Free Speech 2 - Corporate Repression 0

By Mike Rhodes

Free Speech and anti-sweatshop activists won a major victory last month when judge Kent Hamlin dismissed all charges in the criminal proceedings against The Gap 19. Hamlin said that the trespassing charge we were accused of was being dismissed because our actions were constitutionally protected.

The arrests arose out of a demonstration at the Fashion Fair mall which took place on May 6, 2000. On that day a small group of about 50 peaceful anti-sweatshop protestors were confronted by over 100 police officers (many dressed in riot gear), a police helicopter overhead, and the chief of police on hand to witness the arrests. While holding anti-sweatshop signs, handing out fliers to shoppers, and talking to neighbors protestors were arrested, handcuffed, and taken to a detention facility.

We won this case for two reasons:

1. The first is because of our excellent legal counsel. Patience Milrod, Jack Weisberg, and Robert Hirth worked endless hours researching the law, writing briefs, and appearing on our behalf in court.

2. The second reason we won this case is because of our tenacity. I don ’t believe that the prosecutor or Fashion Fair thought The Gap 19 would invest the time and effort to prevail in this case. Why would anyone spend over a year and a half appearing in court on a regular basis, find the resources to pay for adequate legal counsel, run the risk of paying a significant fine and serving jail time, when you could plead out and get 10 hours of community service time?

But the defendants in this case were not interested in doing what was expedient. There was an important principle at stake. A principle of Free Speech that they realized would effect the community for a long time to come. If Fashion Fair and the Fresno Police department succeeded in intimidating and threatening people with arrest for speaking out at the mall then no group or individual would be safe.

Another reason for continuing with the criminal proceedings was that it provided a great opportunity to keep the issue of The Gap ’s use of sweatshop labor alive and in front of the public. We could not have bought the publicity that these arrests generated. Just about everyone in Fresno now knows that The Gap ’s use of sweatshop labor is an issue. Most people believe that The Gap should pay workers "A Living Wage. "

The fact that people were willing to risk arrest to get this message out makes an impression on people. When you are standing on Shaw Avenue and lots of people are honking support for this cause you know that this group has had an impact in the community.

GAP SWEATSHOP PROTESTS EXPAND

Anti-sweatshop groups have been protesting at Fashion Fair on the first Saturday of each month for almost two years now. Organizers have negotiated with Fashion Fair who now give the group a table inside where information is handed out to shoppers. The group also has a rally on Shaw Avenue where protestors hold signs and hand out anti-sweatshop balloons. On Saturday, November 3 protestors will take STOP GAP SWEATSHOPS posters to the front of Fashion Fair -to the very spot where they were arrested 18 months ago. Nobody is expecting arrests this time.

ON TO CIVIL SUITS

Several of the activists who were arrested have filed a civil action against the Macerich Corporation and the City of Fresno If successful this suit will accomplish three things.

• It will compensate our intrepid legal team and pay them for the work that they have performed.

• If the court agrees that our civil liberties were violated and agrees to pay damages it will make the Macerich Corporation, Fashion Fair, and the City of Fresno think twice before arresting citizens who are exercising their Constitutional Rights.

• If the group receives an award from the court it is the intention of those who filled the lawsuit to use that money to fund efforts in the peace social and economic justice community in Fresno.

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Congratulations on GAP 19 Free Speech Triumph

Congratulations to all. Great work upholding free speech at a time efforts are being made to curtail our civil liberties!!!
—Medea Benjamin/Global Exchange

Congratulations! The best news I have heard in 29 days.
—Robin Greiner

Congratulations on this courageous and successful action for laboring people and for free speech!
—Bryan Jessup

WOW ,that is HUGE! Congratulations to all former defendants and counsel!!
—Doug Gordon

WOW, CONGRATULATIONS and MANY THANKS TO THE INTREPID FRESNO GAP-TIVISTS AND YOUR ATTORNEYS FOR YOUR HARD-WON VICTORY for First Amendment Rights in Shopping Malls!!!!! (I’m blind cc.ing our Core Group and Friends on this e-mail!)
—Mary Bull

Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap Campaign 252 Frederick Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 chalice@wco.com 415-731-7924 http://www.gapsucks.org

Hey Mike: CONGRADULATIONS!! MAZALTOV!! and yeah, I guess congradulation to the entire GAP 21. Well, who knows, maybe there is some hope for this city after all!
—Richard Gomez

YIPPPIIIIEEEEEEE!!!!! You all Rock! Thanks for sticking this out, for the time, for the energy, for bringing hope to me on an otherwise pretty grim week. Peace and thanks for a bit of good news.
—Loretta Kensinger

Awesome, Mike. Great news!
—Teresa Espana

Congratulations Mike and all who participated. Saw you on the 11 p.m. news last night and on Elfies website "Don’t Whine, Organize." Finally we have something to cheer about. The free speech victory in the courts is a real victory compared to the macho U.S. bombing of an ancient country already in despair after 22 years of war. Good work!
—Pat Wolk

Congratulations all of you! it was hard earned battle. Viva la libre espression!con todo mi respecto y carino.
—M. Gloria Hernandez

That is so awesome, congratulations!!!! This just reinforces that standing out for what you believe in through thick and thin is what this is all about. SO many times we (society) are intimadated by law enforcement and think they usually know what’s right. But they are not always right, they make mistakes and those mistakes have lasting effects. This story will live on for decades as a huge step forward in the progressive community in our local area and throughout the nation.

Great work!!! Thanks for sharing,
—Gabrielle Kirkland

Utah was right — Gene Bluestein

"The state can ’t give you free speech, and the state can ’t take it away.

You ’re born with it, like your eyes, like your ears. Freedom is something you assume, then you wait for someone to try to take it away. The degree to which you resist is the degree to which you are free..."
—Utah Phillips

Congratulations, Mike -we saw it on FOX - couldn’t believe it -great news!
—Patty Ford

This is almost anti-climactic, but congratulations. It does allow for time to go on to other things. Judge Hamlin was undoubtedly influenced by the fact that he (or someone) would be dealing with an overflowing courtroom and constant agitation. Good work to all concerned.
—Catherine Campbell

Congratulations to all who fought so tirelessly for this victory including Judge Hamlin. This is the best news I have heard in years.

