What Would Ronald Reagan Have Advised the GOP to Do Regarding the Buffett Rule?
Note: Events that repeat during the calendar period are listed once, on their first occurrence, with their repetition schedule in parentheses.
FREE FILM: FAREWELL TO FACTORY TOWNS?
7pm, Amherst Media, 246 College St., Amherst. Documentary examines the future of US factory towns, with a focus on North Adams. Directed by Maynard Seider and edited by Zeke Meginsky. A panel discussion will be conducted after the screening hosted by Jim Lescault, Executive Director, Amherst Media. Guests include: Ray Zucco, Ph.D President of Western Mass Institute for Social Research; Myrna Brietbart, Director Community Engagement & Collaborative Learning Network, Hampshire College; Derek Shea, Asst. Principal, Crocker Farms School, Amherst, raised in a blue-collar, union household in Scotland. Info: Maynard Seider, M.Seider@mcla.edu, http://farewelltofactorytowns.com/, http://www.amherstmedia.org/factorytowns.
Thursday April 19
CIVIL RIGHTS TRIVIA NIGHT
7pm, Food for Thought Books, non-profit workers' co-op, 106 N Pleasant St, Amherst (253-5432, info@foodforthoughtbooks.com, www.foodforthoughtbooks.com). Civil Rights! Food! Prizes! The Preserving our Civil Rights (PCR) campaign hosts Civil Rights Trivia in recognition of the Bylaw (Article 29) that will go before Amherst Town Meeting in late April/early May and make Amherst the first town in the country to have a piece of binding legislation that would ensure that Amherst would not have to participate in federal immigration law enforcement (through the program “Secure Communities”). Secure Communities (or “SComm”) is an extremely oppressive program targeting immigrant communities; while it has the goal to deport “criminal aliens,” a majority of those deported are non-offenders. Come learn about civil rights, immigrant rights, the Amherst By-Law, and have some fun! Make your voice heard in a fun, safe, educational environment! Find out more about the Amherst Bylaw and campaign at http://www.preservingcivilrights.org/get-involved/amherst-campaign/. Info: American Friends Service Committee, (413) 584-8975, office@afscwm.org.
FROM TROY TO TRAYVON: THE STRUGGLE FOR BLACK LIBERATION
7-9pm, Franklin Paterson Hall Room 106, Hampshire College, 893 West St, Amherst. The recent murders of Troy Davis and Trayvon Martin have caused widespread anger and outrage over the continued racist injustice in the United States. These events illustrate the need to have continuous and serious conversations about race in American society. Please join us as local International Socialist Organization (ISO) member Khury Petersen-Smith speaks about fighting back against racism and the struggle for black liberation and socialism. Info: contact@isonoho.org. Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/256869801075803/.
Thursday April 19
VIJAY PRASHAD: ARAB SPRING, LIBYAN WINTER
7pm, Odyssey Bookshop, 9 College St (Routes 116 & 47), in the Village Commons, S Hadley, 534-7307 or 800-540-7307; odysseybks@aol.com; www.odysseybks.com (www.odysseybks.com/directions.html). Vijay Prashad, professor and director of international studies at Trinity College, Hartford, will discuss and sign copies of his new book Arab Spring, Libyan Winter. This event requires the purchase of a $5 Event Bucks ticket or a copy of the book.
Friday April 20 (Every Friday)
VERIZON STREET HEAT COMMITTEE
9:30-10:30am, IBEW Local 2324, 281 Cottage St, Springfield. Planning non-violent direct actions against Verizon, the poster child for corporate greed. Info: 827-0301, wmjwj@wmjwj.org.
