Labor, Peace Rallies; Floods

A labor rally is set for July 17 in Springfield. Nurses are asking the community to join them in protesting corporate moves to make health care in the region worse. Nurses at Mercy Medical Center, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association union (www.MassNurses.org) will hold an informational picket outside the hospital on July 17 in response to Mercy's owner Trinity Health Corporation recently closing 20 intermediate care beds, “temporarily” closing other essential services without any indication they will be re-opened, and creating a staffing and patient care crisis.

Workers Unite

In Brattleboro, about 15 UPS workers attended a labor rally on June 30. On August 1, the biggest strike against a single employer in U.S. history will probably start. UPS workers this summer voted 97 percent in favor of striking if they don't get a fair union contract. UPS reported record profits that let $8 billion in dividends be paid to UPS shareholders last year. Many UPS workers make $15 an hour. The workers have a web site at https://teamster.org.

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45 at Logging Rally

Forty-five people attended a rally in the Pioneer Valley town of Washington, Massachusetts on June 17. The goal was to stop logging in a state forest. “It went very well,” Janet Sinclair told the Valley Post. She was one of the organizers. A petition is at:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfLg5REHtGz1n04L6DrnZ6OkR_ScYhD...

One of the speakers at the rally was Michael Kellett, executive director of RESTORE The North Woods.

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Protest Leads to Victory for Music in Greenfield Public Schools

About 500 people attended a rally at the Greenfield town common on May 25. They were protesting cuts in funding for music classes in Greenfield public schools, among other cuts. On June 14, the music funding was restored.

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In the Pioneer Valley town of Washington, Massachusetts on June 17 at 11 a.m., there will be a rally to stop logging in a state forest. A petition is at:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfLg5REHtGz1n04L6DrnZ6OkR_ScYhD...

The rally will be at:

Vermont, U.S. Nursing Homes Not as Good as European Ones

In the U.S., in general, rich people don't go to nursing homes. Same with prison. But for the rest of us, a nursing home is likely to be the place we spend the last months of our lives. The town of Killington, Vermont is 50 miles from Brattleboro as the crow flies. Killington doesn't have a nursing home, so most Killington people go to nursing homes in nearby Rutland, Vermont. The Gables and the Pines are two of the biggest. Neither responded to phone calls and emails seeking comment for this article, which compares nursing homes in Europe and the United States.

590 Rally

About 500 people attended a rally at the Greenfield town common on May 25. They were protesting cuts in school funding. Julie Carew was at the rally. She runs a group called Strings for Kids, which is a partnership between the Greenfield public schools and Artspace Community Arts Center in Greenfield. Carew told the Valley Post, "I was at both city council meetings... This is a slap in the face from the mayor who was 'virtually' in attendance at both meetings where it was made crystal clear that the numbers the councilors were trying to meet were counting on that $365,000 from the mayor....

Victories for Nature, Justice

In Springfield, 170 people marched on May 21 to protest a proposed fossil fuel pipeline. "It was amazing," Susan Theberge told the Valley Post. She is one of the organizers. The organizers have a web site at:

www.arisespringfield.org/springfield-climate-justice-coaliti

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In Brattleboro, about 10 people attended a rally for farmworker justice on May 21. The organizers have a web site at www.MigrantJustice.net.

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Strike Victory

More than 100 people attended an abortion rights rally in Greenfield on May 13. The number one cause of climate change is overpopulation. Susan Triolo told the Valley Post that information about abortion rights will soon be at www.indivisible.org. Triolo was one of the organizers of the Greenfield rally. From the north Greenfield exit to the southern Brattleboro exit on Interstate 91 takes 15 minutes by car, according to Google Maps. Amtrak and Greyhound run between Greenfield and Brattleboro.

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May 25 is BLM Rally

On May 25 there will be a Black Lives Matter rally in Sunderland, Massachusetts, near Northampton and Greenfield. The rally will be at 4:30 p.m. on the bridge between Sunderland and Deerfield on Route 116. One of the groups that's organizing the rally has a web page at:

www.facebook.com/groups/548230779189803/

To get there from Brattleboro takes about 30 minutes by car.

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In Amherst on May 5, about 200 people attended a rally calling on politicians to build more affordable housing in the Amherst area. The organizers have a web page at:

440 Rally

About 300 people attended a labor rally in Springfield, Massachusetts on April 28. One of the speakers was Nellie Taylor. She graduated from Smith College. She then spent five years working at the Pioneer Valley's Deerfield Academy and she now works at UMass Amherst. Deerfield Academy is 19 miles from Brattleboro. The rally organizers have a web site at www.MassTeacher.org.

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On April 28 in Amherst about 100 people attended a labor rally. The organizers have a web page at:

www.facebook.com/psumta

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