1998.04.30: Union Bulletin: Solidarity with UAW Strikers in LI

From: MLetwin@HQWEST.WEST [mailto:MLetwin@HQWEST.WEST]
Sent: Thursday, April 30, 1998 11:38 AM
Subject: Union Bulletin: Solidarity with UAW Strikers in LI

UAW Local 259 auto repair technicians have been on strike in Smithtown (Long Island) for nearly 10 months in defense of their pensions, wage guarantees and skilled work.

The strikers have called a solidarity picket for Saturday, May 2, 10:30-4:00, at King-O’Rourke Cadillac, 756 Smithtown Bypass, Smithtown.

UAW members, friends and families may ride free, round-trip, on the “Strikebound Express” leaving from 113 University Place, Manhattan (at 13 Street) at 9:30 A.M.  Space is limited — call 212-529-2580 to reserve a seat.
By Car: LIE to Exit 56, Rte. 111 north (Wheeler Rd) to Rte. 347, right 2.5 miles to picket line on your left.
Information: 212-529-2580.

1998.04.30: Union Bulletin: Solidarity with UAW Strikers in LI

From: Michael Letwin
Sent: Thursday, April 30, 1998 11:38 AM
To: LAS All
Subject: Union Bulletin: Solidarity with UAW Strikers in LI

UAW Local 259 auto repair technicians have been on strike in Smithtown (Long Island) for nearly 10 months in defense of their pensions, wage guarantees and skilled work.

The strikers have called a solidarity picket for Saturday, May 2, 10:30-4:00, at King-O’Rourke Cadillac, 756 Smithtown Bypass, Smithtown.

UAW members, friends and families may ride free, round-trip, on the “Strikebound Express” leaving from 113 University Place, Manhattan (at 13 Street) at 9:30 A.M.  Space is limited — call 212-529-2580 to reserve a seat.

By Car: LIE to Exit 56, Rte. 111 north (Wheeler Rd) to Rte. 347, right 2.5 miles to picket line on your left.

Information: 212-529-2580.

1998.04.28: Union Bulletin

From: MLetwin@HQWEST.WEST [mailto:MLetwin@HQWEST.WEST]
Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 1998 2:35 PM
Subject: Union Bulletin
Importance: High

——————————————————————————————————–
Contents
**Reminder April 29:  Protest Police Brutalization of 1199 Organizer
**New:  Friday May 1 Labor Rally
**New:  Rwanda Volunteers Needed
——————————————————————————————————–

Reminder April 29:
Protest Police Brutalization of 1199 Organizer
1199 citywide has called a rally and march to protest the March 25 brutalization of Union organizer Omar Garcia.
Garcia was illegally barred from entering Mary Immaculate Hospital of Catholic Medical Center to conduct a union election for physician assistants.  He was then assaulted by six white NYPD officers, at whose hands he was seriously injured.
The protest will take place on Weds., April 29, 3:30 – 6:30 P.M. at Mary Immaculate Hospital (Jamaica, Queens) (151 St between Hillside & Jamaica Avenue).
Legal observers needed; ALAA banner available.

Friday May 1: Important Labor Rally
ALAA and 1199 LAS Chapter are mobilizing to an important cross-Union demonstration demanding:
*Union Wage Jobs
*Organize the Unorganized/No Sweatshops
*Stop Privitization
*Rebuild the Crumbling City Infrastructure
*Save Public Education, Social Security and Health Care and
*Save CUNY Open Admissions
There will be a 3 P.M. picket line at the WEP office, 109 E. 16 St.  The Rally begins 4 P.M. at Union Square South, E. 14 St. at Broadway.
LAS staff will meet at the rally under our Union signs and banners.  A LAS Union delegation  will also gather at 5 P.M. in the lobby of 90 Church Street.
Information: Lucy Herschel, 1199 delegate, Prisoners Rights Project, 212-577-3948.

