RUN AND VOTE FOR LABOR AND JUSTICE THESE NEXT ELECTIONS!!!! WE NEED THIRD WAY CORPORATE DEMOCRATS.....ALL MARYLAND DEMOCRATS.....OUT OF OFFICE!!
HOYER, CARDIN, SARBANES (SR), CUMMINGS.....ALL VOTED THE GLASS-STEAGALL WALL DOWN KNOWING IT WOULD CREATE THE BIG BANKS, MASSIVE WEALTH INEQUITY, KILL THE MIDDLE/CLASS AND UNIONS......AND THEY ARE STILL IN OFFICE FOR GOODNESS SAKE!!! IT LISTEN TO UNIONS CAMPAIGN THAT THESE ARE FAMILY-FRIENDLY POLS!!!
The journal Nation headlined its latest magazine cover with the fact that there were over a 100 May Day events scheduled across the country. Indeed, the social media outlets were filled with video of all kinds of union rallies and protests. From nurses unions, to trade unions, teacher's unions, postal unions......streets filled with labor as anger grows at the war against the middle/lower class and labor gets stronger with a captured Capitol Hill.
If you notice, there were no news reports on main stream media about all of these protests/rallies in America. The only shot at May Day protest came from Indonesia and other Muslim countries. Why do you think the US media would show May Day overseas and not in America? The answer is obvious....corporate media in America including NPR/APM want to keep quiet the growing movement. They highlight May Day in the Muslim world because they use that to promote market-building in Muslim countries and it represents the idea of third world countries becoming second world. They do not show pictures of massive protests in Europe and the US because it shows the movement of formerly first world countries down to second/third world status. IT IS CAREFULLY PACKAGED MEDIA THAT HIDES THE DECLINE OF THE FIRST WORLD TO STANDARDS EQUAL TO SECOND AND THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES.
Labor and justice organizations across America are on the move. Whereas I disagree with the union support for the kind of Immigration Reform that will come from Capitol Hill we do need to shout loudly about the need for citizenship for immigrants......NOW as there will be no honoring this 'path to citizenship'. Here in Maryland/Baltimore the labor organizations Unite Here and United Workers joined last week for a great march for worker's rights!!!! They do a great job for low-wage workers.
Where was AFSCME, AFL-CIO, and SEUI MARYLAND? There was not one major march or rally from them outside of the Immigration issue and that is a mainstream political issue now. They are pushing O'Malley/Obama agendas in their protests but failing to shout out about these same political agendas killing labor. MARYLAND'S MAIN LABOR UNIONS ARE SILENT AS THIRD WAY POLICY IS SLOWLY KILLING PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS AND PRIVATE SECTOR WAGES AND BENEFITS. This is because Maryland's unions, as with all organizations are captured and often do not work in the interest of their membership. WE NEED TO SHAKE UP MAINSTREAM LABOR UNIONS LEADERSHIP TO EXPOSE BAD LABOR PRACTICES IN A CORPORATE CONTROLLED GOVERNMENT!!!
We have Home Health Care and lower-income hospital staff in Maryland under great wage impoverishment and as these Affordable Care Act reform and austerity cuts take effect we will see even the solidly middle-class wages of what they call in Maryland the 'professional' job categories are going to see a nose-dive as well. They are not out in front of this with all of this silence. We know that adjunct faculty across the country are getting crucified by part time status and wages that are ridiculous but where are their unions.....the SEUI represents education workers. With school closings and a move towards charters we know that it is only time when all these charters are allowed to go union-free because the purpose of charters is privatization and profit-making in education. NOT A PEEP EVEN AS TEACHER'S UNIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY TAKE TO THE STREETS. Do you know what is happening as the MTA privatizes public transportation to VEOLA? The unions are kept initially but then there is a concerted plan to force union members out and they are not replaced. Do you know why Maryland passed the driver's license exception for immigrants? So immigrants can take transportation jobs with no unions. All of this effects the TEAMSTERS UNIONS but not a peep in Maryland. State and City employees are seeing a crushing privatization of public sector jobs to private contractors and the Federal employee unions know that they are in line for ever more wage and benefit cuts as austerity plays out and this is a decade of cuts we are talking about.....it will not stop. YET I DO NOT HEAR AFSCME SHOUTING FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE POLITICAL AGENDA OF IMMIGRATION REFORM.
