Social Security was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935. Originally a plan for retired workers, it soon became a program to provide monthly income to widows and widowers and their minor children as well as the disabled. Calling the plan "America's promise to its citizens" and opposing any movement to privatize the program, activists in San Francisco and San Jose held demonstrations around the 75th anniversary of Social Security this past week.

Ashland, Oregon * Independence Day, 2010

Southern Oregon's MOVE YOUR MONEY campaign debuted on the main drag during Ashland's Fourth of July parade. The parade entry from Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice (SOJwJ) included the Jefferson State Rollers. The helpful swarm of female roller derby skaters blasted Ashland with thousands of tri-fold Move Your Money brochures which rank regional banks and credit unions with the big Wall Street banks. Any guess which work best for the local economy?

People want to support local economic development and are tired of Wall Street excesses that have crippled our country. Move Your Money is a campaign to move money away from the big greedy Wall Street Banks and put the bucks where they will do the most good right here at home.

Check out July 4 parade photos and look at the PDF brochure for a detailed description of Move Your MONEY Southern Oregon.

(click any photo makes it larger)

Time to get serious about creating a people’s movement for the right to affordable, dependable and sustainable energy.

At a Press Event at the Blue Heron Paper Mill in Oregon City, details of a new study were released which finds trade-related job loss a significant factor in Oregon's high unemployment rate. 12 minute video

Spontaneously, following the Press Event, citizens walked a few blocks through downtown Oregon City to the office of Rep. Kurt Schrader, the Representative from Oregon's 5th District, who has not been forthcoming about his views on a recent piece of legislation called the H.R. 3012, Trade Act.

About a month ago Schrader promised to get back to trade activists concerning his views on this Congressional bill, and had not as of that afternoon. Read More

Sitting in the home she's worked so hard to hold on to, Latoya Adams discussed how she and her family have been intimidated and harassed by agents of the foreclosure sale purchaser of her home, Deutsche Bank. Despite faithfully paying the rent on time and having a lease that survives foreclosure under federal law, eviction letters keep coming, even from the courts. A letter from the Circuit Court of Prince George's stated, in all caps, "YOU COULD BE EVICTED FROM THE PROPERTY ON ANY DAY AFTER *** MAY 10, 2010 ***" Read More | Audio

Source: WNYMedia.Net: On May 15th, we took 40 PUSH members and leaders down to Washington D.C. PUSH joined National People’s Action, a network of community organizations from around the country to hold lobbyists, politicians accountable to Real People. We let them know that enough is enough and that we need an economy that works for us!

As part of NPA, we helped serve notice to lobbyists by shutting down K Street for half an hour before marching through downtown DC! PUSH leaders Bob, Julie, Nico, Jalal, Mitchel, Chivon, and Barbara helped lead workshops on Green Jobs and Cities that Built America which demonstrated PUSH’s innovative and groundbreaking organizing and development work.

We met hundreds of amazing community leaders from Springfield, MAss. to Los Angeles, California and struck up some friendships that will last a long long time! And, we had a great time! Please check out our Flickr Site to check out pictures from the conference/actions. read more

On Wednesday March 24th 2010, Cheri Honkala, the National Organizer of the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC), spoke at SUNY Brockport. After her “Homelessness in the Age of Foreclosures” lecture she made her way to the Flying Squirrel Community Space to speak with members of the Social Welfare Action Alliance (SWAA), Rochester Students for a Democratic Society and other organizers in the Rochester community.

Cheri Honkala is the National Coordinator for the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign. She speaks worldwide about the struggle against poverty in the U.S., and the denial of basic economic human rights.

Video: Coming soon

Audio: Coming soon

Additional Information: Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign |

Breaking:  San Juan Copala leader and wife found assassinated on Thursday, May 21. (Please click through--article describes more about San Juan Copala) Timoteo Alejandro Ramirez and his wife Cleriberta Castro were found dead in their home.  Mexican investigative journal Contralinea reports that the murders were done by members of MULT.   San Juan Copala's blog coverage is here. 

"The indigenous, autonomous community of San Juan Copala has been in a desparate situation for a while now," writes a Minneapolis activist working in Oaxaca.  "They have been surviving persistent paramilitary attacks and are close to death as the paramilitaries have cut them off from food and water supplies.  The solidarity caravan had intended to support them and try to bring attention to the attacks, but the government is so hell-bent on destroying this community that there was no hesitation to send paramilitaries to murder the participants. These were assassinations, not random shootings. This will continue to happen in communities like San Juan Copala that are resisting, there is knowledge that there are more attacks planned of higher severity. The need for international solidarity is so desparate as it is so important to bring attention and acknowledgement to what is going on down here."

