Journalist Harold Meyerson on declining wages in the United States: "The de-unionization of the American workforce is absolutely a crucial factor." Paul Laverack / El Nuevo Sol.

Harold Meyerson is editor-at-large of The American Prospect, a monthly liberal magazine based in Washington, DC. He is also a weekly columnist for The Washington Post, writes on an occasional basis for The Los Angeles Times, and was a longtime contributor to LA Weekly.

On November 24, 2011, Meyerson sits for an extended interview, in which he weaves together several narrative strands, involving the recent history of Los Angeles and the rise of Latinos as a demographic and political force, the decline of labor unions nationwide and the shoddy coverage they receive in the corporate press, as well as his observations on corporate power and the shrinking of the American middle class. Meyerson also weighs in on the lessons which can be drawn from the career – and coverage – of Steve Jobs. Several segments of the conversation can be seen below, in a series of video excerpts.

In the first video, Meyerson describes the demographic shift in Los Angeles during the 1980s and 1990s, as Latino immigrants changed the face of the city. Meyerson credits Miguel Contreras as having the vision to mobilize this population politically. Meyerson also contrasts the differing strengths of the Latino populations in California and Texas.

In the video below, Meyerson traces the decline of labor coverage in the corporate press, using the wide press reports of the death of 1940s labor leader Sidney Hillman as a point of departure.

Meyerson also observes how the rise of labor history as an academic discipline has matched the disappearance of labor journalism. Meyerson points out that the decline of labor journalism has allowed misinformation about workers to gain wider play, and go uncontested.

The hard questions about the future of manufacturing and the decline in wages go largely unexamined, Meyerson asserts, except in the Left press, which he points out does not have an especially broad reach.

In the following video, Meyerson links the decline of wages to the decline of unions, and points out the historical importance of unions in protecting the living standards even of workers who don’t belong to unions. This relationship has been upset by globalization, and Meyerson points out that in America the shift in class power has been greater than in Europe.

Next, Meyerson touches briefly on how the destruction of private sector unions has been used to generate a backlash against the remaining public sector unions, whose pay and benefits are supplied by taxpayers – citizens who have seen their own salaries and benefits slashed in recent decades.

Below, Meyerson discusses Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs, using it as an example of the long-term disappearance of labor from media portrayals of American life. Meyerson observes that in this enormous, richly detailed biography, the 750,000 Chinese workers who assemble Apple’s products are virtually invisible. Neither is there any discussion in the book of how Apple came to shift its workforce overseas, and end its manufacturing concern in the United States.

In the video which follows, Meyerson draws a distinction between two titans of industry – Henry Ford, who paid his workers enough to buy the products they made, thereby contributing to the creation of the American middle class; and Steve Jobs, who was complicit in the outsourcing of hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs to China, thereby helping to destroy the American middle class.

Lastly, Meyerson talks about the failure of organized labor to achieve remedies through the degraded American political system. He notes that labor has embraced Occupy Wall Street, which is a break from historical precedent. Meyerson thinks this is a hopeful sign, and he goes on to say that “continuing forms of mass mobilization” will be necessary to rebuild the American middle class.

Architect Kara Hill details her role as lead designer of the Valley Performing Arts Center at California State University Northridge; Paul Laverack / El Nuevo Sol.

Kara Hill, the architect and lead project designer for the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC), shares insights into the history of large performance spaces; she also details many of the personal and group decisions that influenced the construction of the VPAC, which opened in 2011 on the campus of California State University Northridge.

Ms. Hill appears on Friday, November 17, 2011 in the Kurland Lecture Hall (which she designed) as the inaugural speaker in CSUN’s Commerce of Creativity Distinguished Speakers Series sponsored by the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication.

Following her lecture, Ms. Hill takes questions from the audience, and she is joined by Robert Bucker, Dean of the Mike Curb College, who was present throughout the development of the new performance hall.