What we see are 'bones' being tossed to these unions as union leadership negotiate to save the labor contracts. We all know they are bones as further policies just devastate these same workers later. Unions cannot keep supporting these Third Way corporate democrats every election as they work against the interests of labor and justice!!!
COME OUT THIS MONTH TO ALL OF THE PLANNED EVENTS SURROUNDING THE IDEA OF MAY DAY AND FREEDOM AND JUSTICE!!!!
VOTE YOUR THIRD WAY CORPORATE DEMOCRAT OUT OF OFFICE!!!!!
More Than 100 US May Day Protests Planned, International Activists Arrested Allison Kilkenny on May 1, 2011 - 9:03 AM ET
It’s unfortunate that many Americans lost the memory of May Day because in failing to celebrate the holiday, US workers are deprived of the spirit of solidarity they used to share with international workers. However, that doesn’t mean that May Day is completely forgotten within the United States.
The San Jose May 1 Coalition is hosting a march for immigration rights, while the protests of Governor Scott Walker continue in Wisconsin. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will speak at Milwaukee’s May Day march today in one of more than 100 marches and rallies that will be held across the country.
The AFL-CIO is live-blogging May Day actions and also tweeting updates under the hashtag #MayDay. In a written statement, the union’s blog reads: “These rallies and marches will show workers’ rights and immigrant rights are connected.”
Christine Neumann-Ortiz, founder and executive director of Voces de la Frontera, says that there is now “an unprecedented alliance” between labor and immigrant rights communities in the wake of Walker’s bill that eliminate bargaining rights for public workers. “We want to send a message to corporate America, politicians and others that working people will not be divided,” she says.
VDLF’s website features a video in Spanish advertising the Wisconsin solidarity May 1 march.
Sheila Cochran, secretary-treasurer of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO, and its chief operating officers tells the Journal Sentinel that instead of blaming immigrants for lack of employment opportunities, workers should hold their employers accountable for encouraging a race to the bottom in a frenzy to maximize profits. Cochran says it’s in labor’s interest to see comprehensive immigration reform so wages and working standards aren’t driven down further.
Internationally, May Day protests are garnering much attention. Eight people were arrested during a protest in Brighton, and massive marches occurred in Russia and Turkey. More than 3,000 blue-collar workers took to the streets of Taipei for their May Day protest over low incomes, long hours, and the widening wealth gap, and in Kuala Lumpur twenty protesters were arrested for failing to disperse from an “illegal assembly.”
Footage from the police crackdown in Brighton:
Related Topics: Labor and Immigration | Activism | Labor
Baltimore Rallies for Fair Development
Posted in Culture, Events, Fight for Fair Development, Media, Unity on April 29th, 2013 by Mike – Comments Off Baltimore Rallies for Fair Development from United Workers on Vimeo.
Last week’s Fair Development Rally, on April 20, was a huge success. Over 400 people came out. We had an amazing diversity of local musicians, performers, and speakers from across Baltimore. The unity of so many groups and issues under the banner of Fair Development was powerful.
Rich Armstrong, from Community Churches United, kicked the day off as the MC.
“What we’re here to do today is to let Caesars know, let the mayor know, and any other politician know, that we will not stand to be disrespected any more in Baltimore city,” he said.
The rally was held just a block from the site of Caesars’ future Horseshoe Casino. The Fair Development Campaign has been calling on the casino to hire locally, pay a living wage, and respect workers’ right to organize. An agreement for a fair process for unionization is expected any day between Caesars and UNITE HERE, which would be an important first step toward ensuring good jobs at the casino for Baltimore residents.
“This casino is going in – that’s clear! Maryland voters voted for it last November. But they did so, in part, because of the promise of good jobs. Good, full-time jobs,” said Rev. Roger Powers, of Light Street Presbyterian, at the rally. “Our hope is that this project will be a showcase of what fair development looks like, and not just another example of development that fails our community.”
At the rally, hip-hop artists from Benjamin Franklin High School performed alongside low-wage workers who testified about Baltimore’s current development model.
“It’s not fair that we work on publically owned property, paid for by tax dollars, our tax dollars, but we are paid barely above minimum wage,” said Yaseen Abdul-Malik, a restaurant employee at BWI airport. “Our employers benefit from massive public assistance, assistance that comes off of our pay checks and off of our backs, but what is the benefit to our community?”
The rally closed with a lively street theatre performance with singing and people-size playing cards, made by members of the campaign. The crowd then marched to McKeldin Square, in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, where city and state officials have handed over more than $2 billion in subsidies and tax breaks to big developers since the 1970s, while workers are left struggling to survive in low-wage and temporary jobs. This is failed development.
