Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Re: Can they publish that?

A threshold issue is whether the edits were sufficient to make it an original work of the editor. You have no copyright in your opinions or ideas; copyright exists only in your expression of them, and a sufficient editing of a draft may result in an original work by the editor.

Another question is whether you or the journal has copyrighted its version.

The fact that the journal is disributed free and that the publisher is a non-profit is not completely dispositive of the financial injury and hence damages issue, because it may have gained other dollarizable benefits, but if you were writing this piece without expectation of paymentm this would probably be the last nail in the coffin of getting more than nominal damages.

So, on balance I'd say there was an invasion of your rights (unless the piece was very heavily revised in editing) but that it's not the sort of case that makes for a lawsuit. If you are a well-known author and make a living doing this, my views might be different. I'd discuss this with the publisher, get their side of the story, and maybe pressure them for a private or public apology, if warranted.