Take the Pledge to fight for
jobs with justice. Ask your friends and co-workers to
take the Pledge.
Monday May 17
SHOWDOWN ON K STREET
11:45am,
McPherson Square at the intersection of K Street & Vermont Ave NW,
Washington, D.C., the power corridor where Big Bank and corporate lobbyists
scheme and scam to kill Wall Street reform and peddle corporate influence on
Capitol Hill.
Click
here
to sign up to be there in person or join online.
We’re
especially targeting the lobbyists for Wall Street’s Big Six Banks: Bank
of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells
Fargo/Wachovia. From last year to today, Big Banks are spending some $1.4
million a day in lobbying and political expenses to fight legislation that
would reform the financial industry and help prevent another economic
meltdown. There are four Big Bank lobbyists for every member of Congress.
The
AFL-CIO will webstream the rally live at www.aflcio.org,
where you also can join in the discussion and leave your comments.
Info: http://blog.aflcio.org/2010/05/13/join-us-at-the-k-street-showdown-may-17/;
http://www.npa-us.org/; http://www.jwjblog.org/2010/05/showdown-on-k-street-monday-may-17th/.
Monday May 17
IN-FIDELITY:
RALLY TO KEEP THE BANKS OUT OF POLITICS!
Noon, Fidelity's Boston Headquarters in the Financial District, 82 Devonshire
St, Boston. Over the past two years, we've seen the consequences of letting the
banks set national policy. We know now that strong financial regulation is the
only way to make sure our country is economically sound. But Fidelity isn't
getting the message. Even though they already manage our state fund, just last
year, they nearly doubled the amount of money they spent on lobbying our
elected officials against financial regulation. They contributed to the
campaigns of republican and democratic politicians in Massachusetts from Scott
Brown to Stephen Lynch and Deval Patrick to make sure that they'll keep their
say in our government. Join us on Monday to tell Fidelity that it's time for
them to stop trying to get between us and our politicians – Fidelity
needs to start being faithful to the principles of democracy and keep their
money out of our politics! Info: Gillian Mason, gillian_p_mason@hotmail.com, or
Massachusetts Jobs With Justice, (617) 524-8778.
Tuesday May 18 (Third Tuesday)
FRANKLIN/HAMPSHIRE
HEALTH CARE COALITION
7pm,
Lathrop Village Community Room, 1
Shallowbrook Ln, 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. The 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@fhhcc.org.
Please also visit www.masscare.org and www.healthcare-now.org.
To
subscribe to the WMass Health Care Action mailing list, send a blank
email to healthcareaction-subscribe@lists.prometheuslabor.com
or go to http://lists.wmjwj.org/mailman/listinfo/healthcareaction.
Wednesday May 19 (Third Wednesday)
BROWN
BAG LUNCH VIGIL AT REP. NEAL’S OFFICE
Noon-1pm,
300 State St, Springfield (map). Monthly vigil in front of Rep. Richard Neal's office
to stop the escalation and funding for war and support for Improved Medicare
for All. Info: Tim Carpenter, tim@pdamerica.org;
go to the BBLV page.
Show
your Representative and your neighbors what social
benefits we could have paid for if the money spent on foreign,
nation-building wars had been spent building
our own communities (courtesy of the National Priorities Project).
Wednesday May 19 (Third Wednesday)
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@pvaflcio.org,
or Rick at 374-1492, rbrown@pvaflcio.org.
Suzanne
Bump, Candidate for State Auditor, former State Representative and Secretary of
Labor and Workforce Development, will speak.
CLASS ACTION OPEN HOUSE & PERFORMANCE
5:30-7:15pm, followed by a Valley Time Trade orientation 7:15-
8pm, Dynamite Space, Thorne’s Marketplace basement level, 150 Main St,
Northampton. Donations welcome!
•
Hear about Class Action's work: what we do, how we do it, and why we do it
•
Meet and greet community members interested in issues of class and classism,
including Class Action staff and Board members
•
Enjoy an audience interactive performance, Classism Theater Dialogue, with
Class Action’s Co-Founder Jenny Ladd and Friends
•
Take immediate action towards creating a world without classism by joining a
new project supporting the local economy (without money!): Valley Time Trade.
Info: 413-549-1747, jerry@classsim.org.
Thursday May 20 (Third Thursday)
IMMIGRANT
& WORKERS RIGHTS COALITION
7-8:30pm,
location in Northampton being confirmed. Organizing for comprehensive
immigration reform and local issues, including Boycott Arizona campaigns;
Sanctuary City campaigns; Emergency Action responses to raids; film series;
know your rights training; restaurant workers project (collecting information,
possible interviews). Info: American Friends Service Committee, 584-8975, office@afscwm.org.