Luis Álvarez en un viaje de práctica social en Colombia. El Nuevo Sol

Por JACQUELINE GUZMÁN-GARCÍA
EL NUEVO SOL

Luis Álvarez, de 28 años de edad, decidío regresar a México en el 2009 después de haber obtenido una licenciatura en Ingenieria Eléctrica de la Universidad del Estado de California, Los Ángeles. Su miedo por lo desconocido fue vencido por la esperanza que abrigaba de poder al fin ser legal en un país y poder trabajar en su carrera como ingeniero eléctrico. Aunque la trayectoria fue un poco ardua, el objetivo final se realizó y ahora Luis puede compartir una historia de triunfo en la cual menciona que “El único obstáculo que te detiene de lograr tus sueños eres tú mismo”.

Escuche la entrevista completa

La decisión de luchar por un sueño:

El adaptarse a una nueva vida profesional y cultural:

La importancia de globalizarse:

Una visa y un pasaporte marcan la diferencia:

La dicha de la libertad y un consejo para considerar:

Daniel, de 22 años de edad, vivió en Carolina del Sur por 13 años y decidío regresar a México en el 2007 después de graduarse de la preparatoria y darse cuenta que no habia posibilidades de que continuara una educación universitaria. Afortunadamente, fue aceptado en el Tecnológico de Monterrey en Mexico, donde este año obtendrá su licenciatura en Relaciones Internacionales. Como estudiante del Tec de Monterrey, Daniel obtuvo dos visas para asisitir a la Universidad de Virginia Tech y a la Universidad de Texas, Austin bajo el programa de intercambio de estudiantes.

Cuatro años después de haber tomado la importante decisión que cambiaría su vida, Daniel decidío comenzar Dream in Mexico, una asociación sin fines de lucro que brinda apoyo e información a estudiantes que como él, tienen la eseperanza de continuar sus estudios fuera de E.E.U.U. Él dice que su mayor motivación para iniciar dicha asociación fue su misma experiencia como indocumentado en este país.

Pedro Noé el dia de su graduación en la universidad estatal de California, Northridge, clase del 2010.

Por JACQUELINE GUZMÁN-GARCÍA
EL NUEVO SOL

De origen salvadoreño, Pedro, de 26 años de edad, obtuvo su licenciatura de biología en la Universidad del Estado de California, Northridge (CSUN), y después decidió viajar al país natal de su madre, México, al ver que en Estados Unidos sería muy difícil asistir a la escuela de odontología. El pasado mes de mayo, Pedro salió  voluntariamente del Estados Unidos para poder lograr su objetivo principal. Después de investigar el proceso para ingresar a una universidad mexicana, en el otoño del 2011 comenzó su primer semestre en la Facultad de Odontología de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). Hoy en día, Pedro siente haber logrado parte de su sueño y darse cuenta que “Los sueños se logran en cualquier país”.

A continuación, presentamos unas postales de Pedro y el relato en primera persona de su historia de vida.

Mi vida tomó un rumbo diferente después de haber sufrido en la escuela en El Salvador acosos por parte de la mara salvatrucha. En el 2001, mi familia decidió  mudarse a Los Ángeles. A la edad de 16 años, tuve que reaprender el inglés. Empecé como todos los recién llegados a Estados Unidos, tomando clases de ESL (English as a Second Language). En un año terminé los 4 niveles que el curso exigía en la preparatoria. Terminé todos mis requisitos para graduación en dos años con promedio de 3.9 GPA.

Sin embargo, al llegar a un colegio comunitario y preguntar los requisitos de admisión, me dijeron que no podía ingresar porque no tenía seguro social o tarjeta de residencia. Mi mundo se colapsó. Mi felicidad y alegría se convirtieron en un paisaje oscuro. Con mi padre fuimos a otro colegio comunitario para ver si teníamos otro tipo de respuesta, y la visita sirvió. Allí encontramos a Florentino Manzano y a Ivna Gusmao, quienes ayudaban a proveer informacion a los estudiantes indocumentados.

Ellos nos orientaron sobre la ley AB540, la cual permite a los estudiantes indocumentados pagar colegiaturas de residentes si califican con ciertos requisitos.

