PEACE AND ART FESTIVAL SEPTEMBER 11

The 10th annual Hope Out Loud Peace and Arts Festival will take place on:

DATE: SUNDAY, SEPT., 11, 2011
TIME: 1-5 PM
PLACE: The Church of Good Shepherd, 155 Wyllys St. Hartford, CT

ORGANIZING SPONSORS: CT Coalition for Peace and Justice, Church of the Good Shepherd, West Hartford Citizens for peace & Justice.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Phone: 860-523-4823 or http://www.hopeoutloud.org/

Posted by Tom Connolly

Working Families Annual Action Meeting

Working Families Party had their annual meeting today in Hartford, CT. The Working Families Party led the successful fight for the "Sick Days" bill. Connecticut was the first state in the union to pass such legislation. Other successful initiatives where also noted along with Working Families election victories.

The meeting featured the three democratic candidates for US Senate and an information session on three "bold new policy ideas for Connecticut." Several hundred people attended the event. Photo Above: From left to right: Democratic US Senate candidates: Susan Bysiewicz, former Connecticut Secretary of the State, William Tong, State Representative and Chris Murphy, U.S. Representative.

The three bold policy issues discussed were: (1) The development of the Connecticut Partnership Bank, molded after the successful Bank of North Dakota (2) Green Jobs modeled after the the Green Jobs-Green New York action and (3) The development of a state pension fund for those in the private sector currently without a defined pension.

If you want to join in the action for a better Connecticut and a better America contact the Working Families Party at: ct-workingfamilies.org or (860) 656-9676.
Posted by Tom Connolly

Vote can save jobs, benefits, services

Reprinted from People's World August 8, 2011

by Joelle Fishman

HARTFORD, Conn. - State workers are now voting for the second time on a tentative agreement reached by their unions and Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) to "save jobs, protect benefits and preserve services." The agreement was reached as an alternative to massive layoffs of as many as 7,500 that would devastate many social services.

The agreement provides job security for four years, preserves the health plan for current workers and retirees, and provides for 3 percent annual pay raises after a two year pay freeze. However, if the agreement is rejected, in addition to the layoffs, the right to negotiate health care would be lost, pensions would be further weakened and wage increases would be uncertain.

Veronica Cook, a program specialist at the University of Connecticut tells her co-workers, "Vote YES because job security, health care, and our pensions are significant gains in collective bargaining that need to be safeguarded for all state workers."

Unfortunately, proposals to increase taxes on the super rich and close corporate loopholes, that could have balanced the state budget without any cuts or layoffs, were not adopted during the legislative session. State workers were left in the breach.

Tea party Republicans and the media have jumped into the situation with a union-bashing spree, urging state workers to vote "no" on the concessionary agreement.

Stewards in the 15 unions representing state workers are on the front lines, explaining that a "no" vote would divide workers, weaken their bargaining strength in the future and harm the people they serve.

SEBAC, the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition changed its bylaws after the first vote in June, to allow ratification by a simple majority of its unions and their members. At the time of the first vote the by-laws stipulated that if more than one union or less than 80 percent of members voted no, an agreement could not be ratified. In the first vote, a majority of 11 unions and 57 percent of members voted yes.

Right-wing media are continuing to push workers to vote no. Former Governor John Rowland (R), who served prison time for corruption, uses his capitol area radio talk show to promote the falsehood that state workers would lose their current health plan and instead be covered by SustiNet, a proposal for a public option that has not yet been established. This relentless push created uncertainty, fear and distrust, in a blatant effort to divide and weaken the unions.

When the ratification vote failed in June, a special session of the State Legislature approved layoffs of 7,500 workers and extreme cuts in services to balance the budget. However, the cuts and layoffs will not take place if state workers vote to ratify. A united effort by union leaders produced the by-laws change followed by a week of discussions with the Governor to clarify language.

"The agreement is the path forward to restoring early intervention services for infants and toddlers, keeping courthouses open, maintaining respite homes for families in need, and avoiding closure of motor vehicle offices," says a unanimously adopted SEBAC statement.

As the unions began meeting with their members to prepare for the second vote, thousands of layoff notices were sent out, creating even more confusion. Supervisors were then instructed to make it clear that the layoffs will not stand if the agreement is ratified.

Entire courthouses, motor vehicle facilities, and other agencies had been given notice of possible shut down Vocational-Technical high schools are threatened with elimination of sports, art, libraries, computer and adult education. Protest rallies by students, parents and teachers created so much pressure that the Governor restored the fall sports program last week.

