Monday, December 30, 2019

Remarks by Rochelle Palache, People's World Amistad Awardee

Thank you Joelle and Art. Thank you to the entire CT People’s World Community. I am honored to join the ranks of the esteemed group of past awardees, including member leader Ciro Guitterez, and my leaders Alberto Bernardez and Juan Hernandez. 

It is with grace and great humility that I accept this award in honor of the thousands of hardworking men and women of my union, SEIU Local 32BJ.

The vast majority of these freedom fighters are now in contract negotiations, and today, December 14, hundreds voted unanimously to authorize a strike if we do not reach a favorable agreement by December 31. 

I am incredibly honored to serve and fight alongside these amazing warriors. They teach me every day that, regardless of our differences, we have one struggle and we have to remain united against our common enemy. I carry their passion, their energy, their stories with me and it provides me with the fuel I need to keep going. 

Quite fittingly, on this day that I am honored, those who inspired me showed me their power by gathering by the hundreds in New Haven, Hartford and Stamford to say NO to the bosses’ attempts to intimidate them and to roll back the progress we have made over the years. We emphatically said NO to any GIVEBACKS and YES to fair wages, affordable healthcare and a decent pension.

Our members work extremely hard and they deserve to thrive and to live with dignity and respect.
At these meetings, our members and our President Kyle Bragg spoke passionately about the legacy of our great, late president Hector Figueroa. Hector devoted his life to ensure that the labor movement expanded and that labor used its influence to fight for economic, racial, environmental, and immigrant justice for all working people.

A huge thank you to you our community champions who have stood side by side with us in this struggle. Our members will continue to hold strong, and I know you will be there every step of the way, and so I have no I have no doubt that we will win a strong contract this year. Can we do it? ¡Sí, se puede!

I am a black woman, an immigrant, a woman of faith, a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend and a proud labor organizer.

It’s been my lifelong passion to empower, serve, defend and help others but sometimes it gets difficult to stay strong. Sometimes you feel like throwing in the towel. Sometimes you feel like giving up. In a world filled with so much despair and hate, it’s easy to get weary in well-doing. As we face the daily struggles against a system designed to oppress our most vulnerable, we have to remember that no matter how hard the obstacles we face in the fight for justice, it’s important to know who you are and to remain true to your passions. 

I know that this fight for justice is bigger than I am. It’s about leaving this world a little bit better for my two amazing children. It’s about staying united and strong in the face of what sometimes feels like insurmountable obstacles and speaking directly to that mountain of despair that "we will remain resolute in this fight, we will not give up!" Hate, greed and division will not prevail. 

So, in closing, don’t let nothing or no one put out your FIRE. Find the source of your power. For me, it’s my family, my church family, and my union family. I am reminded about a quote by Laura Esquival: "Each of us are born with a box of matches inside of us but we can’t strike them all by ourselves, we need oxygen, we need a candle" — we need each other. 

Today I watched hundreds of members standing together to join forces and declare that if we don’t get what we deserve at the table we will be going on strike come January 1,st and I can’t fully describe to you the mood and the feeling in the room. It’s a beautiful thing to watch people coming together for one common struggle, each of us igniting the passion within each other that creates an explosion and that’s what creates a movement — a movement that our hero Hector Figuroa would be proud of. Hector presente. We will win this for you!



Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Presentation of People's World Amistad Award to John Humphries by John Harrity

Remarks on Presenting JOHN HUMPHRIES the Amistad Award – John Harrity 12/14/19
First, I want to congratulate all the honorees, and thank everyone who has come here today to celebrate them and our collective solidarity. And I want to especially celebrate the recognition given to my great friend of many years, Joelle Fishman. Joelle and I have worked together for many, many years and I have always valued her perspective, her advice and her friendship.
But on to the main event – John Humphries.
I am honored to be asked to honor John. I do not have a lot of time so I will get right to it. John is perhaps the most remarkable, effective and dedicated person I have ever worked with. That’s not hyperbola, and that’s not from a novice; I say that sincerely with more than 40 years of activism in people’s struggles. John – believe me when I say you are among the best.
John has a long history of organizing for progressive causes – in Appalachia, the Naugatuck Valley, with Sheff vs, O’Neill – but I am not going to focus on that. I met John maybe 7 years ago, when some environmentalists asked John Olsen if he could convene a meeting of labor folks concerned about climate change. This led to a continuing dialogue, and John Olsen’s request that I keep tabs on it.
That evolved into the CT Roundtable on Climate & Jobs a coalition of labor, environmental and faith groups, focused on climate change. Our working thesis is that the fight against climate disaster is crucial, and opens up opportunities for new, local, good-paying jobs in a revamped renewable energy economy. This transformation also mandates addressing and correcting decades of racial injustice embedded into the fossil fuel economy
But you can have the greatest perspective, and the keenest analysis, and not get anything done. The difference for the Roundtable has been our Executive Director and Lead Organizer, John Humphries.
I will just state a few of the Roundtable’s many achievements. In an early fight with utilities, we got restrictions put on the amount utilities could charge rate payers for fixed costs, which were a deterrent to energy conservation and renewables. We convinced the Malloy administration to revive and utilize the Governor Council on Climate Change and assisted the in the development and holding of stakeholder meetings across the state on climate change.
That process led to Connecticut setting some of the toughest standards in the country as goals for carbon reduction. Those goals were then further tightened by incoming Governor Lamont.
We led the way in establishing a state goal to construct 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035. Offshore wind projects promise the creation of thousands of jobs under project labor agreements – so that they are union jobs. Most important, they will generate electric power without carbon emissions, to help keep our planet safe.
Now we are involved in working with the Lamont administration to ensure that climate change is a primary factor in determining elements of a strategic transportation plan.
Through it all has been the leadership of John Humphries. His understanding of the climate crisis, and what needs to be done, is visionary. His work ethic is unmatched – meticulous, focused, disciplined and knowledgeable.
But it is his humanity, and genuine love of people that shines through always, and helps move people to our cause. John is a person with strong faith and strong personal values. He and his wife Debbie are a strong team, bound by love and a desire to do good in the world.
John leads by example, as well as by a sharp intellect, great listening skills and an ability to synthesize diverse opinions into concrete plans and real action.
John treats people with respect and dignity, and with an essential kindness that people feel and draws them in. If you know John, you know – and I mean this in the best, most appreciative way – that there is a little bit of Mr. Rogers to John, except focused on climate change instead of the Land of Make-Believe.
I am truly honored to be able to work with and learn from John Humphries. I am thankful to call him my friend. But I am most thankful that, at this crucial moment in history, when we are fighting to the survival of the world, John Humphries is on our side.
Let me read the citation on the award we are about to give John:
People's World Amistad Award
John Humphries
Director Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs
In recognition of your life long commitment
to social, racial, environmental and economic justice for all people, 
through community organizing and diverse alliance building 
bringing together labor, faith and community leaders 
from Appalachia to Connecticut to save our planet earth 
from devastation due to climate change and militarism and
to create good, green jobs and an equal and sustainable future
Your outstanding leadership is an inspiration
December 14, 2019 at 
City Hall Atrium
New Haven, Connecticut

