Sonoma State president put on leave for ‘insubordination’ for supporting Israel academic boycott, divestment
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-05-15/sonoma-state-president-mike-lee-on-leave-after-endorsing-academic-boycott-israel
A building at Sonoma State University
…The clocktower in front of the library at Sonoma State University. (Alyssa Archerda / SSU.edu)
75.jpeg
By Jaweed Kaleem
Staff Writer
May 15, 2024 8:11 PM PT
The president of Sonoma State University was placed on leave Wednesday, a day after he released a controversial campuswide message on the Israel-Hamas war that said the university would pursue “divestment strategies” and endorsed an academic boycott of Israeli universities.
California State University Chancellor Mildred García announced the decision in a statement posted to the CSU website, saying that Sonoma State President Mike Lee was taken off the job for his “insubordination” in making the statement without “appropriate approvals.”
Pro-Palestinian student encampment protesters celebrated when Lee released a letter to the roughly 6,000-student member Rohnert Park campus on Tuesday that met enough of their requests for activists to agree to dismantle their camp by Wednesday evening.
“SSU Demands Met!” said a post on the SSU Students for Justice in Palestine Instagram with the caption “brick by brick, wall by wall” that showed screenshots of Lee’s letter.
In his letter, Lee promised to pursue “divestment strategies that include seeking ethical alternatives” in consultation with pro-Palestinian activists and said he supported an academic boycott of Israel.
“SSU will not pursue or engage in any study abroad programs, faculty exchanges, or other formal collaborations that are sponsored by, or represent, the Israeli state academic and research institutions,” Lee’s Tuesday letter said.
Projected to be among the top 18 economies in the world in the next 25 years, interest in investing in real estate in The Philippines has been growing exponentially over the last decade.
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 22: Pro-Palestinian protesters set up a tent encampment during a demonstration in front of Sproul Hall on the UC Berkeley campus on April 22, 2024 in Berkeley, California. Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters staged a demonstration in front of Sproul Hall on the UC Berkeley campus where they set up a tent encampment in solidarity with protesters at Columbia University who are demanding a permanent cease fire in war between Israel and Gaza. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
CALIFORNIA
UC Berkeley to consider divesting from weapons makers as pro-Palestinian protesters break camp
May 15, 2024
Lee’s statement stood out. While other universities have recently said they will look into divesting from weapons companies, including UC Berkeley and UC Riverside, nearly all in the U.S. have rejected calls to target Israel specifically or to boycott formal exchange or research partnerships with Israeli universities.
In opposing such calls, the universities have cited their support of academic freedom and anti-discrimination policies. Some have also noted that a 2016 state law signed by then Gov. Jerry Brown banned giving state grants or contracts worth more than $100,000 to state universities that targeted Israel in endorsing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
Lee’s statement immediately drew criticism from Jewish students, parents and community groups.
Speaking at a Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California conference in Sacramento on Wednesday, California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, who serves on the CSU Board of Trustees, slammed campuses for moving forward with agreements to quell protests.
“Each campus is handling these situations in their own way with inconsistencies and frankly, sometimes coming up with agreements that they really don’t have the authority to come up with,” said Kounalakis, who spoke before Lee was put on leave.
Irvine, CA, Wednesday, May 15, 2024 – Scores of law enforcement personnel from various agencies move hundreds of demonstrating students, faculty and supporters protesting the treatment of Palestinians and the UC system's investments in Isreali interests. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
CALIFORNIA
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who made a video appearance at the same Wednesday event to promote his plan to counter antisemitism, said last week that he did “not support divestment.”
Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino) and Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), co-chairs of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, commended García‘s decision, saying in a statement that Lee’s support of an academic boycott “was totally unacceptable and evidence that former President Lee is unfit to lead one of our great state institutions. We look forward to working with Chancellor García and the CSU Trustees to pursue a different path that will promote learning, respectful dialogue, mutual respect, inclusivity, and peace.”
In her letter announcing that Lee would step aside, García said she was “deeply concerned” about his words.
“Our role as educators is to support and uplift all members of the California State University. I want to acknowledge how deeply concerned I am about the impact the statement has had on the Sonoma State community, and how challenging and painful it will be for many of our students and community members to see and read,” García said. “The heart and mission of the CSU is to create an inclusive and welcoming place for everyone we serve, not to marginalize one community over another.”
In his own letter on his departure, Lee apologized, saying he had “marginalized other members of our student population” and that “I realize the harm that this has caused, and I take full ownership of it. I deeply regret the unintended consequences of my actions.”
“I want to be clear: The message was drafted and sent without the approval of, or consultation with, the Chancellor or other system leaders. The points outlined in the message were mine alone, and do not represent the views of my colleagues or the CSU,” Lee wrote.
It was unclear how long Lee will be out. He has been on the job for 20 months, about half the time as interim president.
In an interview with The Times, kinesiology professor Lauren Morimoto said she supported Lee.
“As of now, the Academic Senate has not made a statement about Mike Lee’s announcement. However, I’m meeting with the Board of the Asian Pacific Islander American Faculty and Staff Association and we stand in solidarity with Mike Lee and the student protesters…,” said Morimoto, the former chair of the academic senate. “I will ask to be added to tomorrow’s agenda to present a resolution of support for Mike Lee and the student protesters and the demands they were able to negotiate with the university.”
Staff writers Colleen Shalby and Mackenzie Mays contributed reporting.
A day after releasing a campus message saying Sonoma State University would pursue ‘divestment strategies’ and an academic boycott of Israel,…
www.latimes.com‘Maximize chaos.’ UC academic workers authorize strike, alleging rights violated during protests
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-05-15/uc-academic-workers-strike-vote
Union member hold picket signs reading "on strike."
Unionized UC academic workers picket in… November 2022. Members of United Auto Workers Local 4811 authorized a strike Wednesday, alleging that their rights were violated by actions against pro-Palestinian protests. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
By Jaweed Kaleem and Suhauna Hussain
May 15, 2024 7:40 PM PT
The union representing 48,000 graduate student teaching assistants, researchers and other student workers across the University of California’s 10 campuses has voted to authorize a strike and “maximize chaos,” alleging that its workers’ rights have been violated at several universities by actions against pro-Palestinian protests, union leaders announced Wednesday evening.
The walkouts, which are still being planned, were approved by 79% of the 19,780 members of the United Auto Workers Local 4811 who voted. The strike vote comes as campuses throughout the UC system have been roiled by tensions and protests over the Israel-Hamas war, including a violent mob attack on a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA.
Though the vote gives the union permission to strike as soon as Wednesday night, it was unclear when or where the walkouts would occur. The union represents teaching assistants, tutors, researchers and postdoctoral scholars.
The union rebuked UCLA, UC San Diego and UC Irvine for crackdowns on pro-Palestinian student protesters. On Wednesday evening, scores of police officers in riot gear were moving on pro-Palestinian demonstrators at UCI who occupied and barricaded the Physical Sciences Lecture Hall.
Rafael Jaime, the union’s co-president and a PhD candidate in UCLA’s English department, said the goal would be to “maximize chaos and confusion” at universities where the union alleges officials have violated workers’ rights over workplace conditions during student protests against the Israel-Hamas war.
“Our members have been beaten, concussed, pepper sprayed, both by counter-protesters and by police forces. As a union, it is our responsibility to stand beside them,” the union said in a statement. “In order to de-escalate the situation, UC must substantively engage with the concerns raised by the protesters — which focus on UC’s investments in companies and industries profiting off of the suffering in Gaza.”
Following the lead of the Government’s Development Plan for the Philippines, the Department of Trade and Industry is placing the country as a global hub for investment.
In a letter sent to graduate student workers on Wednesday, the University of California warned students against striking.
“The University’s position is that the Union’s strike is unlawful, and as a result, a work stoppage is not protected strike activity. This means that participating in the strike does not change, excuse, or modify, an employee’s normal work duties or expectations. And, unlike a protected strike, you could be subject to corrective action for failing to perform your duties,” the unsigned letter from the office of the president said.
The academic worker strike would be modeled after last year’s “stand up” strikes against Ford, Stellantis and General Motors and similar to recent strikes at Southern California hotels. The walkouts would not target all campuses at once, Jaime said, but one by one based on how receptive administrations are to pro-Palestinian activists.
UC Riverside and UC Berkeley have reached agreements with protesters to end encampments and explore divestment from weapons companies. Leaders at those universities have rejected calls to target Israel specifically or for academic boycotts against exchange programs and partnerships with Israeli universities.
While some Jewish students have supported pro-Palestinian protests, national Jewish groups have criticized the divestment push, saying it is antisemitic because it aims to delegitimize the only predominantly Jewish nation.
Union members began casting their ballots online Monday. The strikes, Jaime said, could run for any length of time through the end of June. The period covers a critical moment on campuses during finals and commencement exercises.
In November and December 2022, the union walked our for six weeks, winning significant improvements in wages and working conditions and energizing a surge of union activism among academic workers across the nation.
Before the strike vote results came out, the University of California said the union was inappropriately flexing its muscle on a political issue.
UCLA chancellor faces growing faculty criticism, no-confidence vote, after weeks of turmoil
May 11, 2024
“UC believes that the vote currently being conducted by UAW leadership sets a dangerous precedent that would introduce non-labor issues into labor agreements,” said Heather Hansen, spokesperson for the UC office of the president.
The disagreement hinges on whether student workers such as Jaime, who was part of pro-Palestinian protests at UCLA the night a violent mob attacked the encampment, are striking over a “workplace issue or political speech,” said John Logan, a professor in the department of labor and employment studies at San Francisco State University.
“The contract between UAW and UC does include language on academic freedom, but the university could say, ‘Yes, speech is protected, but the actions you engaged in go far beyond speech, preventing students from getting into [a] library or other campus [areas] that are not protected,’” Logan said.
Another challenge was turnout. Pro-Palestinian activism has touched every UC campus, but it has been stronger at those in or near big cities. A union referendum last year in support of a permanent cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war and divestment passed by 90%, but received fewer than 6,000 total votes. The most recent contract ratification had more than 36,000 votes. Turnout for the strike vote was high but less than the contract ratification.
As college presidents across the country have faced criticism for calling in police in riot gear to clear pro-Palestinian encampments, the move to threaten a strike is one of the biggest actions by an American labor union in support of Palestinians.
The vote came after the union filed charges with the state labor board over arrests of pro-Palestinian graduate student protesters at UCLA and suspensions and other discipline at UC San Diego and UC Irvine, accusing the universities of retaliating against student workers and unlawfully changing workplace policies to suppress pro-Palestinian speech.
The universities have broadly said they were attempting to ensure safe campus environments while respecting free speech rights. Internal and external investigations are underway at UCLA.
Some members said they believed the union’s criticism of the campus protest crackdown did not go far enough. Many student protesters have called for campus police to be defunded or for universities to vow to never again call municipal police to campus. The union did not include those in its strike-related demands.
“It’s really disappointing to me as a Black person that the union did not take a strong stance on policing and racial profiling on campus,” said Gene McAdoo, a doctoral student in the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies. “They portray themselves as radical, yet aren’t on this issue.”
McAdoo still voted in support, he said, because “withholding our labor gives us a lot of power and leverage to push the UC administration to meet [Students for Justice in Palestine] demands for divestment. That is the ultimate goal of this movement. But I also know that there is an undercurrent of folks who are still pushing for cops off campus.”
