On May 11, Metro honored a great labor communicator – Bill Fletcher, Jr. And his remarks that day showed how deserving he was of this honor. View his remarks here.
We also had dynamic panel on the issue of Race and Labor. Panelists included: Bill Fletcher (moderating) Professor Clarence Taylor, SLU-CUNY, Biruk Assefa, CWA; Shi Greene, Laborers; and Sean Petty, RN, NYSNA. View panel discussion here.
Photo: Megan Roark-Halcomb
July 18, 2019
Don’t Open the Door
When the knock came at the door for
A second
I thought about a man: Davino Watson
A US citizen
Locked up for forty-one months by ICE
Over 3 years
Of his life lost. For what? A clerical error
Or clerical terror
And then about Bello, the Bakersfield poet
Targeted by ICE
and locked up for reading his critical verse
So, when the unexpected knock came
at the door
At first I froze
Just me at home and my two-year-old
And now we all know,
And it’s no exaggeration,
That ICE tortures children,
And rapes them,
and kills them.
The knocker, however,
Was only the super
As it turned out,
This time.
Source: Don’t Open the Door
Metro held its 44th Annual Convention on May 10th.
The morning panel tackled climate disruption and labor’s role helping to solve this crisis.
Panelists included:
Moderator – Lara Skinner, Cornell ILR Worker Institute
Jessica Ramos, NY State Senator
James Slevin, President, UWUA Local 1-2
Sean Sweeney, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, the Murphy Institute
Todd Vachon, Labor Network for Sustainability
Portside Labor moderators were celebrated as the Communicators of the Year.
Outstanding labor communications and communicators were also celebrated. To see the winning entries go to the awards page.
Two student communicators were also recognized for their first-rate work. You can find their winning entries here.
Thanks to all who made for this engaging event.