The group Northampton Abolition Now organizes to move money from the police department into programs that make the community safe. On February 13 and 14, the group held a rally in Northampton. Dozens of people attended. A contact person for the group, Mary Jones, can be reached at (512) 413-5592 and mary.m.jones12@gmail.com.

She told the Valley Post, “We hope Mayor Narkewicz will shift the resources we now pour into policing, directly into community initiatives whose core aims are helping, healing, and sustaining people, rather than controlling them.”

The group has a web page at:

Dozens of people attended a union rally in Northampton on December 4. “We represent all types of employees: teachers and other licensed educators such as nurses, educational support professionals, clerical workers, some administrators, cafeteria workers, custodians and bus drivers,” Heather Brown told the Valley Post on December 7. She is an English teacher at Northampton high school (NHS) and vice-president of the union that helped turn people out for the rally. The union has a web site at www.nasemta.org.

The goal of the rally was to stop standardized tests. It was outside city hall.

This photo was taken on December 6 in Hadley, Massachusetts. Hadley borders Holyoke. The photo was taken at Skinner state park. According to the park web site, "One way many birds cope with the harsh northern winters is to migrate to more southern latitudes.

In the Valley every January for the past four years, hundreds – and in most cases thousands – of people attended the Women's March, first in Northampton then Springfield. “We are having conversations about what and how we might do it considering the pandemic but nothing is set in stone yet,” Gladys Franco told the Valley Post on November 28. She is the board chair at the Resistance Center, which is the “fiscal sponsor” of the Pioneer Valley Women's March. “I should be able to share more in a couple of weeks,” Franco said.

The relevant web sites are:

www.TheResistanceCenter.org

and

Hundreds of union workers in Brattleboro had a major win November 16 when Megan Baston resigned from her job as a senior executive at the Brattleboro Retreat mental hospital. The workers held rallies earlier this year demanding her resignation. “The union wishes Meghan Baston the best in her future endeavors," Sy Creamer told the Valley Post on November 19. Creamer is president of the union at the Retreat. The union has a web site at www.unap.org. Unions reduce inequality and increase democracy.

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In Northampton, 300 or so people attended a spontaneous celebration of Joe Biden's and Kamala Harris's win when it was announced midday on November 7. Among those hundreds of people were 50 or so who attended a previously planned march for democracy that went from Sheldon Field to downtown. Dyan Wiley was a march organizer. She told the Valley Post, “Control of the senate hangs on two runoff elections in Georgia” on January 5.

About 100 people attended a Brattleboro rally calling for democracy. The rally was on November 4, 2020 at 5 p.m at the town common. “It was beautiful,” Abby Mnookin told the Valley Post on November 5. She lives in Brattleboro, is on the staff of the group 350 Vermont, and she helped organize the rally. “We sang – masked and distanced -- the songs 'Labor of Love,' 'Lead with Love,' 'Phoenix Song,' and 'We Are Together,'” Mnookin said. More information is at www.350Vermont.org.

About a dozen workers at a coffee shop in Brattleboro are on strike. Mocha Joe's is closed due to the strike. The strike began on October 24. “We are not making a livable wage,” Lu Racine told the Valley Post in an in-person interview on the picket line. Racine has worked at Mocha Joe's for about 18 months.

Nel McNeill has worked at Mocha Joe's for about a year. “One of our co-workers was fired over something small,” McNeill said.

The workers can be reached at mj.coworkers@gmail.com. They are asking the public to sign their petition at:

The biggest cause of climate change is overpopulation. One of the best ways to fight climate change is to guarantee the right to safe, legal, affordable abortions. That's one of the demands of the Women's March, according to www.WomensMarch.com. The Women's March in Northampton was set to start on October 17, 2020 at noon at the corner of Main and Pleasant streets.

The Amherst Women's March was set to start on October 17, 2020 at 1 p.m. outside 4 Boltwood Avenue.

The Brattleboro Women's March was set to start at the town Common on October 17, 2020 at 1 p.m.

A union rally on October 2 in Northampton drew about 50 people. “It went great,” Risa Silverman told the Valley Post. She was one of the speakers at the rally. “People asked us why we were out. It was good to be able to talk with them.” The goal was to get politicians to cancel plans to cut funding for public colleges and universities. More information is at www.MassTeacher.org.

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