Monday, December 23, 2019

Photos of People's World Amistad Awards Rise Up - Unite 2020

Photos of the People's Wrold Amistad Awards event held Saturday December 14, 2019 at New Haven City Hall Atrium are posted at the Face Book event page for the rally:  https://www.facebook.com/events/2176477429123731/

Remarks will be posted at this site as they arrive.  Already posted are the welcome remarks by Mayor Toni N Harp and the remarks by Joelle Fishman on receiving special recogntion for the 100 year anniversary of the Communist Party USA.

People's World Amistad Awards 100th Anniversary Special Recognition

100th Anniversary Special Recognition
Response by Joelle Fishman, chair, CT Communist Party USA

Thank you so much for all the love and respect, it is very moving and humbling. I am very proud to be the standard bearer for recognition of the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party. But it is not about me, it is about all of us. Each and every one giving what they can and becoming stronger and better in the process.

One of the things that pulled me into the Communist Party was the people. There was no other place that was multi-racial, and multi-cultural. There was no other place that had the strategy and tactics to take a principled stand and at the same time to build the unity necessary to win. There was no other place that was like extended family caring for each other, listening and learning from our experiences together, in the quest for a better world.

So I want to deeply appreciate all of the comrades all of the friends all of you who have stood up and are standing up together in the face of hate, racism, bigotry, family separation, in the face of extreme exploitation of workers and planet and attacks on the right to organize and the right to vote -- the right as Singhbe Pieh said TO BE FREE.

There is so much in a 100 year history. I was wondering what to cover in a few minutes . I could never have imagined as a young woman, joining the Communist Party in its 50th year, that I would be standing here today having participated in half of its proud century of struggle.

I could never have imagined the tremendous challenge we face in this moment when all that has been won and all of the future is on the line. And I am so appreciative that at a time like this the Communist Party is part of the political landscape with it's vision and legacy of building worker power, unity and solidarity.

In essence, the Communist Party understands class struggle as the motive force for change. Our country's beautiful, diverse working class of all races, nationalities, genders and ages is the heart and soul of moving the arc of history toward justice.

The Communist Party has been demonized throughout our history. The C word is the victim of tons of fake news. The reason is pretty simple: With a vision of equality, a vision that those who create the wealth make the decisions, the 1% has everything to lose, and the working class has everything to gain.

So tearing down anti-communism and red baiting is not just about the Communist Party. It is about raising up the entire movement for social justice and realizing what is possible if we join together.

Red baiting, racism and union busting are all tools of the boss. They all keep workers divided and afraid. They have to be fought together because an injustice to one is an injustice to all.

In 1974 I was drafted to run for Congress on the Communist Party ticket. We coined the slogan "People before Profits". The program to stop plant closings, for publicly owned utilities, equal education and ending the war in Vietnam got a lot of traction.

Some people said, "If you run as a Democrat you would win." Even though I was not elected it was a winning campaign in a different way -- we were building a movement and breaking down the fear that held people back from engaging on their own behalf. After running five times, in 1982 our People before Profits campaigns were credited with changing the political climate. Instead of a war hawk businessman, voters in the 3rd District elected a legal aid lawyer.

In the early years Communists led many massive movements for social security, unemployment compensation, unionization of industry, voting rights, opposing lynchings and jim crow segregation, fighting fascism in WW II, standing against white supremacy and for equality. Al Marder and my mother Edie Fishman, who are here today, were part of that.

I would like to reflect on some experiences from the second fifty years, as significant and momentous as the first. Opposing Apartheid in South Africa, winning the freedom of Angela Davis, building industrial concentration and organizing new sections of workers, building Communist Party neighborhood clubs, defending the rights of immigrants, LGBTQ rights, marching against nuclear weapons and for conversion to peacetime production, coalescing with labor against the Iraq war through Connecticut Opposes War, building coalitions to tax the rich and cut the military budget and for jobs for youth, jobs for all.

We defied those historians who falsely claimed that capitalism is the end of history. How could capitalism be the end of history when there is so much hunger and homelessness in the land of plenty?

In the 1980s in Hartford Brian Steinberg organized weekly door to door distributions of the People's World in neighborhoods of the racially and nationally oppressed. Ordinary families became engaged and continue to this day. This laid the foundation for many people's victories. We appreciate you Brian.

The Hartford comrades helped win a civilian review board, helped organize the hospital workers union 1199 in Hartford and Waterbury, helped win a history making strike at Colts firearms, served in various posts during the tenure of the great Mayor Carrie Saxon Perry and replaced the Republican minority on City Council with People for Change and then Working Families Party.

In New Haven, our Winchester Club grew out of the Committee to Free Angela Davis.. In the 1979 strike Craig Gauthier engaged community and labor support that forced the company to settle. He ran for union president but didn't win. The boss told the white skilled workers not to elect a Communist and an African American. Craig ran again. This time he talked to the skilled workers first and convinced them that their lot was with the rest of the workers in the plant, not with the boss. He won that election and Victory Lodge 609 IAM became a strong force in the shop and community.

These early experiences were drawn upon in many strikes and organizing drives across Connecticut from Pratt and Whitney to Circuit Wise to healthcare workers to Local 34 at Yale which broke ground as the first clerical union at a major private university. Now New Haven Rising has taken this to a whole new level, developing Black and Latino leadership while demanding Yale Respect New Haven.

