Some 700 peaceful protesters were arrested in recent days in New York City. The Occupy Wall Street protesters’ web site says, “We are getting kicked out of our homes. We are forced to choose between groceries and rent. We are denied quality medical care. We are suffering from environmental pollution. We are working long hours for little pay and no rights, if we're working at all. We are getting nothing while the other 1 percent is getting everything. We are the 99 percent.” The protesters' web site is:

www.OccupyWallSt.org

On September 27 at 4 p.m. there will be two rallies to save the jobs of post office workers. The rallies will be at Congressman Richard Neal’s office at 300 State Street in Springfield, and at Congressman John Olver’s office at 57 Suffolk Street in Holyoke. The rallies will last 90 minutes.

The organizers of the rallies are asking the public to contact their members of Congress in support of House Bill 1351.

More information is available at www.SaveAmericasPostalService.org or by calling Michael Harazmus, president of the Letter Carriers Union in the Valley, at (413) 737-0640.

Bank of America paid its CEO, Brian Moynihan, more than $1.9 million last year. Now, in Springfield, Bank of America is trying to evict a low-income family from the family’s only home. On August 29 at 12:30 p.m., activists will rally in front of the Jimenez family home at 91 Granada Terrace. The Jimenez family is asking the public to attend the rally, which is being organized by a group called Springfield No One Leaves www.SpringfieldNoOneLeaves.org

Photos of a protest in May in Springfield that was organized by the same group are at:

The Springfield city council voted 10 – 2 to snuff out a proposed corporate incinerator May 23. The vote came after a four-hour-long public hearing before the city council on May 17. At the hearing, locals blasted the incinerator plan. Stop Toxic Incineration in Springfield (STIP), an all-volunteer group, fought the proposal for several years.

“I’m proud of the city council for putting public health ahead of the threat of being sued by the developer,” said STIP spokeswoman Michaelann Bewsee.

In Springfield on May 7, dozens of activists occupied the Bank of America branch on Oak Street to protest the multi-billion dollar corporation’s decision to force poor people out of their homes. The action was organized by the No One Leaves Campaign, spokesman Malcolm Chu told the Valley Post.

The occupation followed a march up State Street with marchers chanting "Bank of America, Bad for America!"

More information is available at www.SpringfieldNoOneLeaves.org

To enlarge a photo, click on it, then scroll down and click "See full-size image."

Why did an incinerator corporation recently choose Springfield, the biggest city in western Massachusetts (population 156,000) as the location for a new incinerator? Could the choice be related to the fact that Springfield is home to a much higher percentage of people of color (48 percent) than most cities and towns in the region? The percentage of families in poverty in Springfield is more than double the national average. Maybe the incinerator company’s lawyers thought poor people of color would be less likely to put up a fight. They were wrong.

On April 4, the anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., there will be rallies for workers' rights in Springfield, Greenfield, and Keene. The award-winning documentary film "At the River I Stand" shows King's last days in Memphis, in which he spoke to big crowds and marched, in support of striking garbage workers. Information on the film is at:

www.newsreel.org/video/AT-THE-RIVER-I-STAND

The DVD is available by inter-library loan from your local public library.

The time, location, and organizers' contact info for the rallies in Springfield, Greenfield, and Keene are at:

Activists are asking the public to attend three protests against banks that want to foreclose on Springfield homeowners. On February 22 at 10:30 a.m., a protest will be held at 1179 Saint James Avenue. There will be two actions on February 24. At 9:30 a.m., activists will gather at 12-14 Foster Street. At 12:30 p.m., they will be at 29 Verge Street.

On February 7, about 25 people protested a foreclosure auction of a Springfield home by Wells Fargo Bank.

Photos of the February 7 protest are at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/AFSCWM/ForeclosureAuctionProtestFebruary72011#

On December 14, more than 300 nursing home workers in Springfield voted to form a union. They work for Sullivan and Associates Corporation. The voted workers voted 190 to 94 to join the Service Employees union www.seiu509.org Two dozen workers' votes are being disputed by the company or the union.

Union workers in the U.S. make more money than nonunion workers, 29 percent more. That’s $9,300 a year extra for the average worker who joins a union. For Latino workers, the union advantage is 50 percent; for black workers, 31 percent.

There will be a rally at the Chicopee, Massachusetts Rite Aid store at 5 Saint James Avenue at 3 p.m. on December 15. Chicopee is near Springfield. The public is welcome to attend. At the rally, Rite Aid customers will learn from volunteers about:

-- Rite Aid's decision to hike its CEO's compensation to $4.5 million per year;

-- The company's effort to impose major cost increases on workers for health insurance;

-- Rite Aid's pattern of delays in reaching fair agreements with its union workers, and;