In Springfield on November 14 at 9 p.m., Cheryl Arena will play a concert. The web site for the venue is https://theodoresbbq.com. Based on that site, it seems that admission is free. Arena has a web site at https://cherylarena.com. A video of one of her concerts is at:
September 19, 2025
Black Uhuru
Black Uhuru will play in Brattleboro on September 27 at 7 p.m. The venue is the Stone Church. You can hear one of their songs at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u8cCkNlk5Q&ab_channel=LAWRecords
September 19, 2025
300 Rally
About 200 people attended a rally for a farm worker who was arrested by ICE. The rally was in Springfield, Massachusetts, according to a September 19 mass email from the Pioneer Valley Workers Center. The Center did not immediately reply to an email from the Valley Post asking how many people were at the rally. Jeromie Whalen was there. He is running for congress. He told the Valley Post 150 – 250 people were at the rally. The rally was on Labor Day.
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September 12, 2025
Rallies Set for Brattleboro, Pioneer Valley
In Brattleboro on September 15 there will be a rally to support workers at Brattleboro Memorial hospital. The rally will start at 5:30 p.m. and end at 7 p.m. on Canal street outside the hospital. Details about the struggle are at:
https://valleypost.org/2025/06/25/some-520-workers-brattleboro-memorial-...
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In Springfield, Massachusetts there will be a rally on September 13 at 9 a.m. The rally will be outside 36 Court street. The goal is affordable housing. The organizers have a web site at:
September 05, 2025
Workers Win
On September 2 in the Pioneer Valley town of South Hadley, about 170 janitors, dishwashers, and other workers went on strike for 24 hours. “I've worked as a cook at Mount Holyoke for seven years – it will be eight years in August,” Rich Sugrue told the Valley Post in a voice phone interview on May 16, 2025. He is one of 170 workers at the college who are members of a union, SEIU Local 32BJ.
August 29, 2025
300 March in Amherst
More than 300 people marched in Amherst on August 27. They were calling for jobs with justice. “For more than a year, UMass has dragged out bargaining a new contract with the 2,400 members of the Professional Staff Union, which represents staff members at both the Amherst and Boston campuses and includes social workers, residence directors, and other staff throughout all areas of campus,” Ari Jewell told the Valley Post. Jewell is one of the workers.
UMass Boston has 16,000 students. UMass Amherst has 32,000 students. The workers have a web site at:
August 22, 2025
Locked Out Workers Fight Back
In Brattleboro, about 40 school bus drivers were locked out by a massive corporation. A lock out can be better for workers than a strike, according to Labor Notes magazine. “We will be picketing on Friday (August 22) at 2:15 p.m. outside Brattleboro high school and the Academy school in Brattleboro,” Curtis Clough told the Valley Post in a voice phone interview on August 20. He's president of the workers' union, which has a web site at www.teamsterslocal597.net.
The workers will hold rallies in Brattleboro next week. Details are available by contacting them via the above web site.
August 15, 2025
2,900 Acres Saved in Pioneer Valley
On August 13 spokeswomen for two land trusts told the Valley Post their groups had helped permanently protect 2,900 acres of forest from development. The land will be logged but the trees will grow back and one day the land could be protected from logging, if enough people protest.
August 08, 2025
Holyoke March Against Dictatorship Set for Sept. 1
In Holyoke there will be a march on September 1 at 11 a.m., starting at city hall. The goal is democracy not dictatorship. September 1 is Labor Day. One of the unions that's organizing the march has a web site at:
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In Brattleboro on August 9 at noon there will be a rally to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. The rally will be outside the main post office. A group that's promoting the rally has a web page at:
https://grassrootsfund.org/groups/upper-valley-action-affinity-group
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August 01, 2025
Workers Win
On July 30, the workers at the food co-ops in Northampton and the neighboring town of Easthampton announced they had a victory when they signed a new union contract with management. A total of about 240 people work at the two co-ops. “Every worker has received a $2 per hour pay bump, raising the starting wage from $18 an hour to $20 an hour,” a spokesperson for the workers said. There are other victories in the contract. Photos of picket lines that helped win the contract are at:
https://imgur.com/a/river-valley-co-op-informational-pickets-J4iqoOj