Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
It’s a busy week in Nonviolence News. The stories are varied and diverse, though they share a common theme of people getting fed up with constant injustice. Tunisia’s unions took action against the rising cost-of-living. They’re not alone: Moldova erupted with protests against high fuel prices, the United Kingdom’s strikes are spreading, German pilots and airline workers brought flights to a standstill, and Portuguese teachers flooded the capitol for better wages.
Israelis are demonstrating against power-grabbing maneuvers by Netanyahu’s government. In India, groups of farmers and working class residents are trying to stop evictions from land the state is trying to reclaim. In the Philippines, rural Indigenous groups are marching to Manila to oppose a dam project that threatens the mountain ecosystem that protects the country from typhoons.
Thousands marched in Berlin for Ukraine peace talks. A group of tenants took their protest to the entrance of their landlord’s gated community – and brought a brass band to make sure they were heard. Just Stop Oil held “go slow” marches, stalling traffic in three cities across the United Kingdom. In the United States, the Parasol Patrol is providing rainbow-colored protective accompaniment for Drag Queen Story Hour.
An especially heartening read: 91% of the companies that experimented with a 4-day workweek want to keep it. That bodes well not only for workers, but also for a world in crisis where we’re being increasingly called upon to be citizens and activists, caregivers and emergency responders, problem solvers, solutionaries, and visionaries. Humanity needs a shift in priorities, don’t you think?
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun
Photo Credit: Tunisia unions protest over economic woes and arrest of official.
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Seattle Adds Caste To Anti-Discrimination Laws: The Seattle City Council added caste to the city’s anti-discrimination laws, becoming the first U.S. city to specifically ban caste discrimination. Calls to outlaw discrimination based on caste, a division of people based on birth or descent, have grown louder among South Asian diaspora communities in the United States. The packed room overflowed with activists bearing banners, chanting slogans, challenging speakers and city officials. Read more>>
How To Get Un-Fired: In a few days Austin Locke will walk back into the Queens, New York, Starbucks store he was fired from seven months ago. He’ll also get a wad of back pay, and money from civil penalties. His case was argued and won by the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), using a city law passed in 2021 which makes unjust firings in fast food illegal. Read more>>
After Trying Out The 4-Day Work Week, 91% of Companies Want To Keep It: Sixty-one companies in the United Kingdom joined a pilot program in June 2022 in which they reduced their employees’ workweek to four days—with no reduction in salary—and eight months later, 91% of them say they have no plans to go back to a five-day week. “It’s time for the four-day week to go mainstream,” said advocates. Read more>>
Australia Blocks Coal Mine Near Great Barrier Reef: In a rare environmental victory, Australia’s environment minister Tanya Plibersek has rejected a proposed open-cut coal mine. The mine rejection was based on the “risks of damage to the reef, freshwater creeks and groundwater.” The possible negative impact of the mine on climate change was not part of the decision. Read more>>
Moldova Protesters Want Energy Subsidies & Call For President To Step Down: Several thousand protesters rallied in Moldova’s capital Sunday to demand that the country’s new pro-Western government fully cover citizens’ winter heating bills amid a cost-of-living crisis and skyrocketing inflation. Read more>>
Tens of Thousands in Israel Rally Against ‘Dictator’s Bill’ as Lawmakers Vote on Judicial Overhaul: If right-wing reforms giving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of parliament more power over the judiciary are passed, “the protests will intensify,” said organizers. Read more>>
Strikes Bring Air Traffic To Standstill in Germany: Around 2,340 flights were to be canceled, affecting almost 300,000 passengers, said the German Airports Association. Read more>>
Over 85 People Incarcerated at Washington Detention Center Go on Hunger Strike: The detention center is notorious for its lack of sanitation, medical neglect, and use of solitary confinement. Read more>>
Retirees In China Hold Rare Protests Against Health Insurance Reforms: Retirees have taken to the streets in two cities in China in recent days in rare protests against the most significant health care reforms in over two decades. Read more>>
Indian Farmers Resist Evictions: Farmer groups and Left leaders from Jammu and Kashmir protested against an eviction drive aimed at retrieving state land from ‘encroachers’, namely working class people and farmers. The groups also demanded withdrawal of changes in land laws. Read more>>
