In Hadley, Massachusetts, which borders Northampton, the workers at the Trader Joe's supermarket are negotiating their first union contract. “We just wrapped up two days of negotiations in Hadley. It was our most productive bargaining session yet,” the workers wrote on Instagram on February 2. A union spokesperson did not immediately reply to an email seeking additional comments. The Valley Post will publish her quote in a future article.

Local environmental activists had a victory when the town of Southampton, Massachusetts, which borders Holyoke, announced it will build a 3.5 mile rail trail that will connect to other existing rail trails. “It will run to Route 10 (aka College Highway) by Sheldon’s Ice Cream,” Ed Gibson told the Valley Post on January 3. He works for the town of Southampton. “The trail will need to be designed and we will also be looking to apply to have it placed on a future year of the state's Transportation Improvement Program for the construction costs.

Workers near Holyoke on September 19 announced they had a major victory. “One hundred dining workers and 70 facilities workers at Mount Holyoke College voted overwhelmingly to ratify three-year agreements with the college that include raises of between 11.5 and 24.5 percent over the life of their contracts,” a union spokesperson told the Valley Post. The 170 people work in South Hadley, Massachusetts, which borders Holyoke. The workers have a web site at www.seiu.org.

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About 200 people attended a workers' rights rally in Hadley, Massachusetts on July 23. Hadley borders Northampton. The rally was organized by workers at the Trader Joe's supermarket. More information is available via the workers' web site: https://TraderJoesUnited.org.

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In Brattleboro on June 24 about 150 people attended an abortion rights rally, Eileen Sullivan told the Valley Post. She works for Planned Parenthood. In Northampton on the same day about the same number of people attended a rally for the same cause, organizer Debby Pastrich-Klemer told the Valley Post. Two groups helped her: Valley Women’s March and Indivisible Northampton. “150 people is great for a last-minute event,” Pastrich-Klemer said. The protests were in response to a supreme court decision issued hours earlier. Now it's up to Biden and congress to over-rule the court.

Easthampton, Massachusetts is expected to pass a fee on vacant commercial buildings in the coming weeks. Easthampton borders Holyoke. Brattleboro will likely pass a fee on vacant commercial buildings within a few months, town manager Yoshi Manale told the Valley Post.

The Brattleboro Home Depot and its vast parking lot have been vacant for 14 years. In 2019 Home Depot spokeswoman Margaret Watters Smith told the Valley Post her company would like to find someone to rent the building and parking lot. Years before that, another Home Depot spokeswoman told the Valley Post the same thing.

Activists in Brattleboro are celebrating a December 15 victory for the rights of pedestrians and bicycle riders. As of 2017, Brattleboro had the nation's highest per capita rate of pedestrian death by car. Five people were killed in the five years that ended in 2017. Brattleboro is home to 12,000 people. In 2021, two pedestrians were hit by cars in Brattleboro and taken to the hospital with major injuries.

Underground System will perform in Holyoke on November 20 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25. A video of the band performing, and more information about the venue, are at:

www.gatewaycityarts.com/event/laudable-productions-presents-underground-...

Activists in Northampton are working to make passenger train service between Greenfield, Northampton, Holyoke, Springfield, Boston, and New York City faster, more frequent, and cheaper. Ben Heckscher is a spokesperson for the group Trains In The Valley. On October 25, he told the Valley Post, people should tell their “elected officials that you want more frequent passenger rail service north of Springfield, and fares that are comparable to the fares offered on the Hartford Line for travel south of Springfield.”

On April 17 in Brattleboro there will be a march calling on local, state, and federal politicians to do more to address climate change. Marches are a big part of the reason Vermont Yankee closed, the civil rights movement had the successes it did, apartheid ended, women won the right to vote, and the labor movement built the middle class.

In recent years, 9 million people a year have died of starvation. Droughts, floods, and unseasonable heat and cold -- all caused by climate change -- make it harder for farmers to grow food.