Our second day was slow and lazy. The night before, Marlene could not sleep and kept me awake and, of course, when she was not awake, she was snoring. Consequently, I had no sleep. We awoke about 11 a.m. The night before, we bought fruit, which we ate. The strawberries were sour and smaller than those from southern California.
The day before, Marlene discovered her bathrobe was soaked with soap. It appears her soap bottle was open for some reason. She decided to go to a Laundromat to wash it and other clothes. Sadly she lost two pairs of glasses. About 4 p.m., we ate dinner. Again, we ate salmon with blanched potatoes, carrots, and broccoli, followed with coffee. I ate bread with my coffee and Marlene ate a couple sweet tarts.
The attached photo is of an award, one of the two young men, Jorge Soares Suarez we’re staying with won the night before. He won it for a musical festival in which he was the artistic director of. While writing this, Marlene interviewed Jorge and his roommate.
Marlene and I are now our first day in Lisbon, Portugal. I went out in the morning and bought us some fresh fruit, some bananas, pears, a clementine, an apple, and some bottled water.
Unfortunately for Marlene, she only wanted a banana. I ate the rest except for the second banana. Because she was hungry, we went out to lunch. Across from where we are staying, we found a seafood restaurant. We ate grilled salmon with a salad. She ordered coffee, which was too strong for her, but otherwise we enjoyed the food.
After lunch, we went to Belem, first by metro and then by tram. The attached photos are of the outside of the archeological museum and of pieces from the modern art museum. The last photo is the bathroom doors of the museum.
Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, before an audience of about 60 people, who were mostly friends, family, or supporters, in a press conference on Thursday, Sept. 6, announced she will be a candidate for the mayor of Long Beach in 2014.
Lowenthal said, in part, “I’m running for mayor because my heart is with this city….My vision for Long Beach is going to be jobs, jobs, jobs, making neighborhoods safer, making a commitment for every street and every pothole, no matter what part of town anyone lives in to have that attention…because we all know what a stress it is when we go home and it is uncomfortable and people fall and trip on the sidewalks…Again my vision is for public safety, safe neighborhoods, jobs, better schools, infrastructure, and together I know we can achieve that.”
David Arian, who is a Los Angeles Harbor Commissioner and a past International President of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, emceed. Arian said, “The reality is, you know, these two ports are the economic engine really here in Southern California and, I think, Bonnie knows that better than anyone. Every time we needed something in the Port of L.A. or the Port of Long Beach for the workforce, Bonnie has been there… So the mayor of Long Beach is going to be critical in moving forward.”
One speaker Arian introduced was Mary Stanton, Board Member of the Long Beach Unified School District. Stanton said, “She (Lowenthal) was also one of the first to speak up on an important issue, medical benefits for domestic partners… Finally it was approved for all employees in the Long Beach Unified School District.”
Another speaker was Peter Peyton, an International Executive Board Member for the ILWU, said, “There is no other politician I have known, none, that shows up when it is not just a photo op…But, the way she learns is by being there and speaking to the people when you don’t have to be there and this is a real special quality in Bonnie.”
Another speaker was Marsha Naify, who characterized herself has been a business owner for about 20 years, an activist in the LGBT community, and a past President of the Long Beach Lambda Democratic Club, said, “But the thing I like most about Bonnie is her values…Bonnie has been there for our community and for everyone else for as long as I’ve known her, because she really believes in people, she believes in human rights, and she believe in core ethical values. She has integrity and authenticity and you know with Bonnie you’re going to get the real deal.”
Fast food workers in Los Angeles County went out on a one-day strike on Thursday, August 29, as part of a national effort organized by the Service Employees International Union in more than 50 cities, to raise their pay to $15 an hour. In the late morning in Los Angeles near the corner of Western Ave. and Santa Monica Blvd., more than two hundred strikers and their supporters rallied near the corner of Western Ave. and Romaine Street. After the rally, the crowd marched on the sidewalk north on Western and then through the streets of Hollywood, sometimes bringing their protests inside some fast food restaurants on their route.
One striker from Long Beach was Arlene Alvarez. Alvarez, who has worked for Taco Bell for seven years, said she makes $8.44 with no health benefits and works between 35 and 40 hours each week. She said she was there because she wanted to raise the minimum wage. She said the medical insurance she has is Medi-Cal. She did not believe her employer would retaliate against her for going out on strike.
Alvarez brought her coworker Vincent Rolon to the rally and the march. Rolon, who is also a college student, said it was difficult making only $8 an hour and said after two weeks he brings home about $500 after taxes.
Besides Rolon, Alvarez brought her 13-year-old sister, Gina Castillo and her 20-year-old boyfriend, German Ramirez, who is 24 and a union carpenter.
The marchers, mostly people of color, carried signs and wore tee shirts, which read, “Fight for 15.” One sign read, “8 ain’t enough.” Many signs were in Spanish.
A chant before the rally was “What do we want? 15. When do you want it? Now.”
The Rev. William D. Smart, chairman of the Los Angeles Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Los Angeles, started and emceed the rally.
Labor attorney Sandra Fluke said she thought Martin Luther King’s dream “would like workers who are working full-time being able to afford to provide for their families.” She also said she did not believe dream would look “like corporations like McDonald’s and Burger King shirking their responsibility and forcing workers to rely on public assistance and on the public.”
Another speaker was Congresswoman Judy Chu. Chu said, “There is no reason that in a country where CEOs get paid millions and millions of dollars that they should not be able to pay their workers just a little bit per hour more.”
About 60 people, mostly supporters of the Long Beach Coalition for Good Jobs and a Healthy Community, held a candlelight vigil, on Saturday, Aug. 17 outside the Long Beach Hilton to protest the treatment of the hotel’s workers.
Sprinkled among the crowd were some hotel workers and UNITE HERE Local 11 staff wearing red tee-shirts.
Erinn Carter, who works for the union, said, “This event is to honor four years that the workers at this hotel have been fighting for respect and dignity. We have Measure N, which is such an amazing victory for everyone here in Long Beach… We want to remind people that the fight is not over. The Hilton Long Beach is an example….We will be out here until the management of this hotel does right by its employees.”
Father Will Connor, who provided a prayer during the vigil and is Pastor Emeritus of Saint Joseph’s Church of Long Beach, said, “I am here to fight for the rights of hotel workers: the right to a living wage, decent working conditions, and collective bargaining.”
Near the end of the vigil, the crowd, holding their candles in multicolored paper cups, stood along the sidewalk facing the automobile traffic for the passing cars to see them.
An email, which the coalition had sent out a couple of days before the vigil, said, in part, “Workers at the Long Beach Hilton are still calling on the community to boycott their hotel. While workers are making a living wage, issues of retaliation are prevalent. This hotel has already faced prosecution for unlawful surveillance, illegal coercion, and dozens of wrongful disciplines (original emphasis).”
Before the vigil, the hotel management said that Brian Murphy, the hotel’s general manager, would be available no sooner than on Monday, Aug. 19 to provide a response.
Barry Saks 