Windham County Action Network (WeCAN)

"Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you."
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Supreme Court Justice and co-founder of the Women’s Rights Project of the ACLU

     As you enjoy this Labor Day with family friends (or at work, like many of us), we'd like to share with you some facts about this holiday in the hopes that you'll take this knowledge and spread it far and wide:

THE FIRST LABOR DAY CELEBRATION WAS SEPTEMBER 5, 1882 IN NEW YORK CITY. On that Tuesday, 10,000 citizens marched for labor rights down the streets of Manhattan. During this time the average American worked 12 hours a day, six days a week. It wasn't until the Adamson Act passed on September 3, 1916 that our modern eight-hour work day was established.

LABOR DAY IRONICALLY CAUSES SOME OF THE LONGEST WORKING HOURS FOR RETAIL WORKERS. Labor Day weekend is notorious for having crazy sales, but unfortunately, this means retail workers (a faction that makes up 6% of the country's employment system) have to work longer hours on a day specially dedicated to labor appreciation. In fact, many other professionals are expected to work on Labor Dayas well including correctional officers, police officials, firefighters, nurses, and more. While most people interpreted this as recognizing the day as a national vacation, Congress’ proclamation covers only federal employees.* It is up to each state to declare its own legal holidays.+

LABOR DAY CONTROVERSY. There’s some controversy as to who started Labor Day. Some say it was Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. Other say it was Matthew Maguire a member of International Association of Machinists. The controversy continues with no declared official winner. What we do know is that President Grover Cleveland signed it into law in 1894.  By the way, Labor Day came about more than two decades BEFORE the US Department of Labor existed.#

WHITE AFTER LABOR DAY? Historians say the expression “no white after Labor Day” comes from when the upper class would return from their summer vacations and stow away their lightweight, white summer clothes as they returned back to school and work.^

16.3 million The number of wage and salary workers age 16 and over represented by a union in 2016. This group included both union members (14.6 million) and workers who reported no union affiliation but whose jobs were covered by a union contract (1.7 million). Among states, New York continued to have the highest union membership rate (23.6 percent), and South Carolina had the lowest rate (1.6 percent).~

* https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a10318921/history-of-labor-day/
+ http://theconversation.com/have-we-forgotten-the-true-meaning-of-labor-day-64526
# https://www.adoramapix.com/blog/2016/09/05/15-fun-facts-about-labor-day/
^ https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-labor-day
~ https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2017/09/04/labor-day-numbers/630958001/

Have a happy and safe Labor Day, friends! We look forward to seeing you at an event soon. 

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HAPPENING TODAY, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2nd, 2018

We Celebrate Democracy/Civil Rights for All Labor Day Banner Rising
Sunday, September 2nd, 2018 at the corner of High Street and Main Street in Brattleboro, VT. 8am-9am.
Come and watch the banner go up: we need to practice showing  our strength in public. The banner will fly over Main Street in Brattleboro, Sept 2nd to Sept 9. The Fire Co. hangs the banner at 8 am or a little after. The Works will be open. The banner will fly from the 2nd to the 9th of September. Show your strength; come and watch it go up. RSVP to Woody: 802 464 3154  or [email protected]. We Celebrate Democracy / Civil Rights For All is funded by small local donations. Please feel free to donate any amount at the event. Positive nonviolent public action for democracy and equal civil rights for all people. 

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Share the Harvest
sponsored by Edible Brattleboro, A Project of Post Oil Solutions
Sunday, September 2nd, 2018  at the Turning Point Garden (the corner of Elm Street and Frost Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 11am-1pm. Please bring your own bags.
Join Edible Brattleboro from 11am-1pm in our garden at Turning Point, on the corner of Elm and Frost Street (diagonally across from New England Youth Theatre) for free, locally grown veggies, herbs, and more. Please bring your own bags. All produce is free thanks to the generosity of local farmers and gardeners. We welcome donations from your garden. We also welcome donations of your time either on Saturdays or Sundays to keep the stand open through October.

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HAPPENING THIS WEEK, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3rd, 2018-SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9th, 2018

Celebrate the Workers of the World on Labor Day
with We Celebrate Democracy/Civil Rights for All
Monday, September 3rd, 2018  (Rain Date September 4th, 2018) at Piny Park (corner of High and Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 5:30pm-6:30pm. Windham County legislators  Jeanette White,  Emily Long and Mollie Burke will attend the rally.
Many workers have no rights at all. Come out and stand with the workers of the world. Political Speeches and Revolutionary Songs for the Peaceful Revolution. Volunteer to help. Make a sign. Make a speech. Lead a song. Sing along.

