[Antiracism] [Workers' Rights] Calendar 7/8-31

[WMass Jobs With Justice]

Tuesday July 8
	CALL TO SAVE OUR NEIGHBORS & COMMUNITIES!
	The sub-prime lending crisis will continue to worsen over the next
four years or more. Housing values have fallen 10% across the state already;
housing sales are backlogged 10.7 months so far; Worcester Country alone has
lost $247 million in housing values. 1 in 48 home-owners in the state and
almost that many tenants will be impacted. Unless we act now and can get our
legislators to pass significant bills before they end formal legislative
session on July 31, no policy can be passed until after next January! They
need to pass three pieces of legislation: the 6-month moratorium on
foreclosures on sub-prime mortgages of 1 to 4 family owner-occupied housing;
judicial foreclosure (a day in court before people lose their mortgage); and
extension of just cause protections in foreclosed properties. 
	You can help create a flood of messages to the legislature today.
Just call or email and give your name and town and ask both your
Representative and Senator to support:
	A 6 Month Moratorium on Foreclosures (Senate Bill 2663/House Bill
4733)
	Extending Just Cause Protections for Tenants in Foreclosed
Properties (Senate Bill 2664/House Bill 4734)
	Judicial Foreclosures: Right To A Day in Court (Senate Bill
2662/House Bill 4735)
To find your Rep and Senator: enter your address at
http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php.
	If you have time, please contact two more legislative leaders:
	1) Representative O'Flaherty, 617-722-2396,
Rep.GeneOFlaherty at Hou.State.MA.US. 
	2) Speaker DiMasi, 617-722-2500,
Rep.SalvatoreDiMasi at Hou.State.MA.US.
	Please cc Mass Alliance Against Predatory Lending (MAAPL),
508-630-1686, maaplinfo at yahoo.com, www.MAAPL.info, on any email to your
legislator or email MAAPL when you make calls.

Tuesday July 8
	WELCOMING MASSACHUSETTS KICK-OFF
	11am-Noon, Grand Staircase (2nd floor), Massachusetts State House,
Boston. Welcoming Massachusetts (www.welcomingma.org) works to create the
conditions for humane and sensible public policies regarding immigrants. It
aims to gather organizational and individual signatures in support of a
pledge to make Massachusetts a welcoming state. Organizations and leaders
will spread Welcoming Massachusetts' principles and message through
organizing, education, and dialogue. Organizations and individuals joining
this effort will be encouraged to have conversations regarding immigration
and immigrant rights with their memberships, constituencies and/or
communities in ways that are most appropriate for them.  We will have a
public action that will manifest the collective power and intention of
Massachusetts residents in their desire to create a more human, welcoming,
and respecting environment for immigrants in the state. Info: Edwin Argueta,
617-524-8085, edwin at massjwj.net. 

Tuesday July 8 
	FIGHT BOTTLED WATER: Take Back the Tap Northampton Restaurant
Campaign Launches
	2-4pm, Unitarian Society, 220 Main St, Northampton. The Take Back
the Tap Campaign is a national effort that works to protect safe,
accessible, clean water for all, both here in the US and around the world.
It is calling on local restaurants to pledge to shift away from bottled
brands to municipal public water, and calling on our Congressman to reinvest
in public water systems. Restaurants that sign on to the pledge will be
featured in an online guide for businesses that provide wholesome, fresh,
sustainable food (www.eatwellguide.org). The kick-off will discuss general
water issues, why restaurants should help break the bottled water habit, and
the campaign timeline. The meeting will break up into teams and approach
nearby restaurant owners. Info: Alisa Kowal, Food & Water Watch, 387-8492,
akowal at fwwatch.org.

Wednesday July 9
	NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION FOR AN OIL-FREE PRESIDENT
	4:30pm, Cumberland Farms gas station, 514 Belmont Ave, Springfield.
RSVP: 
http://pol.moveon.org/pac/event/events/event.html?event_id=48358.

