Labor & Workers News

On February 26, demonstrators gathered at Whole Foods Market in Santa Cruz to protest Driscoll's, the largest berry distributor in the world with a history unjust labor practices and repression of union organizing. Founded in the Pajaro Valley in 1904, Driscoll's is a privately held company with headquarters in Watsonville. Production of Driscoll’s berries extends into 22 countries. Outside of the Whole Foods demonstration, Michael Joseph urged customers, "Don't buy Driscoll's berries until the farmworkers get the basic human rights they deserve!"

Workers who grow, harvest, and pack Driscoll’s lucrative berries are struggling against the systematic abuses they are forced to endure, and the companies profiting from the exploitation of their collective labor. Demonstrators say they support the farmworkers, including the boycott they initiated against Driscoll's, and cite poor working and living conditions, as well as growers refusing to negotiate with the workers' unions: Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ) [Families United for Justice] in Washington State and the Sindicato Independiente Nacional Democrático de Jornaleros Agrícolas (SINDJA) [National Democratic Union of Independent Farmworkers] in Baja California. The union SINDJA is called La Alianza (The Alliance) for short.

Tomás Madrigal explains, "In 2013 farmworkers at Sakuma Brothers Farms in Burlington, Washington launched a boycott against Sakuma. In response to the successful boycott against their brand, Sakuma Brothers shifted production in 2014 and began packing fresh market berries exclusively into Driscoll’s label cartons." As Driscoll’s continues to stand behind Sakuma Brothers Farms, workers in Washington State expanded their focus from Sakuma Brothers and towards the boycott of Driscoll’s. The call to boycott Driscoll's was internationalized after a farmworker rebellion in the San Quintín Valley of Baja California reached a boiling point in March 2015.

Read More with Photos

Previous Coverage: Boycott Driscoll’s Action in Watsonville | U.S. and Mexican Workers Call for Boycott of Driscoll’s Berries

On January 2, a couple dozen people kicked off 2016 with a protest in Watsonville, where Driscoll's, the world's largest distributor of fresh berries, is both headquartered and first began producing strawberries in 1904. The demonstrators are amplifying a campaign initiated by farmworkers in Washington State and Baja California to boycott Driscoll's strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries.

Workers who grow, harvest, and pack the lucrative berries are struggling against the systematic abuses they are forced to endure, and the companies profiting from the exploitation of their collective labor.

Gloria Gracida attended the demonstration, which was held at Mi Pueblo Market on Freedom Boulevard in Watsonville, a large chain supermarket which sells the berries. She explained that contrary to claims made by Driscoll’s and it's subcontractors, there are ongoing labor disputes with Driscoll’s growers in San Quintín over unfair wages and wage theft, mistreatment and sexual harassment in the workplace, and against the dependency upon child labor for production. Gracida, known as Maestra Gloria, was born in San Martín Peras, Oaxaca, and spoke on behalf of the Alianza de Organizaciones Nacionales, Estatales y Municipales para Justicia Social (the Alliance of National, State and Municipal Organizations for Social Justice) based in San Quintín.

Read More with Photos and Video: Boycott Driscoll’s Action in Watsonville | Community Members in Watsonville Demonstrate in Support of Driscoll's Berry Boycott

Previous Coverage: U.S. and Mexican Workers Call for Boycott of Driscoll’s Berries

On November 12 students at UC Santa Cruz joined students at college campuses across the country for a "Million Student March," a day of local actions organized nationally around three principle demands: tuition-free public college, cancellation of all student debt, and a $15 minimum wage for all campus workers. Million Student March actions were organized at over 100 schools, and the movement has been endorsed by political figures such as Noam Chomsky and Jill Stein, as well as by organizations such as Young Democratic Socialists and the labor union National Nurses United.

"The United States is the richest country in the world, yet students have to take on crippling debt in order to get a college education," a national announcement for the Million Student March read. "We need change, and change starts in the streets when the people demand it. With students, college graduates, and workers united we can build a movement capable of winning debt-free college for all and a $15 minimum wage for all campus workers."

At UC Santa Cruz, the march was organized by the UCSC Student Labor Action Project, as well as students involved with "Fund the UC," a campaign organized by the UC Student Association to fight for the "affordability, quality and accessibility" of the University of California system.

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September 22nd was the Pope's first day of a historic visit to the United States. Placards calling upon the religious leader to "stand with us for workers' rights" were amongst those carried by protesters at the Hyatt Santa Clara, which is adjacent to Tech Mart. Hyatt's aggressive use of subcontractors allows it to pay poverty wages to workers.

While their direct employees are often well compensated, large companies in Silicon Valley contract out many of their jobs to workers who are poorly paid and don't receive even the most basic benefits. Hyatt and other companies use underpaid Black, Latino and immigrant contract labor as landscaping workers, janitors, cooks and security guards. Silicon Valley’s "invisible" workers do not share in the success of the tech industry.