Peace,
—Bob Baker

Congratulations!
—Allison Fletcher

Jobs with Justice, 501 3rd St. NW, Washington, DC 20001

Hello Mike, Congratulations to all of you folks and organizations for your wonderful victory! In this time and age it is very appropriate to celebrate. Patricia and I drink to you. In Solidarity!
—Agustin Lira & Patricia Wells Solorzano

Wow! Thanks to you Mike -we are going to celebrate!
—Glenn DeVgood

Mike, This is great news! Congratulations to all.
—Chris Schneider

Mike, Congratulations to all of the defendants, their great legal team, and all of the supporters! This was a hard fought victory for free speech.
—Howard Watkins

Yahoo! Congrats.
—Erin Kennedy

Mike- This is fantastic! Congratulations!! Would it be okay with you if we put this into our JwJ Monthly Update?
—Laura McSpedon

Jobs with Justice -Student Labor Action Project

Congratulations, I read about it in the Bee. Good Job!
—Grace Solis Alvarado

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NOV.14

DOING DEMOCRACY AUTHOR

by Richard Stone

Bill Moyer--organizer, writer, educator, trainer in non-violent social movements for over 40 years--will be returning to Fresno on Wednesday, November 14.

Many will remember the excellent workshop Bill led for us two years ago, an event which significantly raised the level of mutual awareness and interaction among local peace-an-justice groups.

This time Bill is coming on tour for his recently-published book DOING DEMOCRACY. Because of the recent crisis he will also address the issue of anti-war organizing and the strategy to build a peace movement. He will be the Center for Nonviolence guest on Stir It Up that day (KFCF 88.1 FM at 3:30 PM), and at 7 PM that evening he will speak at the center which is located at 985 N Van Ness. He will be re-capping the material in his book (about how social movements work, and how to strategize based on this analysis),and answering questions .He will, of course, also be selling signed copies of the book.

Come hear and support this informed, motivating change-agent, whose work has been praised by the likes of David Kortner (author of When Corporations Rule the World), Paul Ray (co-author of The Cultural Creatives), Joanna Macy (deep-ecology activist) and Walter Wink (eminent peace theorist).

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by Jeff Eisinger

I was honored to attend the California Green Party ’s Plenary in Burlingame as the delegate for Fresno County this past September 20-22. It was an exciting weekend, with Greens coming from all parts of the state to discuss how to grow the party.

The entire assembly of delegates met to discuss many important issues regarding delegates to the newly formed Green Party of the United States, opposition to the administration ’s missile defense boondoggle, and the addition of a Green Party section to the state election code. In separate break-out sessions, small groups met to discuss a variety of topics such as campaign tactics, building a local organization, and working with the media.

Obviously, the events of 9-11 could not be ignored and a very emotional evening session was held to allow people to discuss the attack and how we should respond as Greens. Finally, we were privileged to hear from Peter Camejo who is a Green candidate for governor. You can go to www.votecamejo.org to get information on the man Ronald Reagan called "one of the ten most dangerous people in California." If you want to get more involved in the fastest growing party in the country, go to www.greens.org/cal/fresno or call 265-3647.

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by John Rouse

For thousands of low-income individuals living in Fresno County a winning appearance on the TV game show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" offers better odds for accessing capital than does an appearance at a bank or credit union. Unfortunately, rejection from traditional financial institutions often force individuals to turn to predatory lenders (eg. check cashing services, money transmittal, etc.).

These lenders have flocked to low-income communities to prey upon the cash needs of local residents. The time has come to alter this reality. Not with exposure to mainstream media or use of hallucinogens, but with the establishment of a financial institution that places people before profits.

For the past 5 months a coalition of non-profits (California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc., Fresno West Coalition for Economic Development, Frente Indigena Oaxaqueno Binacional, Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries, Hmong American Community, and the Fresno Center for Nonviolence) and community leaders have been working to organize and charter a community development credit union.

This credit union would be a member-owned, not-for-profit, cooperative association organized for the purpose of promoting thrift among its members and creating a source of credit. Currently, over 300 surveys from low-income communities in Fresno County have been collected.

These surveys are being used to develop a business plan that addresses the needs and desires of potential credit union members. This process of organizing and developing a community development credit union is open to any who wish to contribute.

Feel free to send positive vibes, or: complete a survey indicating your desires as a potential credit union member or socially responsible investor volunteer in the outreach, business plan development and/or chartering process donate funds or equipment to the credit union cause.

The community development credit union offers Fresnans a chance to apply their social conscious to a financial world where it is too often absent.

If you wish to assist in this process and/or have any questions please call California Rural Legal Assistance’s Community Economic Development Unit at (559) 445-4166 and ask for John Rouse, Jeremy Hofer, or Amy Guerra.

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Over 150 of us marched

by Mike Rhodes

in downtown Fresno on October 14 to demand Immigrant Rights, dignity, and respect. In the context of the U.S. government bombing of Afghanistan and a political climate where sympathy to immigrant issues is under attack, this march was impressive. The march, organized by the San Joaquin Valley Coalition for Immigrant Rights, is evidence that this community has not been intimidated by the jingoistic rhetoric coming from the Bush Administration.

These issues, which were making progress in the legislative process before the terrorist attacks on September 11, have been derailed and advocates have been put on the defensive. This march shows that the demands are important to Immigrant Rights activists and have broad support in the community.

It is impressive that the Latino community organized this march and is able to continue their demands for justice, human rights, and amnesty. In these difficult times of racist attacks and war these groups should not have to march alone. Unfortunately, you could count the number of Anglo allies at this march on one hand.

If we are going to build a movement for social justice in this community that is multi-racial and inclusive we are going to have to learn to support each other’s struggles. Next time there is a march or rally for immigrant rights I hope you will join me and say - I’LL BE THERE!

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Our People Speak

PROUD TO BE FROM FRESNO

To the Editor:

For once I am proud that I come from Fresno. The reason is because of you people who are protesting sweatshops. I went to UC Davis and now I ’m in Beijing, China or else I would be there with you all. Thank you for making my community aware and your efforts to make the world better.

