Golden Gate Bridge, Bus, and Ferry Workers Prepare for Possible May Day Strike to Protect Good Jobs and Healthcare
North Bay Labor Council Grants Strike Sanction to Golden Gate Labor Coalition
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, April 23, 2012 – The North Bay Labor Council granted strike sanction to the Golden Gate Labor Coalition this weekend as Golden Gate bridge, bus, and ferry workers gear up for a major May Day action at the bridge. The Golden Gate Labor Coalition received strike sanctions earlier this month from the San Francisco Labor Council and the San Francisco Building Trades Council. …
Workers have been in negotiations with Golden Gate Bridge District management since April 2011. There have been over 45 bargaining sessions to date and the current contract expired in July 2011. The Labor Coalition has offered concessions worth an estimated $2 million each year. Although Golden Gate Bridge District management has acknowledged that the financial needs of the district have been met, they are still seeking to push the cost of healthcare onto workers and their families. Read the complete press release here…
Hundreds of Farmers Occupy UC Berkeley’s Gill Tract in Albany
(Albany, Calif.), April 22, 2012 – Occupy the Farm, a coalition of local residents, farmers, students, researchers, and activists are planting over 15,000 seedlings at the Gill Tract, the last remaining 10 acres of Class I agricultural soil in the urbanized East Bay area. The Gill Tract is public land administered by the University of California, which plans to sell it to private developers.
For decades the UC has thwarted attempts by community members to transform the site for urban sustainable agriculture and hands-on education. With deliberate disregard for public interest, the University administrators plan to pave over this prime agricultural soil for commercial retail space, a Whole Foods Market, and a parking lot.
“For ten years people in Albany have tried to turn the Gill Tract into an Urban Farm and a more open space for the community. The people in the Bay Area deserve to use this treasure of land for an urban farm to help secure the future of our children,” explains Jackie Hermes-Fletcher, an Albany resident and public school teacher for 38 years. Read more here… And access photos here…
Once cleared of the mustard ground cover, it was time to till the soil into rows for planting.