On August 25 in Hadley, Massachusetts, all the workers at the Barnes & Noble corporate chain bookstore walked off the job to protest the company's refusal to hire enough workers. Hadley borders Northampton. The walk-out lasted from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. Photos show dozens of people marching outside the store. The workers have a web site at www.ufcw1459.com.
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About 95 people attended a rally in Northampton on August 13. "We called for the resignation of the officers involved in the incident, Officer John Sellew and Officer Jonathan Bartlett, as well as the resignation of Police Chief Jody Kasper," Miranda Groux told the Valley Post. She works for the Amherst Survival Center, but was speaking as a private citizen, not on behalf of the Center. The incident in question happened on April 4, when Bartlett and Sellew of the Northampton police department tackled and pepper-sprayed a 60-year-old woman because her car had a broken headlight.
In Northampton on July 25, about 45 people attended a rally to protest Chase bank's support of the fossil fuel industry. The Brattleboro area was hit hard by floods this month. The floods were made worse by climate change. The Northampton rally organizers have a web site at http://climateactionnowma.org. Russ Vernon-Jones was one of the organizers. He told the Valley Post, "It was a great success.
In Brattleboro, about 15 UPS workers attended a labor rally on June 30. On August 1, the biggest strike against a single employer in U.S. history will probably start. UPS workers this summer voted 97 percent in favor of striking if they don't get a fair union contract. UPS reported record profits that let $8 billion in dividends be paid to UPS shareholders last year. Many UPS workers make $15 an hour. The workers have a web site at https://teamster.org.
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In Springfield, 170 people marched on May 21 to protest a proposed fossil fuel pipeline. "It was amazing," Susan Theberge told the Valley Post. She is one of the organizers. The organizers have a web site at:
www.arisespringfield.org/springfield-climate-justice-coaliti
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In Brattleboro, about 10 people attended a rally for farmworker justice on May 21. The organizers have a web site at www.MigrantJustice.net.
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About 100 people marched in Amherst on April 21. They were calling for peace. With 4 percent of the world's population, the USA spends as much money on war as the rest of the world combined. The march organizers have a web site at https://WeAreDissenters.org.
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On March 13 Tsultrem Kunsang, spokesman for the Regional Tibetan Association of Massachusetts, told the Valley Post that on March 10, more than 25 people marched from Amherst to Northampton. They were protesting China's policies in Tibet. More information is at:
https://www.democracynow.org/2020/9/24/headlines/china_accused_of_forcin...
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About 325 people, including people from the county that's home to Brattleboro, attended a climate rally outside the Vermont statehouse on February 11. The group 350 Vermont and other groups organized the rally.
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In Springfield, a police detective is being paid $70,000 a year by taxpayers, despite allegations that he beat people up without a good reason. Gregg Bigda has been on desk duty, or outright suspended, for 14 months. Among the alleged victims of his brutality were Latino teenagers and Bigda's former girlfriend. City taxpayers paid $500,000 in legal settlements to people in cases related to Bigda.
In Northampton, a democracy rally is set for January 6. Organizer Debby Pastrich-Klemer has organized many successful marches and rallies in the city. “Even though some of the most prominent election conspiracists lost their midterms, MAGA Republicans are already looking to 2024 for ways to overturn the will of voters,” she said. The January 6, 2023 rally in Northampton will start outside city hall at 4 p.m.
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