It’s not the first time UAW workers have pushed for divestment. In 1973, Arab American workers in Detroit auto plants walked off the job in protest of the union’s investment in Israeli bonds.
But for a union to vote on a strike while a contract is in place is “unheard of in modern times,” said Jeff Schuhrke, a labor historian who teaches at SUNY Empire State University.
While the union demands on academic freedom, free speech and protection from violence could arguably center on workplace conditions, they also explicitly support protesters’ calls for divestment from weapons manufacturers and other companies profiting from Israel’s war in Gaza.
The strike vote “is not about economics. It’s not about a raise, or more benefits. It’s political,” Schuhrke said.
The professor said that harked back to the origins of the student labor movement, when the first graduate unions formed in the 1960s during the campus free speech and antiwar movements.
AFT Local 1570, a union of teaching assistants formed at UC Berkeley in the throes of the campus free speech movement, voted in 1966 to strike against the University of California in response to police arresting students conducting a sit-in around a U.S. Navy recruitment table on campus.
The Teaching Assistants’ Assn. at University of Wisconsin-Madison, which grew out of the anti-draft sit-in and campus demonstrations against Dow Chemical for its role in production of napalm and other weapons for the Vietnam War, is the oldest graduate union still in existence in the U.S.
“The graduate union movement is coming full circle,” Schuhrke said.
United Auto Workers Local 4811, which represents 48,000 student workers in the University of California system, authorized a strike alleging their…
www.latimes.comYoung Thai activist’s death in detention after 65-day hunger strike sparks calls for justice reform
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/15/asia/thailand-lese-majeste-activist-death-netiporn-intl-hnk/index.html
Helen Regan.jpeg Kocha Olarn.jpeg
By Helen Regan and Kocha Olarn, CNN
…
Updated 3:21 AM EDT, Wed May 15, 2024
Pro-democracy protesters light candles during a mourning ceremony for activist Netiporn Sanesangkhom outside the Southern Bangkok Criminal Court on May 14, 2024.
Pro-democracy protesters light candles during a mourning ceremony for activist Netiporn Sanesangkhom outside the Southern Bangkok Criminal Court on May 14, 2024. Peerapon Boonyakiat/SOPA Image/Shutterstock
CNN
—
A young activist jailed for insulting Thailand’s monarchy died on Tuesday following a prolonged hunger strike, officials said, prompting an outpouring of grief and renewed calls for justice reform in the Southeast Asian kingdom
Netiporn “Bung” Sanesangkhom, 28, died after suffering a “sudden cardiac arrest,” Thailand’s Corrections Department said in a statement. A medical team tried to resuscitate her before transferring her to Bangkok’s Thammasat University Hospital but she “did not respond to treatment,” the department said.
An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death, the department added.
Netiporn was a member of protest group Thalu Wang, which has pushed for reform of Thailand’s powerful monarchy and amendment of the country’s draconian lese majeste law, in which criticizing the king, queen, or heir apparent can lead to a maximum 15-year prison sentence.
The group’s name loosely translates to “piercing through the palace,” in reference to its drive to hold the monarchy accountable; it campaigns by holding public opinion polls questioning the monarchy’s power.
Netiporn had been part of the nationwide 2020 youth-led protests that saw millions of young Thais take to the streets of major cities calling for constitutional, democratic and military reforms, and, for the first time, openly criticizing the monarchy and publicly questioning its power and wealth.
She had been in jail since January 26 and was awaiting trial, according to legal advocacy group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
While in detention, Netiporn went on a 65-day hunger strike until April to protest the jailing of political dissidents without bail, the group said. During this time, she had been moved back and forth to the prison hospital due to her deteriorating health.
After Netiporn was sent back to jail on April 4, the Thai Corrections Department said she was able to eat and drink normally, but she was weak and suffered from swollen limbs and anemia. She had refused to take “minerals and anti-anemia supplements,” the department said.
Netiporn Sanesangkhom, center, with members of the "Bad Student" group during an anti-government protest in Bangkok on September 19, 2020.
Netiporn Sanesangkhom, center, with members of the "Bad Student" group during an anti-government protest in Bangkok on September 19, 2020. Panu Wongcha-Um/Reuters/File
The activist faced seven criminal cases, including two lese majeste charges. She previously spent 94 days in jail in 2022 and conducted a hunger strike before being released on bail, which was later revoked.
One lese majeste case against her was filed in relation to a 2022 protest where she held up a banner at a busy shopping mall in Bangkok that read: “Did the royal procession cause an inconvenience?”
The other lese majeste charge is from a similar 2022 protest where she held a sign asking the public: “Do you agree that the government allows the king to use power as he pleases?”
In an open letter Netiporn wrote from jail in March, she said growing up as a judge’s daughter made her realize “this country doesn’t exist to serve small people’s justice.”
“You don’t have to be a judge’s daughter to understand the scale of the failure in the justice system. Their existence is not for the people, they exist shamelessly for the powers and a few groups of people in this country,” she wrote. “By simply asking question and honking a car, you go to jail.”
Calls for reform
Netiporn’s death has shocked many in the country and sparked renewed calls for reforms to the judicial system, which allows activists to be denied bail and held in detention for extended periods of time before trial.
“This is a shocking reminder that Thai authorities are harshly denying pro-democracy activists their freedom in an apparent bid to silence the peaceful expression of dissent. Many are currently detained, with their right to temporary release on bail denied,” said Amnesty International in a statement.
“This tragic incident should serve as a wake-up call to Thai authorities to drop charges against and release all human rights defenders and other people who are unjustly detained.”
On Tuesday night, supporters held a candlelight vigil outside the Southern Bangkok Criminal Court. Those attending included Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul, a fellow activist who also faces lese majeste charges for her involvement in the 2020 protests.
A protester holds a sign referencing article 112, Thailand's lese majeste royal defamation law, as riot police keep watch during a demonstration in Bangkok on November 14, 2021, after a Thai court ruled that speeches by protest leaders calling for royal reforms amounted to a bid to overthrow the country's monarchy..jpeg
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“I feel so shocked. I question myself, did she really die?” Panusaya told CNN Wednesday. “She didn’t receive any justice for her cases.”
Calling on the government of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin to respond to her death, Panusaya demanded the release of all political prisoners in Thailand.
“Do we have to have more people die before you will care?” she asked.
On Wednesday, Srettha called Netiporn’s death a “tragic incident,” adding he had ordered Thailand’s Ministry of Justice to investigate the circumstances surrounding it.
“I would like to convey my condolences to her family. I am confident that we will give justice,” he said.
Responding to the calls for the release of all political prisoners, Strettha said, “I believe that the justice minister has heard about the call, and he’s working on looking into the whole legal system. We have to give justice to everyone.”
Thailand has some of the world’s strictest lese majeste laws and sentences for those convicted under Section 112 of the country’s criminal code, can be decades long. Hundreds of people have been prosecuted in recent years, including Mongkol Thirakhot, who was sentenced to a record 50 years in prison in January for social media posts deemed damaging to the king.
For years, human rights organizations and free speech campaigners have said lese majeste has been used as a political tool to silence critics of the Thai government.
Rights groups say the right to freedom of expression in Thailand has come under increased attack since the 2020 protests. Despite the change from a military-backed government to civilian leadership last year, surveillance and intimidation against activists and students continues, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of the Move Forward Party and Prime Ministerial candidate, arrives at the parliament on July 13, 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand..jpeg
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Thai court orders election-winning party to end its royal reform campaign in blow to voters who backed change
The legal advocacy group said that since the start of those protests in July 2020 and up until March 2024, at least 1,954 people have been prosecuted or charged for their participation in political assemblies and for speaking out, with 286 of those cases involving children.
At least 270 people have been charged with lese majeste during that time, the group added.
“The death of Ms. Netiporn is evidence that the problems of political prosecution and detention of pro-democracy activists, especially in lèse-majesté cases, are still very much alive under the Pheu Thai government,” the group’s advocacy lead, Akarachai Chaimaneekarakate told CNN.
Netiporn’s death comes as Thailand is running for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council and while the Thai government is negotiating a free trade agreement with the European Union, Akarachai added.
“The right to bail must be granted to political detainees who have not been found guilty of any crimes by a final judgment,” he said. “The price of fundamental freedoms should not be their lives.”
A young activist jailed for insulting Thailand’s monarchy died on Tuesday following a prolonged hunger strike, officials said, prompting an…
edition.cnn.com'We've known since the beginning there was a coverup:' East Palestine resident
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7EHMaSJzKE
May 15, 2024 #EastPalestine #NorfolkSouthern #EPA
A whistleblower is claiming the Environmental Protection Agency failed to properly test and …monitor for chemical contamination after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, leading to a controlled burn of tanker cars carrying toxic chemicals. Jami Wallace, president of the Unity Council in East Palestine, said residents have continued to have health problems despite assurances the town is safe. She tells NewsNation the government has failed residents and she believes it's all about money.
A whistleblower is claiming the Environmental Protection Agency failed to properly test and monitor for chemical contamination after a Norfolk…
www.youtube.comCruise to pay millions to woman gravely injured in S.F. by a robotaxi, report says
California’s Department of Motor Vehicles suspended the GM-owned company’s driverless taxi license in the city after the company allegedly withheld car crash footage and lied to investigators.
…https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/cruise-woman-injured-san-francisco-settlement-19459722.php
By Nora Mishanec
May 15, 2024
A Cruise car drives past Cruise's San Francisco headquarters. The company agreed to pay millions of dollars to a woman who was struck and dragged by one of its vehicles in 2023.
Amaya Edwards/The Chronicle
General Motors Co.’s autonomous-car unit has reached a multi-million dollar settlement with the pedestrian who was struck and dragged by one of its robotaxis in San Francisco last year, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
The exact amount of the settlement has not been made public, but is believed to be between $8 million to $12 million, a person familiar with the situation told the news outlet.
On October 2, the Cruise driverless vehicle continued moving while a woman was pinned under its chassis as the car attempted to pull over. The company later said the vehicle’s software mischaracterized where the robotaxi initially struck the woman, leading it to make the wrong decision.
California’s Department of Motor Vehicles suspended the GM-owned company’s driverless taxi license in the city after the company allegedly withheld car crash footage and lied to investigators. The company then ceased all driverless operations.
Representatives for General Motors and Cruise did not respond to questions about the settlement. The pedestrian’s name and condition have not been made public.
The pedestrian was crossing Market and Fifth streets around 9:30 p.m. when she was hit by two cars — first a regular vehicle which hurled her into the path of a driverless taxi that then ran her over, stopping on top of her as she screamed in pain, according to witnesses, investigators and the autonomous taxi company
Reach Nora Mishanec: nora.mishanec@sfchronicle.com
Cruise has reached a multi-million dollar settlement with the pedestrian who was struck and dragged by one of its robotaxis in San Francisco last…
www.sfchronicle.comUPTE stands in solidarity with protestors at UC and other universities calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
https://trk.upte-cwa.org/w.aspx?j=374425155&m=758d04b98e64465ebfc7d244c7c78ebf
UPTE stands in solidarity with protestors at UC and other universities calling for a ceasefire in …Gaza. We condemn UCLA leadership's failure to protect students, staff, and faculty from violent counter-protestors, none of whom were arrested.