Incluso nos recomendaron pedirle a los consejeros de mi preparatoria retenerme un año más para cumplir con el requisito de tres años para calificar bajo esta ley. Ellos me ayudaron a inscribirme en clases en el colegio mientras hacía mi tercer año en High School, así tenía la oportunidad de adelantar materias.

Como suele suceder con leyes importantes, mi consejera de preparatoria nunca había escuchado sobre dicha ley y me dijo que averiguaría si me podía retener un año más. Todo esto sucedió días después de mi ceremonia de graduación. Y asi fue, me quede un año más para poder calificar como estudiante AB540.

Mi tercer año en la preparatoria paso con mucha rapidez, pues repartía mis horas diarias entre la escuela y el college. Empecé en Valley College tomando clases avanzadas de inglés, química y biología, pues mi objetivo desde aquel tiempo era estudiar odontología. Al concluir mi año mixto, me mudé como estudiate de tiempo completo a Pierce College, en el Valle de San Fernando, CA. Entré al programa de honores, y al concluir mi tiempo, fui admitido a la Universidad de California en Irvine (UCI). Con mis padres y hermanos, muy motivados fuimos a conocer el campus, pero después tuvimos que aceptar una triste realidad. No teníamos cómo cubrir los gastos universitarios a pesar de ser una universidad pública.

Las circunstancias definieron mi futuro en los próximos 3 años. Entré a la Universidad del Estado de California en Northridge (CSUN), lugar al que sinceramente, nunca tenía contemplado entrar como opción de estudios. Con el paso del tiempo fui apreciando mi nuevo centro de estudios y terminé enamorado de CSUN. Al concluir mi licenciatura en Biología, le agradecí a Dios por darme opciones cuando pensé que todo estaba cerrado. El problema ahora era cómo entrar a la escuela de Odontología.

Tras nueve años de estar como estudiante indocumentado, uno llega a pensar cuánto tiempo más pasará para estabilizar su situación en el país que adoptamos como patria, como hogar, y al que amamos a pesar del rechazo por el simple hecho de no tener una situación legal. Dicen que el fin justifica los medios, así que me mudé a Atlanta unos meses ya que una amiga propuso ayudarme, casándose conmigo. Allá trabajé de jardinero. Los días se me hacían largos, y a pesar de la disposición de mi amiga, no ví nada claro; así que me regresé a Los Ángeles unas semanas antes de mi ceremonia de graduación.

Pedro Noé como estudiante de la Facultad de Odontología en la UNAM.

Hice el DAT, examen de admisión para la escuela de Odontologia en Estados Unidos, pero al igual que cuando me aceptaron en UCI, la pregunta era: ¿cómo costearía la educación? En este caso era mucho más difícil pues únicamente escuelas privadas ofrecían cupo para un estudiante con mis características. Con colegiaturas estratosféricas y con el tiempo encima de mí, consideré seriamente asistir la Facultad de Odontología en la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).

Dicen que a la hora de tomar una decisión, debe hacerse con mucha determinación, y en mi caso, así fue. Me movilicé averiguando requisitos para entrar a la UNAM y teniendo documentos mexicanos por mi madre que es mexicana, no dude en mis posibilidades de salir de este país para seguir mi sueño. El 31 de mayo del 2011, mi hermano, ciudadano estadounidense y mi tío, residente legal, me llevaron a Tijuana. Cruzamos la frontera en carro y al entrar a México ni siquiera nos detuvieron.

Al salir de Estados Unidos, me sentí liberado. Mi mente expresó felicidad a su máximo nivel y me acordé de cuando viajaba de El Salvador a Los Ángeles, con cierto nerviosismo de lo que venía por delante, pero visualizando siempre lo mejor y alcanzando mis metas. Mi familia de parte de mamá, me acogió con los brazos abiertos y empezaron a ayudarme a movilizarme acá dentro de la ciudad de México. Temían que por vestir diferente y por mi acento llamara la atención y fuera objeto de asaltos. En forma cortés les hice saber que no olvidaran que había vivido once años en El Salvador y que allá también era peligroso y que sin embargo había sobrevivido.

