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Uploaded: Thursday, February 23, 2012, 10:54 AM
Marchers will 'Occupy' Tri-Valley
Group plans to protest Castlewood lockout
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by Glenn Wohltmann
Occupy Oakland is headed to Pleasanton to mark the second anniversary of the lockout of workers from Castlewood Country Club. Marchers will start at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the corner of Main Street and Bernal Avenue and walk to the club on Castlewood Drive.
The Occupy Oakland website says protesters "are planning on bringing tents and occupying an unclaimed area adjacent to the country club in protest of the inhumane treatment of the workers who have been locked out in a clear attempt to break their union."
The group is also planning to stage a "mock counter protest" by the country club they label as the 1 percent.
The group intends to make this a peaceful protest; its website notes that "the goal is to end the lockout and get the workers back to work, so all actions should keep strategy, discipline, and accountability in mind when considering tactics."
A protest in June led to the arrest of about 20 people for blocking Castlewood Drive in what organizers described as an act of civil disobedience. That protest drew close to 100 demonstrators and nearly 50 police officers from the Alameda County Sheriff's Office and Pleasanton.
About 60 employees of the club -- bartenders, kitchen helpers, waiters and other hourly full-time and part-time employees -- were locked out of the country club on Feb. 25, 2010, in a dispute over health care costs.
The sides on the lockout remain in the same stalemate they've been in for months. Originally, management offered a contract that would have to shift workers from a union-sponsored health plan to one controlled by Castlewood. Monthly fees would jump from zero to $366.93 a month for single policies and to $739.08 for families.
After months of talks, management offered to bring the workers back -- as long as the club managers could fire or lay people off without taking seniority into consideration.
A National Labor Relations Board hearing that could potentially resolve the case began in January and is expected to continue into March. Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by Bill, a resident of the Danville neighborhood, on Feb 24, 2012 at 6:29 am Do any of these people have any type of regular jobs? They seem to be protesting those that went to school and got a job and don't have the time to participate in loud vocal demonstrations in exercising their constitutional rights of pointing out what motivation and entrepreneurship can obtain.
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Posted by LMP, a resident of the Danville neighborhood, on Feb 24, 2012 at 6:40 am I have one word for Castlewood: sprinklers.
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Posted by Roger, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood, on Feb 24, 2012 at 9:31 am The real question is who is the real backer of the "Occupation Movement" in this country. Look to history. See Germany following WWI. See Argentina from Peron forward.
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