Black and Brown unity is the focus of the 10th Annual Conference of the Southern Human Rights Organizers Network. From Friday through Sunday, December 8-10, activists will discuss issues, strategy, and take action. Topics on the
schedule include immigrants' and women's rights, juvenile justice, low wages, felony disenfranchisement, and environmental justice. There will also be a youth summit. You can
register here.
Houston Indymedia wants you to help cover the conference by publishing your reports here. Learn more at our Makin' Media workshop, this Tuesday, December 5 from 7-9 PM at Sedition Books (4420 Washington Avenue). Come find out about Indymedia, how to upload coverage to the site, basic reporting skills and interview tips. Tasty vegan snacks will be provided. We'll have a follow-up workshop the week after the conference to work on coverage for our website and radio show on
KPFT 90.1 FM every Friday at 7:30 PM.
From the Open Publishing newswire: BREAKING NEWS ALERT...
Janitors and Cleaning Firms to Head Back to Bargaining Table
Bail for non-violent protesters set at $888,888
UPDATE (11/19): On Friday Nov 17th janitors protested in front of the Harris County HPD Central and the Mykawa jail. They were asking for the immediate release of their co-workers [see photos].
Bail was lowered to $1,000 on Saturday and everyone has been bailed out. Janitors and labor activists reported their conditions as deplorable. Bay Area SEIU organizer Anna Denise Solís said: I felt like I was in some Third World jail, not in America. One of the guards called us ‘whores’ and if we talked back, we didn’t get any lunch. We didn’t even have the basic necessities. It felt like a police state, like marshal law, nobody had rights. Some of us had been arrested in other cities, and it was never this bad before.
 Aditional audio from Rachael Clark from the November 18th press confrence where arrested janitors spoke out: Eye Witness Account of Police Aggression Against SEIU Demonstrators | SEIU Lays Out Their Plans for This Week | New York Janitor Speaks About Police Brutality | Update on Janitor Contract Negotiations Writen report by RoB: News from the press confrence: Negotiations in Progress, prison conditions brutal
Major cleaning companies are heading back to the bargaining table with
Houston janitors at 9AM Saturday, November 18 at the DoubleTree Hotel
in downtown Houston. The meeting will be the first contract talks since
negotiations broke down on October 17 and the first time janitors'
Bargaining Committee has sat down with their employers--national cleaning
contractors ABM, OneSource, Pritchard, GCA, and Sanitors--since workers
walked off the job nearly four weeks ago.
Janitors and supporters are closing out a week of historic acts of
civil disobedience. 58 janitors and supporters from Houston and other
cities were arrested in non-violent protests at Chevron headquarters and the
intersection of Travis and Capitol Streets outside the JP Morgan Chase buildings this week alone. Bond has been set at $888,888 per person for
44 of the protesters who are still in jail tonight. Standard bond for
janitors and protesters charged with Class B misdemeanors has been $500.
From the open publishing newswire:Twelve labor activists locked down in front of the Chevron building at 5pm Wednesday night. Two additional activists locked down inside the building. All those involved in the direct act of civil disobedience held their positions for over 90 minutes. There target was Chevron, the largest real estate owner in the city. To learn more go to www.chevronwontyoujoinus.org
Coverage from the newswire: Audio: Locked Down Labor Activists Speak Their Minds | SEIU Janitors Take Their Fight To Chevron's Front Door
 Video: Janitors Lock Down at Chevron Buidling
This was part of the National Chevron Day of Action, where solidarity activists targeted Chevron locations nationwide to urge them to settle the Janitors strike. More than 100 SEIU members and community supporters gathered today outside Chevron Corp's global headquarters in San Ramon, CA. The high energy crowd held pictures and banners of the Houston janitors, blocked traffic and received the support of passers by. Ten people were arrested for blocking traffic after an hour of protesting with chants of "Health care for janitors" and "Shame on Chevron." [see photo gallery]
This comes as Janitors from other US cities have flown into Houston to support the janitor's strike by commiting civil desobedience. On November 13th they packed a meeting room of the Intercontinental Hotel in the Galleria. They discussed and analyzed the effectiveness of their four-week long strike and also contemplated the next week of actions geared toward pressuring companies to return to negotiations. [HIMC coverage: Audio / Video]
Up to 50 janitors from Houston and around the country will risk arrest today to challenge industry to settle this 4-week old strike.