When Ronald Reagan destroyed PATCO airline pilots union, workers in the Communist Party across the country helped create "fresh winds" coming out of the repression and union busting of the 1950's. Scores of train cars and buses from Connecticut traveled to Washington DC for Solidarity Day to uphold workers' rights. It was the first such mobilization in decades.

Ten years later Bridgeport was the first city in the country to go bankrupt. Communists in the labor movement helped organize a march with Jesse Jackson to "Rebuild America - Keep Hope Alive." I remember wearing a sign "Tax the Rich" during the entire week walking from Bridgeport to Hartford.

Tax the rich was a unifying slogan that led to the Coalition to End Child Poverty. How outrageous the richest state had the highest child poverty. We called for a 2% tax on the portion of income above $250,000 for children's needs.. Union and community groups signed on. They were tired of being pitted against one another in the various Governors' budgets. That struggle continues to this day.

Youth poverty led to scores of young Black men tragically killed in street violence. The YCL helped form New Elm City Dream and brought the cry for Jobs for Youth Jobs for All to the newly elected Board of Alders, many were union leaders. This contributed to the jobs pipeline victory from Black and Latino neighborhoods to permanent employment at Yale.

We came together statewide for the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride. Large immigrant led May Day marches were organized out of the Peoples Center. These actions helped build broad support for the drivers license, access to student loans, the Trust Act, and now direct action to stop deportations.

These very People's World Amistad Awards have been a part of building worker power, unity and solidarity. In 2010 John Olsen, then CT AFL CIO president, accepted the award. He made national news on right wing TV for "accepting an award from the Communists." John was very clear: "They walked with us on every picket line. I am proud to accept the award."

Today, we are challenged to stand up together as never before to stop the dangerous anti-democratic attacks at home and abroad led by the Trumpites and demand basic human rights:
health care is a human right
housing is a human right
quality equal bi-lingual education is a human right
living wage jobs with a union is a human right
an end to mass incarceration is a human right
an end to gun violence and police misconduct is a human right
immigration is a basic human right
gender equality is a human right
a sustainable and peaceful environment and world is a basic human right
voting is a basic human right

We have many voices, and one struggle.

As we build a growing resistance to defeat cruel and vicious Trumpism the "triple evils" of capitalism described by Martin Luther King Jr -- greed, racism and militarism -- are in clear view for everyone to see. It's time for something better. People around the world are rising up for their own destiny.

Impeach Now or Dump Trump in 2020 is our immediate mission, but it is just the beginning. Our society needs to be restructured with a Green New Deal to address climate change with public works jobs, guaranteed income, healthcare and investment in front line communities instead of war.

Yes, the Communist Party agrees that socialism's time has come. Those who create the wealth should decide the priorities.

In the words of the great poet Langston Hughes:
I been starvin' too long,
Ain't you?
Let's go, Revolution!

People, Peace and Planet before Profits. (chant)

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Welcome Remarks by Mayor Toni N. Harp at People's World Amistad Awards

People's World Amistad Awards Saturday, December 14, 2019 at City Hall Atrium
Mayor Toni N. Harp Welcome Remarks

Good afternoon, everybody. I’m very pleased to welcome you to City Hall today.

And I’m delighted to be among you for the 2019 People's World Amistad Awards ceremony.

From the outset, I’m struck by the theme for this year: “Rise Up – Unite 2020.”

With so much evidence to suggest backsliding on issues and ideals that are critically important to us, there’s no question but that the time to, “rise up and unite” is now – in 2020.

In this nation at this hour, we face an uphill struggle to re-purpose grossly exaggerated military spending for desperately needed social services, jobs programs, and infrastructure maintenance.

In this nation at this hour, we face a fierce struggle to retain workers’ rights, even as the promise of labor unions and collective bargaining erodes right before our eyes.

In this nation at this hour, the promise of the United States is not only denied to more and more would-be immigrants, who simply seek a peaceful, productive life, but they’re denied, and the people humiliated, with families separated and children literally kept in cages.

And in this nation at this hour the global climate on the only planet we have is deteriorating measurably, and – unbelievably – the discussion is somehow still about whether it’s even happening, and not about how to reverse what is the very definition of unsustainable.

As if this isn’t enough to worry about, we now face a Constitutional crisis, wherein a President has hoodwinked a major political party to overlook a laundry list of egregious behavior in the name of loyalty or worse: fear of retribution.
To effectively repel this multi-faceted affront on the ideals that unite us, we must – simply – rise up and unite.

We must restore people to their proper place before profits, we must prioritize our common good ahead of personal gain, and we must convince others to join us in this collective effort for the good of the planet – and for the good of all that depends upon it.

The three award-winners we celebrate at this gathering are leading the way in the work they do – and in the way they do their work.

It’s important for them to be recognized for this – not to feather their nest, in a manner of speaking – but to hold their manner up so it is emulated, imitated, and serves to inspire the rest of us.

I offer sincere congratulations to the award winners, I thank them for their labors, and I pray their work motivates others, and is multiplied one hundredfold in all of us as we rise up – and unite.

Congratulations again. Thank you very much.

###

People's World Amistad Awards Inspire Action


Electricity was in the air at New Haven City Hall as seats throughout the long Atrium filled up for the People's World Amistad Awards hosted on the 100th anniverary of the Communist Party. A rousing procession of African drums and dancers opened the program.

Standing ovations, applause and singing punctuated speakers and performers as they addressed the theme "Rise Up - Unite 2020. People and Planet before Profits."

"With so much evidence to suggest backsliding on issues and ideals that are critically important to us, there’s no question but that the time to, “rise up and unite” is now – in 2020." said Mayor Toni Harp, a former Awardee, welcoming everyone to City Hall.

Students at Wilbur Cross High School rallying to end ICE incarceration of classmate Mario Aguilar were recognized. Cosobi Mendoza, age 13, wowed the audience with several guitar selections.

Awardees inspired the crowd as they spoke passionately about their vision.

Rochelle Palache, political director of 32 BJ SEIU, declaring the right of all workers to decent wages and benefits, called for support of building cleaners who voted unanimously to strike if they don't get a contract by January 1.

John Humphries, director of the Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs, issued a grim warning about climate change and called for an urgent, collective response that prioritizes jobs and social justice.

