Firefighters, Ballet Dancers, Hotel Workers – Everyone Deserves Fair Wages

Editor's Note From Rivera Sun

From firefighters to ballet dancers, everyone deserves fair wages … and workers are organizing to get it. This week’s Nonviolence News celebrates some recent union wins and shares reports of strikes, walkouts, and more. Local 11 Unite Here – whose LA union has been making headlines with their historic campaign, recently mobilized the hotel workers in Phoenix, Arizona, to disrupt a major graduation weekend in the city. (Pictured above) Economics was also on the mind of thousands of Argentines who participated in a general strike as the unions blasted the president’s austerity measures.

In more Nonviolence News, Aruba’s locals are protesting against the unregulated and unsustainable growth of the tourism industry, and the ways colonialism – past and present – worsens the situation. In Mexico, activists are confronting intentionally-set forest fires that are being used by corrupt real estate firms to hasten development in a new wave of colonialism. In tree-sits, blockades of mining sites, and locking onto partially-built pipelines, environmental activists are rallying to halt ecological destruction in its many forms. Some constructive actions also made headlines, including a Utah program that pays people to replace lawns with low-water landscapes, a First Nation’s effort to establish the first ‘Blue Park’ in Canada, and the ways that traditional seeds are helping Moroccan farmers weather drought.

Student encampments for Gaza and a ceasefire are spreading across Europe and mobilizing high school students, too. In the US, several encampments were evicted by police while others achieved some of their demands of the university administrations. In either case, these bold protest actions are keeping the heat on leaders, officials, and administrators – and we’re seeing some shifts in those people. For example, a senior officer in the U.S. Army who also served as an intelligence official for the Pentagon has resigned over the Biden Administration’s stance on Gaza, saying, “At some point … you’re either advancing a policy that enables the mass starvation of children, or you’re not.”

Find these stories and more in Nonviolence News>>

Take the time to visit the full round-up. With 62 articles in this Nonviolence News issue, there’s plenty to explore! Some of my favorites include peace-related stories like how civilians in Burundi are working to heal after decades of civil war, how Women’s Protection Teams are keeping people safe in Sudan, and a new digital magazine on peace for kids. I also enjoyed the review of War Resisters’ League’s 100-Year Anniversary book and touring exhibit, a story about how K-Pop fans are joining climate actions, and a report on how beavers are returning to London.

In solidarity,
Rivera Sun