When N.L. Dennis was singing in a recording studio with Toots and the Maytals, Bob Marley stopped by to listen. Marley praised Dennis's delivery. Today, Dennis lives in his native Jamaica and joins hundreds of Jamaicans who come to Vermont every summer in search of better paying work. Most of them work on vegetable farms and at apple orchards. Dennis works as a reggae musician.

On June 11, in Springfield, Massachusetts about 50 childcare workers won their strike. The strike lasted eight days. When they voted to ratify the contract, the workers won about 20 percent higher pay over the course of the new, three-year deal. The workers have a web page at:

www.facebook.com/UAW2322

Unions are good for democracy because they reduce inequality. Billionaires buy politicians. On June 12, Elon Musk became the first trillionaire.

No nation keeps such a high percentage of its people in prison as the USA. Europe's rate is a fraction of ours. On May 31 the Valley Post emailed a state senator from Northampton and one from Brattleboro to ask their reactions to the following quote:

Seventy-thousand Lyft and Uber drivers in Massachusetts formed a union on May 25. “I'm thrilled,” Peter Cianciolo told the Valley Post in a voice phone interview on May 28. He lives in Springfield, Massachusetts and has been a Lyft driver since 2017. Cianciolo grew up in Connecticut and moved to Springfield, Massachusetts in 2012. “I'm very excited. It's an incredible feeling to be part of history.”

A bus will leave from Deerfield, Massachusetts, near Greenfield, to go to an ICE protest in Burlington, Vermont. The bus will leave on May 27 at 8:30 a.m. It will arrive back in Deerfield by 3:30 p.m. Tickets cost $46 round-trip and are available via https://fccpr.us.

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In Northampton, eight peace protesters were arrested on April 29 for non-violent civil disobedience. They blocked the entrance to the L3Harris military supply factory. The protesters have a web page at:

www.instagram.com/DemilitarizeWesternMass

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In Brattleboro on April 24, two people were arrested for non-violent civil disobedience. The Valley Post was there. The protesters blocked the entrance to Citizen's Bank, which is “helping for-profit prison companies get the cash they need to lock more people away in ICE detention.” That quote is from:

In Holyoke on May 1 there will be a march to demand that politicians tax the rich and help the poor. Other goals include abolishing ICE and war. The march is being organized by the Western Mass Area Labor Federation and other groups. It will start at 4:30 p.m. at the corner of Dwight and Heritage streets.

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The town of Jamaica, Vermont is in the same county as Brattleboro. On April 19 in Jamaica, an on-duty state police officer severely injured Reika Fisher, age 18, and Kaori Shiya age 50.

The nurses at the hospital in Greenfield on April 14 voted to authorize a strike. “We are united in standing up for our patients and our community,” said Suzanne Love. She is a nurse at the hospital. “Nurses are committed to securing a contract that ensures patient safety and keeps care local.”

The nurses have a web site at www.MassNurses.org.

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On March 16 in the Pioneer Valley town of Westhampton, about 200 students walked out of the public high school to protest proposed budget cuts. Two of the organizers were students Lucy McVey and Augustus Niswonger. On March 17, they emailed the Valley Post, “We planned to make the walkout both a call to action and a way to spread more facts and information to students.

On March 10, about 200 people marched eight miles from Amherst to Northampton. They were calling for human rights for people in Tibet. Amnesty International last year criticized China for interfering in Tibetan religious practices as the Dalai Lama announced his succession plan. The group said last year that, as of 2024, “school closures by the Chinese government threatened Tibetan culture and language.” That quote is from:

www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/report-asia-and-the-pac...

The Pioneer Valley march organizers have a web page at:

www.facebook.com/RTAM2019