San Francisco Independent Journal

12/06/2023

Last Friday, workers from three East Bay Peet’s Coffee locations marched to Peet’s corporate office in Emeryville to deliver a letter announcing their intention to unionize with the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).

Last Friday, workers from three East Bay Peet’s Coffee locations marched to Peet’s corporate office in Emeryville to deliver a letter announcing their intention to unionize with the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). This is the second union drive at Peet’s this year, the first being a loc...

08/05/2023

Last Monday morning, people gathered at the side entrance of Local 10 in SF, home of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). A collection of longshore workers, sailors, and labor activists came together to celebrate May Day.

Last Monday morning, a large group of people gathered at the side entrance of Local 10 in San Francisco, home of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). A collection of longshore workers, sailors, and labor activists waited to start a celebration and rally for International Workers.....

16/04/2023

On April 7th, workers at Berkeley’s Urban Ore voted to unionize with the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), with a supermajority of workers voting ‘yes’. The vote was a culmination of a years-long organizing effort that started during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 7th, workers at Berkeley’s Urban Ore voted to unionize with the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), with a supermajority of workers voting ‘yes’. The vote was a culmination of a years-long organizing effort that started during the COVID-19 pandemic. Urban Ore, which holds an exclus...

26/03/2023

Early Wednesday morning, workers at Starbucks Coffee on 18th and Castro Streets lined up in front of the locked store with picket signs. The strike was part of a nationwide day of action planned by Starbucks workers. Read more:

Early Wednesday morning, workers at Starbucks Coffee on 18th and Castro Streets lined up in front of the locked store with picket signs. They were joined by supporters from the community, including members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and other union members. The Starbucks store at....

30/12/2022

Right before Christmas, Macy's Union Square workers and
UFCW Local 5 members voted to authorize a two-day strike after months of failed negotiations with the company. They demand the company to return to the bargaining table to reach a fair agreement.

After months of fighting for a fair labor contract, workers at the Macy’s Union Square location went on strike on December 23 and 24. Contract negotiations between members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 5 and the company had broken down, with the company’s offer rejected ...

08/12/2022

After weeks of consideration and public backlash, San Francisco Board of Supervisors came to a conclusion on the controversial subject of “killer robots” yesterday afternoon, voting to temporarily halt the policy and expecting a final vote next week.

After weeks of consideration and public backlash, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors came to a conclusion on the controversial subject of “killer robots” yesterday afternoon. They voted to temporarily halt the policy, which includes (with numerous amendments) explicit authorization for the S...

18/11/2022

This week's UC strikes is a milestone in America's labor fight. With Starbucks workers also going on strike, these events might inspire labor organizers to rise.

On Monday afternoon, the University of California, Berkeley thrummed with the sights and sounds of protest reverberating from picket lines along Bancroft Way.  A huge sign reading “END RENT BURDEN” stretched across the worn bronze arch of Sather Gate. Nearby, a duo kneeled on the concrete of Sp...

09/11/2022

CCSF has been a hotbed of labor activism in recent years. For years, CCSF faculty fought hard, which led to making CCSF free. With Prop O on the ballot for Election Day today, voters will determine whether or not to invest more in students.

City College of San Francisco (CCSF) was created in 1937 to address the educational needs of San Francisco’s working class. The community college has taken its role in the “community” very seriously by making sure that they are focused on giving all San Francisco residents a fair chance in lif...

23/10/2022

After a week of public backlash, Boba Guys suspended workers at the Mission store without pay, disabled comments on their Instagram posts, and made their Twitter private.

After a week of public backlash, Boba Guys management temporarily closed their Mission District store on 19th and Valencia, made their Twitter account private, and disabled comments on their Instagram posts. Workers at the Mission store received an email early Thursday evening from HR director Maris...

17/10/2022

Last month, service workers at SFO announced a tentative agreement to call off their 3-day strike. We recently spoke to Tom Kreis, a rank-and-file UNITE HERE Local 2 member who helped organize the strike.

