselves. Read full report here.

12/04/04: Contingents from four LBGTI community organizations participated in Fresno’s Magical Holiday Parade for the first time ever on December 4th. Members of Queer Fresno, the local chapter of the Stonewall Democrats, Central California Alliance and Central California Pride Network marched in the Diamond Jubilee rendition of the parade in downtown Fresno. Read a report on the parade by Dan Waterhouse here. Another article and photos of the parade are available here.

An Elk Grove man died in November in a confrontation with Sacramento County sheriff's deputies after officers used pepper spray and shot the man twice with 50,000-volt Taser stun guns. Sheriff's officials said Ricardo Zaragoza struggled with four deputies who wanted to take him in for a mental health examination after his family called officials saying he was acting erratically. Sheriff's officials and family members said officers shot him twice in the chest with Taser guns. Family members, however, said officers used excessive force to control him. The death could be ruled a homicide, but as of late Monday it was still labeled as "undetermined," coroner's officials said. The department started issuing the stun guns in 2001, as a non-lethal way to subdue suspects. Arnulfo Zaragoza Jr. said his brother, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia at age 20 while he was a student at the University of California, Davis, had been taking his medicine but had not eaten for five days. Read full report on the police killing here.

Tuesday evening, by a unanimous vote, the Sacramento City Council repealed in it's entirety the portion of the Parade Ordinance banning the innocent possession of everyday items at public gatherings that has been in place since last summer's WTO/Ag meeting in Sacramento. The ordinance puts resistrictions on gatherings of people protesting, and what items that they can have on them by labeling various items "weapons". Report here.

11/24/04: Madera home care workers marched on Tuesday, in response to the Madera County Board of Supervisors voting to give themselves a raise this year while refusing to increase the wages and benefits of home care workers. Madera workers have been fighting for living wages since March 2003 when they joined the union. The workers are asking for $8.50 an hour with benefits, and the county has countered with a $ .25 an hour raise with no benefits. The march ended by filling the Board of Supervisors meeting to demand a living wage. Video coverage of the march, rally, and presentation to the Board of Supervisors is now available from Elfie and Maia Ballis at SunMt. In Fresno, more than two hundred nurses from the University Medical Center walked the picket line on Tuesday. The issues are improved retention of experienced RN's, a "union shop," and patient protection through adequate staffing and objective pay scales. UMC nurses were forced to strike when management failed to bargain in good faith after the recent assignment of a federal mediator to the more than year-long negotiations.

11/23/04: The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors last year wisely voted to ban elephant rides from the annual Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival, for reasons of animal welfare and public safety. California State Fair officials, though, are currently negotiating to have elephant rides at the 2005 State Fair. When not giving rides, these Asian elephants (an endangered species) are kept in chains. The travel from Southern California is highly stressful on the animals, and potentially dangerous. Elephant rides serve only to reinforce the idea that animals are here merely for our entertainment, and the animals' welfare is secondary. There's also a public health risk: elephants can carry and transmit tuberculosis to humans and if they manage to escape, can be a serious risk to people. Read this report, to find out what you can do to stop this.

11/22/04: Pictures taken at the Poverello House’s “Village of Hope” show the improved living conditions for Fresno’s homeless. Besides these newly installed tool sheds, Fresno’s homeless have few options about where they can sleep at night. The City of Fresno has criminalized poverty and homelessness making it a crime to sleep on the street. Every morning at 8 AM everyone in the Village of Hope has to leave and they can’t return to their “home” until 5 or 6 PM at night. For earlier Indymedia coverage of the homeless in Fresno go here and here

11/14/04: Modesto and Fresno activists joined others around the world in protesting the invasion of Fallujah. Peace Fresno made their voices and feelings known on Fresno street corners, holding signs and being vocal. Peace Fresno will continue to be at Shaw and Blackstone from 4:30 - 6:30 PM every Friday, at least until mid January. For more information about future Peace Fresno actions, visit the Peace Fresno website. In Modesto activists held candles and held signs in the downtown area, and did a quiet procession down a busy Modesto street.