She is describing the April 27 paramilitary assault on a humanitarian caravan in which Oaxacan CACTUS (Center for Community Assistance Working Together) director Bety Cariño and Finnish international observer Juri Jaakkola were murdered and others seriously injured. The caravan was bringing supplies to the blockaded autonomous Triqui community of San Juan Copala, along with teachers planning to reopen the schools shut down by right-wing paramilitaries. The state government has since claimed that Oaxacan organizers murdered their own people to discredit the state.

(From Fight Back! news, 5-17-2010) St. Paul, MN–“You need a permit to do that,” the cops told the group of women writing last-minute posters outside Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty’s office, May 17. The posters were in preparation for the Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bailout event on the last day of the Minnesota legislative session.

A few hours earlier, the state government passed a budget that stole billions of dollars from programs for the poor, working people and disabled children, including massive amounts from education, TANF and health care. The Coalition members had little patience for the governor’s cops telling them what to do. After some words were exchanged, the cops were ignored and the women continued with the signs. One read, “Pawlenty = criminal.”

May 17 marked Pawlenty’s last day as governor of a legislative session. This is his last term and he is running for president.

Related: Video: Pawlenty Coming Between Patients and Their Doctors | 5/5: MN Supreme Court Rules Against Governor on Unallotment

The Save Our Safety Net Campaign and the Fair Budget Coalition rally at the Wilson Building. In the past two years, more than $100 million dollars has been cut from the budgets of many District of Columbia social service agencies, like DC Central Kitchen. Councilpersons Brown and Graham advocate for the return of higher taxes on rich residents of DC. Video (.mov) || saveoursafetynet.com

The Muni Riders and Drivers Expanding Coalition, made up of low income families, youth and elderly organizations in San Francisco, have united to demand an end to MUNI service cuts, demanding MUNI seek more progressive sources of revenue, and an end to MUNI and SFPD "saturation" checkpoints on buses. Last week they held their first public action on the steps of City Hall. A new protest will be held on May 12th at 1pm at City Hall.

On April 29th members of People United for Sustainable Housing and local labor, organized by the Western New York Area Labor Federation attended a massive demonstration on Wall St. Just as discussion about financial reform is building in Washington, 11,000 union and community activists took their demands directly to Wall St.

The key message between the various groups was that the banks and financial institutions that were responsible for the collapse of the economy should be the one's that pay for the recovery. Instead of benefiting from the collapse, as Goldman Sachs and others ensured they would, banks should not be rewarded with massive handouts after failing so miserably.

The Buffalo delegation was made up of members of PUSH, the Coalition for Economic Justice, the Western New York Council for Occupational Safety and Health, the Western New York Area Labor Federation, the United Food and Commercial Workers, and the Service Employees International Union. In all over 50 people traveled from the Buffalo area to participate in the call for a massive overhaul of bank regulations rather than a superficial change. These organizations and many others rallied to call for substantive change in the financial systems that are so obviously working against the common good. read more

A clamor across the country to hold banks and Wall Street accountable for the financial crisis started in earnest this week with a large demonstration in San Francisco. Hundreds of protesters rallied in front of the building where Wells Fargo's annual shareholders meeting was being held on April 27. They said bankers broke laws, lack ethics and need to create jobs for working people instead of rewarding themselves with huge bonuses.

On April 10, 2010, former workers, shareholders, customers, and concerned community members walked through the front doors of Abundance Cooperative Market, on one of their busiest days of the month, to celebrate workers and initiate a living wage campaign. Cake, balloons, party hats, noise makers, signs, a giant novelty check with Rochester's living wage rate written on it, and a living wage resolution for people to sign to be submitted to the board of directors, were used to create the celebratory atmosphere of the action.

Video: Watch! | Audio: Coming soon!

Additional Information: The Mission of Abundance Cooperative Market | Cooperative Principles | Abundance Cooperative Market Bylaws | Living Wage Resolution

Related: concerned about Abundance co-op ethics | Life without Wegmans or Tops — the Crane family shopping experiment | Boston's Harvest Co-op fired worker, a union backer | Who Is Watching The Watchers? Police+Cameras+School+Work=Rage | Rochester Wobblies Picket against Starbucks’ Union Busting on Global Day of Action | Workers United Refuses to Meet with Anti-Racist Activists

"More than 46 years after passage of the Equal Pay Act woman continue to earn only 77 cents on the dollar compared to our counterparts. On Tuesday, April 20th, we are marking this symbolic day when women's wages actually catch up to what men made at the end of 2009!"--this was written on a paper we were handed by three charming greeters at the door on Tuesday upon entering Louie's...

The welcome came from American Society of University Women (AAUW) as the all-women crew (see photos) met us at the door with an invitation for some education and fun. We entered and found a packed house and an atmosphere that felt down-home friendly.

Here are a couple pictures (click to make them bigger) & keep readin' to hear more about Equity Pay Day...