AFSCME: We Stand with UAW Workers on Strike

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Photos by: Getty Images

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https://www.afscme.org/now

BY PABLO ROS 

AFSCME stands in solidarity with members of United Auto Workers who went on strike today, walking off their General Motors jobs and shutting down manufacturing plants across the United States.

Nearly 50,000 UAW members went on strike to demand fair wages, affordable health care, their share of the profits, and more. The strike was approved after UAW and GM reached an impasse in their negotiations of a new collective bargaining agreement.

“We stood up for General Motors when they needed us most,” said UAW Vice President Terry Dittes in a statement. “Now we are standing together in unity and solidarity for our members, their families and the communities where we work and live.”

It is the union’s first such action since 2007, on the eve of the Great Recession. During the years that followed, when the company was rescued from bankruptcy by the federal government, the workers stuck by GM and helped it get back on its feet. Today, GM is earning record-level profits – last year, $8.1 billion globally to be exact.

The strike comes as more and more unionized workers across our country are raising their voices. From teachers, hospital workers and other public service workers to hospitality workers and online media employees, the union movement is visibly gaining strength.

Despite attacks against labor unions from corporations and the superrich, workers are gaining confidence in their ability to enact change by joining together. Not coincidentally, unions are at their most popular in half a century, gaining approval from nearly two out of three Americans.

Support Coffee Makes You Black in Milwaukee

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#BrunchingMakesYouBlack

The community has just recently learned that one of our most beloved black owned restaurants, Coffee Makes You Black, is under threat of being closed due to the ongoing construction on Teutonia Ave (read the story here: https://www.tmj4.com/coffee-makes-you-black-on-verge-of-failing-because-of-n-teutonia-construction )

It’s one thing to talk about it. It’s another to help save a place that so many of us love to walk into. So next weekend, Saturday & Sunday September 28 + 29, we are asking the community to come out and Brunch till we can keep the doors open! The parking will be hard, sure. But it will be worth it to help Ms. Laurie Thurman and her staff continue to provide an authentically Black dining experience to our community.

We love us. We support us.
Next weekend, #BrunchingMakesYouBlack ♥️

Click “Going,” SHARE the event, and come with your hearts (and wallets) open!!!!

Join Striking UAW Members on the Picket Lines, List of GM Locations

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Info, Updates, Media & More: UAW International Union

California:
Fontana ACDelco Parts Distribution Center, 11900 Cabernet Dr., Fontana
Rancho Cucamonga Parts Distribution Center, 9150 Hermosa Ave., Rancho Cucamonga

Colorado:
Denver Parts Distribution Center, 23400 E. Smith Rd., Aurora

Illinois:
Chicago Parts Distribution Center, 1355 Remington Blvd., Bolingbrook

Indiana:
Bedford Powertrain, 105 GM Dr., Bedford
Kokomo Components, 2100 E. Lincoln Rd., Kokomo
Marion Metal Center, 2712 W 2nd St., Marion
Fort Wayne Assembly, 12200 Lafayette Center Rd., Roanoke

Kansas:
Fairfax Assembly, 3201 Fairfax Trafficway, Kansas City

Kentucky:
Bowling Green Assembly, 600 Corvette Dr., Bowling Green

Maryland:
Baltimore Transmission, 10301 Philadelphia Rd, White Marsh

Michigan:
Bay City Powertrain, 1001 Woodside Ave, Bay City
Willow Run Redistribution Center, 50000 Ecorse Rd., Belleville
Brownstown Battery, 20001 Brownstown Center Dr., Brownstown Twnshp
Davison Road Processing Center, 4134 Davison Rd., Burton
Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly, 2500 E Grand Blvd., Detroit
Flint Truck Assembly, 3100 Van Slyke Rd., Flint
Flint Metal Center, G-2238 W Bristol Rd., Flint
Flint Engine, 2100 W Bristol Rd., Flint
Flint Tool & Die, 425 Stevenson St., Flint
Orion Assembly, 4555 Giddings Rd., Lake Orion
Lansing Delta Township Assembly, 8175 Millett Hwy., Lansing
Lansing Grand River Assembly, 920 Townsend St., Lansing
Lansing Service Parts Operation (SPO), 4400 W. Mt Hope Hwy, Lansing
Pontiac Metal Center, 260 E Beverly, Pontiac
Pontiac Redistribution Center, 1251 Joslyn Rd., Pontiac
Romulus Powertrain, 36880 Ecorse Rd., Romulus
Saginaw Metal Casting Operations, 1629 N Washington Ave., Saginaw
Flint Processing Center, 6060 W. Bristol Rd., Swartz Creek
Warren Transmission, 23500 Mound Rd., Warren
Grand Rapids Components, 2100 Burlingame SW, Wyoming
Ypsilanti Processing Center, 2625 Tyler Rd., Ypsilanti

Mississippi:
Jackson Parts Distribution Center, 1500 Marquette Rd., Brandon

Missouri:
Wentzville Assembly, 1500 Hwy A, Wentzville

North Carolina:
Charlotte Parts Distribution Center, 10815 Quality Dr., Charlotte

Nevada:
Reno Parts Distribution Center, 6565 Echo Ave., Reno

New York:
Tonawanda Engine New York, 2995 River Rd., Buffalo
Lockport Components, 200 Upper Mountain Rd., Lockport
Rochester Components, 1000 Lexington Ave., Rochester

Ohio:
Defiance Foundry, 26427 OH-281, Defiance
Parma Metal Center, 5400 Chevrolet Blvd., Parma
Toledo Transmission, 1455 W. Alexis Rd., Toledo
Lordstown Assembly, 2300 Hallock-Young Rd., Warren
West Chester Processing Center, 9287 Meridian Way, West Chester
Cincinnati Parts Distribution Center, 8752 Jacquemin Dr., West Chester

