[Antiracism] [Workers' Rights] Calendar 6/5-25

[WMass Jobs With Justice]

Wednesday June 5 (First Thursday)
     WORKERS' RIGHTS (formerly JUSTICE @ SMITHFIELD) COMMITTEE
     7-8:30pm, Potpourri Plaza Conference Room, room 234 &/or 236, second
floor, 243 King St, Northampton, opposite Stop & Shop.
http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=243+King+St,+Northampton,+MA. On the
agenda - campaigns and organizing such as: Million Member Mobilization for
the Employee Free Choice Act; National Week of Action for Health Care July
14-20; Mass Nurses Assn contract struggles at Franklin Medical Center, Mercy
Hospital, and Cooley Dickinson Hospital; Organizing a Workers' Rights Board
Hearing for Nurses; Supporting the Amherst Lunch Ladies; IBEW & CWA/IUE
contract struggle at Verizon and organizing at Comcast; Working with the
Northampton Living Wage Committee, Pioneer Valley Street Heat (AFL-CIO), and
similar projects; Signal International workers; Toyota Owners for Fairness;
Latest Smithfield news from Tar Heel NC. Info: 827-0301, wmjwj at wmjwj.org. 

Friday June 6
	HAMPSHIRE FRANKLIN CENTRAL LABOR COUNCIL LEGISLATIVE BREAKFAST
	9-10:45am, Bluebonnet Diner, 324 King St, Northampton. $20, payable
to HFCLC. This is an excellent opportunity to talk with area legislators and
Mayors about our issues. Info, RSVP: Dale Melcher, 545-6166,
dmelcher at lrrc.umass.edu. Send payment to Dale Melcher, UMass Labor Center,
418 N Pleasant St, Amherst MA 01002.

Saturday June 7
     WESTERN MASS SINGLE PAYER NETWORK
     9-11:30am, Lathrop Village Community Room, Shallow Brook Drive, off
Bridge Rd, Northampton. The Western Massachusetts Single Payer Network is a
nonpartisan, nonprofit coalition of advocates committed to achieving a
universal single payer health care system. Organizational goals:
1) to increase visibility of universal single payer health care across
Western Massachusetts; 
2) to strengthen the universal single payer movement through increasing
numbers of people familiar with and committed to a single payer health care
system; 
3) to work in concert with eastern Massachusetts single payer groups, as
well as other groups throughout the country who share the single payer
mission. 
     Info: wmspn at wmjwj.org. 

Friday June 13
	CHARLIE KING & KAREN BRANDOW CONCERT FOR REAL HEALTH CARE REFORM
	7-9pm, Senior Center, 67 Conz St, Northampton (parking in rear). $20
donation requested at the door; nobody turned away. A non-profit, universal
single payer system represents real reform in providing for the basic right
of all Massachusetts citizens to good health. How do we get there from here?
JOIN US! Enjoy: Musical storytellers and social activists Charlie King &
Karen Brandow (http://charlieking.org/). Hear: Northampton Mayor Clare
Higgins on the disaster for the city's budget of rising health insurance
costs; John Bonifaz, Amherst, Founder of National Voting Rights Institute,
on health care as a human right; Diana Stein, League of Women Voters of
Amherst, on the flawed so-called "reform" legislation passed in 2006. Q&A.
Honor: George Markham, long-time Northampton activist & advocate for a
universal single payer health care system. Support: Franklin/Hampshire
Health Care Coalition, PO Box 3011, Amherst MA 01004; 586-0345 or 253-3197;
info at fhhcc.org. 

Tuesday June 17 (Third Tuesday)
     FRANKLIN/HAMPSHIRE HEALTH CARE COALITION
     7pm, Lathrop Village Community Room, Shallow Brook Drive, off Bridge
Rd, Northampton. Organizing for the Massachusetts Health Care Trust Fund
Bill (S.703/H.1137) - a universal health care system, providing universal
access, a comprehensive range of physical and mental health benefits, choice
of provider, quality, unified financing and cost controls, accountable
governance, and stability. A Massachusetts Health Care Trust Fund will be a
"single-payer" of all health care costs, statewide. Info: info at fhhcc.org. 

