[Antiracism] [Workers' Rights] Week of Action 12/7-13 Local Events

[WMass Jobs With Justice]

Beginning with a National Week of Action, December 7-13, Jobs with Justice
launches an emergency campaign over the next 2½ months to get Congress and
the new administration to enact a People
<http://www.jwj.org/bailout/index.html> ’s Bail-Out that will

 

Immediately:

*	pass a large economic stimulus/recovery package, on the scale of the
emergency we face
*	pass the Employee Free Choice
<http://www.freechoiceact.org/page/s/jwj?source=s>  Act (EFCA)
*	stop evictions due to foreclosures
*	take emergency action so people losing jobs don’t lose health care

 

Lay the groundwork for a long-term recovery program including:

*	green jobs and clean energy
*	worker justice, including EFCA and other reforms
*	health care for all
*	retirement security
*	re-regulated finance system with the speculators paying to clean-up
their mess

 

 

The National Week of Action includes Wednesday December 10, the 60th
Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Events this week
speak to a new future, which restores and expands the rights that were
declared "inalienable" to "all members of the human family" on December 10,
1948. More at
<http://www.un.org/events/humanrights/udhr60/declaration.shtml>
http://www.un.org/events/humanrights/udhr60/declaration.shtml and
<http://www.jwj.org/campaigns/workers/tools/humanrights.html>
http://www.jwj.org/campaigns/workers/tools/humanrights.html. 

Local commemoration on December 13, see below <> .

 

Western Mass JwJ specifically addresses the People’s Bailout on December 12,
see below <> .

 

_____________________________________________

WORKERS’ RIGHTS/HUMAN RIGHTS CALENDAR 12/7-13:

 

Monday December 8

      A NONVIOLENT PEACEFORCE

      7pm, Traprock Center for Peace and Justice, 24 Miles St, downtown
Greenfield, near the Energy Park. Potluck dinner at 6pm. Mel Duncan,
Executive Director, Nonviolent Peaceforce, will show slides and talk about
the Nonviolent Peaceforce, trained citizens from around the world who, in
partnership with local groups, apply proven and effective strategies to
protect human rights in areas of violent conflict, helping to create space
for local peacemakers to carry out their work. Info: 772-7427,
<mailto:info at traprock.info> info at traprock.info, http://traprock.info/.  

 

Wednesday December 10

      FREE FILM: MADE IN L.A.

      6:30-8:30pm, 250 Albany St, Springfield (map
<http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=250+Albany+Street,+Springf
ield,+MA+01101&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=31.013085,60.644531&ie=UTF8&ll=42
.120429,-72.575984&spn=0.007083,0.014806&z=16&g=250+Albany+Street,+Springfie
ld,+MA+01101&iwloc=addr> ). Made in L.A. is an Emmy-award winning
documentary that follows the remarkable story of three Latina immigrants
working in Los Angeles garment sweatshops as they embark on a three-year
odyssey to win basic labor protections from a mega-trendy clothing retailer.
In intimate verité style, Made in L.A. reveals the impact of the struggle on
each woman’s life as they are gradually transformed by the experience.
Compelling, humorous, deeply human, Made in L.A. is a story about
immigration, the power of unity, and the courage it takes to find your
voice.

      Entry and refreshments are free. We will invite donations to support
SweatFree Communities' advocacy for the human rights of sweatshop workers.
Sponsored by CSR Wire, Gasoline Alley Foundation, and SweatFree Communities.
Info: Liana Foxvog, 586-0974,  <mailto:liana at sweatfree.org>
liana at sweatfree.org,  <http://www.sweatfree.org> www.sweatfree.org,
<http://www.madeinla.com> www.madeinla.com. 

 

Thursday December 11

      SPRAWL & LOCAL ECONOMIES TEACH-IN

      6pm, Food for Thought Books, 106 N Pleasant St, downtown Amherst.
Coincides with Home Depot “Grand Opening” - Will you attend the Home Depot
opening, celebrating yet another big box for the Pioneer Valley and the
traffic-choked eyesore that Route 9 has become; or will you attend the
Sprawl and Local Economies Teach-in, and participate in a community
discussion about economic and environmental sustainability, and what makes
the Pioneer Valley so special? 

What’s at stake? • vibrant downtowns • locally- and family-owned businesses
• open space • farmland • wetlands • air/water/noise/light pollution •
traffic • public safety • emergency response times • the rail trail • smart
growth • taxpayer burden • local and foreign workers' rights • a sense of
community, and the Valley's unique quality of life.

