Taking Stock: Where Are We and Where Do We Go From Here?

Saturday, February 20, 2010, 1:30pm - 4:30pm
Roosevelt University
Auditorium Building (430 S. Michigan), Room 232

This past year, in the aftermath of the historic 2008 elections and in the midst of the deepest economic crisis since the Great Depression,  activists and progressives from across movements came together to push  for a new New Deal.  The new political and economic realities created new opportunities to mobilize for progressive changes including ending wars  and militarism; promoting workers’ rights; reforming healthcare; and  developing economic policies that promote jobs and communities instead of  corporate profits.  There have been both advances and setbacks in these struggles. One year later, it’s time to take stock of lessons learned, evaluate strategic goals, and plan for future campaigns.  Join leaders of the labor, peace, immigrant rights, healthcare reform, and economic  justice movements in assessing the past year and current political  conditions to determine ways we can work together towards progressive  change.

Emcee:

Elce Redmond - South Austin Coalition Community Council and Chicago Jobs with Justice

Panelists:

Amy B. Dean - Co-Author of the book A New New Deal: How Regional Activism Will Reshape the American Labor Movement (available for cash purchase or signing at the event)

Tom Balanoff - President of the Service Employees International Union Illinois Council

Judith LeBlanc - Field Organizer for Peace Action; Former National  Co-Chair of United for Peace and Justice

Mel Rothenberg - Chicago Political Economy Group; Chicago Jobs with Justice

Dr. Anne Scheetz - Physicians for a National Health Program

Cristobal Cavazos - Immigrant Solidarity DuPage

Organized by:

The New New Deal Coalition

in association with

Roosevelt University Economics Department and

Center for New Deal Studies

Co-Sponsors:

Bethel New Life, Chicago Jobs with Justice, Chicagoans Against War and Injustice, Chicago Democratic Socialists of America, Chicago Labor for Peace, Prosperity and Justice (an affiliate of USLAW), Chicago Political Economy Group, Coalition of Labor Union Women-Chicago, Committee for New Priorities, Communist Party of Illinois, DeKalb Interfaith Network for Peace and Justice, Disabled Americans Want Work Now, DuPage Peace Through Justice Coalition, Fox Valley Citizens for Peace and Justice, Hyde Parkers for Peace and Justice, Immigrant Solidarity DuPage, Lincoln Park Neighbors United for Peace, Logan Square Neighbors for Justice and Peace, National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression-Chicago Branch, Oak Park Coalition for Truth and Justice, Progressive Democrats of America-Chicago, South Austin Coalition Community Council, Westside Health Authority.

For more information please contact:

Bill Barclay: 708-386-1371  Email: newnewdeal@gmail.com

Visit: http://www.opctj.org/NewNewDeal/OneYear/

Resurrection Health Care recently announced plans to sell West Suburban and Westlake Hospitals to Vanguard Health Systems, a for-profit corporation.  Now employees and community residents who rely on these hospitals are concerned about their future.

The Illinois Attorney General will review this proposed sale because it involves a for-profit corporation taking over nonprofit hospitals. We must demans that this sale will lead to improved patient care, better working conditions for employees, a guarantee to provide charity care, and profit sharing to improve the community.

• Sign the Petition to the Illinois  Attorney General and demand protection for patients and employees
• Download the OPAHA Background Document on the sale of Resurrection Hospitals

Oak Park/Austin Health Alliance (OPAHA)

A coalition of South Austin Coalition (773/287-4570)the Oak Park Coalition for Truth and Justice (www.opctj.org)
and HEART/AFSCME (www.reformresurrection.org)

Urban Greening: Thinking Global, Acting Local!

Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010, 2:00 p.m.
Veterans  Room, Oak Park Library
834 Lake Street, Oak Park.

Co-Sponsored by: The Oak Park Public Library.

In this slide presentation, Oak Parker Julie Samuels will show how urban residents and organizations in Chicagoland are restoring a healthy urban environment, and eating, breathing and feeling better by using city land to grow both Food and Community. “Urban Greening” reports on the amazing “green” transformations Julie has witnessed and helped to bring about. She will also discuss the work of Openlands, which has been protecting the natural and open spaces of northeastern Illinois and surrounding region since 1963. This presentation will be followed by small group discussions focusing on your concerns, your positive visions and possible steps you can take to Act Local to have a Global Impact… and eat better while you do it!

