NEWSLETTER

EDITORIAL

What’s really up about the 2024 local and national elections?

HEY NEIGHBORS AND FELLOW WORKERS!

Local City, State, and National 2024 Elections will determine our Quality of Life, which is declining. We are losing hard fought for human rights to an ever-growing racist fascist movement in a time of a deepening and fluid social, and economic world crisis.

OUR SILENCE WON’T SAVE US

We all need to be talking with one another as neighbors and co-workers about the growing crisis and what role we will play.

We must see the present 2024 elections not solely as a time to vote but to organize our neighbors and co-workers to engage in actions to improve our workplaces and community! Juneteenth -Black Freedom Day and Labor Day just passed— days that trace its roots back to the fight for basic HUMAN

RIGHTS...WORKERS RIGHTS...WOMEN RIGHTS...for fair working conditions and recognition of the African-American, Latino, and workers’ contributions. While many of us enjoyed celebrations and a break, it’s crucial to remember the ongoing battles for workers' rights and basic human rights that this

Election Day 2024 represents and reminds us of.

In North Carolina, we rank 49th out of 50 states in worker protections. Too many of us are working multiple jobs, facing wage theft, and missing out on paid breaks and family time—just to make ends meet. The cost of living keeps rising, yet protections for those who work the hardest are nearly nonexistent.

This past year we have been paying higher rents/mortgages/taxes because of the GREED OF THE WEALTHY CLASS that use their big money to influence elections in their favor! The wealthy are organized ...ARE YOU? Our strides made by workers in the past are at risk. So, now we're asking you to help us continue the fight. Find time to bring some of your neighbors and co-workers together in a local community meeting, call (919) 876-7187 and leave a message or email us at fruitoflaborwcc@netscape.com, so we can help organize this important discussion.

Join us on 11 AM, SATURDAY OCTOBER 5 at your local community FRUIT

OF LABOR WORLD CULTURAL CENTER at 4200 Lake Ridge Road/off Capital Blvd & Deanna Lane near New Hope Church Rd. in Raleigh.

LEARN HOW WE CAN SUPPORT THOSE COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS,

WORKERS’ ORGANIZATIONS and CANDIDATES that are workers like us and want a safer community, workplace and better life for all of us.

UE LOCAL 150 UNION's Chapters

Endorses Rev. Dr. Portia Rochelle

(South East Raleigh)

After weeks of candidate screenings, surveys, and a Raleigh Peoples Budget Assembly Candidate Forum of over 12 candidates, NC Public Service Workers Union -UE Local 150 Capital Area, NC State Univ., and Raleigh City Workers Chapters all strongly endorsed Rev. Dr. Portia Rochelle!

As a ten(10) year former Raleigh-Wake NAACP president, MORAL MONDAY activist, an active supporter of FIGHT FOR $15/hr minimum wage, and a Union, Affordable Housing/Don't Gentrify-Revitalize active, she has been an NC State Employees Association member activist fighting to repeal the Ban on Collective Bargaining for all Public Service Workers!

Sister Portia Rochelle and UE Local 150 members will be educating workers as well as campaigning for A RALEIGH WORKERS RIGHTS /AFFORDABLE QUALITY HOUSING/ SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS, SCHOOLS & WORKPLACES for the entire city!

UE150 activist members who she will stand up for ALL WORKERS & WORKING PEOPLE are pictured with her vibrant campaign committee below.

UE LOCAL 150 Political Action Committee member

October 2024 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Saturday, October 5; 10 AM; Community Canvassing to encourage community organization and engagement as well as a push to “Get Out the Vote” for upcoming local and national elections. Call (919) 876-7187 if interested and for more information.

Saturday, October 5; 12-2:00 PM; Prose & Protest Workshop; for more information, to RSVP and register contact Kee at (479) 279-2600 or email:kzamastil22@gmail.com

Saturday, October 5; 2 PM; Financial Health Workshop; The workshop includes financial literacy, understanding how the capitalist financial institutions and housing industry exploit workers & working people, and what you should do. RSVP to Angaza at (919) 876-7187.

Tuesday, October 8; 4-8 PM; Fruit of Labor World Cultural Center receives the 2024 Raleigh Medal of Arts Award at the Raleigh Little Theatre. The award is presented by the Raleigh Arts Commission for extraordinary achievement in the practice or support of local arts and recognizes excellence in the arts.

Wednesday, October 9; 7-8:30 PM; Community and Candidate Forum at FOLWCC; We’ve been voting, but where is our affordable housing? Living Wages? Mental Health Community Response Team? Organized by the Raleigh People’s Budget Assembly; for more information and to RSVP your attendance email raleighpeoplesbudget@gmail.com

Friday-Sunday, October 18-21; 25th Annual NC Environmental Justice Network Summit 2024; Franklinton Center in Whitaker, NC; go to NCEJN.org for more information and to register

Saturday, October 19; Labor Notes Trouble Makers School in Alabama; 518 19th St., Birmingham, AL; Join labor activists from around Alabama—and the whole region—to strategize, share skills, and learn ways to organize to win. For more info contact: https://labornotes.org/events/2024/alabama-troublemakers-school-2024

Wednesday, October 23; 6:30-8 PM; BWFJ Triangle/Wake Chapter meeting; RSVP to (919) 876-7187

November 7-11th; National Conference of the National Conference of Black Lawyers (NCBL) hosted by the NC NCBL chapter. NCBL will convene with engaged Black/POC battlefront grassroots organizations, leading organizers, and activist lawyers at NC Central University's Law School in Durham, NC; for more information contact: NCBL- NC Chapt Pres. Greg Moss (704) 773-7388

Kids Will Love Stacey Abrams’ Inspiring New Book Stacey Speaks Up!

