Movement support

TAKE ACTION TODAY! We're more than half way through the year, and Congress still hasn't passed a strong estate tax. We held a national press event to shed light on the urgency of this issue. Now we need your support to keep the pressure on Congress to immediately pass a strong estate tax.

Four months ago, 300 plus workers from the Shaw’s distribution center in Methuen, MA went on strike. This month, they're celebrating a victory.

The strike was born when workers voted in opposition to a contract that would cut their healthcare benefits. Shaw’s refusal to absorb the cost of an increase in premiums would cause workers a loss of $28 per week, which accumulates to $1,456 annually. Shaw's management stubbornly moved forward by hiring replacement workers and terminating healthcare for the striking workers.

In late May, the workers’ union, United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 791, organized a 60-mile, 5-day “March for Justice” beginning in Methuen and ending in Boston. Public officials, including Sen. John Kerry and Rep. Michael Capuano, urged Shaw's/Supervalu president and CEO Craig Herkert to reach a settlement.

The workers approved a new four-year contract–including wage increases and more affordable healthcare–on July 8th, ending the bitter strike. The temporary workers will be phased out gradually, allowing for the union workers to resume their positions.

A joint press release by UFCW and Shaw's stated, “The four-year contract continues Shaw’s long-standing history of providing good wages, comprehensive and affordable health care and a generous retirement plan,” although the original contract didn't exactly live up to this commitment. Many continue to feel that the ratified contract isn't enough–especially considering the months of lost pay–but the victory is about more than the final terms.

This resolution demonstrates the perseverance of the workers and the commitment of the union and communities to stand behind them. Shaw's was greedy and determined to break the union with intimidation, but the workers were unbending and rallied an enormous amount of support, ultimately forcing the company to renegotiate the contract.

The victory was made possible, in part, by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which granted unemployment benefits that were vital to the workers’ ability to sustain the strike. Additionally, a strike fund, for which over $180,000 was raised, played a key role in giving the Shaw's workers the financial wherewithal and morale to continue the strike.

Anthony Zuba, leader of the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, said healthcare should never be used as an “economic weapon,” and this 4-month battle is a lesson in why. The workers, union, advocacy groups and communities stood bravely and found their own weapon in a collective voice for workers' rights.

After a 19-day protest, the Student Immigrant Movement (SIM) and allied organizations celebrated a victory in their campaign, Mass Hope 2010, for the Massachusetts legislature to overturn a budget amendment laden with anti-immigrant language.

For those 19 days, SIM members staged a 24/7 vigil in front of the State House, risking arrest by local law enforcement, as a stand in solidarity with immigrants, both documented and undocumented, in Massachusetts.

SIM initiated Mass Hope in late May when the state legislature's conference committee released its budget proposal for the new fiscal year, which was laden with provisions  that would have been an affront to the rights of immigrants and children of immigrants with regard to employment, housing, education and public services.

The anti-immigrant legislation, amendment 172.1, was not only a threat to immigrants' civil liberties, but would have also been costly for taxpayers and highly inconvenient for a state government that's already stretched thin by the ongoing recession.

Amendment 172.1 would have exemplified government at its worst. Its wasteful and punitive measures were neglectful of its impacts on the families of undocumented immigrants, and Massachusetts' immigrant communities as a whole. And, it would have done absolutely nothing to address the root causes of unlawful migration to the US.

SIM's mobilization succeeded in getting the conference committee to take their proposal back to the drawing board. The outcome was, in large part, a win for immigrant rights. While most of the proposed new restrictions and regulations were struck down, the final budget proposal contained provisions that codified existing practices and regulations as law.

The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Coalition (MIRA) expressed mixed feelings about the final budget. In the process of drafting their final budget proposal, the conference committee eliminated a program that has been providing state-subsidized healthcare for nearly 30,000 documented immigrants, raising concerns for the physical and financial well being of thousands of men, women and children. Another concern MIRA has conveyed is the closed-door message the immigrant-related codifications send to future immigrants to Massachusetts, which has come to be known as one of the most immigrant-friendly states in the US.

The budget is now headed to the Governor's desk for review. Although most involved in Mass Hope are content with the conference committee's decisions, MIRA still cautions Gov. Deval Patrick to carefully consider the implications of the immigrant-related provisions they've deemed as problematic.

The vigil has officially ended, but SIM and other activists will keep up the pressure on their state legislators to defend and expand the basic rights of immigrants in Massachusetts. UFE is proud to have participated in Mass Hope. UFE staffers participated in the vigil, in rallies, provided support, resources and a space of community for the campaign planners, protesters and others involved.