On September 28th, service workers at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) announced a tentative agreement to call off their three-day strike. The strike came after nine months of negotiations with the owners of the airport concessions who failed to produce a contract that was up to the workers...

01/10/2022

EDITED: last week, Alcatraz Workers United won their union election by 52-11 despite union busting efforts from the Hornblower Group. We spoke with a deckhand to learn more about what’s next for the union.

Last Thursday, Alcatraz City Cruises workers elected to unionize in a 52-11 vote. Those workers, responsible for operating ferries traveling between San Francisco’s Pier 33 and Alcatraz Island, are now officially part of the Inlandboatmen’s Union of the Pacific, Marine Division of the Internatio...

01/02/2022

Palestinian organizers led a car caravan on Saturday after a series of home demolitions in occupied Palestine, including one that was broadcast in a highly-viewed livestream on Instagram, were documented on social media. Read more: https://sfindependentjournal.com/palestinians-organized-car-caravan-in-response-to-israeli-violence/

SAN FRANCISCO — Palestinian organizers led a car caravan on Saturday after a series of home demolitions in occupied Palestine, including one that was broadcast in a highly-viewed livestream on Instagram, were documented on social media. While the US is ramping up military presence at the Russian/U...

08/12/2021

In response to the killing of Ajmal Amani, Defund SFPD Now, along with various coalitions, held a vigil right outside of the Covered Wagon Hotel last Friday to call for police abolition and invest in care for the community.

https://sfindependentjournal.com/abolitionist-organizers-held-vigil-and-march-for-afghan-man-murdered-by-sfpd/

A few days before Mayor London Breed held a press conference in response to shoplifting and burglaries at various commodified luxury brand stores in Downtown, 41-year-old Ajmal Amani, who was an ex-Afghan interpreter that also struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder, was killed in the corridor...

01/10/2021

Yesterday, over a hundred tenants marched from the Embarcadero Plaza over to the Veritas Investments headquarters on Market and Bush Street to demand Newsom to extend the eviction moratorium and to negotiate with the tenants in their buildings. Read more:
https://sfindependentjournal.com/tenants-marched-to-veritas-headquarters-as-eviction-moratorium-expires/

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The California statewide eviction moratorium is set to expire today. For millions of Californians, that means they are no longer relieved from rental debt. “I’m a tenant and mother who lost work during the pandemic, and my landlord continues to send letters threatening evic...

22/06/2021

SF Supes took a historic step as they unanimously supported founding the nation’s first municipal public bank. Championed by , a public bank would be a transparent, citizen-controlled way to reinvest funds into the community.

https://sfindependentjournal.com/board-of-supes-unanimously-supports-creation-of-nations-first-municipal-public-bank/

San Francisco — The Board of Supervisors took a historic step last Tuesday as they unanimously passed an ordinance that starts the process of founding the nation’s first municipal public bank. The public bank would be run by the City and would reinvest millions of dollars of public revenue in ec...

17/06/2021

The fight to make SF’s Muni free for riders has staunch supporters within City Hall, but failed by a single vote to overcome the Mayor’s veto. Supervisor Myrna Melgar was the only one voting "no", despite 91% of her district supporting free Muni.

https://sfindependentjournal.com/supervisor-melgar-votes-down-free-muni-despite-91-of-her-district-supporting/

San Francisco — The fight to make San Francisco’s municipal transit — Muni — free for riders has staunch supporters within City Hall, but failed by a single vote to overcome the Mayor’s threatened veto. One of the “no” votes was Supervisor Melgar, whose district spans the city’s sout...

