Los Angeles Indymedia : Activist News

On Friday, November 23, Occupy Long Beach protested in front of the Walmart store located in Downtown Long Beach in support of Walmart employees. The protesters demanded higher wages, health care benefits, and better hours for Walmart employees. None of the Walmart employees joined the strike, and a couple workers reported that they were threatened to be fired on the spot if they joined the strike or engaged in a conversation with any members of the Occupy group.

The demonstration was peaceful until the police saw nineteen year old Honor O'Kane drawing on the cement. O'Kane was taken aside while the members of Occupy group were trying to persuade the police that drawing on the ground with chalk was not illegal and cannot be confused with a graffiti created by spray paint. As a result, Vivian Price, a professor of labor studies at CSUDH was arrested on a charge resisting arrest and obstruction of justice. Price was handcuffed and taken to the Long Beach Police Department.

Report and photos: Occupy Long Beach Strikes at Walmart on Black Friday, November 23, 2012 by Natasha Petrosova

On March 26th, "Our Communities, Our Jobs" the largest worker solidarity march, probably, in Los Angeles history, brought together all of L.A. labor, ranging from big unions like SEIU, Teamsters, UFCW, CWA, and Carpenters, to the smaller organizations like the numerous construction unions, Hollywood unions, firefighters, the IWW, worker organizations, community organizations, and unaffiliated allies.

The march went from the convention center to Pershing Square, and stopped at a hotel to support UNITE-HERE organizing there, stopped at a T-Mobile shop to support CWA organizing T-Mobile, stopped at Ralphs to tell the supermarkets to negotiate with UFCW, and stopped at Chase to highlight the causes of this lousy economy.

Estimates on size vary from 10,000 (initial LAPD estimate repeated by LA Times) to 30,000. (Current LAPD estimate is 20k to 25k.) (Photo at right by David Sachs)

Photos: Photos by Tim H-M, Photos by Slobodan Dimitrov, Photos by David Sachs, Photos by Chris Valle, Photos by joiseyboyy Videos: Kids Protest Cuts at Labor Rally From the newswire: Downtown March for Workers' Rights by Rockero

Teachers held a one hour strike at Santee Educational Complex in South-Central Los Angeles on Friday, March 27, 2009 in protest of budget cuts and a disproportionate number of pink slips received by faculty (55 at Santee alone!). Santee is a Mayor Villaraigosa Partnership School. Teachers called upon the Mayor to provide leadership and funds in the way Mayor Newsom has done recently for San Francisco schools. Full Report: Santee Teachers Strike March 27, 2009 [South-Central Los Angeles] by Jason Edwards | VIDEO

"Despite being in the middle of Hollywood and the entertainment industry war on workers, they find no voice on "Revolutionary Radio " KPFK." KPFK has devoted little time an attention to the AFTRA and SAG negotiations, or the fighting between these two unions, as well as conflicts between the WGA, Directors, and IATSE. Entertainment and media are of the most heavily unionized sectors of our economy. While these workers are often middle class, and the minimum rates are relatively good, the profits accumulated by the businesses at the heart of the global media machinery continue to grow. KPFK, itself, has seen its revenues grow with the escalation of war, and much of the funding comes from its Hollywood Hills neighbors. Why is KPFK silent?

In a major step for the U.S. labor movement, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) has announced that it will shut down West Coast ports on May 1, to demand an immediate end to the war and occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Middle East. In a February 22 letter to AFL-CIO president John Sweeney, ILWU International president Robert McEllrath reported that at a recent coast-wide union meeting, “One of the resolutions adopted by caucus delegates called on longshore workers to stop work during the day shift on May 1, 2008 to express their opposition to the war in Iraq.”

From the newswire: ILWU to Shut Down West Coast Ports May 1 Demanding End to War in Iraq, Afghanistan by Internationalist Group

After 2 years of unmerited international trusteeship, local control was re-established. The slate of anti-trusteeship roofers swept all nine executive board seats including all four officers. Author jubilee shine was elected recording secretary. The trusteeship was imposed in a power move within one week after our locally unpopular previous business manager transitioned to an international representative position. He was unable to secure his following as we defeated the candidates he endorsed across the board.

• Rank and File Roofers Sweek Local 36 Elections

PORT OF AZTLAN, April 27, 2007--The independent truckers of the Port of Aztlan, working with the Industrial Workers of the World, made good on their promise to shut down the Los Angeles port on May 1, in support of nationwide migrants' rights protests scheduled for that day and the truckers' struggle to organize. This morning the Los Angeles Port Authority declared the port would be closed for a May 1 "holiday," thereby avoiding potential litigation from shippers facing dockers' and demurrage fees for goods left on the dock during the truckers' strike.