Friday April 20
SAJED KAMAL, AUTHOR OF THE RENEWABLE REVOLUTION
Noon-1:30pm, Sloan Theater, Greenfield Community College, 1 College Drive, Greenfield. Sajed Kamal will speak on how we can fight climate change, revitalize the economy, prevent energy wars, and transition to a sustainable future. Dr. Kamal has been a lecturer and consultant on renewable energy internationally, setting up solar projects in the United States, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Armenia, and El Salvador for more than 30 years. He has authored a dozen books and is also an award-winning poet. Info: Traprock Peace Education Center at GCC, 413-775-1127, jenks@gcc.mass.edu.
Friday April 20
SONGS OF PEACE, PROTEST, AND STRUGGLE FROM THE PEOPLE’S MOVEMENTS
6-10:30pm, WWII Club, 50 Conz Street, Northampton. Come early and have a bite to eat: WWII Club food and drink available beginning at 6pm. Show: 7:30-10:30pm. Evelyn Harris, Jay Mankita, Lara Shepard-Blue & Joe Oliverio, Los Hijos Unicos, Tom Neilson, the UAW All Stars, and more. Suggested donation (to Western Mass. Jobs with Justice) $10. Info: Ron Patenaude, (413) 534-7600 (UAW Local 2322), ronpatenaude@hotmail.com.
April 20, 21, 22, 27, 28 (Workers Memorial Day), 29
RADIUM GIRLS
8pm (Sundays 2pm), Shea Theater, 71 Avenue A, Turners Falls. Based on real events, Radium Girls tells the story of young American women who went to work painting watch dials for the US Radium Corporation in 1917. Decent and good paying jobs for women were hard to come by. US Radium paid top dollar (more than $18 a week) and thousands of women went to work painting watch dials with a glow-in-the dark radium-based paint. Numerous women became sick with a crippling illness and died. The corporation blamed the victims and practiced a cover-up. But the “Radium Girls”, in the face of death, refused to go quietly. Against the corporation, the courts, and a terrible sickness the Radium Girls fought for justice. Their actions ultimately led to groundbreaking occupational disease law, the right to sue corporations for damages caused by labor abuse, and improved safety standards.
Following the Sunday April 22 performance, there will be a talk-back with Attorney Harris Freeman. Freeman serves by appointment of Governor Patrick to the Commonwealth Employment Relations Board. He is a former toolmaker and machinist and was a member of the Auto Workers (UAW) and Machinists (IAM) unions.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students, and $8 for 12 and under. Tickets are available at the door, can be purchased at the World Eye Bookshop, Greenfield, and the Jones Library, Amherst. Directions to the Shea Theater: TheShea.org. Info: Robert Freedman, 413-586-6095, http://www.arenacivictheatre.org/.
Friday April 20
HOUSE CONCERT: BEV GRANT & INA MAY WOOL
8pm, Northampton. Tickets: $15. RSVP and get directions: daleannmelcher@gmail.com.
Saturday April 21 (Every Saturday)
SUPPORT WORKERS AGAINST VERIGREEDY
Verizon workers are still trying to get a labor contract that keeps 45,000 good jobs in the US. We leaflet customers every Saturday at the doors and stand out with the VeriGreedy banner at the street at the four Verizon Wireless stores in Western Mass:
555 Hubbard Ave, Pittsfield. ~ 11am to 1pm ~ please let Brian Morrison know you are coming: brian.morrison@state.ma.us, 413-281-3223.
360 Russell St, Hadley ~ Noon to 2pm ~ please let Jon Weissman know you are coming: jon@wmjwj.org, 413-250-5267.
1420 Boston Rd, Springfield ~ Noon to 2pm ~ Please let Marty Feid know you are coming: martinfeid@gmail.com, 413-530-8888.
1123 Riverdale St, West Springfield ~ Noon to 2pm ~ please let Patrick Burke know you are coming: patrick@wmjwj.org, 413-454-5692.
Join us! Please wear your organization’s apparel and/or a red shirt/jacket, as the strikers did. If it looks like rain or snow, we will make the decision to call it off around 9am and let you know by email. If we know you are coming, we can let you know by phone, text, or the email sent to your cell phone as a text message (if you’ve sent your phone number and name of carrier to wmjwj@wmjwj.org).
