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Anti-Mandate Demonstrators Rally in San Pedro

Arturo Garcia-Ayala
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Anti-Mandate Demonstrators Rally in San Pedro

On Nov. 15, dozens of people mostly from San Pedro gathered along Western Avenue in front of Peck Park to protest the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination mandates for public schools.

Billed as “Medical Freedom Rally,” the demonstration was organized via social media to protest the requirement all public school students to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

“We are not anti-vax, just anti-mandate!” as others cheered other slogans like, “My body, my child, my choice” and “Let’s go Brandon!”

Most of the protestors brought their children along to participate.

The San Pedro demonstration mirrors similar protests across the country, linking together anti-mandate healthcare workers and anti-vaxxers who were already opposed to vaccination requirements before the advent of the coronavirus.

A week prior, hundreds of people, including some Los Angeles municipal employees, protested against COVID-19 vaccination mandates outside City Hall Monday in a demonstration organized by Firefighters4Freedom.

Dozens of people among the crowd were wearing clothes designating their employment with the Los Angeles city and county fire departments, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and other government agencies.

soundpedro Navigating Toward New Horizons in a Post-COVID World

Greggory Moore
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soundpedro Navigating Toward New Horizons in a Post-COVID World

In 2013, after a phenomenal 10-year run of transforming Long Beach’s East Village Arts District into an annual, one-night-only indoor/outdoor gallery of multisensory installations, curating collective FLOOD felt the event known as SoundWalk had run its course.

But four years later, FLOOD reimagined/reincarnated SoundWalk for an entirely new space. Drawing almost a thousand people in its June 2017 launch and increasingly more over its two subsequent iterations, a new tradition, soundpedro, took hold on the grounds of Angels Gate Culture Center, the 36 lofty, arts-centered acres that crown the town that gave the event its name.

Of course, for reasons we’ve come to understand too well, soundpedro2020 — as originally intended — was a no-go. But like all of the most flexible arts organizations during the pandemic, FLOOD quickly pivoted toward the virtual.

“When COVID lockdowns hit, it was kinda like landing on Gilligan’s Island,” says FLOOD’s Marco Schindelmann (who adds a parenthetical here: (FYI, The Minnow pulled out of Long Beach Marina)). “We had a choice: wait for rescue, or build huts.”

The result was “soundpedro2020schizophonia : Virtual Breakout During the Outbreak,” where FLOOD invited artists “to reimagine their onsite installation into either a virtual experience or as a virtual performance sample.” Ultimately, nearly 150 works — ranging from live-streamed performances to “Earmaginations” (a collection of silent videos that address aurality in one way or another) to sound poetry (think dada) — “sounded out” in one way or another from June 6, through November 27, 2020.

Despite lamenting not being able to hold the onsite event, FLOOD found a silver lining the forced adaptation.

“Here should be everywhere,” Schindelmann reflects, “and company should include everyone. As a result of reaching out for alternative programming during a time when everyone was retreating in, soundpedro maybe came a little closer to keeping company with everyone, everywhere.”

soundpedro2021 has generally followed the same formula, though with the addition of nice Artist Curated Events (ACE) ranging from “Corona in Verona,” Vincenzo Bellini’s Romeo & Juliet opera I Capuleti e i Montecchi delivered as “a mashup of flash manifestos, soundscapes (incorporating Futurist intonarumori), [and] abstracted video-imaginings […] that reenvisions love as a feeling or a deep sound of interconnectedness pervading the universe,” to satellite in-person events such as Caught in a Wormhole, an audiovisual gallery installation featuring a hand-woven sculpture of silver cotton and stripped space blankets that interacted with its surroundings. Intended to “evoke conversations of climate change, the border wall and space travel, […] video projections play upon the weaving, while the harmonics of the droning sound will play about the modified space and the fluttering and rustling weaving.”

