In Greenfield, about 200 nurses at the hospital have voted to go on strike. “We need the public to come out to support us on February 27 at 7 p.m. outside the main entrance to the hospital,” Donna Stern told the Valley Post in a telephone interview in February 20. “I have been a nurse at the (Greenfield) hospital since 2005. My mom was a dietary aide at the hospital,” she said.

In Brattleboro on December 9, people held a downtown rally for peace. The focus was on Honduras and Palestine. “We speak out today at a time when the U.S. government fuels wars across the globe,” the Brattleboro event organizers said. “The longest war in U.S. history is currently in Afghanistan.” About 20 people were at the event. They will have another peace rally at the same location, Pliny Park at the corner of Main and High streets, on December 17 at noon. Details are at:

www.facebook.com/events/1550784861675928

Activists who had been planning a rally for workers' rights in Deerfield, Massachusetts on October 5 won a victory on October 3. Deerfield borders Greenfield. The activists cancelled the rally. Migrant Justice, a group of Latino farm workers in Vermont, announced it had reached a legally binding agreement with Unilever Corporation, the owner of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Under the deal, wages will go up, and workers won other gains.

In a victory for the environment, a local land trust has permanently protected from development 122 acres of open space in Montague, Massachusetts. Montague borders Greenfield. The land is used to grow organic vegetables at Red Fire Farm. The land trust announced the news on September 12. It has a web site at www.MountGrace.org.

Land trusts use money from the government and private donations to protect farmland, wilderness, and forestland that is sustainably (not clear-cut) logged.

In Northampton on August 13, hundreds of people attended a rally to protest racist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. The same day in Keene, about 60 people attended a rally for the same cause. On August 14, about 80 people attended a rally for the same cause in Greenfield. On August 15, dozens of people attended another rally for the same cause in Springfield.

Workers at a factory is Greenfield won a new union contract, and environmental activists permanently protected 323 acres of land in the Valley from development. “We are very pleased with the contract we ended up with,” Jay McGrath told the Valley Post in a July 18 interview. He is one of 74 workers at the Kennametal factory on Sanderson Street in Greenfield. McGrath started working at the Greenfield factory 17 years ago. The workers have a union, which has a web site at www.UEunion.org.

Workers at a factory in Greenfield are asking the public to join them on the picket line on May 11 at 2 p.m. “What the company is trying to impose is going to hurt people,” Shawn Coates told the Valley Post. He has worked at the factory for 28 years. The workers have a union, which has a web site at www.UEunion.org. The workers make taps – not the kind used to turn water on and off, but the kind used to make a threaded hole in metal, or in other material. The factory is owned by Pennsylvania-based Kennametal Corporation, whose CEO makes more than $1 million a year.

On April 27 in Brattleboro, there will be a march and rally in solidarity with survivors of domestic violence. More government funding is needed to provide homes for survivors who can't afford to pay rent. The event starts at 6 p.m. at the Brattleboro town common, on Park Place between Linden Street and Putney Road. Vermont Senator Becca Balint will speak at the rally.

More information is at:

www.facebook.com/events/144625839397034

Dozens of people attended a rally in Northampton on April 9 to protest President Trump's military attack on Syria. Sabine Merz spoke at the rally. "The way to help Syria is to open our borders to them," she told the Valley Post. The event was outside city hall. It was organized by the American Friends Service Committee of Western Massachusetts www.afscwm.org.

The 200 or so nurses at the Greenfield hospital voted by a 93 percent margin to authorize a strike. This gives their elected union leaders the power to call a strike if current contract negotiations fail. The next bargaining session is set for March 27, Joe Markham told the Valley Post on March 21. He works for the nurses' union, which has a web site at www.MassNurses.org.