WNPJ Action Alert - Hold Palermo's accountable and more

Submitted by staff on Mon, 10/15/2012 - 1:51pm
Action Alert 1: Hold Palermo's accountable and stand with workers
Action Alert 2: Send a message from Dane County: Bring Our War $$ Home!
Action Alert 3: Allow WI prisoners to study and perform Shakespeare
Action Alert 4: Say no to mining in the Penokees
Action Alert 1: Hold Palermo's accountable and stand with workers
Background: Palermo's Pizza workers went on strike in June to demand safe working conditions, the recognition of their union and the reinstatement of workers fired for organizing.  Palermo's has received $26 million in tax credits, subsidies and loans from state, city and federal sources since 2005.  Independent assessments say Palermo's has not met accountability standards for public funds.  Palermo's workers are asking why public funds are supporting a company that retaliated against its employees for exercising their rights, and that pays poverty-level wages.
Take Action: Join Palermo's workers this Wednesday, October 17 at a 10 am hearing of the legislature's joint audit committee in room 411 South of the state Capitol.  Buses from Milwaukee will leave the Voces de la Frontera office (at 1027 S Fifth St) at 7:15 am and return by 2 pm.
Contact for more info: Voces de la Frontera, 414-643-1620, statewideorganizer.voces@gmail.com
Action Alert 2: Send a message from Dane County: Bring Our War $$ Home!
Background: From Seattle to Charlottesville to Milwaukee, communities are demanding a shift away from runaway war and weapons spending, freeing up our resources to meet our community needs.  This Thursday, October 18th, a "war dollars home" resolution will be introduced to the Dane County Board.  Did you know that Dane County residents have paid $2.3 billion for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars since 2001?  That's enough money to have funded healthcare for all county veterans since 2002, or provided every 18 year old in the county with a four-year university scholarship since 2002.
Take Action: If you live in Dane County, contact your Board supervisor and urge her / him to support the "war dollars home" resolution.  Show your support at our press event this Thursday, October 18, at 12:30 pm on the steps of the City-County Building on Martin Luther King Jr Blvd in Madison.  No matter where you live, write a letter to the editor about runaway Pentagon spending, using our talking points and including the war and weapons costs to your community.
Contact for more info: WNPJ, 608-250-9240, diane@wnpj.org
Action Alert 3: Allow WI prisoners to study and perform Shakespeare
Background: Although the Shakespeare Project has a track record of success, helping prisoners develop life skills and reconnect with their families while improving the cultural climate of the prison, the WI Department of Corrections abruptly banned the Project from all its facilities.  The Project, which was launched by a UW-Parkside professor in 2004, was scheduled to resume at Racine Correctional Institution last month.
Take Action: Sign an online petition calling on the state Department of Corrections to allow prisoners to study and perform Shakespeare.
Contact for more info: Wisconsin Books to Prisoners, 608-233-3170, camy.matthay@gmail.com

Action Alert 4: Say no to mining in the Penokees
Background: Although the infamous Cline Group-written bill that would have fast tracked an open-pit iron mine in the Penokee Hills didn't pass during the last legislative session, the push to mine in this environmentally and culturally precious region of Wisconsin continues.  Many local residents welcome economic development, but not at the expense of the cultural and legal rights of local Native Tribes, wild rice beds, water quality, natural beauty and quality of life in the region.
Take Action: Sign on online petition urging the Ashland County Board to oppose mining proposals.
Contact for more info: Barb With, barbwith@aol.com