We are deeply disturbed by the UCLA administration's decision to violently break up peaceful anti-war demonstrations and arrange the arrest of dozens of students. We also condemn the UCSD Chancellor's similar repression of democratic protest. UC Riverside's decision to engage students in constructive dialogue and negotiation stands in stark contrast and represents a blueprint for leadership at other campuses.
UPTE Psychologists, Social Workers, and Counselors who provide mental health support to UC students have been overwhelmed with students traumatized by the University's behavior. We demand that the University respect their students' right to free speech and peaceful protest, and cease actions—including pursuing disciplinary action against student protestors—that cause further harm.
50,000 academic workers represented by UAW 4811 have filed unfair labor practice charges and will be voting whether to strike in response. A strike could begin as soon as Wednesday, May 15.
GM6fGegaUAA93za.jpegWe join UAW's call for UC to de-escalate and divest, whichyou can read in full here at their website. We stand in solidarity with them as they weigh the decision to withhold their labor.
We call on UPTE members to turn down any voluntary requests to perform struck UAW work such as exam proctoring, and report to UPTE immediately any UAW work that you are being told to perform. While UPTE is prohibited from calling a sympathy strike, we encourage you to attend rallies and picket lines before and after work and during break periods.
In December, UPTE's Executive Board issued a statementcalling for an immediate ceasefire and for an end to our government's funding of this conflict. We also made a donation to Doctor's Without Borders to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
We remain committed to defending the rights of our members and the entire University community to participate in non-violent protests and exercise their First Amendment rights.We will also continue work with our union, student, and community allies to ensure the University fulfills its obligation to provide a safe place to work, learn, and heal.
UPTE stands in solidarity with protestors at UC and other universities calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
https://trk.upte-cwa.org/w.aspx?j=374425155&m=758d04b98e64465ebfc7d244c7c78ebf
UPTE stands in solidarity with protestors at UC and other universities calling for a ceasefire in …Gaza. We condemn UCLA leadership's failure to protect students, staff, and faculty from violent counter-protestors, none of whom were arrested.
We are deeply disturbed by the UCLA administration's decision to violently break up peaceful anti-war demonstrations and arrange the arrest of dozens of students. We also condemn the UCSD Chancellor's similar repression of democratic protest. UC Riverside's decision to engage students in constructive dialogue and negotiation stands in stark contrast and represents a blueprint for leadership at other campuses.
UPTE Psychologists, Social Workers, and Counselors who provide mental health support to UC students have been overwhelmed with students traumatized by the University's behavior. We demand that the University respect their students' right to free speech and peaceful protest, and cease actions—including pursuing disciplinary action against student protestors—that cause further harm.
50,000 academic workers represented by UAW 4811 have filed unfair labor practice charges and will be voting whether to strike in response. A strike could begin as soon as Wednesday, May 15.
GM6fGegaUAA93za.jpegWe join UAW's call for UC to de-escalate and divest, whichyou can read in full here at their website. We stand in solidarity with them as they weigh the decision to withhold their labor.
We call on UPTE members to turn down any voluntary requests to perform struck UAW work such as exam proctoring, and report to UPTE immediately any UAW work that you are being told to perform. While UPTE is prohibited from calling a sympathy strike, we encourage you to attend rallies and picket lines before and after work and during break periods.
In December, UPTE's Executive Board issued a statementcalling for an immediate ceasefire and for an end to our government's funding of this conflict. We also made a donation to Doctor's Without Borders to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
We remain committed to defending the rights of our members and the entire University community to participate in non-violent protests and exercise their First Amendment rights.We will also continue work with our union, student, and community allies to ensure the University fulfills its obligation to provide a safe place to work, learn, and heal.
Activists Denounce Prosecution of Former Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby; UPS Threatens Mass Layoffs; UN General Assembly Votes to Accept Palestine as a Member State
…https://capitalismraceanddemocracy.org/2024/05/13/activists-denounce-prosecution-of-former-baltimore-states-attorney-marilyn-mosby-ups-threatens-mass-layoffs-un-general-assembly-votes-to-accept-palestine-as-a-member-state/
By Capitalism, Race & Democracy – May 13, 202412
Activists around the country have rallied to stop the persecution of Black women prosecutors. Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby is facing 40 years in prison on trumped up charges initiated by the Trump Justice Department. Host of Human Rights and Justice radio show Nkechi Taifa, and political commentator and podcast host Angela Rye share more about the case of Marilyn Mosby, which they call “an egregious tragedy of justice.”
Marilyn Mosby served as the State’s Attorney for Baltimore from 2015 to 2023. She gained national attention following the 2015 police killing of Freddie Gray, when she led the charge to prosecute the officers responsible for his death.
For more information on Justice for former DA Marilyn Mosby, sign the Color of Change petition – https://campaigns.organizefor.org/petitions/pardon-for-attorney-marilyn-mosby
***
Following the Teamsters United Parcel Service contract over 12,000 mostly part time workers were permanently laid off. UPS says it has plans to reduce the number of workers by 100,000 using AI and robotics in their warehouses. Portland IBT 162 UPS worker Tony Cochran spoke with Pacifica’s Steve Zeltzer about the layoffs. You can find out more about the independent Teamsters Organizing Committee at https://independentteamstersorganizingcommittee.org/
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This week thousands of auto workers at Mercedes Benz’s Alabama plant will be voting on whether the United Auto Workers union will represent them. The recent victory of UAW at Volkswagen in an overwhelming vote is a sign of a growing tide of union organizing in the South for the first time since the 1930s. The UAW wants to organize 150,000 auto workers, mostly in the South, and that would not only change the labor movement but transform the US. Already three southern governors have warned that this union drive must be stopped. UAW president Shawn Fain has also said he wants all UAW contracts to expire on May Day 2028 and for other unions to join together for a general strike.
Shawn Fain spoke at the Labor Notes conference in Chicago about these recent victories and what they portend.
***
On Friday May 10, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution accepting Palestine as a member. Pacifica’s Don Debar spoke to human rights and labor lawyer Dan Kovalik.
***
At the University of Toledo’s May 2024 graduate school commencement ceremony, Maha Zeidan, a Palestinian Muslim American graduating law student, and the president of the graduate student association gave a timely speech calling for unity and action regarding the war on Gaza and the state of affairs in the United States.
The University of Toledo says, as a State Institution, it is committed to protecting community members’ First Amendment rights, including free speech, press, and assembly on all our campuses.
And that concludes today’s edition of Capitalism, Race & Democracy. We thank all of Pacifica’s sister stations and affiliates who contribute to the production of this show. Today’s program was produced by the Capitalism, Race & Democracy collective, with contributions from Akua Holt, Nkechi Taifa, Steve Zeltzer, Don Debar, Ann Garrison and Polina Vasiliev.
Thanks for listening!
Music:
Hozier – Nina Cried Power ft. Mavis Staples
GMacCash, “On Strike”
Mike Stout, “Time for a General Strike”
Macklemore, HIND’S HALL
Activists around the country have rallied to stop the persecution of Black women prosecutors. Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby is facing…
capitalismraceanddemocracy.orgUCSF students, staff set up pro-Palestinian protest encampment
https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/politics/ucsf-students-staff-launch-pro-palestine-protest-encampment/article_a5f9a880-1180-11ef-94d1-cb489e668345.html
By Natalia Gurevich | Examiner staff writer May 13, 2024 Updated 11
…Pro-Palestine protest UCSF
Jess Ghannam, a professor at the school and the chief of medical psychology at UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion, speaks at a pro-Palestine rally at UCSF's Parnassus campus on Monday.
Natalia Gurevich/The Examiner
More than two dozen UCSF students and staff set up a tent encampment on the school’s Parnassus campus Monday, joining the nationwide network of collegiate protesters calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war and for their universities to cut ties with Israel.
Nearly a month after Columbia University students set up an encampment on their New York City campus, around 30 people did the same Monday at UCSF as they held a rally to draw attention to their demands.
“We're calling on UCSF — because we're a health sciences campus — to demand an immediate and permanent cease-fire and a resumption of humanitarian and medical aid to be brought into Gaza,” said Jess Ghannam, a professor at the school and the chief of medical psychology at UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion.
Ghannam said he has traveled to Gaza for more than 25 years. The Palestinian American’s most recently scheduled trip was derailed in the aftermath of Oct. 7, and he said he hasn’t been able to return since.
Hamas killed around 1,200 people that day, according to Israel, taking around 250 people hostage. Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians in its subsequent military offensive, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
“I've lost four colleagues and their family members, ranging in age from four months to 77 years,” said Ghannam, who is Palestinian American. “I have a personal connection there.”
UCSF Palestine Solidarity Encampment organizers’ calls echoed those of demonstrations at other University of California campuses, demanding the system divest from all companies, programs and organizations with financial ties to Israel and its military. The university system said last month it “has consistently opposed boycott against and divestment from Israel.”
UCSF didn’t respond to a request for comment prior to publication.
Unlike many of the encampments to grab headlines over the last month, UCSF demonstrators set up theirs at a postgraduate campus with no undergraduate presence.
“We don't have an undergrad population here, we all have jobs, we all have families or loved ones or other responsibilities that we have to take care of,” Hadi, a demonstrator who asked to only go by her first name for privacy reasons, told The Examiner on Monday. “That's also made it a lot harder, but it's also made it a lot more rewarding … we're not just here for the school semester, we're here the long haul.”
Students at UC Law San Francisco, another postgraduate school in The City, have not established an encampment. The school’s student chapter of the National Lawyers Guild has been training legal observers to attend protests at other campuses to record interactions between police and demonstrators crossing any lines, Zoe Papadopoulos, one of the organizers, told The Examiner last week.
There have been no arrests at San Francisco schools’ protest encampments, nor have there been any violent clashes between opposing demonstrators. Both have occurred on other campuses around the country.
Roger Feigelson, the executive director of SF Hillel, said that this might just be due to the culture in San Francisco where students are more respectful of activism.
Demonstrators cite ongoing public-health concerns in Gaza.
www.sfexaminer.comThai Labour Class Struggles & The Thai Labour Museum
https://youtu.be/hPPG_7KjDv0
The labor struggles in Thailand have a long history and they have one of the best labor history Musuems in the world in Bangkok Thailand. WorkWeek interviews "New" about the Musuem and the …working class struggles taking place in the country. He also talks about rerpression of artists, musicians and journalists by the government using laws making it illegal to criticize the monarchy.
