FAST Events 2007

EVENTS ACROSS NEW YORK STATE

“Let justice surge like water...”
THE TWELFTH ANNUAL 40-HOUR FAST
March 5-7, 2007

Monday, March 5
11 AM— Statewide Opening News Conference. Labor-Religion Coalition Co-Chairs Roman Catholic Bishop Howard Hubbard and NYSUT President Richard Iannuzzi will speak. Sister Mary Ann Comfort will speak on behalf of a coalition of religious communities seeking a comprehensive anti-trafficking law in NYS. Hosted by Troy Area United Ministries, 392 Second Street in Troy, NY.

Monday, March 5
7-8 PM—Pre-Fast Service. All are invited to speak about why they fast. Among the issues lifted up will be quality care at Association of Retarded Citizens (ARC) facilities, an end to human trafficking, an end to the exclusion of farm workers from labor laws and the right to join a union without threats and intimidation. Fellowship Hall. First United Methodist Church, 603 State Street in Schenectady, NY

Wednesday, March 7
Noon—Break the Fast Gathering. Please join fasters and friends of economic justice for a free luncheon and reflection on the shared values between the religious and labor communities (with opportunities for action). Speakers include Joe Fox, President of the Capital District Area Labor Federation, Patricia Lippold, Political Director, 1199SEIU Capital District. Pederson Hall, Cathedral of All Saints. Corner of S.Swan and Elk Streets in Albany, NY.

Allegany
Monday, March 5
7-8 PM—Pre-Fast Service. Join us as we launch the fast. St. Elizabeth Motherhouse in Allegany. We will hear about the problems of hunger, low wages and the lack of health care, and about efforts to solve them. Then with the words of the various faith communities, we will pray for justice. Sponsored by the Labor-Religion Coalition of Southwestern NY. Call Jim McCabe for more information : 814/ 887-6058.

Brockport
Monday, March 5
6-8 PM—Pre-FAST Potluck Dinner followed by a Service at 7 p.m..Bring a dish to pass. Free Methodist Church, 6787 Fourth Section Road (Rt. 3). The Brockport Ecumenical Outreach Committee will celebrate the 40-Hour FAST with an intercultural pot luck dinner and an ecumenical service.This year's service will include Unción Divina (in English Divine Devotion), a Mexican group playing Christian, Colombian-Folk music. Show your support for the rights of farmworkers and the working poor of New York State! All are welcome.

Wednesday, March 7
NOON—Closing of the Fast. Newman Center, 101 Kenyon Street. Sponsored by the Brockport Ecumenical Outreach Committee.

Buffalo
Wednesday, March 7
11 AM— Break the Fast: Support Living Wages for Buffalo workers. Join us for this important action. Rural Metro workers and Buffalo Board of Education employees have been hard at work collecting petition signatures in support of living wages. We will deliver our petitions and our message to City Hall on Wednesday. Please RSVP to Allison at allison_duwe@hotmail.com if you can attend the action or if you would like a petition and Organizational Endorsement Form. Call the Coalition for Economic Justice at 716/ 892-5877 with questions.

Ithaca
Monday, March 5
7:30 PM—Celebrate Living Wage. The Religious Task Force for a Living Wage, the Tompkins County Workers Center, Catholic Charities and the CRESP Center for Transformative Action invite you to help us celebrate living wage employers. First Baptist Church (the gray stone church, located at the back of DeWitt Park in downtown Ithaca.) Music, Poetry, Reflections and a celebration of the local employers (now 37!) that have achieved Living Wage Certification in Tompkins County. (Click here for a complete list of LW Employers.) The event will also serve as the kick-off for local participation in the NYSLabor-Religion Coalition's 12th annual 40-Hour FAST. Workers in Tompkins County are hungering for living wage jobs. Going without food for one or more meals during the FAST is an expression of solidarity with them and their cause. For more information call Edie Reagan, Coordinator of Justice and Peace Ministry at Catholic Charities, 607/ 272-5062.

New York City
Tuesday, March 6
1 PM—Justice for Building Security Officers. Join a vigil at Columbus Circle outside the Time Warner Center, where security is provided by non-union employees. Gospel choir. Religious leaders and security guards will speak about the need for economic security. Call Rabbi Michael Feinberg for more information: 212/406-2156.

Syracuse
While fasting, we are encouraged to reflect, pray, learn about, and act upon one of the following issues facing workers:

Our new Worker Rights Center of Central New York has begun to train workers about their rights in regard to wage and hour laws, health and safety, and discrimination. If you would like to learn more how to help, call Pat Rector at 431-4040, ext. 42 or 446-2380.
Farm workers in our state continue to be excluded from many of the state’s labor laws. Farm workers are not considered “employees” so they have no right to overtime pay or no right to a day of rest each week.
Some county workers in Onondaga County continue to work below the state minimum wage because of a loophole in the law for some government employees.
The national conversation grows about the federal Employee Free Choice Act which would allow workers to truly have a fair and uncoerced voice in deciding whether or not to have a union. Go to www.iwj.org for more information.
Each of our faith communities is encouraged to make a prayerful audit of the way the rights of its employees and the employees of all contractors (custodial, convention hotels, building improvements, etc.) are taken into account as decisions are made.

Utica

Call Deb Hagenbuch for a list of issues that local participants take action on during their period of fasting: 315/ 735-6101.