Sunshine State votes to hike minimum wage
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Nov. 2 witnessed a great step forward for workplace justice in Florida. By an overwhelming 72-28 percent majority, the state’s voters adopted “The Florida Minimum Wage Amendment” to the state’s constitution. Commonly known as “Amendment 5,” this historic law will directly benefit up to 1 million workers throughout the Sunshine State.
San Francisco hotel workers keep up fight
SAN FRANCISCO — Spirited picket lines continued this week at 14 big San Francisco hotels, as talks continued between UNITE HERE Local 2 and the Multi-Employer Group.
International notes
Haiti: OAS commission condemns atrocities / Britain: Iraq war dead honored / Nigeria: Unions call new strike / World trade unions found int’l forum / Australia: U.S. to test new weapons
Bush election: Team World got clobbered
Most world leaders responded to the election of George W. Bush with diplomatically crafted congratulations. But beneath the polite veneer, a number of governments signaled their continuing disagreement with the administration’s approach to international affairs and especially to the war and occupation in Iraq.
Saskatchewan OKs same-sex marriage
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Another victory for equal rights was won in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan Nov. 5 when a judge ordered the government to legalize same-sex marriage.
Urge visiting rights for families of Cuban 5
The National Committee to Free the Cuban Five put out an urgent appeal Nov. 6 for action to secure visiting rights for the family members of the five Cuban men unjustly sentenced to long terms in U.S. jails.
Violence erupts in Ivory Coast
In the photo above, supporters of Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo march to the site of the Hotel Ivoire (pictured, top-left) in Abidjan, a major city in the west African nation, Nov. 8, where French armored vehicles have taken up positions near the president’s home.
UN condemns blockade of Cuba
On Oct. 28, the UN General Assembly voted, as it has done every year since 1992, on a Cuba-sponsored resolution to end the U.S. economic blockade of the socialist island. This year the vote was 179-4 in support of the resolution, another high-water mark for this worldwide, non-binding referendum against the 43-year-old U.S. embargo.
When women vote, women can win
CLEVELAND — High hopes were in the air Nov. 1 at the Women’s March sponsored by the Greater Cleveland Voter Registration Coalition, which had registered over 12,000 new voters in the run-up to the election. “We want Democracy!” and “Secure our vote!” and “When women vote, women win!” chanted the multiracial group on their way to the steps of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.
Getting out the vote
GRASSROOTS POWER GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio — We were sent to canvass in this community near Cleveland.
