[Imc-radio] possible headlines

[Sarah Lazare]

hi all, here are possible headlines.  they are from us.indymedia.org  -sarah

On April 5, about 300 UC Santa Cruz students led by Students Against War 
(SAW) kicked Army, Navy and Marine Corps recruiters out of the annual Career 
Center Job Fair, marking yet another success for the nation-wide 
counter-military recruitment campaign.

Joined by Watsonville’s Brown Berets, SAW protesters gathered for a rally at 
the campus bookstore and occupied the streets in a traffic-stopping 
procession up to the Stevenson Event Center where the Job Fair was being 
held. Students were motivated by fiery speeches about the racist, sexist, 
classist and heterosexist biases of the military, all of which are in 
violation of the UC Santa Cruz’s non-discrimination policies.

As the march began, a small group of students infiltrated the Job Fair and 
surrounded recruiter’s tables, chanting and linking arms. This small group 
was soon joined by more students from the march who pushed their way through 
front and side doors, chanting, “Whose Campus? Our Campus!” as Job Fair 
administrations attempted to literally shove them out the door.

Ultimately, 100 students were able to surround recruiters’ tables while the 
remaining 200 marchers stayed outside the Event Center, blocking the 
entrances and chanting in support of those on the inside.

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Many people know the Red Cross as a humanitarian organization that collects 
and distributes blood, providing a valuable service to the community, as 
well as providing disaster relief. What many people in the tri-state region 
do not know, is that workers have been trying to organize and form a union. 
Red Cross workers say that management is racist, denying African-American 
workers promotions and is forcing them to work long hours on irregular 
shifts with little pay. Workers trying to unionize claim they have been 
intimidated and threatened for their Union activities.

Several Red Cross workers were on hand for a public forum in Nashville April 
8th on the efforts to organize a union. One worker, who claimed to have been 
at the Red Cross for seven years said he became active about a year ago. He 
said that he had made a habit of writing letters about working conditions 
and standing up for the workers. Shortly after he began speaking up he was 
terminated by the Red Cross.

Current efforts to organize involve the Blood Services component of the Red 
Cross, which involves about 140 workers. The demographics of this group are 
about 60-70% female and 45% African American. The division has a high 
turnover rate which seems to add to the problem of organizing. Workers start 
off at a low wage, $7.40 an hour, and are asked to work odd shifts, ranging 
from 20-70 hours a week and starting as early as three in the morning. 
Additionally there are complaints that management makes changes in worker 
policy often, without informing workers of the changes until after the fact.