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
Occupy Long Beach Strikes at Walmart on Black Friday, November 23, 2012
March 26 Labor Solidarity March Photos
