[Antiracism] [Workers' Rights/Health Care Action] Support Williamstown Organizing Campaign

[WMass Jobs With Justice]

Note: WMass JwJ received the letter below and is communicating our support
of these workers to them and also to their employer, which may be reached at
(413) 458-8127, info at nbhealth.org, or the contact form at
http://www.nbhealth.org/NBH/14/Contact-Us.html. 

(On that form, Coordinator Jon Weissman left the following message: On
behalf of the Western Massachusetts Coalition of Jobs with Justice, a
national campaign for workers' rights, I write with the understanding that
you have previously refused to be neutral regarding the workers' choice to
be unionized.  You still may do so, so we urge you to.  Otherwise you will
be interfering with their universal and fundamental human rights.)

~~~~~~~~~

Dear Friend of  Labor,

181 Workers at nursing homes in Williamstown, MA (Berkshire County) are up
against a tough fight and need your help. 

On January 7 they filed an NLRB petition to be represented by United
Healthcare Workers East (1199 SEIU), with signatures from three quarters of
the workers!  The name of the nursing home is Sweet Brook Care Center.  It
is part of Northern Berkshire Healthcare, which also owns North Adams
Regional Hospital (NARH), where the hospital workers are already proud
members of 1199SEIU.  The hospital workers have played a great role in
letting their fellow workers at the nursing home know that "We've got your
backs."

Attached is a leaflet that the workers started distributing to each other. 

Now that the nursing home workers have filed for the election, they'll need
backing from community people beyond their sisters and brothers at the
hospitals.  The union had previously asked the company owning the nursing
home to agree to be neutral in the event that the workers chose to
unionized, and management refused.  So it's safe to assume that the workers
will need all the community support they can get.

For more information or to offer support of any kind, contact Dana Simon at
the address below.    

Many thanks!

Dana Simon 

Massachusetts Hospital Organizing Campaign Director

1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East

150 Mt. Vernon St, Suite 300, Boston, MA  02125

Cell: (617) 291-4899  /  Toll-free: 877-409-1199  /  Fax: 617-474-7150

 <mailto:dana.simon at 1199.org> dana.simon at 1199.org

 

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

 

TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send an email to wmjwj at wmjwj.org with a Subject of "Unsub
Health Care Action" or "Unsub Workers' Rights", depending on which list you
are on.



[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 Workers' Rights".



[Health Care Action] posts events and information that support the large and
vibrant Western Mass. movement for health care justice. Nationwide, Jobs
with Justice ( <http://www.jwj.org> www.jwj.org) has prioritized Health Care
as a basic human right. To subscribe, send an email to wmjwj at wmjwj.org with
a Subject of "Subscribe Health Care Action".

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

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.hampshire.edu/pipermail/antiracism/attachments/20090128/647555e8/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 1199 sweetbrook flier 1-7-09.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 165310 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://lists.hampshire.edu/pipermail/antiracism/attachments/20090128/647555e8/attachment.pdf>