—Sean McLean

FEAR GROWS FOREGIVENESS

To the Editor:

A couple of Friday ’s ago I had a frightening experience. For two hours, I stood with others at the corner of Shaw and Blackstone holding a sign asking for Peace and Justice, as more than thirty men drove by, shouted obscenities, and raised their fingers at us. A couple of them stopped right in the rush hour traffic to scream at us. One yelled at us that we were Hitler lovers and then went off on a tirade of profanity. He was in a rage and beyond any reason. I could imagine him pulling out a gun. I was glad there was a Fresno Police car parked right next to us. I wish I could have told this man what I believe. I am certainly not against America. I am against the killing of innocent people. I want America to seek justice for what has been done in the international court of law and for the guilty to be punished. I want the United States to set an example for other civilized nations that says clearly that war and more killing of innocents is never the answer to any problem. I have already forgiven those who caused me such fear, and I wish for them peace and understanding.

—Vickie M. Fouts

WHAT ’S LEFT OF THE RIGHT STUFF?

To the Editor:

A light has gone out in the valley’s liberal community. After a run of only sixteen weeks, THE RIGHT STUFF from the LEFT, has left the air. An innovative show, THE RIGHT STUFF aired Saturday nights as a grand experiment in dialogue and debate, hosting such diverse guests as conservative former congressional candidate Ken Kay and GOP Central Committee member, John Rankin, as well as well-known local progressives: Catherine Campbell, activist Gloria Hernandez, and Diana Bohn, of the Gay-Straight Alliance Network. In so doing, the show highlighted important issues of water and power politics, the criminal justice system, the rights of immigrants, police oversight, and other issues of particular concern to valley residents. In keeping with a policy of open exchange unique in statewide airing, THE RIGHT STUFF sought to reach the ideologically uncommitted by courageously confronting the representatives and philosophy of the right, spotlighting a number of local agencies devoted to serving the community on its way.

Organized by friends of the Fresno Center for Nonviolence, the Center launched THE RIGHT STUFF by contributing $6000.00 to cover the costs of the sixteen shows that were aired. Now, having exhausted those resources, and failing the support of the liberal community, the grand experiment may pass into oblivion. Valley liberals can ill afford to let this happen. To my knowledge such an experiment has never before been tried anywhere else in the nation. We can and should do better in the Central Valley. All of us would benefit from a broader rendering of liberal ideals and greater exposure to dialogue and debate.

—Stephen D. Malm

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Positively Healthy at The Living Room

The Living Room is now offering Positively Healthy classes for HIV positive clients as part of our commitment as a community center to support and encourage the well being and empowerment of persons infected, affected, and at risk for HIV. Come join us to discuss such topics as positive self-image, relaxation, substance abuse issues, healthy relationships, self-esteem and empowerment. We will also be offering classes on computer skills, job development, and parenting. Next month‘s November series will include Nutrition, Exercise, and staying healthy on a tight budget so be prepared to cook and eat! Positively Healthy takes place each Wednesday from 11:30 am until 1:30 pm at The Living Room. We are also looking for suggestions for the development and implementation of more classes in the future, so please call us if you want to get involved! If you have any questions, or need more info, please contact Liz Spurrell, Independent Living/Wellness Skills Coordinator at 485-3667. We look forward to seeing you there!

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by Chris Schneider

Sheepherders won a historic victory on October 14,2001. The sheepherder protection bill, AB 1675 (Koretz) was one of the very last, if not the last, pieces of legislation signed by Governor Davis. The bill provides very basic rights to sheepherders who are some of the most exploited workers in California. (See L/CA Magazine, July 2001)

Beginning January 1, 2002 shepherds, will have the right to meal and rest breaks. Their employers will no longer be able to make deductions for necessary tools unless the workers earn at least twice the minimum wage.

These are rights which virtually all other California workers have enjoyed for decades. Starting January 1,2003 the workers housing must have toilets, bathing facilities, heating, a working refrigerator and adequate cooking facilities. In addition workers will have their right to have visitors codified (clearly they already have the constitutional right to this--but the ranchers don’t want to recognize it) and must also be provided with regular mail service and a cell phone for use in case of a medical emergency.

The signing of this bill represents the biggest victory yet for the Sheepherders Union headed by ex-sheepherder Victor Flores. The Union thanks all the L/CA readers who sent letters of support to Governor Davis, the members of the legislature who voted for it and the Governor for signing it. The union has already received inquiries from workers in other states wanting to know what can be done to improve their working conditions.

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Defeat Cal Dooley

HANG DOWN YOUR HEAD CAL DOOLEY

by John Anthony Estrada

The Wall Street Journal Editorial Team praised Rep. Cal Dooley for his leadership by brokering the Deal for Free Trade with his Democrat and Republican friends. Big Business, Corporate Elite, and the bosses at the United States Chamber of Commerce were delighted with his ability to support their policies and pockets. Again working families were left out even without a living wage for many.

The Central Valley continues to be in depression era conditions and Cal Dooley sells out again to the big wigs. A call to action to form a campaign committee to Defeat Cal Dooley for reelection is beginning to organize for a primary war. If you have ideas, suggestion, opinions send your remarks to the email: johnestrada@hotmail.com or if you want to join the committee to Defeat Cal Dooley we are looking for a few good warriors.

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Help our community get a real
CITIZEN’S POLICE REVIEW UNIT

by Ellie Bluestein

We need your help now! Please fill out the endorsement form enclosed in this newsletter and return to the address listed on the form. If possible make copies of the form to bring to your organizations, unions, churches, for endorsement as well as to friends and relations. Our committee has been working for almost two years to develop a plan for an independent police auditor for the city of Fresno, backed up by a civilian police review board.

We are now presenting the proposal to our city officials, but we know that much community support will be needed if this plan is to be accepted and put into operation. So we are asking for your support now. During the two years that we have been meeting we have heard story after story of police misconduct, abuse, racial profiling, and shooting, and the only recourse Fresnans have is the police department internal investigation, which never fails to exonerate the police in question. It is time for Fresno to join the rest of the major cities in California by instituting an independent police oversight arrangement. This will be good for the police and good for residents of Fresno. If you would like to see a copy of our proposal contact me at 229-9807. Meanwhile please sign our endorsement petition and get as many others as possible to do so.