This interview was done on 5/10/24 which is the anniversary of the Kadar workers disaster when a toy factory burned down and killed 188 mostly women worker
Additional Media:
Thai Hara Factory Workers Struggle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJYlTg2AlYA
Kader Toy Factory Fire Of 1993
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiL1i3_gVZg
Activist faces jail term for royal defamation over questioning Thai King
https://prachataienglish.com/node/10928
Musician, citizen reporter convicted of royal defamation for singing a song about the monarchy
https://prachataienglish.com/node/10929
The Korean Labor Movement, Class Struggle & The Fight For Workers Rights & Power In Korea
https://youtu.be/EgagkyKUBuk
The Lessons Of Labor History & Class Struggle In Korea With Joon Seok
https://youtu.be/piDoYKMK5VM
Korean KCTU Plans General Strike On 10/20/21 For Equality & Against Repression by Moon Government
https://youtu.be/WURMPNlecJg
Korean Workers Rallying In Preparation For The October 20 General Strike
https://www.facebook.com/100000809257304/videos/pcb.4498443930192538/1283291062118438
"Defend The Right To Strike For Korean Workers" SF Rally For Korean Feb 25 General Workers Strike
https://youtu.be/xtnvBQZRaxs
Battle At SF Korean Consulate "Hands Off Korean Workers"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk6zJkcPNkY&feature=youtu.be
South Korean Consulate Disrupts Solidarity Rally for Korean Rail Workers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9Iu6RVh3eI
Rehire The 8,000 Korean Railway Workers-Picket At SF Korean Consulate To Support KCTU General Strike
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMmIjYKRS9s&feature=youtu.be
For more information about the Korean Railway Workers Union KRWU struggle
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Support-railway-workers-right-to-strike-in-Korea/623128284413850
"On The Right Track" Korean Railway Workers Fight For Workers Democracy And Against Privatization
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9sS5vYoRiw
For More Information:
Thai Labour Musuem
https://www.thailabourmuseum.org
Production of Labor Video Project
www.labromedia.net
The labor struggles in Thailand have a long history and they have one of the best labor history Musuems in the world in Bangkok Thailand. WorkWeek…
youtu.beThai Labour Class Struggles & The Thai Labor Museum
Musician, citizen reporter convicted of royal defamation for singing a song about the monarchy
https://prachataienglish.com/node/10929
Waranya was arrested on 1 September 2022 and charged for singing two songs by Faiyen called “Lucky to have Thai People” and “Who killed King Rama …8?”, both of which are critical of the monarchy. She was also charged for livestreaming herself singing.
Chokdee reported to the police on 3 March 2022 after being contacted by the police and told that he was being charged because he was playing guitar while Waranya was singing.
The complaint against them was filed by Akkhrawut Kraisisombat, a member of the ultra-royalist group Vocational Students Protecting the Institution.
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said on Thursday (9 May) that the Ratchadaphisek Criminal Court found Chokdee and Waranya guilty of royal defamation. It also found Waranya guilty of violation of the Computer Crimes Act.
Chokdee and Waranya were sentenced to 6 years in prison, reduced to 4 years because they confessed. The Court then suspended their sentence for 2 years on the grounds that they expressed remorse and promised not to defame the monarchy again. It noted that the two defendants were not protest leaders, are both working, and have a permanent residence, and took into consideration their family responsibilities and health issues.
Chokdee and Waranya will be subjected to a 1-year probation period, during which they have to report to a probation officer every 3 months. They are also required to perform at least 24 hours of community service.
Chokdee is facing another royal defamation charge for singing at another protest on 23 August 2022. Waranya is facing another royal defamation charge for livestreaming while activists conducted a poll on royal motorcades at the Siam Paragon shopping mall on 8 February 2022.
Musician Chokdee “Alex” Rompruk and citizen reporter Waranya “Nui” Sae-ngo have been found guilty of royal defamation and given a suspended…
prachataienglish.comIAM Apple workers in Maryland vote to authorize work stoppage
If workers actually strike, it would be the first walkout by employees of the company’s more than 270 U.S. retail locations.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/05/12/apple-workers-strike-union-maryland/
Unionized …employees at an Apple Store in Towson, Md., have voted to authorize a strike amid union accusations that the tech giant isn’t bargaining in good faith in negotiations over its first union contract.
Get a curated selection of 10 of our best stories in your inbox every weekend.
If workers actually strike, it would be the first work stoppage by employees of the company’s more than 270 U.S. retail locations.
The workers’ vote, which concluded late Saturday, allows the union to stage a walkout at any time, although it has not announced a strike date, according to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). The union represents some 100 Apple employees at the store in Towson Town Center, a mall in the Baltimore suburbs. In 2022 it became the first Apple retail store in the country to vote to unionize.
Contract negotiations at the Towson store, which began in January 2023, have yielded tentative agreements on 25 issues, including grievance claims, retirement benefits and severance, according to the union.
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Despite these gains, however, talks have stalled over key financial matters, such as pay, overtime and scheduling, a union official told The Washington Post on Sunday.
The union has also accused Apple of illegally withholding benefits from union members given to workers at nonunion stores. Those and other issues prompted it to file multiple federal charges against Apple for allegedly violating labor laws.
Apple and the union will return to the bargaining table on May 21 for contract negotiations, the union said.
“This vote today is the first step in demonstrating our solidarity and sends a clear message to Apple,” the union’s negotiating committee said in a statement Saturday. “As discussions with Apple management continue, we remain committed to securing tangible improvements that benefit all employees.”
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A spokeswoman for Apple said in a statement Sunday that the company works hard to offer “an excellent experience for our retail team members and empower them to deliver exceptional service for our customers.” The company will “engage with the union representing our team in Towson respectfully and in good faith,” she added.
So far, only one other Apple retail location in the country has voted to unionize, in Oklahoma City.
Apple employees at another store, in Short Hills, N.J., took a different tack on Saturday, voting against unionizing with the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The union has alleged in charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board that the company engaged in illegal anti-union behavior during the campaign.
Meanwhile, the NLRB has accused Apple of cracking down on labor organizing elsewhere in the United States. In a ruling earlier this month, the agency affirmed complaints that Apple illegally interrogated staff members at its World Trade Center store in Manhattan about their union campaign and confiscated union materials from a break room in 2022.
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In a separate case, federal regulators accused Apple last year of illegally firing, disciplining and threatening a corporate employee in Cupertino, Calif., for organizing to improve working conditions. An administrative-law judge has yet to rule on the case.
Labor activism at Apple comes amid an ongoing organizing wave across industries, as workers have increasingly banded together to demand higher pay and better benefits since the onset of the pandemic. More than 10,000 Starbucks workers have voted to unionize since late 2021. The Teamsters scored big wins for 340,000 UPS employees by threatening a massive work stoppage last summer, while the Big Three autoworkers, Hollywood actors and writers, and Kaiser health workershave secured better wages and working conditions by walking off the job.
Amazon, REI and Trader Joe’s workers have also held their first successful unionization votes, but so far none of those workers have secured a first union contract, with labor leaders accusing companies of stalling and refusing to bargain in good faith.
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Petitions for union elections were up 35 percent between Oct. 1 and March 31 compared with the same period the previous year, the NLRB announced last month. And American support for unions has soared to 67 percent, after hitting a record low during the Great Recession, according to Gallup polling.
This week, more than 5,000 Mercedes-Benz workers in Alabama will vote in another high-stakes union election, coming after thousands of Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., voted in favor of joining the United Auto Workers in a historic election last month, making the facility the first foreign-auto plant in the South to unionize.
If workers actually strike, it would be the first walkout by employees of Apple’s more than 270 U.S. retail locations.
www.washingtonpost.com"Pae Prachathai-Ya, photographer" has been charged with defamation of 'Senator Seri' in the case of making news about activists posting flyers calling on Senator Seri to listen to the people.
https://tlhr2014.com/archives/65740
22/03/2024 admin26 News
…March 22, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. at Wat Phraya Krai Police Station, Natthaphon Meksophon or “Pae”, a reporter from Prachatai News Agency, and Natthaphon Panphongsanon or “Ya”, a photographer from online media. Came to acknowledge the charges in the case where Seri Suwannaphanon, Senate member, was accused of defamation by advertising – causing property damage – causing nuisance. From the case of making news, activists posted flyers calling on the Senate to listen to the people's voices in voting for the Prime Minister. At Seri Market 2 on August 1, 2023
At 10:00 a.m. “Pae” and “Ya” along with their lawyer. Travel to meet the investigating officer Today, officials from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the media came to observe the filing of the allegations.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Arun Lertsakkaset, investigative inspector at Phraya Krai Police Station, was the one who reported the allegations and stated the circumstances to the two, concluding that on August 1, 2023 at approximately 6:00 p.m., “Ket” Sophon Sur. Ritthamrong, activist of the Mok Luang Rimnam group along with three fellow activists, including the names of the two reporters and photographers Together they went to Seri Market 2, Charoen Krung Road, with the accused knowing that it was the company's business. Yok Suwanmontri Co., Ltd., which has Seri Suwannaphanon as a partner and an authorized director.
The charges are described in the same manner as the other activists, without specifying the specific actions of each. or not doing anything For example, it was stated that all of them put up flyers and posted announcements in the market. causing dirt and damage in various places and slandering the accusers who is a member of the Senate that he would not vote for the Prime Minister which is not true
They also posted announcements of arrests and announcements of defamation against third-party citizens throughout the market. They brought a picture of the accuser and printed the message: “Announcement to arrest senator who serves dictatorship. Or follow the voice of the people. Seri Suwannaphanon was a member of the National Council for Peace and Order after the 2014 coup.” But I don't like the fake democrats' speaking at the 62 meeting. The message on the leaflet that was posted was completely false.
inquiry official Three charges were filed against "Pae" and "Ya" including defamation by advertising, loss of property, and co-operation in any act that is a form of harassment or abuse of others. or causing others to be ashamed or annoyed
“Pae” and “Ya” have denied all the charges. and wished to submit written testimony to the investigation within 15 days. In addition, they refused to take fingerprints. Because it is considered that there is no need to use fingerprints to prove innocence. Including it is a symbolic show that working in the media is not a crime. As a result, the investigating officer has filed a charge of violating the officer's orders. without allowing fingerprints One more charge has been added.
After completing the process of acknowledging the charges Investigators released the two without detention. Because he came to meet the investigative officer according to the summons.
This case is the second case of "Pae" and "Ya" after following up on the activities of political activists. In the first case, both of them were charged for following and reporting the case of an activist's "accidental" spray-painting of the wall of Wat Phra Kaew on March 28, 2023.
Besides the two of them In this case, the police also went in to file charges against "Get Sophon" in prison on February 20, 2024, and on March 15, 2024, three other activists who were issued summonses include Athitaya, Duangporn and Supawit have also traveled to acknowledge the allegations. All three charges were reported in the same manner.
