November 26, 2023
May 11, 2021
Endorsement of the Philippine Human Rights Act (PHRA)[ALAA Delegate Council Resolution]
Justice in Motion Union | Joint Council Proposal
May 11, 2021
As union delegates from Justice in Motion, our mission is driven by international solidarity
because we know that the movement towards a fairer world does not stop at the borders of the
country we live in. To that end, we make the following motion:
WHEREAS, The Philippine Human Rights Act (PHRA) proposes that the US government cut
funding to the Philippine government, which uses state terror to target activists, union leaders,
and lawyers doing the same kind of work that members of ALAA do and;
WHEREAS, under President Rodrigo Duterte, who has been in power since 2016, more lawyers
have been assassinated than in the previous 44 years combined in an attempt to stifle the
progressive movement, and;
WHEREAS, Since 2016, the US has provided $550 million in military aid to the Duterte regime,
funded by American taxpayers. It is urgent that this funding cease so that we do not continue to
fund state-sponsored terrorism with our money, and so that the US government can move
forward away from its imperial legacy in the region by refusing to collaborate with despotic
leaders, and;
WHEREAS, there are far more pressing causes domestically that this amount of money could
fund: causes that would uplift communities rather than terrorize them, and;
WHEREAS, as lawyers and advocates, we know how crucial our work is in confronting deeply
unequal and oppressive systems. Even if we are rooted in our communities, we must
acknowledge that our fight is universal and that we can only work towards a fairer world if we
show solidarity with others in the struggle, no matter where they may be and;
WHEREAS, as we just marked International Workers’ Day, we would like to take this concrete
step towards showing our solidarity with fellow workers in the Philippines as they risk their lives
fighting for our shared cause.
NOW, THEREFORE, ALAA will show solidarity with unionists and progressive lawyers in the
Philippines by:
1) Endorsing the Philippine Human Rights Act (PHRA).
2) Donating $200 to the PHRA campaign movement.
3) Becoming a member of the NY4PHRA Alliance (www.tinyurl.com/joinNY4PHRA).
4) Appointing a representative to serve as liaison with the NY4PHRA Alliance.
We additionally direct the officers of the Local Union to communicate this position to UAW
Region 9A, other UAW locals within our Region, and the UAW International and to encourage
them to become national endorsers of the PHRA along with unions such as the Communication
Workers of America and the United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers Union.
December 18, 2017
From: Letwin, Michael
Sent: Monday, December 18, 2017 12:16 PM
Subject: FYI: Tomorrow: Rally to Save the Right to Know Act
Rally to Save the Right to Know Act
Tuesday, Dec. 19 fr/ 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM
https://facebook.com/events/172598263344003/ https://facebook.com/nycdsa/events/
http://socialists.nyc http://twitter.com/nycDSA Public · Hosted by NYC Democratic Socialists of America
Ritchie Torres, in coalition with the Mayor and the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association (PBA), is now pushing a toothless version of his part of the #RightToKnowAct, which is not even remotely what was initially agreed to. He is pushing a new piece of the legislation called Intro.182D, which seeks to undo the protections we’ve fought for and undermine our neighbors’ safety in daily police encounters.
HOWEVER, the better news is that Council Member Reynoso has followed through with his half of the Right to Know Act: Intro.541C is finally up for a vote on Tuesday! We need the City Council to vote YES on Intro541C to help end unconstitutional searches by the NYPD.
The next council meeting will be Tuesday, December 19th at City Hall.
Our partners at CPR are asking everyone to show up from 11:00AM to 2:00PM on Tuesday for this final push to save the Right to Know Act, urging a NO vote on Torres’ bill and a YES vote on Reynoso’s bill.
WE NEED EVERYONE WHO IS ABLE TO SHOW UP TO SEND A STRONG MESSAGE TO CITY COUNCIL: We won’t tolerate backroom deals or bills that serve the NYPD at the expense of the public!
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About NYC Democratic Socialists of America
NYC Democratic Socialists of America
Political Organization
NYC chapter of the largest socialist organization in the country. We fight, and organize, for more democracy in more places with activism and education.