At Manchester and Tunxis Community Colleges, workers at the Child Care and Preschool Centers received layoff notices last Thursday. Parents, teachers and staff rallied the next day in a beautiful show of solidarity.

"Vote YES to maintain services and jobs ... and in general to help stabilize our economic recovery. After all, most working and middle class families are still struggling - and that's who we serve," writes childcare worker Beverly Dickinson, on the SEBAC Face Book page, In This Together.

These state workers taking on bogus arguments and convincing their co-workers to vote yes exemplify true solidarity. The position they have been placed in should never be repeated. It is still due time to recoup the Bush tax cuts extended to millionaires and billionaires and put Connecticut back to work.

Reed Smith, Leader for Social Justice

People's World / July 29, 2011

Reed Smith, vibrant community and faith leader for social justice, died last week at home shortly after his 86th birthday. Before moving to New Haven in 1991, Reed and his family lived in Waterbury, Connecticut and briefly in Chicago, Illinois.

Reed was a staunch supporter of the People's World and the working class movement. Born and raised in Connecticut, he worked as an economist in industry for many years, and then at faith-based community agencies in Waterbury and New Haven.

A life long peace and civil rights activist, he helped form the first integrated housing development in Waterbury in the 1950's. He marched with Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. During the Vietnam War he counseled draftees about conscience objection.

Reed helped found a soup kitchen in Waterbury, and continued his crusade against poverty while in New Haven as a candidate for State Representative on the Tax the Rich line. He was a founding member of the Coalition to End Child Poverty in Connecticut, assisting with economic research and advocating for a progressive tax system. As director of Interfaith Cooperative Ministries (ICM), he initiated many programs including an inter-racial dialog and an annual interfaith service on Martin Luther King's birthday.

After helping staff a peace center formed at the time of the 1991 Iraq war, Reed was appointed to the City of New Haven Peace Commission where he served for over a decade. He became a stalwart contributor to the New Haven Peoples Center where he helped organize events for social justice, peace and racial equality, and became a participant with the Alliance for Retired Americans. He was famous for his delicious baked beans and brownies, and for his signature straw hat and knickers.

When she became ill, Reed devoted himself to the well being of wife Marty, whom he married while in the service during WWII. He loved music, sang in choirs and played the piano. He made himself available for countless activities on behalf of workers' rights, human rights, civil rights and peace. He was widely known and loved for his perseverance, optimism, vision and generosity. He will be greatly missed by his large extended family, his comrades in the Alert Seniors Club and everyone whose lives he touched.

A memorial service organized by his family will be held on August 6 at 2 p.m. at St. Paul and St James Church, 67 Olive Street, New Haven.

Connecticut is Not Broke

The Connecticut budget crisis is not the fault of state workers. Nor is it the fault of runaway spending.

Pro-corporate talk show hosts and the right-wing Yankee Institute are campaigning against state workers and the Malloy administration. They want to break unions and keep the big loot for a few at the top. So it is no surprise they whipped up hysteria and urged state workers to vote against the agreement reached between the governor and state worker unions (SEBAC). Falsehoods about the agreement, scaring workers they would lose their health coverage and more, need to be straightened out.

The solution for the state budget shortfall is not to layoff state workers or cut payments to cities and towns or make more cuts to services. That will make the economic crisis worse.

The state budget shortfall is linked to the national economic crisis, worsened when the Republican Congress ended federal aid to states, and extended Bush-era tax cuts to the super rich.

Put these facts together: 1) Those with incomes over $1 million had the smallest tax increase in Connecticut's budget deal this year. 2) Those with incomes over $1 million got a 4.6% windfall from Congress.

The solution: instead of competing with other states in a race to the bottom, increase Connecticut's revenue with a tax on the multi-millionaires who can afford it.

An additional 4.6% tax on the portion of incomes over $1 million per year would bring an estimated $1.6 billion per year in new revenue -- enough to avoid any cuts in the state work force or services, and enough to increase funding to reverse layoffs at the municipal level.

Even then, those with millionaire and billionaire incomes would pay a smaller part of their income in total Connecticut taxes than the rest of us.

Right-wing think tanks, media and Republicans in the State Legislature want to cut workers' collective bargaining rights. Tell the Governor and State Legislature to do what is good for all of Connecticut – tax the super rich.