Local Farms Rule

Cambridge, MA - Over 100 unionized Harvard University workers, students and supporters held a campus rally on Thursday in protest of the mass layoff of 275 employees earlier this week - representing 2 percent of Harvard's 16,000-person workforce. Organizers said that as the richest university in the world, with billions of dollars in its endowment, Harvard "owes more to community residents than mass layoffs."

Cambridge, MA - As Harvard students walked in Thursday's commencement ceremonies, members and spokespersons of local unions, students and concerned community members rallied on the edge of the campus to protest the dozens of recent layoffs and Harvard University's newly announced plans to fire an additional four HUCTW employees from the School of Design. The action was part of the unions' and students' "No Layoffs Campaign," which aims to halt layoffs and reinstate those who have lost their jobs.

Cambridge, MA - Over 70 people representing a number of human rights organizations gathered next to the Harvard Square T stop yesterday evening for a vigil to protest the continued incarceration of Dr. Binayak Sen - a noted human rights activist and physician for indigenous communities in Central India - and mark the second anniversary of his imprisonment on what activists say are false charges.

Cambridge, MA - Two rallies against proposed staff layoffs at Harvard University were held at Holyoke Center in Harvard Square yesterday by unions and student allies at 12:30 and 4 p.m. respectively. The first protest, led by members of the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers, drew over 100 people. The second, led by the Service Employees International Union Local 615, drew over 200 people and marched onto the main Harvard campus - concluding with a short rally outside Massachusetts Hall.

Cambridge, MA - Over 100 people from the Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights and several other human rights and pro-Palestinian organizations held a spirited protest Monday evening against the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. The action was the latest in a series of local demonstrations called over the last two days by numerous political and religious groups against the air strikes on the densely populated area. The attacks began on December 27th.

Cambridge, MA - VIDEO: Over 75 environmental and housing justice activists picketed Bank of America's Harvard Square branch on Tuesday, then blockaded the nearby Citibank for over an hour in protest of their role in the global financial crisis.

Cambridge, Mass. - Consulting firm HR Hero conducted a "Union Avoidance Master Class" at the Sheraton Commander Hotel on Wednesday to train local employers how to keep their workplace union-free. Union members and allies rallied outside the event in support of the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make such tactics less appealing to employers. According to labor spokespeople, HR Hero advises employers on the most effective ways to crush union drives by intimidating workers, spreading misinformation, and stalling collective bargaining processes without breaking current labor laws.