11/05/04: Fresno County voters cast their ballots for Bush by a wide margin. Voting more like they were in Kansas City than San Francisco, Fresno County voters supported Bush over Kerry by a margin of 58% - 41%. But, there were some positive developments too. This is the first year that the Fresno County Green Party has run candidates in Fresno. Larry Mullen, who ran in the 19th District for the House of Representatives, received 13,362 votes or 7% of the vote. John Crockford, running in the 29th Assembly District received 4,401 votes for 3% of the vote. But, as Crockford pointed out, there are only 1,129 Greens registered in that district. He received almost 4 times the number of votes than there are registered Greens. For an analysis about the races and ballot measures in Fresno, go here

11/04/04: Activists in Sacramento gathered express their anger, rage and sadness about the “election,” as a group of around 100 activists demonstrated in front of the federal building in Sacramento on Wednesday November 2, as part of the nationwide “Beyond War” actions. The call to action issued the week before, said, “If we want to live in a real democracy voting at the ballot box is not enough. Vote with our hands, feet and imaginations every day of every year! “ A group also called for an anti-Bush Critical Mass bike ride.

10/28/04: The Sacramento City Council refuses to rescind the "Son of Patriot Act" parade ordinance, in spite of overwhelming opposition from community members. The council, without any proper notice and public input, adopted the ordinance limiting free speech prior to the USDA Agricultural Ministerial held in Sacramento in June 2003. The law was put in place according to city leaders, to stop possible "violence" from protestors, (although police violence went unnoticed). Instead, the Council in a unanimous vote on September 14 advised the city staff to return within 45 days with a revised ordinance that took into account some of the criticism leveled at it. Report here.

10/18/04: Ceres Police stopped a benefit show for the DAAA Collective on Oct. 16th, citing that they had heard about it on the internet. Police citied that a permit was needed for the event and it would have to be stopped. Ceres police have continued to monitor and harass activists in Ceres during their weekly Food Not Bombs food sharing. Report here.

10/09/04: Ceres Food Not Bombs, and other members of the DAAA Collective protested against Ceres Police abuse of homeless and poor in Ceres Parks today. Police seemed "overprepared" for the event, and heavily monitored, videotapped, and generally harassed activists as they peacefully gathered in Whitmore park, and marched through Ceres sidewalks. Report here.

9/25/04: Over 500 protesters “welcomed” Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor and stalwart Bushite, and Bill O’Reilly, the notoriously offensive right wing host of FOX TV’s O’Reilly Factor, to the Sacramento Convention Center on the morning of Friday, September 24. The event featured many veteran local activists, including Jeannie Keltner of Sacramento Soapbox, JoAnn Fuller of Common Cause, local peace activist Phyllis Campanello, and Bill Camp, executive secretary of the Central Labor Council of Sacramento County. However, a large percentage of the demonstrators had never or only rarely protested before.

9/20/04: Hundreds of residents showed up to voice their opposition after the Mendota City Council and Federal Bureau of Prisons approved plans for a new federal prison in town. While protesters marched outside, heated exchanges between Rodney Anderson of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and angry residents took place inside the council chambers. Residents say almost anything could help their town more than a prison, even a new cemetery. Photos: 1 | 2 | Read more

9/20/04: Food Not Bombs, an international non-hierarchal network of autonomous collectives worldwide added another group to it's ranks this Sunday, with the creation of Ceres Food Not Bombs. Through spreading the word through the homeless community, and homeless self-organization, the group fed about 20 people, and expect more in the coming weeks. Ceres Food Not Bombs is a part of the DAAA Collective, and has stated that many of the same issues that are facing homeless people in Fresno and Modesto, are also happening in Ceres. The group is just starting out, and is in need of pots and pans, and other donations. For feeding times and info, and how to help, please go here.

9/16/04: In response to IWW unionized Stockton truckers striking, bosses caved, giving in to over 70% of their demands. The three days strike resulted in losses of $10,000s for the company and they could not suffer much more, even though they began contracting out work. Organized under the IWW IU 530, truck drivers decided to unionize after continued bad conditions of 7 work day weeks, and swindled time and money. Many truck drivers work 12 hour days to compensate for having to pay for their own gas, tires, and repairs. All of these conditions create jobs that can't support working families. IWW organizers are calling for solidarity, help, and financial support in the stuggle for justice for the Stockton truck drivers. For more info, email: harjit@equalvision.net