Central NY Labor-Religion Coalition

Central NY Labor-Religion Coalition
“Worker Justice—A Moral Issue”

Upcoming

Sunday, May 4, 2008
5:30 PM—7th Annual Solidarity Supper. "Worker Unity in a Global Economy" with keynote speakers and honorees, Ruth Beltran, Wage and Hour Division, U.S. Dept. of Labor and Mariana Rodriguez, Spanish Action League/ La Liga. Holiday Inn, Seventh North and Electronics Parkway, Liverpool, NY. Click here for full program plus print and mail RSVP form. Reservations due Th. May 1 at 5 PM. Click here to send an e-reservation to Patti Stought.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008
NOON—Steering Committee Meeting at the offices of Blitman and King, Franklin Center, Suite 300, 443 North Franklin Street. If you are interested in attending the meeting, please call Tim Fay at 315/ 431-4040 to confirm the time and place. Future meeting dates are June 11 and July 9.

Questions?
Contact Pat Rector at 315/ 431-4040, ext. 42 or by mail at 4983 Brittonfield Parkway, P.O. Box 247, East Syracuse, NY 13057. She can also be reached at pat.rector@gmail.com

News

Thanks to all who participated in any of the series of free WRC workshops offered between March and July 2007. Click here for a list. The Workers' Rights Center of Central New York opened in January 2007 with an office on the second floor of Plymouth Church, 232 E. Onondaga Street in Syracuse. A project of the Central New York Labor-Religion Coalition, the WRC can be reached at 315/ 446-2380 or 315/ 474-4821. Regular hours are Mondays, 5-7 PM and Saturdays, 10 AM to noon.

Welcome to new CNYLRC Coordinator Patricia Rector who began work in December 2006.

Thanks to all who attended the CNYLRC Solidarity Supper on May 6. Janice Fine, Assistant Professor of Labor Studies and Employment relations at Rutgers University was keynote speaker. Fine is the author of Worker Centers: Organizing Communities at the Edge of the Dream (2006).

Jose Oliva, Coordinator of the Worker Center Network based in Chicago spoke in Syracuse about the emerging movement to develop workers' centers. His visit on Jan. 19-21, 2007 involved several gatherings for partners of the new Worker Justice Center.

An exciting half-day workshop on building a Central New York Worker Justice Center featured Carmen Martino of New Labor in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It was held on June 16, 2006. New Labor is an alternative model of worker organization that combines new and existing strategoies to improve working conditions and provide a voice for low-wage, young, immigrant workers.

Archives

The CNY Labor-Religion Coalition's Fifth Annual Solidarity Supper on May 22, 2006, honored Rev. Craig Schaub, striking workers of 1199 SEIU at Sunrise Nursing Home and nine farm workers from Guatemala and Mexico. Keynote speaker was Fred Pfeiffer, Coordinator of the Capital District WORKER Center, a project of the New York State Labor-Religion Coalition.

The Tenth Annual 40-hour Fast , March 1-3, was observed with an opening at the Greater New Testament Baptist Church and a Breaking of the Fast closing ceremony including a light meal at SEIU, Local 200A, 1153 West Fayette St., Syracuse.

A Sweatfree Schools Workshop in 2003, drew over 80 participants. Topics included
•How sweatshops around the world and "free trade" agreements work together to mistreat millions of people.
•How to organize and run a campaign within your school district to raise awareness and stop this appalling practice worldwide.

The CNY Labor-Religion Coalition Labor Day Outreach Program featured speakers available to congregations for the Labor Day weekend and other weekends in September. Click here for a sample letter about the national campaign to increase the federal minimum wage, written especially for people of faith. Also, please plan to welcome busses arriving in Syracuse on September 30, 2003, as part of the Immigrant Worker Freedom Ride.

The Coalition also offers two workshops for congregations and community groups:
•Too Many Guns and Not Enough Butter: A Faith Perspective discusses the connection between local gun violence, global militarism and the dismantling of resources for working families, It engages the perspective of sacred stories and looks at concrete action steps for people of faith to take.
•Border Witness: Mexico and Job Loss in Syracuse is a firsthand observation of conditions created by NAFTA in Mexican border communities. Personal stories of Mexican and local workers are places in context with ideas for how people of faith can become involved in creating solutions. Click here for a Labor Day 2003 Sign-Up Form.

A Labor Day Celebration at the NYS Fair featured a Blessing of the Workers Service with speaker Stewart Acuff, Director of Organizing for the AFL-CIO, reflection by Religion Co-Chair Rev. Craig Schaub and an ensemble of the Syracuse Community Choir singing favorite labor songs followed by a casual lunch and awards ceremony.

Over 60 attended the May 4, 2003 Second Annual Solidarity Supper, "Human Rights in the Workplace" with guest speaker James A Gross, Professor of Labor Policy and Labor Arbitration, School of Industrial Relations, Cornell University. Ann Marie Taliercio, Monica Robinson Heath and The Rev. William Coop were honored.

The 40-hour Fast was recognized with a potluck supper followed by an interfaith service on March 12 and a Breaking the Fast lunch on March 14 at the United Auto Workers Hall in E. Syracuse.

A core committee of the Sweatfree Schools Campaign in Central NY has been busy working with the superintendent in the Jordan-Elbridge Central School District to craft a policy. A mixture of local union leaders, students and teachers in North Syracuse have met, including a chapter of Future Business Leaders of America at the Junior High School. Peter Ludden made presentations to all of the students taking the senior course, Participation in government at CNS High School.

Several Coalition members met with three Syracuse Common Council members to discuss the living wage ordinance defeated in May 2002. The Coalition was an active participant on the Syracuse mayor's living wage commission.[See archives, below.] Council members advised those attending "continue building stronger coalitions."

Former coordinator Bonnie Pierce was honored with the Activist of the Year Award on Labor Day 2002, following the "Blessing of the Workers" ceremony at the State Fair. Since she has accepted the position of Labor-Co-chair, there is not doubt that her activism will continue.

The coalition is also involved in efforts relating to the use of public subsidies for construction of a huge new mall. The organization Good Jobs First is a resource.

Living Wage Campaign: After the defeat of the ordinance by the Syracuse Common Council on May 20, 2002, Syracuse Mayor Matt Driscoll appointed a Commission on the Living Wage. (Click here for more information about the Syracuse defeat, a link to local press coverage and an overview of living wage campaigns in New York state.) Barrie Gewanter represented the CNY Labor-Religion Coalition on the Commission.

The Coalition's First Annual Fundraising Dinner, "Uniting Conscience and Community: Strategies for Fighting Economic Injustice" on June 23 was a great success. Keynote speaker was Kim Bobo, founder and executive director of the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice.

Fast 2002 Highlights: Over 100 participated in the opening interfaith service and closing meal . Bonnie reports that the Fast was a "refreshing and focusing activity."

The Working Families Party sponsored a living wage training on building and mobilizing community support on Nov. 28, 2001.