Ernesto Nevarez, spokesperson for the truckers, explained, "[The Port Authority] knows the truckers are going to do it [strike] anyway. By calling it a legal holiday, they avoid liability for the shutdown. We forced them to recognize May Day." Full Story: Troqueros Declare Victory! by Leslie Radford

After four years of litigation, heated community protests, and on-and-off-again settlement talks, Assi Super, Inc. owner Daniel Sung Chul Rhee and his former employees have agreed to settle the workers' class action lawsuit alleging unpaid overtime wages and racial discrimination and harassment for $1.475 million. Full Story:ASSI MARKET WORKERS WIN $1.475 MILLION SETTLEMENT

UPDATE: Audio from Assi market press conference

LOS ANGELES, August 19, 2006 -The City of Los Angeles has issued 9 Franchise Contracts to taxi companies which allow them to work LAX. These companies have permission to use about 3,000 drivers. Most are poor immigrants from a variety of countries, such as Iran, Russia, Congo, Pakistan, etc. The companies have banded together and have invented a non-standard workplace with characteristics that have been institutionalized and accepted as the "standard" and which the workers have fatalistically believed was their reality. Full Story: IWW Victory for Taxi Drivers at LA Airport

LOS ANGELES, May 1, 2006 – Troqueros one day strike shut down 90% of the operations of the Port of Los Angeles on Monday. On any given week day up to 12,000 truckers are working at the port. On Monday, May 1 the ports looked empty. At the main gates to the port at the intersection of Figueroa and Harry Bridges normally 1000’s of trucks are coming in and out of the gates, on Monday at about 10:30 am one LA-IMC reporter saw no trucks.

A rally for the Troqueros was held in nearby Banning Park on the Pacific Coast Highway. Troqueros at the rally said that on a typical workday one could expect to see hundreds of trucks rolling by on the highway every hour. In one hour less than10 trucks were counted. AUDIO: Troqueros Huelga – Truckers Strike Reports from the newswire: Report back: Troqueros May Day strike shuts down port | | As Immigrants Strike, Truckers Shut Down Nation's Largest Port

One year ago Southern California grocery workers voted to approve a new contract with supermarket operators, ending a strike that had widespread customer support and cost three major grocery chains hundreds of millions of dollars in lost sales. Despite all this the strike still failed to achieve its main objectives. The new contract requires employees to pay for health benefits for the first time, a major defeat for the workers. The contract did provide a few consecutions, including two one-time bonuses for hours already worked. The contract offered no raises, however. Many employees said the offer was not much different from one they received from their employers in October before the strike.

Union leaders ordered a strike against [Vons] and Pavilions chains on Oct. 11. [Albertsons] and [Ralphs] (a [Kroger] company) then locked out their employees. In all, about 59,000 workers were idled. The events that followed developed into the longest grocery strike in US history. The 4-½ month long dispute gained national attention because it was seen as a referendum on affordable employee health care. As the strike wore on local activists joined in the struggle and those months saw increased incidents of direct action and militant picketing. The events of this strike were well reported here on LA-IMC as evidenced by the numerous postings.

Links to selected reports from last year

Strikers' Rally, Santa Monica, O19 by a Jesse Jackson supports Vons' Strikers by Marcus

TEAMSTERS REFUSING TO CROSS PICKET LINES @ Ralphs, Vons, Pavilions & Albertsons by Chantel G.

KUCINICH IN VENICE by Cornelius Cardew Supermarket Strike in Alhambra 10/23 by John Kawakami

Shop and Awe by Joe Hill Photos: Striking Grocery Workers March to Beverly Hills By Marcus Students and strikers unite by a

Reportback from LASSO rally Sunday, 11/23 by invisible ink Know your enemy by a

Photos: Mar Vista NPJ Joins the Food Fight! by Marcus Video from strike action by a

Mar Vista NPJ Joins the Food Fight! by Sheri Leigh Scabs fear the camera by Joe Hill

12/30 6AM El Monte Picket Line Part(2) Part (3) by reuben rivas Los Angeles Critical Mass Rides Through Vons by Carl Carlson

Photos: SHOP AND AWE...again by Mahatma Gandhi

Inglewood Union Rally by J Inglewood, Massive March by Marcus

Strike drags on - pickets lines getting tense video by a Words and images from the picket line video by A

Von's hq. Civil disobedience arrests by Bob Morris Militant Picketing hits Vons by a

NLG, LASSO Firing up the Picket Line Part (2) by Marcus Video of Militant Picketing in Hermosa Beach, January 17th and Attorney James Demaegt not Intimidated by Police at Picket Line by Marcus Militant Picketing video by a

Grocery Strikers’ Rally Pumps-up the Volume Part(2) by builder123 Grocery Workers Militant Action Part ( 2) by builder123

[The Los Angeles Independent Media Center sends out its thanks to all those who covered this historic strike. Sorry there is not a link to all the postings there were just so many of them.]