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The death of Abdo Ali Ahmed
The life of Yori Wada

by Isao Fujimoto

The death of Abdo Ali Ahmed, is tragic and prompts some recollections and commentary about ethnic groups and communities in the Central Valley. Soon after I arrived at UC Davis in spring of 1967, I went to see my friends Jerry and Juanita Brown who were directing research for the UFW and joined them on the picket lines at Guimarra Farms in Delano. They gave me back issues of El Malcriado and I got caught up on where things were going with the Strike initiated by the Filipinos and strengthened by Cesar Chavez. One of the items that surprised me was to learn that the first signs for the strike went up in Arabic followed by flags proclaiming Huelga!

This discovery led me eventually to a household of Yemeni farmworkers in Modesto. How they got here was intriguing. They went from their villages in various parts of Yemen to Aden on the southwestern tip of the Arabic peninsula. From there, they got on Pan Am flights that took them to New York and to the Stockton airport. Some 7000 Yeminis were doing farm work in the Valley in the late 60s. But after they learned English and got a car, they moved on to other work. The ones I talked to had already been on merchant marine ships taking supplies to US forces in Vietnam. Though the Yemeni population has dispersed somewhat from the farm labor scene, they are definitely part of the fabric of the Valley.

From Delano‘s Arab Section support for Huelga A bdo Ali Ahmed, a Yemeni, died in Reedley.

This town which dubs itself the "Fruit basket of the World" gives us a lot to think about. This town is one of the few in the entire Central Valley that has a welcome sign featuring some minority organizations. Most welcome signs that include any organizations show mainly churches or service groups like the Lions, Kiwanis and Elks. Reedley has those too but it also has the plaque for the Filipino Association of San Joaquin Valley and the Japanese American Citizens League. Also during its centennial year a few years back, Reedley held year-long monthly celebrations honoring different ethnic groups that make up the town.

This town was settled by Mennonites, a group targeted with persecution that dispersed them from German speaking areas of Europe to Russia, to Paraguay to the Central Valley.

The community does show signs of its effort to recognize and appreciate its ethnic diversity. But it wasn’t too long ago when things were quite different.

Yori Wada grew up in Reedley. He was a social worker in San Francisco where he worked with Afro American youth. He became the first Asian American selected to be a regent of the University of California. Reedley had a city swimming pool but it was off limits to Japanese-Americans like Yori. There was a movie house in Reedley and Yori could go there, provided he sat in a section marked off for people of color. After graduating from Reedley high school in the 30 ’s he went off to UC Berkeley. On his first day in the city, he looked all over for a place to stay but found no place that would rent to a Japanese American. He found an empty house where he spread out some newspapers on the floor and that ’s how he spent his first night at Cal Berkeley. I doubt if any other Regent of the University of California started in the UC system this way. As a Regent, Yori made a profound contribution. When the University of California was considering divesting investments in South Africa, there was only one vote for it when it was first proposed: Yori Wada’s. As the movement for removing apartheid grew, the University of California kept taking up the issue, only to turn it down. But the votes for divestment increased and finally it came down to winning over California Governor Deukmeijian who turned out to be the swing vote.

Yori knew of the prejudice Armenians faced in the Central Valley and he spent many hours talking to Deukmeijian, an Armenian American, about the destructiveness of discrimination to people like Deukmeijian and Yori and what the two of them could do to reverse discrimination in a country like South Africa. It was Yori Wada’s persuasion that convinced Deukmeijian to vote for the UC system to remove all investments from South Africa. UC’s decision had a snowball effect throughout the country. The divestment movement was a major factor in ridding South Africa of apartheid. During his speaking tour to various UC campuses, Archbishop Desmond Tutu singled out the UC Regents ’decision as a critical contributor towards freeing South Africa of apartheid. And to think that such a momentous change was made possible by the determination of one man from the town of Reedley, California.

Reedley is a metaphor for towns all over the Central Valley. It produces people destined for greatness such as Yori Wada. It also harbors people filled with hate and ignorance that drives them to end the life of immigrants like Abdo Ali Ahmed. Like many communities in the Central Valley, Reedley has endearing qualities and reasons for pride.

Like many communities, what happened in Reedley reminds us of the challenges facing all of us to live, work and build community together; not with suspicion or anger, but with compassion and wisdom.

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By Catherine Cambell

30 years ago, if the Fresno State administration had given personal educational data about 736 foreign students to the Air Force, the faculty and students ’on-going outrage would have spiked into marches and demands for an explanation of such obvious bigotry. But not today, not in the era of cynical detachment from all matters collective.

Not a whisper of protest. All quiet on the campus. The leaves are beginning to fall, and the most audible sound is made by nature.

Let them begin with foreign students, for they are not us. Then when they get to us, we will be used to it. While the local media focuses on what may be a hate murder of a convenience store owner in Reedley, no one seems to care that our largest institution of higher education didn’t blink before illegally turning over massive amounts of confidential information about foreign students to the Air Force.

It appears from the media reports on the requests for university documentation on foreign students that Fresno State is the only school in the country to have been so compliant, so willing to give up its students

• without giving them notice,
• without asking for a reason,
• without a request that the list be narrowed,
• without any attempt whatsoever to adhere to the legal requirements for release of confidential information.

Is this a hate crime? Or is this just the first of an infinite number of instances when the law has been and will be broken by trusted institutions and we will let it happen as if it were inevitable, expected, like the leaves drifting to the ground.

And then there are the lies. According to the Fresno Bee, the Fresno State administration says it made a mistake in the way it released the records. What it did not say, of course, is that the "mistake" was that it did not comply with the law. The Fresno State lawyer told the Bee that an effort was made to retrieve the names from the Air Force, but the list had been "destroyed" after the names failed to match up with known suspects.

Get this: we are to believe that the United States Air Force actually got the names of 736 foreign students and then, within a week, destroyed them .As a student of institutions, particularly government institutions, I know better. Government records laws require the retention of all documents for specified periods of time.

No, these records are deep in a database, ready for use at any time. When I was a student at Fresno State during the Vietnam War, there was agitation by the faculty and administration to change the name of the state colleges to "university" to elevate the state colleges from the old "normal "schools and give them prestige, money and new graduate programs.