New: Justice for Janitors Blog
In the Galleria Area... Police arrested Indymedia videographer Pedro near Sage and Alabama today around 4pm. Fellow Indy-journalist Rob says the police came into the march, which was on the sidewalk, and arrested Pedro. They pulled up in an unmarked black car and grabbed him and put him a squad car [ read report]. Update: Pedro has been released
About 200 janitors and supporters participated in a spirited march through the Galleria on Saturday November 11 as part of the SEIU's Justice for Janitors campaign. It was a beautiful day at the Galleria as we marched through the streets chanting and displaying banners demanding fair treatment and better pay for janitors. During the march, several passed out flyers explaining the action and the strike to people passing by. [full report of the march]
Pedro is one of the main Indy-journalists covering Houston janitor's struggle for better wages and health care:Day 16 Rally at Williams Tower | Day 6 March for Justice | Day 5 Downtown March | Day 2 On the SEIU Pickett Lines | Day 1 Janitors are on Strike! | Janitors Vote to Strike
from the open publishing newswire: Joseph Kaye describes the march: The day was cold, and we shivered as the blustery winds whipped our banners and signs about. I wondered and was aware of the tension of not knowing how we would be received as we marched down after all the usual gorups: VFW, Korea Vets, ROTC units, Bands from high schools, and cadet corps, scouts groups, and some regulars, including US Marines, some who threatened our members before the march.
Surprisingly we were met with lopts of applause, smiles, waves, thumbs up signs, v signs on upraised hands, and smiles, thnak yous and sometimes applause.
There was only one or two times I heard "Booooo", and I stayed strong in how I marched, unswerved by these negatives. After all we were the ones marching behind a sign that said we supported our constituiton, "We Swore", and unlike W we meant it and lived up to that ideal, and that duty.
[view photos from CLee]
From the open publishing newswire: John Yoo, former White House legal adviser, came to Rice University to participate in a panel discussion hosted by the Baker Institute Student Forum. The discussion centered on terrorism, whether 'enemy combatants' should be protected under the Geneva Convention, and the legality of current US policy on detention and interrogation methods.
Yoo, who served as the main author of the Patriot Act, has played a pivotal role in guiding the current US policy on torture and detention. He basically redefined torture - saying to be defined as torture, an action "must be equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death." Yoo has also been public in advocating giving unlimited powers to the president during times of war.
In protest, we handed out an alternative program to attendees detailing Yoo's support of torture. Our program also included information about how the Patriot Act violates our civil rights. When John Yoo began to speak, we held a banner that read "Yoo Can Never Justify Torture" and stood up for the rest of the discussion. Yoo stopped his speech and thanked us for our contribution. Afterwards, though, we got a really positive response from audience members who said they agreed with our statement.
[read the full article]
Its been almost one month since a handful of Texas Death Row prisoners began refusing to eat. Prison officials may have to force feed one man. Its all part of an effort to improve conditions the prisoners say are inhumane. Hear more.
The Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement will protest conditions in solidarity with prisoners this Saturday. They've called on people to join them at 3pm at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston.
D.R.I.V.E. member Kenneth Foster is said to be participating in the strike. He explains, “We are neither violent or passive. We are combative. We are resisters. We are diverse activists, but, more than anything else, may we be looked upon as men that embraced the sacredness of life and sought to assert the full measure of our humanity in the face of those that would seek to destroy it."
Previous HIMC coverage: Hunger Strike on the Polunsky Unit: Texas Death Row
Since October 23rd, more than 1,700 Janitors with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) have walked off the job, using creative forms of protest and calling on community support to gain a raise to 8.50 and hour, recive health care and get better hours. Houston Janitors recive no health care, which leaves workers such as Ercilia Sandoval, who is a janitor in the Chevron building, having to rely on temporary state care for chemotherapy(Ercilia was also nominated as a finalist in Glamor Magazine's Woman of the Year Contest). The negotiations with the cleaning contractors offered them nothing.
Since the begining of the strike, janitors have faced threats and repression from their employers, On Wednesday October 25th, ABM supervisor Federico Melendez attacked a bus of SEIU Janitors, striking an organizer and dragging her of off the bus by her hair. This Monday the SEIU revealed that at least 14 janitors have been fired for union activity. To date, janitors have filed thirty-five charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for illegally retaliating against employees who’ve formed a union with SEIU.
On Thursday November 2nd, 12 people locked down in the intersection of Westheimer and Post Oak in support of the Justice for Janitors Campaign. They handcuffed to each other and to trash cans in the middle of the street. They were all released from jail on Friday.
[read the full Account of the intersection shutdown from the open publishing newswire]
The striking janitors have travelled to Chicago, Los Angeles, Sacramento and Washington to rally support from other janitors, in what SEIU organizers call a "national escalation plan". One LA SEIU member said "Houston janitors do the same work as we do. They need us now, and we'll be there for them. We'll fight for as long as it takes because what happens in Houston affects us all." Janitors in L.A. have health insurance and full-time contracts, whilst those in Houston are mostly given part-time hours.
houstonjanitors.org | Video Blog from Jesse Salmeron | Previous Houston Indymedia Coverage: SEIU Janitors Are Offered Nothing | How the community can support the janitors struggle | Janitors March on the Galleria | Striking janitors take direct action
Photo: © Meenu Bhardwaj for SEIU [see gallery]
On October 30th, Houstonians hosted a Planton outside the Mexican Consulate on Caroline south of Wheeler from 8am till 6 am. Numbers were small, but there was a constant presence and plans were discussed for future action [ see photos | photos and video ] Protests took place at Mexican consulates across the world including in New York where a dozen were arrested. In Indianapolis anarchists stormed the consulate, Barcelona where there is a solidarity encampment and Raleigh where protesters occupied the Consulate for more than 3 hours.
