santacruz coalition

Two Iraqi labor leaders are featured speakers at a program offering local residents the chance to hear from workers who are struggling to end the occupation, sectarian violence, and the repression of women and working people in Iraq. Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein, the first woman to head a national Iraqi labor union, is President of the Electrical Utility Workers Union, and Faleh Abood Umara is General Secretary of the Southern Oil Company Union.
They will explain why unions oppose the proposed privatization law favored by the Bush administration and oil corporations. They will also address the role of unions in rebuilding Iraq, and the prospects for a stable, democratic, non-sectarian future.
The event is part of a national tour sponsored by U.S. Labor Against the War, United for Peace and Justice, and the American Friends Service Committee. Local sponsors include Central Coast Workers Against War, Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, Resource Center for Nonviolence, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Santa Cruz Peace Coalition, Families Against War, UC-AFT 2199, UPTE CWA-9119, and the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers. The event is endorsed by the Santa Cruz Green Party.
A sliding scale donation is requested—no one turned away.

SALINAS, Calif. – On Wednesday night, key leaders in our Central Coast community will be having a public meeting, discussing how to the stop the violence and keep peace on the streets of Salinas.

They’re all a part of CASP. It stands for the Community Alliance for Safety and Peace. The coalition is made up of 50 leaders have been meeting every other Wednesday to talk about the ongoing gang problem.

Member Scott Faust says, they formed it, so they could coordinate their efforts and in turn, get more funding.

“These are people and players, stakeholders who are heavy weights who can attract state, federal funding and help plan for the use of that funding, so it’s the most effective possible,” says Faust.

Recently, they helped put together a summer youth sports festival for families. They also helped provide library cards to Salinas kids and the alliance helped provide new jobs for teens.

But, Faust stresses, it’s not just what they can do, but what the community can do together.

“This is a deep-seated problem,” says Faust. “It didn’t emerge overnight. It’s not going to go away overnight. It’s going to require multiple prong strategies, but I think if the community can come and join CASP and join the people who are there, share their views, put their own involvement out there, we can make a difference together.”

For the future, Faust says, this alliance is planning to try and outreach to influential gang members and give them the reality that either they stop the violence or they’ll be continuously targeted by law enforcement.

If you’d like to attend, hear what they have to say or get involved, the meeting is at  6 p.m. at the St. Mary of the Nativity Church in Salinas.