The third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling and NAACP Image Award–winning Stacey’s Stories picture book series, from Stacey Abrams and artist

Kitt Thomas.

A simple act of awareness and kindness can ripple through communities, creating waves of change that reach far beyond the initial splash.

Stacey and her friends can’t wait for lunchtime on Friday, also known as TacoPizza FryDay! But when Stacey discovers that some of her classmates can’t afford to eat lunch, she loses her appetite. She knows she has to do something … but what can a kid do?

Plenty, as it turns out! With the help of their community, Stacey and her friends devise a plan to make their voices heard proving that even the smallest actions can have far-reaching consequences.

Inspired by Stacey Abrams’s legacy of grassroots activism and advocacy, this is a story about how everyone has the power to make a difference. When we come together for a cause we believe in, there’s no limit to what we can achieve.

Gender Wage Gap Widens for the First Time in Two Decades

Portside

by Samantha Fields

The gender pay gap widened last year for the first time in 20 years, according to new data from the Census Bureau.

Adjusted for inflation, men who work full-time year-round saw their wages go up 3%, while women who work full-time year-round only saw their wages go up 1.5%.

The gender pay gap has been narrowing — slowly — for the last 40 years. This is the first time it’s widened in a statistically significant way since 2003.

Even though wages grew for both men and women last year, “this growth hasn’t been equally shared across demographic groups — especially for women, especially for women of color, who tend to work in lower-paying jobs,” said Sara Estep at the Center for American Progress.

Women are more likely than men to work in health care and education — both fields in which Estep said wages haven’t grown all that quickly.

In comparison, “we saw a ton of wage growth in manufacturing, for example,” she said. “And where did those jobs go to? They primarily went to men.”

Economists call this “occupational segregation.” There’s less of it than there used to be, noted Heidi Shierholz at the Economic Policy Institute. But it’s still a big factor in the gender pay gap.

Similarly, “women shoulder disproportionate responsibility for caregiving in our society,” she said. “That is changing, but it is still the truth.”

Given the lack of affordable childcare, paid leave and paid sick time, “when somebody has caregiving responsibilities, it just makes it incredibly difficult to work,” she added.

Conference offered by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, on the Helms-Burton Act.

New York, September 26, 2024

I thank you all for your presence and for accepting the invitation of the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the UN to discuss a topic of great importance to Cuba, for international relations and for bilateral relations between Cuba and the US.

On several occasions, we have said that it is not possible to conceive a full bilateral relationship between Cuba and the US and for this relationship to be sustainable as long as the Helms-Burton Act remains in force.

It is about this law that I intend to share some ideas.

Given that it is a very comprehensive and lengthy legislation, I will limit my remarks to highlight the most relevant aspects, above all those of a political nature, with the aim of calling attention on the significance of the law as an instrument that guarantees obstacles for a civilized and respectful relationship between our two countries.

Its formal name is Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, but it is usually known by the names of the sponsors: Senator Jesse Helms and Congressman Dan Burton.

It is not the only instrument of US policy against Cuba, but it is the most comprehensive and far reaching.

Nevertheless, it is a legal and political instrument insufficiently studied. Read more here.

FOLWCC Rentals

Need a special place for your special event?

The newly renovated Fruit of Labor World Cultural Center and the World Cultural Café are your place. The 2,000 sq. ft. World Cultural Center, with a big screen and surround sound theater, is the ideal intimate setting for:

Graduation Parties & Game Nights
Organizational & Business Meetings
Classes, Seminars & Workshops
Conferences
Religious & Family Gatherings/ Reunions
Bridal & Baby Showers
Movie Screenings
Receptions
Gatherings for Watching Sports and Other Events
Art Shows
Small Concerts & Fundraisers

Rental form on the website.

Sanders Leads New Senate Effort To Stop Flow of US Arms to Israel

Demanding that the Biden administration follow the lead of several close U.S. allies in recent months, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday announced his intention to take action on the Senate floor to stop the flow of American weapons to Israel.

The Vermont independent said in a statement that he plans to file Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRD) regarding the sale of offensive weapons to the Middle Eastern country, which for nearly a year has bombarded civilian infrastructure and blocked humanitarian aid to Gaza, killing more than 41,000 Palestinians and pushing the enclave into famine.

The JRD is the only congressional mechanism that can prevent weapons sales from moving forward, and after months of demanding the Biden administration end military support for Israel, Sanders said that "Congress must act to save lives, uphold U.S. and international law, and stand up for U.S. interests." Read more here.

AVAILABLE NOW!

Music and songs that inspire, engage, and liberate our spirit!

Enjoy Fruit of Labor Singing Ensemble’s Album: State of Emergency

The album is available on

Amazon, Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube Music, iHeart Radio

and many more streaming services and retailers.

When Justice Speaks

by Fruit of Labor Singing Ensemble

LISTEN HERE

Yes We Can Can

by POINTERS SISTERS

Now's the time for all good men

to get together with one another.

We got to iron out our problems

and iron out our quarrels

and try to live as brothers.

And try to find a piece of land

without stepping on one another.

And do respect the women of the world.

Remember you all have mothers.

We got to make this land a better land

than the world in which we live.

And we got to help each man be a better man

with the kindness that we give.

I know we can make it.

I know darn well we can work it out.

Oh yes we can, I know we can can

Yes we can can, why can't we?

If we wanna get together we can work it out.

And we gotta take care of all the children,

the little children of the world.

'cause they're our strongest hope for the future,

the little bitty boys and girls.