Instead, we demand Fair Development, which produces living wage jobs and protects the workers’ right to organize. Development should prioritize communities most in need and provide public benefits and community resources. It should be transparent, accountable, and Baltimore residents need to be an active part of decisions made about their communities. Is this too much to ask? We don’t think so, and a movement is growing across the city to make it happen. The April 20 Fair Development Rally was the first joint action of the Fair Development Campaign, a collaboration between UNITE HERE, United Workers, and Community Churches United, that has been endorsed by AFSCME, IATSE, the NAACP, Interfaith Worker Justice, the Presbytery of Baltimore, and several other community groups.
If you missed the rally, you can still catch most of it here. By following the links in this article, you can check out longer testimony. Here are some links to the media coverage. A short video on the day is available above, two Flickr photosets are available here and here, and you can check out the complete audio from the stage here:
Washington Peace Center 50th Anniversary/May Day Celebration! Submitted by DonnaSimone on Tue, 04/09/2013 - 8:09am When: Saturday, May 4, 2013 - 9:00pmWhere: St Stephen's Church (auditorium)
1525 Newton St NW.
Washington DC
Dance the night away and celebrate 50 years of working for peace and justice. DJs, drinks and great company! View our interactive timeline of the past 50 years and record the moment in our photo booth. Limited tickets for dinner and program earlier in the evening are available. Contact 50th@washingtonpeacecenter.org if you'd like tickets for the dinner and program.
Tickets for the dance party are $5-50, payable at the door.
May Day is a holiday for all! Come celebrate with our community.
Saturday, May 4th, 9:00-midnight
St Stephen's Church (auditorium)
1525 Newton St NW.
MAKE SURE TO RSVP!
Did You Know?
1963: After leading a vigil against biological and chemical weapons, a small group of Quakers officially found the Washington Peace Center.
1965: WPC helps organize the SDS anti-Vietnam March.
1972: WPC is THE place to go in DC for draft counseling. FBI breaks into the office.
1987: WPC works against US intervention in Central America and Southern Africa.
1990: WPC leads local opposition to first Gulf War.
Today: WPC serves as a thriving hub for local activism and a force for peace and justice.
_____________________________________________________
POOR PEOPLES CAMPAIGN & MARCH FROM BALTIMORE TO WASHINGTON D.C. Submitted by DonnaSimone on Wed, 01/23/2013 - 9:11pm When: Saturday, May 11, 2013 - 9:00am to Monday, May 13, 2013 - 6:00pmWhere: Gather and leave from E Biddle and Montford in East Baltimore to National Mall in Washington DC
Message from the Baltimore Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Peoples Power Assembly
RECLAIM DR. KING JR’S DREAM DURING THIS HISTORIC YEAR
On the anniversary of the Poor Peoples Campaign help to ignite a fight for people’s rights and join the:
2013 POOR PEOPLES CAMPAIGN & MARCH FROM BALTIMORE TO WASHINGTON D.C.
Beginning on Sat., May 11th – the anniversary weekend of the Poor Peoples Campaign
Why we are marching?
• To end the epidemic of police terror and mass incarcerations.
• To protest austerity and end poverty - We need jobs or income now!
• To stop attacks on workers rights.
• For justice – to stop racism, end attacks on immigrants, women, & LGBTQ people.
• To end war and occupations and spend the trillions on education, jobs, and healthcare.
If Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today he would be calling for such an effort.
If you are interested in organizing your community, school, or union to be part of this effort call us for upcoming organizing meetings.
The campaign to reclaim this historic year and Dr. King Jr’s legacy; to fight back against police terror, austerity, attacks on workers and student rights was consented at the Dec 15, 2012, National Peoples Power Assembly.
If you were not at this important gathering, but want to be involved please call us at 410-500-2168 or 410-218-4835 or email BaltimorePeoplesAssembly@gmail.com. To sign on as an endorser of this effort please contact us by phone or email.
Initiated by: Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Baltimore and the Baltimore Peoples Power Assembly – 2011 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218
The facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/135867173240346/permalink/13630294319676...
_______________________________________________________
March Against Monsanto Washington, D.C Submitted by DonnaSimone on Tue, 04/09/2013 - 8:23am When: Saturday, May 25, 2013 - 2:00pmWhere: National Mall
900 Ohio Dr. SW
Washington, D.C.
Further information will be post soon. Thank you for all the support.
