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Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls Hits the Northeast |
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by homefries, |
 An offshoot of the original Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls that recently sprung up on the west coast, the Willie Mae Rock Camp was organized by feminist musicians and offered workshops on such topics as anti-oppression, instrument instruction, and self-defense.
Feminist musicians had been organizing for about a year to bring the first Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls to New York City. It took place August 8th through the 12th near Central Park. The camp was open to all self-identified girls ages 8 through 18, and drew around 80 kids from around the city by working through local Girls Clubs and schools, offering a sliding-scale tuition. To hear interviews with the girls and others, listen to the posted .mp3. |
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16 Aug 2005
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Filed under: News / Education : Gender : Media : Organizing |
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To Impeach or Not to Impeach |
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by Sofia Jarrin-Thomas, |
On July 31, 2005, a forum on the Downing Street Memos, leaked documents that indicate the Bush administration misled the public about reasons for going to war in Iraq, took place at Arlington Street Church.
Co-sponsored by several local organizations such as Brookline PeaceWorks, Boston Mobilization, Progressive Democrats of America, and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, among others; the forum was just one of 300 events across the nation planned to discuss the possible consequences of the leaked documents. |
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01 Aug 2005
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Filed under: News / Human Rights : International : Media : Organizing : Politics |
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Kendall Square Cinema employees join union |
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by Pete Stidman, |
 After only three months of organizing at the Kendall Square Cinema, the Landmark Theatre chain's biggest theatre, employees voted 17 to one to join the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) local 791 on July 30.
“Kendall Square cinema is now 100% union,” yelled a cinema employee as movie-goers left the theatre, “wall to wall union!”
The vote comes as a result of recent management changes, lack of full-time status even for employees who average over 35 hours per week, small and sporadic raises, and a starting wage of $7.25 that hasn't changed since 2002, according to employee and organizer Lauren Ryder. |
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31 Jul 2005
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Filed under: News / Labor : Media |
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Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) Will Spread Factory Farming and Threaten Wildlife in Central America |
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by homefries, |
 AUDIO: A coalition of 102 animal rights groups around the U.S. has formed to call attention to the cruelty that the Central American Free Trade Agreement is expected to inflict upon farmed and wild animals in Central America. National non-profits such as In Defense of Animals, Farm Sanctuary, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and Wetlands Preserve are among the groups in the coaliton.
CAFTA was ratified by an extremely narrow margin in the U.S. House of Representatives during the wee hours of Thursday morning, July 28th. Pattrice Jones of the Eastern Shore Chicken Sanctuary and Adam Weissman of Wetlands Preserve talk about what this agreement means for animals' lives. |
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31 Jul 2005
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Filed under: News / Environment : Globalization : Human Rights : International |
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Holyoke Mall Now a Weekend No-Teenager Zone |
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by Jason Pramas, |
Having spent a childhood hanging out, working at, loving, and hating local malls, it was with disbelief that this commentator read a piece in the July 13 edition of The Republican (Springfield, MA) that says that the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside has instituted an "MB18" ("Must Be 18") policy on Fridays and Saturdays from 4 p.m. to closing at the facility--after some "success" with similar rules at other malls owned by The Pyramid Companies.
Any teenagers under 18 during those periods who are not accompanied by an adult, will be targetted by mall cops and escorted from the premises. Mall owners claim that racial profiling will not be involved in such targettings, but interestingly, Pyramid is instituting the policy in the relatively urban Holyoke mall frequented by that city's burgeoning Latino population, but not at the Hampshire Mall in more rural Hadley, MA, which it also owns. The Eastfield Mall in urban Springfield, MA, owned by Mountain Development Corp. of New Jersey, is planning to implement a similar policy. |
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Plans for Women's Jail May Meet an Early Fate: Statewide Coalition Calls for Moratorium on New Jails |
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by homefries, |
 AUDIO: The state wants to build a new women's jail to replace part of the existing Hampden County jail. The Statewide Harm Reduction Coalition, a group that works on drug policy and rehabilitation, held a press conference last week to raise objections to the construction of the proposed Chicopee women's jail in western Massachusetts. People spoke out about the overwhelming number of prisoners charged with drug-related crimes, the racial dynamics of incarceration in Massachusetts, and the misuse of state funds for what they feel is an unnecessary new jail. They called for a moratorium on all new jail and prison construction in Massachusetts. |
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18 Jul 2005
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Filed under: News / Human Rights : Organizing : Race : Social Welfare |
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Nurses Demand Safe Staffing Ratios During Statehouse Hearings |
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by Bryan G. Pfeifer, |
 BOSTON -- Hundreds of nurses and health care activists from across New England rallied at the statehouse July 14 to demand legislators pass state legislation mandating safe nurse-to-patient ratios.
The one-day action sponsored by The Massachusetts Nurses Association union was a continuation of mass state-wide actions in an effort to pass House Bill 2663 “An Act Ensuring Patient Safety,” (www.massnurses.org).
Similar to California state mandated nurse-to-patient ratio legislation won by the California Nurses Association, the MNA supported bill would mandate safe staffing levels based on specific hospital location and specialties. In intensive care the bill calls for one nurse to two patients while in medical and surgical units the nurse-to-patient ratio would be 1-to-4. |
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18 Jul 2005
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Filed under: News / Labor : Social Welfare |
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