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SUMMARY:Militarism vs the Care Economy and Degrowth
DESCRIPTION:At this critical time\, when climate change and war are devastating the planet and causing tremendous suffering\, the current political climate is taking everything in the wrong direction. The system of endless growth and accumulation of wealth in fewer and fewer hands at the expense of everyone else and the earth cannot be sustained. How can we do more than hold back the most extreme antidemocratic and environmentally destructive measures and work together to realize a common vision of a livable world? Speakers Harrris Gruman\, Juan Jose De Blas and Anna Prouty will address how we can transition from the current disaster/militarist economy to a peace\, climate\, and justice-oriented care and degrowth economy. They will lay out some of the principles and benefits of a care economy and degrowth and talk about practical steps we can take here in the US to bring about the world we want to see. \nSpeakers: \nHarris Gruman – Executive Director of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) State Council. He is co-founder and co-chair of Raise Up Massachusetts\, a coalition of 150 organizations which successfully campaigned to raise the minimum wage to $15\, enact paid family and medical leave\, and pass the Fair Share Amendment\, aka millionaire’s tax. A veteran of decades of successful issue and electoral work in community and labor organizing\, he is an astute political strategist. A former executive director of the Neighbor to Neighbor Education Fund\, he studied at Johns Hopkins University. At MAPA\, he  is a member of the Board of Directors\, the Ukraine Committee\, and of the Peace and the Working Class Working Group. \nJuan Jose Deblas is an active member of the International Degrowth Network as well as the Spanish member group Red Decrecer para Vivir. He sees degrowth as an opportunity to rethink the world’s economic and social systems\, address the imbalance between the Global North and South\, and protect humanity’s most vulnerable. He is Coordinator of the IDN practice circle\, Secretary of organizing and general circles\, and helping with European newsletter. He helped organize the September 2025 Beyond Growth conference in the Spanish parliament. \nAnna Prouty\, Media + Outreach Coordinator at the Degrowth Institute\, is a writer\, artist and community organizer living in Cascadia. She is the media and outreach coordinator for DGI\, and coordinates the Policy Working Group. She was also a co-founder of DegrowUS. When not at DGI\, she works for the Center for Rural Livelihoods in Oregon\, and organizes around economic democracy\, land restoration and bioregionalism. Her debut novel\, Genesis\, will be released in summer 2026 by Vine Leaves Press. \nRegister to attend:
URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/militarism-vs-the-care-economy-and-degrowth/
LOCATION:Online Event
CATEGORIES:Peace and Climate,Peace and Working Class
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ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250901T093000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250901T113000
DTSTAMP:20260520T200811
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SUMMARY:Boston's First Labor Day Parade
DESCRIPTION:Via AFL-CIO: \nThe Greater Boston Labor Council is making history with Boston’s first-ever Labor Day parade! YOU’RE invited to march with us! \nWe’ll follow a powerful route that honors the victories of the past and energizes the movement we’re building today. This isn’t just a parade\, it’s a statement\, a celebration\, and a call to action. \nWant to march? Have questions? Reach out to Liz Eng at leng@gblc.us \nMore exciting details to come! Mark your calendar and get ready to make some noise for labor! Sign up now.
URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/bostons-first-labor-day-parade/
LOCATION:Massachusetts State House\, 24 Beacon St\, Boston
CATEGORIES:Peace and Working Class
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250819T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250819T210000
DTSTAMP:20260520T200812
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SUMMARY:Freedom of Expression At Risk!