Rwanda Volunteers Needed
Last fall, LEGAL AID RWANDA (LAR), a not-for-profit organization based in New York, sent out a memorandum asking for volunteer lawyers to go to Rwanda to provide pretrial legal representation to persons accused of various crimes committed during the 1994 genocide of the Tutsi minority.  Your response was extraordinary; 100 lawyers applied for 10 volunteer positions.
The pilot project was a success and the program will continue.  In addition to providing legal representation to criminal defendants, LAR volunteers will now also provide free legal advice to victims of the genocide seeking compensation from the international fund announced by President Clinton last month.
LAR is now looking for volunteer lawyers willing to go to Rwanda for a minimum of four weeks between July 15, 1998 and January 15, 1998.  It will provide air fare, room and board in modest, but comfortable, accommodations.  Anyone wishing to volunteer should either e-mail a resume, with a cover letter setting forth timing availability and countries visited, to LAR’s Rwanda office at Natalierea@compuserve.com or mail their resume, on the east coast, to Susan Kriete, Esq., 176 Fifth Avenue, Apt. #3R, Brooklyn, New York, 11217 and on the west coast, to Lynn Grano, Esq., Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, 444 Market Street, Suite 2700, San Francisco, CA 94111.
For further information, please feel free to call me in Rwanda or Mark Drumbl at Columbia University School of Law at 212-854-8334.
Natalie Rea, Executive Director, Kigali Rwanda, Tel: (250) 74442, e-mail: Natalierea@compuserve.com.

1998.04.28: Union Bulletin

From: Michael Letwin
Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 1998 2:35 PM
To: LAS All
Subject: Union Bulletin
Importance: High

———————————————————————————————

Contents

**Reminder April 29:  Protest Police Brutalization of 1199 Organizer

**New:  Friday May 1 Labor Rally

**New:  Rwanda Volunteers Needed

———————————————————————————————

Reminder April 29:

Protest Police Brutalization of 1199 Organizer

1199 citywide has called a rally and march to protest the March 25 brutalization of Union organizer Omar Garcia.

Garcia was illegally barred from entering Mary Immaculate Hospital of Catholic Medical Center to conduct a union election for physician assistants.  He was then assaulted by six white NYPD officers, at whose hands he was seriously injured.

The protest will take place on Weds., April 29, 3:30 – 6:30 P.M. at Mary Immaculate Hospital (Jamaica, Queens) (151 St between Hillside & Jamaica Avenue).

Legal observers needed; ALAA banner available.

Friday May 1: Important Labor Rally

ALAA and 1199 LAS Chapter are mobilizing to an important cross-Union demonstration demanding:

*Union Wage Jobs

*Organize the Unorganized/No Sweatshops

*Stop Privitization

*Rebuild the Crumbling City Infrastructure

*Save Public Education, Social Security and Health Care and

*Save CUNY Open Admissions

There will be a 3 P.M. picket line at the WEP office, 109 E. 16 St.  The Rally begins 4 P.M. at Union Square South, E. 14 St. at Broadway.

LAS staff will meet at the rally under our Union signs and banners.  A LAS Union delegation  will also gather at 5 P.M. in the lobby of 90 Church Street.

Information: Lucy Herschel, 1199 delegate, Prisoners Rights Project, 212-577-3948.

Rwanda Volunteers Needed

Last fall, LEGAL AID RWANDA (LAR), a not-for-profit organization based in New York, sent out a memorandum asking for volunteer lawyers to go to Rwanda to provide pretrial legal representation to persons accused of various crimes committed during the 1994 genocide of the Tutsi minority.  Your response was extraordinary; 100 lawyers applied for 10 volunteer positions.

The pilot project was a success and the program will continue.  In addition to providing legal representation to criminal defendants, LAR volunteers will now also provide free legal advice to victims of the genocide seeking compensation from the international fund announced by President Clinton last month.

LAR is now looking for volunteer lawyers willing to go to Rwanda for a minimum of four weeks between July 15, 1998 and January 15, 1998.  It will provide air fare, room and board in modest, but comfortable, accommodations.  Anyone wishing to volunteer should either e-mail a resume, with a cover letter setting forth timing availability and countries visited, to LAR’s Rwanda office at Natalierea@compuserve.com or mail their resume, on the east coast, to Susan Kriete, Esq., 176 Fifth Avenue, Apt. #3R, Brooklyn, New York, 11217 and on the west coast, to Lynn Grano, Esq., Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, 444 Market Street, Suite 2700, San Francisco, CA 94111.

For further information, please feel free to call me in Rwanda or Mark Drumbl at Columbia University School of Law at 212-854-8334.

Natalie Rea, Executive Director, Kigali Rwanda, Tel: (250) 74442, e-mail: Natalierea@compuserve.com.

