[Antiracism] [Workers' Rights] Calendar 2/9-3/14

[WMass Jobs With Justice]

New Goal: TWO Million <http://www.freechoiceact.org/page/s/jwj?source=s>
for the Employee Free Choice Act.  Write a letter
<http://action.americanrightsatwork.org/campaign/mmm_obama_lte/>  to the
editor for the Employee Free Choice Act!  Great videos at www.araw.org. 

 

Monday February 9

FREE FILM: TRACES OF THE TRADE 

7pm, Scanlon Banquet Hall, Westfield State College, 577 Western Av,
Westfield. Please join director Katrina Browne for a screening of Traces of
the Trade: A Story from the Deep North (www.tracesofthetrade.org) followed
by Q&A. Info: sam at resourcegeneration.org. 

 

Thursday February 12 – Lincoln’s Birthday

NATIONAL CALL-IN DAY FOR HR 676 – MEDICARE FOR ALL

The Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Healthcare is encouraging everyone
to call the Congressional switchboard: 202-224-3121, ask for your
Representative’s office, and

if your Rep is a current co-sponsor, like John Olver, thank them and ask
them to stand firm for HR 676 and actively seek additional co-sponsors;

if your Rep has yet to co-sponsor HR 676, like Richard Neal, ask them to
please become a co-sponsor.

Lincoln wrote:  “I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves
me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . corporations
have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and
the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working
upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few
hands and the Republic is destroyed.” (letter to Col. William F. Elkins,
November 21, 1864)

In celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birthday, remind your member of Congress
to honor his words and heed his warning as we look to reform his precious
nation's healthcare system. Urge your member to accept testimony from
panelists exploring the serious flaws in the Massachusetts health plan and
examining why it cannot serve as a national model for providing universal
and comprehensive care, on Wednesday, February 25, 2-4pm, 2226 Rayburn House
Office Building. See <>  below. Info: http://guaranteedhealthcare4all.org/.
To get involved locally: Western Mass. Single Payer Network,
wmspn at wmjwj.org, and include your city or town so we can connect you to a
local group.

 

Thursday February 12

RALLY, PRESS CONFERENCE, & LOBBY DAY FOR PAID SICK DAYS

11:30am-12:30pm, Nurses Hall, Massachusetts State House, Boston. An Act
Establishing Paid Sick Days has been reintroduced in the Legislature.
Speakers include: Bob Haynes, President, Mass. AFL-CIO; Rocio Saenz,
President, SEIU 615; Mike Fadel, Executive VP SEIU 1199; Betty McGuire,
member of ACORN and SEIU 615; Malden Mills worker, member Unite/Here
(invited); Phoebe Eng, 1000 Voices Archives;
(http://www.1000voicesarchive.org/video_search.php); and Rep. Jason Lewis.
Special Presentation:  Kevin Miller, Institute for Women’s Policy Research,
will introduce findings from IWPR’s research on the cost of “presenteeism”
in Massachusetts (the cost of coming to work sick - reducing productivity
and infecting others) which is greater than the cost of providing paid sick
days. He will also offer research critical to the viability of the
Commonwealth’s health care system; that providing paid sick days is an
important factor in containing health care costs. Join in the fun by helping
deliver Valentine cookies to Legislators with messages from constituents
underscoring the importance of Paid Sick Days in Massachusetts, in
partnership with MomsRising.org. Info: Susan DeMaria, Legal Services Workers
UAW Local 2320, sdemaria at nolsw.org. 

 

Thursday February 12

CLOSING GUANTANAMO

7pm, Smith College Helen Hills Hills Chapel, Rt 9, Northampton. Noted
Guantánamo Attorney P. Sabin Willett will give a talk on "Closing
Guantánamo: Can President Obama Repair Torture's Wreckage?" Pioneer Valley
attorney Buz Eisenberg will introduce Willett. Eisenberg represents several
Guantánamo prisoners and is president of the International Justice Network,
which provides legal representation to detainees held abroad in the “war on
terror.” The event is presented by the Smith College Anthropology Department
and the Pioneer Valley Coalition Against Secrecy and Torture with the
support of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and more than
20 other local, state, and national organizations and is free and open to
the public. Info: Marty Nathan, MD, Pioneer Valley Coalition Against Secrecy
and Torture, 531-9915, martygjf at comcast.net. 

 

Friday February 13 (Second Friday)

STREET HEAT - THE AFL-CIO MOBILIZATION COMMITTEE

9:30-11am, AFL-CIO Hall, 640 Page Blvd, near corner of Osborne Ter, across
the street from the old Westinghouse, Springfield. This meeting will focus
on the campaign to win the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act,
including meetings with Congressmen and Sen. Kerry. Also on the agenda: the
YWCA; Postal job loss; Bank of America; Your Organizing! Community and labor
activists are urged to attend. Info; send agenda items to: Jon Weissman,
732-7970, street_heat at pvaflcio.org.