Currently the people of Oaxaca organized in the Peoples Poplular Asembly of Oaxaca (APPO) are under attack by the Mexican federal government. More than 10 thousand military and police agents sweep the streets of Oaxaca on orders of President Fox. The Federal Preventative Police have invaded Oaxaca de Juarez using tanks, water cannons and live ammunition, arresting at least 50 supporters of APPO, including forced entry and arrests in peoples houses, and killing at least two; Social Security Institute worker Roberto López Hernández and nurse and APPO safety commission member Jorge Alberto Beltrán, with uncofirmed reports of other deaths.
Across the world people organized actions in Solidarity with APPO in memory of the murder of NYC Indymedia Journalist Brad Will. The Mountain Rebel started an Electronic Blockade of Mexican Embassy and Consulate Websites which you can undertake from the convenience of your desktop. Protests took place all over the hemisphere; from Vancouver, Canada to Santiago, Chile.
Resources: NYC Independent Media Center responds to the death of Brad WILL | Timeline of revolt in Oaxaca Narconews Oaxaca Coverage |El Enemigo Comun - Oaxaca Solidarity
SEIU struggles to unionize the South
The Justice for Janitors campaign in Houston Texas, spearheaded by the Service Employees International Union has really heated up this week. Janitors have been in strike in Houston since October 23rd. Weeks of Janitors on strike, creative actions, community allies and civil desobedience have forced the cleaning companies back to the bargaining table.
The fourth week of the strike began with a march through the Galleria shopping area, where HPD arrested Indymedia volunteer Pedro and charged him with a class c misdemeanor. Pedro has been release with time served and is still covering the janitor strike.
This past week of the strike has seen janitors and union activists from across the country comming to Houston on "Freedom Flights" to support the Janitors strike with protest and direct action. On Wednesday November 15th, during the Chevron National Day of Action 14 Janitors and activists locked down in front of the Chevron Houston headquarters for 90 minutes.
On Thursday the 16th Fourty four, Janitors attempted to occupy the intersection of Travis and Capitol in Downtown Houston, and intersection with 3 buildings owned by JP Morgan Chase. The Janitors were attacked by Mounted Houston Police officers and trampled onto the sidewalk. As a result, one woman, an 83 year old janitor from New York City had to be rushed to the hospital. Three other activists recieved broken arms and fingers. Bail was originally set for 888,888 for each protestor, for a total of around 40 million dollars. Prison conditions were reported as deplorable. It was lowered to one thousand dollars and all of the protestors were bailed out on the morning of Saturday the 18th.
Houston Indymedia will be hosting a filmscreening about the Justice for Janitors campaign on November 29th at Rice Media Center
Meanwhile in Miami, SEIU and community allies are struggling for a fair contract for the janitors of Nova Southeastern University:
On Tuesday, November 14th, newly elected officials of Broward County, along with over a dozen clergy and community leaders which included Marleine Bastiene, Executive Director of Haitian Women of Miami (FANM), waged a symbolic protest by donning gardener gloves and using rakes to pull weeds while working alongside the 350 janitors, landscapers and other service workers who maintain NSU.
NSU employees are fighting to unionize at the private Davie school, claiming they can barely survive on low wages and little or no health insurance.
Contrary to NSU officials voicing displeasure with "Janitors for a Day" activities, newly elected State Representative for District 108, Ronald Brise, said "These hardworking people deserve a voice and respect, not poverty wages that burden our communities. It was an honor to work by their side and learn more about the struggles they go through to support their families."
Last updated:
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Conference to Focus on Human Rights in the South, Indymedia Plans Coverage
Houston & San Antonio amoung cities worldwide that take action in defense of Oaxaca
Janitors and SEIU Claim Victory and Receive Contracts
Cleaning firms agree to head back to bargaining table, Bail set at $888,888 for non-violent protestors
Janitors block downtown intersection, attacked by HPD, 44 arrested 4 recieve serious injuries
Janitors take action against Chevron
Police arrest Indymedia Videographer at November 11th Janitors March
Veterans for Peace at Veterans' Day Parade
Yoo Can Never Justify Torture
Hunger Strike Continues on Texas Death Row
At the begining of third week; The Janitors strike continues
Wordwide protests demand Federal Troops out of Oaxaca
NYC Indymedia Journalist Murdered by Governement Supported Paramilitaries in Oaxaca Mexico