Ken Suzuki, secretary treasurer of Local 34 UNITE HERE, helped create the pipeline to Yale jobs from Black and Latino neighborhoods. He told how he was convinced to help organize and lead his union.

After Jill Marks and the Movement Band got everyone singing "Rise Up", a special recognition was presented to Joelle Fishman for 50 years of leadership with the Communist Party USA.

Surrounded by a diverse group, she recounted highlights of the last 50 years of organizing unity and solidarity in Connecticut.

"As we build a growing resistance to defeat cruel and vicious Trumpism the "triple evils" of capitalism described by Martin Luther King Jr -- greed, racism and militarism -- are in clear view for everyone to see. It's time for something better. People around the world are rising up for their own destiny.

"Yes, the Communist Party agrees that socialism's time has come. Those who create the wealth should decide the priorities."


Monday, October 7, 2019

Workers Resurgence Celebrated at Labor Convention


Union members from across the state celebrated the resurgence of worker power at the Connecticut AFL-CIO convention last week. Marc Perrone, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers got a standing ovation for the strike victory at Stop & Shop this year, won with the support of communities in every town who refused to cross the picket line.

Liz Shuler, Secretary Treasurer of the AFL-CIO noted there have been more workers on strike in the last two years than for many decades including teachers, government workers, transit workers and now 50,000 General Motors workers.

Connecticut AFL CIO president Sal Luciano brought delegates to their feet, calling upon them to organize and mobilize to bend the moral arc of history toward justice.

The convention paid tribute to union sisters Rep Robyn Porter and Sen Julie Kushner who co-chair the labor committee and pushed through the $15 minimum wage and paid family leave.

Delegates were addressed by new, emerging leaders in workshops and plenary sessions. The Area Labor Federations announced labor walks to support union sisters and brothers running for local office in November, including in Danbury, East Haven, Stratford, Derby and East Hartford.

Western Connecticut Central Labor Coalition president Ed Hawthorne said they have endorsed more union candidates than ever before, as a result of the Path to Power program.

"We must support these candidates who support what we hold dear: Well Paying Union Jobs! Pensions for All! And high quality affordable Health Care!" he said. "We must all do our part to ensure union voices are heard loudly at all levels of government."

Convention resolutions included one on climate change, noting the coalition of "labor unions and environmental allies who teamed up this year to win legislation that requires Connecticut to solicit 2000 MW of offshore wind (30% of the state’s total electricity demand) becoming the first state offshore wind legislation to require prevailing wage and project labor agreements for all projects."

The convention resolved to "take inspiration from the uprisings of student activists and workers and work with urgency to create a greener, safe and more just world where we can live and prosper for generations to come."

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Labor Day Message: Want Power? Join a Union!


"It's time to organize!" exclaimed Sal Luciano, president of the Connecticut AFL-CIO to several hundred union members at the sixth annual Labor Day Breakfast at Operating Engineers Local 478 in Hamden. Noting the 125th anniversary of Labor Day, Luciano emphasized the signs around the room, "Want Power? Join a Union." He paid tribute to the hundreds of thousands of workers who sacrificed and organized for strong wages, safer working conditions, healthcare and retirement benefits, won through collective bargaining.

Juan Hernandez, leader of SEIU 32 BJ, described a rally with highway service plaza workers in Darien the day before. After an attempt to block the rally was denied by a Superior Court judge, union supporters demanded union representation for Subway, Dunkin’ Donuts and McDonald’s workers at Connecticut service plazas so they can get the wages and benefits they are due.

"Alone your employer can and has treated you as if you’re invisible. That time, sisters and brothers, is past. Now is the time to be seen, now is the time to be heard. Now is the time to organize." Luciano. told the fast food workers.

Sen. Julie Kushner and Rep. Robyn Porter, co-chairs of the state legislature's Labor Committee, were recognized for leading the successful fight that won an increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour and paid family leave in this session.

Three union members, running for their town councils after participating in the Pathways to Power program of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, told their stories, including Kim Glassman, director of Foundation for Fair Contracting, of East Haven; Katlyn Shake a nurse, of Stratford, and Bill Garrity of Plainville, president of University Health Professionals Local 3837.

"I am honored and humbled to receive the endorsement of Western CT Area Labor Federation AFL-CIO," said Shake. "We are always stronger when we come together and organize. Unions built the middle class and Stratford is home to thousands of CT union workers!"
Attorney General William Tong denounced the anti-worker and anti-immigrant policies of the White House and vowed to continue resisting with court challenges, along with Attorneys General of other states.

Information was distributed in support of the Connecticut Climate Strike on September 20 at noon on the Capitol steps in Hartford demanding action to address the climate crisis.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Executive Orfder Paves Way for Sanctuary City Ordinance


Even before the New Haven Board of Alders completes deliberations and passes an ordinance codifying into law protections for immigrants, Mayor Toni Harp has issued an executive order expanding the city's 2006 prohibition on police from asking residents their status or cooperating with ICE to include all city employees and departments.

The announcement was made at a powerful unity rally on the steps of New Haven City Hall, called by Unidad Latina en Accion (ULA) following two years of grass roots organizing.

The united front of immigrant rights activists, union members, lawyers, elected officials and faith leaders strongly condemned Trump administration attacks on the immigrant community and affirmed New Haven as a city where all are welcome to make their home.

"In the face of so much disrespect we must stay together, stay strong to our convictions. Hate has no home in New Haven," said Harp who was introduced by Fatima Rojas one of the sanctuary ordinance organizers.

Over 2000 signatures of support were collected. The harsh realities faced every day for those living without documents were shared during individual meetings with Alders and the Mayor.

"We are indigenous people who have been traveling this continent for centuries," said John Jairo Lugo of ULA. "Some people say we don't belong here. We have been fighting for our rights and winning changes since 2002."

In that year New Haven was the first city in the country to create a municipal ID card. Immediately ICE raided 32 homes in the middle of the night leaving children without parents. The city came together, raised bail and brought those imprisoned home. A lawsuit against ICE won $350,000.

Rev. Scott Marks of New Haven Rising, decried the brutal practice of ripping African American families apart during slavery. "We were captured and kidnapped and built this country," he said. "When immigrants come and families are separated we have to all stand together. Enough is enough."

