These next couple of days will see San Diego streets swell up with protests of different sorts, as nurses, janitors and anti-nuke activists and their supporters stage demonstrations across the City.
Thursday, May 17th: San Diego Janitors Continue Hunger Fast and Hold 12-Hour Vigil at Civic Center Plaza
San Diego area janitors will hold a 12-hour vigil with community and religious leaders at Civic Center Plaza in downtown San Diego, joining hunger fast participants fighting for health care for themselves and their families. Throughout the day, community volunteers will be visiting hunger fasters at their base camp at the Church of the Brethren in San Diego, where volunteers are working hard making preparations for Friday’s march and rally at La Jolla’s UTC.
“I am a janitor and a mother. I work hard every day so that I may provide my young children with everything they need to stay in school and go to college – something I am unable to do,” said Magdalena Figueroa, a janitor at Ximed and Hunger Fast participant. “It is because of them that I have decided to fast. Both of my daughters dream of going to college. And so I will do what I have to to make sure they achieve that.”
Hunger fast participants are planning on ending their hunger fast at protest action planned at UTC in La Jolla on Friday.
USWW janitors have been negotiating a new contract for a modest wage increase and health benefits. After weeks of negotiations, however, building contractors have proposed across-the-board cuts to janitors’ wages for the next 4 years, and have remained steadfast in their decision not to include health care for most janitors. Those with some coverage will be asked to pay a monthly co-payment. In 2012, 30,000 of USWW’s 40,000 members’ collective bargaining contracts expire, including the 1,800 office, tech and biotech janitors from San Diego and Inland Empire counties which are set to expire on May 30th.
WHO: SEIU USWW Janitors, Hunger Fasters, Community & Religious Leaders, including local city leaders
WHAT: 12-Hour Vigil and Preparations for Friday’s major action at La Jolla’s UTC area.
WHERE: 9AM – 4PM | Media are invited to visit hunger fasters at: Church of the Brethren, 3850 Westgate Place, San Diego, 92105.
5PM – 12AM | 12-Hour Vigil at SD Civic Center Plaza.
For more information about SEIU United Service Workers West, please contact Mark Gomez at (408) 835-2713
Friday, May 18th – Rally for a ROBIN HOOD TAX! at NBC Building
Join National Nurses United and their supporters, as some from the Occupy Movement, Occupy San Diego and various unions make sure the mega-rich pay their fair share and give to the poor! This action is in solidarity “The Peoples’ G-8” demonstration in Chicago May 18, organized by NNU.
ROBIN HOOD TAX Rally
Friday, May 18 at 5:30pm
Downtown San Diego—3rd & Broadway (NBC Bldg)
Friday 5:30 PM
A centerpiece of the May 18 ROBIN HOOD TAX action will be a call on world leaders to adopt a financial transaction tax on major trading by banks and other financial institutions to raise revenue critically needed for revitalizing the economic health of the U.S. and… other G-8 nations. Ralliers in San Diego & marchers in San Diego will also challenge austerity programs that have eroded health and living standards for working people throughout the world.
Over the past year, NNU has sponsored large actions, calling on Congress to tax Wall Street with a robust transaction tax on the trading of stocks, bonds, currencies, derivatives, and other financial instruments that the nurses say could raise $350 billion every year. The funds would then be available for essential needs, such as creating jobs, and investing in healthcare, education, and housing.”
Also on Friday, May 18th – Anti-Nuke Activists to Present Demand Letter to SEMPRA Chair
On Friday, May 18th, local anti-nuke activists will attempt to present their demand letter, entitled “Stop Wasting Ratepayer Funds on Unsafe San Onofre” to Sempra Energy Chair Donald Felsinger. This will occur at 11:00 am at Sempra headquarters, 101 Ash Street in downtown San Diego.
Wednesday, May 23rd – Rally at SEMPRA
And on Wednesday, May 23rd, activists are sponsoring a rally at the same Sempra site in downtown. The “Shut San Onofre” Rallytat 4pm is one of many statewide events, as also in Irvine, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fresno to demand a nuclear-free California.
See more here.
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These are all actions to support. One thing to add about why Occupy San Diego’s General Assembly has targeted the NBC building is this: the 5 or 6 mega-corportations which now own/control most of the broadcast and cable TV and radio stations in this country (including NBC) do not deserve their FCC licenses because they do not provide fair and balanced reporting of major social movements and issues such as the current global movement to demand the so-called Robin Hood Tax (a tax on Wall Street and worldwide “bankster” transactions). We need to not only demand such tax reforms. We need to demand that the media monopolies be broken up (along with breaking up the mega-banks). Democracy cannot exist if anti-social global corporations control the media and the information which hundreds of millions of people still depend on. It is true, of course that alternative media and information is more available today on the internet. But it is not true that most people know what to look for on the internet. Most people are still getting a toxic diet of “spin” from the corporate news media, and can’t tell the real news from the “spin”. Without the information necessary to make well reasoned decisions, there can be no democracy.
PROTEST NBC AND THE CORPORATE MEDIA PROPAGANDA MACHINE! DEMAND NOT ONLY THE ROBIN HOOD TAX! DEMAND FAIR AND BALANCED REPORTING OF WHY WE ARE DEMANDING THE ROBIN HOOD TAX!