*************************************************
March Against Monsanto Annapolis Maryland Submitted by DonnaSimone on Tue, 04/09/2013 - 8:34am When: Saturday, May 25, 2013 - 2:00pmWhere: TBA
Annapolis, Maryland
On May 25, activists around the world will unite to March Against Monsanto.
Why do we march??
Research studies have shown that Monsanto’s genetically-modified foods can lead to serious health conditions such as the development of cancer tumors, infertility and birth defects.
In the United States, the FDA, the agency tasked with ensuring food safety for the population, is steered by ex-Monsanto executives, and we feel that’s a questionable conflict of interests and explains the lack of government-lead research on the long-term effects of GMO products.
Recently, the U.S. Congress and president collectively passed the nicknamed “Monsanto Protection Act” that, among other things, bans courts from halting the sale of Monsanto’s genetically-modified seeds.
For too long, Monsanto has been the benefactor of corporate subsidies and political favoritism. Organic and small farmers suffer losses while Monsanto continues to forge its monopoly over the world’s food supply, including exclusive patenting rights over seeds and genetic makeup.
Monsanto's GMO seeds are harmful to the environment; for example, scientists have indicated they have caused colony collapse among the world's bee population.
What are solutions we advocate?
Labeling of GMOs so that consumers can make informed decisions.
Repealing relevant provisions of the US's "Monsanto Protection Act."
Calling for further scientific research on the health effects of GMOs.
Holding Monsanto-supporting politicians accountable through direct communication, grassroots journalism, social media, etc.
Continuing to inform the public about Monsanto's secrets.
We will not stand for cronyism. We will not stand for poison. That’s why we March Against Monsanto.
Join us!
___________________________________________________
National Convergence & March on Washington for Equal Rights Submitted by DonnaSimone on Wed, 11/14/2012 - 9:00pm When: Friday, May 31, 2013 - 1:00am to Sunday, June 2, 2013 - 9:00pmWhere: National Mall
Washington, DC
National Convergence & March on Washington for Equal Rights
DAY 1 : The Convergence , getting every single leader in most movements and in the LGBT community, putting them in a ballroom sized conference room and hashing out and organizing how to win the American Equality Bill and fight for the 14th In this session of 2013-2014 Congress. Please feel free to add
Day 2 : The Gathering - Bringing community leaders, activists,bloggers and all the warriors needed to make a huge event organize workshops and networking to keep the national movement starting and the camp
aign going to push congress and senate and the president. Please feel free to add
Day 3 : The Rally The March The Action The Lobby The Music The Agitation
IN ORDER TO FULFILL the promises of life and liberty, and to ensure equal protection of the law as guaranteed by the United States Constitution;
TO PROTECT the inalienable human right to be safe from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity as required by international law and treaty; and
TO END the systemic stigmatization, cease the societal rejection and heal the suffering of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans as mandated by conscience;
WE, the undersigned, pledge our support for the passage of omnibus LGBT equality legislation that grants full non-discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity equal to those accorded other statuses under existing civil rights laws and Supreme Court jurisprudence, specifically including:
Public Accommodations (Title II, 1964 Civil Rights Act)(e.g., restaurants, hotels, theaters)
Public Facilities (Title III, 1964 Civil Rights Act) (e.g., courthouses, jails, hospitals, parks)
Federally-Funded Programs (Title VI, 1964 Civil Rights Act) (e.g., adoption, police, schools, homeless youth, health care)
Employment (Title VII, 1964 Civil Rights Act; 1978 Civil Service Reform Act; 1991 Government Employee Rights Act; 1995 Congressional Accountability Act; 10 U.S.C. Ch. 37) (e.g., civilian and military government, private sector)
Housing (Title VIII, 1968 Civil Rights Act, aka the Fair Housing Act) (e.g., rental, purchase, finance)
Education (Title IX, 1972 Education Amendments Act) (e.g., schools, bullying)
Credit (1974 Equal Credit Opportunity Act) (e.g., credit cards)
Federal Marriage Equality (based on gender, SO) (e.g., 1967 Supreme Court Decision, Loving v. Virginia)
Immigration, Disability, and Family Leave (Uniting American Families Act (proposed), the American With Disabilities Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act)
We call upon the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus to lead the way by filing an omnibus LGBT equality bill immediately that includes all of the provisions enumerated above.
