Tales from black Friday pepper spray

At least 20 people suffered minor injuries Thursday night inside a crowded Wal-Mart in Porter Ranch after a female customer used pepper spray on other shoppers attending a Black Friday sale, officials said.
At least seven people were examined after being hit with the pepper spray. The 10:10 p.m. incident forced employees to evacuate part of the store, police said.
“This was customer-versus-customer ‘shopping rage,’” said Los Angeles Police Lt. Abel Parga.
He said police were seeking a female suspect. Parga added that it was unclear what prompted the confrontation.
Los Angeles Fire Department officials said they were treating about 10 people with minor injuries at the store, which is on Rinaldi Street near Corbin Avenue in the San Fernando Valley.
Shawn Lenske, a Fire Department spokesman, said the injuries, all minor, were due to “rapid crowd movement.”
No arrests have been made.

Organizing America

Crippling the Right to Organize

UNLESS something changes in Washington, American workers will, on New Year’s Day, effectively lose their right to be represented by a union. Two of the five seats on the National Labor Relations Board, which protects collective bargaining, are vacant, and on Dec. 31, the term of Craig Becker, a labor lawyer whom President Obama named to the board last year through a recess appointment, will expire. Without a quorum, the Supreme Court ruled last year, the board cannot decide cases.

What would this mean?

Knight: Teamsters’ strength stands up to power

The Teamsters’ strike at US Foods in Streator may be over by the time this is out, but in less than a month, the union already has shown that a determined few can stand up for themselves; with their union brothers and sisters they can stand up to the rich and powerful; they can use traditional tactics, exemplified by the solidarity of sympathy strikes; and they also can be creative, resorting to actions such as “rolling strikes” — short work stoppages here and there where a common employer operates.

News Flash

About 40 employees of an Oakland, Calif., marijuana-growing company joined the Teamsters union earlier this month, becoming what are believed to be the first pot growers to unionize in the country.

Building a Foundation