[Antiracism] [Workers' Rights] 12/8-13 Updated / Urgent Action 12/10

[WMass Jobs With Justice]

[NOTE 12/10 URGENT ACTION – PICKET WITH YWCA WORKERS – BELOW <> ]

[Breaking News – Workers
<http://www.chitowndailynews.org/Chicago_news/Workers_stage_sitin_over_money
_owed_to_them,19471>  Sit-In at Republic Windows and Doors - You can help
them at http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/bankofamerica/] 

 

Beginning with a National Week of Action 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
<http://www.jwj.org/bailout/index.html> ’s Bail-Out. 

 

Western Mass JwJ People’s Bailout program on December 12 <>  below.

 

The week 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 and
http://www.jwj.org/campaigns/workers/tools/humanrights.html. 

 

Local Human Rights Day commemorations on December 10 <>  and 13 <>  below.

 

________________________________________________

WORKERS’ RIGHTS/HUMAN RIGHTS CALENDAR 12/8-13:

 

December 8 & 9

            RECONFIGURATIONS OF RACISM & NEW SCENARIOS OF POWER AFTER 2001

            Campus Center Reading Room, UMass Amherst. Free educational.
Monday: Opening Panel, 9am-Noon: “The Panorama of Racism and Racial Politics
in the Americas Today”; Plenary I, 1:30-3:30pm: “Racial Politics: The State
of the Movements and the Movement for Racial Justice”; Plenary II, 4-6pm:
“Racial Policies: Assessing State and Transnational Programs and Practices”;
Public Reception 6-7:30pm. Tuesday: Plenary III, 10am-Noon: “Racist Regimes
and Racial Politics in the Rise and Fall of Neoliberalism”. Info: Prof.
Agustín Laó-Montes, 219-6043, www.umass.edu/clacls/events.htm. 

 

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,
info at traprock.info, http://traprock.info/.  

 

Wednesday December 10 

HUMAN RIGHTS DAY EFCA KICK OFF

11am, kick off meeting, Noon, press event, 26 West St, downtown Boston. Help
pass the Employee Free Choice Act! Today, unions represent less than 13% of
workers. It is no coincidence that our economy is weak – workers need unions
to reign in corporate greed and excess. This is why we need you and your
members to stand up for the Employee Free Choice Act. Demand a real economic
recovery! Info, RSVP: Jennifer at massjwj.net, 617-524-8778,
http://massjwj.net/. 

 

Wednesday December 10

            HUMAN RIGHTS DAY VIGIL

4-6pm, downtown Amherst. Sponsored by Amnesty International. Info: Mohamed
Ibrahim, 215-870-7809, mohamedelgadi at yahoo.com, www.AI-Amherst.blogspot.com.

 

Wednesday December 10

PICKET YWCA HOLIDAY PARTY !!

5:30pm, Shakago’s, 23 Hampden St, downtown Springfield (map
<http://maps.google.com/maps?q=23+Hampden+St,+Springfield+MA+01103&ie=utf-8&
oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=X&oi=geocod
e_result&resnum=1&ct=title> ). Due to the continued refusal of the YWCA
management to recognize and reward the contributions its members make to the
success of the YWCA, the UAW Local 2322 Contract Bargaining Committee has
decided to picket the YWCA Holiday Party.

YWCA workers have been in contract negotiations since May, and the YWCA has
said they “cannot afford” any raise at all for the workers who perform the
vital services the organization is known for and Exec Dir Mary Johnson loves
to brag about. 

However, the UAW’s review of YWCA financial records shows the YWCA had
$593,000 in unrestricted funds as of March 31, 2008. And Johnson has claimed
in her annual report that the YWCA has operated at a surplus for the last 24
years.

There has been enough money so that she and other members of the YWCA upper
management have received substantial raises annually. In fact Johnson
received a 19% raise in fiscal year ending (FYE) 2006 and a 7.8% in FYE 2007
bringing her total salary to $129,303. That does not include her “benefits”
package of $8,669 for FYE 2007. 

Additionally, the YWCA has spent in excess of $200,000 over the last several
years in lawyer’s fees to a known antiunion law firm to fight their workers’
rights to a union. 

Even past wage raises have not come from the YWCA! Annually in the 2-2.5%
range, these meager raises are provided by the Massachusetts Legislature
through the “Salary Reserve” for social services. And while the YWCA has
provided those same increases to a handful of workers who do not qualify for
the Salary Reserve, they also used that as an excuse to give raises to the
management of the YWCA, using “unrestricted” funds which they refuse to use
to fund raises to direct care staff. Those management increases often far
exceed the meager 2-2.5% direct care workers have received from the Salary
Reserve.   

TELL
<mailto:mrj at ywworks.org;%20info at ywworks.org;%20clbennett at springfieldpolice.n
et?subject=YWCA%20WORKERS%20DESERVE%20A%20RAISE!>  YWCA: WORKERS DESERVE A
RAISE!

Please support United Auto Workers Local 2322 members employed at the YWCA
of Western Massachusetts by joining their picket line Dec 10 and contacting
the Executive Director and Board President and telling them to give their
workers a raise. Exec Dir Mary Johnson is at (413) 732-3121 x101 and
mrj at ywworks.org, also info at ywworks.org. President of the Board of Directors
Lt. C. Lee Bennett is at clbennett at springfieldpolice.net.  

Info: Ron Patenaude, President, UAW 2322, 534-7600, uaw2322 at uaw2322.org,
www.somethingaboutmaryjohnson.com. 

About 5 minutes straight northeast to next event:  

 

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. Presented in commemoration of Human Rights Day.

Free refreshments. 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, liana at sweatfree.org, www.sweatfree.org,
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, goldman at policydevelopment.org; Erika Arthur, 253-5432,
info at foodforthoughtbooks.com; and www.stopsprawlmart.org,
www.foodforthoughtbooks, www.jwj.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,
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 November 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 <http://www.jwj.org/bailout/index.html> ’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,
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,
including Jobs with Justice activists, 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 – will 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,
martygjf at comcast.net. 

 

Saturday December 13

UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS CELEBRATION

Noon-3:30pm, Town Hall, 4 Boltwood Avenue, Amherst. The Amherst Human Rights
Commission will sponsor a celebration honoring the 60th anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the election of an Afro-American
president. Food, music, and reflection. Info: Frank Gatti, 256-4937,
fmgatti at comcast.net.

 

 

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TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send an email to wmjwj at wmjwj.org with a Subject of "Unsub
Workers' Rights".

[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
(www.jwj.org <http://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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