December 6, 2017
FYI: Three Palestinian lawyers seized by Israeli occupation
From: Torres, Azalia
Sent: Wednesday, December 06, 2017 11:37 AM
Subject: FYI: Three Palestinian lawyers seized by Israeli occupation
Please read carefully. This is another attack on lawyers who, like us, stand up for human rights. Let’s show our support!
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Three Palestinian lawyers seized by Israeli occupation
4 December 2017
Israeli occupation forces seized three Palestinian lawyers well-known for their involvement in defending Palestinian human rights and particularly the rights of Palestinian prisoners in armed, overnight, pre-dawn raids. The three lawyers are:
- Khaled Zabarqa, seized from his home in Lydd in Palestine ’48 and a defense lawyer for imprisoned Sheikh Raed Salah
- Iyad Misk, seized from his home in Kufr Aqab in Jerusalem and legal director of the Prisoners’ Affairs Commission
- Firas al-Sabbah, seized from his home in the city of Jerusalem and director of the al-Meethaq Foundation for Human Rights
All three of the lawyers’ homes was stormed at night by police and intelligence agents who ransacked the home before taking him. The three were taken to the Petah Tikva interrogation center.
Zabarqa is one of the most prominent lawyers defending Palestinian political detainees and prisoners in occupied Palestine ’48. Most recently, his advocacy on behalf of imprisoned Sheikh Raed Salah has highlighted the sheikh’s solitary confinement and political targeting. Zabarqa has been targeted in the past, barred from entering Jerusalem in 2015. Misk is also the former legal director for Defence for Children International – Palestine and, as current director of legal work for the Prisoners’ Affairs Commission, has a leading role in defending many Palestinian prisoners before Israeli occupation courts.
Al-Sabbah is the director of al-Meethaq Foundation, which offers public legal services to the Jerusalemite population, including dealing with Israeli occupation entities like insurance officials, the municipality, and the interior department. The foundation also works together with Physicians for Human Rights to document abuses against child prisoners and support parents in filing complaints about their children’s treatment.
The targeting of the three lawyers comes hand in hand with the ongoing attacks on Palestinian human rights defenders such as Salah Hamouri, new Palestinian lawyer and field researcher for Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association; Hasan Safadi, Arabic-language media coordinator for Addameer; Issa Amro, al-Khalil organizer against settlements; Khalida Jarrar, Palestinian parliamentarian and Addameer board member; Abdallah Abu Rahma, coordinator of Bil’in’s Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements.
“Human rights defender” is a term used to describe people who, individually or with others, act peacefully to promote or protect human rights. These three Palestinian lawyers are human rights defenders who serve as a first line of defense for Palestinian civilians under occupation targeted for arrest, detention and persecution by Israeli occupation forces.
This is also a specific and targeted attack on Palestinian legal work and Palestinian lawyers, in what appears to be an attempt to deprive Palestinian prisoners of even the barest legal representation which is in and of itself frequently barred from providing any meaningful defense in a colonial system meant merely to legitimize the ongoing detention of Palestinians. It also appears to be an attempt to intimidate and suppress Palestinian lawyers from engaging public work to defend Palestinian political prisoners and people under attack.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges international organizations, especially lawyers’ and legal organizations, to take a stand and pressure the Israeli state and international governments to take a stand against the escalating attacks on Palestinian lawyers and other human rights defenders
November 29, 2017
Coverage of Yesterday’s Brooklyn Walkout Against ICE Arrest
From: Letwin, Michael
Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2017 10:22 AM
Subject: Coverage of Yesterday’s Brooklyn Walkout Against ICE Arrest
Organized by Brooklyn CDP ALAA membership (joined by 1199SEIU members and staff from Brooklyn Defender Services), in the tradition of Eric Garner Die-In in Brooklyn (2014) and long history of ALAA collective solidarity and social justice activism.
