So it’s come to this: the University of California is now arresting striking workers, their leaders and supporters for legally sanctioned labor activity.

A union leader arrived at UC-Santa Cruz in the pre-dawn hours with dozens of union members and student activists to set up a picket line for a strike. A large battalion of police officers were already there when they arrived — in riot gear and with wagons standing by. The picketers were almost immediately are confronted by the police.

As can be seen in this video, a union leader approaches a group of ten or so officers, talking to them calmly, identifying himself, explaining what the workers and students are doing and why they have a right to be there. They are not blocking traffic, and in fact are on the campus of a state university.