Ian Firstenberg

2 days ago | eltecolote.org | Ian Firstenberg

Earlier this month, Mayor Daniel Lurie released a two-year budget proposal that slashes $185 million in spending in an attempt to close San Francisco’s projected $800 million deficit. But behind the numbers lies a brutal truth: this budget abandons the city’s most vulnerable residents while protecting the powerful. Three major cuts target labor standards enforcement, public works and homelessness services. Each one strikes at the heart of San Francisco’s working-class and immigrant communities.

2 weeks ago | 48hills.org | Ian Firstenberg

Workers at the Berkeley salvage yard Urban Ore agreed to suspend their open-ended strike May 1. The 45-day suspension agreement includes a just-cause disciplinary clause, formal recognition of the union from management, union security, a stable wage structure and the eventual reinstatement of laid off and striking workers. The suspension comes after months of what the union calls bad faith bargaining on the owners’ behalf and several varied proposals from workers.

3 weeks ago | eltecolote.org | Ian Firstenberg

A few years ago, a friend and I were driving through Manteca, an old agricultural town in the Central Valley, when we spotted something out of the ordinary. We’d just left his mechanic’s and turned a corner when we pulled up to an unassuming brown building with slate roof tiles. In the driveway sat a massive RV — not the suburban adventurer type, but something more militant. It was black and white, clearly marked as a police vehicle.

2 months ago | 48hills.org | Ian Firstenberg

Workers at the Berkeley salvage yard Urban Ore kicked off an open-ended strike last week after they said staffing and wage concerns were repeatedly dismissed by management. In April 2023, workers at the Berkeley business held a union vote, and collective bargaining began the following month. Conversations about wage instability and staffing issues began as early as 2021, according to Benno Giammarinaro, an organizer in the receiving department.

2 months ago | 48hills.org | Ian Firstenberg

Throngs of people shuffled into Chinatown’s Great Star Theater early Wednesday evening for a documentary premiere directed by two of the Bay Area’s most recognizable faces. Mario Riveira and Abraham Woodliff made a name for themselves through their videos.