A delegation from Baltimore are participating in the Farmworkers Freedom March, here is some videos from the march, soon, we also will have interviews with the participants, from Baltimore and other states and countries.
Today a delegation of United Workers leaders, who in December traveled from Baltimore to Immokalee, Florida on the Fair Food Solidarity Tour, are returning to Florida. Because tomorrow, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) will begin the Farmworker Freedom March, a trek from Tampa to Lakeland, home of Publix grocery store. Thousands of farmworkers and consumers will participate in this three day march to demand- freedom from forced labor, poverty and abuse.
After seventeen years of fighting for dignity and respect in the fields of Florida and significant victories from McDonald’s to Whole Foods, the CIW is one step closer to their vision of transforming the agricultural industry into an industry based on the respect for human rights, not the exploitation of human beings. Along the Fair Food Solidarity Tour, we were able to share our stories of exploitation and struggle from the fields to the tourist centers. We could see how the hand that picked the tomato was connected to the hand that placed that tomato on a burger. But we were not simply connected by our exploitation, but by our vision of a world that respects the human rights of everyone, everywhere. So, we are honored and compelled to take part in this historic moment in the Campaign for Fair Food.
PUBLIX ESCUCHA! ESTAMOS EN LA LUCHA!
To learn more about the Farmworker Freedom March and how you can stand in solidarity with farmworkers, visit their website at http://www.ciw-online.org/
Join us at our studio space for the final prop-making and rehearsals!
STUDIO SCHEDULE
3500 Parkdale Ave. Bldg. 10
Thursday, April 8 at 7:30 PM— “Earth” rehearsal and prop-making
Saturday, April 10 from 11 AM- 5 PM— “Education” and “Work” rehearsal and prop-making
Sunday, April 11 from 1 PM- 5 PM— “Final Act” rehearsal and prop-making
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Thursday, April 15 at 7:30 PM— “Earth” rehearsal and prop-making
Saturday, April 17 from 11 AM- 5 PM— “Education” and “Work” rehearsal and prop-making
Sunday, April 18 from 1 PM- 5 PM— “Final Act” rehearsal and prop-making
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Wednesday, April 21 at 7:30 PM— “Earth” rehearsal with band
Saturday, April 24 from 11 AM- 5 PM— “Education” and “Work” rehearsal and prop-making
Sunday, April 25 from 1 PM- 5 PM— “Final Act” rehearsal and prop-making
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Wednesday, April 28 from 4:30 PM- 5:30 PM— “Education” rehearsal and prop-making
Thursday, April 29 at 7:30 PM— “Earth” rehearsal
Saturday, May 1—SHOWTIME!!!
For more exciting videos from the Artful Activism Summit, check out our you tube page http://www.youtube.com/user/UnitedWorkers
Summer Organizers Program
Applications are due April 14
United Workers is a human rights organization led by the poor to end poverty. After successfully securing living wages for stadium cleaners at Camden Yards we extended and expanded our human rights organizing to the Inner Harbor, Baltimore’s premier tourist destination. In 2008 we declared the Inner Harbor a Human Rights Zone demanding that all businesses (restaurant and retail) comply with economic human rights standards. Most recently workers decided to take demands to the top of the profit chain– the developers, Cordish and GGP. We are rolling out this next phase of the campaign in the spring of 2010 with the release of our Campaign for Fair Development Report and “Our Harbor Day” where hundreds of workers and allies retell the history of social justice struggles in Maryland.
This coming summer we will be ramping up the pressure on the developers to enter into a legally binding economic human rights agreement. We will be conducting a massive recruitment drive at all Inner Harbor employers (Cheesecake Factory, ESPN Zone, Chipotle) and organizing consumer actions.
Summer Organizers Program
Summer is the peak season at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. It is when the tourists come and when there is the most work. In our campaign cycle, this is when we conduct the majority of our workplace outreach to identify potential leaders at the Inner Harbor. The Summer Organizers Program is designed to expand our capacity during a 3-month period (June-August), by hiring four full-time Summer Organizers. Three of the Summer Organizers will focus on work-place outreach and home visits. One Summer Organizer will focus on organizing solidarity actions at the Inner Harbor and doing advance work for mini-tours in the Fall. All Summer Organizers will participate in Inner Harbor Actions and weekly workshops. This program is an opportunity to learn more about the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Organizing Model and the United Workers leadership development processes and develop skills in worker and community organizing.
The Summer Organizers Program is open to anyone who is committed to economic and social justice. It is full-time at $15.30/hr from June 1-August 31.
All applicants must either have a valid driver’s license or speak Spanish. Priority is given to those who are bilingual (Spanish/English), have good interpersonal skills, and have basic computer skills (word, excel, email).
For more information contact info@unitedworkers.org or by calling our office at 410-230-1998. Applications must be emailed to info@unitedworkers.org or mailed and in our P.O. Box 41547, Baltimore, MD 21203 by the deadline.