1998.04.13: Restoration of Legal Aid Funds

From: Michael Letwin
Sent: Monday, April 13, 1998 5:12 PM
To: LAS All
Subject: Restoration of Legal Aid Funds

City Council Training.  There will be an important training session on the current effort to convince the City Council to restore LAS funds.

For your convenience, the training will be presented in two identical sessions on Thursday, April 16, 9:30-11:30  A.M. and  5:30-7:30 P.M. in the 14th floor conference room at 90 Church Street.

It is essential that an 1199 and ALAA representative (or their substitutes) from each office attend this training.

Please RSVP.

Collect Forms.  Please be sure to collect and return the volunteer forms ASAP.

1998.04.13: Restoration of Legal Aid Funds

From: MLetwin@HQWEST.WEST [mailto:MLetwin@HQWEST.WEST]
Sent: Monday, April 13, 1998 5:12 PM
Subject: Restoration of Legal Aid Funds

City Council Training.  There will be an important training session on the current effort to convince the City Council to restore LAS funds.

For your convenience, the training will be presented in two identical sessions on Thursday, April 16, 9:30-11:30  A.M. and  5:30-7:30 P.M. in the 14th floor conference room at 90 Church Street.

It is essential that an 1199 and ALAA representative (or their substitutes) from each office attend this training.
Please RSVP.

Collect Forms.  Please be sure to collect and return the volunteer forms ASAP.

1998.04.08: Attn: All Union Staff

From: LHerschel@HQWEST.WEST [mailto:LHerschel@HQWEST.WEST]
Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 1998 11:12 AM
To: Everyone At The Legal Aid Society@HQWEST.WEST
Subject : Attn: AllUnion Staff

To all those interested in defending their jobs:
The clock is ticking on the city budget.   The city is continuing it’s attempt to squeeze more  work out of all of us for less money.  We need to organize now to defend our jobs.

The Joint Union Committee to Defend Legal Aid invites everyone and anyone to attend a meeting tomorrow night (Thursday, April 9) at 6:00 p.m. at 90 Church St. in the 15th floor conference room.

Out of this meeting, we plan to launch and inter-office campaign to stop the cuts.  We desperately  need representation from all the offices in all the boroughs.

For those unable to attend this week :
The Committee will be holding regular weekly meetings after this (probably on Thursday evenings).  We will announce a definite date for next week’s meeting as soon as possible.

Also, an e-mail with more instruction relating to the City Counsel lobbying campaign will be sent out in the next day or so.  This e-mail will have a form for signing up for the lobbying.  We will be getting release time for some briefing sessions for those going out to lobby their City Counsel representatives as well as for the visits themselves.

Even if The Legal Aid Society manages to avoid lay-offs, budget cuts mean continued and deepening under-staffing, which means more work for all of us and smaller prospects for future raises.  We must band together to fight these attacks.

For further information, please call Gabriel Munson @ 212 -577 -3679 or Lucy Herschel @ 212-577-3948.

In Solidarity,
The Committee to Defend Legal Aid

1998.04.08: Attn: All Union Staff

From: Lucy Herschel
Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 1998 11:12 AM
To: Everyone At The Legal Aid Society@HQWEST.WEST
Subject: Attn: All Union Staff

To all those interested in defending their jobs:

The clock is ticking on the city budget.   The city is continuing it’s attempt to squeeze more  work out of all of us for less money.  We need to organize now to defend our jobs.

The Joint Union Committee to Defend Legal Aid invites everyone and anyone to attend a meeting tomorrow night (Thursday, April 9) at 6:00 p.m. at 90 Church St. in the 15th floor conference room.

Out of this meeting, we plan to launch and inter-office campaign to stop the cuts.  We desperately  need representation from all the offices in all the boroughs.

For those unable to attend this week :

The Committee will be holding regular weekly meetings after this (probably on Thursday evenings).  We will announce a definite date for next week’s meeting as soon as possible.

Also, an e-mail with more instruction relating to the City Counsel lobbying campaign will be sent out in the next day or so.  This e-mail will have a form for signing up for the lobbying.  We will be getting release time for some briefing sessions for those going out to lobby their City Counsel representatives as well as for the visits themselves.

Even if The Legal Aid Society manages to avoid lay-offs, budget cuts mean continued and deepening under-staffing, which means more work for all of us and smaller prospects for future raises.  We must band together to fight these attacks.

For further information, please call Gabriel Munson @ 212 -577 -3679 or Lucy Herschel @ 212-577-3948.