We further call upon Congress, and all candidates for elected office, to sign this pledge to pass such omnibus LGBT equality legislation immediately, but no later than 2014 — the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act — fulfilling both their individual duty and that of the United States government to ensure justice, equality, and fundamental human rights protections for all Americans.
HOYER, CARDIN, SARBANES (SR), CUMMINGS.....ALL VOTED THE GLASS-STEAGALL WALL DOWN KNOWING IT WOULD CREATE THE BIG BANKS, MASSIVE WEALTH INEQUITY, KILL THE MIDDLE/CLASS AND UNIONS......AND THEY ARE STILL IN OFFICE FOR GOODNESS SAKE!!! IT LISTEN TO UNIONS CAMPAIGN THAT THESE ARE FAMILY-FRIENDLY POLS!!!
The journal Nation headlined its latest magazine cover with the fact that there were over a 100 May Day events scheduled across the country. Indeed, the social media outlets were filled with video of all kinds of union rallies and protests. From nurses unions, to trade unions, teacher's unions, postal unions......streets filled with labor as anger grows at the war against the middle/lower class and labor gets stronger with a captured Capitol Hill.
If you notice, there were no news reports on main stream media about all of these protests/rallies in America. The only shot at May Day protest came from Indonesia and other Muslim countries. Why do you think the US media would show May Day overseas and not in America? The answer is obvious....corporate media in America including NPR/APM want to keep quiet the growing movement. They highlight May Day in the Muslim world because they use that to promote market-building in Muslim countries and it represents the idea of third world countries becoming second world. They do not show pictures of massive protests in Europe and the US because it shows the movement of formerly first world countries down to second/third world status. IT IS CAREFULLY PACKAGED MEDIA THAT HIDES THE DECLINE OF THE FIRST WORLD TO STANDARDS EQUAL TO SECOND AND THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES.
Labor and justice organizations across America are on the move. Whereas I disagree with the union support for the kind of Immigration Reform that will come from Capitol Hill we do need to shout loudly about the need for citizenship for immigrants......NOW as there will be no honoring this 'path to citizenship'. Here in Maryland/Baltimore the labor organizations Unite Here and United Workers joined last week for a great march for worker's rights!!!! They do a great job for low-wage workers.
Where was AFSCME, AFL-CIO, and SEUI MARYLAND? There was not one major march or rally from them outside of the Immigration issue and that is a mainstream political issue now. They are pushing O'Malley/Obama agendas in their protests but failing to shout out about these same political agendas killing labor. MARYLAND'S MAIN LABOR UNIONS ARE SILENT AS THIRD WAY POLICY IS SLOWLY KILLING PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS AND PRIVATE SECTOR WAGES AND BENEFITS. This is because Maryland's unions, as with all organizations are captured and often do not work in the interest of their membership. WE NEED TO SHAKE UP MAINSTREAM LABOR UNIONS LEADERSHIP TO EXPOSE BAD LABOR PRACTICES IN A CORPORATE CONTROLLED GOVERNMENT!!!
We have Home Health Care and lower-income hospital staff in Maryland under great wage impoverishment and as these Affordable Care Act reform and austerity cuts take effect we will see even the solidly middle-class wages of what they call in Maryland the 'professional' job categories are going to see a nose-dive as well. They are not out in front of this with all of this silence. We know that adjunct faculty across the country are getting crucified by part time status and wages that are ridiculous but where are their unions.....the SEUI represents education workers. With school closings and a move towards charters we know that it is only time when all these charters are allowed to go union-free because the purpose of charters is privatization and profit-making in education. NOT A PEEP EVEN AS TEACHER'S UNIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY TAKE TO THE STREETS. Do you know what is happening as the MTA privatizes public transportation to VEOLA? The unions are kept initially but then there is a concerted plan to force union members out and they are not replaced. Do you know why Maryland passed the driver's license exception for immigrants? So immigrants can take transportation jobs with no unions. All of this effects the TEAMSTERS UNIONS but not a peep in Maryland. State and City employees are seeing a crushing privatization of public sector jobs to private contractors and the Federal employee unions know that they are in line for ever more wage and benefit cuts as austerity plays out and this is a decade of cuts we are talking about.....it will not stop. YET I DO NOT HEAR AFSCME SHOUTING FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE POLITICAL AGENDA OF IMMIGRATION REFORM.
What we see are 'bones' being tossed to these unions as union leadership negotiate to save the labor contracts. We all know they are bones as further policies just devastate these same workers later. Unions cannot keep supporting these Third Way corporate democrats every election as they work against the interests of labor and justice!!!
