Democracy and the kind of extreme economic inequality that now exists in the USA are incompatible. Unions reduce inequality. In Brattleboro on June 15 there was a well-attended union rally, seen in the below photo. A follow up rally is set for June 22. Details are available from Sy Creamer, the union president. Her email address is at:
www.unap.org/unap-locals/brattleboro-retreat
A phone number is at:
www.unap.org/about/contact-us-2
To enlarge the photo, click on it, then scroll down and click “view full size image.” Then you can click on the photo to zoom in more.
photo by Eesha Williams
Ellen Schwartz was at the rally. Until recently she was board president at the Vermont Workers' Center. She lives in Brattleboro and is still active with the Center. Schwartz told the Valley Post she's helping turn out people for the June 22 rally, which will be from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. outside 1 Anna Marsh Lane.
**********
Three rallies with three demands are set for June 19 at 4 p.m. in three locations in the Valley. The demands are defund the police, invest in black communities, and "Donald Trump resign."
The locations are:
--in Florence, MA at the corner Route 66 and Florence Road;
--in Longmeadow, MA at the corner of Longmeadow Street and Forest Glen Road;
--in Keene on Gilbo Avenue. No cross street is listed but the organizers' emails and phone numbers are available via:
www.facebook.com/events/1111245955942499
Details about the Florence and Longmeadow events are at:
On June 12 in Amherst, hundreds of people marched while chanting “Black Lives Matter!”
On June 13 in Springfield hundreds of high school students held a rally calling for an end to the permanent police presence in the city's public high schools. A group that helped organize the rally has a web site at www.PioneerValleyProject.org.
On June 17 and June 18 hundreds of people rallied to defund the Northampton police. The rallies were promoted by several groups. One of them is the Pioneer Valley Workers' Center.
*********
According to a June 16 email from Franklin Land Trust, "The work of FLT lands staff members Alain Peteroy and Emily Boss has resulted in the recent inauguration of the Warner Hill Conservation Project in the (Pioneer Valley) towns of Rowe and Charlemont. Eleven parcels will be conserved permanently, totaling just over 1,000 acres.... The FLT land conservation and stewardship team is preparing to add a 154 acre parcel in fee simple ownership to the 96-acre Crowningshield property along the west branch of the North river in (the Pioneer Valley town of) Heath that was protected in 2016."
The USA is losing 6,000 acres of open space to development every day. Politicians decide how much money to give to land trusts.
Post new comment