Pastor Vicki Flippin of the First & Summerfield Methodist sanctuary church exclaimed that U.S. policies, from genocide of Native Americans to the Dred Scott decision to the Chinese Exclusion Act to the Muslim ban "have always been about white supremacy...Our business must be nothing less than resisting white supremacy."

-- Reprinted from CT People's World

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Victory Wins New Haven Hiring Practices at Yale

A large union-community movement and a five year campaign led by New Haven Rising to solve New Haven's jobs crisis celebrated a major victory.

The Unite Here unions at Yale announced they have negotiated new, permanent pathways to jobs at Yale for New Haven residents in low-income neighborhoods. The 300 jobs by 2021, in addition to the 300 workers hired into jobs since the last agreement four years ago, will bring $40 million into "neighborhoods of need."

An amazing celebration of the victory brought together union and community groups with elected leaders who participated and helped realize the achievement.

The establishment and success of New Haven Works, one of the first victories along the way, has made it possible to go further. Several New Haven residents now working in full time Yale jobs told how their lives have changed with a full time unionized job that meets their family needs instead of working many jobs with no benefits.

The agreement is a major achievement because it begins to change not only who is hired, but how people are hired at Yale, New Haven's largest employer. It is also a model for other large employers.
Unite Here Local 35 President Bob Proto emphasized that the new pathways to jobs are ongoing. While giving credit to Yale for agreeing to these hiring practices, Proto joined other speakers in emphasizing that it took a strong movement to win them, and only a strong movement can guarantee their implementation.

“New Haven is an extraordinary city, and this movement is an exceptional part of it. I am proud to be part of this movement”said Mayor Toni Harp, adding that in collaboration with New Haven Works, the City has increased its own hiring of New Haven residents.

Rev. Scott Marks, leader of New Haven Rising, recognized those who led the organizing. “The contract is only as good as the paper it’s written on if you’re not willing to work and enforce it,” he said urging everyone present to sign up for election door knocking.

The agreement includes collaboration with Eli Whitney technical high school, building trades apprenticeship programs and Gateway Community College.

-- Reprinted from CT People's World
















Friday, August 2, 2019

New Haven Election 2019: Working People's Needs


The movement for jobs and hiring at Yale from low-income neighborhoods needs a Mayor and Board of Alders who will listen, respond and act.

The movements for affordable housing, youth needs, responsible policing, climate justice, immigrant rights and peace all need a Mayor and Board of Alders who listen, respond and act.

The movement to reject hate, racism and greed coming from the White House needs a Mayor and Board of Alders who continue to unite New Haven's many cultures and constituencies.

Mayor Toni Harp has strong working relations with the Board of Alders. Together they:
-- Supported New Haven Works to create a jobs pipeline for New Haven residents
-- Supported workers at Yale for good union contracts and union rights for all workers
-- Stood with residents at Florence Virtue to preserve affordable housing for 135 families.
-- Expanded community policing to relate with residents in every neighborhood
-- Stood up for immigrant rights against attacks by the Trump administration and ICE
-- Expanded youth programs across the City and won state funds to rebuild the Q House

Reprinted from: Connecticut People's World

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

Prof. Gerald Horne interview on WPKN

https://soundcloud.com/wpkn895/reconstruction-reparations-and-the-struggle-ahead-an-interview-with-prof-gerald-horne

The Resistance panel interviews Dr. Gerald Horne, author and professor of African American Studies at the U. of Houston, about lessons to be learned from the Civil War Reconstruction and the national conversation about Reparations for slavery.

Monday, July 15, 2019

CPUSA: 100 Years of Struggle


SAVE THE DATE
Sat September 14, 2019 in New York

CPUSA: 100 Years of Struggle

Join us for an afternoon celebration of politics, poetry and song commemorating the 100th birthday of the Communist Party USA.

CONNECTICUT CHARTER BUS:
To reserve your seats send a message to ct-cpusa@pobox.com
Departs Hartford 11 am and New Haven at noon to New York City (235 W 23rd St) Event from 2 to 5 pm with light dinner

Roundtrip Full Price: $50 ~ Limited income: $10 ~ Scholarships available Send contributions to: CP of CT / PO Box 1437 / New Haven CT 06511
(Checks payable to CP of CT)

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

May Day 2019: When We Fight We Win!

It was a packed house at the Peoples Center for May Day 2019: 100 Years of Struggle for Workers' Rights. The annual People's World rally greeted Pat Valdez, UFCW steward at Stop & Shop with cheers. In the epic 11-day strike, workers won increased pay and protected pensions and health care. "This was about more than us, this was about corporate greed." she said to loud applause, thanking the community for their support.

Marches on all continents were included in the May Day Around the World slide show, with common themes for migrant and women workers rights. Massive May Day marches in the working class sections of Venezuela stopped an attempted coup backed by Trump against the Maduro government the workers elected.

The crowd enjoyed stories about how throughout its 100 years, the Communist Party USA has shown leadership for union organizing and workers' rights.

New Haven Rising's Jaime Myers-McPhail told of his nine months in Colorado during the successful union drive by food service workers at United Airlines. The company had capped wages at $11 an hour and required heavy lifting that resulted in miscarriages for seven women. Now the Unite Here members are making $15 an hour and have health care coverage for the first time.

Lena Eckert-Erdheim, co-president of Unite Here Local 33 at Yale said they are fighting for equity on campus, and have joined with the community to demand Yale police get off New Haven streets after Yale and Hamden police shot up a parked car in Newhall injuring Stephanie Washington and Paul Witherspoon.

Participants learned about the fight of 1199 nursing home workers for increased state funding and a raise for the first time in three years. John Jairo Lugo told of Unidad Latina en Accion's organizing against deportations including for Nelson Pinos living in sanctuary for 520 days at the First and Summerfield Methodist Church. Chaz Carmon invited everyone to support Ice the Beef youth at a march to stop the violence on May 26.

A grand finale of labor songs led by Carol Vinick included a special May Day Song written 70 years ago and led by Edie Fishman. The chant of the day was, "When We Fight We Win"

Monday, April 15, 2019

May Day 2019 - 100 Years of Struggle for Workers' Rights


The annual Connecticut People's World rally for International Worker's Day will highlight union organizing today and in history.

