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LABOR-RELIGION COALITION Capital District affiliate of the New York State Labor-Religion Coalition and national organizations, Jobs with Justice and Interfaith Worker Justice Upcoming Thursday, June 26, 2008 Welcome to Marjorie DeVoe, LRC coordiinator who began on December 3, 2007! Worker Rights' Board members and LRC supporters held a news conference on September 14, 2006, at the home of a family childcare provider in Albany, NY to release the WRB hearing report, "No More Fun and Games: Unfair Practices in the Family Childcare Industry." Speakers called for the NYS Assembly to override the Governor's veto of childcare providers recognition bill, A.10060. Click here for the news release, recommendations, and full testimony. In support of the Fair Share for Healthcare Act, 22 local religious leaders signed an open letter to legislative leaders. Click here to see the letter and the list of signers. While Gov. Pataki refused to sign the act into law, healthcare reform has moved higher on the public agenda in NYS. Healthcare for all remains one of the priorities for the LRC in 2006-2007. At a "Cover the Uninsured Week" event outside Koinonia Healthcare in Albany, the LRC's Joe Corra spoke about the NYS Fair Share for Healthcare legislation. The City of Albany Common Council passed a Living Wage Ordinance on September 8, 2005. Mayor Jerry Jennings has pledged to sign it. Pressure from the Capital District WORKER Center and others has made the legislation stronger. For some working under service contracts with the city, wages will go up to $10.25 /hr. (or $11.91/hr. without health insurance). For the first time, we have an office! Our space is shared with the Capital District Worker Center on the second floor at 33 Central Avenue in Albany. The Capital District Worker Rights Board, convened by the Capital District Labor-Religion Coalition / Jobs with Justice is a group of community leaders available to hear issues of concern to area working families. It is one of over 20 WRBs across the nation sponsored by local Jobs with Justice affiliates. The
Worker Justice Pledge Campaign Committee has prepared three information sheets.
They can be printed and reproduced if your organization is asking individuals
to consider a pledge to be there at least five times for someone else's fight.
The first area Worker Center opened officially on October 23, 2004. The CDWC is a project of the statewide Labor-Religion Coalition, with many ties to the Albany area LRC.. Please click here to learn more about the center. CDWC Coordinator, Gene Rodriguez can be reached at 518/ 482-5595 or at cdworkeralbany@yahoo.com. The Coalition steering committee (made up of member organization representatives and individuals who attend the month meetings) is formalizing a committee structure. Click here for descriptions of the committees. Archives About 160 friends of the LRC attended the 25th Anniversary Awards Dinner on March 29, 2007. Honored at the event were winners of five annual awards. A "Health Care for All" news conference was held on Oct. 7, 2004 at the Albany Labor Temple, 890 Third Street. The event was part of the Jobs with Justice Health Care Action Week with events in 25 locations nationwide. Speakers presented highlights from "Waste Not Want Not: How Eliminating Insurance and Pharmaceutical Industry Waste Could Fund Health Care for All." Organizations represented included the Capital District Area Labor Federation, New York State Alliance for Retired Americans, the American Medical Students Association at Albany Medical College and Hunger Action Network of New York State. Click here for a printable news release. Nickel and Dimed: students at Russell Sage College in Troy, NY performed this play as a special benefit for the Capital District Worker Center on Dec.10, 2004. The play is based on Barbara Ehrenreich's book of the same name. Coalition members organized and/or supported three actions as part of the 2003 40-hour Fast. On March 12, about 20 people (and a local TV crew) prayed together using the shared prayer, "Replacing Greed with Justice" followed by a procession to the Capitol from the Episcopal Cathedral of All Saints. In candlelight, at the top of the East Capitol steps a Roman Catholic priest posted "95 Theses" on the door in protest against state policies that sustain a profoundly immoral income and wealth gap. Speakers at the event included representatives from the Justice for Farmworkers Campaign, the United Food and Commercial Workers Local One Wal-Mart campaign and a striking worker from the Service Employees International Union, SEIU 1199, Capital Region Division. On March 13, fasters (carrying labor-religion signs) and unionists from the Capital District Area Labor Federation replaced workers on the picket lines from 11 AM to 1 PM, so workers could attend a meeting. Caregivers at Guilderland Center and Rosewood Gardens nursing homes have been in an Unfair Labor Practice Strike since March 5. Workers are represented by 1199 SEIU, the Service Employees International Union. "Opening the Janitor's Closet: Unfair Practices in the Building Service Industry" a report from the Worker Right Board's Justice for Janitors hearing on June 15, 2004 was released on Human Rights Day, Dec. 10, 2004. To see the full report, click here. (Adobe Reader is required to view the .pdf document.) For information about the event, click here. Fasters were joined by ARISE members for a Breaking the Fast Service following a Regional Forum on Future Development in the Capital District, a "smart growth" meeting convened by ARISE on March 14, 2003 at St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church in Albany. The Sixth Annual Joseph Powers/Jeanette Dworkin Memorial Awards Dinner was held on Nov. 13, 2002. Congratulations to Doug Bullock: Labor Activist Award winner, Rev. Dr. Ward Greer: Religion Award winner, Heidi Seigfried, Community Award winner and Kate Maxwell, Youth Award winner. Charlie King and Karen Brandow performed songs that changed history. At the coalition's regular meeting on Oct 21, 2002, those in attendance approved a resolution opposing war in Iraq. View the news release containing the resolution by clicking the underlined words. The Coalition decided to affiliate with Jobs with Justice in March 2002. ARISE: After training on March 9, 2002, a core team from the Coalition agreed to begin one-on-one meetings with individuals and organizations who have supported Coalition activities. ARISE (A Regional Effort Supporting Empowerment) is a Gamiliel-Foundation-supported effort working towards community revitalization in Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga and Rensselaer Counties. Over 60 attended a clergy/labor breakfast on April 10, 2002, with Barbara Garson, author of Money Makes the World Go Round: One Investor Tracks Her Cash Through the Global Economy, From Brooklyn to Bangkok and Back.
Last Updated: 04/17/2008
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