Ya establecido en México, fui a tomar el examen de admisión en la Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), pero fallé en la sección de historia de México y pues tuve que ingresar a otra universidad a la que nunca había escuchado: la Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana. Allí, cursé un semestre y me prepare mucho más para retomar el examen de admisión en la UNAM. Y asi fue, la segunda vez que lo tomé, obtúve un puntaje alto. La felicidad nuevamente invadió mi ser, y la noticia engrandeció de orgullo a mis padres. Finalmente había sido admitido a la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, considerada la mejor facultad de Odontología de habla hispana en el mundo.

Tengo un semestre en la “facu” como se le dice cariñosamente. Y el nivel de enseñanza es bastante alto. No puedo evitar hacer comparaciones y concluir que a pesar de este nivel, tengo compañeros que no son tan competitivos como los que solía tener en Valley college, Pierce college, o CSUN. Yo creo que esto se debe a que ellos ingresan directo a la carrera al graduarse de la preparatoria. Al entrar a una edad más temprana, ellos comienzan la carrera menos maduros, y sin considerar el valor verdadero de estar estudiando su carrera. O quizá sea yo, que pongo demasiado énfasis en lo que hago y todo lo que me ha costado estar acá que lo veo de esa forma. La verdad es que estoy muy feliz de haber tomado la decisión de mudarme a México, pues la UNAM es una universidad muy competitiva y ofrece a los mejores estudiantes oportunidades que nunca escuché de universidades en Estados Unidos.

Por ejemplo, a quienes cumplan con un promedio superior al de 8.5, la UNAM ofrece un semestre de intercambio en una universidad dentro del país o en el extranjero ¡con gastos pagados! Esto incluye viaje, comida, hospedaje y el tramite de revalidación de estudios. Yo planeo aplicarme para poder viajar a Brasil y estar allá un año. Pero antes debo aprender portugués. Creo que lo más importante en la vida es tomar riesgos, y actuar. Porque de nada sirve pensar mil cosas y no hacer tan sólo una. Admiro mucho a mis colegas estudiantes indocumentados que salen a marchar para exigir sus derechos y que se organizan para luchar con las injusticias del sistema gringo, créanme, yo también lo hacía. Sería interesante hacer un estudio 20 años en el futuro para saber ¿qué fue de ellos?

En mi caso, puedo decir que llega un punto en donde te pones a meditar y piensas: “el tiempo avanza, ¿qué será de mí en los próximos años?” Yo siempre pensaba en mi futuro y no veía nada con claridad. Cuando Obama llegó al poder tuve cierta esperanza, pero tras escuchar que en el senado rechazaban cada intento, me desilusioné y opté por realizar “mi sueño americano” en otros suelos. Finalmente puedo decir, que el sueño americano se puede realizar en cualquier parte del mundo. Pues los sueños se fabrican en la mente y se realizan en el mundo material.  Si puedes soñar, lo puedes materializar. Cuesta y requiere sacrificios. Yo dejé atrás a mi familia, a mis amigos y no puedo evitar decir que me sentía muy arraigado con el ambiente pues consideraba el Valle de San Fernando, mi hogar.

No descarto la posibilidad de regresar a Estados Unidos triunfante y con la posibilidad de ejercer mi carrera allá, pues es donde está mi familia. Pero tampoco descarto la posibilidad de quedarme acá en México, El Salvador u otro país, pues con el tiempo he aprendido que no hay nada definitivo en este universo de posibilidades que nos aguarda en el futuro; y que las decisiones que se toman, a menudo en tiempo de crisis, ayudan a salir triunfante. Debo recalcar, la importancia de acercarse a la gente que sabe, y asesorarse bien. No sé qué hubiera sido de mí sin haber tenido contacto con la señora Gusmao, o con Manzano, y debo agradecer también el apoyo de mi familia que siempre ha creído en mí.

Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti shares his personal experience with "the long-term cost of living cheaply in the short term." Paul Laverack / El Nuevo Sol.

