| ROLLING BACK THE BARBARIANS..... | |
Gov. Schwarzenneger and Wal-Mart met with opposition in their various spheres February 15th, when teachers, nurses, and other union members joined consumer advocates and students to protest the policies of the governor and/or the proposed presence of the big box store in Sacramento's downtown plaza. . As part of a pincer movement designed to quell the Super-governor and Super-store, union members from the Sacramento Central Labor Council marched from the Holiday Inn Capital Plaza to the Sacramento City Council Chambers, where an ordinance to limit the presence of stores like Wal-Mart was under discussion (and ultimately passed). Those unable to get into the packed City Council meeting, continued their march to the Crest Theater to join the Schwarzenegger protest there. On the other side of the Mall, nurses, teachers, consumer advocates and others met at the Crest Cafe on K Street, next to the Crest Theater, to protest the policies of Governor Schwarzenegger. The Governor was attending the opening of the film "Be Cool" at the Crest, where he received what is becoming a constant barage of protest from people getting shorted by his budget cuts on the poor, elderly, and disabled, as well as State employees, nurses, students and teachers. |
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| The Sacramento Central Labor Council relocated its monthly meeting to the Holiday Inn Capital Plaza to facilitate the march to the City Council chambers. Unions object to Wal-Mart's anti-union, anti-worker policies--- poverty wages, low or no health benefits, discrimination against women for management positions, and mandatory off-the-clock overtime (the subjects of recent class action lawsuits against Wal-Mart). Wal-Mart's policies make it hard for better-paying employers to compete, driving down wages and closing small businesses. |
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| Newly-elected California Assemblymember Dave Jones spoke to the Central Labor Council before joining them on the march to his former work site, the City Council. Last year, then-City Councilmember Jones led the successful opposition to a taxpayer-funded sports arena on the K Street Mall. This year, the Mall is threatened by Wal-Mart. It's time for a better option, but what should that be? |
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| The weather does not always cooperate with political action. Union members marched undaunted through rain on J Street to the city council meeting, sparking the interest of curious passers-by. |
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"I
don't know, but I've been told--Wal-Mart's pockets are lined with
gold! |