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Protest Vigil at TD Bank
sponsored by Post Oil Solutions
Friday, September 7th, 2018 (and every Friday) at TD Bank Brattleboro (215 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT). In front of the building. 12pm-1pm. Signs will be provided
TD is a major investor in Tar Sands. TD helps to fund the Dakota Access Pipeline. What You Can Do (besides attending the vigils): If you’re a TD depositor, change banks! Founded in 2005, Post Oil Solutions is a 501c3 community organizing project in Southeastern Vermont whose mission is to help empower the people of the Central Connecticut River Valley bioregion in this era of global warming and climate change to develop sustainable, resilient , collaborative, and socially just communities leading to a self- and community-sufficient post petroleum society.

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Celebrate Salad! Workshop
sponsored by Edible Brattleboro, A Project of Post Oil Solutions, with support from the Brattleboro Food Co-op
Friday, September 7th, 2018 at the Brattleboro Food Co-op (2 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301), in the Community Kitchen. 2pm-4pm. Please use the 7 Canal Street entrance. 
Join Edible Brattleboro volunteers in preparing protein-rich plant-based salads while learning a variety of cutting techniques and the health benefits of 3 delicious salads which are hearty and satisfying enough to be a refreshing meal. The salads prepared during this hands-on will be offered during Edible Brattleboro’s first Celebrate Salad! event, a celebration of our local farmers and gardeners. The samples will be offered during gallery walk from 5pm-7pm, outside the front entryway of the Co-op.

Celebrate Salad! Sampling
sponsored by Edible Brattleboro, A Project of Post Oil Solutions, with support from the Brattleboro Food Co-op
Friday, September 7th, 2018 at the Brattleboro Food Co-op (2 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301), outside the Co-op entrance. 5pm-7pm. 
Free Samples! Taste any of three hearty salads prepared by Edible Brattleboro volunteers. Larger portions available by donation.

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Windham County Rally & Ride: A Rise for Climate Solidarity Action
Saturday, September 8th, 2018. Pedal Bikers meet at the Brattleboro Area Farmers’ Market Parking Lot [570 Western Ave (Route 9), Brattleboro, VT, 05301]. Walkers (including stilt-walkers and drummers) meet at "plaza park" across from the Brattleboro Food Co-op (2 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) to march up Main Street. Both groups will convene at the Brattleboro Commons (Park Place, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) for a planned Rally. 3pm-6pm.Families with kids welcome! And all are welcome at the rally, whether or not you're able to join in the ride or the march. RAIN DATE: Sunday, September 9th, 3pm-6pm.Questions? Want to borrow a bike? Have ideas for the rally? Email us at [email protected]. RSVP here - https://actionnetwork.org/events/critical-and-kidical-mass-bike-rally-for-climate-action/. More info at 350.org/rise.
     On September 8th hundreds of rallies will be held in cities and towns around the world as part of the "Rise for Climate" to demand our local leaders commit to building a fossil free world that works for all of us. This date has been chosen to precede the Global Climate Action Summit that will be happening in San Francisco from September 12th - 14th. Join us as we hold our local leaders to account and demand that they walk the talk on climate action!
Agenda:
3pm: Pedal bikers meet in the Brattleboro Farmers' Market parking lot to bike together in a critical/kidical mass. Walkers (including stilt-walkers and drummers) meet at "plaza park" across from the Brattleboro Food Co-op to march up Main Street. Both groups travel to the Brattleboro Common.
4 pm: Rally at the Common! All are invited to attend!
Speakers: Representative Mollie Burke, youth, and more! Bicycle "petting zoo". Creating a People's Transportation Plan. Bike stencils for t-shirts and canvas bags. Face-painting and kids activities. Pee-cycling porta-potty. Tabling from local and regional orgs including 350Brattleboro, Mother Up!, VBike, Brattleboro Coalition for Active Transportation, Bellows Falls Community Bike Project, Post Oil Solutions, Brattleboro Solidarity, Youth 4 Change, Rich Earth Institute, Downtown Brattleboro Alliance, Brattleboro Bag Share, and Green Mountain Crossroads. Plus refreshments!
    Our hope is to get as many people as possible out on the streets of Brattleboro pushing for more support for active transportation and a lower transportation carbon footprint. Families with kids welcome! And all are welcome at the rally, whether or not you're able to join in the ride or the march.