For such activities It happened after on July 13, 2023, the parliamentary meeting voted "disapproval" for Pitha Limjaroenrat. is the Prime Minister, with Senator Seri also casting the "disapproval" vote, and the government is still in the process of voting to elect a new Prime Minister again, until there is talk of the role of senators who do not come from population but has the power to vote for the Prime Minister And talking about #BanSweetBusiness in the social media world
“เป้ ประชาไท-ยา ช่างภาพ” ถูกแจ้งข้อหาหมิ่นประมาท ‘สว.เสรี’ กรณีไปทำข่าวนักกิจกรรมติดใบปลิวเรียกร้อง สว. ฟังประชาชน
22/03/2567 admin26 ข่าวสาร
22 มี.ค. 2567 เวลา 10.00 น. ที่ สน.วัดพระยาไกร ณัฐพล เมฆโสภณ หรือ “เป้” ผู้สื่อข่าวจากสำนักข่าวประชาไท และณัฐพล พันธ์พงษ์สานนท์ หรือ “ยา” ช่างภาพจากสื่อออนไลน์ เดินทางมารับทราบข้อกล่าวหาในคดีที่ถูก เสรี สุวรรณภานนท์ วุฒิสภา กล่าวหาในข้อหาหมิ่นประมาทโดยการโฆษณา-ทำให้เสียทรัพย์-ก่อความเดือดร้อนรำคาญ จากกรณีไปทำข่าวนักกิจกรรมติดใบปลิวเรียกร้องให้ สว. ฟังเสียงประชาชนในการโหวตเลือกนายกรัฐมนตรี ที่บริเวณตลาดเสรี 2 เมื่อวันที่ 1 ส.ค. 2566
เวลา 10.00 น. “เป้” และ “ยา” พร้อมทนายความ เดินทางเข้าพบพนักงานสอบสวน โดยวันนี้มีเจ้าหน้าที่จากสำนักงานข้าหลวงใหญ่สิทธิมนุษยชนแห่งสหประชาชาติ (OHCHR) และสื่อมวลชน มาร่วมติดตามสังเกตการณ์การแจ้งข้อกล่าวหาด้วย
พ.ต.ท. อรุณ เลิศศักดิ์เกษตร สารวัตร สอบสวน สน.พระยาไกร เป็นผู้แจ้งข้อกล่าวหาและระบุพฤติการณ์แก่ทั้งสองโดยสรุปว่า เมื่อวันที่ 1 ส.ค. 2566 เวลาประมาณ 18.00 น. “เก็ท” โสภณ สุรฤทธิ์ธำรง นักกิจกรรมกลุ่มโมกหลวงริมน้ำ พร้อมกับเพื่อนนักกิจกรรมอีก 3 คน รวมทั้งมีชื่อผู้สื่อข่าวและช่างภาพทั้งสองคน ได้ร่วมกันไปที่ตลาดเสรี 2 ถนนเจริญกรุง โดยผู้ต้องหาทราบดีว่าเป็นกิจการค้าของบริษัท หยกสุวรรณมนตรี จำกัด ซึ่งมี เสรี สุวรรณภานนท์ เป็นหุ้นส่วนและเป็นกรรมการผู้มีอำนาจ
ข้อกล่าวหาระบุในลักษณะเดียวกับกรณีของนักกิจกรรมคนอื่น ๆ โดยไม่ได้มีการแยกว่าแต่ละคนกระทำใดบ้าง หรือไม่กระทำการใด อาทิระบุว่าทั้งหมดเข้าไปติดใบปลิวและติดประกาศในตลาด ทำให้เกิดความสกปรกเสียหายตามจุดต่าง ๆ และได้พูดใส่ความผู้กล่าวหา ซึ่งเป็นสมาชิกวุฒิสภา ว่าไม่ไปลงคะแนนเลือกนายกรัฐมนตรี ซึ่งไม่เป็นความจริง
และยังติดประกาศจับกับประกาศใส่ความหมิ่นประมาทต่อประชาชนซึ่งเป็นบุคคลที่สามไปทั่วตลาด โดยมีการนำรูปภาพของผู้กล่าวหาและพิมพ์ข้อความว่า “ประกาศจับ สว. รับใช้เผด็จการ หรือทำตามเสียงประชาชน เสรี สุวรรณภานนท์ เคยเป็น สปท. หลังรัฐประหารปี 2557” “‘นิยมเผด็จการประชาธิปไตย แต่ไม่ได้นิยมพวกประชาธิปไตยจอมปลอม’ พูดในที่ประชุม 62” ซึ่งข้อความใบปลิวที่ติดประกาศล้วนเป็นความเท็จทั้งสิ้น
พนักงานสอบสวน ได้แจ้งข้อกล่าวหา 3 ข้อหาต่อ “เป้” และ “ยา” ได้แก่ หมิ่นประมาทโดยการโฆษณา, ทำให้เสียทรัพย์ และ ร่วมกันกระทำการใด ๆ อันเป็นการรังแกหรือข่มเหงผู้อื่น หรือกระทำให้ผู้อื่นได้รับความอับอาย หรือเดือดร้อนรำคาญ
“เป้” และ “ยา” ได้ให้การปฏิเสธตลอดข้อกล่าวหา และประสงค์จะส่งคำให้การในชั้นสอบสวนเป็นหนังสือภายใน 15 วัน นอกจากนี้พวกเขายังปฏิเสธไม่พิมพ์ลายนิ้วมือ เพราะเห็นว่าไม่มีความจำเป็นต้องใช้ลายพิมพ์นิ้วมือในการพิสูจน์ความบริสุทธิ์ รวมไปถึงเป็นการแสดงเชิงสัญลักษณ์ว่าการทำงานของสื่อมวลชนไม่ใช่อาชญากรรม ทำให้พนักงานสอบสวนได้แจ้งข้อหาฝ่าฝืนคำสั่งเจ้าพนักงาน โดยไม่ยอมให้พิมพ์ลายนิ้วมือ เพิ่มขึ้นอีกหนึ่งข้อกล่าวหา
หลังเสร็จสิ้นกระบวนการรับทราบข้อหา พนักงานสอบสวนปล่อยตัวทั้งสองไปโดยไม่มีการควบคุมตัวไว้ เนื่องจากมาพบพนักงานสอบสวนตามหมายเรียก
สำหรับคดีนี้นับเป็นคดีที่สองของ “เป้” และ “ยา” สืบเนื่องจากการไปติดตามทำข่าวการทำกิจกรรมของนักกิจกรรมการเมือง ซึ่งคดีแรกทั้งสองถูกแจ้งข้อหาจากเหตุติดตามไปทำข่าวกรณีการพ่นสีกำแพงวัดพระแก้วของนักกิจกรรม “บังเอิญ” เมื่อวันที่ 28 มี.ค. 2566
นอกจากทั้งสองคนแล้ว คดีนี้ตำรวจยังเข้าไปแจ้งข้อหาต่อ “เก็ท โสภณ” ในเรือนจำมาแล้วเมื่อวันที่ 20 ก.พ. 2567 และเมื่อวันที่ 15 มี.ค. 2567 นักกิจกรรมอีก 3 คน ที่ถูกออกหมายเรียก ได้แก่ อาทิตยา, ดวงพร และ ศุภวิชญ์ ได้เดินทางเข้ารับทราบข้อกล่าวหาไปแล้วเช่นกัน โดยทั้งหมดถูกแจ้ง 3 ข้อกล่าวหาในลักษณะเดียวกัน
สำหรับกิจกรรมดังกล่าว เกิดขึ้นภายหลังเมื่อวันที่ 13 ก.ค. 2566 ที่ประชุมรัฐสภา ลงมติ “ไม่เห็นชอบ” ให้ พิธา ลิ้มเจริญรัตน์ เป็นนายกรัฐมนตรี โดย ส.ว. เสรี เป็นผู้โหวตลงมติ “ไม่เห็นชอบ” ด้วย และยังอยู่ระหว่างการจับขั้วรัฐบาลเพื่อโหวตเลือกนายกฯ ใหม่อีกครั้ง จนเกิดกระแสการพูดถึงบทบาทของสมาชิกวุฒิสภาที่ไม่ได้มาจากประชาชน แต่มีอำนาจโหวตนายกฯ และการพูดถึงการ #แบนธุรกิจสว ในโลกโซเชียล
22 มี.ค. 2567 เวลา 10.00 น. ที่ สน.วัดพระยาไกร ณัฐพล เมฆโสภณ หรือ…
tlhr2014.com5/11/24 SF Vigil for Palestinian Journalists
https://www.facebook.com/emilosrieloff/videos/458092046714510
The Anti-Union Lobby’s Newest Weapon
Now armed with cynical antisemitism allegations, the corporate-backed effort to destroy unions is ramping up.
https://jewishcurrents.org/the-anti-union-lobbys-newest-weapon-foxx-israel-palestine
Jeff Schuhrke
May 10, 2024
…Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx at a House Education and Workforce Committee Hearing on December 5th, 2023.
Sipa USA / Alamy Stock Photo
ON APRIL 11TH, two public defenders in New York City filed a lawsuitagainst their union, the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (ALAA), claiming that a pro-Palestine resolution it had adopted last December was antisemitic. They demanded an extraordinary recompense: the right to opt out of paying the ALAA for the cost of negotiating better working conditions on their behalf. Like other private sector employees at unionized workplaces in New York, the public defenders who filed the suit—who are employed by the nonprofit Legal Aid Society—can already opt out of becoming dues-paying members of their union (and, indeed, had already done so). But as union-represented workers, they are still required under labor law to pay their fair share of “agency fees” to the ALAA to cover the cost of representation. These fees ensure that unions have the necessary resources to negotiate and enforce contracts, and restrict “free riding,” i.e. workers’ ability to benefit from a union without contributing to it. In their lawsuit, however, the plaintiffs cited their union’s pro-Palestine position as a reason that they should not be compelled to pay such fees, with one of them saying he “shouldn’t have to financially support an organization that adopts antisemitic resolutions, sides with terrorist organizations, and advocates for the destruction of Israel.” (The actual resolution, which was approved by 65% of voting ALAA members and strongly backed by 122 Jewish members, calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, an end to Israeli apartheid, and support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctionsmovement.)
Fair share fees of the kind the lawsuit targets are so important to the financial health of unions that pro-business groups have regularly attacked them for decades in order to weaken workers’ collective power. This attack has largely taken place through deceptively named “right-to-work” laws, which ban the mandatory collection of agency fees for private sector unions in 26 states. In 2018, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority further expanded this war on fair share fees through the Janus v. AFSCMEcase. One of the most consequential assaults on organized labor in recent years, the decision effectively imposed “right-to-work” on the nation’s entire public sector. The majority justified the decision by arguing that since the government is the employer that public sector unions aim to influence, a financial contribution to such a union is a form of political speech. Under this argument, public sector unions were accused of effectively compelling workers’ speech, in violation of the First Amendment, by requiring the payment of fair share fees. But while it was dressed up in the language of free speech rights, Janus was clearly intended to undermine and bankrupt public sector unions. Within a year, the ruling naturally led to the virtual disappearance of agency-fee payers in public sector unions, weakening those unions in the process.
Private sector workplaces in more union-friendly states like New York have thus far remained outside the purview of this particular anti-union strategy, but the recent lawsuit against the ALAA aims to change this. Filed by the Liberty Justice Center, one of the right-wing law firms behind the Januscase, the suit is an attempt to use the union’s pro-Palestine position as a justification to extend Janus to private organizations that receive government funding. The suit argues that since the plaintiffs’ employer is contracted by New York City to provide legal counsel to indigent defendants, Janus should apply to its staff. This is not the first effort by anti-union groups to broaden the scope of Janus. In recent years, other such lawsuits—such as one demanding that public sector unions reimburse the agency fees non-members paid prior to Janus, and another seeking to prevent unions from limiting when free riders can opt out—have been rejected by the Supreme Court, but not before forcing unions to expend significant resources on unnecessary litigation. There is a chance that the new Liberty Justice Center lawsuit will go the same way, being dismissed in court while nevertheless costing the ALAA time and money. However, if the case makes it to the Supreme Court, it is conceivable that the conservative majority could rule that Janus is applicable in cases where a private sector worker’s job duties are entirely government-funded. With an estimated 80% of all nonprofit revenues in the US coming from government sources, such a decision could have major ramifications for the tens of thousands of workers who have been rapidly unionizing in recent years at nonprofit cultural institutions, advocacy groups, and social service organizations.