Tunisia Unions Protest Against Economic Woes, Official’s Arrest: Thousands of Tunisian trade unionists have held protests across the country over worsening economic woes and the arrest of a top union official. The North African country is in drawn-out talks with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout loan, which the powerful UGTT workers’ federation has warned could entail painful austerity measures. Thousands protested against the president’s policies, accusing him of trying to stifle basic freedoms including union rights. Read more>>
Thousands Of Portuguese Teachers Protest In Lisbon: Thousands of teachers from across Portugal joined a protest in Lisbon demanding better working conditions and higher pay. 20,000 people joined the march called by the Union of all education professionals. Read more>>
To Avert Crisis, UK Health Care Workers Stage Largest Strikes In NHS History: Support remains high for the tens of thousands of nurses and ambulance workers on strike in the UK, as the government refuses to negotiate with unions. Read more>>
UK Health Workers’ Actions Escalate As Junior Doctors Announce Strike: Junior doctors in England will be the next to join the wave of health workers’ industrial action in March. Striking remains the last resort for health workers, but they have said that the cost of living crisis and lack of investment in salaries has led them to take this step. According to the BMA, since 2008, junior doctors have experienced a 25% cut to their income. Read more>>
Activists Occupy Minneapolis’ Roof Depot Site To Stop Demolition: East Phillips neighborhood activists said direct action was a last resort in their opposition to the city’s plans to build a new Public Works facility. Read more>>
Super Bowl Protesters Demand Kansas City Football Team Change Its Name: Protesters demanded the National Football League (NFL) abolish race-based mascots and imagery, taking their disapproval to State Farm Stadium, where Super Bowl LVII was played on Sunday. Read more>>
Democratic Leaders Urged to Mark Bloody Sunday by Acting on Voting Rights & Economic Justice: Highlighting research that shows tens of millions of Americans face some form of voter suppression, a letter from leaders argue that if Biden and other politicians plan to visit Selma—which was recently devastated by a tornado—for the Bloody Sunday anniversary, they should “declare that the fight for voting rights and the restoration of what they marched across that bridge for is not over.” “This is no time for foolishness, photo-ops, and flaky commitments.” Read more>>
Indigenous Filipinos March To Manila To Protest Dam Project: Members of the Dumagat-Remontados communities and their supporters called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to stop the ongoing construction of the 60-meter (196-foot) high Kaliwa Dam, a flagship project of Marcos’ predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. The project is envisioned to provide a long-term solution to the water shortage in Metro Manila, although environmental groups have said it would destroy the Sierra Madre mountain range, considered the Southeast Asian nation’s shield against devastating typhoons. Read more>>
On the Frontlines in a ‘Cancer Alley,’ Black Women Inspired by Faith Are Powering the Environmental Justice Movement: Religious belief has been central to the movement since its start. Sharon Lavigne, a 70-year-old grandmother in Louisiana taking on the plastics industry, is hailed as “a modern-day prophet.” Read more>>
Just Stop Oil Activists Stage ‘Go Slow’ Marches In Liverpool, Norwich and Brighton: Environmental campaigners caused traffic tailbacks when they staged “go slow” marches in Liverpool, Norwich and Brighton on Saturday. The Just Stop Oil campaign group is demanding that the government stop issuing fossil fuel exploration and extraction licenses. Read more>>
BlackRock President Robert Kapito is the Latest Target for Climate Protesters: While speaking at a financial conference in New York City, BlackRock president Robert Kapito was heckled by climate activists. Read more>>
Extinction Rebellion Targets London Fashion Week: Protesters pour fake oil over red carpet demanding an end to sponsorship deal with ‘world’s biggest plastic polluter’ – Coca Cola. Read more>>
Church of England Clergy Call For Cutting Ties With West Cumbria Coal Mine: Vicars and other Christians protested outside the Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle offices of Ward Hadaway, lawyers for West Cumbria Mining Limited, and the London headquarters of Javelin Global Commodities, which has an exclusive marketing and offtake agreement with West Cumbria Mining. They are calling on both companies to “cut the ties” with the proposed new coal mine in Cumbria. The protesters held banners with the message ‘Coal is killing humanity’ and delivered letters asking the organisations to end their involvement with West Cumbria Mining. The Christians took part in the actions as part of the group Christian Climate Action. Read more>>
