[NOTE 12/10 URGENT
ACTION – PICKET WITH YWCA WORKERS – BELOW]
[Breaking News –
Workers
Sit-In at Republic Windows and Doors - You can help them at http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/bankofamerica/]
Beginning with a National Week of Action this week, Jobs
with Justice launches an emergency campaign over the next 2˝ months to get Congress
and the new administration to enact a People’s Bail-Out.
Western Mass JwJ People’s
Bailout program on December 12 below.
The week includes Wednesday December 10, the 60th
Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Events this week
speak to a new future, which restores and expands the rights that were declared
“inalienable” to “all members of the human family” on
December 10, 1948. More at http://www.un.org/events/humanrights/udhr60/declaration.shtml
and http://www.jwj.org/campaigns/workers/tools/humanrights.html.
Local Human Rights
Day commemorations on December 10 and 13 below.
________________________________________________
WORKERS’ RIGHTS/HUMAN RIGHTS
CALENDAR 12/8-13:
December 8
& 9
RECONFIGURATIONS
OF RACISM & NEW SCENARIOS OF POWER AFTER 2001
Campus
Center Reading Room, UMass Amherst. Free educational. Monday: Opening
Panel, 9am-Noon: “The Panorama of Racism and Racial Politics in the
Americas Today”; Plenary I, 1:30-3:30pm: “Racial Politics: The
State of the Movements and the Movement for Racial Justice”; Plenary II,
4-6pm: “Racial Policies: Assessing State and Transnational Programs and
Practices”; Public Reception 6-7:30pm. Tuesday: Plenary III, 10am-Noon:
“Racist Regimes and Racial Politics in the Rise and Fall of Neoliberalism”.
Info: Prof. Agustín Laó-Montes, 219-6043, www.umass.edu/clacls/events.htm.
Monday
December 8
A
NONVIOLENT PEACEFORCE
7pm,
Traprock Center for Peace and Justice, 24 Miles St, downtown Greenfield, near
the Energy Park. Potluck dinner at 6pm. Mel Duncan, Executive Director,
Nonviolent Peaceforce, will show slides and talk about the Nonviolent
Peaceforce, trained citizens from around the world who, in partnership with
local groups, apply proven and effective strategies to protect human rights in
areas of violent conflict, helping to create space for local peacemakers to
carry out their work. Info: 772-7427, info@traprock.info,
http://traprock.info/.
Wednesday
December 10
HUMAN
RIGHTS DAY EFCA KICK OFF
11am,
kick off meeting, Noon, press event, 26 West St, downtown Boston. Help pass the
Employee Free Choice Act! Today, unions represent less than 13% of workers. It
is no coincidence that our economy is weak – workers need unions to reign
in corporate greed and excess. This is why we need you and your members to
stand up for the Employee Free Choice Act. Demand a real economic recovery!
Info, RSVP: Jennifer@massjwj.net,
617-524-8778, http://massjwj.net/.
HUMAN
RIGHTS DAY VIGIL
4-6pm,
downtown Amherst. Sponsored by Amnesty International. Info: Mohamed Ibrahim,
215-870-7809, mohamedelgadi@yahoo.com,
www.AI-Amherst.blogspot.com.
Wednesday December
10
PICKET YWCA HOLIDAY PARTY !!
5:30pm,
Shakago’s, 23 Hampden St, downtown Springfield (map).
Due to the continued refusal of the YWCA management to recognize and reward the
contributions its members make to the success of the YWCA, the UAW Local 2322
Contract Bargaining Committee has decided to picket the YWCA Holiday Party.
YWCA
workers have been in contract negotiations since May, and the YWCA has said
they “cannot afford” any raise at all for the workers who perform
the vital services the organization is known for and Exec Dir Mary Johnson
loves to brag about.
However,
the UAW’s review of YWCA financial records shows the YWCA had $593,000 in
unrestricted funds as of March 31, 2008. And Johnson has claimed in her annual report
that the YWCA has operated at a surplus for the last 24 years.
There
has been enough money so that she and other members of the YWCA upper
management have received substantial raises annually. In fact Johnson received
a 19% raise in fiscal year ending (FYE) 2006 and a 7.8% in FYE 2007 bringing
her total salary to $129,303. That does not include her “benefits”
package of $8,669 for FYE 2007.
Additionally,
the YWCA has spent in excess of $200,000 over the last several years in
lawyer’s fees to a known antiunion law firm to fight their workers’
rights to a union.
Even
past wage raises have not come from the YWCA! Annually in the 2-2.5% range,
these meager raises are provided by the Massachusetts Legislature through the
“Salary Reserve” for social services. And while the YWCA has
provided those same increases to a handful of workers who do not qualify for
the Salary Reserve, they also used that as an excuse to give raises to the
management of the YWCA, using “unrestricted” funds which they refuse
to use to fund raises to direct care staff. Those management increases often
far exceed the meager 2-2.5% direct care workers have received from the Salary
Reserve.
TELL YWCA: WORKERS DESERVE A RAISE!
Please
support United Auto Workers Local 2322 members employed at the YWCA of Western
Massachusetts by joining their picket line Dec 10 and contacting the Executive
Director and Board President and telling them to give their workers a raise.
Exec Dir Mary Johnson is at (413) 732-3121 x101 and mrj@ywworks.org, also info@ywworks.org. President of the Board of
Directors Lt. C. Lee Bennett is at clbennett@springfieldpolice.net.
Info: Ron Patenaude, President, UAW 2322,
534-7600, uaw2322@uaw2322.org, www.somethingaboutmaryjohnson.com.
About
5 minutes straight northeast to next event:
Wednesday
December 10
FREE
FILM: MADE IN L.A.
