More than 200 Smith college students occupied the administration building at the college starting March 27. The 24 hour a day occupation was continuing as of about 1 p.m. on March 29, with dozens of students in the building. They were calling on the college to stop investing in corporations that make bombs, guns, and other supplies used by Israel to kill people in Gaza. The USA provides much of the money for the genocide. A spokesperson for the Smith protesters told the Valley Post they will provide a comment soon. The Valley Post will include the comment in a future article. The protesters have a web page at:
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In Brattleboro on March 27, Todd Chisholm pled guilty to sexually assaulting a child. Chisholm was a police officer in the Vermont State Police for 13 years.
In Burlington, Vermont on March 5, Emma Mulvaney-Stanak was elected mayor. She is the city's first female mayor. Mulvaney-Stanak is a member of the Progressive party, which in 2020 played a key role in laying off 30 percent of the city's police force.
In 2021 the book “Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom” by Derecka Purnell was published. Michelle Alexander writes for the New York Times. Alexander said, "With deep insight and moral clarity, Purnell shares her compelling journey of political education and personal transformation, inviting us not only to imagine a world without police, but to muster the courage to fight for the more just world we know is possible. Becoming Abolitionists is essential reading for our times."
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AN EDITORIAL
On March 15, the Valley Post reported that, in Northampton, 43 workers had formed a union. They work at the Smith College library. They have a web site at www.opeiulocal153.org.
The library workers joined thousands of workers in the Valley who are union members. They include all the workers at UPS and Stop and Shop.
On March 22, the New York Times published a news article headlined "‘Strike Madness’ Hits Germany While Its Economy Stumbles." The article is just as biased as the headline. "Madness" is the word used in the article by an anti-labor politician. Going on strike is the best method workers in Germany, the US, and everywhere else have to get fair treatment. Billionaires can afford to pay workers more, just as they can afford to pay a higher share of taxes needed to help the poor and protect the environment. The world needs global solidarity. Workers in China have gone on strike, taking a much bigger risk than striking workers in democracies. According to a report by the China Labour Bulletin, there were 741 strikes in China's factories in the first half of 2023.
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