[Antiracism] [Workers' Rights] Calendar 6/17-7/1

[WMass Jobs With Justice]

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
	SAVE OUR COMMUNITIES/ MAKE FORECLOSURES FAIR
	10:30am, State House, Boston. Anti-Foreclosure Rally and Lobby Day.
61,000 Massachusetts residents could be threatened with losing their homes
this year. Let's act now to stem the crisis! Come show your support for 3
important foreclosure bills that will keep people in their homes and save
our communities: (1) Just Cause Eviction: The banks should have to have a
reason to evict residents of foreclosed buildings; (2) 6-Month Moratorium:
This crisis is growing.  Let's take a break while we work something out; (3)
Judicial Review: Owners who are victims of predatory loans should have their
day in court. Info: Mass Alliance Against Predatory Lending (MAAPL),
508-630-1686, Maaplinfo at yahoo.com, www.MAAPL.info.
  
Wednesday June 18
	PCAs & CONSUMERS RALLY
	Noon, Grand Staircase, State House, Boston. Personal Care
Attendants, consumers, and allies will tell the governor that PCAs deserve
adequate pay and benefits before the home care system can fully improve in
Massachusetts. Lunch will be served, and transportation will be available
throughout the state. Call 877-409-1199 x139 today to reserve a ride. Info:
http://pcavoice.org/. 
	Upcoming regional PCA meeting: Wednesday July 2, 7pm, 1199SEIU
Springfield Office, 20 Maple Street, Springfield; 877-409-1199.

Wednesday June 18
	FREE FILM: "UNNATURAL CAUSES: IS INEQUALITY MAKING US SICK?" 
	5:30-6pm, reception & entertainment; 6-8:45pm, screening & program,
City Stage, One Columbus Center, Springfield. Please join the cities of
Springfield and Holyoke, local community leaders, and your neighbors for the
premiere of "Unnatural Causes" (http://www.unnaturalcauses.org/) and a panel
discussion about creating a unified health equity agenda and how we can all
take action! Info: Massachusetts Public Health Association,
mpha at mphaweb.org, or Springfield Health Disparities Project,
bagin84735 at yahoo.com. 

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.

Wednesday June 18
	NUCLEAR ENERGY: AT WHAT COST?
	7pm, Bangs Community Center, Boltwood Walk (behind Unitarian
Meetinghouse on N Pleasants St), Amherst. Citizens Awareness Network (CAN)
and SAGE present a program on Nuclear Energy: The True Cost; The Options:
Energy Supply, Efficiency, and Renewables; Jobs Creation: Renewable vs
Nuclear; Health, Environment: Damage Assessment; Questions/Answers & Action
Steps. Speakers include Deb Katz, CAN Executive Director; Michael J. Daley,
Trustee, New England Coalition; Chris Williams, sustainable energy policy
activist; Hattie Nestel, CAN outreach educator. Info: 256-1760,
can at nukebusters.org. 

Thursday June 19
	NATIONAL DAY OF PROTEST AGAINST HEALTH INSURANCE CORPORATIONS
	38,000 Health Insurance Executives will be in San Francisco for
their national convention. Patients, nurses, doctors, and people of every
stripe will be there protesting in memory of the countless victims of the
insurance industry. In solidarity with their protest - and in celebration of
Juneteenth, the anniversary of the emancipation from slavery
(http://www.juneteenth.com/) and now our fight for emancipation from the
insurance companies - health care activists around the country are
organizing demonstrations at insurance companies, to say: Health Care YES!
Health Insurance NO! Guaranteed, Single Payer Health Care NOW! See also
http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/06/13/join-nurses-to-protest-profit-hungry-healt
h-insurance-industry. 
	REGIONAL RALLY: 
	Noon-1pm, Mass Assn of Health Care Plans, 40 Court St, opposite City
Hall, Boston. Are you tired of: {pick one} Insurance company red tape &
bureaucracy, Skyrocketing costs, Being denied care, Co-pays & out-of pocket
expenses, Mountains of paperwork? Then join us! On June 19, people across
the nation will demonstrate in solidarity with the San Francisco
demonstrations and in support of H.R. 676, the "National Medicare for All"
Act. Info: 617-524-8778, www.massjwj.net. 

Thursday June 19
	NATIONAL PRIORITIES PROJECT OPEN HOUSE
	4-6:30pm, 243 King St #239, Northampton. NPP
(http://www.nationalpriorities.org/) offers citizen and community groups
tools and resources to shape federal budget and policy priorities which
promote social and economic justice. Info: 584-9556,
info at nationalpriorities.org.

Thursday June 19
	PICKET WITH COOLEY DICKINSON HOSPITAL VISITING NURSES
	4:30pm, 168 Industrial Drive, Northampton. Registered Nurses at
Cooley Dickinson VNA & Hospice will be picketing in front of the agency to
highlight the lack of movement in their protracted contract negotiations.
The RNs, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, have been in
negotiations for nearly a year, beginning last August. Management continues
to offer a very small wage increase despite the facility showing a profit of
over $10 million in the last 15 months. An equitable contract must be in
place for their agency to be able to retain and recruit experienced nurses.
Info: Diane Scherrer RN, Western Mass Community Organizer, Massachusetts
Nurses Association, 781-363-3817, dscherrer at mnarn.org.