In Solidarity,

The Committee to Defend Legal Aid

1998.04.02: Daily Union News Rally and Concert to Celebrate the Life of Dr. King

From: MLetwin@HQWEST.WEST [mailto:MLetwin@HQWEST.WEST]
Sent: Thursday, April 02, 1998 11:41 AM
Subject: Daily Union News Rally and Concert to Celebrate the Life of Dr. King

Thirty years ago, on April 4, 1968, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated while visiting Memphis to support striking sanitation workers. On Saturday, April 4 1998, thousands of New Yorkers will reaffirm their commitment to an end to poverty, an end to racism and all forms of discrimination; enforcement of civil rights–especially voting rights–for all citizens; and expansion of the rights of working people to organize and bargain collectively.

Rally at 11 A.M., Central Park (Columbus Circle entrance, 59/Broadway), followed by march to Times Square. Information: 212-631-4643. To carry ALAA banner, call 212-343-0708.

Rally Against Economic Racism
The Campaign for Economic Justice at NYU demands creation of a community hiring hall for black, Asian, Latino and women construction workers currently excluded from NYU construction projects. Sunday, April 19, 1-3 P.M. (NYU Founder’s Day), Outside Coles Sports Center, 181 Mercer St. (Bleeker/W. Houston). Information: 212-346-7971, 718-633-9757. To carry ALAA banner, call 212-343-0708. Job Notice The Osborne Association/Osborne Treatment Services Inc. seeks a Client Advocate to provide legal advocacy related to the civil legal needs of individuals living with HIV and AIDS who are involved in the criminal justice system (HIV+ defendants, probationers, parolees, prisoners, their families and care partners); he/she will develop a model or models for offering civil legal services to the criminal justice involved HIV+ clients, and provide training and technical assistance to HIV service providers, criminal defense attorneys, Osborne clients to increase available information about the legal needs of persons living with HIV and AIDS. Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 1. Interview HIV/AIDS clients to determine their need for legal advice, information and advocacy. 2. Conduct home and site visits in the community to develop background information (medical records, etc) and additional date for evaluation of clients. 3. Conduct outreach and training of court and criminal justice agency staff regarding the availability of complementary civil legal services for HIV+ criminal defendants. 4. Design intake schedules for different sites, and conduct searches of computer data bases and develop current legal status of issues facing individuals living with HIV and AIDS. 5. Conduct a comprehensive “legal assessment” or intake interview with clients. 6. Develop a Legal Advocacy Plan for clients and represent them in accordance with contractual goals, objectives and service units. 7. Represent 25-30 clients at any one time to provide legal services. 8. Conduct monthly class at Bronx site on legal rights of people living with HIV/AIDS. 9. Supervise legal staff (Law Clerk, Law Student Intern, Paralegal) in all activities on behalf of clients. 10. Counsel clients individually, in family or small groups regarding plans for meeting their needs, including benefits/entitlements, immigration, housing and other discrimination, wills, and other estate planning documents. 11. Identify persons to serve as power-of attorney to manage disabled clients financial affairs. 12. Perform other duties as may be requested. Qualifications: Gradation from accredited law school and license to practice in NYS; civil legal experience and specific experience in one of the following: immigration, benefits/entitlements, or landlord-tenant relations; knowledge of HIV/AIDS helpful; strong writing skills required; bilingual Spanish helpful. Contact: Winston Jerrick, Director of Human Resources, 212-673-6633, x. 320.

1998.04.01: Police Brutality Rally and National Day in Defense of Affirmative Action

From: MLetwin@HQWEST.WEST [mailto:MLetwin@HQWEST.WEST]
Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 1998 1:28 PM
Subject: Police Brutality Rally and National Day in Defense of Affirmative Action

Police Brutality Rally.  Not withstanding a press blackout, hundreds of people attended yesterday’s rally against police abuse, including 8-10 1199 and ALAA members who served as legal observers.  Speakers included numerous parents and other family members of people of color killed by the NYPD.

National Day in Defense of Affirmative Action.  Today, is National Day in Defense of Affirmative Action, which involves students at over 50 campuses in over 20 states.  In NYC, students, faculty, staff and community leaders will rally at NYU, W. 4th and LaGuardia Place (in front of Loeb Student Center), 2 P.M.  Professor Derrick Belll will give the opening remarks.