Long after I graduated, the entire system was renamed and Fresno State became California State University Fresno. Perhaps it has more prestige, although I doubt it. It undoubtedly has more money, and more graduate programs. But Fresno State is still Fresno State. It has not changed.

Is it not the responsibility of the University to educate students on the humanist values of tolerance and civil accountability essential to a democratic republic? In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, the administration of Fresno State engaged in lengthy, illegal suppression of dissent on its campus. The administration’s

junior league fascism, absurd in its obviousness and ineffectualness, dominated campus life.

Among its many offenses, the administration allowed the FBI to engage in surveillance of students by sitting in on classes. The students, and many professors, were alert to this possibility and had sufficient acuity to notice when an FBI agent was suddenly a student of Ulysses. It will be said that this war is at home, that we have been assaulted here, and that we must fight the war within the United States as well as in Afghanistan.

During war, it will also be said, there is a necessary suspension of the laws which protect our people—all for the sake of our people. This was also said during the war in Vietnam: war protesters were aiding the enemy and were thereby bringing the war home. That, in itself, justified the countless violations of civil liberties of Americans which occurred during the war.

Even the rationale is essentially the same. The law protecting student records from dissemination without their consent was passed in 1974, slightly before American involvement in the awful, calamitous war in Indochina finally ended. It was written in part to correct the abuses of students which had been irrationally justified by the climate of war and dissent. It is not the only piece of 1970 ’s civil rights legislation that is suffering revision during this time of fear, but it is the one that was first violated here. Let it not go by un-noted by us, for we are headed into a dark and very cold winter.

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Fresno Peace Activists 

by Mike Rhodes

Fresno Peace Activists responded swiftly to threats of war stemming from the September 11 terrorist attacks on the East Coast. On the first Saturday after the attack a "March for Unity and Peace "brought out over 400 people who were concerned about the Bush Administrations drum beat of war.

The march was striking because of the multi-ethnic composition of participants. Muslims, Jews, and Christians were together not only mourning those killed in the attack but because they were questioning how to stop the cycle of violence.

That march on September 15 and many of the anti-war/pro peace events since have been organized by the Fresno Center For Nonviolence.

The nonviolence center at 985 N. Van Ness has played an important role in bringing various groups together, publicizing events, and providing a meeting place in the community to organize these actions.

It is safe to say that without the center -Fresno’s response to this war would be much less organized.

On the day that the U.S. began bombing Afghanistan there were over 100 people on Shaw and Blackstone bringing this community the message that we are "United Against War." It had been determined at a strategy meeting at the center that people would meet at this location when the war started. Protestors are now at Shaw and Blackstone every Friday starting at 4:30 PM.

Anti-war movement in Fresno has been very closely linked with the Muslim and Arabic community and several important events have taken place at the Masjid Mosque. Everyone was shocked with the killing of Abdo Ali Ahmed in Reedley which brought the threat of racist attacks close to home. A funeral service at the Mosque was attended by hundreds of people including many from the peace and justice community.

With serious threats being made against Muslims and Arabs it is critical the peace movement in Fresno continue to work closely with this community.

Muslim and Arabic organizations are working with anti-war groups in Fresno to educate and challenge people to think before we rush into war.

While there is diversity in the anti-war movement, it was my observation at a major anti-war strategy meeting that took place in Fresno on October 8 that much of the organizing is being driven by activists from the nonviolence center.

There were also a lot of people at that meeting that had never been active before. They were there because they saw this nation racing toward war and they wanted to do something to stop it. There were experienced activists at the meeting too, but I was most impressed at the number of people there that I had never seen before.

Important decisions came out of that meeting. Several task forces were formed and concrete actions planned. For example, it was here that it was decided to hold a rally at Shaw and Blackstone every Friday.

One group is organizing teach ins, there is a campaign to force KMJ to offer balanced programing about the war, another group is working on education in the schools, and some activists will be contacting elected officials. The hopeful thing is that lots of people are already actively organizing to stop the war.

However, we have had some difficult moments —like when KMPH TV announced in the introduction to their news report that the anti-war demonstrators at Shaw and Blackstone were Osama Bin Laden supporters. A Pepsi bottle was thrown and hit one of the protestors and there has been a lot of verbal abuse by drivers.

Police are now threatening to arrest protestors who came within 500 feet of the freeway 41, citing some arcane law to intimidate people. Also in the "bad news "column is the fact CSU-Fresno was the first university in the country to turn over files on all foreign students to the FBI, INS, and the Air Force.

We have an article on this issue, which the Fresno Bee and most local media largely ignored.

While these attacks against our civil liberties are increasing and the "war against terrorism" has all appearances of expanding beyond Afghanistan we do have a few things to be thankful for.

One of the most significant of these is access to a radio station like KFCF 88.1 FM that is a virtual oasis of sanity. KFCF, which rebroadcasts Pacifica station KPFA in Berkeley gives air-time to alternative opinions about what is going on in this war against terrorism.

If we received all of our news from CNN, MSNBC, and The Fresno Bee we would all be doomed. The debate there is only between one retired general who says we should invade with ground troops and a policy wonk who supports carpet bombing. Thankfully, we have alternative media in this area.

The Fresno Center for Nonviolence is to be congratulated on its role in organizing a response to this new threat against world peace.

All of the other peace and social justice groups in this community have participated in the forums, marches, and rallies to stop the war but it has been the nonviolence center that has fulfilled its historic mission in bringing us all together.

While there are many challenges ahead, we are fortunate in Fresno to have the strong foundation of an anti-war organizing center, good alternative media, a strong link with the Muslim/Arab community, some support from the religious community, and individuals and organizations dedicated to peace, social, and economic justice.

If you are interested in working for peace, call the Fresno Center for Nonviolence at (559) 23PEACE (559-237-3223).

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Don’t let M-IC steal our flag

The Military-Industrial Complex (M-IC) does not own the American flag. They own the government through a blatant $$$coup they pulled off years ago. M-IC is now wielding their government to make the world a private preserve of the private preserve of anti-democratic corporations.

They are trying to steal our flag and wave it as a cover for violating what our flag and country really stand for.

Don’t let them do it! Our flag stands for freedom, justice, compassion—just the opposite of what the M-IC stands for. So ,let us claim our flag. Let us wave it at every rally for peace and justice.

