VT AFL-CIO’S KATIE HARRIS SPEAKS: ABORTION RIGHTS ARE WORKERS RIGHTS! LABOR MUST DEFEND A WOMAN’S RIGHT TO CONTROL HER OWN BODY!

Vermont State Labor Council AFL-CIO

* Vermont Organized Labor Stands With Women!

5/10/2022 Statement of Katie Harris, Vermont AFL-CIO Chairwoman of The Women & Gender Equity Committee:

Let us make no mistake… The Supreme Court’s attack on a person’s right to control their own body is an attack on workers rights. We, as working women, are not machines to be regulated by men regardless of their status within the halls of power. Just as we reject the notion of the worker devoid of agency, as a tool of capital, we also reject the subjugation of any body with a uterus by the elitist patriarchy. As women and as workers we must not now nor ever take even one step back from our hard earned rights without total resistance. As the Chairwoman of the Vermont AFL-CIO’s Woman & Gender Equity Committee, I vehemently denounce the U.S. Supreme Court’s intent to overturn Roe v. Wade.

As is now well known, on May 2, 2022, a draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito was leaked to the public. The document indicates that the Supreme Court intends to overturn Roe v. Wade. Such a ruling will mean that 49 years of federal constitutional protection of abortion rights will end and individual state legislatures will be given the power to determine the people’s access to abortion. The Center for Reproductive Rights labels 25 states as “hostile” to abortion rights, meaning that they would likely ban or severely restrict, or make it very hard to get one. At the moment, thirteen states currently have “trigger bans,” which would immediately ban abortion when Roe v. Wade is overturned. Nine states have pre-Roe v. Wade bans that could take effect, unless state legislatures pass a new law.

Abortion access is a labor issue. In a country where paid parental leave is a luxury, not a guarantee, where the cost of medical care, especially for labor and delivery, can leave families in crippling debt, and where there is no universal subsidized childcare, abortion restriction is a working class emergency. And any attack on bodily autonomy is an affront to the very idea that we live in a society which values personal liberty and the collective rights of all classes above that of the ruling few.

The fact is that we have sought abortions throughout all of history and will continue to do so – and when this ruling is overturned, we must see the reality that it will only be the working class who suffer while those in the upper class will continue to posses the financial means to access safe abortions in other states or countries. It will be the working class, poor women, and marginalized communities in the U.S., especially those in the Republican led South, who will be forced to risk their lives should they dare to envision a future where they refuse to serve as incubators for the many men (and few reactionary women) that write the rules for the rest of us.

As labor leaders, we must sound the alarm and fight back! We must refuse to allow the ruling class to advance their patriarchal attacks without resistance. Furthermore, Organized Labor must be prepared for a reality whereby, once again, the federal courts are not our friends and protectors. Instead, the National AFL-CIO must demonstrate that it stands by us. We need more than outrage; we need effective, material support. For those who live where abortion is outlawed, the National AFL-CIO must establish a fund for financial assistance to travel to states where they can get the treatment they seek under the safest and most supportive conditions. At the same time, we must practice solidarity by sharing the age-old herbal and natural remedies passed down by our ancestors for thousands of years to control their own destiny. And right here in Vermont, all Union members must make their voices heard and demand that the Vermont General Assembly enshrine the right to an abortion into our own State Constitution. And finally, as women, as workers of every gender, and as a Labor Movement we must demonstrate in the streets, in the factories, in the halls of government, and in our homes so that women and trans comrades achieve true equity and agency in this society we call the United States.

United!

Katie Harris,

Chairwoman of the Women & Gender Equity Committee,

Vice President of the Vermont AFL-CIO,

& President of AFSCME Local 1674

***

To learn more about the old tradition of herbal abortions click on the following link: http://www.sisterzeus.com/Abortif.htm

Comrade Anir

September 10, 2022

To the Sisters and Oppressed People of the World who’ve been exploited by, and have lost their lives to the Sex Trade, this is for you: https://bit.ly/3UAYiWp

I write this with the utmost compassion for my sisters, friends and loved ones that have understood and felt my pain, received my battle cries, and too, have experienced the horrors of the sex trade. My solidarity stands with the oppressed people of this world. I only hope to build solidarity and bridges with those that also seek out a future where the international division of gendered labor, the feminization of globalized poverty and women’s sexual and reproductive oppression are eliminated, by every means necessary. We must understand prostitution as a political and economic terrain that allows the social notion that women, children and African and Colonized people being raped is “normal”, to thrive. There is nothing productive, essential or necessary about the sex trade, we must renounce this liberal myth every time it rears its absolute ideological terrors against our communities. I will leave this off by saying, down with the capitalist exploiters, down with all who stand to profit from the oppression of the downtrodden, the comprador neocolonial puppets that sell out their own nations, the militaries and cops of imperialist countries and most importantly within the context of this article, down with sex trade expansionists, traffickers, pimps and buyers, and to the international rape economy known as prostitution. Here is a final quotation by Comrade Alexandria Kollontai, speaking to the importance of fighting against prostitution, which also exemplifies that class struggle persists under the dictatorship of the proletariat:

“Some people might say that since prostitution will have no place once the power of the workers and the basis of communism are strengthened, no special campaign is necessary. This type of argument fails to take into account the harmful and disuniting effect that prostitution has on the construction of a new communist society.”

https://bit.ly/3SsRMz5

September 19, 2022

After warnings from the Biden Administration to Russia against the use of nuclear weapons, Evo Morales recalled that the US is the only one that has used such weapons against civilians.

In the event that Russian President Vladimir Putin resorts to a nuclear arsenal, his American counterpart, Joe Biden, in an interview with the local network CBS, promised on Friday that Russia “will become more of a pariah in the world than they ever have been.”

