FUND OUR COMMUNITIES!     REDUCE MILITARY SPENDING 25%!

Alert: Tuesday Nov 15
No More Cuts! 
Tax the 1%!  End the Wars! 
Invest in Jobs!

When: Tuesday, November 15, 2011, 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm   
Where:     Senator John Kerry's Office • One Bowdoin Square (corner of Cambridge & New Chardon Streets) • Bowdoin or Government Center T • Boston   

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) is one of 12 members of  a Congressional “Supercommittee” charged with cutting $1.2 trillion from the federal deficit by November 23.   Sen. Kerry is  negotiating a “deal” with Republicans that would cut more than $1 trillion from Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and other programs that serve the poor and middle class.

Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) opposes any tax increases on the 1% or cuts to the military—the only way to avoid deep cuts to programs that serve the 99%!

They need to hear from us!    Join us on Tuesday, November 15 to deliver more than 4,000 letters from Boston voters on Election Day, as well as cards and petitions from across Massachusetts, demanding that Senators Kerry & Brown:

·      Make the 1% pay their fair share of taxes
·      No cuts to Social Security, Medicare & other vital programs
·      End the wars, bring the troops home and cut military spending
·      Create jobs and get people back to work
 
Rally/press conference at Sen. Kerry’s office, then march to Senator Brown’s at the  JFK building nearby

Sponsors: Massachusetts Peace Action, Massachusetts Alliance of HUD Tenants, Fund Our Communities Not War – Massachusetts,  American Federation of Government Employees/Local 3258, Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, Massachusetts Jobs with Justice, New England United for Justice, Progressive Democrats of America, Arlington 25% Campaign, National Committee to Defend Social Security and Medicare, Massachusetts Jobs with Justice

The long range work, of beginning to secure funding for jobs and services in communities by reducing Pentagon spending, will involve building long-term coalitions within our respective communities.  The allies for this work will be found in labor unions, social, economic, racial justice, and environmental groups, as well as in faith-based and many other organizations.

A focus for this work in Massachusetts and nationally is forming around organizing budget hearings, budget speak-outs, community resolutions, and ongoing trainings for local organizers.

There are materials and other information available from the campaign.  At the same time, these events will be shaped by the people in the hosting communities to meet their specific circumstance.
 Please contact us, or go to our 'Communities at Work' page to find a local contact.

The budget hearings and speak-outs are being scheduled to coincide with state budget time-lines (late Winter through Spring), and:

-are hosted by various groups - mayors, labor councils, social justice organizations, peace groups...;
-invite testimony from individuals and organizations hurt by state and local budget cuts;
-invite congresspeople/senators and their staff, and urge them to move money from the Pentagon to community needs;
-invite local state legislators, municipal officials, and urge them to support fair, progressive tax reforms that bring in more revenue;
-seek continued involvement of participants to build pressure to stress that cuts in Pentagon spending be directed back to the communities, and to help enact state tax reforms this year. 
 

Contact Mike Prokosch mikeprokosch@verizon.net and Zara Zsido 25percentsolution@gmail.com

Community resolutions can be sought from City Councils, unions, congregations, and community organizations. Town wide resolutions can be passed by city councils, or boards of Selectmen/Aldermen; town meeting  (warrant article); town voters at the ballot box in local elections.
Contact Susan Lees  swlees@earthlink.net

March for Good Jobs
 When: Thursday, November 17, 2011, 4:00 pm    
 
Where:     Assemble Dewey Square - March to N Washington St Bridge • Atlantic Ave. & Summer St • South Station T • Boston   
 
Our bridges and roads need work, and so do we.
Millions of people are unemployed across the country, but instead of working to create jobs and help working families, our politicians in Washington are trying to cut programs for our seniors and children to protect tax breaks for the ultra wealthy.

Enough is enough. On November 17, we will be taking to the streets to make our voices heard.

Sponsored by MassUniting <http://www.massuniting.org>
* The 99% are in the midst of an economic disaster
* The Charlestown Bridge Needs work and so do we
* We need jobs, not cuts – and we need to make Wall Street Pay!
Overview
November 17th is a national day of action for jobs and the middle class.  In cities across the country the 99% will be on the march as community and labor allies come together to rally for jobs, not cuts.  The marches will focus on structurally unsound bridges as symbols of our country’s crumbling infrastructure - and the jobs that would result if we fixed them.  These bridges need work and so do we!
 
In Boston, the march has been called by community and labor allies including Jobs with Justice, MassUniting, the Mass Building Trades and the AFL-CIO.  We're  marching to highlight the need for action on jobs and to stand in solidarity with the Occupy Movement.
 
MESSAGE FOR NOV 17
·         The 99% are in the midst of an economic disaster. It’s been three years since Wall Street wrecked our economy, yet 25 million people are still unable to find full-time work. The American Dream has been destroyed, and the egregious wealth gap between the 1% and the 99% continues to grow.  What’s worse, many in Congress are doing everything they can to ensure it stays that way.
·         The Charlestown Bridge needs work and so do we. We can create millions of jobs by repairing crumbling roads, tunnels and bridges like this one. But instead of putting America back to work to fix our crumbling infrastructure, Congress has refused to pass a single jobs bill. And now, the Super Committee is calling for more job-killing budget cuts and austerity policies.
·         We need jobs, not cuts—and we need to make Wall Street pay. We are fed up with politicians who cater to the interests of big businesses and billionaires. We are angry that we’ve lost our jobs and our homes while the rich get more tax cuts and corporate profits soar. We are the 99%, and we demand an economy that works for everyone, not just the richest 1%.
 
March Plan
 Supporters will gather at Dewey Square at 4pm – including student marchers -- and marching at 4:30 up Atlantic Ave to the N. Washington Street bridge for a rally and action.  The building trades members will meet us at the bridge, where a few speakers will address the crowd there (all speakers should be unemployed workers, we are looking to highlight the stories of both unemployed trades workers and other kinds of workers).
 
Because the march will involve large numbers of union members, community partners and allies from immigration groups, we will have a strong marshaling presence.   At the bridge we will have a candlelight vigil and banner drop.   Since it will be dark at 5pm when we arrive at the bridge, we have the opportunity to think about creative uses of candles, light-up projectors, etc.  A smaller contingent will be on the Charlestown side of the bridge and will march across the bridge to meet the larger body of the march, which will remain on the North End without going onto the bridge itself.
 
From the bridge – we will march back to Dewey except for those who came on buses, which will pick up riders near North Station.