Biden Implored to Avert ‘Carbon Bomb’ by Blocking Texas Gulf Oil Terminals: The Biden administration’s plan to potentially allow four new oil terminals along the Texas Gulf Coast would unleash a “carbon bomb” potentially equivalent to three years of all U.S. emissions and belie President Joe Biden’s stated intent to “act boldly on climate”. “It’s hypocritical for the Biden administration to allow these things to get built and then say the U.S. wants to decrease its own emissions,” said one climate campaigner. Read more>>
Tenants Group Protests Evictions On Landlord’s Doorstep: The bellowing music of a brass band, complete with a tuba decorated with a “Stop Medford Evictions” sign, made it impossible to ignore the demands of a Massachusetts-based tenants group who rallied at the entrance to their landlord’s gated community. Read more>>
Public Housing Activist Pushes To Save Houses: Seven years ago, the government decided to build a Metro station at Waterloo, instead of at Sydney University because in Waterloo there is public land for it to sell. It is not just land, but housing as well — home to around 3000 people. Their plan is to demolish all the existing homes and give the chosen developer a clean slate. ‘We have the right to decent housing.’ The market is not fixing it. It is concerned only with profit, not people. Read more>>
Lawsuit Uncovers Chicago’s Failure to Provide Disability Protections in Housing: Advocates say people with disabilities are suffering the worst consequences of the U.S.’s affordable housing crisis. Read more>>
Tens Of Thousands March Through Dublin In Solidarity With Refugees: Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Dublin on Saturday for an ‘Ireland For All’ march in solidarity with refugees. The demonstration, which drew large crowds from across the country, was organized to combat a rise in anti-immigration protests and assaults against immigrants in recent weeks. Read more>>
Inside The UK’s Anti-Migrant Protests: Demonstrations in Rotherham, Erskine, Warwickshire and St. Helens last weekend show an alarming rise in the frequency of anti-migrant protests as well as the numbers attending them. But tensions have been brewing for a long time. Editor’s Note: We’re sharing this article for the purpose of understanding the rise of hate, not to condone this use of protest. Read more>>
Iraqis Protest Gender Violence After YouTube Star Killed: Dozens of Iraqi protesters gathered Sunday to decry the so-called “honor killing” of a 22-year-old YouTube star who was allegedly strangled by her father, adding fuel to calls for legal reforms protecting women. Read more>>
NYT Writers Decry Anti-Trans Stance Of Journal: In a letter to New York Times leadership on 2/15/23, more than 180 of the paper’s contributors (later swelling to more than 1,000) raised “serious concerns about editorial bias in the newspaper’s reporting on transgender, non-binary and gender nonconforming people.” Read more>>
US & Canada Soccer Players Take Stand For Gender Equality And Trans Rights: The United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) and Canada’s women’s soccer team gathered in a circle moments before kickoff of the SheBelieves Game to show solidarity with the Canadians in their equal pay dispute. Canada’s players wore purple T-shirts that read “Enough is enough”. The white tape on their other wrist with “Defend Trans Joy” written on it was to support trans rights. Read more>>
Thousands Join Berlin Rally Calling For Ukraine Peace Talks: Thousands of people have protested in Berlin to condemn Germany’s supply of arms to Ukraine and call for peace talks to end the war. Read more>>
Anti-War Groups Protest Against Munich Security Conference: The mobilization saw the participation of tens of thousands of people who condemned the conference and called for peace. Anti-fascist groups also denounced the far-right groups who also organized protests. The conference has been widely criticized for not supporting a negotiated settlement to end the war in Ukraine and instead encourages further military escalation. Read more>>
Syria Suffered An Earthquake. Israel Is Still Bombing Them. Thousands of Syrians took to the streets on Monday, February 20, to protest against repeated Israeli aggression directed at the country. Protesters also chanted slogans against the unilateral coercive measures (sanctions) imposed against Syria by the US and its allies, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported. Read more>>
Protesters Demand NATO’s Dissolution At Rage Against War Machine Rally: Thousands protest the US involvement in Ukraine and demand NATO’s dissolution during the Rage Against War Machine rally in Washington D.C. Read more>>
Anti-War Protesters Crash Biden’s Dinner Out In Washington, DC: ‘I hate to bother you but people are dying’. Code Pink, a left wing activist group focused on ending foreign wars, confronted President Biden at a restaurant in Washington, D.C., over his handling of the Russia-Ukraine war. The protesters called on Biden to seek peace and an end to the war rather than escalation before being asked to leave by the establishment’s staff. Politicians on both sides of the political aisle have grown increasingly wary of continued military support for Ukraine. Read more>>