In addition to posing a threat to a large swathe of the labor movement, the case against the ALAA signals the development of a new anti-union effort, in which opponents of organized labor are justifying their right-wing crusade by claiming that they are battling antisemitism. This strategy is also on display in another recent lawsuit that is now moving through the courts, involving the Professional Staff Congress (PSC), a union representing about 30,000 faculty and staff at the City University of New York (CUNY). In June 2021, shortly after the conclusion of Israel’s 11-day military offensive, which killed at least 260 Palestinians in Gaza, the PSC’s delegate assembly passed a resolution condemning “the massacre of Palestinians by the Israeli state” and encouraging the union’s campus chapters to consider adopting the strategy of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement. The following January, the Fairness Center—an anti-union law firm based in Pennsylvania—responded by filing a lawsuit on behalf of six full-time CUNY professors accusing the union of antisemitism. The six professors are represented by the PSC in bargaining, but they are not union members, and thanks to Janus, they also do not pay any agency fees. In this situation, the Fairness Center lawsuit’s proposed remedy has been to ask that the plaintiffs be excluded from the PSC bargaining unit altogether. “Our clients, most of whom are Jewish, should not be forced to associate with a union that engages in hateful, anti-Israel rhetoric and political activity,” Fairness Center president Nathan McGrath told the conservative news site The Washington Free Beacon.
By demanding that workers at a unionized shop be allowed to sever all ties with their union, this lawsuit poses a direct challenge to the long-held notion of exclusive representation, a central right of unions to represent all workers in a given bargaining unit, whether they are members or not. In the absence of exclusive representation, bosses could potentially pit workers against each other in negotiations, undermining the whole concept of collective bargaining. The targeting of this long-standing union prerogative, in other words, constitutes another attack on organized labor’s very foundations.
The Fairness Center’s case has so far failed to hold up in court. In November 2022, a district judge dismissed the lawsuit based on a 40-year-old Supreme Court precedent upholding exclusive representation. This past March, an appellate court dismissed the suit on the same grounds. The Fairness Center now plans to file an appeal with the Supreme Court, though it is uncertain whether the justices will agree to hear the case. But however it fares in court, the Fairness Center lawsuit—alongside the Liberty Justice Center’s complaint against the ALAA—signals the development of a novel strategy to undermine unions. In recent years, and especially in the past months, supporters of Israel have been indiscriminately and irresponsiblyhurling accusations of antisemitism at the growing Palestine solidarity movement, with many Democratic politicians, liberal commentators, and campus administrators getting on board, or, indeed, leading the charge. Anti-union groups are aiming to exploit this hysteria to their own advantage, using weaponized concerns about “Jewish safety” as a potentially effective cudgel in their ongoing attack on organized labor.
THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME right-wing forces have justified attacks on unions by pointing to worker opposition to US foreign policy. In the late 1940s, when Communist trade unionists stood against the emerging Cold War, corporate executives made the convenient argument that curbing the strength of organized labor was vital to national security. In light of the assumed threat posed by the Soviet Union, employers and business groups decried strikes by US workers as unpatriotic and labeled criticisms of capitalism as treasonous. As General Electric CEO Charles E. Wilson put it in 1946, “the problems of the United States can be captiously summed up in two words: Russia abroad, Labor at home.” The Red Scare that this rhetoric helped instigate soon aided Republicans in passing the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, which outlawed militant tactics like sit-down strikes and secondary boycotts, required union officers to sign legal affidavits swearing they were not Communists, and authorized states to adopt “right-to-work” legislation. In addition to passing this sweeping anti-union legislation, anti-Communist zealots in Congress used the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) to subpoena and grill suspected leftists from the labor movement, higher education, Hollywood, and government agencies. These public interrogations leveraged the threat of arrest and career destruction to demand that people identify other “subversives” and served to demobilize much of the organized left for years to come.
Labor leaders were complicit in these catastrophic losses for the left. Despite the obvious dangers that the Red Scare posed for organized workers, liberal union officials of the time, including Philip Murray and Walter Reuther, did not fight back against the anti-Communist hysteria. Instead, they abetted it by undemocratically expelling 11 leftist-led unions from the Congress of Industrial Organizations between 1949 and 1950. Not only did this controversial purge severely weaken the labor movement—with union density in decline ever since—it also further emboldened HUAC and Republicans like Senator Joseph McCarthy to launch a full-scale witch hunt against progressives in the early 1950s.
Today, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, chaired by Rep. Virginia Foxx, seems to be following in HUAC’s footsteps, using the hysteria that greets any criticism of Israel to resurrect the spirit of McCarthyism. An anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ, anti-immigrant Republican who once said that unions shouldn’t legally exist, Foxx now presents herselfas a crusader against antisemitism in order to attack two of the right’s traditional foes: academia and organized labor. Foxx’s committee has made headlines in recent months for questioning the presidents of prestigiousuniversities over Palestine solidarity activism on campus, and the congresswoman is trying to reenact the spectacle with unions, as well. In January, she wrote to the ALAA seeking documents related to the membership vote on the Palestine solidarity resolution, which she called a “deplorable” example of “union bosses [being] purposely divisive and combative toward their membership.” But unlike university administrators, the union is standing its ground by refusing to cooperate with Foxx’s committee. In response, she served a subpoena on the ALAA in March and is now threatening to charge the union’s officers with contempt of Congress.
The rising moral panic around antisemitism is giving new ammunition not only to demagogic politicians, but also to the well-organized, corporate-funded lobby that has long worked behind the scenes to undo all the gains of the New Deal and annihilate the labor movement. Both the Liberty Justice Center and the Fairness Center are members of the State Policy Network (SPN), a web of right-wing think tanks and law firms in all 50 states that work hand-in-hand with the notorious lobbying group the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The Center for Media and Democracy, a progressive watchdog organization, calls SPN “the tip of the spear of a far-right, nationally funded policy agenda in the states that undergirds extremists in the Republican Party.” Indeed, the SPN is financed by Donors Trust—a private foundation bankrolling libertarian organizations that has been described as the “dark money ATM of the conservative movement”—and has received donations from mega-corporations like Microsoft, AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, Philip Morris, Facebook, and GlaxoSmithKline. Using this funding, the SPN has been successfullyprivatizing public schools, denying climate change, cutting taxes on the wealthy, blocking healthcare reform, and chipping away at the strength of organized labor for over three decades. In 2017, SPN president Tracie Sharp outlined the network’s plan to “defund and defang” public sector unions in order to “deal a major blow to the left’s ability to control government at the state and national levels.” One year later, the SPN-affiliated Liberty Justice Center helped win the Janus decision. Now armed with the cynical weaponization of antisemitism—which is proving to be a frighteningly effective instrument of repression—the SPN’s relentless, corporate-backed quest to destroy unions could potentially become unstoppable.
IF HISTORY IS ANY GUIDE, it is urgent that the US labor movement vigorously fight back against the ongoing wave of anti-Palestine repression—or risk serious setbacks. The consequences of the original McCarthyism continue to be felt in the present day, with unions struggling to grow in the face of the limitations that the Taft-Hartley Act imposes on organizing and striking. Despite this, some present-day union leaders may be setting themselves up to repeat the mistakes of their ’50s predecessors by refusing to stand up for the left flank of their movement. Leaders in major unions like the Teamsters and SAG-AFTRA have failed to join the rest of the labor movement in even calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Others, like Rich Gulla—president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU)-affiliated State Employees’ Association in New Hampshire—have been even more explicit in disavowing Palestine activism, with Gulla recently saying that his union is “focused on New Hampshire issues and not foreign policy.” But the anti-labor, anti-Palestine right will not be banished by some union officials’ attempts to ignore Israel’s genocidal war. Instead, there is every reason to think that hyper-conservative groups will continue leveraging the claim that Palestine solidarity is antisemitic to boost their union-busting strategy—which means that unions must stand up for Palestine not simply to fulfill the principles of solidarity or to defend their members’ right to free speech, but ultimately to protect workers’ right to a union.
Many union members—and some union leaders—understand these interconnections, and have responded to recent attacks by doubling down on their pro-Palestine stances. For instance, when Foxx’s committee decriedthe “depravity” of Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) last October after multiple Twitter accounts affiliated with the baristas’ union expressed solidarity with Palestinians, SBWU and its members stood firm in the face of a coordinated smear campaign. When Starbucks management joined the right in calling on SBWU’s parent unions—Workers United and the SEIU—to denounce SBWU members, and then sued SBWU on spurious grounds, the union responded by counter-suing the coffee giant. Further, SBWU reiterated its position by posting a Palestine solidarity messagecondemning “the occupation, displacement, state violence, apartheid, and threats of genocide Palestinians face.” Meanwhile, pro-Palestine activists around the globe launched a boycott of Starbucks to protest the company’s attack on the union, leading to a massive drop in revenues in Muslim-majority countries like Turkey and Malaysia. As a likely result of this global consumer pressure, in late February, Starbucks agreed to a framework for negotiations with SBWU on first contracts at its over 400 unionized stores.
So far, the ALAA has also refused to be cowed by either the Liberty Justice Center or Foxx’s modern-day HUAC. “ALAA stands behind our resolution and the democratic processes that led to its overwhelming passage,” saidLeah Duncan, the ALAA’s financial secretary-treasurer. “Our membership will not be intimidated into abandoning our core principles, including advancing the interests of working people worldwide, by this blatant attack on organized labor.” And as the crackdown on Palestine solidarity intensifies on college campuses—with students and faculty getting beaten, arrested, suspended, expelled, and banned from campus—academic worker unions have likewise been steadfast, defending protesters by filing grievances and unfair labor practice charges against university administrations. United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 4811, which represents 48,000 graduate student workers and postdocs across the University of California system, plans to hold a strike authorization vote starting May 13th to protest the repression faced by its members, and to support the demand that the university divest from companies profiting off of Israel’s war on Palestinians. Many other unions of university workers have also been organizing and speaking out in support of the campus protests, and on May 1st, 300 rank-and-file members of the PSC at CUNY held a “May Day sickout for Palestine”—a one-day wildcat strike in solidarity with student protesters and the Palestinian people.
Such worker militancy has pushed US labor leaders to overcome their longstanding hesitation to associate with the Palestine solidarity movement. For instance, the UAW president has denounced the violent crackdowns on student and faculty protesters at university campuses, and officials from the union have spoken up in support of the ALAA, which is a UAW-affiliated local. The leadership of the SEIU, the second largest union in the country, has also condemned the repression at universities and expressed solidarity with those protesting “the horrors and injustice Palestinians are facing.” These statements demonstrate the kind of clarity that organized labor will need if it is to counter the growing power of the right, responding to the fusing of anti-union tactics with anti-Palestinian arguments by demonstrating unequivocal support for workers who are fighting for Palestine—and for the cause of Palestinian freedom itself.
Now armed with cynical antisemitism allegations, the corporate-backed effort to destroy unions is ramping up.
jewishcurrents.orgNorfolk Southern Pulling Out of the Station After Proxy Fight, Leaving Activist Ancora in the Dust
…https://www.railwayage.com/freight/class-i/norfolk-southern-pulling-out-of-the-station-after-proxy-fight-leaving-activist-ancora-in-the-dust/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0XO4gYRuBypRzpeyrE1EorgC9VrEWTiSVqHqz2FJIQ2gy50RGAamzo8rE_aem_AcWFV56EhUcTmAMny4dKdbxrUDyrMCaFtrYLuh_b31g5IlYe9lirTNcEWb76LIxGSWOY7rvgEUcO0Rbr-iTSQKwE
May 10, 2024 Class I
Written by Jeffrey Alan Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian
As we predicted last month, shareholders resoundingly rejected an attempt by activist investor Ancora to take control of Norfolk Southern’s board and fire CEO Alan Shaw at Norfolk Southern’s annual meeting this week, a dramatic and decisive finale to one of the most hostile, hard-fought proxy fights in recent memory. Based on our decades of corporate governance expertise across thousands of proxy fights, here’s what we believe went wrong for Ancora’s highly-hyped activist campaign, with Ancora squandering a good hand through its own self-inflicted missteps as we see it, and what it all means for Norfolk Southern’s promising future and the path forward.