DOWNLOAD APPLICATION HERE:
summerorganizersprogram-word
Our Harbor Day
Participation Play Program
Saturday, May 1, 2010
“Curtain Call”—11 AM at 2640 St. Paul St.
ACT I
The “Cast”—United Workers, allies, and YOU— will gather at 2640 for brunch and indoor programming to warm us up for our grand community-wide participation. You’ll get information on the day and learn which play you will be participating in: Earth, Work, or Education. We’ll rehearse in our groups and then get into buses to head to the staging locations.
ACT II
Once Earth, Work, and Education have arrived at their staging locations in different Baltimore neighborhoods, we will perform the plays and then march in a festive parade through the city and reunite at City Hall.
Final Act
The final act will begin at City Hall, with the telling of the story of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad to freedom from poverty. Emboldened by Tubman’s leadership, we will march side by side with her to the Inner Harbor to demand Fair Development!
The End…
6 PM—Buses will shuttle us all back to 2640.
Confirm your participation or get more information on Our Harbor Day by calling 410-230-1998 or by emailing info@unitedworkers.org.
Download flier here: ourharbor-programflier
Baltimore’s Artful Activism Summit marked both the kick-off of the puppet and prop-making for our participation play on Our Harbor Day and the first of hopefully many summits that the Backbone Campaign will be facilitating in communities across the country. Thanks to the Nathan Cummings Foundation, Bill Moyer, Steffon Moody and Chris Lutter from the Backbone Campaign were able to fly to Baltimore and spend four days with the United Workers and allies to develop the imagery, the storyboards, props, puppets, and music for all four plays.
Over the course of the four days, we transformed a drab warehouse space into a bustling puppet factory. The “education” play churned out dozens of graduation caps and gowns, along with a beautiful school backdrop created by Steffon. The “earth” play rehearsed their magical harbor fairy tale with their very own orchestra, the Barage Band. The “work” play worked out the details on how to simply retell the Baltimore’s harbor labor history from industrialization to the rise of the service sector economy through the wonderful use of canta historia. And last but not least, the star of the final act, Harriet Tubman, is beginning to be resurrected in the form of a beautifully rendered puppet.
On Saturday night, after a long day of prop-making, we held an Artist Show & Tell, so we could learn more about the incredible talented people involved in Our Harbor Day. Janelle Treibitz shared work from an amazing DC based puppetista collective that she works with called the Puppet Underground. Valeska Populoh showed images of her work ranging from humorous interventions in public space to imaginative drawings and collages. We learned more about the individual artistic talents of Chris and Steffon. We heard spoken word, songs, and music from Ryan Harvey, Anna Simmons, Eli Cohen, and Katie Lautar. The night was completed with the newly formed Michael Coleman and Shannon Gillette drumming duo.
But we did not simply build puppets, we built community power through sharing stories, lessons, skills, and experiences. We have reinspired ourselves to tell the people’s history of human rights struggles. With only a month away and still much to do, we are emboldened by Tubman’s story to keep going.
To learn more about the Backbone Campaign, visit http://backbonecampaign.org/
The Backbone Campaign is a coalition of artists and activists providing creative tools to communities fighting for economic and social justice. They are joining the United Workers and allies at the Artful Activism Summit to take part in developing the imagery, props, puppets, and music for Our Harbor Day, May 1, a community-wide participation celebrating struggles for earth, work, education, and fair development at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Join us for an intensive four day kick-off to the puppet and prop-making for Our Harbor Day!
When: Thursday, March 25-Sunday, March 28
Where: 3500 Parkdale Ave., Bldg. 10, Baltimore, MD
—ARTFUL ACTIVISM SUMMIT SCHEDULE—
Thursday, March 25
10 AM-1 PM— Final Act planning and work session
2 PM- 5 PM— “Work” play planning and work session
6:30 PM— Studio Grand Opening and Welcome Dinner
Backbone case study presentation- an overview of strategic principles and the benefits of infusing tactics with creative elements.
Friday, March 26
9 AM-12:30 PM— “Education” play planning and work session
1:30 PM- 5 PM— “Earth” play planning and work session
6:30 PM— Drumming for Demonstrations
Saturday, March 27
10 AM- 6 PM— Open Build Day
Participate in the prop-making for the “Work” play and “Education” play
6:30 PM— Artist Show & Tell
Share your work and learn about the work of the diverse artists involved in Our Harbor Day
Sunday, March 28
9 AM- 3 PM— Open Build Day
Participate in the prop-making for the Final Act and “Earth” play
Download the flier here: ArtfulActivismSummit.pdf
For more information,
call 410-230-1998
or email info@unitedworkers.org
United Workers Theater Justice Conference Opening Address by Willie Baptist of the Poverty Initiative on Reigniting Dr. Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s Campaign and the role of Leadership in the Movement to End Poverty.
Willie Baptist is a former homeless man and father who participated in and lived through the Watts uprisings, the Black Student Movement of the Los Angeles riots in 1965. With 40 years of experience as an organizer, Baptist currently serves as scholar-in-residence and coordinator of the Poverty Scholars Program at the Poverty Initiative.