Video and more photos
NY Post: ICE agents ‘pounced’ on immigrant in Brooklyn courthouse: attorney
Village Voice: Legal Aid Lawyers Stage Walkout After Yet Another ICE Court Arrest
WNYC: Courthouse Immigration Arrest Leads to Courthouse Protest
ALAA Statement: Brooklyn Legal Aid Attorneys Walk Out Against ICE-NY Courts Collaboration
LAS Statement: Statement on Today’s ICE Arrest in Brooklyn
Additional coverage:
May 25, 2017
FYI: Palestinian Prisoners Hunger Strike in Day 39
From: Torres, Azalia
Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2017 6:07 PM
Subject: FYI: Palestinian Prisoners Hunger Strike in Day 39
On March 15, 2017, the Legal Aid Society and Attorneys of Color of Legal Aid jointly said:“[F]or as long as The Legal Aid Society exists, we will stand in solidarity with marginalized communities in their fight for equal justice and racial equity.” Today, in the very same spirit, people around the world are standing in solidarity with 1,500 Palestinian political prisoners now in their 39th day of a hunger strike against conditions that Amnesty International calls “unlawful and cruel.”
Hunger strikes, like that held by U.S. prisoners last fall, are part of a long international tradition of resistance to injustice. But the Israeli government — which receives $3.8b/year in U.S. weapons, and closely coordinates with the NYPD and other police agencies that systematically target Black, Brown, and Native communities in this country — has branded the strikers “terrorists,” just as the South African apartheid regime once labeled Nelson Mandela.
Despite threats of force-feeding, the prisoners remain steadfast: “Our chains will be broken before we are, because it is human nature to heed the call for freedom regardless of the cost.”
With our own government funding this injustice, the prisoner strike concerns us all. Dr. Martin Luther King, while himself a political prisoner in Birmingham Alabama, put it best: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
*Legal Workers, Legal Organizations and Law Students Letter of Support for Palestinian Hunger Strikers (National Lawyers Guild, April 2017)
*An Injury to One is an Injury to All: Workers Support Palestinian Prisoners on Hunger Strike (Labor for Palestine, May 21, 2017)
In addition, there is a NYC solidarity protest for the prisoners, 5:30pm tomorrow (Friday) in Union Square. Legal observers needed.
March 7, 2017
The Black Panthers, Then & Now: Kathleen Cleaver Speaks | 3/7 6PM NYU Law VH210
From: Sampeur, Jane-Roberte
Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2017 2:40 PM
Subject: The Black Panthers, Then & Now: Kathleen Cleaver Speaks | 3/7 6PM NYU Law VH210
Happing tonight if folks are interested. Should be great.
The Black Panthers, Then & Now: Kathleen Cleaver Speaks.
https://www.facebook.com/events/2248533725372747/
The NYU Law National Lawyers Guild will host former communications secretary of the Black Panther Party & professor of law at Emory University Kathleen Cleaver on March 7th at6PM at the NYU School of Law, Vanderbilt Hall Rm. 210.
Professor Cleaver will speak on the Black Panther Party, which just marked its 50th anniversary, and the implications and lessons that can be drawn from the Party’s experience in the age of Trump.
Professor Cleaver will join Palestinian-American youth organizer Aber Kawas and Black Lives Matter organizer Kei Williams to discuss what lessons young community organizers and grassroots activists can learn from the legacy of the Panthers in the struggle against racism, mass incarceration, imperialism, and police violence today.
Professor Cleaver has not only an important and unique perspective on the power of revolutionary black resistance in America, but a necessary one. We are in a time of unprecedented state violence against black and brown people in America — from Muslim bans and threats to deport millions of people, to the return of the Dakota Access Pipeline, to the explicit calls for racial profiling in policing, to the rise of right-wing extremists within the new administration. At the same time, the United States has threatened greater aggression abroad, from threats of war with Iran and the return of the use of torture to unyielding support for the violation of Palestinian rights, all expanding policies that are intricately linked with domestic abuses.
Please join us for a monumental opportunity as revive and expand the tradition of connecting anti-racist resistance at home with the fight against state violence abroad in line with the practice of the Black Panther Party.
Co-Sponsors:
NYU NLG
NYU Black Allied Law Students Association
NYU Law & Social Change
NYU Coalition on Law & Representation
NYU South Asian Law Students Association
Arab-American Association of NY
NYU Students for Justice in Palestine
New York City Students for Justice in Palestine
NYU Women of Color Collective
(Full & Updated list of sponsors here: https://www.facebook.com/events/2248533725372747/)
March 3, 2017
Labor and Women’s Rights Movement Plan Ambitious Mass Protests to Fight Trumpism
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Labor and Women’s Rights Movement Plan Ambitious Mass Protests to Fight Trumpism
March 3, 2017
Photo Credit: Michael Wende / Shutterstock.com
Sectors of the U.S. labor movement are throwing their weight behind an International Women’s Day call for mass actions to protest the gendered violence wrought by neoliberalism, from workplace harassment to environmental destruction to the gutting of welfare systems.