COME OUT THIS MONTH TO ALL OF THE PLANNED EVENTS SURROUNDING THE IDEA OF MAY DAY AND FREEDOM AND JUSTICE!!!!
VOTE YOUR THIRD WAY CORPORATE DEMOCRAT OUT OF OFFICE!!!!!
More Than 100 US May Day Protests Planned, International Activists Arrested Allison Kilkenny on May 1, 2011 - 9:03 AM ET
It’s unfortunate that many Americans lost the memory of May Day because in failing to celebrate the holiday, US workers are deprived of the spirit of solidarity they used to share with international workers. However, that doesn’t mean that May Day is completely forgotten within the United States.
The San Jose May 1 Coalition is hosting a march for immigration rights, while the protests of Governor Scott Walker continue in Wisconsin. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will speak at Milwaukee’s May Day march today in one of more than 100 marches and rallies that will be held across the country.
The AFL-CIO is live-blogging May Day actions and also tweeting updates under the hashtag #MayDay. In a written statement, the union’s blog reads: “These rallies and marches will show workers’ rights and immigrant rights are connected.”
Christine Neumann-Ortiz, founder and executive director of Voces de la Frontera, says that there is now “an unprecedented alliance” between labor and immigrant rights communities in the wake of Walker’s bill that eliminate bargaining rights for public workers. “We want to send a message to corporate America, politicians and others that working people will not be divided,” she says.
VDLF’s website features a video in Spanish advertising the Wisconsin solidarity May 1 march.
Sheila Cochran, secretary-treasurer of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO, and its chief operating officers tells the Journal Sentinel that instead of blaming immigrants for lack of employment opportunities, workers should hold their employers accountable for encouraging a race to the bottom in a frenzy to maximize profits. Cochran says it’s in labor’s interest to see comprehensive immigration reform so wages and working standards aren’t driven down further.
Internationally, May Day protests are garnering much attention. Eight people were arrested during a protest in Brighton, and massive marches occurred in Russia and Turkey. More than 3,000 blue-collar workers took to the streets of Taipei for their May Day protest over low incomes, long hours, and the widening wealth gap, and in Kuala Lumpur twenty protesters were arrested for failing to disperse from an “illegal assembly.”
Footage from the police crackdown in Brighton:
Related Topics: Labor and Immigration | Activism | Labor
- _______________________________________________
Baltimore Rallies for Fair Development
Posted in Culture, Events, Fight for Fair Development, Media, Unity on April 29th, 2013 by Mike – Comments Off Baltimore Rallies for Fair Development from United Workers on Vimeo.
Last week’s Fair Development Rally, on April 20, was a huge success. Over 400 people came out. We had an amazing diversity of local musicians, performers, and speakers from across Baltimore. The unity of so many groups and issues under the banner of Fair Development was powerful.
Rich Armstrong, from Community Churches United, kicked the day off as the MC.
“What we’re here to do today is to let Caesars know, let the mayor know, and any other politician know, that we will not stand to be disrespected any more in Baltimore city,” he said.
The rally was held just a block from the site of Caesars’ future Horseshoe Casino. The Fair Development Campaign has been calling on the casino to hire locally, pay a living wage, and respect workers’ right to organize. An agreement for a fair process for unionization is expected any day between Caesars and UNITE HERE, which would be an important first step toward ensuring good jobs at the casino for Baltimore residents.
“This casino is going in – that’s clear! Maryland voters voted for it last November. But they did so, in part, because of the promise of good jobs. Good, full-time jobs,” said Rev. Roger Powers, of Light Street Presbyterian, at the rally. “Our hope is that this project will be a showcase of what fair development looks like, and not just another example of development that fails our community.”
At the rally, hip-hop artists from Benjamin Franklin High School performed alongside low-wage workers who testified about Baltimore’s current development model.
“It’s not fair that we work on publically owned property, paid for by tax dollars, our tax dollars, but we are paid barely above minimum wage,” said Yaseen Abdul-Malik, a restaurant employee at BWI airport. “Our employers benefit from massive public assistance, assistance that comes off of our pay checks and off of our backs, but what is the benefit to our community?”
The rally closed with a lively street theatre performance with singing and people-size playing cards, made by members of the campaign. The crowd then marched to McKeldin Square, in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, where city and state officials have handed over more than $2 billion in subsidies and tax breaks to big developers since the 1970s, while workers are left struggling to survive in low-wage and temporary jobs. This is failed development.