 

Saturday February 14 (Second Saturday)

            SPRINGFIELD HEALTH DISPARITIES PROJECT

            9:30am, Tapestry Health, 365 Bay St, Springfield. Addressing
existing disparities in health care and outcomes, and the underlying racism,
poverty, and homelessness. Deciding whether to become a coalition and how to
obtain future funding. Info: Betty Agin, 627-4028, betagi7 at verizon.net. 

 

Tuesday February 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 -
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. Also organizing for the national alternative
to state action: Medicare for All – HR 676. Info: info at fhhcc.org. Please
visit www.masscare.org and www.healthcare-now.org.  

 

Tuesday February 17 

US REP. JIM McGOVERN ON THE EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT

7pm, Leo's Ristorante, 11 Brackett Court, Worcester. The Central
Massachusetts AFL-CIO invites you to an evening of education and discussion
on the Employee Free Choice Act with Special Guest Speaker Congressman Jim
McGovern. Food will be served, so RSVP to Paul Soucy, Director of Labor,
508-832-4218, psoucy at centralmassaflcio.org. 

 

Wednesday February 18 (Third Wednesday)

MASS SENIOR ACTION COUNCIL – WESTERN MASS MONTHLY MEETING 

1:30-3:30pm, location to be determined, Springfield. MSAC was founded in
1981 to promote the rights, well being, and dignity of all people,
particularly vulnerable senior citizens. Open to people of all ages. MSAC
has a proud history of effective community organizing and legislative
advocacy on health care, housing, transportation, and other issues. Info:
543-2334, mbewsee at masssenioraction.org, http://www.masssenioraction.org/. 

 

Wednesday February 18 

COURT HEARING ON JASON VASSELL’S MOTION TO DISMISS

2pm, 15 Gothic St, Northampton. Jason was the victim of a racist assault in
his own dorm at UMass Amherst. While defending himself, Jason injured his
assailants. For an act of self-defense Jason faces up to 30 years, while the
aggressors have been charged with only misdemeanor offenses. On December 29,
Jason Vassell's defense submitted a motion to dismiss his indictment “on the
ground that the defendant has been selectively prosecuted because of his
race, in violation of the rights guaranteed him by the Sixth and Fourteenth
Amendments to the United States Constitution and Articles I and XII of the
Massachusetts Declaration of Rights.” Read the motion, background details,
get involved: http://www.justiceforjason.org. 

 

Wednesday February 18

NEW AMERICANS AGENDA PUBLIC HEARING

5:30-7:30pm, St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, 840 Page Boulevard,
Springfield. The New Americans Agenda (NAA) is a comprehensive statewide
initiative to better integrate refugees and immigrants into the economic and
civic life of the Commonwealth. We strongly encourage you to attend the
public hearing for Western Mass. residents and leaders to share with us:
what it would mean for Massachusetts to be a welcoming state for immigrants
and refugees; challenges to integration currently faced by immigrants and
refugees and their receiving communities; strategies to overcome those
challenges. The meeting will include roundtable discussions where you will
have the opportunity to discuss your ideas directly with members of the
Governor’s Advisory Council for Refugees and Immigrants. Over the next year,
the Mass. Office for Refugees and Immigrants (MORI) and the Governor’s
Advisory Council for Refugees and Immigrants (GACRI) will develop a series
of policy recommendations to Governor Patrick on integration challenges and
solutions. The Springfield public hearing is being co-convened by the
Alliance to Develop Power and the Center for New Americans.   Catholic
Charities of Springfield is co-sponsor — is your organization interested
co-sponsoring? To register to attend or to co-sponsor contact William Cano,
director, ADP Worker Center, 739-7233, william at a-dp.org. 

 

Thursday February 19 (Third Thursday)

            NORTHAMPTON LIVING WAGE COALITION ~ SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKERS ~
LIVING WAGES v. ECONOMIC MELTDOWN

7pm, Conference Room, second floor, room 234 &/or 236, Potpourri
<http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=243+King+St,+Northampton,+MA>  Plaza,
243 King St, Northampton, opposite Stop & Shop.