Timed for Wednesday, March 8, the global day of action was “organized by and for women who have been marginalized and silenced by decades of neoliberalism directed towards working women, women of color, Native women, disabled women, immigrant women, Muslim women, lesbian, queer and trans women,” according to the International Women’s Strike, which describes itself as a grassroots movement.
The mobilizations also have the backing of the organizers of the January 21 Women’s March, the largest inaugural protest in U.S. history. While Women’s March organizers have termed March 8 “a day without women,” actions will include rallies, protests, direct actions and teach-ins, in addition to a more traditional work stoppage. Similar actions are slated to sweep nearly 30 countries, from Mexico to Bolivia to Russia.
Tithi Bhattacharya, who is active with the U.S. arm of the International Women’s Strike, is a longtime activist for Palestinian justice, a professor of South Asian History and the director of Global Studies at Purdue University. She told AlterNet, “We knew very well when we used the word ‘strike’ that women (and men) in the vast majority of workplaces will not be able to go on strike. How could they? Union density is currently at its lowest in this country. Moreover, even where unions exist, they usually carry no-strike clauses in their contracts. A vast number of people work in states where striking has been criminalized for years.”
“But despite these challenges,” Bhattacharya continued, “the involvement of labor unions and labor groups has been amazing.”
Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools just announced it will close down March 8 because it expects large numbers of employees to go on strike.
Under the banner, Women Workers Rising, major unions and workers’ organizations are calling for a demonstration at the Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., to “end workplace violence and harassment and promote pay equity, one fair living wage, paid leave and labor rights at work.” The action is being organized by One Billion Rising in coalition with at least eight union or worker organizations, including National Nurses United, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, OUR Walmart, the American Federation of Teachers, Jobs with Justice, the Domestic Workers’ Alliance and other labor and social justice groups.
“Every day, we see the Trump administration’s attack on women’s bodies and lives, especially immigrants and women of color,” Andrea Cristina Mercado, the campaign director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance, told AlterNet. “Our work, contributions, and humanity continue to be undervalued. That is why we endorsed A Day Without Women—as a way of showing opposition to the terrorizing and criminalizing of our communities.”
“While some domestic workers are participating, we did not call on members to strike, because it’s hard for many who are caring for elders or children to take a day off,” Mercado continued. “But there are so many ways to show resistance, and on March 8, we will stand together, and embody radical sisterhood.”
The day of action has earned the endorsements of union locals and workers’ organizations, including Labor for Palestine, Rutgers AAUP-AFT and UAW Local 2325 — Association of Legal Aid Attorneys. Among the endorsers is the SEIU Lavender Caucus, which describes itself as “the Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/ Transgender (L/G/B/T) Caucus of the Service Employees International Union, whose purpose is to facilitate open and respectful communication between the L/G/B/T community and the labor movement.”
Megan Moskop is a New York City teacher and an organizer with the Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE), the social justice caucus of the United Federation of Teachers. Moskop said MORE officially endorsed the March 8 day of actions “because 70 percent or more of the teaching profession in New York City is women. Sexism in our profession is rampant. We only have the most basic family medical leave. Part of the reason it is such a hard job is because it’s a job women have traditionally done.”
“When women are standing up in the international community and saying sexism is real, we want to stand alongside them,” Moskop said.
The U.S. platform for the International Women’s Strike includes calls for labor rights, a halt to gender violence, environmental justice and an “anti-racist and anti-imperialist feminism,” stating: “This means that movements such as Black Lives Matter, the struggle against police brutality and mass incarceration, the demand for open borders and for immigrant rights and for the decolonization of Palestine are for us the beating heart of this new feminist movement.”
In addition, the platform calls for “full social provisioning” and issues the demand “that the welfare system work to support our lives rather than shame us when we access such rights.”