Pennsylvania:
Philadelphia Parts Distribution Center, 200 Cabot Blvd E., Lang Horne

Tennessee:
Memphis ACDelco Parts Distribution Center, 5115 Pleasant Hill Rd., Memphis
Spring Hill Assembly, 100 Saturn Pkwy., Spring Hill

Texas:
Arlington Assembly, 2525 E Abram St., Arlington
Fort Worth Parts Distribution Center, 301 Freedom Dr., Roanoke

West Virginia:
Martinsburg Parts Distribution Center, 608 Caperton Blvd., Martinsburg

Wisconsin:
Hudson Parts Distribution Center, 2200 Willis Miller Dr., Hudson

More Info: UAW International Union

Strikers shown from behind, waving at cars, fists in air, signs read "UAW On Strike"

Detroit Photo: Jim West/jimwestphoto.com

Youth Led Climate Strikes Across Wisconsin September 20, 2019!

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Global Climate Strike: Wisconsin

This September, millions of us will walk out of our workplaces, schools, and homes to join you climate strikers on the streets and demand an end to the age of fossil fuels.

Our house is one fire — let’s act like it. It’s now time to rebel.

Both adults and young people alike need to take to the streets on September 20 to demand climate justice.

Can’t strike? Protest in solidarity by disrupting the status quo and striking for 11 minutes on September 20 to symbolize our looming deadline.

Flagship Strikes:
Madison: https://www.facebook.com/events/444295093093779/
Milwaukee: https://www.facebook.com/events/693776687701388/
La Crosse: https://www.facebook.com/events/361147151227652/
Appleton: https://www.facebook.com/events/473243190128356/
Ashland: https://www.facebook.com/events/400269883939953/

See ycatwi.org/sep20 for other strikes & more info on 11 minute strikes!

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Detroit, September 20, 2019: Global Climate Strike!

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Gather at Grand Circus Park
Woodward and Adams, Detroit
3 pm

March to Hart Plaza
4 pm for a Youth-led Rally

On September 20, three days before the UN Climate Action Summit in New York City, and continuing on September 27, millions of youth and adults from across the world will strike to demand that transformative action to address the growing climate crisis and environmental degradation.

Much of the greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. from the burning of oil, coal, and natural gas, with the U.S. military producing about 80% of the federal government’s share of these emissions.

These greenhouse gas emissions, and the fossil fuel billionaires responsible for them, are pushing our climate to the brink of collapse and hurting our communities in real time. Sea levels are rising, coral reefs are dying, and we are starting to see the life-threatening impact of climate change on health, through air pollution, heatwaves and risks to food security. This is especially true for those of us who are poor, people of color, and otherwise marginalized.

All forms of inequality get magnified by climate change. From housing to healthcare, everything gets worse when a wildfire or hurricane is at your doorstep, or when oil and gas billionaires come to town to build a pipeline or a refinery in your backyard. While we suffer, our elected officials keep pandering to the billionaires responsible for this crisis.

In Detroit, a growing portion of our water bills ($30 – $40 per month or more) covers the treatment of rain water, especially the surge that accompanies a heavy rainfall. According to the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, this charge will grow because of climate change as storms dump increasing amounts of rain in a short period of time. It’s the poorest people who bear the brunt of this when we get our water service terminated because we can’t afford to pay to treat Mother Nature’s rain.  The storms are also causing basement flooding on a regular basis now.

The poorest neighborhoods in Detroit, particularly in southwest Detroit, experience very high levels of industrial pollution from facilities such as the Marathon oil refinery, resulting in the highest asthma rates in the state, and other adverse health effects.

Even the City of Detroit’s approach to blighted neighborhoods makes climate change worse. Instead of carefully deconstructing the abandoned homes and recycling the lumber, windows, doors, and bricks, Mayor Duggan opts to dump these materials into a landfill were the wood will eventually decay and produce greenhouse gases. Duggan chooses to do this despite a successful program under Mayor Bing that deconstructed homes using the labor of appropriately trained persons returning from prison.

 

Chelsea Manning Needs Legal Funds to Resist a Grand Jury Subpoena

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https://bit.ly/2kOYwgo

Chelsea Manning has been summoned to appear and give testimony before a federal grand jury. The grand jury is related to her 2010 disclosures of information about the nature of asymmetric warfare to the public. Following in the footsteps of scores of other activists, Chelsea refused to testify in front of the grand jury, and is currently incarcerated for civil contempt. She may be held until she “purges”- which she won’t- or until the grand jury is released.

Chelsea risked so much for public good, and has been through a lot of hardship. Let’s show her solidarity together and let the State know their punitive harassment won’t be tolerated.

What are grand juries?

Grand juries are used to establish “probable cause” that a felony offense has been committed. Prosecutors run the proceedings behind closed doors, without a judge or defense attorney present. Basically, the whole process is rigged to favor indictment of the individual accused of a crime. They have also been used historically to oppress and frighten targeted groups, in particular, people perceived as dissidents and activists.

Why Resist a grand jury?

Due to their secretive nature and limitless subpoena power, the government has utilized grand jury processes as tools for garnering information about movements by questioning witnesses behind closed doors. Since testimony before grand juries is secret, grand juries can create fear by suggesting that some members of a political community may be secretly cooperating with the government. In this way, grand juries can seed suspicion and fear in activist communities.

What will funds go toward specifically?

We will need legal funds for Chelsea’s legal fees, and legal costs such as court transcripts and travel, and commissary.

Thank you so much for your support! #WeGotThis

Chelsea Resists

@ResistsChelsea

https://bit.ly/2kOYwgo

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