Blog

New York City Faces School Arrests and Failing Mental Health Programs in Public Schools
May 8, 2012
Before 6-year old Salecia Johnson was handcuffed in a Georgia classroom and escorted to the local police station after a tantrum last month, a 5-year-old autistic boy in Brooklyn was strapped to a stretcher, hauled out of his Brighton Beach classroom and taken in an ambulance to a psych... Keep Reading »
Toward a People's Budget: Vermont Adopts New Vision for State Spending and Revenue Policies - Huffington Post
May 7, 2012
Almost exactly one year after enacting the United States' first universal health care law, the state of Vermont is once again showing the country that another world really is possible. In the wake of an impressively large and diverse May Day rally for human rights, the state legislature... Keep Reading »
Vermonters Demand Their Human Rights at Huge May Day Rally
May 3, 2012
This May Day, the Vermont Workers' Center brought a range of people's struggles together under the banner of "Put People First." Expanding the focus of the now famous "Healthcare Is a Human Right" rallies, held since 2009 in Vermont's capitol, Montpelier, this year... Keep Reading »
Human Rights Groups Rally on May Day
May 1, 2012
With the growth of the human rights movement and the emergence of Occupy Wall Street and associated Occupy groups across the country, this year’s May Day takes on deep significance for a newly energized dialogue about inequality and human rights. May Day 2012 involves hundreds of groups and... Keep Reading »
Beyond Vermont: Voices for a People's Budget in Florida
April 27, 2012
The People's Budget Review in St. Petersburg, Florida, is mobilizing tens of thousands of residents to make their voices heard in this year's local budget process. The mobilization is slated to culminate in September for the adoption of the city's final budget and revenue plan. Here... Keep Reading »
A Caste Society or an Egalitarian Democracy: Using a Human Rights Lens to See the Bigger Picture in Arizona Case
April 26, 2012
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding the federal government’s challenge to Arizona law SB 1070, an “attrition through enforcement” bill explicitly designed to reduce the number of undocumented immigrants in the state by making life so difficult and... Keep Reading »
First Step Toward a People's Budget Passed by Vermont Senate Committee
April 24, 2012
The People's Budget Campaign in Vermont has successfully pushed to define the purpose of the state budget as addressing "the needs of the people of Vermont in a way that advances human dignity and equity." After constituents from across Vermont, mobilized by the Vermont Workers... Keep Reading »
People Mobilize to Disrupt Foreclosures and Call for an Eviction Moratorium
April 20, 2012
A few hundred housing activists, impacted community members, and occupiers in New York City came together last week to disrupt the weekly foreclosure auctions in all five boroughs of the city.  The disruptions began with a reading of a "Declaration of the People's Moratorium on... Keep Reading »
While Communities Move to Claim Vacant Homes for Human Need, Obama Kicks Off Plan to Sell to Wall Street
April 6, 2012
“What has taken place was not only predictable, it is a consequence of the very structure of the housing system and financial system,” says Michael E. Stone, Professor of Community Planning at the University of Massachusetts, reflecting on the ongoing foreclosure fallout. Ten million... Keep Reading »
Communities Weigh in on Federal Teachers Incentive Fund
April 5, 2012
On March 30th, 2012 the Dignity in Schools Campaign submitted comments on the U.S. Department of Education's Teacher Incentive Fund, a part of the Obama administration's educational platform which would provide funds for implementing teacher incentive programs in states and districts with... Keep Reading »