6:30-8:30pm,
250 Albany St, Springfield (map).
Made in L.A. is an Emmy-award winning documentary that 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 a mega-trendy clothing retailer. In intimate verité 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. Presented in commemoration of
Human Rights Day.
Free
refreshments. We will invite donations to support SweatFree Communities'
advocacy for the human rights of sweatshop workers. Sponsored by CSR Wire,
Gasoline Alley Foundation, and SweatFree Communities. Info: Liana Foxvog,
586-0974, liana@sweatfree.org, www.sweatfree.org, www.madeinla.com.
Thursday
December 11
SPRAWL
& LOCAL ECONOMIES TEACH-IN
6pm,
Food for Thought Books, 106 N Pleasant St, downtown Amherst. Coincides with
Home Depot “Grand Opening” - Will you attend the Home Depot
opening, celebrating yet another big box for the Pioneer Valley and the traffic-choked
eyesore that Route 9 has become; or will you attend the Sprawl and Local
Economies Teach-in, and participate in a community discussion about economic
and environmental sustainability, and what makes the Pioneer Valley so special?
What’s
at stake? • vibrant downtowns • locally- and family-owned
businesses • open space • farmland • wetlands •
air/water/noise/light pollution • traffic • public safety •
emergency response times • the rail trail • smart growth •
taxpayer burden • local and foreign workers' rights • a sense of
community, and the Valley's unique quality of life.
Come
share your perspectives on the region’s future with contractors,
planners, environmentalists, students, labor organizers, business owners, and
others. Speakers include Emily Kawano, Center for Popular Economics; Jon
Weissman, Western Mass Jobs with Justice; Nick Seamon, Black Sheep Deli; and
Prakash Laufer, United for a Fair Economy. We beat the Wal-Mart Superstore. Now
let’s celebrate, and protect, what we’ve got. Info: Aron Goldman,
218-7865, goldman@policydevelopment.org;
Erika Arthur, 253-5432, info@foodforthoughtbooks.com;
and www.stopsprawlmart.org, www.foodforthoughtbooks,
www.jwj.org, www.hadleyneighbors.org.
Thursday
December 11 (changed from First Thursday this month)
MASS
CITIZENS AGAINST THE DEALTH PENALTY
7-8:30pm,
Unitarian Society, 245 Porter Lake Drive, Springfield (736-2324). Agenda items
include Sacco Vanzetti 2009 Commemoration. Info: 567-3451, CAJOWL66@aol.com, http://www.mcadp.org.
Friday
December 12
PIONEER
VALLEY STREET HEAT (Second
Friday)
9:30-11am,
AFL-CIO Hall, 640 Page Blvd, near corner of Osborne Ter, across the street from
the old Westinghouse, Springfield. The AFL-CIO Mobilization Committee welcomes
all community and labor activists. On the agenda: EFCA! YWCA! Postal
Privatization! Wal-Mart! Your Organizing! Info, send agenda items to: Jon
Weissman, 732-7970, street_heat@pvaflcio.org.
Friday
December 12
CONSTITUENTS
MEETING WITH REP DONELAN FOR SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE
11am,
Green Fields Market upstairs meeting room, 144 Main St, Greenfield. A follow-up
to our successful ballot question: On November 4, in 10 districts across the
state, voters told their Representatives, including Chris Donelan, to
"support legislation creating a cost-effective single payer health
insurance system that is available to all residents, and oppose laws penalizing
those who fail to obtain health insurance." Support for single payer
ranged from 65 to 82 percent, and averaged 73 percent, an impressive
referendum. It is clear that the general public is way ahead of the Legislature
and the press in understanding that our current law has not stopped the 10 to
15 percent annual rise in healthcare premiums. The insurance industry continues
to avoid patients who need costly medical care, and still wastes up to 25
percent of the healthcare dollar on overhead, CEO salaries, marketing,
underwriting, and union-busting. Info, to attend: Mary Siano, 773-3485.
WHY
WE NEED A PEOPLE'S BAILOUT
7pm,
Pioneer Valley Central Labor Council, 640 Page Blvd (Route 2A), Springfield.
Beginning this week, Jobs with Justice launches an emergency campaign over the
next 2˝ months to get Congress and the new administration to enact a People’s Bail-Out.
Prof Gerald Friedman and Helen Scharber, of the UMass Economics Dept and the
Center for Popular Economics (CPE)
will lead off a discussion of: What caused the economic meltdown? What should a
recovery plan or People's Bailout include? and What strategies and tactics
should we in Western Mass use to win? Info: Jobs with Justice, 827-0301, wmjwj@wmjwj.org, www.jwj.org/bailout/index.html.
UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS CELEBRATION
Noon,
in front of First Churches, 129 Main St, Northampton. Individuals, including
Jobs with Justice activists, who have struggled – against racism, for the
rights of women, lgbt people, the imprisoned and tortured, for peace and the
environment, for the dignity and rights of labor – will read the 30
Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Each will then
pronounce, from his/her own perspective, a request for change in the next 4
years. This will be interspersed with music, and we'll have hot chocolate to
fend off any cold weather. Info: Marty Nathan, 531-9915, martygjf@comcast.net.
Saturday
December 13
UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS CELEBRATION
Noon-3:30pm,
Town Hall, 4 Boltwood Avenue, Amherst. The Amherst Human Rights Commission will
sponsor a celebration honoring the 60th anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the election of an Afro-American president.
Food, music, and reflection. Info: Frank Gatti, 256-4937, fmgatti@comcast.net.
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Western Mass
Jobs with Justice
640 Page Blvd #101
Springfield MA 01104
(413) 827-0301