The
Western Mass Coalition for Immigrant & Worker Rights is
organizations and community members who advocate, educate, organize, and mobilize
to protect the Human, Civil, and Constitutional Rights of all workers and
residents in our communities. To subscribe to its mailing list, send a blank
email to wmciwr-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
or go to https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/wmciwr.
Thursday May 20 (every Thursday)
ISO
MEETING
7:30pm,
Campus Center, room TBD, UMass Amherst. Regular meeting of local chapter of
International Socialist Organization. Info: Gary Lapon, glapon@gmail.com.
Friday May 21
CELEBRATE
29 YEARS OF SENIOR ACTION WITH JIM HIGHTOWER
5:30-8:30pm,
Freeport Hall (IBEW Local 103), 256 Freeport St, Dorchester. $35 (fixed income
$15). Every day Mass. Senior Action Council empowers seniors, builds their
collective power to effect change, and wins on critical issues. MSAC serves
thousands of low- and moderate-income seniors throughout the state,
concentrating on affordable housing, prescription drug costs, health care, and
other pressing issues. And its work brings real impacts for the generations to
come. Info: 617-442-3330, MMovelle@MassSeniorAction.org,
www.MassSeniorAction.org.
Transportation from Springfield is being organized.
Contact (413) 543-2334, lstone@masssenioraction.org.
See also May 26.
John
Bennett will be
honored at the dinner. John is the President of the MSAC Springfield Chapter
and past MSAC President. A retired teacher, professor, and labor educator, and
Pioneer Valley Central Labor Council Labor Historian, John is an active and vital
member of Western Mass. Jobs with Justice. We love you, John!
May 21-30
OF BORDERS & BRIDGES: COMPLEX IDENTITIES IN EDUCATION
Dynamite Space, Thorne’s Marketplace basement level, 150
Main St, Northampton. A
multimedia artistic and academic exploration of how diversity and belonging are
constructed and contested in public education and how this impacts people as
individuals and as a nation. Themes: art for social change, teaching and
learning, "nation-building", immigration, language, identity, nation,
home, diversity, English Language Learners, curriculum development,
multicultural education, multimodal media production. More details coming.
Info: Katie Richardson, katierayrich@gmail.com.
BROTHER,
CAN YOU SPARE A DIME?
3-5pm,
Shelburne Senior Center, 7 Main St, Shelburne Falls. A Charlie King and Karen
Brandow performance piece that includes music, dramatic readings, and wonderful
photos. Using images, dramatic readings, and powerful songs, this presentation
covers the 1930s including the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, the rise of
labor, and the build-up to World War 2. After the 55-minute presentation,
Charlie and Karen will facilitate a lively conversation with the audience.
Refreshments provided. Donations for the Senior Center gratefully accepted.
Info: (413) 625-2502, cbuntin@crocker.com.
Performance funded by the Massachusetts Council for the Arts. Contact Charlie
and Karen at http://www.charlieking.org.
Tuesday May 25 (Fourth
Tuesday)
HAMPSHIRE/FRANKLIN
CENTRAL LABOR COUNCIL
5:30-7pm,
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@comcast.net.
Wednesday
May 26 (now Fourth Wednesday)
MASS
SENIOR ACTION COUNCIL – WESTERN MASS
1:30-3pm,
Hobby Club, 309 Chestnut St, Springfield
(739-4874). Light refreshments, 50/50 raffle. 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, http://www.masssenioraction.org.
Thursday
May 27
LEWIS BLACK AT THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY BILL OF RIGHTS
DINNER
5:30pm Reception, 6:30pm Dinner, Westin Copley Place Hotel, 10
Huntington Ave, Boston. Join Lewis Black, along with artist Shepard Fairey,
musician Patty Larkin, and ACLU Baldwin Award winner Congressman John Lewis at
the Bill of Rights Dinner of the American Civil Liberties Union of
Massachusetts. Check out Lewis' latest
rant regarding Glenn Beck’s Nazi Tourette's on The Daily Show. Reply
now at www.aclum.org/dinner. Info:
Megan Warde, (617) 482-3170 x335, mwarde@aclum.org.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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The Western Mass. Jobs with Justice Workers’ Rights list
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 a blank email to workersrights-subscribe@lists.prometheuslabor.com or go to http://lists.wmjwj.org/mailman/listinfo/workersrights.
Western Mass Jobs with Justice
640 Page Blvd #101
Springfield MA 01104
(413) 827-0301
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