Through a message published this Sunday, September 18, on Twitter, the former president of Bolivia Evo Morales criticized the aggressive policy of the US and its role in the conflict in Ukraine.

Referring to the nuclear attacks by the United States on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Morales stressed that the North American country is the only one that has used atomic weapons against civilians. The atomic bombings killed more than 450,000 people before the end of 1945.

“The only pariah is the US that provokes coups [d’état] and wars in the world,” Morales added.

Faced with accusations that Russia could use nuclear weapons during its military operation in Ukraine, the Kremlin has pointed out that it does not seek to use nuclear weapons in its operation against Ukraine, because there is no threat of aggression with weapons of mass destruction.

This, while Moscow accuses Washington of insisting that it can use nuclear weapons in any military conflict.

In the same vein, the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, acknowledged in August that his country could use nuclear weapons in any war in extreme circumstances to defend its “vital interests.”

The United States has the world’s largest and most advanced nuclear arsenal, yet it has abandoned legal arms control treaties, including the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty and the Intermediate Scope Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), and in addition, Washington refuses to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

(HispanTV)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune – https://orinocotribune.com/

OT/JRE/EF

Sunday, Sept 25, 2022 6pm EST

Please Register here: https://bit.ly/3DynYwF

Women United Against Genocide, of the Spirit of Mandela Coalition, invite all:  

Join Us for this Important Webinar

“DEFENDING OUR RIGHTS: BLACK, BROWN AND INDIGENOUS WOMEN FIGHT FOR REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND JUSTICE”

Featured Speakers:

MADONNA THUNDER HAWK Elder Lakota from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, South Dakota

MAWATA KAMARA,

Organizer for the National Nurses United, California Nurses Association RN, San Leandro Hospital

ANA IRMA RIVERA LASSEN Attorney; Senator at Large, Puerto Rico; Senate President of the Senate Committee for Human Rights and Labor Matters

Women United Against Genocide: We Are Black Brown, Indigenous and All Women in the Struggle for Justice and Liberation   Email us at: womenscommittee22@gmail.com

By Madison365 staff – Sep 22, 2022

Voces de la Frontera’s Green Bay chapter is getting set to host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 24 at noon for its new and larger office building that will continue to serve as the Voces de la Frontera headquarters for the Brown County region.

“We have seen immense growth of the Latino and immigrant community in Brown County in recent years, and it is an honor for Voces de la Frontera to be an organization rooted in the community that can provide essential community resources at low-to-no cost,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera, in a statement. “Voces has a long established history of working with low-wage and immigrant workers as well as local leaders in Brown County. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when immigrant workers in meatpacking plants in Brown County faced discrimination and unsafe, life-threatening working conditions, Voces de la Frontera was there to advocate on behalf of workers to demand that their needs were met and their dignity and sacrifices were honored.”

The new Voces de la Frontera Green Bay office is located at 2275 Main Street in Green Bay. Neumann-Ortiz will speak at the ribbon-cutting along with State Rep. Kristina Shelton, Green Bay community leaders and Latinx community members.

“Our grassroots organizing in Brown County has been paramount in the health and prosperity of the growing Latino and immigrant community. We celebrate our expansion, and look forward to continuing to serve the community,” Neumann-Ortiz said.

The updated building reflects how Voces de la Frontera Green Bay is stepping up to meet the needs of the growing Latinx and immigrant communities in Northeastern Wisconsin, according to a press release from Voces de la Frontera, and the office will be able to accommodate the organization’s expanded community legal services and other crucial resources.

Per the latest census data, Latinos represent 9.7% of the Brown County population.

The new office will also be the host site of the statewide Essential Workers Rights Network retreat, a special three-day event that will include workshops and trainings focused on empowering immigrant workers to navigate and address workplace concerns.

Press Release: https://vdlf.org/join-voces-de-la-frontera-and-community-leaders-including-state-rep-kristina-shelton-and-others-for-an-inauguration-ceremony-to-celebrate-the-opening-of-a-larger-voces-office-to-meet-the-needs-of-th/

September 24, 2022 Press Conference Speakers: 

• State Representative Kristina Shelton

• Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera
• Other Green Bay community leaders
• Latinx community members

When: Saturday, September 24, 2022 at 12:00 pm CT

Where: This press conference will be held in person at the new Voces de la Frontera Green Bay office located at 2275 Main Street, Green Bay, WI, 54311. As well as virtually streamed on our Facebook page at @VocesDeLaFronteraWI

###

Contact: Jessica Schmidt, Jessica@vdlf.org, 414-469-9206

CALL TO ACTION!

Please unite for a counter-protest of the Pro-Life Wisconsin rally!

Madison, Sat., Sep. 24th, 1:00 PM, by the “Forward” statute

Join M.A.R.R.C.H (Madison Abortion and Reproductive Rights Coalition for Healthcare) for a peaceful rally and counter-protest this Saturday, 09.24.22.

Pro-Life Wisconsin plans to bus people in from cities across the state for a march around the Capitol, with potential speakers and a prayer, from 1:30-330 pm.

We plan to beat them there. We would like to be on the steps of the Capitol by the Forward statue at 1pm on Saturday to gather as a community to show them they are not welcome on our turf, and that us Wisconsinites support a person’s right to choose and demand access to abortion for all.

The Building Unity Bus will be there working to build unity!

Other organizations are also preparing for this counter-protest, and we hope to band together. We’re strongest in numbers.

Let your voice be heard! Together we can make a difference!

Timothy, Building Unity
608-630-6366

https://bit.ly/3LAkfAC