Ian Seda, a staff economist from the Center for Popular Economics, will
speak on the current economic meltdown and how a living wage strategy fits
into fixing it. His area of work focuses on the systemic forces that have
led to stagnant wages and debt and contributed to the economic crisis. The
Center for Popular Economics <http://www.populareconomics.org/>  is a
collective of political economists based in Amherst. CPE teaches economic
literacy to activists for progressive social change. CPE creates and
communicates economic theories that challenge systems of oppression based on
class, race, gender and nation. CPE works to demystify economics by
providing workshops and educational materials to activists throughout the US
and around the world.

Pete Myers, co-founder of the Tompkins County Living Wage Campaign, now the
Tompkins County Workers <http://www.tclivingwage.org/> ’ Center, will
describe the successful Living Wage campaign in Ithaca NY. The TCWC is
Ithaca’s Jobs with Justice coalition.

The NLWC is organizing for a City Council resolution updating the 1998
Northampton Living Wage Resolution for employees with health insurance to
$9.52, and to $11.44 for employees without health insurance. Collecting
petition signatures supporting the resolution. Asking local business owners
to commit to paying a living wage or at least commit to working toward a
living wage. Publicly recognizing them if they do. Info: Kathryn Collins,
kathryncollins52 at yahoo.com.

WMASS JOBS WITH JUSTICE HAMPSHIRE WORKERS' RIGHTS COMMITTEE meets with the
NORTHAMPTON LIVING WAGE COALITION. Info: 827-0301, wmjwj at wmjwj.org.

 

Friday February 20

SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE ON LOCAL TV

7:30pm, WGBY channel 57 (PBS). Jackie Wolf and Diana Stein of the Amherst
League of Women Voters will be Jim Madigan’s guests on “The State We're In”.
To get involved locally: Western Mass. Single Payer Network,
wmspn at wmjwj.org, and include your city or town so we can connect you to a
local group.

 

Saturday February 21

DIGNITY & DEFIANCE TO GLOBALIZATION

11am, Odyssey Bookshop, 9 College St (Routes 116 at 47), in the Village
Commons, S Hadley, 534-7307 or 800-540-7307; odysseybks at aol.com;
www.odysseybks.com (www.odysseybks.com/directions.html). 

& 3pm, Neilson Browsing Room, Smith College, Rt 9, Northampton. Info: Marty
Nathan, martygjf at comcast.net. 

James Schultz will discuss and sign his new book, Dignity and Defiance:
Stories from Bolivia’s Challenge to Globalization, together with Bolivian
citizen Roberto Fernandez Terán. Dignity and Defiance is a powerful
eyewitness account of Bolivia’s decade-long rebellion against globalization
imposed from abroad. Based on extensive interviews, this story comes alive
with first-person accounts of a massive Enron/Shell oil spill from an
elderly woman whose livelihood it threatens, of the young people who stood
down a former dictator to take back control of their water, and of Bolivia’s
dramatic and successful challenge to the policies of the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund. Featuring a substantial introduction, a
conclusion, and introductions to each of the chapters, this well-crafted mix
of storytelling and analysis is a rich portrait of people calling for global
integration to be different than it has been: more fair and more just.

 

Saturday February 21 (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.

 

Saturday February 21

JUSTICE FOR JASON FUNDRAISER AUCTION

6-9pm, Grace Episcopal Church Parish Hall, 14 Boltwood Avenue, Amherst.
Jason was the victim of a racist assault in his own dorm at UMass Amherst.
While defending himself, Jason injured his assailants. For an act of
self-defense Jason faces up to 30 years, while the aggressors have been
charged with only misdemeanor offenses. Background details, get involved:
http://www.justiceforjason.org. Achieving justice for Jason has been a
costly endeavor. This auction is seeking:

Original Artworks: paintings, prints, photographs, sculptures..

Crafts: handcrafted garments, pottery, jewelry toys, baskets, potholders, or
even craft lessons.

Services: babysitting, gardening, cleaning, music, horseback riding lessons,
canoe lessons

Food: cookie baskets, cakes, homemade jams

Gift Certificates: from restaurants, theatres

Getaways: weekends at a vacation home or apartment

Books: if possible signed by authors

If you can donate something, if you are willing to approach someone else
about donating, can offer a service, or for more information, please contact
Louise Antony, 549-3630, Louise.Antony at Gmail.com, Emily Lewis, 256-1760,
Lewis.Emily at comcast.net. 

 

Tuesday February 24 (Fourth Tuesday)

HAMPSHIRE/FRANKLIN CENTRAL LABOR COUNCIL

7:30pm, Northampton Fire Station Community Room, 26 Carlon Drive at King
St/Route 5, Northampton (587-1148). Community and labor activist guests are
welcome, but RSVP to Pres. Fiore Grassetti, 877-725-0357, org7 at comcast.net.