[Download Flyer in PDF]

Light refreshments will be served

Other Sponsoring Organizations: The Green Community Center of Oak Park, The Interfaith Green Network - Oak Park, Oak Park Energy Initiative, Oak Park/River Forest High School Environmental Club, The Power of 10, Seven Generations Ahead, and West Side Greens.

Oscar winning director Alex Gibney investigates the torture and killing of an innocent Afghani taxi driver in this gripping probe into reckless abuses of government power.

Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010, 2:00 p.m.
Veterans  Room, Oak Park Library
834 Lake Street, Oak Park.

Co-Sponsored by: The Oak Park Public Library.

A disturbing, incisive and compelling documentary thriller, the Academy Award -winning TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE incorporates rare and never before-seen images from inside the Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan and Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay prison into the exposure of the administration’s “global war on terror” This stunningly crafted narrative demonstrates how this one man’s life and death symbolizes the erosion of our civil rights and how what it means to be an American has changed forever.

[Download Flyer in PDF]

Open discussion will follow the showing; Light refreshments will be served.

http://www.taxitothedarkside.com/taxi/ (106 mins.)

Join the campaign for a Peoples’ Economic Recovery, starting with

*  Jobs *  Housing * Health Care *

Sept 24, 12 Noon
Monroe & Franklin (Wells Fargo)

A year ago, Congress bailed out the banks and insurers, claiming they were “too big to fail.”  They got bailed out; We got Sold Out!

One year later

• these “bailout bandits” award executive bonuses while eliminating jobs and carrying out foreclosures and evictions
• millions of workers lost jobs, housing and health care, and the banks spend millions lobbying against a recovery for the rest of us.

Tell the “Bail-Out Bandits” to stop their corporate crimes.

• Stop cutting jobs by cutting off credit.
• No more evictions:  work it out and let them stay.
• No more blight: transfer vacant homes to the community.

Sponsors: Chicago Jobs with Justice, Illinois AFL-CIO, UAW Region 4, SEIU 1, UFCW 881, IBEW 21, UE, UIC Graduate Employee Organization 6297, USW 2154, Northside Action for Justice, Disabled Americans Want Work Now, Chicago Political Economy Group, Committee for New Priorities, Arise Chicago, International Socialist Organization, Chicago Progressive Democrats of America, National People’s Action.

To add your organization as a co-sponsor or get involved, call (312) 738-6209.

A piercing look at the global corporate drive to control and profit from our water — from bottles to tap.

Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009, 2:00 p.m.
Veterans  Room, Oak Park Library
834 Lake Street, Oak Park.

Co-Sponsored by: The Oak Park Public Library.

Is water part of a shared “commons”, a human right for all people? Or is it a commodity to be bought, sold, and traded in a global marketplace? THIRST tells the stories of communities in Bolivia, India, and the United States that are asking these fundamental questions, as water becomes the most valuable global resource of the 21st Century. A character-driven documentary with no narration, THIRST reveals how the debate over water rights between communities and corporations can serve as a catalyst for explosive and steadfast resistance to globalization.

A panel and open discussion will follow the showing featuring Debra Shore of the Water Reclamation commisioner, Karen Rozmus of the Oak Park Public Works Department, and Amy Little of the “Roll Out the Rain Barrels” project in Oak Park and River Forest.

http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/thirst.html (62 mins.)

Sunday, August 30, 2009, 2:00 p.m.
Veterans  Room, Oak Park Library
834 Lake Street, Oak Park.

Co-Sponsored by: The Oak Park Public Library.

The life and work of artist and activist Peggy Lipschut

This film, by filmmaker Jerri Zbiral, celebrates the life and work of 90 year-old Evanston artist Peggy Lipschutz and her “chalk talks” (Songs You can See!). For a generation of labor activists, Peggy’s illustrations became synonymous with the messages of labor unity, democracy and struggle. Peggy has been called “a Chicago institution” in the labor movement and the people’s movement. For over 50 years, Peggy worked with various musicians, drawing to songs, with themes of conflict resolution, equality and justice. She traveled the country performing with musicians and personalities such as Pete Seeger, Ella Jenkins, Studs Terkel, Win Stracke, Arlo Guthrie, Holly Near and many others, some of which are featured in the film.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear our panel with Peggy Lipschutz, herself, the executive producer Mark Rogovin (Oak Park area resident and artist), producer/director Jerri Zbiral, and film editor Sharon Karp.