Instead, we demand Fair Development, which produces living wage jobs and protects the workers’ right to organize. Development should prioritize communities most in need and provide public benefits and community resources. It should be transparent, accountable, and Baltimore residents need to be an active part of decisions made about their communities. Is this too much to ask? We don’t think so, and a movement is growing across the city to make it happen. The April 20 Fair Development Rally was the first joint action of the Fair Development Campaign, a collaboration between UNITE HERE, United Workers, and Community Churches United, that has been endorsed by AFSCME, IATSE, the NAACP, Interfaith Worker Justice, the Presbytery of Baltimore, and several other community groups.
If you missed the rally, you can still catch most of it here. By following the links in this article, you can check out longer testimony. Here are some links to the media coverage. A short video on the day is available above, two Flickr photosets are available here and here, and you can check out the complete audio from the stage here:
Washington Peace Center 50th Anniversary/May Day Celebration! Submitted by DonnaSimone on Tue, 04/09/2013 - 8:09am When: Saturday, May 4, 2013 - 9:00pmWhere: St Stephen's Church (auditorium)
1525 Newton St NW.
Washington DC
Dance the night away and celebrate 50 years of working for peace and justice. DJs, drinks and great company! View our interactive timeline of the past 50 years and record the moment in our photo booth. Limited tickets for dinner and program earlier in the evening are available. Contact 50th@washingtonpeacecenter.org if you'd like tickets for the dinner and program.
Tickets for the dance party are $5-50, payable at the door.
May Day is a holiday for all! Come celebrate with our community.
Saturday, May 4th, 9:00-midnight
St Stephen's Church (auditorium)
1525 Newton St NW.
MAKE SURE TO RSVP!
Did You Know?
1963: After leading a vigil against biological and chemical weapons, a small group of Quakers officially found the Washington Peace Center.
1965: WPC helps organize the SDS anti-Vietnam March.
1972: WPC is THE place to go in DC for draft counseling. FBI breaks into the office.
1987: WPC works against US intervention in Central America and Southern Africa.
1990: WPC leads local opposition to first Gulf War.
Today: WPC serves as a thriving hub for local activism and a force for peace and justice.
_____________________________________________________
POOR PEOPLES CAMPAIGN & MARCH FROM BALTIMORE TO WASHINGTON D.C. Submitted by DonnaSimone on Wed, 01/23/2013 - 9:11pm When: Saturday, May 11, 2013 - 9:00am to Monday, May 13, 2013 - 6:00pmWhere: Gather and leave from E Biddle and Montford in East Baltimore to National Mall in Washington DC
Message from the Baltimore Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Peoples Power Assembly
RECLAIM DR. KING JR’S DREAM DURING THIS HISTORIC YEAR
On the anniversary of the Poor Peoples Campaign help to ignite a fight for people’s rights and join the:
2013 POOR PEOPLES CAMPAIGN & MARCH FROM BALTIMORE TO WASHINGTON D.C.
Beginning on Sat., May 11th – the anniversary weekend of the Poor Peoples Campaign
Why we are marching?
• To end the epidemic of police terror and mass incarcerations.
• To protest austerity and end poverty - We need jobs or income now!
• To stop attacks on workers rights.
• For justice – to stop racism, end attacks on immigrants, women, & LGBTQ people.
• To end war and occupations and spend the trillions on education, jobs, and healthcare.
If Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today he would be calling for such an effort.
If you are interested in organizing your community, school, or union to be part of this effort call us for upcoming organizing meetings.
The campaign to reclaim this historic year and Dr. King Jr’s legacy; to fight back against police terror, austerity, attacks on workers and student rights was consented at the Dec 15, 2012, National Peoples Power Assembly.
If you were not at this important gathering, but want to be involved please call us at 410-500-2168 or 410-218-4835 or email BaltimorePeoplesAssembly@gmail.com. To sign on as an endorser of this effort please contact us by phone or email.
Initiated by: Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Baltimore and the Baltimore Peoples Power Assembly – 2011 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218
The facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/135867173240346/permalink/13630294319676...
_______________________________________________________
March Against Monsanto Washington, D.C Submitted by DonnaSimone on Tue, 04/09/2013 - 8:23am When: Saturday, May 25, 2013 - 2:00pmWhere: National Mall
900 Ohio Dr. SW
Washington, D.C.
Further information will be post soon. Thank you for all the support.