      Come share your perspectives on the region’s future with contractors,
planners, environmentalists, students, labor organizers, business owners,
and others. Speakers include Emily Kawano, Center for Popular Economics; Jon
Weissman, Western Mass. Jobs with Justice; Nick Seamon, Black Sheep Deli;
and Prakash Laufer, United for a Fair Economy. We beat the Wal-Mart
Superstore. Now let’s celebrate, and protect, what we’ve got. Info: Aron
Goldman, 218-7865,  <mailto:goldman at policydevelopment.org>
goldman at policydevelopment.org; Erika Arthur, 253-5432,
<mailto:info at foodforthoughtbooks.com> info at foodforthoughtbooks.com; and
<http://www.stopsprawlmart.org> www.stopsprawlmart.org,
www.foodforthoughtbooks,  <http://www.jwj.org> www.jwj.org,
<http://www.hadleyneighbors.org> www.hadleyneighbors.org. 

Thursday December 11 (changed from First Thursday this month)

      MASS CITIZENS AGAINST THE DEALTH PENALTY

      7-8:30pm, Unitarian Society, 245 Porter Lake Drive, Springfield
(736-2324). Agenda items include Sacco Vanzetti 2009 Commemoration. Info:
567-3451,  <mailto:CAJOWL66 at aol.com> CAJOWL66 at aol.com, http://www.mcadp.org.


 

Friday December 12

      PIONEER VALLEY STREET HEAT (Second Friday)

      9:30-11am, AFL-CIO Hall, 640 Page Blvd, near corner of Osborne Ter,
across the street from the old Westinghouse, Springfield. The AFL-CIO
Mobilization Committee welcomes all community and labor activists. On the
agenda: EFCA! YWCA! Postal Privatization! Wal-Mart! Your Organizing! Info,
send agenda items to: Jon Weissman, 732-7970, street_heat at pvaflcio.org.

 

Friday December 12

      CONSTITUENTS MEETING WITH REP DONELAN FOR SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE

      11am, Green Fields Market upstairs meeting room, 144 Main St,
Greenfield. A follow-up to our successful ballot question: On Nov. 4, in 10
districts across the state, voters told their Representatives, including
Chris Donelan, to "support legislation creating a cost-effective single
payer health insurance system that is available to all residents, and oppose
laws penalizing those who fail to obtain health insurance." Support for
single payer ranged from 65 to 82 percent, and averaged 73 percent, an
impressive referendum. It is clear that the general public is way ahead of
the Legislature and the press in understanding that our current law has not
stopped the 10 to 15 percent annual rise in healthcare premiums. The
insurance industry continues to avoid patients who need costly medical care,
and still wastes up to 25 percent of the healthcare dollar on overhead, CEO
salaries, marketing, underwriting, and union-busting. Info, to attend: Mary
Siano, 773-3485.

 

Friday December 12

      WHY WE NEED A PEOPLE'S BAILOUT

      7pm, Pioneer Valley Central Labor Council, 640 Page Blvd (Route 2A),
Springfield. Beginning this week, Jobs with Justice launches an emergency
campaign over the next 2½ months to get Congress and the new administration
to enact a People’s Bail-Out. Prof Gerald Friedman and Helen Scharber, of
the UMass Economics Dept and the Center for Popular Economics (CPE
<http://www.populareconomics.org/> ) will lead off a discussion of What
caused the economic meltdown? What should a recovery plan or People's
Bailout include? and What strategies and tactics should we in Western Mass
use to win? Info: Jobs with Justice, 827-0301,  <mailto:wmjwj at wmjwj.org>
wmjwj at wmjwj.org, www.jwj.org/bailout/index.html. 

 

Saturday December 13

      UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS CELEBRATION

      Noon, in front of First Churches, 129 Main St, Northampton.
Individuals who have struggled – against racism, for the rights of women,
lgbt people, the imprisoned and tortured, for peace and the environment, for
the dignity and rights of labor – and read the 30 Articles of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Each will then pronounce, from his/her own
perspective, a request for change in the next 4 years. This will be
interspersed with music, and we'll have hot chocolate to fend off any cold
weather. Info: Marty Nathan, 531-9915,  <mailto:martygjf at comcast.net>
martygjf at comcast.net. 

 

IMPORTANT NEWS NOTE:

Nearly 25,000 Massachusetts home care workers, represented by Local 1199 of
SEIU, have a <http://1199seiu.org/media/news.cfm?nid=1699>  first contract
one year after the workers joined the union. The contract will increase
workers' wages from $10.84 to $12.48 an hour over three years, and provide
healthcare benefits in the second year of the contract. 

 

 

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[Workers' Rights] posts opportunities for you to learn about and show
solidarity with workplace and working class struggles. And these events are
opportunities for JwJ members to fulfill their pledge:
<http://www.jwj.org/pledge.html> "I'll be there for workers' rights at least
five times a year!" This is the core mission of Jobs with Justice (
<http://www.jwj.org/> www.jwj.org), affirming that workers' rights are human
rights. To subscribe, send an email to wmjwj at wmjwj.org with a Subject of
"Subscribe Workers' Rights".



Western Mass Jobs with Justice
640 Page Blvd #101
Springfield MA 01104
(413) 827-0301 

 

 

 

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