Saturday April 21
SPANISH-ENGLISH INTERPRETATION SKILLS WORKSHOP
1-5pm, Carpenters Union, 29 Oakland Street, Springfield. Are you a bilingual Spanish/English speaker interested in building your interpretation skills? Do you currently work as an interpreter and want to improve your skills in simultaneous and consecutive situations? Are you looking to connect with other interpreters in Western Massachusetts? This interactive workshop will provide practical tools for developing and improving simultaneous and consecutive interpretation skills. We look to deepen both our skills and our connections to one another in this afternoon of varied group and pair work!
$0-$50 sliding scale (pay what you can afford) includes snacks and materials. Cash or checks (to Valley Community Interpreters) are welcome, accepted at the workshop. This workshop is open to bilingual Spanish/English speakers interested in developing their skills in interpretation. We welcome individuals with or without prior interpretation experience. RSVP, for more information: Valley Community Interpreters, valleycommunityinterpreters@gmail.com.
Saturday April 21
COOKING HEALTHY DINNER EVENT
6pm, Central Labor Council Hall, 640 Page Boulevard, Springfield. This is a joint effort of Universal Community Voices Eliminating Disparities and UMass Food Science students and faculty, with a unique approach to improving health: by changing the way we cook! Info: Vanessa Martinez, (413) 687-7513, martinezrenuncio@gmail.com.
Monday April 23
JOHN BONIFAZ: FREE SPEECH FOR PEOPLE
7pm, Unitarian Universalist Meetinghouse, 121 N Pleasant St, Amherst. Bonifaz co-founded and is Director of Free Speech for People, a national, non-partisan campaign seeking to restore democracy to the people through a 28th Amendment to the US Constitution to ensure that people, not corporations, govern in America. Free Speech For People is dedicated to overturning the US Supreme Court's January 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. FEC and a corporate rights doctrine which threatens our democracy and our self-government. Hosted by Occupy Amherst's working group on Ending Corporate Rule, which has also compiled Resources on the issue of a 28th Amendment and the broader issue of ending corporate rule, at http://justiceandpeace.net/ecr.html.
Monday April 23
TEJID@S JUNT@S / STITCHED TOGETHER: WORKERS, STUDENTS, & THE MOVEMENT FOR ALTA GRACIA
7:30-8:30pm, Gordon Hall Room 310, 418 N Pleasant St, Amherst. Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/events/351667894869875/ Directed by Will Delphia (Hampshire College 2012), this documentary tells the story of Alta Gracia and a hard-won victory. Alta Gracia is a unique factory in the Dominican Republic where workers participate in a strong and independent union, receive a living wage of more than three times the local minimum wage, and are afforded dignity and respect on the job. These workers cut and sew fabric into tee shirts, hoodies, and other apparel destined for university and college bookstores bearing school names and logos. Alta Gracia is a fair alternative to the all too common unsafe working conditions, poverty wages, and strict, repressive work environments at other factories. Info: Will Delphia, willdelphia@gmail.com.
SAVE THE DATES
Tuesday May 1
ANNUAL WESTERN MASS. JOBS WITH JUSTICE MAY DAY PERFORMANCE
Holyoke Heritage Park Visitors Center. Reserve a seat by emailing wmjwj@wmjwj.org.
June 22-24
U S FEDERATION OF WORKER CO-OPS WORKER CO-OP CONFERENCE
Boston. Info: Melissa Hoover, melissa@usworker.coop, http://www.usworker.coop/front.
Saturday June 30
THIRD ANNUAL CORI INDEPENDENCE DAY
12-4pm, Blunt Park, Springfield. Details coming. We will need donations and support from all. Info: Betty Agin, 413-654-2888, director@ucved.org.
More events, plus this calendar on-line, at AFSC Calendar.
