IMMIGRANT RIGHTS ACTIVISTS AND UNION ORGANIZERS WORKING TOGETHER
On Saturday, January 22 union organizers and immigrant rights activists will come together in Fresno for a historic conference. Joel Ramirez, an organizer for Carpenters Local 701, said "this conference is important because unions and immigrants need to better understand each others issues and concerns. Unions want better working conditions for immigrants but often times we don't fully understand the concerns of the immigrant workers. This conference is an opportunity for us to better understand each other."
The Immigrant Rights/Union Organizing conference is being sponsored by The Community Alliance, Northern California Coalition for Immigrant Rights, Carpenters Local 701, No Nos Vamos, Mennonite Central Committee, Pan Valley Institute, Teamsters Local 890, Lao Family Community of Fresno, Sheet Metal Workers Local 162, Frente Indigena Oaxaqueno Binacional, and MAPA Del Valle.
Edwin Peraza, Central Valley Project Coordinator with the Northern California Coalition for Immigrant Rights, said "This conference is bringing together union organizers, immigrant rights activists and the community to build a strong voice for social and economic justice." The conference will include a keynote speech by Yanira Merino from the Laborers International Union, small group discussions, and brainstorming about how to overcome the obstacles to organizing immigrants. "We want to discuss how union organizers and immigrant rights activists can work together to improve the lives of unorganized workers," Peraza added.
The conference will be held at Catholic Charities, 149 N Fulton Street in Fresno. The conference starts with registration at 9 AM and adjourns at 4:30 PM. If you have any questions call The Community Alliance at 226-0477.
SPANISH LANGUAGE Community Alliance NEWSLETTER AVAILABLE
by: Mike Rhodes, editor
After years of discussion the Community Alliance has finally done it. This month we are publishing the first issue of ALIANZA OBRERA/COMUNITARIA, our Spanish language newsletter. It is our hope that this will become a monthly publication like the newsletter you are now reading.
It was decided to print a separate newsletter in Spanish rather than making this issue bilingual. The articles in ALIANZA OBRERA/COMUNITARIA are, to a large degree, different than the articles in the English language edition. Because there are many issues that are specific to the Latina/o community we believe they deserve a forum of their own.
I encourage you to take a look at ALIANZA OBRERA/COMUNITARIA and let us know what you think. If you can help distribute the newsletter, that would be great! Our continued publication will depend on the feedback we receive.
TIME/DOLLAR ECONOMY: TIME FOR A CHANGE
by: Richard Stone
An up-dated version of the barter system is making its way to Fresno. "Time/Dollar" infuses the age-old economy of directly exchanging goods and services with the modern possibilities of credit and mediated exchange. Under an institutional umbrella, an individual can be allowed debits or can accumulate credits, i.e. can utilize services now to be paid back later or can "bank" hours to be used later...and the exchange is not necessarily between the same individuals.
To be effective, this system needs to be coordinated at a localized level such as a particular community agency or a neighborhood association. This way, personal relationships can be established as well as purely economic ones, and social values are built into the system along with the values of personal needs being met. Thus, credit can be gained for participating in organizational activities, and debits worked off through projects sponsored by the umbrella group.
It is clear that many of us can effectively "sell our labor" in the market economy. But with Time/Dollar, an hour of childcare can earn an hour of auto repair, or time given to putting out the local newsletter might be exchanged for a bag of groceries without putting comparative value on the kinds of work being done. The biggest gain, though, is in creating an economic network that gives value to community-building.
The video Who's Counting (available at the Fresno Center for Nonviolence, 237-3223) vividly shows the craziness of an economy based on GDP instead of social contributions, where any paid job (even selling cigarettes) is "counted" as valuable while raising a child is not. Time/Dollar offers a way to begin reversing this situation.
The effort to establish Time/Dollar in Fresno is being coordinated by John Rouse, a VISTA volunteer working under the auspices of California Rural Legal Assistance. John can be reached at the Volunteer Bureau (237-3103). For an example of how one local group is implementing Time/Dollar, call Richard Stone of the Lowell-Jefferson Consortium at 266-2559.