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March Against Monsanto Annapolis Maryland Submitted by DonnaSimone on Tue, 04/09/2013 - 8:34am When: Saturday, May 25, 2013 - 2:00pmWhere: TBA
Annapolis, Maryland
On May 25, activists around the world will unite to March Against Monsanto.
Why do we march??
Research studies have shown that Monsanto’s genetically-modified foods can lead to serious health conditions such as the development of cancer tumors, infertility and birth defects.
In the United States, the FDA, the agency tasked with ensuring food safety for the population, is steered by ex-Monsanto executives, and we feel that’s a questionable conflict of interests and explains the lack of government-lead research on the long-term effects of GMO products.
Recently, the U.S. Congress and president collectively passed the nicknamed “Monsanto Protection Act” that, among other things, bans courts from halting the sale of Monsanto’s genetically-modified seeds.
For too long, Monsanto has been the benefactor of corporate subsidies and political favoritism. Organic and small farmers suffer losses while Monsanto continues to forge its monopoly over the world’s food supply, including exclusive patenting rights over seeds and genetic makeup.
Monsanto's GMO seeds are harmful to the environment; for example, scientists have indicated they have caused colony collapse among the world's bee population.
What are solutions we advocate?
Labeling of GMOs so that consumers can make informed decisions.
Repealing relevant provisions of the US's "Monsanto Protection Act."
Calling for further scientific research on the health effects of GMOs.
Holding Monsanto-supporting politicians accountable through direct communication, grassroots journalism, social media, etc.
Continuing to inform the public about Monsanto's secrets.
We will not stand for cronyism. We will not stand for poison. That’s why we March Against Monsanto.
Join us!
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National Convergence & March on Washington for Equal Rights Submitted by DonnaSimone on Wed, 11/14/2012 - 9:00pm When: Friday, May 31, 2013 - 1:00am to Sunday, June 2, 2013 - 9:00pmWhere: National Mall
Washington, DC
National Convergence & March on Washington for Equal Rights
DAY 1 : The Convergence , getting every single leader in most movements and in the LGBT community, putting them in a ballroom sized conference room and hashing out and organizing how to win the American Equality Bill and fight for the 14th In this session of 2013-2014 Congress. Please feel free to add
Day 2 : The Gathering - Bringing community leaders, activists,bloggers and all the warriors needed to make a huge event organize workshops and networking to keep the national movement starting and the camp
aign going to push congress and senate and the president. Please feel free to add
Day 3 : The Rally The March The Action The Lobby The Music The Agitation
IN ORDER TO FULFILL the promises of life and liberty, and to ensure equal protection of the law as guaranteed by the United States Constitution;
TO PROTECT the inalienable human right to be safe from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity as required by international law and treaty; and
TO END the systemic stigmatization, cease the societal rejection and heal the suffering of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans as mandated by conscience;
WE, the undersigned, pledge our support for the passage of omnibus LGBT equality legislation that grants full non-discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity equal to those accorded other statuses under existing civil rights laws and Supreme Court jurisprudence, specifically including:
Public Accommodations (Title II, 1964 Civil Rights Act)(e.g., restaurants, hotels, theaters)
Public Facilities (Title III, 1964 Civil Rights Act) (e.g., courthouses, jails, hospitals, parks)
Federally-Funded Programs (Title VI, 1964 Civil Rights Act) (e.g., adoption, police, schools, homeless youth, health care)
Employment (Title VII, 1964 Civil Rights Act; 1978 Civil Service Reform Act; 1991 Government Employee Rights Act; 1995 Congressional Accountability Act; 10 U.S.C. Ch. 37) (e.g., civilian and military government, private sector)
Housing (Title VIII, 1968 Civil Rights Act, aka the Fair Housing Act) (e.g., rental, purchase, finance)
Education (Title IX, 1972 Education Amendments Act) (e.g., schools, bullying)
Credit (1974 Equal Credit Opportunity Act) (e.g., credit cards)
Federal Marriage Equality (based on gender, SO) (e.g., 1967 Supreme Court Decision, Loving v. Virginia)
Immigration, Disability, and Family Leave (Uniting American Families Act (proposed), the American With Disabilities Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act)
We call upon the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus to lead the way by filing an omnibus LGBT equality bill immediately that includes all of the provisions enumerated above.
We further call upon Congress, and all candidates for elected office, to sign this pledge to pass such omnibus LGBT equality legislation immediately, but no later than 2014 — the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act — fulfilling both their individual duty and that of the United States government to ensure justice, equality, and fundamental human rights protections for all Americans.
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