This is the truthful, Impeccable and strategic move.

People we are trying to organize are more likely to hear us if we wrap ourselves in our flag. We are among the flag ’s most rightful custodians because we are striving to uphold its most sacred principles.

Bin Laden does not own Islam. He is stealing Islam just as the M-IC is stealing our flag —as a cover for aggressive goals.

The real source of Laden’s influence is the Middle East desperation, anger and hopelessness that have been cultivated for centuries by oppressive Christian powers — including the M--IC.

The way to stop Laden and any other alleged terrorists is to take away their source of power by delivering hope instead of bombs to the Middle East.

By delivering bombs, the M-IC merely strengthens terrorism. It’s as if the M-IC wants Laden to steal Islam.

George Elfie Ballis

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1. LIE: M-IC is attacking Afganistan to rid the world of terrorism.
   TRUTH: M-IC regularly uses terrorism in its foreign policy. Example: for years M-IC has run a terrorist training camp which supplies death squads to South American dictators.

2. LIE: This M-IC war is not about oil.
   TRUTH: Afganistan is the pipeline route from the rich Caspian Sea oil deposits to the rest of the world — and M--IC.
3. LIE: M-IC wants to abolish tyranny in Afganistan.
   TRUTH: Today M-IC is backing the Northern Alliance to replace the Taliban. Both are fascists, racists, violent and religious bigots. A few years ago, M-IC was on the other side, backing the Taliban against the Northern Alliance.
4. LIE: Americans are coming together in this M-IC war.
   TRUTH: Within days of the September 11 tragedy, Congress passed a $15 billion "rescue" subsidy for the airline companies. Two weeks later they rejected $1 billion bill to help over 100,000 airline workers who lost their jobs.
5. LIE: M-IC is feeding the Afgan people.
   TRUTH: There are about 7 million starving people in Afganistan. M-IC says it dropped 37,000 food packages to feed these people. That’s one meal for every 200th person.

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."

—President Dwight Eisenhower’s farewell address, January 17, 1961

• KFCF 88.1 FM
• Fresno Center for Nonviolence (559) 237-3223
• Democracy Now! at webactive.com
• Global Exchange at globalexchange.org/september11
• Peaceful Justice at peacefuljustic.cib.net

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When it happens, it will be the largest union election in the history of Fresno County. Numbering well over 9, 000, the health care providers working under the county-run In-Home Supportive Services program (IHSS) easily comprise one of the biggest work forces in the Valley. And yet, up until just recently, these workers have been considered outside the realm of union organization.

"Historically, home care workers were treated as if they were not workers. The myth was that they were actually independent contractors, "says Pam Whalen of the Service Employees International Union Local 250, one of two unions working to organize the workers. (The other union involved is the United Domestic Workers.)

This myth has kept the hourly pay of these workers at the sub-poverty level of $6. 44 and has left them powerless to fight for any type of health benefits. In an attempt to disprove the independent contractor theory, the union filed two unsuccessful lawsuits in Los Angeles that named first the county and then the state as employer. When those suits failed, it became clear that a different strategy was needed.

The SEIU was able to get legislation passed that allowed counties to create a Public Authority (much like an irrigation or library district) that would serve as the Employer of Record for the IHSS workers. This would then allow the home care workers to hold a union election, supervised and counted by the State Mediation Service. Eight counties in the state of California agreed to voluntarily establish a Public Authority. These counties were mainly in the Bay Area and Southern California; expectedly, Fresno County declined to participate. The Fresno Board of Supervisors would probably still be ignoring SEIU Local 250 if it weren’t for Assembly Bill 1682. In 1999, successful lobbying transformed the permissive law into a mandatory law with 2003 as the deadline. The law requires the establishment of an advisory board to recommend to the county a path to take in the formation of an Employer of Record. According to Whalen, there are technically three models that the county could choose to follow.

The first would be to incorporate the home care workers as county employees. In Fresno County, whose total employees currently number 7,000, an increase by more than 9, 000 seems unlikely. The second model would endorse a private agency to take over the program. AB 1682, however, limits this option to counties with less than 500 home care workers. In practice, the only option is the final model —the creation of a Public Authority. The advisory board, which is composed of home care recipients and providers, recently decided on a mixed-mode recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. They are endorsing the Public Authority model along with the creation of an agency or contractor to handle certain recipients with greatly diminished mental abilities. (AB 1682 guarantees the right to hire and fire to the recipients. Not all recipients possess the cognitive ability to do this, whether due to Alzheimer’s or dementia, so an agency to supervise these cases is crucial. ) The proposal will be presented to the county on October 30.

Whalen is optimistic about their chances but says, "I think they’ll be a little bit surprised because they are expecting a straight Public Authority recommendation. This is the most responsible thing to do, though. I would be surprised if they really have a big problem with it. They can always just say no and do whatever they want anyway. "

Once a decision has been made by the county, it will be up to the SEIU to begin moving towards an election. This is something they have been working on for the past fifteen years and with increased vigor for the last two. Outside of a basic resistance to change, it seems unlikely that the SEIU is going to find much opposition among the workers.

In counties where the Employer of Record has already been established and the union elected to represent the workers, the SEIU has been able to secure wages of $8. 50 per hour and affordable health benefits. (An interesting side note: Though the IHSS is essentially a county program and the workers get their paychecks from the state, the money is provided by a mixture of federal, state, and county matching funds. The federal government will match funds up to double the minimum wage but California will match only up to the minimum. In the past, if a county or entity wanted to pay its IHSS workers more than minimum wage it would have to absorb the expense not provided for by the state government. In the midst of last year’s state budget planning, the SEIU convinced Governor Davis to allocate $100 million to raise the wages of the home care workers. This amount provided for an increase to $7.50 per hour and an additional sixty cents per hour towards benefits. The agreement included a yearly raise of a dollar per hour, up to double the minimum wage, assuming the economy performs well. As soon as Fresno County establishes an Employer of Record, an amount of $8. 50 will be available for the IHSS workers. The goal is to increase the wage yearly until it meets the double minimum wage standard set by the federal government. )

Across the country, similar battles have been waging with varying success. A few years ago, the SEIU in Los Angeles County organized over 75, 000 home care workers in what was possibly the largest union election ever. In Milwaukee, the home care industry is dominated by a few private non-profit agencies. When the SEIU began hitting the streets in order to gain the support of the workers, the agencies began employing classic union busting tactics. Pam Whalen and her fellow organizers at SEIU Local 250 can count themselves fortunate that the group on the other side of their struggle is Fresno County, not a private company.

