In Northampton on December 18, civil disobedience was on trial in front of a courtroom that was full to capacity with supporters of peace. Israel's USA-funded genocide in Gaza was the background. Four people were arrested in Northampton last winter for refusing to leave the office of L3 Harris, a corporation that profits from war.

On December 1, environmental activists from the Pioneer Valley and other parts of Massachusetts succeeded in submitting more than 90,000 “certified” signatures to get an initiative on the statewide ballot. Any registered voter in Massachusetts will have a chance to vote on it in November 2026. If it passes, more farmland, forests and other open space will be protected from development. Details are at: www.NatureForMA.org.

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A national group based in Northampton successfully lobbied to get the state of New Jersey to fund local journalism. The group is now trying to get Massachusetts to do the same thing. The following local newspapers are owned by out-of-state corporations: Hampshire Gazette, Amherst Bulletin, Springfield Republican, Greenfield Recorder, and Valley Advocate. The Brattleboro Reformer and Keene Sentinel are owned by local rich people.

The Northampton group has a web page at:

On November 13 in Amherst, about 300 people marched. They were calling for jobs with justice. Specifically they were demanding “that UMass Amherst’s chancellor Javier Reyes, who is directing the university’s bargaining team, settle the contract, which has kept the Professional Staff Union’s 2,400 members, including over 1,600 members at Amherst, from seeing the cost of living adjustments that have helped almost every other state worker in Massachusetts meet rising inflation,” one of the workers, Ari Jewell, told the Valley Post.

In Holyoke, people are fighting to save a 23 acre forest. “The lawn signs have been a big success,” Kerry Anne Schoeffel told the Valley Post in a voice phone interview on October 17. She is a member of the group Save Elmwood Forest. “We're asking people to put them up. They can get the signs from us. People should also contact the city council. We are not endorsing candidates in the upcoming election but we encourage people to ask the candidates about the forest.”

In Northampton on October 17, there will be a rally to support dishwashers, janitors and other workers at Smith college. The rally starts at 4:15 p.m. outside 8 College Lane. The workers who are organizing the rally have a web site at www.seiu32bj.org.

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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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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.

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:

https://umasspsu.org

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.