Pro-labor groups protested Hyatt's lack of corporate responsibility. A joint effort between Silicon Valley Rising and SEIU-United Service Workers West brought together workers and their supporters in the demonstration in front of the Hyatt Santa Clara. The group then marched to one of the contractors that the Hyatt uses, Universal Protection Services, where they renewed their protest.

Silicon Valley Low Wage Workers Rise Up! | Hyatt Outsources Jobs: The People Protest

The farm worker movement mourns the passing on June 7, 2015, of Rev. Deacon Sal Alvarez, who played a key role with Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta in the farm worker movement and on behalf of many other worthy causes over seven decades. Sal was motivated by deep faith in a movement grounded in the Catholic Church’s social justice teachings and dedication to Our Lady of Guadalupe.

After earning a masters degree in social work from UC Berkeley and working with the U.S. Catholic Conference, Sal met Cesar Chavez in the late 1960s, while working with the Bishops Committee on Farm Labor. He became a United Farm Workers researcher in 1976, and was soon assigned as legislative aide to Dolores Huerta, with whom Sal forged a close working relationship for decades.

Sal spent years at the state Capitol in Sacramento, battling industry attempts to dismantle the historic Agricultural Labor Relations Act. He also worked on abolishing the short-handled hoe, winning workers compensation for farm workers and pushing UC to provide relief for agricultural workers displaced by its mechanization research.

Read More | United Farm Workers

After seven years of stagnant wages, city workers who have been economically shut out of Santa Cruz marched from the Town Clock to City Hall on May 26 to hand-deliver a letter from the community to the City Council, demanding a response to the need for a living wage, affordable housing and community investment for all. Seven demonstrators were arrested after they stood before the podium and locked arms, and then refused to leave Council Chambers.

The workers are members of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 521. The union has stated that 46% of city workers are unable to live within city limits due to high housing costs and wage cuts workers have agreed to since 2009 to deal with the recession. They are also fighting for pay equity, stating that in Santa Cruz, 35% of female workers, on average, make $1.29 less than their male co-workers.

SEIU 521 writes: With signs that Santa Cruz has recovered from the recession, such as a balanced city budget and bonuses paid to its city leaders, city workers remain behind. The city pays an average of only $34,000 per year—about half of the median income for Santa Cruz County—to its workers such as landscapers, sanitation drivers, administrative personnel, library workers and parking attendants. These workers qualify for housing subsidies to afford rent in Santa Cruz. Similar to fast-food workers and their fight for economic justice, Santa Cruz’s low-wage city workers are dedicated to uplifting the community by fighting for living wages, affordable housing and community re-investment to benefit all.

Read More with Photos | Video | SEIU 521

All around the world May Day has been a day for labor solidarity, immigrant rights, direct action, reclaiming the streets, and speaking out against injustice. May Day 2015 in the Northern California was a busy day for actions from San Francisco and Oakland to San Jose and Mountain View to Santa Cruz and Fresno. Call-outs went out for rallies, marches, flying pickets, the shutdown of the Port of Oakland, a tech commute blockade, and an anti-capitalist/Baltimore solidarity march. Indybay will update this feature as new reports from actions come in.

May Day #ShutItDown Communique and Banner Drop Photos! | May Day #ShutItDown! list of events for San Francisco and Oakland

Oakland:
5:30am — Flying Picket Against Clorox! Downtown Oakland
7:30am — The Tech Commute Did Not Take Place | Tech Commute Shut Down at MacArthur BART! (Fuck Off Google documentary) | Block the Tech Commute at MacArthur BART
9:00am — ILWU Local 10 Shuts Down Port, Joins Community in March to Oscar Grant Plaza | ILWU Local 10 to Shut Down Oakland Port on May Day to Demand an End to Police Terror | Labor Against Police Terror ILWU Port Shutdown and Rally (Berth 62)
10:00am — Scenes from ILWU Led May Day in Oakland | May Day march at Port of Oakland to protest police killings | Labor Against Police Terror March from the Port to Oakland City Hall | KPFA Live Video May Day March Against Police Brutality
12pm — Oakland to Baltimore Solidarity Shout Out from Oscar Grant Plaza, Oakland | Labor Against Police Terror Rally at Oscar Grant Plaza
7pm — Baltimore Solidarity Banner Drop in Oakland | May Day for Freddie Gray/Anti-capitalist Rally
8pm — Oakland 2 Baltimore: We Got Your Back March

Fresno:
May Day 2015 in Fresno

Mountain View:
March and Rally: Timely Topics in Mountain View

San Francisco:
1:30pm — International Workers' Day Regional Festival, Civic Center Plaza
3:30pm — Regional March to 24th and Mission
5:00pm — Closing program 24th and Mission

San Jose:
2pm — International Workers' Day March | Dia Internacional de Trabajadores

Santa Cruz:
4:30pm — International Workers' Day Rally

Suppliers of Driscoll’s, which may be the U.S.’s most recognizable brand name on strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and blackberry cartons, are coming under fire for allegedly abusing workers, in the U.S. and Mexico. One Driscoll’s grower has spent weeks embroiled in a major farmworker protest, while a nearly two-year boycott against another grower recently intensified. Workers in both disputes have called for a boycott against the company.

