On November 19 about 40 people were at a rally in Northfield, Massachusetts. Northfield borders Gill, which borders Greenfield. The goal was to get politicians to “stop the massive destruction of fish and related river life by the Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Station,” on the Connecticut river near the Vermont – Massachusetts border.

The below photo of people singing at the rally is by Elizabeth Wood. To enlarge the photo, click on it, then scroll down and click "see full size image."

The rally organizers have a web site at https://ctriverdefenders.org.

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On November 22, Maeg Yosef told the Valley Post, "We're making progress. Our next bargaining session is in Minnesota on November 29 and 30. I'll have updates next week."

Yosef is one of the 80 or so workers at the Trader Joe's supermarket in Hadley, Massachusetts. Hadley borders Northampton. The workers are negotiating their first union contract with the company.

On July 28, the federal government announced the results of a union election at the store. The workers won. Yosef is a leader in the union. She has worked at the store for 20 years. The workers have a web site at https://traderjoesunited.org

Federal law regulates the process of workers forming a union, and negotiating contracts with employers. Ultimately a union's power comes from its members' willingness to go on strike, and the community's willingness to not shop at a place where the workers are striking, and not cross picket lines to work as so-called “scabs.”

The Valley Post will update this article at least monthly until the workers have their first contract.