If you ask people what they think about organized labor these days, many - if not most - might respond based on the version of labor depicted in the recent Martin Scorsese film, The Irishman. The filmmaker points his camera at the link between the Teamsters and organized crime in the era of Jimmy Hoffa. So the image portrayed is of profoundly corrupt union officials in cahoots with habitually violent mafia thugs.
While that might make for a dramatic movie - endless as it is - it crowds out any other part of the rich and complex history of organized labor. I grew up in the Midwest and never ran across anyone who resembled the characters in the Scorsese movie. In my community of Fort Wayne, Indiana, organized labor was closely and publicly connected to organized religion. Your pew neighbor during Sunday worship service was often the factory worker next to you on the assembly line during the week. My father was a shop steward in his union and an usher at church. My mother worked in a parochial school and taught in Sunday School. Work and worship, labor and faith, were as married as my parents were. In fact, to my young eyes, the labor movement was another expression of religious activity, somewhat similar to singing in the choir, serving on the usher board, or teaching in Sunday School. We even had ministers in my city who worked in the factory during the week, and ministered to their congregational flock on weekends.
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... Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to start an impeachment inquiry is the first step toward a possible congressional indictment of the president. It can also be seen as an attempt to diagnose whether or not the country needs constitutional chemotherapy.
Braving the threat of rain and a thunderstorm, 120 Fox River Valley Initiative leaders, allies and neighbors gathered under a tent at 1212 Larkin in Elgin, Illinois on the afternoon of Friday, September 27, to celebrate groundbreaking for an affordable housing development.
The development will have 10 dedicated units for people with mental or physical disabilities with onsite case management. The other 38 units will be 2-3 bedroom apartments for people living between 30 and 60 percent of the area’s medium income. Elgin’s Mayor Dave Kaptain expressed his appreciation to the Fox River Valley Initiative for organizing and bringing the vision of 1212 Larkin to Elgin. He observed, “My vision is to bring quality housing for every citizen of Elgin.” Under his leadership, the city council had voted 8-0 in support of the project. 
Twenty years after the first living-wage law was passed in Baltimore, the campaign’s lead organizer warns that the model has been watered down. This prescient piece written by Jonathan Lange in 2014 for the Nation is an even more urgent read NOW.
Hundreds of people gathered on Chicago's West Side to talk with Mayor Lori Lightfoot about the city's most pressing problems, from gun violence to housing concerns. Community members and leaders representing a coalition of nearly 100 religious and civic groups gathered at DRW College Prep in Homan Square Sunday afternoon.
United Power for Action and Justice is the coalition behind Sunday's meeting. The group emphasizes offering pragmatic solutions rather than "pie in the sky" ideals. While the coalition said they appreciated Lightfoot's words Sunday, the group said it's time to translate those remarks into results. MORE 
On Friday 9/13/19, SBC, Manhattan Together IAF and METRO IAF NYleaders were joined at a Press Conference by CM Ritchie Torres. We supported the appointment of an Ombudsperson who can make New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) properly remediate mold and leaks when they fail to do so. We also demanded that they start fixing or replacing roof fans and cleaning vents now. At the 3 PM hearing, the Judge said he would not make a decision that day (and it's out clear how quickly it will go into effect throughout NYCHA) , but that the "parties should get ready." Nothing is guaranteed, but it looks positive!
“She has a chance to help reduce gun-related suicides, accidental shootings and the violence caused by stolen guns.”
OpEd in Chicago Sun Times by Alec Harris, Renee Reilly and Rose Mabwa, leaders of United Power for Action and Justice, Metro IAF 
To our thinking, the lesson of Walmart is that substantial gun reform may eventually succeed in Congress, if enough puppets of the gun lobby are run out of office. Ordinary citizens can further the cause by putting pressure on corporate America.
"The shareholders’ resolution was drafted by a group of religious leaders — the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility — and a grassroots advocacy group — the Metro Industrial Areas Foundation." More from CST Editorial. 
New York’s Public Housing Isn’t Getting Better
Reports from a federal monitor and residents suggest the city needs a new approach to fixing a crisis for hundreds of thousands of residents. NY Times Editorial with key quote by Metro IAF leader Bernard Smith here. ------------------------------------------------- More from metro iaf:
Mon Jul 29, 2019 -DICO
Keisha Krumm speaks at a news conference at City Hall in 2015 at which Nationstar Mortgage announced it would contribute $30.5 million to help Sherman Park homeowners recover from the foreclosure crisis. Photo courtesy of Common Ground. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Milwaukee is a city that does not strengthen the hand of the poor. It seems, instead, to be satisfied with kind gestures of charity toward the symptoms of unfairness. Pope Pius XI said, “Charity will never be true charity unless it takes justice into account…. Let no one attempt with small gifts of charity to exempt themselves from the great duties imposed by justice.” My over eight years in Milwaukee as Common Ground’s Executive Director and Lead Organizer has been dedicated to building justice with and for those left behind in this city. Common Ground has created controversy and tension, including pushing big banks and billionaires to recalculate their civic interest in broader terms. I am proud that we have had the moral courage to demand more than just charity for neighborhoods, education, health care, and housing. Keisha Krumm's Full Op Ed in Urban Milwaukee here. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Keisha Krumm has been organizing over 17 years with the IAF, including 8.5 years as the Lead Organizer for Common Ground, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She can be reached kmkrumm@gmail.com |
