Subscribe to Dollars & Sense magazine. Recent articles related to the financial crisis. IBEW Local 103 Business Manager wins Cushing AwardMike Monahan of Local 103 of the IBEW recently won a Cushing-Gavin Award, given by the Labor Guild of the Archidiocese of Boston to honor “outstanding work in the labor relations field.” We interviewed Mike for our recent article on collaboration between the IBEW and the Dropkick Murphys.The article in the Boston Globe profiling award recipients says this about Mike: The Labor Award went to Michael Monahan, a fourth-generation unionist who was honored for bringing modern, innovative thinking to labor activism. As business manager of Local 103 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Monahan used the union's standing to promote wind and solar power, positions that could lead to additional jobs for union members. Congrats, Mike! Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Our Community in the Streets!Check out this exhibit of photographs by David Bacon, photographer, journalist, and frequent D&S contributor.Our Community in the Streets! Photographs by David Bacon Celebrating International Migrants Day and the solidarity of working people in our community (December 7, 2007 - January 31, 2008)  Asian Resource Gallery 310 Eighth St. Oakland, CA 94607 (Close to the 12th Street and Lake Merritt BART Stations) Opening Reception & International Migrants Day Celebration At the Asian Resource Center Gallery Monday, December 17, 2007 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Participating organizations (partial list): National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy Filipinos for Affirmative Action Service Employees Union Locals 1877 and 24/7 Peoples Association of Workers and Immigrants Oakland Sin Fronteras Sponsored by East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation With support from City of Oakland Arts & Culture, Alameda Co. Arts, & East Bay Community Foundation FOR MORE INFO: dbacon@igc.org or call Greg Morozumi @ (510) 532-9692 ¡Nuestra comunidad está en las calles! Fotografías por David Bacon Celebrando el Día Internacional de Migrante Y la solidaridad de las y los obreros en nuestra comunidad (Del 7 de Diciembre, 2007 al 31 de Enero, 2008) En la galería del: Asian Resource Gallery 310 Eighth St. Oakland, CA 94607 (Cercas de las estaciones de BART de la Calle 12th y Lake Merritt) Recepción de apertura y Celebración del Día Internacional del Migrante En el Asian Resource Center Gallery Lunes, 17 de diciembre, 2007 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Organizaciones participantes (lista parcial): National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy Filipinos for Affirmative Action Service Employees Union Locals 1877 and 24/7 Peoples Association of Workers and Immigrants Oakland Sin Fronteras Patrocinado por East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation Con el apoyo de City of Oakland Arts & Culture, Alameda Co. Arts, & East Bay Community Foundation Para más información: dbacon@igc.org o telefone a Greg Morozumi @ (510) 532-9692 Labels: David Bacon, immigration, International Migrants Day, migrants, refugees Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Take action to save NOLA public housingThis is from Facing South (slogan: "Blogging for a Progressive South"), the excellent blog of the excellentInstitute for Southern Studies.Tuesday, December 04, 2007 Next Monday, Dec. 10, is International Human Rights Day. It's also the day when activists in New Orleans are calling for actions opposing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to tear down more than 4,600 public housing units in four complexes across the city—while replacing them with private, mixed-income developments that will set aside only 744 apartments for low-income people. The decision to demolish these public complexes, which suffered only relatively minor damage [PDF] during Hurricane Katrina, comes as rents across the city have doubled since the storm—as has the homeless population. The activists are asking concerned citizens across the country to join the actions in New Orleans or to take action at home. According to a statement from Kali Akuno, director of the Stop the Demolition Coalition: What is at stake with the demolition of public Organizers are asking supporters from across the country to organize demonstrations at local HUD offices and other government buildings. They are also asking them to make calls to government officials demanding the reopening of public housing in New Orleans. Among those leaders they are asking people to call: * New Orleans City Council Member Stacy Head, who has been a leading force in pushing for the tear-downs. Her number is 504-658-1020. * New Orleans City Council Member Shelley Midura, who is being asked to oppose the demolitions and support the reopening of public housing. Her number is 504-658-1010. * D.H. Griffin, the North Carolina-based contractor hired to demolish the Lafitte complex. For locations of the company's offices across the South, click here. The toll-free number is 888-336-3366. * U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), who's blocking passage of the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act (Senate Bill 1668). Sponsored by his colleague, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), the measure would require any demolished public housing units to be replaced by other units available to low-income residents. Vitter can be reached in Washington at 202-224-4623 and New Orleans at 504-589-2753. * Members of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, where SB 1668 is currently stuck. They are Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) at 202-224-6361, Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) at 202- 224-5941, Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) at 202-224-5623, Robert Bennett (R-Utah) at 202-224-5444, Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) at 202-224-2315, Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) at 202-224-4343, Tom Carper (D-Del.) at 202-224-2441, Robert Casey (D-Pa.) at 202-224-6324, Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) at 202-224-6142, Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) at 202-224-2823, Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) at 202-224-6342, Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.) at 202-224-3424, Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) at 202-224-4224, Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) at 202-224-1638, Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) at 202-224-3041, Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) at 202-224-4744, Jack Reed (D-R.I.) at 