May 28, 2016

Two Rallies

by Eesha Williams
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In Greenfield on May 25, there was a rally for workers' rights. In Springfield the next day, there was a rally for environmental protection. The below photos show the Springfield protest. “The rally in Greenfield went really well,” Amanda Brooks-Clemeno told the Valley Post in a telephone interview May 27. She was at the event. Brooks-Clemeno lives in Worthington, Massachusetts, near Northampton, and works as a teacher at the Collaborative for Educational Services, which is funded by the state. The rally organizers were calling for higher wages for the teachers. They have a web site at www.seiu509.org.

The Springfield rally was to stop construction of a $150 million incinerator. An incinerator corporation chose Springfield, the biggest city in western Massachusetts (population 156,000) as the location for a new incinerator. 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. The rally organizers have a web site at www.AriseSpringfield.org.

The Toxics Action Center www.ToxicsAction.org is also fighting the incinerator. According to www.pvAsthmaCoalition.org the percentage of elementary and high school students with asthma in Springfield is double the Massachusetts rate. The American Lung Association opposes incinerators.

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

photos by Rene Theberge © copyright 2016

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