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Share the Harvest
sponsored by Edible Brattleboro, A Project of Post Oil Solutions
Sunday, September 9th, 2018  at the Turning Point Garden (the corner of Elm Street and Frost Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 11am-1pm. Please bring your own bags.
Join Edible Brattleboro from 11am-1pm in our garden at Turning Point, on the corner of Elm and Frost Street (diagonally across from New England Youth Theatre) for free, locally grown veggies, herbs, and more. Please bring your own bags. All produce is free thanks to the generosity of local farmers and gardeners. We welcome donations from your garden. We also welcome donations of your time either on Saturdays or Sundays to keep the stand open through October.

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Huddle Up With Lt. Governor Zuckerman and Youth Vote
Sunday, September 9th, 2018 at The Putney Public Library (55 Main St, Putney, VT 05346). 1pm-3:30pm. This event is not endorsed or sponsored by the Putney Public Library. All our welcome, but must subscribe to our norms.
Agenda: 
1:15pm - "Early Bird" Local Love Brigade Post Card Action
1:30pm- Meeting called to order - Mission and norms
1:35pm- Introductions
1:40pm- Huddle Announcements -
1:45pm- Flipping Windham 1 - Team Sara
1:55pm- Lt. Gov David Zuckerman
2:40pm- Youth Vote with Rio Daims and James Shanti-Strother
3:10pm- Group Announcements
3:20pm- Closing Statements
Check it out on Facebook...https://www.facebook.com/events/260175591280971/?ti=cl.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Come Celebrate The Root's 5th Birthday
Saturday, September 22nd, 2018 at The Root Social Justice Center (The Whetstone Studio for the Arts, 28 Williams Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). First Floor. 3pm-8pm. The event is wheelchair accessible. Please come fragrance free. For more information please go to www.therootsjc.org, call 802.254.3400, or email [email protected]. 
We are celebrating the success of the past 5 years and raising funds to keep our future strong. Become a monthly sustainer and get one of our new Root t-shirts!
Agenda: 
3pm Making signs for the parade
4pm Racial Justice Parade around Brattleboro
6pm-8pm Potluck Dinner and Short Program followed by Performances

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Sign Making, Song Rehearsal, and Speech Writing
Thursday, September 30th, 2018, at the Hooker-Dunham Theatre (137 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) in the Lobby. 5:30pm. Located down the alley, off of Main Street in Downtown Brattleboro. 
Please bring your own materials for signs.  Please RSVP so that we can plan ahead. To help or for info contact Woody: 802 464 3154 or [email protected] We Celebrate Democracy/Civil Rights for All is funded by small local donations. Donations will be accepted at the event. Positive nonviolent public action for democracy and equal civil rights for all people.

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Two Workshops with Sherri Mitchell, Indigenous Rights and Environmental Justice Activist
sponsored by Post Oil Solutions
Healing Our Collective Trauma and Reconnecting with Our Spiritual Source + Healing Our Divisions and Biases and Unifying Our Movements
Saturday, October 27th, 2018 - Sunday, October 28th, 2018 at the Winston Prouty Campus (209 Austine Drive, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) in Croker Hall on the 4th Floor. 9am-5pm. Handicapped accessible. Updated location/instructions to follow closer to event. We will only accommodate the first 50 people that register, with a wait list beyond. The minimum participants are 20; we will cancel if we get less than this, and reimburse registrants accordingly. People are encouraged to bring a bag lunch and snacks for themselves, or to share. Registration: $125.00. Write & Mail Check to Post Oil Solutions, P. O. Box 431, Townshend, VT  05353, (note “Sherri Mitchell”  in memo line). Please include e-mail address and phone number.
Healing Our Collective Trauma and Reconnecting with Our Spiritual Source
Description: This one-day workshop will take participants on a journey into Native American mythology and cosmology, as a means of healing our collective wounds and reconnecting with spiritual source. We have all been impacted by histories of violence. The oppressed, the oppressor, and the witness alike bear the wounds of our collective past. Together, we will look at the psychic and spiritual wounds that we all share and learn how we can untangle their hold on our hearts and minds. Participants will be asked to look at the history that led to this traumatization and explore how it continues to impact their lives. We will also learn how to hold sacred space for one another while our trauma is present. In this process, we will learn that there is a safe space for us to occupy together, whole and intact. Then, we can begin the process of healing our divisions, so that we can go back and claim a new future for all living beings.
Healing Our Divisions and Biases and Unifying Our Movements
Description: This one-day workshop provides participants with an opportunity to look at the divisions and biases, including hidden biases, that have been built into our societies and ideologies. We will look at the divisions created by our shared history, the biases informed by that history, and the ways that they prevent us from joining our movements. We will learn how to find interest convergence points that enable us to work with one another across these divisions, and how to manage the intersectionality of the emerging movement of movements. 
REFUND POLICY FOR PARTICIPANT CANCELLATION: People can get a refund of the full price if they cancel 10 days prior to the event; after that they can get 50% up to 5 days before the event. If they fail to cancel before that time they will get a 25% refund up to 48 hours before the event and no refund within 48 hours. 