What Went Wrong for Ancora: Squandering a Good Hand Through Self-Inflicted Missteps
Despite Ancora’s best efforts to weave some positive spin from winning three board seats on a 13-person board, this week’s outcome was a disappointment for Ancora by almost any definition, including their own. As Ancora activism leader Jim Chadwick confidently declared on CNBC last month, Ancora was gunning for nothing less than control of the board, putting up seven Ancora-backed nominees, and waged an all-out war to fire the CEO, Alan Shaw, whom Chadwick identified as “the problem” and attacked in deeply personal terms. But Ancora massively under-delivered, with analysts calling the outcome “a major surprise” in light of the lofty expectations Ancora had set.
Ironically, the result Ancora achieved, three board seats, was virtually the same settlement as what Norfolk Southern offered to Ancora several months ago, so Ancora could have accomplished largely the same result while saving themselves time, expense, and reputational harm had they merely accepted the settlement instead of going through the wringer for naught. The proxy fight likely cost Ancora tens of millions of dollars, not to mention tens of millions for Norfolk Southern as well – funds which could have better gone toward the East Palestine community, the railroad workforce, or improving Norfolk Southern’s efficiency.
But even more important, with only three board seats, Ancora has very little anchoring on the new Norfolk Southern board. And after such a hostile battle, even these Ancora-backed directors know it will be futile to push for Ancora’s full agenda on the board, and are already rumored to be rushing to distance themselves from Ancora—a savvy move if these directors wish to forge productive, constructive relations with their new colleagues.
But Ancora’s abject miss was far from pre-ordained; indeed, were it not for a series of self-inflicted missteps, it is conceivable that Ancora could have ended up with a far more favorable outcome. For years, many analysts identified Norfolk Southern as a ripe target for activists, especially in the wake of four prominent instances over the last decade where activist investors successfully replaced a Class I rail CEO, followed by dramatic operational improvements. Had Ancora stuck to its substantive case for change, it might well have struck a chord.
Instead, we heard privately from several large Norfolk Southern shareholders that Ancora’s increasing reliance on over-the-top, “vicious” ad hominem smear campaigns rubbed many the wrong way.
Ancora’s nasty, intensely personal locker-room style taunts seemingly knew no bounds as its campaign dragged on, ranging from dropping opposition research dumps targeting individualNorfolk Southern board members under the guise of SEC filings to mudslinging new Norfolk Southern employees publicly and privately. We experienced a dose of Ancora’s lame intimidation tactics ourselves after we published an objective analysis of the proxy fight in Fortune, though we quickly swatted away Ancora’s amateurish dirty tricks and laughably false claims with a definitive SEC filing correcting Ancora’s defamatory innuendo with real facts.
Ancora’s aggressive tactics seemingly backfired badly on them, even amongst those inclined to be natural allies. Perhaps it is no coincidence that fellow activists such as EdgePoint Investment Group, which holds a 2% stake in Norfolk Southern, abruptly severed cooperation with Ancora after initially entering into a cooperation agreement; while several big railroad names rumored to be involved with initial discussions, such as respected former Kansas City Southern CEO Pat Ottensmeyer, rushed to distance themselves as Ancora became increasingly nasty. Even Ancora’s own nominees were rumored to be uncomfortable with Ancora’s “nasty rhetoric”; and one highly qualified Ancora nominee even withdrew herself from consideration on the eve of the vote, an extremely rare occurrence. Between Ancora’s tragicomic belligerence, its lack of any rail expertise, its small ownership stake of merely 0.15% of NS as of the end of 2023, as well as its own undistinguished investment track record of underperformance as we revealed earlier, it could be said that Ancora squandered a good hand through its own mistakes.
The opportunity remains for Ancora to be a constructive, influential voice in driving value at Norfolk Southern—which would be a win for all involved and which we would celebrate eagerly—if only they could stop shooting themselves in the foot. Unfortunately for them, even after their defeat in the proxy contest, Ancora still does not seem to realize that the more they resort to wild, desperate ad hominem thrashing, the more they squander their own credibility in the eyes of many key stakeholders.
For example, during his allotted time slot at the Norfolk Southern Annual Meeting, Ancora activism leader Jim Chadwick inexplicably ranted against the largest shareholders of Norfolk Southern: “For the passive investors, if anything should go wrong here and there’s another derailment and people die, this is on you … You gave us literally no support … What happens at Norfolk Southern now is on your firms and your conscience.”
With this reckless slash-and-burn style, no wonder some Wall Street analysts are beginning to treat Ancora as an inconsequential gadfly: in a fresh note after the vote, TD Cowen analyst and Railway Age Wall Street Contributing Editor Jason Seidl wrote poignantly, “We believe Ancora will continue to advocate for its CEO and COO candidates, but to little avail.” Every observer should hope that Ancora can re-establish the credibility and trust needed to help drive Norfolk Southern forward as constructive partners, but the ball is in Ancora’s court, and they face a steep climb.
In response, Ancora would surely deny they are even mildly disappointed over the result, while pledging to continue their campaign against Alan Shaw, as they did in their press release after the votes were announced – but as Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono insightfully alluded to, the before-and-after difference in Ancora’s definition of success speaks for itself.
NS Pulling Out of the Station at Long Last
Now that the proxy fight is finally behind Norfolk Southern, NS leadership can finally return their full focus towards running the company—a much better use of their time than defending themselves against malicious personal attacks and false innuendo. And after having listened intensely to shareholder feedback, making rapid adjustments in real time during the proxy fight, their mandate is clear: Shareholders have made it clear they are expecting greater operational efficiency and productivity from Norfolk Southern, in addition to continued safety improvements and driving volume and top-line revenue growth.
At the same time, shareholders clearly recognize and appreciate the ongoing, genuine improvements that are taking place at Norfolk Southern, which have accelerated since Alan Shaw’s appointment as CEO in 2022, as we documented in our earlier research slide deck.
Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw. NS photo
Between the East Palestine derailment and the proxy fight, few new CEOs in any industry have navigated a more eventful first two years than Shaw, yet he has handled crisis after crisis with aplomb and skill, not to mention personal integrity and admirable strength of character. Shaw, new COO John Orr and the rest of NS’s crisis-tested leadership team are well positioned to continue driving productivity: During the past year, Norfolk Southern’s average train velocity has increased by 25% while reducing average dwell time by 33%, en route to a sub 60% operating ratio (OR) within three years’ time, while growing crucial intermodal volume.
Several key operating metrics have shown marked improvement since John Orr’s appointment as COO March 20. NS photo.
Unlike the activist’s COO candidate, who pledged to strip Norfolk Southern “down to the studs” raising concerns among key regulators such as powerful Surface Transportation Board Chair Marty Oberman (who retired May 10), Shaw is driving productivity growth while bringing along key stakeholders as partners on the train ride, ranging from regulators to labor unions to customers.
Shaw will report to a newly reconstituted Board with many fresh voices—but one which could prove less ungovernable than some cynics expect. Since the three Ancora-backed Board members represent less than a quarter of Board votes, their voice will be inconsequential if they stridently push for Ancora’s full agenda. More important, the three individual Ancora-backed members who won—Gil Lamphere, Sameh Fahmy and William Clyburn—are highly experienced and qualified in their own right and widely respected by all, while some of the more controversial and mercenary Ancora nominees lost their elections.
On many other boards, ranging from Pepsi to Disney, we have seen activist-backed board members grow and evolve to become supportive of the wisdom of management in time, as they engage constructively as productive board members and earn the respect of board colleagues. For example, former Heinz CEO Bill Johnson joined the PepsiCo board in 2015 as Nelson Peltz’s voice but became instantly very supportive of CEO Indra Nooyi and her leadership team. Similarly, Carolyn Everson, the widely admired and accomplished former President of Instacart, joined the Disney Board at the recommendation of activist Dan Loeb of Third Point, and improbably became one of Disney CEO Bob Iger’s most outspoken defenders during the recent Disney proxy fight with Nelson Peltz after having won the respect and trust of her board colleagues and key shareholders alike.
Already, Lamphere, Fahmy and Clyburn are rumored to be distancing themselves from Ancora’s excesses—and they ought to be commended for seeking to represent all shareholders, not only the idiosyncratic whims of a small 0.15% shareholder whose vision has already been roundly rejected by the shareholder base. The Board will need to elect a new Chair in the next few weeks as the first major order of business, which will offer revealing insights into whether this new Board can work constructively together.
Regardless, even though the proxy fight is now over, there is every reason to think that Norfolk Southern management and its Board will continue to operate under heightened scrutiny moving forward, and the public narrative will soon shift to how to measure the progress Norfolk Southern is making. As we see it, the Norfolk Southern Board should be careful to continue benchmarking the progress of management against its own stated goals, and avoid the pitfalls and pressure cooker of artificial false comparisons promoted by some naïve outside commentators. In particular, while it is an indisputable fact that Norfolk Southern trails its nearest peer competitor, CSX, in many operating metrics, it is unrealistic to think Norfolk Southern can close the margin gap with CSX overnight.
Such a comparison also ignores recent history—especially as CSX was essentially torn down to the studs in 2017 by the late Hunter Harrison, who juiced CSX’s margins unsustainably while setting off transportation crises across the nation, and CSX’s network is only now being rebuilt by CEO Joe Heinrichs and his leadership team. Norfolk Southern should continue making progress on its own path and on its own timeline, and bringing all its stakeholders along for the ride, without falling into the trap of trying to be CSX or any other railroad.
Ancora tried to railroad shareholders but failed. As Norfolk Southern finally pulls out of the station, leaving its proxy fight and activist detractors shouting on the side to the tracks, the future is promising, and there is every reason to think that Alan Shaw will continue this remarkable turnaround saga of a great American company.
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (left) is the Lester Crown Professor in Management Practice and Founder and President of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute at the Yale School of Management. Steven Tian is Director of Research at the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute and a former quantitative investment analyst with the Rockefeller Family Office.
As we predicted last month, shareholders resoundingly rejected an attempt by activist investor Ancora to take control of Norfolk Southern’s board…
www.railwayage.comCalifornia’s unfunded pension liabilities are ballooning out of control. Here’s the fix
Privatizers Attack CA Defined Pension Benefits
https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/california-pension-liability-401k-19419143.php
By Francois Melese
May 10, 2024
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The California Public Employees’s Retirement System has a pension debt of nearly half a trillion dollars and is only 72% funded.
The California Public Employees’s Retirement System has a pension debt of nearly half a trillion dollars and is only 72% funded.
Max Whittaker/Getty Images 2009
As California struggles to address its alarming budget deficit, big bills are coming due for retirement past benefits promised city, county and state workers.