Thursday July 10
	FRANKLIN MEDICAL CENTER NURSES TESTIFY TO WORKERS’ RIGHTS BOARD 
	6-7:30pm, First Congregational Church, 43 Silver St, Greenfield. A
panel of the Western Massachusetts Jobs with Justice Workers' Rights Board
will take the testimony of nurses at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in
Greenfield and issue a report on collective bargaining there. Ann Lewin RN
will conduct the testimony by BFMC nurses and also provide basic
information. She is the MNA Senior Chair at BFMC. A nurse for 26 years, she
has been at BFMC for 6 years. 
	Attendees are asked to come fragrance-free.
	Across the US, Workers’ Rights Boards act as “the conscience of the
community” regarding labor relations, exposing employers' misconduct and
also helping workers form unions and reach collective bargaining contracts.
There is more information at http://www.jwj.org/projects/wrb.html. The
Western Mass. Jobs with Justice Workers' Rights Board consists of two dozen
“public citizens” in Western Massachusetts.  The following are on the July
10 panel: 
	Anne Awad, President/CEO, Caring Health Center Inc (Springfield);
Health Systems Consultant; Amherst Select Person
	Mary Lavo Ford, Non-profit Manager; former Outreach Director,
Community Health Center of Franklin County; former Mayor of Northampton
	Ward Morehouse, co-founder, Program on Corporations, Law, and
Democracy; Shays2: WMass Committee on Corporations and Democracy
	Rev. Armand Proulx, Second Congregational Church of Greenfield
	Al Siano, Greenfield City Councilor
	Miryam Ehrlich Williamson, Medical Writer; former Warwick Select
Board member 
	The Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) has been bargaining a new
contract at Baystate Franklin Medical Center (BFMC) since October 2007. The
employer, Baystate Health in Springfield, is showing an anti-union animus at
the bargaining table. It hired Howard Bloom from the well-known
union-busting law firm, Jackson Lewis (http://www.jacksonlewis.com/). More
at
http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/the-anti-union-network/for-profit-union-
busters/jackson-lewis-20071018-313-254.html. Info: 827-0301,
wmjwj at wmjwj.org. 

Thursday July 10 (every Thursday this summer)
	ISO SOCIALISM DISCUSSION GROUP & MEETING
	6-7pm, Rao's Coffee Café, 17 Kellogg Ave, Amherst: Socialist Worker
discussion group; 7-9pm, Bangs Community Center, 70 Boltwood Walk, downtown
Amherst: Amherst Branch of the International Socialist Organization meeting.
Info: 
351-2323, contact at isonoho.org. 

Thursday July 10
	IRAN COALITION MEETING
	7:15pm, 110 Seelye Hall, Smith College, Rt 9, Northampton. Working
to stop war on Iran before it starts. Agenda includes August 2 march in NYC
and possible August 15 action in Springfield. Info: Marty Nathan,
martygjf at comcast.net.

Friday July 11
	MCADP SACCO/VANZETTI MAILING MEETING
	2pm, Unitarian Society, 245 Porter Lake Dr, Springfield. Help Mass.
Citizens Against the Death Penalty get out its huge mailing of this year's
Sacco/Vanzetti event (August 21, Bishop Marshall Center, Springfield). Come
anytime - it starts at 2pm and continues until the last envelope is stuffed
and ready for mailing. Info, RSVP: Saul Finestone, cajowl66 at aol.com. 

Saturday July 12 (Second Saturday Tours of Florence History)
	NORTHAMPTON ASSOCIATION OF EDUCATION AND INDUSTRY
	10am, walking tour leaves from Sojourner Truth Memorial Statue,
corner of Park & Pine Sts, Florence. Before there was a Florence,
Massachusetts there was the Northampton Association of Education and
Industry. Established from the remnants of the Northampton Silk Company in
what was then known as Broughton's Meadows, the NAEI sought to reorganize
society on a cooperative basis. Local historian Steve Strimer will lead a
guided tour of the numerous sites that remain from the days of the NAEI when
Sojourner Truth, Lydia Maria Child, William Lloyd Garrison, David Ruggles,
Frederick Douglass, Wendell Phillips, and others brought the struggle for
immediate emancipation and equal rights before the people of Hampshire
County. Donations will benefit the newly formed David Ruggles Center for
Early Florence History and Underground Railroad Studies
(www.davidrugglescenter.org). Info: stevestrimer at gmail.com. 