The addition of satellite events to soundpedro programming means that people who might not be able to come out to Angels Gate — whether because of COVID, mobility issues, schedule conflict, or any other reason — can still enjoy an in-person soundpedro experience. As Schindelmann says, “Off-site or satellite events that have the advantage of interacting with local communities and accidental audiences, who might not otherwise attend the Angels Gate onsite event.”

soundpedro2021 wraps up this month with the addition of two events. UnƧightly includes both “a juried selection of sound poems, from classic recitation to speecherly encryption” (premiering November 18).

“Sound poetry commands the ear to listen beyond the hierarchy of language and meaning,” explains Schindelmann, “providing the opportunity for a more personal response,”

Then, on November 22, comes Unsuspecting Trees, an ACE performance by a small ensemble that employs an interactive, animated, ad hoc score of both traditional and nontraditional notation. “Rather than using a static score to convey a fixed intent,” explained event curators Severin Behnen and Hunter Ochs, “this work involves a computer-assisted system that enables the conductor to communicate in real time with performers, moving quickly and effortlessly in a virtual 3D environment to various parts of the score during live performance. The images are projected so that the audience, as well as the performers, can observe the score.”

Despite soundpedro2021’s official end date of November 27, all soundpedro virtual events are archived permanently at soundpedro.org.

“Virtual events are not time-restricted and can last longer than anything onsite,” says Schindelmann. “They also can be more technology-based. Also, the virtual experience is a private rather than a shared public one, in which people can revisit and explore works on their own time, in greater detail.”

Needless to say, FLOOD hopes for a return to the onsite soundpedro event on June 4, 2022. But in any event, the COVID-catalyzed programming additions to soundpedro will be permanent parts of the event going forward.

We learned from 2020 that our quick pivot, and the infrastructure and programming that resulted, held up and could support expansion,” Schindelmann reports. “Also, the virtual events have been a good introduction for non-local, emerging artists, as well as those ‘sound-experimenting’ artists from other disciplines. Importantly, the addition of virtual events also provides access for artists whose participation might otherwise be restricted. […] Programming an onsite soundpedro will resume when nature allows. Once the onsite event comes back into the mix, soundpedro will have grown and improved in spite of adversity.”

A Veteran’s Day Story ― Brian Thomas, the Man on the Bridge

James Preston Allen
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A Veteran’s Day Story ― Brian Thomas, the Man on the Bridge

Two days after Veterans Day was unseasonably warm and reminiscent of summer. I wasn’t planning on doing much except to drive over the Vincent Thomas Bridge to pick up a book. But my trip to Long Beach was stalled by a bridge closure due to a reported “jumper,” who had climbed up the west tower. This wouldn’t be the first time this has happened.

At around 10 a.m. I received a text message from one of my longshoreman friends asking, “Why is there no press coverage of this guy on top of the bridge?”

I replied, “Probably because he didn’t jump. Is he still up there?”

I actually wanted to know so I could plan my trip to Long Beach. Well, he was still there. So my next call was to Los Angeles Port Police Captain, Dan Cobos.

“It’s a funny thing that you called just now,” Cobos says. “Yes he’s still up there and we’re negotiating to get him down. The thing is we’ve offered him several incentives to come down, but the one thing he’s asking for is to be interviewed by the media and he specifically asked for you!”

“By name?” I replied.

“Yes,” Cobos kind of laughed thinking that I might not take this seriously.

So, I thought for a moment and then considered that I’d never interviewed anyone who wanted to jump off of a bridge. “Is this guy serious about jumping?”

“No, he’s a veteran trying to make a statement and he wants it on camera.”

So I consented and rounded up my team to go see what this was all about. I was curious, and this appeared to be an exclusive.

It was sometime past noon when I arrived at the Caltrans parking lot at the south side of the foot of the bridge and soon Capt. Cobos showed up. “So what’s the deal?” I ask.

“I am told this guy, Brian Thomas, has climbed up on the bridge twice before. He’s an ex-marine and he says he’s been wronged by the Marine Corp”.

“So what does he want?”

“A bucket of hot wings, some Gatorade, a hotel room, a bus ticket back to Peoria, Illinois, and an interview with you.”