Themed "May Day 2019: 100 Years of Struggle for Workers Rights," the rally will be held on Sunday, May 5, 2019 at 3 pm at the New Haven Peoples Center, 37 Howe Street.

The event, held during the 100th anniversary year of the Communist Party USA, will include a brief history of labor organizing by the Communist Party since its founding in 1919 and continuing today.

The experience of organizing food service workers who won a union last year at United Airlines will be shared by Jaime Myers-McPhail who lived in Colorado for several months working on the campaign, and his colleague Charlie Delgado who participated for a shorter time. Myers-McPhail is an organizer in New Haven with New Haven Rising and Unite Here. 

The rally will stand in solidarity with Stop & Shop workers forced on strike for wages, benefits, healthcare and fairness. 

"May Day Around the World" slide show will show workers' protests and actions from every continent including many demands for equality for immigrant workers.

The afternoon will be capped off with labor songs led by some of those who participated in the newly formed labor chorus at the Women's March in Hartford this year.

On May 1, 1886 thousands of workers marched in Chicago to demand relief from brutal 12- and 14-hour workdays. A few days later, a suspicious bomb killed several Chicago police and protesters in Haymarket Square. Four of the march leaders were framed up and executed. In their memory, May Day was set as a day of international workers’ struggle and solidarity.

In the United States, May Day took on new life when immigrant workers from Latin America held mega marches for their rights in 2006. May Day 2019 is part of the resistance against the anti-people Trump/Republican white supremacy agenda, and the rising movements to put peace, planet and people before profits.

Donation is $5 or what you can afford. A fund appeal for the People's World will be made.

For information e-mail ct-pww@pobox.com or call 203-624-4254.

Solidarity with Stop & Shop Strikers

 From the moment workers at Stop and Shop started walking the picket line at 43 stores on April 11, there was a spontaneous outpouring of support from other unions, elected officials, customers and the community. As drivers honked their car horns in support and many refused to go into the store, the courageous workers knew they were not alone.

The 31,000 members of United Food and Commercial Workers in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts are striking as a last resort to win wages, benefits, healthcare and fairness. The multiracial workforce includes many women and youth. They are courageously fighting for their livlihoods against a greedy multi-national company with profits last year of $2 billion.

"We have been at this for months," said one member of the negotiating committee who works at the Whalley Avenue store in New Haven. "We serve the community and we need to be able to support our families. They just don't care."

The Stop and Shop workers are part of a national rising tide of working class militancy and unity.

At the Dixwell Avenue store in Hamden, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal stood arm in arm with a striker named "Richie" and pledged support along side Lt Governor Susan Bysiewicz who was representing the Governor. Blumenthal told the striking workers, "This is bigger than you. This is about corporate greed."

Dutch retailer Royal Ahold NV, operator of supermarket chains Stop & Shop and Giant, is merging with its Belgian counterpart Delhaize Group, creating a company that will serve more than 50 million customers in the United States every week.
Delhaize forced the strike by refusing to back off of the profitable company's proposal to cut pay and pensions and substantially increase healthcare coverage premiums for Stop and Shop workers. The company's final offer at the bargaining table represents a massive step back that cuts workers earnings.
Scott Barry, produce manager and shop steward at the West Hartford store told the People's World that for his family "the co-pay on my weekly check for my family insurance is going to go from $30 to $140 a week and they want to drop our pension benefit about 30%."
Barry added, "It seems like the company is taking dignity, decorum, integrity and fairness and dragging it through the mud while claiming that they are offering a good contract when in truth they are not."
The response to the Stop&Shop strike is inspiring.

When they got news that the workers had walked out, Local 34 UNITE HERE activists recessed their day-long conference and headed straight to the picket line on Whalley Avenue in New Haven.

At the same time, Local 34 and 35 retirees were finishing their monthly executive board meeting. They fanned out to Stop & Shop stores in New Haven and surrounding towns, bringing solidarity and the high spirits learned on their own picket lines over the last 40 years. At least 19 participated, and gleefully shared photos of the picket lines by text and facebook.

Solidarity was hardly limited to the large Yale locals. Members of the railroad unions, CWA, teachers, carpenters and operating engineers were among the many union members who spontaneously came by to show support.

The evening following the walkout, the New Haven Democratic Town Committee met. A resolution pledging to honor the picket lines and support the workers was adopted with enthusiastic support.
The next day, many State Representatives and Senators, as well as New Haven Mayor Toni Harp, walked the picket lines.

Unidad Latina en Accion, an immigrant rights organization in New Haven, is planning a support rally.

Parking lots at area Stop & Shops are empty. On Palm Sunday, the Hamden Shop-Rite, a union store which competes with the Stop & Shop across the street, was jammed, while the Stop & Shop parking lot was almost empty. Two customers said they live next to a Stop & Shop five miles away, but they came to Shop-Rite because "We have to support our neighbors on strike."

An AFSCME retiree in Waterbury who lives within walking distance of Stop & Shop drove across town to a different store. It was so jam packed the supervisor had to call in more workers. Standing in long lines, customers explained, ' I usually shop at Stop and Shop but I don't cross picket lines'.

The Connecticut AFL-CIO has called on all members and families to support the strikers in three ways:
  1. Sign UFCW's petition to Stop & Shop. Click here to sign the petition to Stop & Shop management to let them know you stand with the workers as they fight for a fair contract.
  2. Join the workers on a picket line. The workers need your help and solidarity as they picket at over 90 stores across Connecticut. Join them whenever you have time and bring them coffee and doughnuts.
  3. Continue to shop union. UFCW represents workers at a number of other grocery stores across the state. Click here for a list of union grocery stores in Connecticut. If you can't shop at a union store, please shop elsewhere, but do not cross the picket line at Stop & Shop.