202-224-4642, Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) at 202-224-0420, Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) at 202-224-5744, John Sununu (R-N.H.) at 202-224-2841 and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) at 202-224-2644. Send information about any solidarity actions to action@peopleshurricane.org with "Solidarity" in the subject line. If you have any questions, contact the Stop the Demolition Coalition at action@peopleshurricane.org or call 504-458-3494. For more information on the issues at stake and planned protest actions, visit the websites of Defend New Orleans Public Housing , Justice for New Orleans, and the People's Hurricane Relief Fund http://www.peopleshurricane.org/. Labels: affordable housing, hud, katrina, New Orleans, public housing Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). March On Wall StreetWe received word of this upcoming action in New York City from Danny Schechter, director of the film "In Debt We Trust".IT IS TIME TO ACT ON THE CREDIT CRISIS….. Danny Schechter, here. As the director of the film In Debt We Trust, I expose shady sub prime loan practices and report that Wall Street firms were unscrupulously underwriting predatory lending and ravaging poor communities. My film argues that action must be taken to prevent the continued transfer of hundred of Billions from struggling families to big banks and investment houses. When the film came out, one critic dismissed it as “alarmist.” Few of the national candidates spoke to it; most advocacy groups were preoccupied with other issues. Now everyone in America is alarmed as our markets melt down, billions of dollars are lost, and the economy grinds to a halt because of greed and fraudulent practices. I have been urging action—but I was not well known enough to have any impact. Fortunately, someone did listen: The Reverend Jesse Jackson who has been leader in the fight for people’s rights for decades. He decided to launch a national campaign and asked me to help by inviting concerned people and organizations. He is beginning boldly with a March On Wall Street on Monday December 10 at high noon. I am a journalist but I can’t stand by and watch all this economic suffering and decline unfold without doing something. I asked Reverend Jackson to draft a letter for me to circulate, inviting others to take part. This is an issue that cuts across economic, ethnic, racial, generational, political and gender lines. It affects us all. Please pass on this message and take part in this ongoing effort to force financial institutions to compensate victims, end foreclosures and practice fair lending. The economy we save may be our own. Danny Schechter News Dissector AN APPEAL FROM REVEREND JESSIE JACKSON OF THE RAINBOW PUSH COALITION ... Dear Friends, I am writing to invite you to help organize and join a March On Wall Street on December l0th (International Human Rights Day) to protest against the subprime mortgage scandal that is threatening two and half million Americans with the foreclosure of their homes. Millions more face evictions while their neighbors are experiencing a drop in property values. The housing market has imploded because of a white-collar crime wave in which almost every major bank and hedge fund was complicit. So far, no one has been prosecuted. Obscenely, the people responsible want the Federal Reserve to bail them out! The National Association for Business Economics warns: “The combined threat of subprime loan defaults and excessive indebtedness has supplanted terrorism and the Middle East as the biggest short-term threat to the U.S. economy.” Americans are being squeezed as never before while our President supports “free market” economics and no regulation. It is hard to understand why so few of our political leaders, movements and Mayors are NOT up in arms about the dangers of the “severe recession” (Goldman, Sachs) that is eating up our savings and stealing our money. This has been called “a 50 state Katrina.” This problem has to become an issue! We have to fight back, and put economic justice on the agenda. We have to demand a full investigation, criminal prosecutions and a restructuring of mortgages so people can stay in their homes. We want Congress to act to protect homeowners and consumers, and not just protect Wall Street and bail-out the financial institutions. If we can win debt relief in Africa, we can win it in America. We have to work together. I need your help. Can you participate on Wall Street or on your street in your city or town? We need to educate and mobilize grass roots homeowners and communities about the origins of this crisis, and demand an end to predatory practices and credit scams. Our March On Wall Street in New York on December 10 is just a first step. I am appealing to organizations to endorse it, and am open to speakers from all backgrounds. If you can help in this fight to save our home and for economic survival, contact Reverend Greg Livingston, National Field Secretary for Rainbow PUSH Coalition, at 773-256-2709, gslivingston@gmail.com. We are in an economic emergency. The home foreclosure crisis amounts to nothing less than an economic tsunami. We have to stand up and be heard. Peace and Keep Hope Alive, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Rainbow PUSH Coalition, for the organizing group PS If you are interested, you can reads the credit and debt newsletter I write weekly on the StopThe Sqeeze.org website and download my new e-book (PDF format) on the background. It is called SQUEEZED: America As The Bubble Bursts on coldtype.net. Labels: Danny Schechter, Jesse Jackson, Rainbow/PUSH, subprime crisis, Wall Street Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Feminism and ConsumerismWhat could be better than smart talk, swell people, and sweet food? On Tuesday, December 11, join the Center for New Words at 7 Temple Street in Cambridge for their Feminism and Dessert event to discuss American consumerism in the shadow of holiday shopping. The event's title is "Not Buying It: American Consumerism." The featured speaker will be Esther Cervantes, former D& business manager extraordinaire, currently of South End Press.The Center for New Words hosts Feminism and Dessert each month, and each event is an engagingly informal talk about subjects that affect our daily lives. Feel free to bring your dinner, but dessert is on the Center for New Words! The Center for New Words is dedicated to a simple mission: to use the power and creativity of words and ideas to strengthen the voice of progressive and marginalized women in society. Click here for more info. Labels: Center for New Words, consumerism, feminism, holiday shopping Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). |