I laughed, “Really?”

At this point, I’m flabbergasted but skeptical. I wondered just what this man’s true intentions were, but more than willing to help out the Port Police just to get the bridge back open for everyone, not just myself. I’m also rather amazed at the amount of patience and sincerity expressed by Cobos, as it’s now been 36 hours on this incident. It’s taken up the resources of the California Highway Patrol, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Fire Department, and the Port Police just to negotiate to get Mr. Thomas down from his perch. I wondered if this is a normal procedure?

My crew has set up their telephoto lens so we can actually see him start to descend the large wire cables to solid ground. It seemed to take forever. After making it down from the bridge, he was transported to the Metro Park and Ride adjacent to the Route 47 offramp on Harbor boulevard in the back of a port pickup truck with a motorcycle escort. He was then checked for injuries by the fire department’s emergency medical technicians.

Standing there in the parking lot surrounded by police is this 58-year-old black man in full Marine dress uniform with a graying beard. He’s not handcuffed nor wrapped in a straight jacket. He was just casually chatting with the officers. Joking in fact, the officers looked relieved.

I learned this was his third time climbing the bridge. The past two times he climbed the bridge and was detained, he was placed on a 72-hour mental health hold, then released. This time the Veterans Administration didn’t want to get involved. In fact, the police weren’t even going to arrest and book him because he’d just be cited for a misdemeanor trespassing violation. According to Cobos, if he were booked into custody he’d be out with the same citation.

“What would be the point?” Cobos said. The bridge would be back open soon either way.

So I interviewed the marine, Brian Thomas, and listened to his long, sad story of how he was wrongly convicted in a court-martial on a theft and minor drug paraphernalia charge. He said he was framed and convicted with false evidence. He explained that over the years, he has attempted to get his name and record cleared multiple times but no one was willing to help him. You can view the whole interview here and judge for yourself.

Cobos, who is a veteran himself, seems skeptical of his story but is just relieved that the case ended without further incident and thanked me for the assist. The video is packaged up and offered to the three major TV stations in Los Angeles as the Port of LA has been in the news for weeks because of the congestion in the harbors, but no they’re not interested. And like I told my Longie friend, “If he doesn’t jump they probably won’t be interested in it.”

In the end, he was just another of the lost homeless vets wandering our streets looking for a home. His story differs in detail, but not the end result. He climbed the Vincent Thomas Bridge the day after Veterans Day to draw attention to his fight to correct a wrong he believes he had suffered ― a grievance perhaps too old to be appealed today, but the grievance persists.

So I pack up and my film crew take off and I head back to downtown San Pedro to wait for the bridge to actually reopen. It’s now around 3 pm. I’m driving along Centre Street just south of the Port Police station when I catch out of the corner of my eye a tall black man in a Marine uniform and white cap walking along. I pull up and park on Seventh Street and get out to see.

“It’s got to be the same guy,” I thought. “But why is he wandering around town?”

I checked the liquor store. He wasn’t there. I went inside GodMothers saloon. He’s not there either. So I ask one of the regulars if a guy in a Marine uniform came in?

“Yeah I think he’s in the bathroom in the back,” was the reply. So I wait.

And sure enough, he comes back bellies up to the bar next to me and he orders a Jack Daniels and I order tequila on the rocks. I think this is probably the most hilarious ending to the bridge standoff that I could not have ever imagined. So I posted a short Facebook live interview with him drinking at GodMothers and I wonder if he’ll ever get back to Peoria and if he’ll ever get the help he needs.

He paid for his own drink and then walked back to the police station to get the hotel room they offered him out in West Covina.

“I have a friend out there,” he says before he leaves.

The bridge opened back up at 3:29 p.m. and I took my trip to Long Beach thinking, “what a curious day this has been. And this could have ended in so many tragic ways.”

I don’t think anyone would believe this if I hadn’t recorded it.

EPA Moves to Protect the Public from PFOA and PFOS in Drinking Water

Reporters Desk
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EPA Moves to Protect the Public from PFOA and PFOS in Drinking Water

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or EPA Nov. 16, asked the agency’s science advisory board or SAB to review draft scientific documents regarding the health effects of certain Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances or PFAS. In its press release, EPA said it’s committed to science-based approaches to protect public health from exposure to Perfluorooctanoic acid or PFOA and Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid or PFOS, including by quickly updating drinking water health advisories with new peer-reviewed approaches and expeditiously developing National Primary Drinking Water Regulations for these contaminants.

EPA sent the science advisory board four draft documents with recent scientific data and new analyses that indicate that negative health effects may occur at much lower levels of exposure to PFOA and PFOS than previously understood and that PFOA is a likely carcinogen. The draft documents present EPA’s initial analysis and findings with respect to this new information.

Following peer review, this information will be used to inform health advisories and the development of maximum contaminant level goals and a national primary drinking water regulation for PFOA and PFOS. The EPA is now seeking independent scientific review of these documents and it is making these draft documents available to the public to ensure a transparent evaluation of the information.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed by President Biden on Nov. 15, invests $10 billion to help communities test for and clean up PFAS and other emerging contaminants in drinking water and wastewater, and can be used to support projects in disadvantaged communities.

The EPA will continue to develop a proposed PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for publication in Fall 2022.

Details: www.epa.gov/pfas.

Strike Halted, Tentative Agreement Reached Between Alliance Unions and Kaiser Permanente

Reporters Desk
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Strike Halted, Tentative Agreement Reached Between Alliance Unions and Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente and the Alliance of Health Care Unions Nov. 13, reached tentative agreement on a four-year contract, covering nearly 50,000 Kaiser Permanente health care employees in 22 local unions, and strengthening the Labor Management Partnership.

The agreement includes new staffing language to continue to protect employees and patients, annual wage increases, and maintains benefits while providing career development and advancement opportunities for Alliance union-represented employees. When ratified, the agreement will ensure Kaiser Permanente patients continue to receive safe, high-quality care and service; maintain Alliance union members’ industry-leading wages and benefits; and ensure Kaiser Permanente remains affordable for its members in the future.

Details of the tentative agreement include:

  • Wage increases: Guaranteed across-the-board wage increases each year through 2025 in every region for all Alliance-represented employees.
  • Health benefits: No reductions or takeaways to already low-cost family medical and dental coverage with the same low co-pays for prescriptions and office visits.
  • Retirement benefits: The Agreement maintains generous retirement income benefits and employer-subsidized retiree medical.
  • Bonus opportunities: Introduction of the Alliance Bonus Plan, which provides annual payouts for achieving new mutually-agreed-upon objectives to address affordability.
  • New safe staffing and workload language: Will ensure every Kaiser Permanente patient receives extraordinary care every time and in every place.
  • Opportunities for career growth: Alliance-represented employees will continue to have excellent career development and advancement opportunities.

The Alliance and Kaiser Permanente have agreed to form a national affordability and competitiveness task force with specific targets to find innovative ways to address issues of affordability while continuing to work together to protect high-quality patient care.

The tentative agreement was approved by members of the economic subcommittee of the Alliance of Health Care Unions and will now go to the full common issues committee and then union members for ratification. Voting on the tentative agreement will occur over the next several weeks. If ratified, the agreement will have an effective date of Oct. 1, 2021.

In light of this, the Alliance unions have canceled their strike notifications.

San Pedro Bay Ports Postpone Consideration of Container Dwell Fee Until Nov. 22, Reduction of import containers on terminals

Reporters Desk
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San Pedro Bay Ports Postpone Consideration of Container Dwell Fee Until Nov. 22, Reduction of import containers on terminals

The Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles announced Nov. 15, they will delay consideration of the “Container Dwell Fee” directed at ocean carriers until Nov. 22.

Since the fee was announced on Oct. 25, the twin ports have seen a decline of 26% combined in aging cargo on the docks. The ports said this decline supports a delay in implementation of the fee.

Under the temporary policy approved Oct. 29 by the Harbor Commissions of both ports, ocean carriers will be charged for each import container that falls into one of two categories: In the case of containers scheduled to move by truck, ocean carriers will be charged for every container dwelling nine days or more. For containers moving by rail, ocean carriers will be charged if a container has dwelled for six days or more.

The ports will charge ocean carriers in these two categories $100 per container, increasing in $100 increments per container per day until the container leaves the terminal.

Any fees collected from dwelling cargo will be reinvested for programs designed to enhance efficiency, accelerate cargo velocity and address congestion impacts.

The policy was developed in coordination with the Biden-Harris Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, U.S. Department of Transportation, Port of Los Angeles and multiple supply chain stakeholders.

LA County to Offer Rent Relief Grants For Qualifying Small Businesses

Reporters Desk
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LA County to Offer Rent Relief Grants For Qualifying Small Businesses

LOS ANGELES—In an effort to assist Qualifying Small Business Tenants (QSBT) that have fallen behind on rent, Los Angeles County will launch the Small Business Rent Relief Grant Project, at 8 a.m. Nov. 17. The Project, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act and authorized by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, will be administered by the County in partnership with the National Development Council.

The Small Business Rent Relief Grant Project will provide up to $40,000 to help businesses cover rent that became past due as of March 4, 2020. To be eligible, a QSBT must meet the following criteria:

Have a brick and mortar business located in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County;

Have an annual average number of nine or fewer full-time equivalent employees;

Have annual total gross revenues of no more than $1 million; and

Be able to demonstrate a gross revenue loss of at least 25% over a 12-month timeframe falling at least in part within the period of Los Angeles County’s COVID-19 Emergency Order that went into effect March 4, 2020.

Only one application per QSBT will be considered.

The County is working to ensure equitable distribution of resources, focusing on communities most in need of immediate and long-term pandemic and economic relief interventions based on relative risk using indicators that assess risk factors for COVID-19 infection, vulnerability to severe outcomes if infected, and ability to recover from the health, economic, and social impacts of the pandemic. Small Business Rent Relief Grant Project applications will be sorted by tier per equity lens and a lottery will be held for each tier to determine ranking order.

Applications will be accepted at 8 a.m. Nov. 17, and remain available through 5 p.m. Nov. 24.

Details: 626-210-4500; https://ndconline.org/small-business-lending/california/lacsbrr/ Questions regarding the Small Business Rent Relief Grant Project can be sent to LACountySBRR@ndconline.org.

Squashed

Ari LeVaux
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Squashed

I would have been OK with it if they were stealing our squash to feed their families, but it wasn’t the case. One of the thieves had a buttercup squash and the other what looked like a sunshine, both of the $4 size. With no time to hide the squash as we drove up, they scurried away sheepishly while we checked the cash box, which was empty, at which point they turned tails and ran.

We strolled after them in leisurely pursuit, comparing notes on what had just went down in front of our eyes in broad daylight. My son, who nodded to the thieves as they walked by with the little squashes we did not yet know were stolen, knows who they are and where they live. At first I thought the kid with the long underwear under his shorts had a little sunshine squash, which kind of broke my heart as it’s my favorite kind. About halfway to their house we found broken pieces of red kuri squash on the sidewalk. I was relieved it wasn’t a sunshine after all. At that point we returned home to prepare for other matters. Like a fine pumpkin pie, revenge is excellent served cold.

It was about that time that I received an email with an attached photo of a very sad pancake. “I am so bored with breakfast!” my friend wrote, interspersed with words I can’t print. “What should I do?”

I am not usually a breakfast eater, but some people are just gonna eat some breakfast, and I have to respect that. I got to work perfecting two squash-based breakfast recipes, one sweet and one savory. I practiced the sweet recipe on my kids, who enjoy foods with syrup. I practiced the savory version on myself, but in the afternoon, when it isn’t really breakfast anymore.

The sweet breakfast is almost too easy. I scoop a few spoonfuls of soft, cooked squash into a little bowl and mash it until it’s completely smooth. Then I add it to my favorite french toast recipe. The squash adds a thick, rich orange coating to the french toast, keeping it moist and soft. The squash flies completely under radar: the kids loved it, but could not guess the secret ingredient.

When I do eat breakfast, I typically prefer savory, as I would rather add hot sauce than sweet syrup. My savory breakfast squash is fried in bacon grease. Everything, including seeds, skin and egg fritters with squash. If you don’t do bacon, follow along with your favorite oil.

We can’t squash every beef in life, but at least we can squash our breakfast. On most days, that’s enough.

Squash for Breakfast

1 winter squash. I like sunshine or kabocha squash.

Cut the squash in half along the axis of your choice, and place the halves cut sides down on a baking pan, seeds and all, and bake at 350º F for about 40 minutes, until soft enough to push in from the outside. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Then scrape out the seeds and strings in the middle and set aside. Scrape the skin clean of squash flesh. Put the flesh in bowl and mash until smooth. Set aside the skin.

Squash Toast

For two slices

1 egg

splash of cream

splash of vanilla

1 tablespoon roasted, mashed squash

pinches of cinnamon, nutmeg and salt

2 slices bread

1/2 tablespoon butter

Beat together the wet ingredients until smoothly mixed. Dredge the bread. If the bread is extra hard and crusty soak it for up to an hour. Saute the slices in butter, like you do with French toast.

Squash Fritters

1 to 4 slices of bacon, depending on how fatty it is. Enough to add about two tablespoons of oil to the pan

squash seeds, somewhat cleaned but not meticulously spit-shined

squash skin

2 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons roasted, mashed squash

1 tablespoon bread crumbs

1 tablespoon grated hard cheese like romano

1 clove garlic, grated

pinches of salt and pepper

More oil as necessary

Fry the bacon until nicely browned. Remove the bacon and fry the seeds, spreading them out so no two are touching. Find room in the grease for some pieces of cleaned squash skin and set them down with exterior sides in the grease. Turn the heat down to low/medium and slowly fry the seeds and skin, turning when browned on one side.

Whilst the seeds and skins bubble in the oil, beat the eggs with the squash, bread crumbs, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper. Remove the browned seeds and skins. If the pan is close to dry, add more oil. Turn the heat to above medium. When the oil starts to sizzle at the slightest provocation, pour 1/4 cup or so of the batter at a time into the oil, in dollops far enough apart from one another that they won’t touch. There should be enough oil in the pan that the dollops float atop a thin layer. After about ten minutes, flip them. When the other sides are brown, remove them from the pan and drain them on paper towels. Serve with hot sauce.

 

Dining News: Walker’s Café; Lighthouse Café

Terelle Jerricks
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Dining News: Walker’s Café; Lighthouse Café

Passing of an Era: Walker’s Café Closes

Walker’s Café closed its doors for the last time last month. The restaurant is owned by Richard Brummett, the son of Bessie Mae Petersen, the original owner of Walker’s Café. Brummett took over the restaurant in 1996 after his mother died, allowing a series of general managers to operate the unofficial landmark while he continued to live in Yuba, Calif.

Motorcycle enthusiasts have been coming to Walker’s Café pretty much since it first opened in 1944. The café was off the beaten path, with no through traffic, because years before Paseo del Mar had taken a dive off the cliff into the Pacific.

Bessie and Ray Walker owned Walker’s Café. Bessie Logan was born and raised in central Oklahoma and moved to San Pedro when she was 22 years old. In past interviews with Random Lengths, she claimed to have waitressed in every restaurant or coffee shop in the Beacon Street area of the San Pedro Waterfront. Bessie was the waitress, Ray the cook. The Walker’s warmth, friendliness and good food was soon discovered by locals.

The café has been seen in movies such as Whatever Happened to the Black Dahlia? and Chinatown.

As a side note, the iconic Walker’s Café store sign featuring two mermaids has gone missing. It’s not clear if Mr. Brummett or a Walker’s Café enthusiast took it home as a keepsake.

Lighthouse Café is Now Open … Again

The Lighthouse Café is finally open after closing after a brief reopening this past August, following months of renovations. The café had changed hands while retaining most of its menu and staff. The Point Fermin area café reopened on Nov. 6.

Cindy and Jason Fogle, the new owners, have a long-time connection with San Pedro. Jason Fogle was born in San Pedro and his father worked at a San Pedro hospital for 30 years.

The Fogles made a same-day offer and soon after they became owners of the new Lighthouse Café. Then they shut it down to do a full renovation.

The building is 100 years old. Renovations ranged from exposing an original brick wall that adds to the ambience to installing new plumbing and wiring. They also put in a garage door on the side of the café, letting in light and fresh air. The Fogles plan to add new dishes, such as a Monday football night special. They also are recruiting more cooks who are bringing new ideas.

The Fogles are pleased with the response the new Lighthouse Café has been met with.

“The reception has been great, the neighborhood’s been great [and] the regulars have been wonderful,” Cindy Fogle said.

Worker Strikes: Kaiser Pharmacist; Fast Food Employees; Taxi Drivers; Electrical Workers; Amazon Delivery Union

Mark Friedman
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Worker Strikes: Kaiser Pharmacist; Fast Food Employees; Taxi Drivers; Electrical Workers; Amazon Delivery Union

Tom Morello teamed up with grandson and wrote the song “Hold the Line” for every working person fighting for their rights on the picket line.

https://aflcio.org/strike-map?source=111221-email&link_id=2&can_id=5dc1656199f6a70bb7a358ef30077423&email_referrer=email_1350081&email_subject=hold-the-line-strikes-are-not-over

Kaiser Permanente Pharmacy Workers Set Date for SoCal Strike

Facing stalled negotiations and low-ball contract offers, six UFCW Local Unions in Southern California issued a 10-day notice of strike to Kaiser Permanente. The notice informed Kaiser of the members’ intention to engage in a strike and job actions including picketing and hand billing by pharmacy employees at all Kaiser Permanente locations in the Southern California region. Nearly 150 Southern California medical facilities and 2,500 pharmacy employees, from San Diego to Kern County, could be impacted.

They join thousands of professional and technical KP employees across the country organizing for a potential strike if contract negotiations continue to stall. Just this past Saturday thousands of Kaiser employees rallied and marched in Pasadena calling on Kaiser to “come to its senses.”

Pharmacy employees, who are members of six UFCW locals in the SoCal region, are holding strike preparation assemblies this week including picket captain and member meetings to discuss plans for a potential strike.

UFCW locals are members of the Alliance of Healthcare Unions, a coalition of 21 labor organizations with over 50,000 Kaiser Permanente employees.

On Oct. 20, 96% of UFCW Kaiser Permanente employees in Southern California authorized a strike.

“Kaiser has called us heroes and now they are wanting to give us contract offers that are ridiculous. In this economy that we are in today, getting a 1% increase per year for the next three years is unsustainable — in California or anywhere else Kaiser employees live and work,” says Teresa Almora-Sorosjinda, a Pharmacy Assistant at Kaiser Permanente-Antelope Valley.

Protest by Employees of McDonald’s and Fast Food Chains

Fast-food workers at stores throughout California plan to leave work on Nov. 9 and demonstrate in front of McDonald’s locations in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, and Sacramento.

The protest is an effort to expand legal liability beyond individual franchisees to their corporate franchisors and protest health and safety conditions in the workplace.

The protests are aimed at pressuring state legislators to support proposed assembly bill 257.

The bill would hold fast-food corporations accountable to ensure their franchisees comply with a variety of employment and public health and safety orders, including those related to unfair business practices and employment discrimination.

The bill would make violations of labor laws by franchisees equally enforceable against the franchisor.

There are approximately 76,000 franchise establishments in California with a total of 728,900 jobs.

Taxi Drivers Win Some Relief from Crushing Medallion Debt

After 46 days of picketing and a 15-day hunger strike, members of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance won some relief from the vast debts incurred when the inflated value of their city-issued medallions crashed in recent years. Under a three-way agreement among the NYTWA, the de Blasio administration, and the city’s largest medallion lender, drivers — who owe, on average, $550,000 each — will see their debt written down to $170,000 and amortized so that monthly payments don’t exceed $1,122. Most important, the city will guarantee each of these rescue loans in the event of default.

New York City taxi drivers entered their second week of hunger-striking outside City Hall to demand that Mayor Bill de Blasio grant debt relief for thousands of drivers impacted by the taxi medallion price crash. Many drivers purchased taxi medallions, the permits required to drive a taxi, for upwards of $1 million. By the end of the week, an agreement was made.

After the incursion of ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft, as well as more recent plummeting demand for taxis due to the pandemic, they are now only worth about $100,000. Faced with massive debt and financial ruin, at least nine drivers have died by suicide. So, the medallion, for decades, has been worth between $130,000 to $200,000. The medallion system is the licensing by which cabs are allowed to pick up passengers from across the five boroughs. And this was created in the early 20th century.

Taxi driver Augustine Tang and hunger-striker said he knew a driver who committed suicide. He told Democracy Now! that he is striking for medallion owners who “went into financial ruin” and saw that “there was no way out.”

Zohran Mamdani, a New York State assembly member who joined drivers in the hunger strike, said, “It’s important for us as legislators to bring to light what it is that people are suffering from out of view of those in the political elite.”

Puerto Rican Electrical Workers Fight Privatization of Island’s Grid

The people and workers of Puerto Rico are suffering the consequences of the privatization of the electricity system, which was handed over to a new company, LUMA Energy, a subsidiary of Houston-based Quanta Services and Canadian firm ATCO.

UTIER — the Puerto Rico Electric and Irrigation Industry Workers Union — has been fighting for months against the disastrous contract that the Puerto Rican government signed with LUMA to operate the grid for 15 years.

Privatization has dismembered the electrical system’s workforce in a transparent attempt to break up the union.

LUMA was not required to hire employees of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority — the public company whose assets were privatized. Nor did LUMA comply with the existing collective agreements between PREPA and its unions. Instead, LUMA offered reduced benefits and job protections, so many skilled workers did not apply… leaving less trained and skilled workers and management to try and run the operation.

Protest Against the Planned Closing of Trinity Elementary

Parents, children, students and teachers at Trinity Elementary in South Central Los Angeles vehemently rejected the possible closure of the campus in a protest on Oct. 28. Protesters said they have already collected more than 3,000 signatures supporting their effort.

Los Angeles Unified School District Central Local District superintendent Frances Báez announced the forthcoming closing on June 24. About 230 students will be affected. “I have come to the difficult, but the necessary conclusion that continuing to operate [Trinity] at current enrollment levels will not allow us to provide the quality services, supports, and resources that our students and staff deserve.”

“It is a lie because in five years we have only had five fewer students,” teachers retorted.

Despite the fact that 98% of the families at Trinity Elementary are mostly Spanish-speaking, the little information they have received has been only in English.

“There is no benefit in separating students from teachers who supported them during distance learning and are now supporting them in their return to in-person learning,” Cecily-Myart Cruz, president of the Union of Teachers of Los Angeles, told La Opinion.

The LAUSD school district plans to turn over the building to a charter school, which is not required to admit any of the students currently attending Trinity.

Amazon Organizers Deliver Union Cards in NYC for Election

Led by Chris Smalls, who was fired by Amazon in New York City for efforts to protect co-workers from the pandemic, Amazon warehouse workers filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to hold a union election. It’s the second time this year Amazon workers have attempted to form the company’s first-ever U.S. union. The Bessemer, Ala. organizing effort fell short due to company harassment of workers, and illegal interventions.

“That’s it,” Smalls said. “Yeah, we did it. It’s officially done. Notice to employees will be sent out in a matter of a week. Everybody in their facilities will be notified that the petition has been filed.” Smalls was met by cheers after filing the petition with the NLRB.

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