Oct. 6, 2007

Children marched to the White House Oct. 2 pulling red wagons filled with petitions demanding that President Bush drop his plan to veto legislation passed by the Senate and House that would extend the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and expand it to cover an additional 4 million children.

Many autoworkers, back after their strike against GM, are worried or angry about concessions the company insisted on in the new contract.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Peace activists held a historic march and demonstration Sept. 29 here. Nearly 3,000 people participated in the protest called by the Fort Drum chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and hosted by the Syracuse Peace Council, Student Peace Action Network at Syracuse University and the 1199 health care workers union.

WASHINGTON — With determined strides, warm hugs and the steely glint of struggling for justice in their eyes, over 20,000 African American leaders from all walks of life, from students to Ph.D.s, from business executives to workers, from elected officials to precinct captains, and from award-winning artists to a high school marching band, streamed into the 37th annual Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Conference here, Sept. 26-29.

Pressure mounted on LaSalle Parish prosecutors to drop all charges against the “Jena Six” following the release on bail, Sept. 27, of Mychal Bell, the only one of the African American teenagers to be tried and convicted in the little central Louisiana town.

CHICAGO — Imagine that every U.S. resident received a health insurance card that could be presented to any doctor or hospital for a full range of medical benefits. As a patient, you would pay nothing, and you would receive no medical bills.

BOULDER, Colo.: Students walk out protesting pledge
KANSAS CITY, Mo.: Churches offer shelter to undocumented workers
MILWAUKEE: March celebrates struggle to desegregate housing
SACRAMENTO, Calif.: Republicans abandon ‘stealth’ election trick

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Port of Oakland, the country’s fourth largest port, drives much of the San Francisco Bay Area’s economy, and the port’s container trade is expected to double in the next 20 years. But a newly released report warns that this projected growth is threatened by the diesel pollution from trucks moving the containers, which causes soaring lung disease rates for nearby residents and port workers. At the same time, truck drivers endure dismal economic and working conditions.

CHICAGO — The Change to Win labor federation held its second annual national convention here Sept. 24-25, where it emphasized union organizing campaigns and a drive by its seven member unions to change the makeup of Congress and put a pro-worker person in the White House.

KOLKATA, India — Ibrahim Gambari, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s special envoy to Myanmar (formerly Burma), arrived in Yangon, the country’s largest city, on Sept. 29. He departed on Oct. 2 to report back to the UN Security Council in New York. During his visit, he had met the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi as well as the leader of the military junta, Senior Gen. Than Shwe.