Wednesday, February 27, 2019

It was a great time with Chauncey Robinson, social media editor of People's World, in Connecticut February 21 to 25, 2019.  In case you missed, here are some links:

Tom Ficklin Radio Show Monday, February 15
https://tomficklin.blogspot.com/2019/02/tom-ficklin-radio-show-with-chauncey-k.html?m=1&fbclid=IwAR1HXXU8ojNT14rgmz4UIKHqZ8Yfwlq6elS5f6cnlxA5lo4keMEutUYH3yM

Richard Hill Radio Show "Straight Talk" airs Tuesday March 5 
 https://soundcloud.com/wpkn895/chauncey-robinson-straight-talk

People's World article New Haven Residents to Yale: Fulfill Your Jobs Promise
https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/new-haven-residents-to-yale-university-fulfill-your-jobs-promise/

People's World article Black History: The Great Migration Then and Now
https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/black-history-the-great-migration-then-and-now/

 Full text of "The Great Migration: Then and Now" speech to Hartford and New Haven 45th People's World African American History Month events
https://ctpeoplebeforeprofits.blogspot.com/

Chauncey Robinson's Remarks to The Great Migration: Then and Now events

Chauncey K Robinson, social media editor of People's World spent five days in Connecticut where she was guest speaker at the 45th People's World African American history Month events in Hartford and New Haven, "The Great Migration: Then and Now".  She also appeared on two radio shows and visited Nelson Pinos in sanctuary.  Following are her remarks to the two events:

The Narrative of Struggle and Resistance
By: Chauncey K. Robinson

I’m happy to be joining here with you all today to celebrate Black History month and within that, the resilience of a people. As someone who helps in writing stories for a living, both fiction and non-fiction, I think narrative is very important. The stories we push to be told can greatly influence the movements of today.

It’s important to make the connection to the struggles we’ve been through in the past to the trials and tribulations we face today, not only as individuals, but as a movement of peoples, cultures, and histories, intertwining towards what is hopefully a brighter and stronger future together.

The quote on the flyer for this event from the famous Civil Rights activist Ella Baker says, “We who believe in freedom cannot rest,” and that is because our journey is a long one, but a righteous one.

We are in turbulent political times. We currently have a president and White House administration that is focused on emboldening a base fueled by hatred, bigotry, fear, and paranoia.

Through outright, not so subtle, racist rhetoric, the current administration has continued to paint a picture of an America (and a world) deeply divided. Painting a false picture that only a certain group of people deserve protection, just rights, job security, and a fulfilling way of life. Through continued lies, hateful rhetoric, and fake government emergencies, many people, especially working people of color, have seen an upheaval and threat to our ways of life.

According to an analysis from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, over the past four years, the number of hate crimes reported to police have continued their dramatic rise—reaching the highest level the United States has seen in a decade. There has been a reported 17 percent increase in hate crimes from the previous year alone.

Trump and his administration have constantly tried to scapegoat real issues plaguing working people, such as poverty, unemployment, and a growing wealth gap, on the idea of the ‘other’- which is usually coded language for people from marginalized groups.

Most recently we’ve seen this with the targeted attack on the rights of undocumented people living in the United States. Fake emergencies are being called to build a Wall that will do nothing to solve any of the systemic issues in this country, while children are torn away from their families, resulting in traumatizing experiences that will forever haunt them.

Yet, this targeting of the ‘other’ is not a new strategy or tactic by those that seek to oppress and exploit people of color and working people as a whole. The very struggle of Blacks in this country has been one of combating, and rising above, adversity and severe exploitation.

From the days of brutal slavery, to the Great Migration where over six million African-Americans moved out of the rural South in order to find new economic stability, all the way to now where the fight against systemic racism continues, the story of Black people in this country serves as a symbol for hope, courage, and resilience in the face of oppression.

It is a narrative that we, those who advocate for equality and true freedom, must take ownership of, and promote, in the face of ‘fake news’ and rhetoric that seeks to make us forget our past struggles and triumphs.

They want us to forget, because they hope we won’t stay diligent in not only the fight for our equality, but the fight for the freedom and justice for all, including those part of their own great migration now, seeking a chance for safety, security, and a better way of life here in the United States.

Since the theme of the event is The Great Migration then and now in relation to Black History month, as a journalist who focuses on culture and art, I wanted to bring highlight to one of the great movements born out of the Great Migration of African Americans in the early 1900s. That being the Harlem Renaissance.

Spanning throughout the 1920s, the Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual, social, and artistic explosion that took place in Harlem, New York. It was known as the "New Negro Movement". One of the things this movement included was the new Black cultural expressions across the urban areas as African-American made their way out of the South into the Northeast and Midwest United States.

Harlem was the city in which the largest chunk of that migration ended up. The feeling of many historians is that the Harlem Renaissance was considered to be a rebirth of African-American arts.

To first put it into perspective as to why the Great Migration occurred, that gave birth to the Harlem Renaissance, it’s essential to understand the disenfranchisement that African-Americans were going through after the attack on, and eventual defeat of, Radical Reconstruction. Events don’t happen in vacuums.

Radical Reconstruction is the time period after the Civil War when freed enslaved African-Americans were gaining rights and representation in government. This was combated and attacked by the ideals of white supremacy that sought the continued disenfranchisement of Blacks, post-slavery.

This gave way to the rigid segregation system that we know as Jim Crow. Black communities were terrorized by the KKK, other white supremacist organizations, and lynch mobs. Because of this continued assault on their rights and safety in the South, many African Americans made their way to what they hoped would be greener pastures in the North, Midwest, and Western states.

Yet, the experiences of brutality, the failure of Reconstruction, and the hope for true democracy didn’t leave those that migrated. This goes back to not forgetting our history and experiences, but taking hold of them, and giving voice and space to our experience.

There were many groundbreaking works that would dare to show the complexity, layers, and nuance of the African American experience during this era.

Such as the ground breaking “Three Plays for a Negro Theatre” by white playwright Ridgely Torrence that gave Black actors the space to convey complex, fleshed out, characters on stage that went beyond Blackface and minstrel shows- that often depicted crude stereotypes of African Americans.

Claude McKay, Jamaican writer and poet, wrote the political sonnet If We Must Die in 1919, that spoke to the fighting spirit of Black people taking charge of their struggles and combating oppression. The Harlem Renaissance put a spin on many influential institutions that were part of African American life and culture.

Such as religion. American painter, illustrator and visual arts educator, Aaron Douglas, often used his artwork to display Christian stories infused with Black people, infusing this biblical imagery with Black struggle.

Music told the stories of Black pain and triumph. Billie Holiday, the great “Lady Day,” an American jazz singer whose famously brought mainstream attention to the haunting song Strange Fruit which talked about American racism, and the lynching of African Americans. Holiday once noted in her biography about the groundbreaking song: “It reminds me of how Pop [her father] died. But I have to keep singing it, not only because people ask for it, but because twenty years after Pop died, the things that killed him are still happening in the South.”

