Los Angeles Indymedia : Activist News

The Bush plan for a guest worker program mirrors the old Bracero program and the recent H1-B visa program for high-tech workers: a business-friendly system of inviting labor into the country who can be deported when their labor is no longer needed. Immigration Plan Chains Workers by Rosalio Muñoz

The most infamous legacy of the Bracero program, aside from the death and exploitation common to all labor-import situations reminiscent of slavery, were the hundreds of millions of dollars of back pay that were deducted from worker's pay by American banks. (An old SFBG story about this.) Bracero Class Action Lawsuit.

In the post-dotcom era, high-tech workers have found themselves in a situation of watching jobs "offshored" to other countries. During the boom, tech workers were allowed into the country via the H1-B visa program. Afterward, the workers were sent home, then, the jobs were sent along with them. The high-tech sector is woefully un-organized, and many workers espouse a "Libertarian" pro-business political line that rejects regulation and collective bargaining in favor of "free markets", "freelancing", "small business", and "individually negotiated contracts". Lacking the political will for self-organizing, the tech workers find themselves atomized and ripe for exploitation. See: WashTech

Ten thousand people, in the biggest labor rally in LA history, marched to Vons in solidarity with the southland supermarket strikers fighting for their health care. The local TV news media are giving the strike a negative spin, and ignoring actions large and small, despite the widespread popularity of this strike. photos by a.

Going into the third month of the biggest strike in recent memory, the LASSO strike support group, the CAPSL group from Answer, SGV Community Labor Alliance, and others went to El Monte, where Vons has a distribution center, to assist picketers in discouraging scab truckers from delivering food. photos by reuben rivas (who also has a great blog). and more photos.

Activists who want the straight dope about the strike can go to any picket line and hang out with the strikers and their captain. Take something to share or donate. The rumor mill is in full effect, and the latest information is best heard from the source. I heard unconfirmed, but likely true, stories about unqualified scab workers, with possibly questionable pasts working for Vons.

More Strike News
• Viva la Huelga de Southern California by Celeste Murillo in Argentina
• Misleladers Strategy Undermines Grocery Strike, a criticism of UCFW's strategy in this strike.
• Unionvoice calls for nationwide boycotts and donations to a strike fund!
• San Francisco Strike Support by z
• Keep an eye on Friends of Labor, a website with labor news, from the harbor cities.

Teamsters and Supermarket Strikers today remain picketing at Vons distribution centers, in a directed effort at Safeway (Vons' parent company) CEO Stephen Burd, who is considered their public enemy #1 for his extreme anti-union attitudes. Picketers at the Vons distribution centers need community support to make it through the holidays. Activists can help by taking up a sign and picketing at stores on Christmas Eve and Christmas day to give strikers a break so they can go home and enjoy the holidays.

Volunteer reports from the newswire:
• march photos by marcus
• a support report from gandhi
• numbers
• shop and awe

Local progressive and radical youth have been putting on benefit events to support the supermarket workers. Here are a few. LASSO and UJSC benefit, Saber Tooth Tiger. If you know of more, report and review them on the newswire. Announce them to the calendar.

"You've got to party for your right to fight!" -- Public Enemy

New stories have been filed. We are looking for more stories about striker support organizations. Please take time to write a story about your organization, what it does and it's history, and post it to the newswire.

On December 6th, the U of Judaism and LASSO will host a benefit event for strikers.

Strike Stories

• Dennis Kucinich in East LA, and Some Words from a Striker (video + article) by Flux Rostrum
• Know Your Enemy (photo of a hired monitor) by a
• Fight to Win
• Strike Solidarty Report Back about real worker politics by invisible ink
• Building Bridges Radio features extensive talk with Matt Hart from Yorba Linda
• San Francisco Solidarity Action
• UCLA Students support (video)by a
• Students Support Strike With Two Mile March
• UCLA Students Support Vons Strikers by Marcus
• Scabs Attack Workers in Long Beach
• Video of Manager Confronting Strikers
• Four pieces about Mar Vista's peace group supporting a picket: A report, photos, video, more photos.
• Another Report from Vons by invisible ink. The adventure continues.
• Grocery Lockout by invisible ink, about one strike supporter's experiences with LASSO.
• Over 200 Rally in West Covina by DarrelLee
• USC Green Network Supports Strikers

For an archive of stories, check out the Labor feature page.

This is an archive of stories from the first four weeks of the strike.

New story: Grocery Lockout by invisible ink, about one strike supporter's experiences with LASSO.

Amidst the tension new organizations have sprouted from the grass roots to support the strikers. The UCFW called for a Adopt A Store program, where organizations adopt a store to assist with strikes. Groups independent of the Union have also formed. Answer, the anti-war group, has formed a support organization CAPSL. LASSO, a group meeting at the Peace Center, exists for individuals on the west side. A support action by UCLA students occured in Westwood. CSU Long Beach Campus Progressives Collective called a support action. The SGV Community/Labor Alliance supports the Von's in Alhambra.

Past stories:

• Strike Support Update by Rosalio
• Grocery Strikers Must Win an opinion piece about Long Beach city workers
• Strikers, Fire, and Unity
• The Role of Women and APIs in this Strike by Siu Hin
• OC Rally on the 25th
• More Oct 23 Rally Photos
• Formation of a Solidarity Committee by Javier (another article by him)
• Grocery Strike Impressions(a great article by Rosalio, a reader of this site)
• LA Greens Give Free Massages to Striking Workers (great audio)
• Wal Mart's Benefits Come Under Fire
• Jesse Jackson in Santa Monica
• More Santa Monica Pics
• Strike LA Style: Celebs join Kucinich in picketing in Venice.
• Radikal kids help strikers out at Yorba Linda Vons.
• Health Care Costs Spark Strike.
• Support All Unions
• Five Simple Ways You Can Support the Strikers.
• Picking at Scabs (a great OCW article.)
• LA Greens Offer Massages to Striking Workers (there's a political party that isn't out to pull an Arnold on them.)
• Jesse Jackson Joins the Picket in Santa Monica.
• The County Federation of Labor Solidarity with the Strikers.