Whalen says, "Counties have not felt confident enough to take tax payer dollars and use them on a union busting campaign. They can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Basically, the state legislature hasn’t been sympathetic to spending money like that. "This has spared the organizational struggle from becoming overly adversarial; the union sees this as more mutual venture with the county rather than a fight against it.

That’s not to say that the union’s years-long campaign hasn’t been without a great deal of difficulty. Some might say that the county is dragging its heels in implementing the law. Certainly affording home care workers the right to unionize would not have even been a consideration if not for the forceful hand of AB 1682. In fact, if it weren’t for the 3% raise that the union worked for, IHSS workers would still be receiving the minimum wage.

Perhaps the biggest challenge facing the SEIU is the fact that unlike most other work forces, the home care workers do not have a common work place that can be used to disseminate information.

To assist in the daunting task of contacting 9, 000 individuals spread out all over the county, the union has solicited the help of some of the workers that have pledged support for its efforts. Some have acted as phone callers, door-knockers, and translators to unite the county’s workers.

One of the main thrusts of the union’s efforts is to humanize the campaign both nationally and locally. Organizer Toni Landin worked as a home care provider for six years and knows well the problems faced by her coworkers in the Valley. She has often had to work with multiple clients daily in an attempt to make a living from the minimum wage job.

At one point, Toni was contemplating the addition of another client to her roster when she was informed that if she made any more money per month than she was currently bringing in, her Medical deductible would skyrocket to an out-of-reach $200. Though she needed the income, the prospect of having to raise the money for a hospital visit for herself or her family kept her from working increased hours. Says Toni, "It’s like they were actually condemning me for working. " Toni, Pam, and all of SEIU recognize that the most powerful commentary on the lives of the home care workers come from the stories told by the workers themselves.

In keeping with the SEIU campaign’s motto of "Invisible No More, "the remainder of this article will focus on the situations of three IHSS workers, that the reader may get a practical glimpse of what is frequently discussed in theory.

Born in Laos on an unknown date in the mid-sixties, Her Vang has lived a life that most only read about in textbook sidebars. When the US led coalition of fighters, which included most of Her’s uncles, was defeated in the Vietnam War, he and his entire family were forced to flee their homeland to escape certain imprisonment and death.

From 1975 to 1979, Her’s family and a hundred of their fellow villagers lived in the jungles between Laos and Thailand. Lacking tools like maps and compasses, the refugees relied on the sun and the moon to point them further away from impending retaliation.

Finally, towards the end of 1979, the refugees reached the Mekong River and proceeded to cross it by raft. On the safe side of the border, they told a Thai officer of their situation. The United Nations High Commission was informed and began registering all of the weary travelers as refugees. A large refugee camp had been set up by the UN to attend to the needs of the flood of displaced Laotians pouring into Thailand.

At the camp, Her enrolled in the Thai elementary school program that concerned itself less with age than the literacy of its students. After completing both the elementary and adult education programs, Her signed up with the teacher training program at the camp. He soon discovered that this line of work held little promise for him.

Having lacked medical facilities during his time spent in the jungle, Her decided to attend the nurse preparation classes held at the refugee camp’s hospital. After years of training from western professionals he began working as a physician’s assistant. In 1992 the contract between the UN and the Thai government came to a close and the refugee camp was to be shut down. Laotians were given two options: they could return home to take their chances with the current government or they could move to America. Uncertain as to the level of hostility still harbored by the government they had fled, Her’s family opted to make a new home in the land of the free.

One date that Her is confident of is April 31st, 1993. That was the day that he and his family arrived in America, specifically, in Fresno. His first impression was one of trepidation. "How will we survive here? "he remembers thinking on that first day, "There aren’t any farms, any fields. What will we do here?"

Not long after, while still trying to readjust to life in the western world, Her discovered that his father suffered from severe cataracts. When the increasing blindness prevented him from accomplishing simple tasks like doing the laundry, Her took his father to a doctor who informed him that an in-home care provider would be needed. Her signed up with the IHSS program in order to look after his father.

Soon after, Her’s mother’s mounting health problems, including high blood pressure and arthritis in both knees, drove Her to pursue IHSS coverage in her case. The program has allotted a few hours a day for both parents though, in reality, they require almost constant support.

A certain old-world intractability prevents Her’s parents from seeking out any but the most rudimentary medical assistance. In fact, Her is fairly convinced that his mother suffered a stroke recently; her speech has become increasingly slurred. She, however, refuses to see a doctor about the condition because she doesn’t feel they could offer her any help.

Her sees it as his duty to simply, "make them happy, to stay close to them and provide everything they need, adding, "if you make them happy, that will keep them healthy and they will live longer. "

"When we were in the jungle, they did everything they could to protect the children. Now it’s our turn. When they were young they could do whatever they wanted. Here they can’t because they can’t speak the language, they cannot drive, they cannot get out and see the environment. But they have me. " In Laos, caring for his parents is something that Her would have done without compensation ever being a consideration. Here in the U. S. however, though the idea is noble in concept, it is impossible to eat or buy clothes without making a decent wage. Since his parents require so much of his waking time, Her is unable to work another job that would pay the bills. (In the last eight years, however, he has been able to get his GED and recently graduated from Fresno City College. ) Those on the County Board of Supervisors who feel that IHSS work is duty-bound and should be a free service have never had to walk in Her Vang’s shoes.

Her began assisting the SEIU because he feels that worker advocacy is important in this field. The union has utilized his fluency in several languages to help with the inadequate translating done at county meetings. According to Her, "The more people that get together, the stronger we are."

In 1982, Juanita Foreman abandoned her role as a security guard because she was, "tired of the running all around all the time. "A friend told her about the IHSS program and asked if Juanita would like to begin caring for his Alzheimer’s stricken wife.