Choking on unfunded pension and health care liabilities, cities like Carmel-by-the-Sea pay their pensioners more than active employees. While the average annual earnings of Carmel’s 99 workers are around $85,000, its 108 pensioners collect nearly $95,000 per year. Carmel’s combined pension and health care promises add up to nearly $100 million. This includes over $30 million in unfunded liabilities. Though this looks good in comparison to the nearby Monterey County city of Pacific Grove’s $66 million in unfunded liabilities, it still demands attention.
Sadly, San Jose faces $4 billion in unfunded pension and health care liabilities. San Francisco faces a staggering $7 billion. California’s total unfunded pension liabilitiesare an eye-watering $250 billion. At the heart of California’s pension crisis are “defined benefit” retirement programs.
To fix its pension problems California should follow the lead of the federal government and private sector and shift from defined benefit programs to defined contribution, or 401(k)-type plans. Under defined benefit programs, cities and unions negotiate future pension and health care promises and then set aside funds to cover those liabilities. Much like Social Security, employees contribute a fraction of their paychecks to the retirement system. Unlike Social Security, where employers contribute 6.2% of wages, cities deposit an average of over 25% of their payrolls into California’s public pension funds.
The nation’s largest pension fund, the California Public Employee Retirement System, known as CalPERS, manages pooled assets of roughly 75% of California municipalities. San Jose has two similar retirement funds, the Police and Fire Department Retirement Plan and the Federated City Employees’ Retirement System. San Francisco relies on its San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System. Regrettably, the CalPERS fund is bleeding red ink. Its pension debt of nearly half a trillion dollars is only 72% funded. More than $150 billion of CalPERS over $600 billion in pension promises remain unfunded.
Historically, a major risk for retirement funds is investment returns fail to meet pension and health care obligations. Budget holes faced by Carmel, Pacific Grove, San Jose, San Francisco and other cities, counties and special districts are partly the result of over-optimistic pension fund forecasts and overly generous taxpayer-guaranteed pension promises.
Remarkably, the average retirement benefit distributed by California’s public pension funds is nearly five times greater than comparable Social Security benefits. Furthermore, the California Rule gives retirees a legal right to public pension benefits even if a city can no longer afford them. Exploding pension costs are priority obligations, forcing municipalities strapped for cash to boost taxes or sacrifice funding for infrastructure, maintenance and public safety, or they have to dip into their financial reserves. City services suffer and future taxpayers are left on the hook. Unfunded liabilities compound a city’s problems by sinking its credit worthiness. This can raise borrowing costs at precisely the time a city needs to issue bonds to meet pension obligations.
The pension crisis is not the fault of California’s public employees. Voters, taxpayers and state and local officials all failed to notice the revolution taking place in retirement benefits. The federal government and most private companies determined decades ago that defined benefit programs were unsustainable. They depend on complex and easily manipulated economic, demographic and actuarial variables. Consequently, a complete picture of pension and health care promises is often hidden until it’s too late. The result is unfunded liabilities.
Today, the federal government and most major companies have largely transitioned away from defined benefit programs to defined contribution plans. These plans clearly define periodic pension contributions that are deposited in their employee’s individual retirement accounts, typically matching a fraction of their savings. The cumulative value of an employee’s pension upon retirement is simply a function of their saving decisions, employer contributions and investment returns. This eliminates the risk of unfunded pension liabilities.
To avoid insolvency and turn unfunded liabilities into a historical footnote, municipalities must gradually shift from defined benefit programs to defined contribution plans. But because these 401(k)-type plans transfer investment risks from employers to employees, public unions are likely to resist. Fortunately, these objections can be overcome (and cities assured of retaining valued employees) by offering higher wages, and/or more generous matching. The major benefit is revealing the true cost of public services.
Although adjustments to employee benefits are politically sensitive and can provoke labor disputes, cities are at a breaking point. The remaining challenge is the near impossibility of a city escaping its liability without making large payments to CalPERS, the Police and Fire Department Retirement Plan, the Federated City Employees’ Retirement System and the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System. This suggests the only way to implement the transition may be through a state referendum that requires Sacramento to secure all municipal pension obligations. The dual benefit would be to encourage state officials to modify future benefits to better align with Social Security and to facilitate the transition from defined benefit programs to defined contribution plans.
Francois Melese is a professor emeritus of economics at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. He consults for Crediture.com, a local startup that focuses on community impact lending, and serves as a board member of the California Arts & Sciences Institute.
May 10, 2024
Francois Melese
The average retirement benefit distributed by California’s public pension funds is nearly five times greater than comparable Social Security…
www.sfchronicle.comCalifornia’s unfunded pension liabilities are ballooning out of control. Here’s the fix
Privatizers Attack CA Defined Pension Benefits
https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/california-pension-liability-401k-19419143.php
By Francois Melese
May 10, 2024
…The California Public Employees’s Retirement System has a pension debt of nearly half a trillion dollars and is only 72% funded.
The California Public Employees’s Retirement System has a pension debt of nearly half a trillion dollars and is only 72% funded.
Max Whittaker/Getty Images 2009
As California struggles to address its alarming budget deficit, big bills are coming due for retirement past benefits promised city, county and state workers.
Choking on unfunded pension and health care liabilities, cities like Carmel-by-the-Sea pay their pensioners more than active employees. While the average annual earnings of Carmel’s 99 workers are around $85,000, its 108 pensioners collect nearly $95,000 per year. Carmel’s combined pension and health care promises add up to nearly $100 million. This includes over $30 million in unfunded liabilities. Though this looks good in comparison to the nearby Monterey County city of Pacific Grove’s $66 million in unfunded liabilities, it still demands attention.
Sadly, San Jose faces $4 billion in unfunded pension and health care liabilities. San Francisco faces a staggering $7 billion. California’s total unfunded pension liabilitiesare an eye-watering $250 billion. At the heart of California’s pension crisis are “defined benefit” retirement programs.
To fix its pension problems California should follow the lead of the federal government and private sector and shift from defined benefit programs to defined contribution, or 401(k)-type plans. Under defined benefit programs, cities and unions negotiate future pension and health care promises and then set aside funds to cover those liabilities. Much like Social Security, employees contribute a fraction of their paychecks to the retirement system. Unlike Social Security, where employers contribute 6.2% of wages, cities deposit an average of over 25% of their payrolls into California’s public pension funds.
The nation’s largest pension fund, the California Public Employee Retirement System, known as CalPERS, manages pooled assets of roughly 75% of California municipalities. San Jose has two similar retirement funds, the Police and Fire Department Retirement Plan and the Federated City Employees’ Retirement System. San Francisco relies on its San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System. Regrettably, the CalPERS fund is bleeding red ink. Its pension debt of nearly half a trillion dollars is only 72% funded. More than $150 billion of CalPERS over $600 billion in pension promises remain unfunded.
Historically, a major risk for retirement funds is investment returns fail to meet pension and health care obligations. Budget holes faced by Carmel, Pacific Grove, San Jose, San Francisco and other cities, counties and special districts are partly the result of over-optimistic pension fund forecasts and overly generous taxpayer-guaranteed pension promises.
Remarkably, the average retirement benefit distributed by California’s public pension funds is nearly five times greater than comparable Social Security benefits. Furthermore, the California Rule gives retirees a legal right to public pension benefits even if a city can no longer afford them. Exploding pension costs are priority obligations, forcing municipalities strapped for cash to boost taxes or sacrifice funding for infrastructure, maintenance and public safety, or they have to dip into their financial reserves. City services suffer and future taxpayers are left on the hook. Unfunded liabilities compound a city’s problems by sinking its credit worthiness. This can raise borrowing costs at precisely the time a city needs to issue bonds to meet pension obligations.
The pension crisis is not the fault of California’s public employees. Voters, taxpayers and state and local officials all failed to notice the revolution taking place in retirement benefits. The federal government and most private companies determined decades ago that defined benefit programs were unsustainable. They depend on complex and easily manipulated economic, demographic and actuarial variables. Consequently, a complete picture of pension and health care promises is often hidden until it’s too late. The result is unfunded liabilities.
Today, the federal government and most major companies have largely transitioned away from defined benefit programs to defined contribution plans. These plans clearly define periodic pension contributions that are deposited in their employee’s individual retirement accounts, typically matching a fraction of their savings. The cumulative value of an employee’s pension upon retirement is simply a function of their saving decisions, employer contributions and investment returns. This eliminates the risk of unfunded pension liabilities.
To avoid insolvency and turn unfunded liabilities into a historical footnote, municipalities must gradually shift from defined benefit programs to defined contribution plans. But because these 401(k)-type plans transfer investment risks from employers to employees, public unions are likely to resist. Fortunately, these objections can be overcome (and cities assured of retaining valued employees) by offering higher wages, and/or more generous matching. The major benefit is revealing the true cost of public services.
Although adjustments to employee benefits are politically sensitive and can provoke labor disputes, cities are at a breaking point. The remaining challenge is the near impossibility of a city escaping its liability without making large payments to CalPERS, the Police and Fire Department Retirement Plan, the Federated City Employees’ Retirement System and the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System. This suggests the only way to implement the transition may be through a state referendum that requires Sacramento to secure all municipal pension obligations. The dual benefit would be to encourage state officials to modify future benefits to better align with Social Security and to facilitate the transition from defined benefit programs to defined contribution plans.
Francois Melese is a professor emeritus of economics at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. He consults for Crediture.com, a local startup that focuses on community impact lending, and serves as a board member of the California Arts & Sciences Institute.
May 10, 2024
Francois Melese
The average retirement benefit distributed by California’s public pension funds is nearly five times greater than comparable Social Security…
www.sfchronicle.comUESF Condemns CDE intervention & Democrat Charter Supporter State Superintendent of Instruction Tony Thurmond
Our Students Deserve Fully Staffed Schools in the Fall
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M3BSw5QUL74zCrzGHbJsrxYRvKM4nC2_/view
The California Department of Education’s …intervention in SFUSD’s March budget qualification has the potential to directly oppose the interests of students, educators and our school communities. It is in our students’ best interests to have educators ready to educate in August when we start the 2024-2025 school year. SFUSD was working to ensure those conditions by rescinding layoffs in the midst of growing vacancies, in order to place qualified educators in students’ classrooms. Having inherited decades of fiscal mismanagement, the current SFUSD management has finally committed to cutting central office department budgets, reducing expensive unrepresented central management positions and streamlining programs and services.
By issuing this downgrade, the California Department of Education Superintendent Tony Thurmond is putting the district in a position to pressure SFUSD to layoff experienced educators who will only need to be rehired in September in order to fulfill the expectations of bureaucratic budgetary practices that have nothing to do with our students’ right to a high quality public education.
Historically, state intervention in public education enables a small number of unelected individuals to impose a set of standards that center corporate financial practices NOT students and school communities. The Board of Education has been engaging in a community process in regards to restructuring and realigning resources that will now be under the authority of a single appointed individual who is not from San Francisco, is not a San Francisco educator nor parent, and is not beholden to any constituency other than his bosses.
The schools our students deserve are not built by state intervention, irresponsible layoffs of needed positions or undermining the needs of our school communities. We need fully staffed schools, not educator vacancies in Fall. Superintendent Tony Thurmond should immediately rescind this decision. UESF stands with education workers, parents, families, students and our communities in demanding that the CDE rescind this downgraded certification immediately.