Friday June 20
	FREE FILM: "MADE IN L.A." 
	7pm, Media Education Foundation, 60 Masonic St, Northampton. "Made
in L.A." (70 minutes; www.madeinla.com) 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 trendy
clothing retailer Forever 21. In intimate observational 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.  
	Following the film screening will be a discussion about immigration
and anti-sweatshop activism with Cecilia Candia, Coordinator, Western Mass
Coalition for Immigrant & Worker Rights, and Liana Foxvog, National
Organizer, SweatFree Communities. Info: wmciwr at gmail.com or
liana at sweatfree.org; http://wmciwr.blogspot.com/ and
http://www.sweatfree.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.

Saturday June 21
	TOM NEILSON: AN EVENING OF MUSIC FOR SOCIAL CHANGE BY "THE BARD
INSURGENT"
	7pm, Wildcat Sanctuary For Peace, 1.5 miles west of Williamsburg
center, 300 yards west of Hyde Hill Road. Suggested donation $10. Rain or
shine. Lawn seating or BYOC (bring your own chairs). An evening of music and
constitutional rights.  Neilson (http://tomneilsonmusic.com) is an
award-winning singer-songwriter who also started the successful union drive
with SEIU Local 509 at Tapestry Health. An upstate NY farm boy, Tom has been
referred to as the Jon Stewart of folk music and described by Hilljoy music
as "one of the most politically savvy songwriters in the country." Info:
626-3800, keith.harmon.snow at gmail.com. 

Saturday June 21
	4th ANNUAL PRIDE AT WORK CONCERT
	7pm, Northampton Center for the Arts, 17 New South Street,
Northampton. A $10 donation is suggested but no one will be turned away. All
monies raised will go to AIDS CARE/Hampshire County, an organization that
provides case management and support services to more than 100 clients
living with HIV/AIDS in Hampshire County. 
	The Jesse Molina Band will perform. Jesse, a local musician, has
played at Pride Festivals in Washington DC, Honolulu, Sacramento, Irvine,
Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Northampton.  Come hear her soulful acoustic
sounds and help improve community awareness and care for people living with
HIV and AIDS. Opening is Jackson Street School's 5th Grade Rock Band, Zero
Gravity. These kids will blow you away! This is a family friendly event and
everyone is invited. Info: 563-2189.
	Pride At Work (http://www.prideatwork.org) is a lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) labor group affiliated with the AFL-CIO
(American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations). PAW
mobilizes mutual support between the Labor Movement and the LGBT Community
around organizing for social and economic justice. Info:
ronpatenaude at hotmail.com.

Monday June 23
	WHAT CAN SOCIAL MOVEMENT SCHOLARS TEACH ACTIVISTS?
	Noon-1pm, Class Action, 104 Russell St, Hadley. Class Action Board
Member Betsy Leondar-Wright has sometimes been suspicious of academics who
study social movements, thinking that some of them just re-tell our activist
stories from a distorted outsider's view using fancy million-dollar words.
But after reading about 30 books and articles hand-picked by her Boston
College professor, Bill Gamson, she found lots of ideas that are very useful
to activists. These thinkers test theories in the real world, pop some of
our assumptions, and give us practical advice. And some of those fancy words
turn out to be very helpful terms to frame discussions of movement strategy.
Betsy has put together a presentation focused on these questions: What
predicts waves of activism? What predicts the success or failure of a
movement? How can we avoid pitfalls of past movements? Info, RSVP: 585-9709,
www.classism.org.

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.  

Wednesday June 25
	MASS EQUALITY ORGANIZING MEETING
	7-8:30pm, Holyoke Community College Kittredge Building Room 301, 303
Homestead Ave, Holyoke. Discuss the next steps in achieving full equality
for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) community,
especially moving the Transgender Non-Discrimination bill out of study
committee and ensuring it gets a fair vote. Also discuss pro-equality
candidates and upcoming elections. To sign up, please click:
http://www.massequality.org/events/index.php?type=volunteer&id=10756. Info:
Ryan Brown, Field Organizer, 617-878-2309, RyanBrown at MassEquality.org.

Friday June 27
	ARISE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE TEACH-IN: HOUSING RIGHTS
	1-3pm, Arise office, 467 State St, Springfield. Facilitated by
Jennifer Dieringer, Western Mass Legal Services. Clean safe housing is a
right! Info: 734-4948, Arise Economic Justice Organizer Liz Bewsee,
lizma62 at yahoo.com.

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.

Tuesday July 1
     WORKERS' RIGHTS COMMITTEE (formerly JUSTICE @ SMITHFIELD)
     7-8:30pm, Potpourri Plaza Conference Room, room 234 &/or 236, second
floor, 243 King St, Northampton (opposite Stop & Shop). 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. 


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. 
	And check Sustainability Events at
http://people.umass.edu/jgerber/SustEvents.htm. 

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