Wednesday June 18 (Third Wednesday)
     PIONEER VALLEY CENTRAL LABOR COUNCIL 
     7pm, AFL-CIO Hall, 640 Page Blvd, near corner of Osborne Ter, across
the street from the old Westinghouse, Springfield. Community and labor
activist guests are welcome, but RSVP to Jon at 732-7970, mail at pvaflcio.org,
or Rick at 374-1492.

Thursday June 19
	PICKET WITH COOLEY DICKINSON HOSPITAL VISITING NURSES
	4:30pm, 168 Industrial Drive, Northampton. More details coming.
Info: Diane Scherrer RN, Western Mass Community Organizer, Massachusetts
Nurses Association, 781-363-3817, dscherrer at mnarn.org.

June 20-21 
	COMMUNITY OWNED SUSTAINABLE ENERGY WORKS! 
	UMass Amherst Campus Center. This year's Sustainable Energy Summit
will celebrate local ownership and local economics. You'll learn more about
what makes community-owned sustainable energy work and what you can do to
green your home, your work, and your community. One of the keynote
presenters will be David Morris from the Institute for Local Self Reliance.
He'll talk about the economic impact of local ownership on communities.
Info: www.cooppower.coop. 

June 20-22
     22nd ANNUAL WILD SUMMER INSTITUTE
     Come together with other labor & community women from around
Massachusetts for a fun weekend of networking, leadership development, and
skills training. Go to http://www.wildlabor.org/ for more details and a
registration form, or call 617-426-0520 or email emily at wildlabor.org. Info:
Dale Melcher, 545-6166, dmelcher at lrrc.umass.edu.

Tuesday June 24 (Fourth Tuesday)
     HAMPSHIRE/FRANKLIN CENTRAL LABOR COUNCIL
     7:30pm, Northampton Fire Station Community Room, 26 Carlon Drive at
King St/Route 5 (across Carlon Dr from Northampton Athletic Club),
Northampton (587-1148). Community and labor activist guests are welcome, but
RSVP to Pres. Fiore Grassetti, 877-725-0357, org7 at comcast.net.  

Wednesday June 25
	ARE "GREEN JOBS" UNION 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 the possibility of Scabby
Green Jobs looms large here. A Working Group on the Green Economy will
discuss the issue. Info: Jon Weissman, 827-0301, wmjwj at wmjwj.org. 

Friday June 27
	PIONEER VALLEY CENTRAL LABOR COUNCIL ANNUAL PICNIC
	4-9pm, Springfield Lodge of Elks Picnic Grounds, 440 Tiffany St,
Springfield (734-2213). $25 per person (clam chowder, rib eye steak, baked
potato, vegetable, salad, beer, soda). Reservation deadline: June 20. Info:
Jon Weissman, 732-7970, mail at pvaflcio.org. 

Saturday June 28
	9th ANNUAL GRASSROOTS USE OF TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE
	University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Connect, Communicate,
Collaborate. Focusing on the new technologies and organizing tools available
for connecting organizers and their communities. Collaborators, colleagues,
and clients in the nonprofit and technology sectors will have the
opportunity to share resources and learn about what works, what doesn't
work, and what is in the works when it comes to using technology to help
make the world a better place. Info: Organizers' Collaborative,
www.organizerscollaborative.org.


MORE EVENTS AT www.westernmassafsc.org/calendar/calendar.html. And please
post your events there by emailing Roger Conant, conant at ecs.umass.edu, with
Event for AFSC Calendar as the Subject, with this information in the body of
the email: Date and Time; Location; Brief description of the event; How to
get more information about the event. Please help Roger keep the recurring
events page accurate - see
www.westernmassafsc.org/calendar/calendar2.html#recurring. 

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