Organizers say they draw inspiration from mass protests far beyond U.S. borders. “Following the example of Icelandic women in 1975, Polish women went on a day-long strike to halt plans for criminalizing abortion and miscarriage on Oct. 3, 2016,” the International Women’s Strike writes. “That planned legislation was immediately withdrawn by the government. Similar issues brought Korean women to protest several times that same month against introduction of higher penalties for doctors performing abortions. On Oct. 19, 2016, Argentine women responded with massive hour-long strikes and rallies to an inhuman femicide and brutal repression [by police] of the Women’s National Meeting.”
Union members told AlterNet that these kinds of mass protests are sorely needed in the United States, and that labor’s participation is often driven by the rank and file. “It’s important to see labor use its power to move protests further and go from demonstrations to strikes,” Peter Lamphere, a member of MORE-UFT and a teacher in New York City, told AlterNet. “We’ve seen that already in the immigrant community and with New York City taxi workers.”
On February 16, thousands of people across the United States walked off the job, shut down their stores and restaurants and stayed home from school to participate in an immigrant strike against the deportation policies of the Trump administration. The strike was accompanied by mass protests in cities and towns across the country, including Chicago, Raleigh, Austin and San Francisco.
Those mass protests followed a one-hour strike on January 28 by the New York Taxi Workers, in solidarity with large-scale protests against Trump’s travel ban targeting Muslims. “Drivers stand in solidarity with thousands protesting [the] inhumane and unconstitutional Muslim ban,” the 19,000-member strong union declared over social media.
“We see the Trump administration as posing an existential threat to the labor movement, so right after the election we immediately got involved in pushing UFT to take whatever action it could to challenge what Trump was doing,” Lamphere emphasized. “So we pushed for the union to endorse the Women’s March and sent buses. The women’s strike is the next step coming out of that.”
February 16, 2017
FYI: 5-8pm Today: Rally to #FreeDaniel and Stop ICE Raids
From: Letwin, Michael
Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2017 9:42 AM
Subject: FYI: 5-8pm Today: Rally to #FreeDaniel and Stop ICE Raids
https://www.facebook.com/events/1811671739072219/
Thursday, February 16 at 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM EST
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Varick Street Federal Building) 201Varick Street #5, New York, NY 10014
The Trump administration has continuously attacked immigrant communities. This past week there have been hundreds of arrests by ICE, spreading fear and panic throughout our communities all over the country. Most recently, Daniel Ramirez Medina was taken into custody despite being a DACA recipient. This Thursday at 5pm, we rally in front of the Department of Homeland Security Building to demand that ICE #FreeDaniel and stop #ICERaids operations and arrests that are targeting everyone and tearing families falling apart
When: Thursday, February 16th, 2017 at 5 PM
Where: U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Varick Street Federal Building)
201 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014
This will be a legal, peaceful and nonviolent demonstration with participation from the following organizations and allies:
Make the Road NY
United We Dream
New York Communities For Change
Center for Popular Democracy
VOCAL-NY
Alliance for Quality Education
32BJ
New York Immigration Coalition
Resist Here
CCNY Dream Team
Lehman Dream Team
Staten Island Dream Coalition
Working Families Party
NYC Anti Violence Project
Queer Detainee Empowerment Project
Labor-Religion Coalition of NYS
Communities for Police Reform
Taxi Workers Alliance
NYCLU
Cabrini Immigrant Services
Laino Justice PRLDEF
The Door
Urban Youth Collaborative
February 14, 2017
FYI: Urgent Appeal From Standing Rock
From: Letwin, Michael
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2017 12:43 PM
Subject: FYI: Urgent Appeal From Standing Rock
(Latest news bulletin: Judge rejects Standing Rock request to block Dakota Access pipeline drilling)
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Labor for Standing Rock Emergency #NoDAPL Support
FEB 14, 2017 — Labor for Standing Rock has been asked to recruit skilled volunteers to help clean up Oceti camp and move to higher ground. Please fill out the form at https://tinyurl.com/L4SR-Survey to indicate your skills and availability to help. Water is life!
Appeal from www.NoDAPLSolidarity.org: ‘We are calling all able bodied, prepared Water Protectors to the frontlines! Come to camp prepared! The conditions are hazardous and North Dakota State Legislature is passing laws that target Water Protectors! Be prepared for these conditions. Several contingents of US Veterans are on their way back to camp. Join us! We need you now! This is our last stand!’
#NoDAPL #L4SR #MniWiconi
ALAA Roots -- An Unofficial Site 