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Feedback Needed

Brattleboro Inclusion Center Survey
Inclusion Center is interested in feedback so that we may grow and satisfy the many needs of our community. 
We would appreciate your assistance through filling out the survey/s below (they each take less than two minutes to complete), and/or passing these along to the appropriate clients, friends and/or family members.
1. Survey for those who are interested in coming to the Inclusion Center but have not done so.
Many people express interest in attending InclusionCenter yet infrequently or never show up. Please help us understand how we can help you, your friends, or family attend Inclusion Center sessions. This survey will take less than two minutes to complete.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TLQRHV5

2. Survey for those who have or do come to the Inclusion Center.
We are interested in knowing which hours and days you would like IC to be open. This survey will take less than two minutes to complete. Please assist us by sharing this survey with others, as well.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TVL8XXT

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RESOURCE FOR WeCAN: Rapid Response Text Alert System

When WeCAN began Song & Solidarity set up a Rapid Response Text Alert System for WeCAN Groups. Directions for signing up are on WeCAN's website, here: https://www.wecantogether.net/rapid_response We were reminded of the Rapid Response text alerts system as President Trump moves towards firing Mueller. In the event Mueller is fired, MoveOn is planning a nation-wide simultaneous protest. The trick will be to get the word out fast if/when the time comes. We are grateful to Song and Solidarity for providing this service.

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STANDING REGULAR MEETINGS

Lost River Racial Justice, Black Lives Matter-South, and People Of Color Caucus Regular Meeting
Reoccurring racial justice organizing meetings every 2nd Monday at The Root Social Justice Center (The Whetstone Studio of the Arts, 28 Williams Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) on the First Floor. 6pm-8pm. 
Childcare provided. Fragrance & nut free space.  

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Youth 4 Change

Meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month from 5:30pm-8pm.
For more information please contact Youth 4 Change at[email protected].
Agenda:
5:30pm: Drop in homework time and art making
6:00pm: Food
6:30pm: Meeting and Organizing
Youth 4 Change is for local-area youth 12-22 interested in political organizing around local/state/national social justice issues that are important to them. Brattleboro area advocates and educators are holding a space, and assisting youth in building a strong personal tool kit to organize for change.  Using a variety of creative methods, we aim to enable youth with tools for resilience, courage and compassion, while fostering their ability to speak up about issues that matter to them, and to take action in the name of love and liberation for all people.  Come explore issues of racial, economic and gender justice through art, movement, first-hand accounts and contemplative practices. Connect with area youth around the issues that matter to you and strengthen your tool kit for action! 

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Alternatives to Suicide 
Every Wednesday, 6pm-7:30pm at the Hive Space (24 Flat St, Suite 202, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). Second Floor, up one flight of stairs.

Alternatives to Suicide is a mutual support group open to anyone who has experienced thoughts of suicide. The group is guided by a charter of values provided by the Western Mass Recovery Learning Community. The group is non-clinical and does not link suicide with illness.  Participants are free to talk about and find meaning in their experiences in/on their own terms. 

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ONGOING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING 

Indigo Radio
Sundays at 12pm on Brattleboro Community Radio 107.7FM
To stream live: Visit www.wvew.org 
Indigo Radio, deepening understanding and making connections! IndigoRadio is a group of area educators seeking to learn through engaging with others in our community and throughout the world. We will be talking about educational and social issues both globally and locally and connecting them to our lives and Brattleboro community. Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/indigoradiowvew/. For archive recordings of past shows: https://soundcloud.com/user-654648353

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Have a fantastic week, Friends! We look forward to seeing you at an event soon. 


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Ann, Joanna, and Leslie