DESCRIPTION:It’s no secret that censorship\, arrests\, and firings have punished almost every group or individual showing solidarity\, or sometimes merely sympathy\, for Palestinians being slaughtered and displaced by Israel in what experts unanimously regard as genocide. Two of our panelists were fired or disciplined for this solidarity. \nJoin us on August 19th at 7pm at the First Unitarian Church at 71 8th Street\, New Bedford\, MA 02740 for an important discussion on how the repression of Palestine supporters has hit union workers and how unions can fight back to protect their members and defend civil and human rights.  Peggy Wang and Camilo Viveiros will speak about the growing threats to our freedom of expression. Wang will address the attacks on pro-Palestine voices which have led to people being on administrative leave as well as people losing their jobs. Viveiros will discuss the current climate unions face as their right to expression is being threatened. \nThere is no such thing as neutrality when it comes to internationalism. The Labor movement plays an important role in international issues\, such as opposing the genocide in Gaza\, and unions are obliged to recognize the class conflict among all nationalities while showing solidarity with working class people everywhere. Panelists will discuss some of the initiatives around building and extending that solidarity. \nRead Anna Feder’s powerful article published on the first anniversary of her firing from Emerson College \nJoin us on August 19th at 7pm at the First Unitarian Church at 71 8th Street\, New Bedford\, MA 02740. \nRSVP requested but not required
URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/freedom-of-expression-at-risk/
LOCATION:First Unitarian Church in New Bedford\, 71 8th St\, New Bedford\, MA\, 02740
CATEGORIES:Palestine/Israel,Peace and Working Class
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250602T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250602T140000
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SUMMARY:The Militarization of Europe and The Workers' Fightback: Lessons and Connections for the US
DESCRIPTION:As Europe is increasingly drawn into the expansion of NATO and into the Ukraine war\, workers are increasingly rebelling\, seeing evaporate not just the peace they’ve experienced since the end of WWII begin but also the Cold War creep back\, while their economies increasingly falter. Organized and unorganized they are beginning to fight back\, while at the same time right wing forces are gaining some foothold in Europe as in the US. \nWorkers in the US have not known peace now for many decades\, with the US involved in endless wars all over the globe\, endless billions of tax dollars flowing into production and export of weapons\, and real wealth continuing to flowing into fewer and fewer hands. US workers rage against the government\, the true nature of their wealth decline obscured by rightwing rhetoric and misinformation. \nAre there lessons we can learn from the workers’ fightback in Europe? Are there experience to he shared from our own increasing fight back? Can workers’ rage be channeled more constructively? How? Working together\, can the workers in Europe and in the US create an effective front against the militarization of their economies and the ongoing march forward of NATO and the Right?” \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegister to Attend \nPeter Mertens  is a Belgian statesman and activist who led the Workers’ Party of Belgium from 2008 to 2021 and continues to lead the party as General Secretary. He has served as a member of the Chamber of Representatives since 2019\, and as a municipal councilor in Antwerp since 2013. He is the author of a number of articles and books\, the most recent of which\, available in English\, are: They Have Forgotten Us (2021) and Mutiny: How Our World is Tilting (2024) as well as numerous articles. \nCarlos Aramayo is the President of UNITE HERE Local 26\, the Union for hospitality workers in the greater Boston area and Rhode Island. He is also a Vice President of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO\, an International Vice President of UNITE HERE and a trustee of UNITE HERE Health and the Greater Boston Hospitality Employers Trust. In addition to his work in the Union\, he is a member of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Board of Directors and a member of Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy’s Advisory Council on Latino Empowerment. During his eighteen years with UNITE HERE\, he has organized casino gaming\, hotel\, and industrial food service workers in Connecticut\, Nevada\, Florida\, Massachusetts\, and Rhode Island. \nHarris Gruman (moderator) is Executive Director of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) State Council. He is co-founder and co-chair of Raise Up Massachusetts\, a coalition of 150 organizations which successfully campaigned to raise the minimum wage to $15\, enact paid family and medical leave\, and pass the Fair Share Amendment\, aka millionaire’s tax. A veteran of decades of successful issue and electoral work in community and labor organizing\, he is an astute political strategist. A former executive director of the Neighbor to Neighbor Education Fund\, he studied at Johns Hopkins University. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Massachusetts Peace Action\, the Ukraine Committee\, and of the Peace and the Working Class Working Group sponsoring this webinar.
URL:https://masspeaceaction.org/event/the-militarization-of-europe-and-the-workers-fightback-lessons-and-connections-for-the-us/
LOCATION:Online Event
CATEGORIES:Peace and Working Class,Strategy and Ideas
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ORGANIZER;CN="Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund":MAILTO:info@masspeaceaction.org
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