Its conventional and organic berries can be found year-round everywhere from Sam’s Club to Whole Foods. Driscoll's is headquartered in Watsonville, California. The company has fields in California, Florida, Mexico, and Australia, but to keep its berries stocked far and wide, it uses a vast supplier network stretching from Canada to Argentina.

Last month in the fields of San Quintin, in the Mexican state of Baja California, thousands of farm laborers picking multiple crops destined for Driscoll's boxes stopped work for nearly two weeks, demanding higher wages and legally required benefits, among other protections. Protests turned acrimonious when demonstrators threw rocks at government vehicles and police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

In Washington state, Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ), which says it represents over 400 berry pickers, has been locked in a labor struggle with Driscoll’s supplier Sakuma Brothers Farms since 2013. FUJ has long held a boycott against Sakuma berries and its largest customers, Driscoll’s and Häagen-Dazs. On March 24, it doubled down on the boycott when the fair trade advocacy organization Fair World Project sent a letter to Driscoll’s, signed by nearly 10,000 consumers, asking it to suspend buying from Sakuma Brothers until the dispute is resolved. The signatories pledged not to buy Driscoll’s berries until then.

Read More | See Also: Driscoll’s Berry Boycott and Labor Dispute Intensifies

Activists in Oakland came out in the hundreds to rally and march for a $15 minimum wage on April 15, tax day. They started their protests by shutting down all of the McDonald's restaurants in Oakland with chanting, flash mobs and and banners. The San Pablo McDonald's was greeted by activists handing out over 200 free "burritos for justice" made with vegetables from the UC Gill Tract Community Farm. Protesters also received a surprise visit by former United States Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich. About mid morning, participants from all of the thirteen McDonald's restaurants marched and congregated at the 45th Avenue fast food branch. At the end of the day all gathered at UC Berkeley for a final rally and march.

The action in Berkeley began with a rally at Sproul Plaza. Participants came from actions all over the San Francisco Bay area earlier in the day, including San Jose and surrounding South Bay communities, San Francisco, and Marin County, many of which targeted McDonald's outlets. Mayor Ruth Atkins of Emeryville drew cheers from the rally crowd as she announced that on July 1, the city's minimum wage would rise to $14.42 an hour. Other area communities including Oakland, San Francisco and Berkeley have raised or are in the process of increasing their minimum wage, while State Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, has introduced a bill to raise the state's minimum. After the rally, over one thousand protesters marched through the heart of Berkeley, stopping at the downtown McDonald's, and temporarily snarling traffic.

The fight for $15 takes Oakland by Storm | Berkeley demonstration for $15 at site of 60’s Free Speech Movement | 3 #FightFor15 Protests in 1 Day, Featuring Robert Reich | "No Justice No Peace" Bay Area Workers & Unions Rally for $15 & A Union On April 15, 2015 | Week of Success! Fight for Fifteen, Boycott Sprouts, and EIR Lawsuit! | Fight for $15 on 4/15 March, Oakland to Berkeley

On April 15, urban farmers from the UC Gill Tract Community Farm, Occupy the Farm, other food and climate justice communities, and fast food workers took action together at an Oakland McDonalds, in conjunction with Fight for Fifteen actions happening all across the country. Free burritos made with vegetables from the UC Gill Tract Community Farm were distributed at the McDonalds. By noon, fast food workers and Gill Tract farmers joined forces again for a Boycott Sprouts action at the grand opening of a Sprouts “Farmers Market” in San Rafael to protest the greenwashing, union-busting corporate supermarket’s plans to pave the historic Gill Tract Farm in Albany. Sprouts is known for their low pay, labor violations and union-busting. Protesters arrived by bus with signs, speakers and music to demand that Sprouts not only cancel its plans to develop the Gill Tract farm but that workers be paid at least $15/hour and be allowed union representation. Activists and community members have been fighting UC Berkeley for decades trying to save this farm land from being lost, but UC and Sprouts have agreed to turn a significant portion of the Gill Tract into a shopping center.

Photos | Week of Success! Fight for Fifteen, Boycott Sprouts, and EIR Lawsuit! | Occupy the Farm | Boycott Sprouts

Previous Related Indybay Features: Protesters Shut Down Sprouts Farmers Market to Stop Planned Development of Historic Gill Tract | UC's Capital Projects Races to Remove Trees to Make Way for Development