What do people think about jobs, the recovery, and banks and how can organizers speak to populist concerns during the upcoming election? During session two of the National Coordinating Conference for the Campaign for Federal Aid to Communities, we'll hear from pollsters and union representatives about the public opinion landscape and how activists can shape their messaging this electoral season.  Read more >>

UFE's Shannon Moriarty will be live-blogging from the National Coordinating Conference for the Campaign for Federal Aid to Communities on July 13th and 14th. Follow along as state organizers develop a national strategy for demanding federal aid for jobs and essential public goods and services.  

Live-blog coverage starts on Tuesday, July 13th at 1:30pm. The first session kicks off with a discussion of key issues facing the federal campaign, including a recession retrospective, federal legislation, and the 2010 fall elections.  Read more >>

Imagine thousands of people meeting, mingling, and marching peacefully through your city streets for nearly a week. Last month, a racially, ethnically and geographically diverse crowd of more than 15,000 people vitalized the epic, but destitute, city of Detroit–the epicenter of the Great Recession in the US.

The second US Social Forum (USSF) – the first was in Atlanta in June 2007 — was inspired by the 2001 World Social Forum in Brazil. The 2001 gathering was an international attempt to pose and discuss alternative economic models and rules to those discussed at the corporate-dominated World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

Four UFE staff members, as well as several board members, volunteers, and supporters, led popular economics education workshops, participated in planning meetings, marched in demonstration, attended plenaries, networked, and enjoyed cultural activities.  Our message about the scope of economic inequality and our method of engaging people in dialogue about its consequences and what to do about it, were very well-received. New relationships were forged, old ones strengthened, and a great deal of enthusiasm for collaboration was generated.

But, the significance of the Forum goes way beyond these specific outcomes for UFE. What we witnessed (and participated in) was a key step forward in building a powerful social and economic justice movement that will realize the USSF theme: "Another World is Possible, Another US is Necessary."

Labor & racial justice activist Bill Fletcher provided his take, “...[the USSF] was the antithesis of the Tea Party movement. Instead of the fear, ignorance and hatred that emanates from the Tea Partiers, here there was a sense of optimism.” The  provides a vibrant and safe space for exchanges of ideologies and strategies. While we still struggle to construct a common narrative that explains how we got here and a common vision of where we want to go, the willingness to engage open-mindedly in the hard work to build such consciousness, was on display throughout the Forum.

“For five days in Detroit, an incredibly diverse group of progressives became a community,” said Steve Schnapp, UFE's senior education coordinator. “We are making the road as we walk. But, more importantly, we do so in ways that draw upon our unique perspectives and celebrate our unique gifts. This feeling of solidarity inspires us to continue our important work. A world where power and wealth are not concentrated in the hands of a few is indeed possible!”

This summer, a Washington state coalition of businesses, labor and social justice organizations, and a few prominent civic leaders, including our friend, Bill Gates, Sr., is trying to make history. They’re putting boots on the streets to advance to the November ballot Washington’s first tax reform initiative in 40 years. The message of the initiative, I-1098, is simple: Washingtonians are suffering from the state’s budget crisis, and they are in desperate need of a fair tax code to fund core public services like education and healthcare.

One coalition member, Washington Community Action Network (also a member of UFE’s Tax Fairness Organizing Collaborative), will host a launching event for volunteers this Memorial Day weekend on Saturday, May 29th to start getting the word out and gathering signatures of Washington voters.

Forty thousand residents have lost basic health coverage as a result of the state’s fiscal woes. That includes thousands of seniors and disabled residents who have lost daily care, and children who may be susceptible to illness due to elimination of state-funded vaccinations. On education, a seventy percent reduction in funds to reduce class sizes is causing classrooms to bulge with more, and presumably less engaged, students. 

The passage of I-1098 would restore funding to those services while, at the same time, lowering taxes for the majority of Washington households. Sounds oxymoronic, right? That’s the beauty of a progressive tax structure – a fair share of the costs of public services are paid for by those who’ve benefitted the most from them, and who, in turn, have the most to give back to the common good. Here’s an overview of I-1098...  Read more >>

Boston City Councilors Felix Arroyo and Michael Ross filed a resolution this week, urging the City of Boston to review all business activities conducted with the state and municipalities of Arizona, and to the extent possible, cease those activities. The results came quickly -- it passed! The initiative was sparked by an uproar of Bostonians in response to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's signing into law the anti-immigrant legislation, SB 1070. 

Read more >>

Responsible Wealth member, Judy Pigott, hosts a event in Seattle, featuring Bill Gates, Sr., WA state senator Lisa Brown, TFOC partner Will Pittz, and others to discuss state- and federal-level campaigns and strategies to raise taxes on the wealthy to fund the common good.

Interested in learning more about UFE? Want to get involved? Whether you're a new member or have been a supporter for years we've compiled some information and action steps you can take to find your place in the movement for a fair economy.