Parasol Patrol Protects Drag Queen Story Hour From Hate: A children’s story hour presented by drag queen Giganta Smalls it drew a number of demonstrators, most in support of the event but also some opposed. People there to support the reading held rainbow-colored umbrellas and flags, including those associated with the national Parasol Patrol, a nonprofit national organization that has been staging non-confrontational rallies at similar drag queen story hours, and other events that support the LGBTQ community, across the country. Read more>>
10 New Albums That Aim To Change The World In 2023: Do you think there’s no good protest music these days? So did I, until I started looking for it. Here’s the round-up for January 2023. Read more>>
Organizers are Fighting Ron DeSantis’s Educational Bans with Free Books: Florida’s Dream Defenders are working with the local DSA, book publishers, authors, and more to bring books to young people. Read more>>
How To Build A Better Bike-Share Program: Corporate owners ditched New Orleans’s bike share program. The community stepped up to rebuild it with a focus on equity. Read more>>
How Social Networks Facilitate Protest Against and Amid Criminal Violence: Involvement in social networks helps explain why individuals—both victims and non-victims of criminal violence—decide to protest the insecurity they face, despite the risks from both criminal groups and state security forces. For victims, social networks transform their fear and anger into “collective moral indignation” motivating their protest. Read more>>
Black Athletes Who Used Protest For Racial Justice: From Colin Kaepernick to Muhammad Ali, Black athletes have a long history of standing up for racial justice on the field – and off it. Read more>>
Building The World We Yearn For, Here And Now: Cecosesola in Venezuela is a cooperative of more than 50 community organizations that brings together more than 23,000 members to provide city-wide agricultural production, small-scale agro-industrial production, funeral services, transportation, health services, financial services, mutual aid funds, distribution of foods and household items. Read more>>
Rebecca Solnit: Hope Amidst The Climate Crisis: From throwing soup against paintings, to blocking roads, to striking for the climate, to stopping private jets from taking off, activists worldwide are pushing harder than ever for action to address global warming. And they are delivering a clear and consistent message: What has long been accepted as the status quo — expanding fossil fuels, investing in polluting industries, oil and gas propaganda, greenwashing, climate change denial, governmental delay in climate action — is simply not acceptable anymore. The climate movement is working incessantly to make this clear to everyone. Read more>>
Stop War & Violence In Southern Ethiopia: World BEYOND War is working with the Oromo Legacy Leadership and Advocacy Association to address the crisis in Southern Ethiopia. They need your help. Learn more>>
Stop Cop City Mobilization in Atlanta: In response to the murder of Tortuguita, and the approval of Cop City’s final permit, frontline organizers are calling for a large scale mobilization in Atlanta from March 4-11. Everyone is needed in Atlanta to stop Cop City, defend the Weelaunee Forest, and honor the life of Tortuguita. Please make your plans now, and share this invitation with your networks, organization, friends, and family. (March 4-11) Learn more>>
Nonviolence Film Festival: This year’s virtual film festival from March 11-25 explores the power of nonviolent action. A unique mix of films explores this theme, from Gandhi’s Salt March, to ending war in Liberia, to civil discourse and healing in Montana. Each week, we’ll host a live Zoom discussion with key representatives from the films and special guests to answer your questions and explore the topics addressed in the films. Learn more & get tickets! (March 11-25) Learn more>>
Labor Spring: Nationwide Worker Justice Teach-Ins, Events, and Actions: Join Georgetown University Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor for a series of teach-ins and events centered around ongoing current campaigns, pivotal historical moments for workers, racial and gender equity in the worker justice movement, and the crucial importance of this moment in labor’s history. (March 20 – April 21) Read more>>
Prison Hunger Strikes – How Prisoners Weaponize their Lives to Win Dignity – How do prison hunger strikers achieve demands? How do they stay connected with the outside world in a space that is designed to cut them off from that world? And why would a prisoner put their lives at risk by refusing to eat or, at times, drink? (April 11) Read more>>
Palestine Action Declares A Seige On Leicester’s Israeli Arms Factory: Starting on May 1st, Palestine Action will lay “siege” to Leicester’s Israeli arms factory, UAV Tactical Systems. Learn more>>
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