As soon as she started with home care, she knew that she loved it. Juanita stayed with the first job for ten years until the patient passed away from her disease. Her next client was a bed-ridden diabetic alcoholic that lived with her for nearly six years.

"And after that, about a year ago, "Juanita says as she points to her new patient and resident of her apartment, "I got him." The "him", Willie Howard, has led a long and difficult life. In recent years Willie has endured two falls, two broken legs, a broken jaw, a rattle snake bite, a bout with typhoid fever that nearly resulted in his bleeding to death, four cases of pneumonia, and a life threatening heart problem. A testament to his strength and obvious good-nature, he recounts these stories almost affably, considering himself blessed to still be able to take his daily walks.

The only times when sullenness enters Willie’s voice is when he discusses the death of his wife. In the aftermath of her passing, Willie found himself at a loss. Ever since she had suffered a congestive heart failure in 1993, Willie dedicated every waking minute to caring for his wife. After her death in September of 2000, his stepdaughter recommended that he stay with her lifelong friend, Juanita.

Juanita has also recently picked up another job caring for a woman, Anita, who has diabetes, has broken her back, has fallen several times, and has problems using her hands. Her duties as an in-home care worker, as is the case for all such workers, include cooking, cleaning, administering medications, driving her patients to the doctor, going to the store, and otherwise ensuring that her clients are able to lead as independent a life as possible.

The social workers that determine a patient’s number of care hours have allotted Anita 78 hours per month and Willie 131. Since Juanita is the only care provider that both of these recipients have, she is working an average of 249 hours per month. In addition to not getting paid any overtime, non-union home care workers also work without any prospect of sick or vacation time. Calling in sick if unable to work is simply not an option.

Juanita sees herself in the position of union shop steward sometime after the successful election. She already speaks as if attempting to rile the workers through a bullhorn. There are several things she would push for with the union, besides obvious issues like affordable health benefits and a living wage. She would fight for increased training for prospective home care workers that would adequately prepare them for their new job. She would fight for the provision of necessary supplies like sanitary gloves.

She would fight for a direct deposit form of payment that would help standardize the vague eight to twelve day window the state relies on to issue checks. She would also fight for what she calls "restive care "that would allow the home care workers to take some occasional time off. "Workers need rest time and the recipients often need a break from the workers.

"This would help us get out of town if we needed to get out of town or go down the street and holler if that’s what we need. " At this point, holidays, including Christmas and Thanksgiving and Sundays for that matter, are nothing more than additional work days. The recipients don’t stop depending on the daily care and the providers don’t stop giving it. Nor does the state grant any holiday pay.

Florencia Ruvalcaba likes to do what four year old grandson Ethan likes to call "mischievous things. " She regularly wears several dresses at one time, occasionally washes her clothes in the toilet, and often blares the radio at 4:00 am while waiting for the rest of the house to wake up. For a person with the leisure of detachment from the situation, these actions might seem merely eccentric, perhaps even funny.

However, when you’re her daughter, and your mother is suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s Disease, and her "mischief "often includes devouring four bananas despite her life threatening diabetes, and you are her only care provider, the situation is far from humorous.

In 1994, when it became clear that something was seriously wrong with her mother —when she began forgetting things and becoming suspicious of her loved ones-—Elena Larios took a leave of absence from her job as a health aide with the Parlier school district. And when it became clear that returning to work might not be in the immediate future, she approached IHSS as a way to recoup some of the money she was losing.

The IHSS social workers determined that Florencia would be allotted six hours per day for care. Even if she felt comfortable with bringing in outside help to care for her mother, the number of hours prevented Elena from returning to work. The school would require her to be there for eight hours a day leaving Florencia alone for the two or more remaining hours until her daughter arrived home.

An anecdote illustrating why Florencia cannot be left alone even for a few minutes: The Larios family recently had to have a new roof installed on their home. Elena stepped outside for a few minutes to discuss something with the roofers, leaving her mother and Ethan alone in the house. When she reentered the house, she was informed by her son that Grandma has eaten a piece of gum.

For hours, Elena racked her brain trying to uncover the source of the secret treat her mother had eaten. It wasn’t until a trip to the bathroom that she discovered exactly where her mother got the "gum. "On the counter was a box of foil-sealed laxatives with one piece missing. The following twenty-four hours were an exercise in white knuckle fear as Elena watched her mother’s blood-sugar levels fluctuate like a roller coaster.

After Elena decided that she would have to officially quit her job as a health aide, IHSS increased her mother’s care hours to the maximum of 283 hours per month. She isn’t excessively concerned about the money she is making for taking care of her mother. What hits her the hardest is the fact that she has had to give up all of the health benefits she enjoyed as an educational employee.

Elena suffers from an internal hernia propagated by the stress of her situation. She says that she has lost a child due to the stress and that her prospects of having another are slim. She is hoping that by voting for union representation by SEIU, she will be given back some of the health coverage she no longer has. She would also like to see an increase in her mother’s care hours though not for the money; she would like to bring in another care worker to allow her to mentally and emotionally recuperate.

(Even though 283 per month is the maximum, legislation has been passed that allows for an increase. Fresno County has apparently said that the limit is not up for discussion.)

Elena sums up the importance of the IHSS program and inadvertently echoes many other home care workers by saying, "I don’t want Mom in a convalescent hospital. They would probably just sedate her and she would end up just staring at the wall. At least here she has interaction and she can listen to her music. I just want her to be happy. "

Regardless of the possible objections of the county, there will be a union election within the next year —it’s mandated by California law. When the votes are counted and SEIU is established as the bargaining representative for the home care workers, affordable health benefits and something approaching a living wage will likely be just around the corner. The only uncertainty is just how long the county will continue its hesitation to implement the law. The longer the workers have to wait, the longer they will be forced into poverty conditions for choosing to take care of their families, real and adopted.

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Women’s Alliance of Fresno State will be conducting auditions for the V-Day College Campaign 2002 performance of "The Vagina Monologues" in November. We are looking for women of all colors, ages, sizes and abilities to be a part of this endeavor. Performances will be February 28 and March 1. V-Day is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day is a palpable energy, a fierce catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day helps these organizations to continue their core work, while we generate broader attention for the fight to stop worldwide violence. Contact Desi at 224-2976 or Aniesha at 278-4435.

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE