Thursday, March 29, 2012
Celebrate Cesar Chavez Day
Cesar Chavez Day is a state holiday in
California – one of eight states to recognize the date, and one of the few holidays in the nation
dedicated to a labor
leader. Sacramento and dozens of cities, counties and labor
federations will celebrate the life of Cesar Chavez on March 31, 2012,
On
March 26, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis honored Cesar Chavez and the UFW
founders by dedicating the auditorium at the Department of Labor in Chavez’s
name.
Mexican
labor leader Jose Humberto Montes de Oca of the SME, electrical workers union
will lead the Sacramento march on
March 31. Montes do Oca and the SME in Mexico are fighting for survival
against a repressive government. In central Mexico 44,000 Electrical Power Workers (SME) were
fired to privatize the industry and destroy the union. The march will begin at 10 Am in Southside Park.
This
year, 2012 is the 50th. anniversary of the founding of the
U.F.W. The Cesar Chavez
celebrations focus on the struggle
for union rights and justice in the fields of California. Along with Dolores Huerta, Philip Vera
Cruz, and others, César created the United Farm Workers (UFW) the first successful union of
farm workers in U.S. history. There had been more than ten prior
attempts to build a farm workers union.
Each of the prior attempts to organize farm worker unions were destroyed
by racism and corporate power. Chávez chose to build a union that incorporated
the strategies of social movements and community organizing and allied itself with the churches, students, and organized labor. The successful creation of the UFW
changed the nature of labor organizing
in the Southwest and
contributed significantly to the birth of Latino politics in the U.S.
Today, under the leadership of UFW president Arturo Rodriguez, only
about 8,000 farm workers enjoy
benefits on the job. Wages and benefit in farm labor have again been reduced to
the pre union levels. Unionized
workers are incorporated into
California's educational, health and civic communities. The UFW has shown unions that
immigrants can and must be
organized.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Spring Training for the 99%
 |
DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS
OF AMERICA
|
March 27, 2012
|
 | ||
NEWS FROM DSA
A REPORT FROM DSA'S NATIONAL OFFICE. | ||
The 99% Spring Offensive is coming. Will you be there?
Groups from every corner of the progressive movement - inspired by the everyday heroes of Occupy Wall Street and Madison, Wisconsin - are planning a massive campaign of bold nonviolent direct actions to explain who REALLY brought on the Great Recession, and make the voices of the 99% impossible to ignore.
The key is making the 99% Spring as big as possible. That's why we’re proud that during the week of April 9 through 15, in small towns and big cities all across America, 100,000 people will come together for an unprecedented national movement-wide nonviolent direct action training.
Will you join the 99% Spring? Click here to sign up, and we’ll put you in touch with the events closest to you.
Our nation's greatest steps forward have come when everyday people stood up and took courageous, visionary, morally compelling direct action. Last year, from the Wisconsin workers who took over their state capitol to Occupy Wall Street, we saw a new movement in America using direct action to highlight the massive inequality that's destroying our country.
That’s why local organizations and volunteers, including DSAers, are running more than 750 trainings in living rooms, union halls, churches, campus classrooms and community centers nationwide. All we need now is to get as many people as possible to join in - people like YOU.
The 99% Spring is our chance to maintain and broaden our powerful collective energy, and learn how we can take action to challenge corporate power, end tax giveaways to the 1%, fight the influence of money in politics, and create a democratic economy that works for all of us.
This is a chance for all of us to come together to shift the political landscape in America. Will you join in?
Click here to sign up for a 99% Spring action training in your area!
Thank you for all you do to make this movement real.
In solidarity,
Maria Svart
National Director
|
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
California Progress Report
California Progress Report
The Compromise Tax Initiative- a victory for progressives.
The Compromise Tax Initiative- a victory for progressives.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Cesar Chavez Day marks 50th. anniversary of the founding of the UFW
Cesar Chavez Day is a state holiday in
California – one of eight states to recognize the date, and one of the few holidays in the nation
dedicated to a labor
leader. Sacramento and dozens of cities, counties and labor
federations will celebrate the life of Cesar Chavez on March 31, 2012,
Mexican
labor leader Jose Humberto Montes de Oca of the SME, electrical workers union
will lead the Sacramento march on
March 31. Montes do Oca and the SME in Mexico are fighting for survival
against a repressive government. In central Mexico 44,000 Electrical Power Workers (SME) were
fired to privatize the industry and destroy the union.
This
year, 2012 is the 50th. anniversary of the founding of the
U.F.W. The Cesar Chavez
celebrations focus on the struggle
for union rights and justice in the fields of California. Along with Dolores Huerta, Philip Vera
Cruz, and others, César created the United Farm Workers (UFW) the first successful union of
farm workers in U.S. history. There had been more than ten prior
attempts to build a farm workers union.
Each of the prior attempts to organize farm worker unions were destroyed
by racism and corporate power. Chávez chose to build a union that incorporated
the strategies of social movements and community organizing and allied itself with the churches, students, and organized labor. The successful creation of the UFW
changed the nature of labor organizing
in the Southwest and
contributed significantly to the birth of Latino politics in the U.S.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Exclusive: OWS Activist Cecily McMillan Describes Seizure, Bodily Injuries in Arrest by NYPD
Exclusive: OWS Activist Cecily McMillan Describes Seizure, Bodily Injuries in Arrest by NYPD
YDS (DSA) activist beaten, assaulted in NY Occupy effort.
YDS (DSA) activist beaten, assaulted in NY Occupy effort.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
California Schools and Taxes
by Duane E. Campbell
California, like most states,
needs additional revenue to fund schools and to invest in the future. A
tax plan known as The Millionaires Tax has been proposed by
the California Federation of Teachers and the Courage Campaign to increase
revenues to pay for vital services. It was assigned the official
title "Tax To Benefit Public Schools, Social Services, Public Safety, And
Road Maintenance,". The Sacramento Progressive Alliance has been circulating this initiative.
On March 15, Governor Jerry Brown
agreed to modify his proposed tax plan to make it more like the more progressive plan of CFT, the
Courage Campaign and others.
California public schools are in crisis- and they are
getting worse. This is a direct result of massive budget cuts imposed by the
legislature and the governor in the last four years. Total per pupil expenditure is down by over $1,000 per
student. The result- massive class size increases. Students are in often classes too large for learning. Supplementary services such as tutoring
and art classes have been eliminated.
Over 14,000 teachers have been dismissed, and thousands more face lay
offs this fall.
California
schools are now 47th. in the nation in per pupil expenditure and 49th
in class size. Our low achievement
scores on national tests reflect this severe underfunding.
Of
course the economic crisis of 2007 to the present caused by bankers and pirates
made matters worse. The state took in some $30 billion less
in taxes and thus had less to send to the schools. School budgets have been cut by some $10 billion. K-12 education receives about 40% of
the California budget. Thus any
decline in the state budget leads directly to cuts in school services.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Women's History-speaker
Dolores Delgado Campbell
Professor. Mexican American History and Women’s History
40 Years of Activism : And Why It is Worth It.
American River College. March 15, 2012.
Raef Hall.
161. 12: 15 – 1:15.
A part of the celebration of Women’s History Month.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Free Screening of PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL at Sac State Friday, March 9
Campus Progressive Alliance
The Friday Night Film Series
Celebrates Women’s History Month!
The Friday Night Film Series
Celebrates Women’s History Month!
Pray the Devil Back to Hell
Featuring Leymah Gbowee
2011 Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Please join us as we celebrate Women's History Month with this powerful, inspiring new film which documents the remarkable story of the Women's Peace Movement in Liberia.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Please join us as we celebrate Women's History Month with this powerful, inspiring new film which documents the remarkable story of the Women's Peace Movement in Liberia.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Foothill Suite (3rd Floor)
Sac State University Union
Shorts--6:00pm Feature Film--6:30pm
"Marvelous” - LA Times
Shorts--6:00pm Feature Film--6:30pm
"Marvelous” - LA Times
"Remarkable" - Philadelphia Inquirer
"Tremendously Moving" - New York Daily News
"Extraordinary" - The Guardian
"The heroism on view... is breathtaking." - Christian Science Monitor
"An uppercut to Lucifer's jaw" - Minneapolis Star Tribuine
Info: 916-248-3970 or paulb1221@sbcglobal.net
Activists protest education cuts at Capitol; about 70 arrested
A coalition of student groups and labor unions supported the demonstration, billed by some as an 'occupy the Capitol' action. The protest reflected discontent over steady hikes in college costs amid budget cuts.
 |
| California Highway Patrol officers carry out a protester after he refused to leave the state Capitol in Sacramento during a demonstration Monday against budget cuts in higher education that drew thousands. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press / March 5, 2012) |
March 6, 2012
Reporting from Sacramento -- Thousands of students and activists marched on the state Capitol on Monday to protest cuts in higher education, and authorities arrested 68 of them who refused to leave the building after it closed in the evening.
Four had been arrested earlier in the day, one on suspicion of possessing a switchblade.
The demonstration, billed by some as an "occupy the Capitol" act and supported by a freewheeling coalition of student groups and labor unions, was the latest sign of simmering discontent over steady hikes in the cost of attending state universities and community colleges.
Tuition has tripled at the universities over the last decade. "We're getting pushed against a wall," said Carson Watts, 23, a sociology major at UC Santa Cruz.
Gov. Jerry Brown, who signed a budget last year that slashed funding for the University of California and Cal State systems by 23%, did not attend the rally. But he said through a spokeswoman: "The students today are reflecting the frustrations of millions of Californians who have seen their public schools and universities eroded year after year. That's why it's imperative that we get more tax revenue this November"— a reference to his proposed ballot initiative to raise taxes.
Democratic political leaders largely embraced the demonstrators, most of whom stayed outside. Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles), Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom addressed the rally on the west steps.
"We've cut billions of dollars, and I've hated every minute of it," Steinberg said.
The California Highway Patrol, in charge of security, declined to estimate the number of protesters.
About 200 made it inside the building and lingered beneath its 19th-century rotunda before Highway Patrol officers sealed off the area. Dozens more milled in the hallways or dropped into legislative offices to plead for more funding.
Sympathetic Democratic lawmakers urged authorities to be judicious in making arrests. The activists spent much of the afternoon debating what their demands should be. They shouted out several, including a tax on millionaires that some education activists hope to place on the November ballot.
By the time the building officially closed at 6 p.m., a few dozen protesters remained inside the Capitol. At 6:25, the Highway Patrol ordered them to disperse.
chris.megerian@latimes.com
Four had been arrested earlier in the day, one on suspicion of possessing a switchblade.
The demonstration, billed by some as an "occupy the Capitol" act and supported by a freewheeling coalition of student groups and labor unions, was the latest sign of simmering discontent over steady hikes in the cost of attending state universities and community colleges.
Tuition has tripled at the universities over the last decade. "We're getting pushed against a wall," said Carson Watts, 23, a sociology major at UC Santa Cruz.
Gov. Jerry Brown, who signed a budget last year that slashed funding for the University of California and Cal State systems by 23%, did not attend the rally. But he said through a spokeswoman: "The students today are reflecting the frustrations of millions of Californians who have seen their public schools and universities eroded year after year. That's why it's imperative that we get more tax revenue this November"— a reference to his proposed ballot initiative to raise taxes.
Democratic political leaders largely embraced the demonstrators, most of whom stayed outside. Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles), Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom addressed the rally on the west steps.
"We've cut billions of dollars, and I've hated every minute of it," Steinberg said.
The California Highway Patrol, in charge of security, declined to estimate the number of protesters.
About 200 made it inside the building and lingered beneath its 19th-century rotunda before Highway Patrol officers sealed off the area. Dozens more milled in the hallways or dropped into legislative offices to plead for more funding.
Sympathetic Democratic lawmakers urged authorities to be judicious in making arrests. The activists spent much of the afternoon debating what their demands should be. They shouted out several, including a tax on millionaires that some education activists hope to place on the November ballot.
By the time the building officially closed at 6 p.m., a few dozen protesters remained inside the Capitol. At 6:25, the Highway Patrol ordered them to disperse.
chris.megerian@latimes.com
Copyright © 2012, Los Angeles Times
Monday, March 5, 2012
6000 Students March on Capitol today
More than 6,000 students from Central and Northern
California marched on the California Capitol today to demand full funding of
education, student debt relief and
Tax the Millionaires to pay for it. The impressive demonstration was organized
primarily by student associations of the community colleges, the CSU and U.C. campuses
in the northern half of the state.