Wednesday July 16
	FREE FILM: "DETAINED: THE NEW BEDFORD IMMIGRATION RAID"
	7pm, Food for Thought Books, 106 N Pleasant St, downtown Amherst. On
March 6, 2007, US Immigration officials raided a New Bedford MA factory that
makes vests and backpacks for US soldiers. Many of the 361 undocumented
immigrants who were detained in the raid were women with small children.
This film by Jenny Alexander will be followed by a discussion on efforts to
organize around immigration issues in our local communities. Cosponsored by
Casa Latina, Enlace Latino, The International Language Institute, SAGE,
Western Mass American Friends Service Committee, Western Mass Copwatch,
Western Mass Jobs with Justice, Greenfield Community College Peace and
Justice Studies Program, Food for Thought Books, and the Western Mass
Coalition for Immigrant & Worker Rights. Info: Javiera, 253-5432,
javiera at foodforthoughtbooks.com, or Cecilia, wmciwr at gmail.com. 

Thursday July 17
	GOVERNOR HOLDS TOWN HALL MEETING
	Holyoke. Details coming. 

July 19-21
	ACTIONS AGAINST WAR WITH IRAN 
	Responding to the renewed threats of a US/Israeli attack on Iran
before President Bush leaves office, United for Peace and Justice calls for
coordinated Days of Action across the United States on July 19-21. US
officials say Israel is mounting a "full court press" to get the Bush
administration to strike Iran's nuclear complex, CBS News reports. In The
New Yorker, Seymour Hersh reports that congressional leaders agreed last
year to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran. New York
Newsday and the Seattle-Post Intelligencer warn that Congress is considering
a resolution promoted by AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee)
that would effectively endorse a naval blockade of Iran, an act of war.
Voices in the US calling for real diplomacy and negotiations with Iran are
being silenced. Few people in this country know Iran has an offer on the
table for comprehensive negotiations with the United States that could
resolve the nuclear stand-off and other issues. Nor do they know that talks
with Iran without preconditions are supported by independent experts like
Thomas Pickering, the US Ambassador to the UN during the first Bush
administration.
	To take action: 212-868-5545, www.unitedforpeace.org.

Saturday July 19 (First & Third Saturday of each month)
	KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AT WORK!
	Noon-4pm, ADP Workers Center/Casa Obrera, 130 Union St, Springfield.
Registration required. Comprehensive know your rights training. Also serves
as orientations that are mandatory for people who want to join the Workers
Center. The ADP Worker Center has a number of programs and benefits for
members, including a food co-op, ESOL classes, democracy school, leadership
training, and a legal clinic. Info, to register: William Cano, 739-7233,
william at a-dp.org.

7/19-20
	ADP WORKER CENTER/CASA OBRERA HOSTS GUATEMALAN MOBILE CONSULATE
	130 Union Street, Springfield. Guatemalan citizens can get
information, documents, etc. Info: 739-7233.

July 21-24
	LABOR-TO-LABOR WALKS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
	Evening walks - Union members talking with union brothers and
sisters about the 2008 elections. Info, to sign up: Mass AFL-CIO Organizing
and Mobilization Coordinator John Drinkwater, 781-324-8230.

Wednesday July 23
	ARE "GREEN JOBS" UNION & COMMUNITY JOBS?
	5:30-7:30pm, Pioneer Valley CLC, 640 Page Blvd, Springfield. "Green
Jobs" are all the rage now - for good reason, especially in Western Mass,
where retrofitting buildings could provide a lot of jobs and we have the
expertise. For a labor perspective, please read
http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/02/14/sweeney-unions-investors-must-push-for-cle
an-environment-green-jobs/ and http://www.wed-works.org/info.html. But not
everyone is talking Green Jobs as Union Jobs and Local Community Jobs, and
the possibility of Scabby Green Jobs looms large here. The Western Mass.
Green Economy Working Group is discussing the issue. Info: Jon Weissman,
827-0301, wmjwj at wmjwj.org, or Eduardo Suarez, 335-6224, echonyc at hotmail.com.