The good news is that Time/Dollar exchanges are not taxable as per a ruling by the I.R.S.
THE WTO DEMONSTRATION IN SEATTLE
by: George Ballis
I was sent to Seattle to video the experiences of 5 San Jose union plumbers, so I was glued to them for 5 days. In the next couple months I will convert some 20 hours of tape into a hopefully coherent and moving half hour.
I've been to Seattle-type happenings before, as much as 30 years ago. College age folks held workshops teaching each other how to be nonviolent, loving and respectful when police or other violence is inflicted on them. Long meetings carefully mapped lines for marchers to nonviolent civil disobedience sites.
In Seattle, hours and hours of teach-ins in several locations with experts from all over the globe dissected the anti-people, anti-environmental practices of the World Trade Organization leadership -- big business.
The marches lasted several days with as few as 1,000 people and as many as 50,000.
Chanting, singing, street theater. More leaflets and booklets than one could read in several lifetimes.
I'd been here before, many times.
But, this time, the old stuff came in a unique and much more powerful -- and hopeful -- package than any of the good ole days.
It wasn't just students doing their wild dance. It wasn't just union members demanding fair wages. It wasn't just environmentalists defending Big Mama. It wasn't just religious folks praying for righteous guidance.
Seattle was all of that and much more because we all came together in solidarity demanding the same agenda from WTO.
The head of the Sierra Club and the head of the AFL-CIO on the same platform gave, essentially, the same speech. The WTO must respect workers' rights, the environment and human rights. So far, the WTO has promoted trade by lowering environmental and worker protections.
When we all came together Tuesday in the huge 50,000+ march, we circled downtown Seattle and the city ground to a halt. No violence. Much power. What can be done with 50,000 peaceful folks of one mind and heart? Nothing.
Late in that day as the march dissolved, a small group of maybe 30 self-styled "anarchists" appeared to break windows and loot. Few, if any, were arrested. The police turned on the peaceful demonstrators. It was as if the violence surfaced to give the police the excuse. And it was this minimal violence that most of the media focused on. They couldn't fathom over 50,000 peaceful folks shutting down a big city.
However, this violence was merely a slight diversion.
All of us in the gigantic Seattle coalition came away exhilarated and with a deep conviction of our joint power. We shut down the WTO. Together. In solidarity.
A big question remains. How do we sustain this solidarity? How do we build on it? How do we get in our guts the truth that Big Mama, workers rights and human rights are all bound together?
For me, the most important picket sign in Seattle read: "NO SEPARATE PEACE."
An even more important question was raised by one of the San Jose apprentice plumbers. "We all hung together in what was a defensive action, and we won. We stopped the WTO from getting any worse. Now, how do we work together in an offensive action to make world trade really work for people and the environment and not just big corporations?"
NONVIOLENCE CENTER REPORT:
ANNUAL PLANNING RETREAT: Each January, the Board and other interested folks hold a day-long retreat to plan for the coming year. We establish goals, go over the budget, create a preliminary calendar and (perhaps most importantly) renew our sense of community. We welcome guests who'd like to join the process or simply get to know more about the Center. This year the retreat is on Sat. Jan. 8. We will carpool from the Center at 9:00 a.m.; or people can go directly to Angela & Merlin's residence near Valley Childrens Hospital--call 435-6383 for directions. It is a potluck, but guests need not bring additional food--there will be plenty.
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: The Center's secretary, Valta Pointer, is also a prolific writer. We've all seen her letters to the editor; now we can hear three of her autobiographical vignettes of growing up in Kern County some 60 years ago. Valta can be heard on KVPR, FM 89.3, on Wednesday, Jan.5 at 7:00 p.m. I think of her writing as a cross between Grandma Moses and Saroyan. See what you think.
SECOND TUESDAY (Jan. 11) will feature eye-witness reports by Valley residents who were present at "The Battle in Seattle", the events of early December around the congress of the World Trade Organization. To get unmediated coverage, and to discuss what was at stake and what can be done, join us. Potluck 6:30 p.m., program 7:30.