 

Wednesday February 25

CONGRESSIONAL HEARING ON THE MASSACHUSETTS HEALTH CARE REFORM

2-4pm, 2226 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington DC. Call the
Congressional switchboard: 202-224-3121, ask for your Representative’s
office, and ask them to attend. Info: http://guaranteedhealthcare4all.org/.
To get involved locally: Western Mass. Single Payer Network,
wmspn at wmjwj.org, and include your city or town so we can connect you to a
local group.

 

Wednesday February 25 (Fourth Wednesday)

WESTERN MASS GREEN ECONOMY WORKING GROUP

5:30-7:30pm, Pioneer Valley AFL-CIO Hall, 640 Page Boulevard, Springfield
(732-7970). This Working Group consists of advocates for a Green Economy
which serves local communities; guarantees workers' rights to organize; and
promotes community-owned sustainable projects. State Sen. Ben Downing, from
Pittsfield, will attend. He has been instrumental in the passage of Green
Collar Jobs and Green Communities legislation. Subscribe to the WMGEWG
listserve (“GreenWork”) at
http://lists.gaiahost.coop/mailman/listinfo/greenwork or send an email to
greenwork-subscribe at lists.gaiahost.coop. Info: Jon Weissman, 827-0301,
wmjwj at wmjwj.org, or Eduardo Suárez, 335-6224, echonyc at hotmail.com. 

 

Thursday February 26 (normally Third Wednesday; changed for school vacation
this month)

PIONEER VALLEY CENTRAL LABOR COUNCIL 

5:30pm, 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, rbrown at pvaflcio.org.

 

Thursday February 26 (Fourth Thursday) NOTE LOCATION

            FRANKLIN COUNTY WORKERS' RIGHTS COMMITTEE

7-8:30pm, Traprock Center for Peace and Justice, 24 Miles St, Greenfield
(773-7427). Special video on the Employee Free Choice Act. This committee is
organizing local solidarity for Franklin County workers and unions; nurses
and other workers at Franklin Medical Center; Greenfield municipal
employees; and statewide and national workers' rights campaigns, including
People's Bail-Out and Employee Free Choice Act. Info: 827-0301,
wmjwj at wmjwj.org. 

 

Wednesday March 4

“CONTINUOUS BARGAINING”

6:30-9pm, 3rd Floor Gordon Hall (UMass Amherst Labor Center), 418 N Pleasant
St, Amherst. Charley Richardson, UMass Lowell Labor Extension, leads this
Labor Extension Program Workshop. Cost: $15/session; $25 for both this and
“Understanding the Economic Crisis” – Mark Brenner of Labor Notes, date to
be determined. In this challenging economic crisis it is even more important
that we develop tools to respond to changes management is making in the
workplace and the work process. Continuous bargaining is a response that
takes on management plans, inserts a collective voice into the process of
change and makes union-building an ongoing activity. Info: Dale Melcher,
545-6166, dmelcher at lrrc.umass.edu. 

 

Thursday March 5 (First Thursday)

MASS CITIZENS AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY

7-8:30pm, Unitarian Society, 245 Porter Lake Drive, Springfield (736-2324).
Planning Sacco Vanzetti 2009 – annual commemoration of the August 23, 1927
execution of Nicola Sacco & Bartolomeo Vanzetti at Bishop Marshall Center,
St Michael's Cathedral, Elliott St off State St, Springfield, on August 23
at 5-7:30pm. Info: 567-3451, CAJOWL66 at aol.com. 

 

Saturday March 14

WILD IN THE WINTER WEST

8:30am-1:30pm, Gordon Hall, 418 N Pleasant St, Amherst. Info: Emily Hardt,
617-426-0520, emily at wildlabor.org. The Women <http://www.wildlabor.org/> ’s
Institute for Leadership Development and the UMass
<http://www.umass.edu/lrrc/laborextension/>  Amherst Labor Extension Program
invites women activists to an exciting workshop on understanding the causes
and impact of the economic crisis. Plus: WILD Women Live! – interviews with
inspiring women who lead their unions and community organizations. Followed
by lunch and conversation with other labor movement women. $20 Registration
fee; childcare reimbursement available. For more information & to register
(deadline March 12): 545-6166, dmelcher at lrrc.umass.edu. 

 

 

More events at http://www.westernmassafsc.org/calendar/calendar.html &
http://people.umass.edu/jgerber/SustEvents.htm.

A NOTE ABOUT PUBLIC MEETINGS & CHEMICAL SENSITIVITIES:  Men and women are
requested to avoid wearing scented personal products when attending public
meetings. Scents trigger adverse responses in those with chemical
sensitivities. Note that many workers develop chemical sensitivities on the
job. 

 

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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 Worker's Rights".

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

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