This is a short series of videos, showcasing several speakers at the “RePower LA” community meeting, at Pacoima Community Center on Saturday, November 5, 2011. “RePower LA” is a coalition of civil society organizations dedicated to creating green jobs in Los Angeles, by using public policy to move the city toward sustainable energy.

Ricardo De Los Santos discusses his work weatherizing low-income homes as part of the Utility Pre-Craft Trainee position created by the Los Angeles DWP and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

“With the help of the union, and the DWP, I got this opportunity,” De Los Santos says. “I’m working with a great company with great benefits.”

The benefits are not only for him, however. “This program has been very helpful for me, for my colleagues, and for the customers. They’re very happy with the stuff we do. It helps them out in the long run, as far as having cheaper bills. We’re hoping we can continue doing this.”

Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti shares his personal experience with “the long-term cost of living cheaply in the short term,” discussing his family’s battles with cancer which related to their living near freeways as he was growing up. He points out that what seems cheap today, as leaded gasoline did in those days, often comes with hidden costs to our families and communities, which become tragically clear years later.

Garcetti is upbeat about the prospects for RePower LA. Due to solutions like theirs, Garcetti says, “We will be living not only more inexpensively, but also healthier, longer lives.”

Kent Minault, volunteer coordinator for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign in Los Angeles, discusses several aspects of the city’s present coal-power situation.

Minault examines the reasons behind the recent spike in coal prices, and the proven efficiency-enhancing methods which could make it possible to get off coal in the near term. “Energy efficiency,” Minault says, “is the most important source of energy we’ve got!”

Minault points out the difference between energy conservation and energy efficiency, calling our buildings made in the past seventy years or so “energy stupid.”

Minault closes by naming current legislative initiatives which he thinks are essential to moving forward with green energy innovation, and he emphasizes to the attendees the importance of expressing their wishes to their elected representatives. “They need to know we have their backs.”

Finally, appearing below are the full remarks of Los Angeles Department of Water & Power general manager Ron Nichols. The Los Angeles DWP is the largest publicly-owned utility in the United States.

Nichols talks about the changing priorities at DWP, away from what costs the least in the short run, to what will cost the city the least in the longer term. He repeatedly discusses increasing investment in energy efficiency, which he calls the number one job creator locally, for the DWP.

He admits that the DWP has been slow in the past to invest in such programs as the current Utility Pre-Craft Trainee – he explains the reasons why investor-owned utilities have historically been faster to invest in similar efforts – though he stresses that DWP is taking a different approach now. “We are making a huge change.”

A theme running through Nichols’s remarks is the DWP’s need to have a budget sufficient to creating energy-efficiency programs. While these programs, like the Utility Craft Pre-Trainee, will create long-term benefits, there are short-term costs to implementing them. Nichols never states this outright, but as he explains where the DWP budget comes from, it becomes clear that electricity rates will have to go up.

Nichols provides an example of how pricing can be used to incentivize behavior. He implies that higher night-time rates can be used as one inducement to encourage businesses to cut back on their overnight lighting usage. He is quick to add, however, that more efficient equipment is another element in that solution.

During earlier remarks at the same event, the LA City Council president cautioned residents to be less concerned with their rates than with the bottom line cost of their bills. Both Garcetti and Nichols recognize that the per-unit cost of electricity is likely to rise as the department mounts ambitious plans toward sustainability.

However, the overall cost of energy to the consumers can still drop dramatically – as residents use less. Nichols explains that the DWP has a mandate to reach 10% savings from efficiency by the year 2020, while the Sierra Club’s Kent Minault cites a Los Angeles study which found savings as high as 40% are feasible.

The tension between rising per-unit cost and falling overall prices is the tightrope walk that Nichols needs to balance successfully if Los Angeles is going to move toward greener, more sustainable energy in the future. “To fund more programs like the Pre-Craft Trainee,” Nichols points out, “we need to get some additional budget.”

Nichols is emphatic, “I want to make clear to everyone in this room – LA DWP wants to put more money into these programs. It is our number one priority.”

Nichols closes by stressing the need for concerned citizens to push their elected officials to make the right moves. “They need cover,” Nichols says. “They need to know their constituents want this.”