http://www.neverturningback.net/

Invited Guest of Honor: President Barack Obama

Moderator: WCPT Radio Host Dick Kay

Program:

• Music and Food
• Speakers Celebrating the Achievements of American Working Families — Commemorate Past and Ongoing Struggles for a Union Wage, the Rights of Citizenship, Healthy Workplaces, Strong Communities, Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, Immigrant Rights, and Service Jobs that are Good Jobs.
• Speakers Rallying for a Better World for American Working Families — Equal Opportunity for All Men and Women Regardless of Race, Ethnicity, Religion, or Sexual Orientation through the Employee Free Choice Act, Health Care Reform, Education Reform, and “Green Jobs.”
• Providing Access to Services for American Working Families — Get Free Advice from Labor Lawyers and Representatives from the Chicago Public Schools , the Chicago Department of Public Health, Labor Unions, Community Organizations, and More.

Sponsored by: State of Illinois AFL-CIO, Chicago Federation of Labor, Chicago Building Trades Council, Illinois Labor History Society,  Pullman Business Council, Historic Pullman Foundation, Pullman Civic Organization, Bronzeville/Black Chicagoan Historical Society, Calumet Heritage Partnership, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, the Chicago Center for Working Class Studies, Arise Chicago, Jobs with Justice, A. Philip Randolph Institute, SEIU, AFSCME Council 31, United Steelworkers, EU-Illinois, Ironworkers Locals 1 & 63, Electrical Workers, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, Illinois State Senator Donne Trotter, Illinois State Representatives Connie Howard and Marlow Colvin

Co-Chairs:

Tom Shepherd (773) 370-3305
labordaypullman@gmail.com

Larry Spivack   (312) 663-4107
ilhs@prodigy.net

Chicago’s Pullman State Historic Site                                     http://laborday.pullmanevents.info/
111th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue , 60628

Saturday, June 13, 2009, 12:30-5:00 p.m.
Workers United Hall, 333 S. Ashland, Chicago

An organizing workshop to build the movement for change based on human needs by connecting the fights for ending wars and militarism; workers’ rights; the right to health care; and stopping foreclosures.

Visit the event page for details

Join other Chicago area labor, community, religious leaders and activists working for peace, equality, social and economic justice, and be a part of a grassroots progressive movement to address the economic crisis. Help develop an agenda for connecting and fighting for workers’ rights, the right to health care, stemming foreclosures, an end to wars and to make cuts in military spending. Plenary speakers will provide updates on four urgent and ongoing campaigns followed by breakout sessions that focus on organizing around these issues.

Break-out sessions will combine a discussion of two issues, in an effort to build a synergy across issues and among different constituencies. Participants will be asked to create specific action plans to move each of the campaigns forward. Break-out sessions include:]

• Health Care / Employee Free Choice
• Wars & Militarism / Mortgages & Foreclosures
• Employee Free Choice / Mortgages & Foreclosures
• Wars & Militarism / Health Care
• Employee Free Choice / Wars & Militarism
• Mortgages & Foreclosures / Health Care

For Detailed Information Please Visit:
http://www.opctj.org/NewNewDeal/

May 30, 2009, 3PM - Roosevelt University

After six years of US invasion, war and destruction… Help support Iraq’s inspiring grass roots labor movement fighting for a free, secular and independent Iraq.

FORUM (3 p.m.): Roosevelt University, Gage Gallery, 18 S. Michigan.

• AMJAD ALI of the Iraqi Freedom Congress
• MIKE ZWEIG of AFT Local 2190, US Labor Against the War
• AARON HUGHES of Iraq Vets Against the War
• Moderated by MARGARITA KLEIN of Chicago & Midwest Regional Joint Board, Workers United

ACTION: After the Forum, a solidarity march from Roosevelt to the Iraqi Union Memorial at Haymarket Square, DesPlaines & Randolph.

PARTY & FUNDRAISER (8-12 p.m.): UE Hall, 37 S. Ashland (Ashland & Monroe), donation $5.

Bill Reedy Band, Rust Belt Ramblers.   Meet and converse with Amjad Ali and the other delegates from the Conference. Show support and help raise funds for the brothers and sisters in the Iraqi labor movement!

Organized by:

For More Information: Download Flier