17/06/2021

On Sunday, over 50 Dandelion Chocolate employees, union members, city elected officials, and supporters of
Dandelion Chocolate Union came out to rally in front of the Valencia location to demand CEO Todd Masonis to hire them back.

https://sfindependentjournal.com/dandelion-chocolate-workers-and-supporters-rallied-after-recent-layoffs/

San Francisco — Since Dandelion Chocolate workers publicly announced to unionize in March, they have been fighting against CEO Todd Masonis and company management for interfering with their unionization efforts. The union election took place in April, which was too close to call and followed by li...

06/06/2021

Hundreds of demonstrators picketed on Friday in front of the Port of Oakland to block an Israeli container ship from unloading in protest of against Israel’s apartheid policies. The Israeli ship was successfully blocked at around 6 pm.

https://sfindependentjournal.com/demonstrators-successfully-blocked-israeli-cargo-ship-at-port-of-oakland/

OAKLAND—Hundreds of demonstrators picketed yesterday in front of six different gates at the Port of Oakland to block an Israeli container ship from unloading in protest of against Israel’s apartheid policies. The Volans ship, operated by Israeli shipping company Zim, was successfully blocked and...

03/06/2021

SF Mayor announced her new budget without mentioning Prop I - Read our latest update on the fight for voter-approved funds! https://sfindependentjournal.com/mayor-announces-new-budget-without-including-voter-approved-affordable-housing/

01/06/2021

SF Teachers voted last week to support Palestine against Israeli occupation. They called for the Biden admin to stop the ~$4 billion in military aid to Israel and endorsed the movement to boycott Israeli products until the Palestinian occupation ends.

https://t.co/Eu6ozpSozK?amp=1

San Francisco — The United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) voted to support occupied Palestine amid the escalating crises brought on by Israeli bombings, blockades, and illegal settlements. The situation reached a tipping point in the past weeks when Israeli settlers — backed by the Israeli De...

28/05/2021

Read our latest about a series of emails, released via the Sunshine Act, exposing communications from SF Head of Homeless Response: https://sfindependentjournal.com/sf-head-of-homeless-response-blames-homelessness-on-amenities-and-pushes-enforcement/

A series of emails, released via the Sunshine Act, showed one of San Francisco’s top homeless chiefs arguing that providing public services ‘attracts unsheltered people’ and that restricting amenities would be necessary to keep the City to be ‘tent free.’ These new revelations demonstrate ...

20/05/2021

The Board of Supervisors approves moving forward with free MUNI pilot. Supervisor Haney said “Free Muni is a great way to boost ridership on a transit system that has lost a significant amount of passengers for more than a year during the pandemic".

San Francisco – On Wednesday, San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston and Budget Chair Matt Haney overwhelmingly passed their Free Muni Pilot in a 4-1 vote at the Budget and Appropriations Committee, the final hearing before a vote at the full board of supervisors on Tuesday. With Supervisor Mar joi...

18/05/2021

Recently, the San Francisco Independent Journal had the chance to speak with former State Senate candidate Jackie Fielder to find out what she's been up to. Learn more about her exciting developments for a progressive incubator in California through our latest interview.

https://sfindependentjournal.com/jackie-fielder-and-the-daybreak-pac-an-incubator-for-progressive-success/

San Francisco — As a 26-year-old, indigenous, q***r, and Latina Democratic Socialist, Jackie Fielder is looking for more ways to grow the movement built by her campaign for the 2020 California State Senate in San Francisco. Fielder ran a campaign focused on giving a voice to marginalized citizens....

17/05/2021

Yesterday in the Mission District, thousands of demonstrators came out in support of occupied Palestinians. The demonstration came in solidarity after weeks of devastation across occupied territories, including the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem and Gaza.

https://sfindependentjournal.com/end-apartheid-thousands-marched-in-san-francisco-mission-district-in-support-of-palestine/

SAN FRANCISCO—Yesterday in San Francisco’s Mission District, thousands of demonstrators came out in support of occupied Palestinians. The demonstration came in solidarity after weeks of devastation across occupied territories, including the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem and Gaza. ...