It was Holiday’s insistence to keep singing this song that put her on the rader of the notorious FBI racist Harry Anslinger, the first commissioner for the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, who would go on the hunt for Holiday seeking to destroy her career and livelihood, mainly because she refused to stay silent through her art.

Great American poet, novelist, and activist, Langston Hughes used his writing to explore Black identity, and also the topic of sexuality and homophobia. Hughes’ essay The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain in 1926 called for Black artists and creators to stand in the truth of their identity, rather than trying to aim to please white sensibilities and “mainstream” audiences.

It should be understood that during this time, the north, midwest, and western states weren’t some sort of utopia for Black Americans who made the migration. Racial tensions remained, oppression remained, race riots occurred, and the ideals of white supremacy still threatened the ways of life of African Americans and persons of color all over the U.S.

What’s to understand from the Harlem Renaissance is that within that continued struggle, art and resistance continued to produce a movement that is part of the foundation we stand on today.

Organizations that fought for true democracy and equality were active during this era as well. W.E.B DuBois, leading American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, and greatly associated with the Harlem Renaissance, was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

During this era the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) played a key role in the labor movement, and the rights of workers in organizing unions and a strong labor force. Which is of course connected to the struggle of African-Americans during the Great Migration to find stable work and livable wages. Something we still deal with today.

It was inspiring to get into Connecticut and attend the Town Hall meeting on Thursday in New Haven, as hundreds of residents continued to hold the largest employer in the city of New Haven, Yale University, accountable on their agreement to employ local residents. Even Yale’s agreement to do so three years ago came about through the pressure put on them by the community to do better by the people. Fights like this are in the vein of a long history of the fight for stability and livable wages.

During the late 1920s the CPUSA helped to organize "Upper Harlem Council of the Unemployed." This nationwide day of action against unemployment brought 500,000 people into the streets. The CPUSA led the way during the infamous case of the Scottsboro Boys--nine young Black men charged in 1931 with rape. The CPUSA, along with the NAACP, worked for the young men’s defense, and against their racist convictions.

Progressive journalism during this period advocated for equality, true democracy, and namely the protection of the rights of African Americans. The official publication for the NAACP, The Crisis, came about during this era in 1910, with one of the founders being W.E.B. DuBois.

Three of the principles of The Crisis was, and remains, "to battle tirelessly for the rights of humanity and the highest ideals of democracy. To tell the world the facts. To expose injustice and propose solutions. To speak for ourselves.”

The predecessor for the People’s World, the publication I’m on the editorial board of, was also leading the way on journalism for struggle, as The Daily Worker. The publication, founded in 1924, was often one of the first publications that wasn’t predominately Black, that reported on issues concerning people of color, namely African Americans.

The Daily Worker reported on such cases as that of William Bell, a murdered African American man, and his family’s fight for justice. This was a lynching that took place in Chicago.

In 1944 The Daily Worker was the first non-predominately Black publication to report on the case of Recy Taylor. A young Black women fighting for justice after being raped by white men. The Daily Worker interviewed Recy, and gave her a platform to tell her story.

Spreading our narrative to the world, and giving a voice to our struggle and our victories is essential. This is what the Harlem Renaissance was able to do in reflecting the time of the first Great Migration back in the early 1900s.

We continue that today, as art, stories, and movements are building in defense of the the Great Migration immigrant workers are doing now, and the continued fight for racial and economic justice for all today.

As we go into the next election year, we see that great strides have been made. Historic happenings have occurred. Such as an unprecedented amount of women, particularly women of color, even more specifically Black women, are running for public offices, and winning.

In 2017 a number of Black women took political offices, and we’ve seen a continued emergence of Black women taking the center of the public political arena, such as Stacey Abrams, to demand equality and justice for all. Representation that looks like us is important, and we not only elect those that support our struggles, but elect ourselves to tell our stories, and lead the way for true democracy.

None of this today would be possible, if not for the fights of our past. It influences our present, and how we will learn from it shall determine our future.

As Civil Rights leader Rev. Dr. William Barber, of the Poor People’s Campaign, which builds on the Poor People’s Campaign of the 1960s, has said, we must “challenge the evils of systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation, and the nation’s distorted morality.”

As voter suppression, often targeted towards communities of color runs rampant, it is important to understand that we have less voting rights today than when the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which we fought for, was passed.

The voter suppression that happened in Georgia, and other states in the recent midterm elections, is connected to a larger anti-democratic effort underway across the country. The rights of voters have been under attack since the removal of a major provision in the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court in 2013. This provision required that lawmakers in states with a history of discriminating against voters of color had to get federal permission before changing voting rules. Since the removal of this provision, thus the gutting of the Voting Rights Act many of these same states have implemented stricter voter registration rules, often targeting voters of color.

Systemic Racism is still going. Legislative actions and legal decisions at the federal and state levels has restricted the ability of people of color—especially poor Black people, Latinx, and Native Americans—to participate in the democratic processes.

The so called “tough on crime” politics has led to increased policing of working poor communities, along with a tenfold increase in annual spending on prisons since 1976. Prisons, as we know, have become the new form of modern slavery, as Blacks, Latinos, and people of color are placed in prison at a higher disproportionate rate than their white counterparts.

Federal spending on immigration, deportation, and border policies has increased from 2 billion to 17 billion dollars, while deportations has increased tenfold between the years 1976 and 2015.

Nearly 41 million Americans live below the federal poverty line.

But we’ve fought this before, and we can win again. It is through this understanding of past battles and victories that we keep in the forefront what we are deserving of now, and what we have always been capable of achieving.

We fought against Jim Crow and severe oppression, but the fight continues. And it’s through solidarity, and the joining together of peoples struggles that we’ll build a bridge forward. We must hold dear to our history and our stories, and continue to speak on, the horror and the hope.

As one of my favorite writers, authors and anthropologist, Zora Neale Hurston, who was also a staple of the Harlem Renaissance, once said, “If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.” We must give voice to our pain, our struggles, and our victories.

Black History month is every month. Black History is American history. Don’t let them tell you different. We celebrate and learn from our history, to continue to fight for our future.
Thank you.