Key legislative leaders addressed the crowd and offered
legislation to fund public education- which they can not pass do the
constitutional requirement of a 2/3 vote to raise taxes.
Yet a third event today is the planned 5:30 PM. Rally
organized by labor.
The several unions supporting and funding the Tax the
Millionaires signature gathering used an effective strategy which we used in
March of 2010 while gathering signatures for the California Democracy Act. They printed several hundred well
done posters saying Tax the Millionaires.
They went to the student assembly points where thousands were arriving
without signs and gave the posters away free. In the march at least one of every six marchers was carrying
a Tax the Millionaires sign – an impressive showing. Tax the Millionaires is supported by the California
Federation of Teaches (AFT), the California Nurses (CAN) and most recently
Moveon. In addition to tabling,
some 60 signature gatherers traveled through the crowd to collect signatures of
voters.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Friday, March 2, 2012
MARCH 5th -- OCCUPY THE CAPITOL!
Occupy Education California
Education-related Organizing in California
in solidarity with Occupy Everywhere
10 am: Mass March Beginning at Southside Park at 6th and T Streets
11 am: Rally at the Capitol Building
12:30 pm: Lunch at the Capitol Building
3:30 pm: General Assembly and Nonviolent Direct Action Training to Occupy the Capitol!
5:30 pm: Rally on North Steps in Solidarity with Occupy the Capitol
You can also check here for updated information on the March 5, 2012 event.
Education-related Organizing in California
in solidarity with Occupy Everywhere
11 am: Rally at the Capitol Building
12:30 pm: Lunch at the Capitol Building
3:30 pm: General Assembly and Nonviolent Direct Action Training to Occupy the Capitol!
5:30 pm: Rally on North Steps in Solidarity with Occupy the Capitol
You can also check here for updated information on the March 5, 2012 event.
Sacramento Progressive Alliance March Organizing Meeting
Happy Women's History Month!
Sacramento Progressive Alliance
March Organizing Meeting
Saturday, March 3, 10am-12pm
Home of Dolores & Duane Campbell
2827 Catania Way, Sacramento 95826
Please join us as we plan for: the March 5 Occupy the Capitol March; our annual Progressive Forum in April; the Friday Night Film Series; and our participation in the 2012 elections. Your participation and input is the key to our continued growth and success.
Keep Hope Alive!
Happy Cesar Chavez Day!
Join us March 5 at the Capitol
On March 5th, to top off a week of action around student debt, tens of thousands of students and allies will march on the capitals of California and New York, demanding relief from the shackles imposed by being thousands upon thousands of dollars in debt. Can you join students in Sacramento or Albany to show solidarity for higher education and demand relief for those struggling with student debt?
Higher education has historically been a vital component of the American Dream, and yet, for more and more Americans, going to college is out of reach.Student debt has officially topped credit card debt in the US, and total loans outstanding will hit $1 trillion for the first time in history during the next few months.2 This year, campuses in states around the country will face even more cuts -- in Pennsylvania, for example, the Governor has proposed 20% more in cuts to public universities. In California, the cost of attending a University of California has nearly tripled in the last decade.3
Thursday, March 1, 2012
National Student Demonstrations Today
Join
Us on March 1 Day of Action
CSU
–Sacramento. Rally at Noon
U.C.
Davis. Teach In.
To Demand that the California Government:
Fully fund public education, which is a
public good and is the cornerstone of a democratic society, a vibrant economy,
and the social and intellectual development of every individual.
Fully fund social services, which to a large
part provide a crucial safety net for the most vulnerable members of society
and therefore serve as a measure of society's moral standard.
Thousands of U.S. college students will walk out of class Thursday in a
coordinated day of protest against what may be another year of significant
higher-education budget cuts by state legislatures.
Young Democratic Socialists at UC Davis mobilized to participate in protests
during National Student Debt Week, Feb.27- March 2, across the country. Cornel West joined in the effortAction. http://vimeo.com/37209329
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