Thursday July 24 
	JUSTICE FOR JASON
	2pm, Pre-Trial Hearing for Jason Vassell, Hampshire Superior Court,
15 Gothic St, Northampton. Background: On Sunday, February 3, 2008, two
white men — not UMass students — appeared at the window of the dormitory
room of Jason Vassell, a twenty-three-year-old African American student at
UMass Amherst. The two men subjected Vassell to racial invective and threats
of violence. They kicked in Vassell's window and later gained access to an
outer vestibule of the dorm, where they attacked Vassell, breaking his nose
and causing a serious concussion. The injured Vassell, defending himself
with a small pocketknife, wounded his assailants. Vassell — an otherwise
decent, gentle, young black man and law-abiding citizen described by his
professors as a serious, respectful, and diligent student — finds himself in
a Kafkaesque nightmare. Removed from school, he faces two charges that
could, if the prosecution succeeds, subject him to 30 years in state prison.
	At the July 24 pre-trial hearing, the physical presence of friends,
family members, and other supporters is important - and will be greatly
appreciated! Info, to carpool: justiceforjason at gmail.com,
www.justiceforjason.org. Petition calling for the charges again Jason to be
reconsidered: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/justiceforjason/. To
contribute to Jason's defense, you may write a check to Vassell's mother
Esmie James; mail checks to "Justice for Jason", PO Box 197, Amherst MA
01004. 

Wednesday July 30
	HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MEDICARE!
	Healthcare-NOW's "Happy Birthday, Medicare" campaign will deliver
cakes and birthday cards to US Representatives' district offices and take
other actions for national health insurance based on Medicare, signed into
law on July 30, 1965, by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Info: Cindy Calley,
317-706-0650, ccalley at att.net, www.healthcare-now.org. 

Thursday July 31 
	PROTECT THE INCOME TAX PLANNING MEETING
	Noon-2pm, Pioneer Valley Project office building, Holy Family
Church, 235 Eastern Av, Springfield. Oppose the ballot initiative that would
end the income tax that pays for 40% of the state's budget. Can you or
representatives from your organization join a planning meeting hosted by
Pioneer Valley Project and Neighbor to Neighbor? Please invite anyone who
wants to help. Info, RSVP: Fred Rose, 827-0781, generalpvp at verizon.net. You
can also:
	Go to the website - www.VoteNoMA.com - and sign up on the email list
and take the pledge.
	Have your Webmaster grab a site badge/sticker to place on their
website. They are at: http://votenoma.com/stamps.html. If you do, and you
would like the campaign to track who signs up from your sticker, have your
webmaster call Alipes at 617-303-1045. Put the sticker on first and then
call.
	Send people to the website for information and talking points. Have
them watch the video. Ask them to ask their friends and family to go to the
site.
	Download "The Fact Sheet" at
http://votenoma.com/files.php?name=votenoma-facts.pdf. Print it and hand it
out at meetings, put it in mailers, etc.
	Work for the Campaign. Coalition for Our Communities/VoteNoMA
Campaign is hiring full-time field managers. Applicants should respond ASAP
to Brandyn Keating, Field Director, Coalition for Our Communities,
508-982-2247, votenoma at gmail.com, www.votenoma.com. (Preference to full-time
"in-kind" donations of staffers from endorsing organizations to fill these
positions.)
	Info: Harris Gruman, Political Director, SEIU Massachusetts State
Council, 617-316-0443, harris.gruman at seiu.org.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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: "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), affirming that workers' rights are human
rights. To subscribe, send an email to wmjwj at wmjwj.org with a Subject of
"Subscribe Worker's Rights".

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