MONEY MATTERS, AGAIN: As a result of our annual appeal, our donor base grew somewhat and many of you responded to our call to increase your yearly pledge. But because of our limited fund-raising capacity throughout the year, we are still without much "pad" for unexpected events (like the copier breaking down). Our immediate fears were greatly alleviated by two very generous donations in the "life membership" range (over $1000). But if you have ideas and/or energy for generating income by way of special programs, stock transfer plans, etc. please give Angela a call at 435-6383.
OPEN HOURS: Our experiment with having the Center open at fixed hours was not a success...and Matilda is back working full time. So we are trying another approach. Anyone wanting to visit the Center for information, literature or videos can call Valta at 438-1967 or
Richard at 266-2559.
The Welch Report December 14, 1999.
The non-violent protesters at the recent W.T.O. (World Trade Organization) meetings in Seattle had valid concerns for working persons' rights, environmental protection, and greater openness in the organization's operations.
"Lockheed Martin in Texas puts welfare recipients to work as trainees on assembly lines in exchange for their welfare checks, Lockheed thereby getting free labor. If you book a flight on TWA, you likely will be talking to a prisoner at a California correctional facility that the airline uses for its reservation service... Microsoft has used Washington state prisoners to pack and ship Windows software." The trend to such use of prison labor is growing.
The growth in the US incarceration rate is directed largely at the poor and marginalized, whereas a major source of social harm and crime in our society is corporate. Time magazine has reported, "that Fortune 500 companies have erased more jobs than they have created in the past decade, yet are the biggest recipients of corporate welfare... Government now gives tax incentives and other benefits to private employers to hire welfare workers at minimum wage, or less."
(San Jose Peace Times, Oct. 1999)
Concerning Iraq, our government believes Islam is a fundamentalist religion and Islamic terrorism now poses the greatest threat to national security. The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) believes Islam, like most religions, is essentially a religion of peace; the religions of the world must be united in their opposition to violence.
Our government believes Iraq must be punished because Saddam Hussein is a madman who used chemical weapons against his own people. FOR notes that when the Iraqi government gassed thousands of Kurds in the 1980s for their support of Iran in the Iran-Iraq War, the US was silent and continued to supply Iraq with money and weapons.
US planes have been bombing Iraqi targets in the "no-fly" zones since December 1998 in "self defense". FOR believes this patrolling of the "no-fly" zones is a breach of international law and the UN charter.
FOR believes the US is guilty of economic ethnic cleansing in Iraq (via the sanctions). We should help rebuild Iraq's destroyed infrastructure, provide clean water and medicines to sick Iraqi children, and disarm the entire Middle East (UN Resolution 687).
Sixty-six percent of Americans think that more tax dollars should go to health care, yet the military budget is the fastest growing part of the federal budget. The discretionary budget for health care-related programs now is $35b, the amount we spend every year on nuclear weapons alone. If we spent $20b less on European defense, we could raise funding for all of California's least-funded schools to the level of our best-funded ones. The Republican Congress is planning to increase the military budget by $112b over the next six years for a total of $1.9 trillion!
Which investments are more important: improving health care coverage to protect the family and give our children the education they deserve, or building weapons we don't need and defending other wealthy nations? (California Peace Action The Catalyst, Fall 1999)
UPDATE ON THE STRIKE AT BASIC VEGETABLE IN KING CITY
The Campbell's Soup Company, which operates unionized plants in California, has purchased dehydrated garlic and onion products from Basic Vegetable for the past several years. Basic strikers and their union, Teamsters Local 890, have asked Campbell's to reconsider their purchasing arrangements. Starting this week, teams of strikers are visiting Campbell's plants
in California to educate those workers about the anti-labor practices of Basic Vegetable and the huge anti-union political contributions of the company's owners, the Hume family ($200,000 for Prop 226 alone!).
Teamsters Local 890 is asking you to reinforce the strikers' message to Campbell's at their website at http://www.campbellsoup.ca/CRS_Center/index2.html . Your message should:
WE ARE NOT BOYCOTTING CAMPBELL'S AT THIS TIME!