07/05/2021

Last Saturday on May Day, workers around the US marched peacefully to have their voices heard while amplifying the broader labor movement. In San Francisco, workers memorialized the San Francisco General Strike in 1934, a pivotal moment in US history that led to the rise of organized labor on the West Coast and beyond.

https://sfindependentjournal.com/workers-marched-and-rallied-to-demand-protections-on-may-day/?fbclid=IwAR2CmdfkFer3Oh1g61T0YvTNlCGt2j2pL_S-iRd-IWgem5RoewoJ2zdFQsQ

Last Saturday on May Day, workers around the US marched peacefully to have their voices heard while amplifying the broader labor movement, acknowledging the Haymarket Incident of 1886, which became a symbol for the international struggle for workers’ rights and led to the eight-hour workday. In Sa...

03/05/2021

James Coleman was recently elected to South San Francisco's city council. The 21 year old Democratic Socialist and Harvard graduate defeated an 18 year incumbent for the seat. Read our profile below.

https://sfindependentjournal.com/meet-james-coleman-south-san-francisco-district-4s-new-socialist-city-council-member/

SFIJ was excited to catch up with James Coleman, one of the recently elected members of South San Francisco’s city council. Coleman, a South San Francisco, native, has set several historic firsts for city council. At 21, he is the youngest person ever elected to the council, defeating 18-year incu...

21/04/2021

Alphabet Workers Union wins settlement for a suspended worker. Learn how the new union came to Shannon Wait's support!
AlphabetWorkers https://sfindependentjournal.com/alphabet-workers-union-wins-settlement-for-a-suspended-worker/

Alphabet Workers Union (AWU) won a settlement filed against Google and its contractor, Modis E&T for Unfair Labor Practice. The worker, Shannon Wait, is an employee located at the Modis Engineering Google data center in Berkeley County, South Carolina. Modis Engineering is a subcontractor that provi...

17/04/2021

“There is no amount of prosecution, no amount of money, no amount of reform that will ever be able to bring them back. We will never get justice from this racist system. They were murdered by the institution of policing and all of those that uphold it.”

Read more from our latest story: https://sfindependentjournal.com/hundreds-gathered-to-demand-an-end-to-policing-after-daly-city-shooting/

SAN FRANCISCO—Last night, hundreds of peaceful protestors gathered for a vigil, organized by Defund SFPD Now, on the steps of Mission High School for Roger Allen, Adam Toledo, and Daunte Wright, all of whom were shot and killed by police officers. The vigil was followed by a march up to the Valenc...

16/04/2021

Read our latest feature with long-time socialist Tom Gallagher and learn about his career as a politician, activist, author, and educator: https://sfindependentjournal.com/in-conversation-with-long-time-socialist-tom-gallagher/

The San Francisco Independent Journal recently had the pleasure to talk with long-time socialist and DSA member Tom Gallagher. The American Left has seen many transformations over the past few decades and Gallagher been there through it all. He was the first socialist Massachusetts state legislator....

05/04/2021

Dandelion Chocolate workers rallied at Dolores Park last Wednesday with the support of the International Longshore Warehouse Union (ILWU) members, the San Francisco DSA, Tartine Bakery workers, Anchor Brewery workers, and the broader labor movement.

Dandelion Chocolate is a well-loved San Francisco institution. One worker said “We’re not here to tear down any systems. We’re here to make a better workplace…we just want to make a living at the same time.”

Supervisor Dean Preston also attended the rally, and said "San Francisco is a union town. It has always been and always will be. And we want to send a loud, clear message to Dandelion management. Let your workers organize, sit down with them, and embrace it. Just do the right thing."

https://t.co/84c1ru0XNi?amp=1

SAN FRANCISCO—After formally announcing their intent to form a union on March 17, Dandelion Chocolate workers rallied at Dolores Park last Wednesday with the support of the International Longshore Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 6 members, the San Francisco chapter of Democratic Socialists of America...