Hear Bill Fletcher Jr. this Saturday!

Stop the war on the workers!  What sort of movement do we need to lead a fight back, defend and expand our rights, and win good jobs meeting people's needs?
The public is invited to hear Bill Fletcher, Jr., longtime labor, racial justice, and international activist, address this question.


Saturday March 26 ~ 10:45 AM - Holyoke Community College ~ Kittredge Center, 303 Homestead Avenue, Holyoke,
get directions here <http://www.hcc.edu/about/get_arnd_drv.html> ; use Kittredge Center parking
lot: lot E <http://www.hcc.edu/images/HCCMap.jpg> ).

Bill Fletcher, Jr., is the Director of Field Services & Education for the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). He is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the International Labor Rights Forum, member of the editorial board of The Black Commentator, on the advisory board of Progressive Democrats of America, and a co-founder of the Center for Labor Renewal. He is the immediate past president of TransAfrica Forum, a national non-profit organization organizing, educating, and advocating for policies
in favor of the peoples of Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Fletcher was the Belle Zeller Visiting Professor in political science at Brooklyn College-CUNY for two years.  Fletcher is also a co-founder of the
Black Radical Congress and is a Senior Scholar for the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC.

Bill will deliver the keynote speech at the WESTERN MASS JOBS WITH JUSTICE EDUCATIONAL, ORGANIZING, <http://www.thecenter-hcc.org/conf/conferences/wmassjobs.pdf> & MEMBERSHIP
CONFERENCE: Making Connections ~ with Jobs with Justice, with Each Other, with the People ~ to Defend our Rights!

You are welcome to attend the speech or the entire conference.  But we need you to register if you want lunch after Bill speaks.

There is NO COST to attend this conference. It is fully underwritten by the grants and donations of generous supporters. We invite you to add your donation to the donations of our sponsors. Please visit
http://wmjwj.org/sustaining-western-mass-jobs-justice or donate at the conference.

To have lunch, you must register online <http://hcc.3dcartstores.com/Western-Mass-Jobs-with-Justice-Educational-Organizing-Membership-Conference_p_2473.html> here by noon on Tuesday March 22.

WHEN YOU REGISTER, please note: At HCC's request, because we are using the Kittredge Center rooms for free, we are using their online course registration software. You will not be charged for this event. Ignore the payment language and the penny charge required by the shopping cart software to enable online registration. To register: Click here <http://hcc.3dcartstores.com/Western-Mass-Jobs-with-Justice-Educational-Organizing-Membership-Conference_p_2473.html> .
Click "Add to Cart",   Click "Proceed to Checkout"., Enter your personal information ("Student Information"). At "Choose one payment method" select "FREE WORKSHOPS ONLY". Answer "Additional Questions" marked with red star. In "Comments" box, say if you want vegetarian lunch or have other
needs. Click "Check out".You will get a confirmation letter by email and real mail.

This conference is a Tabling Opportunity for Progressive Organizations from 10 to 11am: send request to wmjwj@wmjwj.org by Wednesday March 23.

Info, help with registration: 827-0301 x1, wmjwj@wmjwj.org.

EPA and dioxin: Ask Cong. Neal to sign on

In February, I got the following letter from the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, asking that we get our local congresspeople to sign on to a Dear Colleague letter to Lisa Jackson at the EPA.  I've called Cong. Neal's office a couple of times, but he hasn't signed on yet.

Won't you take a couple of minutes to call him and urge him to sign on?  The Springfield office number is (413) 785-0325


Dear friends,
 We’re working with U.S. Rep. Markey’s office on a “dear colleague” sign-on letter from members of the U.S. House of Rep. to EPA on their Dioxin Reassessment, which has been delayed for 20 years thanks to the chemical industry.  Rep. Markey’s office started circulating the “dear colleague” letter for possible House co-signators yesterday.
Can you contact your member of Congress and ask them to sign on to the letter? 
 EPA is being aggressively lobbied and targeted by the chemical industry and Republican members of Congress on this issue, and it’s therefore critically important that EPA hears from members of Congress letting them know they want EPA to do the right thing.
 If you can help, please let me know so we can track who’s contacting whom.
 Thank you.
 Best, Mike Schade, CHEJ, 212 964 3680, mike@chej.org