For more information on the Basic strike, visit the strike website at
http://teamsters890.org/strike.htm
For info on the Hume's anti-labor political contributions, go to
http://teamsters890.org/humefamily.htm
______
UNION-LABEL CHAMPAGNE FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM NOW AVAILABLE
A new agreement between the United Farm Workers and the vineyard firm that harvests for a famed French Champagne-maker is the fourth contract between the Cesar Chavez-founded UFW and a Northern California wine grape grower and the union's first-ever agreement in Mendocino
County.
Workers at the 580-acre, Philo-based Anderson Vineyards harvest grapes for Roederer Estate Winery. Roederer Estate produces high quality California champagnes.
Under the one-year union contract, the company's 100 vineyard workers won a 2% pay increase--to a minimum base wage rate of $6.35 an hour--with up to an additional 10% bonus on wages paid to each worker and a profit sharing plan of up to 6% of wages received for the year.
In addition, the pact provides comprehensive medical, dental and vision benefits for workers and their dependents; a 401K retirement plan; nine paid holidays a year; paid vacations; seniority rights; protections for workers involving layoffs, recalls, transfers and promotions; and a grievance and binding arbitration procedure. The agreement was ratified by the workers in November and took effect retroactively to September 15.
The UFW recently signed a contract on behalf of 50 workers at the St. Helena-based Charles Krug-Mondavi vineyards and 80 workers at Vista Vineyard Management. In 1996, the union negotiated a pact covering the 80 employees at St. Supury Vineyards. All three firms are in the Napa Valley.
Workers at Anderson Vineyards voted for the UFW in a state-supervised secret ballot election on Sept. 21, 1998. The company's Champagnes are sold under the Roederer Estate label.
The Anderson Vineyards agreement is the UFW's 24rd contract with a grower since union President Arturo Rodriguez kicked off a new union organizing and contract negotiating drive in 1994. Since then, the UFW has also won 18 union elections.
WILL PROGRESSIVES PLAY A ROLE IN LOCAL FRESNO POLITICS?
By: Mike Rhodes
The left has been locked out of electoral politics in this community for years. That is about to change! This year the Community Alliance, groups concerned about environmental issues, gay & lesbian rights, and other progressive community groups in Fresno are getting together with candidates to talk to them about support for an agenda that addresses our issues and concerns. Candidates will be forced to look over their "left" shoulder as they campaign for elected office.
A coalition of community groups, including the Community Alliance, has come together and will be sponsoring a series of candidate forums next month. There will be three forums. The first will talk with candidates running for Mayor and City Council in Fresno. That event will be held on Tuesday, February 8 from 7 - 9 PM. The second candidate forum will take place on Tuesday, February 15 and will focus on the Board of Supervisors and State Assembly races. The last forum will be on Tuesday, January 22 and will talk with candidates running for U.S. Congress. A location has not yet been selected but we will have that information in the February newsletter. For now, just mark your calendars for these important dates.
These forums will provide numerous progressive groups with the opportunity to directly ask candidates questions that reflect the concerns of their members. The audience will also be invited to ask the candidates questions. We hope these forums will give the progressive community the chance to evaluate the candidates on a number of different issues that our important to us. In the past this newsletter has printed the endorsements of the Central Labor Council and sometimes other groups. This year we will be able to provide readers with a wider range of issues to evaluate candidates by.
Already we have found some interesting individuals among the candidates who are running. Pasquale Carbone who is a candidate for Fresno County Supervisor in District 5 has written articles for this newsletter and was a participant in the Battle for Seattle WTO demonstrations. Mary Lee Gowland who is running for George Radanovich's seat in the U.S. Congressional 19th District is a Green Party member. Chris Peterson, who is an ex-Fresno City Council Member, is running for mayor. Chris supports this newsletter by running an ad for his bike store every month.
It is the position of the Community Alliance that the progressive movement should have a voice in local politics. We hope that all of our readers will participate in the democratic process by attending these candidate forums and voting in the March elections.
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