Katie Gjertson is the AFL-CIO Western Region field representative.
Amid chants of “Hey Hey! Ho Ho! Union Busters Gotta Go!”, CALPINE workers at the Geysers geothermal plant filed for a union election yesterday at the San Francisco National Labor Relation Board’s office. Over the last three years, CALPINE management have ignored repeated workers’ concerns and violated workers' trust by implementing “take aways” and instituting changes that threaten safety and job security.
Three days following the 76th birthday of the creation of Social Security, 1,000 seniors, students, and community members rallied in front of Senator Feinstein’s San Francisco and LA offices yesterday, urging the Senator to be a champion on protecting Social Security.
Members of the California Alliance of Retired Americans (CARA) have been meeting with Senator Feinstein’s staff to stress the importance of protecting Social Security. To put a human face on the importance of Social Security, CARA asked its members to submit stories to share with the Senator and her staff.
February 19th marks the five year anniversary 65 miners were buried in the bowels of Grupo México Pasta de Conchos coal mine in the northern state of Coahuila. Five years later, the bodies of 63 of the 65 miners that died at Pasta de Conchos remain buried and the Mexican government has failed to investigate or prosecute those responsible.
Rather than addressing our stagnant economy or drafting legislation that would put people back to work, Republicans made their first move this week in the 112th Congress by voting to repeal health care reform. The Republicans’ (and a few Democrats’) position is clear: they support denying coverage to children born sick, they support insurance company practices that drop people when they get ill and deny coverage because of deadly pre-existing conditions (like acne), and they definitely support higher drug costs for seniors.
On the day of the vote in the House of Representatives, constituents of the third Congressional District (Dan Lungren – R), the Sacramento Central Labor Council and HCAN coalition partners held a press conference in front of Rep. Lungren’s Elk Grove district office to challenge the congressman’s position of siding with the insurance companies over the people in his district.
In solidarity with International Human Rights Day (Dec 10), the Alameda Labor Council, Contra Costa Labor Council, LA County Federation of Labor, Sacramento Central Labor Council, and San Mateo Central Labor Council organized handbill actions highlighting Chase bank’s bad practices and banking relationship with Reynolds Tobacco.
Union members and community partners educated Chase bank patrons and passersby with a flyer that said “Chase Bank: What’s Gone Wrong?”, which outlines the bank's role in the foreclosure crisis and its relationship with Reynolds Tobacco.
and Jodi Reid
Leading up the recent failed vote on the Deficit Commission report, the California Alliance for Retired Americans recently held successful demonstrations in front of Speaker Pelosi’s San Francisco office and Xavier Becerra’s Los Angeles Office.
CARA’s rally could not have come at a better time, as the Deficit Commission zeroed in on cutting Medicare and Social Security. Calling for “No Cuts to Social Security,” seniors and union activists sang and rallied in the rain – to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic.