Ricardo De Los Santos gives testimonial about his experience weatherizing the homes of low-income residents to increase efficiency and reduce the residents' electricity bills. Paul Laverack / El Nuevo Sol.

See below for a short video on this story.

A coalition of civil society groups, including the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE), Pacoima Beautiful, and the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, meet in the Pacoima Community Center on November 5, 2011 in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles, CA.

They have assembled to share with local residents and other stakeholders the thinking behind the RePower LA project, which seeks to achieve financial and environmental savings by improving energy-efficiency in the homes of area residents, and creating hundreds of new “green” jobs in the process.

Attendees are addressed by a number of local officials, including Ron Nichols, the general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, which is the largest publicly-owned utility in the United States. Also in attendance are Eric Garcetti, the president of the LA City Council, Becca Dutton the chief of staff for Councilman Richard Alarcon, and Teresa Sanchez from the office of LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. All the officials and their proxies voice emphatic support for the policy goals outlined by LAANE and the other coalition partners.

Along with a panel discussion featuring civil society representatives, attendees hear from two young men currently working as “Utility Pre-Craft Trainees” for the Department of Water & Power in a program designed by DWP and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Jameel Sutton and Ricardo De Los Santos give testimonials about their experiences weatherizing the homes of low-income residents to increase efficiency and reduce the residents’ electricity bills. They also share what the opportunity to have solid middle-class jobs with health benefits has meant for them.

DWP general manager Ron Nichols catches the tenor of the room when he says, “I consider energy efficiency our number-one power supply.” He adds, “DWP has been slow to invest in programs like [the Utility Pre-Craft Trainee], but this is now our top priority.”

Below is a series of video interviews taken during the hotel housekeepers’ weeklong, round-the-clock strike against the Hyatt Andaz hotel in West Hollywood, CA from September 8-15, 2011. Speakers include Cathy Youngblood, a 60-year-old housekeeper from the Hyatt Andaz; Tom Walsh, the president of Unite Here Local 11, the hotelworkers union; Judy Chu, Democratic Congresswoman from the 32nd district; Bill Rosendahl, Los Angeles City Councilman; and Leigh Shelton, the union’s Communications Director.

In this in-depth interview, Hyatt Andaz housekeeper Cathy Youngblood describes why she has gone out on strike for a week, from September 8-15, 2011 in West Hollywood, California. She describes an environment of excessive stress, constant overwork, and disregard for employee safety, all in the interest of greater corporate profits for Hyatt.

Youngblood, 60, describes how her childhood memories of the civil rights struggle inform her present activism, and her hopes that more Americans will express their discontent with a broken economic and political system by taking to the streets. This interview was filmed exactly one week before the beginning of the Occupy Wall Street movement, so perhaps Ms. Youngblood is getting her wish.

Leigh Shelton, the Communications Director for Unite Here Local 11, responds to criticism from area residents about the round-the-clock noise of the picket line, as well as questions about why the hotelworkers shout at guests who cross the picket line.

Weary, hoarse, sunburned, and fresh out of jail after his arrest, Unite Here Local 11 president Tom Walsh remained defiant, as he rattled off the hotelworkers’ list of grievances against the greed and cruelty of the Hyatt Corporation. Walsh was an energetic participant in the union’s weeklong strike outside the luxurious Hyatt Andaz hotel, located on the world-famous Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, CA.

Congresswoman Judy Chu, Democrat from California’s 32nd district, comes out in support of striking hotelworkers at the luxurious Hyatt Andaz hotel in West Hollywood, CA on September 10, 2011. In addition to explaining why she thinks it is vital to stand with the housekeepers, Chu discusses recent developments in Congress and statements from President Obama, with respect to the precarious condition of working people in the US.

Leigh Shelton, Communications Director for Unite Here Local 11, responds to a statement from Hyatt management, alleging the union has incited the strike unnecessarily. Shelton concedes that wages and benefits are not at the center of the issue, but that the union needs to face down Hyatt’s abusive practices anywhere they occur.

Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl gives an impassioned address to striking housekeepers and their supporters at the Hyatt Andaz hotel in West Hollywood, California on September 10, 2011. Rosendahl explains why he thinks it is essential to support the housekeepers against Hyatt’s greed.

Betsy Butler, the Democratic Assemblymember for California’s 53rd Assembly district, takes time out from marching with the picket line with striking hotelworkers at the Hyatt Andaz hotel, to give a wide-ranging interview sharing her insider’s perspective on politics both statewide and national. She offers what she knows about the hotelworkers’ fitted-sheets bill working its way through the California legislature. This bill would reduce workplace injuries for housekeepers at hotels statewide, including the Hyatt Andaz.

Leigh Shelton, Communications Director for Unite Here Local 11, displays a full-page advertisement from a subcontracting firm which depicts human beings as cheap items in a vending machine. Shelton discusses the content of the advertisement, and uses it as an example of the callous corporate culture which the union is fighting against.

Scroll down for a short video on this story.

Thousands of citizens took to the streets of downtown Los Angeles, California on Saturday, October 15, 2011 as the anti-greed Occupy Los Angeles movement gained momentum going into its third week. The march began in Pershing Square and passed through the financial district, culminating in a rally at City Hall Park, where hundreds of protestors have set up dozens of tents and established a long-term encampment.

Events of the day were part of a Global Day of Action against corporate greed, as the Occupy Wall Street movement extends its reach around the world. Events reportedly took place in over 1,000 cities, involving hundreds of thousands of people.

The Occupy Los Angeles site has exploded since its beginning on October 1. Whereas the first night there were around fifty campers, participants say the number of overnight protestors has mushroomed to around three hundred each night. This core group swells during the day, as hundreds more join for whatever time they are available.

Saturday’s march and rally were bolstered by labor and civil society groups – the AFL-CIO and Moveon.org mobilized thousands of members to turn out. Smaller local groups also had a notable presence, like Valley Grassroots for Democracy, which sent two dozen Democratic activists from the San Fernando Valley to take part. The Industrial Workers of the World also had a small contingent. These two examples were representative; both insiders and outsiders were on the march.

Students, workers, the unemployed, senior citizens, families with young children, artists, the homeless – a broad cross-section was present. Even so, the massive crowd appeared to have consensus on what seems the central theme of the Occupy Wall Street movement – that the overall political and economic system is rigged in favor of the ultra-wealthy, and unresponsive to the needs of “the ninety-nine percent.”

Following the march and protests in front of three downtown banks – Bank of America was singled out for the most raucous attention – the group filled the area in and around City Hall Park for speakers, musicians, civil society organizing, and various other activities which constitute the ongoing life of Occupy Los Angeles.

“We want to send a clear message to the one percent,” said Maria Elena Durazo, the Secretary-Treasurer of the LA County Federation of Labor. “Without the rest of us, they go down.”

The event – like the day-to-day encampment – had no clear ending, and people were free to stay as long as they liked – or as long as necessary, to bring broadly-shared justice to the political and economic system. Many protestors appear willing to make this an extended stay.

Watch the short video below for more on this story.

Housekeepers and their allies at the luxurious Hyatt Andaz hotel in West Hollywood, CA take part in a week-long strike, in four cities throughout the US, from September 8-15, 2011. Elected officials from the local, state, and national levels march alongside the workers, as the labor action stretches down the block and around the clock.

The housekeepers and their union, Unite Here Local 11, complain that Hyatt workers have the highest injury rate of all the major hotel chains, due to the company pressing workers to complete inhuman workloads, and management’s unwillingness to use fitted sheets, which would cut down on repetitive motion injuries.

Management claims they have been willing to settle the two-year-old contract dispute and offer workers a raise, but the union is distracting workers over issues that have nothing to do with wages and benefits. Unite Here Communications Director Leigh Shelton concedes that the issue is not about wages and benefits. She adds, however, that “Hyatt is attacking workers all over North America, and workers want the right to picket, strike, or boycott in support of suffering workers at other Hyatt hotels.”

Watch the short video below for more on this story.