Baldemar Velasquez, the president of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, a union that represents tobacco farm workers in North Carolina and the American South, said “We’re back again for our eighth year,” Velasquez said. “We’ll keep coming back until Reynolds American decides to really do something about the conditions farm workers endure in North Carolina tobacco fields.”

The delegation going inside the meeting is expected to focus on the three areas FLOC has been broaching with the tobacco industry: reliance on human trafficking for their labor supply on contract farms; squalid conditions found in the labor camps; and the state of fear of retaliation for workers who complain about these abuses.

Velasquez believes that only when migrant farm workers have a recognized worker organization can their complaints about their working and living conditions be effectively addressed. He wants Reynolds American put into practice the company’s commitments to human rights and sign an agreement guaranteeing freedom of association on their contract farms. After nearly three years of discussions Reynolds American has yet to sign an agreement with FLOC.

Velasquez said, “It took us five years just to get a meeting and we’ve been waiting for nearly three years for a signed agreement. How many more years will it take before Reynolds American signs an agreement with FLOC guaranteeing freedom of association on their contract farms?”

#WinstonSalemNC #Labor #PeoplesStruggles #AFLCIO #immigrantRights #NorthCarolina

Raleigh, NC – Chants of “Free, free Palestine!” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” rang out at the North Carolina Capitol grounds today, July 19, as about 250 people rallied to protest the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza. Many protesters waved Palestinian flags and distributed leaflets to passersby.

So far over 300 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli assault on Gaza. Among the dead are dozens of children.

Speakers at the rally denounced Israel's siege of Gaza and the U.S. support for the occupation. They spoke out in solidarity with the people of Palestine. “I will not apologize for the right to self-defense,” one speaker emphasized as the crowd cheered. “We should never forget we have a right to resist occupation.”

Organizers with the Justice for Rasmea Odeh campaign (http://www.stopfbi.net) collected petition signatures and distributed information to people at the protest, many of whom were outraged at the government's prosecution and committed to support the campaign as the trial approaches on Sept. 8 (http://www.stopfbi.net/events/9-8-14/all-out-detroit-defend-rasmea-odeh).

#RaleighNC #Raleigh #AntiwarMovement #Palestine #Israel #NorthCarolina #RasmeaOdeh #MiddleEast

Asheville, NC – On Aug. 8, protesters gathered in downtown here, to rally for an end to the attacks against women and against abortion restrictions in North Carolina. The event was organized by WORD (Women Organized to Resist and Defend).

Protesters chanted, “When women's rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back!” referencing the latest abortion restrictions in North Carolina that were first snuck into an Anti-Sharia Law bill, then ultimately added to a Motorcycle Safety Bill.

Emily Parker, an organizer with WORD, spoke saying, “The war on women is apparent. Right now in North Carolina you cannot receive an abortion procedure. Although it is not technically illegal, there are no clinics for one to go to. Femcare in Asheville is being pushed around by right-wing bullies who don't want women to have the right to choose.”

Protesters rallied in support of Femcare, the only abortion provider in western North Carolina which was recently shut down for nearly 24 health and safety violations. This was a clear politically-motivated attack against women. Several protesters noted that the violations don't seem to be serious and that it was very suspicious that they should be inspected and closed right after this bill was passed.

“Femcare has been safely serving this city since 1985. Their staff is nothing but kind and helpful. Their facilities are nothing but safe and sanitary. Femcare has never had an infection since it has opened. Thanks to the new restrictive abortion bill, they are being forced to temporarily shut their doors even though they would've been the last remaining clinic in the state. The North Carolina government says these new laws will ensure women's safety but in reality they are causing women physical harm and hardship,” Parker said.

Protesters marched through downtown Asheville carrying signs that read “End the war on women,” and “We won't go back, we'll fight back!”

#AshevilleNC #PeoplesStruggles #abortion #NorthCarolina #feminism #WomensRights #AbortionBan #Rally #