[Antiracism] [Workers Rights] City Council & Citizens Advocating for Worker Rights

[WMass Jobs With Justice]

October 4 was an exciting day - and October 1 was a good one too ...

[Background on Smithfield at www.smithfieldjustice.com.  The next meeting of
the Western Mass. Justice @ Smithfield Committee is Thursday October 18,
7-8:30pm, AFL-CIO Hall, 640 Page Blvd, Springfield. Info: Jon Weissman,
827-0301, wmjwj at wmjwj.org.]

[A big Thank You! goes out to Mo Turner and the Valley Advocate
(http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=3367).  But otherwise,
there's been a local news blackout on this campaign.  The Springfield
Republican and major TV news haven't reported on it, despite well-meaning
reporters.  The Republican's October 2 report on the City Council meeting
blatantly left out the Smithfield resolution.]
 
*****

On October 1, 2007,
	the City Council of Springfield, Massachusetts, unanimously resolved
to support "justice for workers at Smithfield Foods, and, as this campaign
continues, National and Local actions to bring justice to Smithfield; and
... that the City of Springfield review its purchasing of any Smithfield
Foods products from Tar Heel, North Carolina, and suspend these purchases
until the company ends all form of abuse, intimidation, and violence against
its workers and encourages local supermarkets to consider suspending their
purchase of any such Smithfield products."

*****

On October 4, 2007,
	29 workers' rights advocates attempted to meet with Big Y management
at its headquarters (2145 Roosevelt Avenue, Springfield) to ask them to do
three things:
        a. Remove Tar Heel pork [USDA Establishment Codes 18079 and 79C]
from Big Y shelves. 
        b. Tell Smithfield to obey the law by contacting Smithfield Foods,
200 Commerce St, Smithfield VA 23430; 888-366-6767;
information at smithfieldfoods.com.
        c. Encourage other local food markets to take these steps.

Since August 16, Big Y management has not even replied to repeated requests
for such a meeting from people in a broad cross-section of community,
educational, religious, student, and labor organizations, such as AFL-CIO
Hampshire/Franklin Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO Pioneer Valley Central
Labor Council, Alliance to Develop Power, Amalgamated Transit Union,
American Federation of State, County, & Municipal Employees, American
Friends Service Committee, Arise for Social Justice, Bill of Rights Defense
Committee, Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Greensboro Justice Fund,
International Ass’n of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, Mass. Nurses Ass’n,
Mass. Senior Action Council, Mass. Teachers Ass’n, Mount Holyoke College,
National Ass’n of Letter Carriers, National Writers Union, Neighbor to
Neighbor, Odyssey Bookshop, Pioneer Valley Project, Service Employees
International Union, Sisters of Saint Joseph, UMass Amherst Labor Relations
& Research Center, Unitarian Society of Northampton & Florence, United Food
& Commercial Workers, United Health Care Workers East, Western Mass.
Coalition for Immigrants & Workers Rights, and Western New England College
Law School.

Kim Bobo joined the delegation.  She is the founding Executive Director of
Interfaith Worker Justice (http://www.iwj.org/), a network of people of
faith that calls upon our religious values in order to educate, organize,
and mobilize the religious community on issues and campaigns that will
improve wages, benefits, and conditions for workers, and give voice to
workers, especially low-wage workers.  

The delegation came over in a caravan from the Pioneer Valley AFL-CIO Hall
and parked in the visitors' lot and walked inside wearing bright yellow
Justice @ Smithfield tee shirts.  We were met in the lobby by a stony man
who refused to identify himself but must have been Security.  He had a
Secret Service (or should we say Blackwater?)-like earpiece in his ear.  All
he did was repeatedly ask us to leave, even before we expressed our request
to see Don & Charlie D'Amour (except when he was asking Steve again and
again to turn off his camera).  He refused to call upstairs and see if they
were available.  We did get him to crack a smile when we began chanting and
singing.  

Our chants included:

ALL WE ARE SAYING, IS DROP TAR HEEL PORK
and	
WANNA KNOW WHAT ALL THE FUSS IS? WE ARE STANDING UP FOR JUSTICE! 
and
HEY, HEY (pause) HO, HO (pause) UNION BUSTING’S GOT TO GO! 
and
(Call) NO WORK (Response) NO PEACE
(Call) NO JUSTICE (Response) NO PEACE
(Call) NO JOBS (Response) NO PEACE
(Call) NO PENSIONS (Response) NO PEACE
and
WHAT’S DISGUSTING?  UNION BUSTING!!!
WHAT’S OUTRAGEOUS?  SWEATSHOP WAGES!!!
and
JUST SAY NO TO SMITHFIELD’S LIES
DEFEND OUR RIGHT TO ORGANIZE!
and
BIG Y, RICH AND RUDE, WE DON’T LIKE YOUR ATTITUDE 

Kim Bobo led us in "This Little Light of Mind."  She was in excellent voice.
The chorus was not too shabby either.

After about 20 minutes of this, two police cars arrived and we agreed to
leave, telling Mr. Security that the next time will be at Big Y
supermarkets.  Our drivers moved their cars down the street and joined the
rest of us on the Roosevelt Avenue median and tree belt, holding signs for
passing cars.  (Of course, passers-by would get no explanation that night on
the evening news or next morning in the Republican.)  We then returned to
the AFL-CIO Hall for a luncheon with Kim Bobo and religious leaders about
her organization and how it supports campaigns such as this one.

These events were both exhilarating and educational.  You can get involved!
Hit Reply.  The next meeting of the Western Mass. Justice @ Smithfield
Committee is Thursday October 18, 7-8:30pm, AFL-CIO Hall, 640 Page Blvd,
Springfield. Info: Jon Weissman, 827-0301, wmjwj at wmjwj.org.

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