Rhode Island’s cultural diversity is one of our great assets, but our communities often experience different opportunities to engage and enjoy. If we want our state to be more equitable, we require courageous leadership and intentional investments in racial and economic equity and access.

As organizations committed to racial justice, we feel the issue of race has been missing from the discussion about Kennedy Plaza. We all want to see vibrant community commons that support our economic and community development. But we recognize that strategies like increased policing will continue to disadvantage the poor, especially people of color, and siphon dollars away from social safety net programs that uplift those most marginalized.

New England communities were built with public “commons,” but despite their name these public spaces have always excluded the most disenfranchised: the indigenous people whose land was stolen, the enslaved Africans who quite literally built our communities, and those who did not fit society’s image of proper decorum. This continues today, with increase policing and criminalization of black and brown bodies, those exhibiting impact of addiction or mental illness, and the poor and homeless.

As our allies who are advocating for the homeless pointed out in their excellent “Reclaiming our Public Spaces” report, we cannot simply sweep away the poverty that many don’t want to see. Poverty and homelessness have disproportionate impact on communities of color, in large part because of public policies that exclude particular racial and ethnic groups from the supports that help build wealth and economic stability. Public policies fit together like bricks to shape our society, and our vision for racial justice requires some shifts in thinking. More people with criminal records, out of our workforce and warehoused at public cost, doesn’t help us build the society we envision.

Rather than seeking to invest our resources in short-sighted efforts to remove people we have deemed “undesirable,” let’s make real investments in the type of community supports and assets that eliminate the need for panhandling, support mental health and addiction recovery, and provide living wage jobs for everyone, including those with criminal records. Let’s engage our business community support in increased wages, publicly funded detox and recovery support, development of affordable housing, and compliance with First Source and Ban the Box laws. Let’s provide meaningful, well-paying work opportunities for adults with moderate education, and support public access to skilled training and higher education for our youth. Let’s recognize that amenities like public restrooms, drinking fountains, increased seating, and charging stations will support many types of users. And let’s bring love and compassion to the struggle of all those in our community, even those whose circumstances or behavior might make us uncomfortable.

Mike Araujo, Executive Director, Rhode Island Jobs with Justice

James Vincent, President, NAACP Providence Branch

Chanda Womack, President, Board of Directors, Cambodian Society of Rhode Island

On behalf of the Racial Justice Coalition.

After workers and activists from Fuerza Laboral gave David Civetti a 6am wake up call last August, he agreed to meet with the 8 workers who claim that his company owes them for work they completed but were never paid for. Civetti, the CEO of  Dependable and Affordable Cleaning Inc, met the workers at the Fuerza Laboral offices, said organizer Raul Figueroa, but maintained he owed the workers nothing, became frustrated, and left. Hence the need for a second action, this timed aimed at Civetti’s offices in the neighborhood next to Providence College.

Fuerza maintains that on May 26-29, Civetti’s company “assigned a group of workers to clean apartments located in the area surrounding Providence College. The workers say that Civetti assigned workers to the houses that needed cleaning and supplied them with company tee shirts and cleaning supplies. After the job was completed, 8 workers were not compensated for those 4 days, 11 hours a day.” Civetti claimed that the people who cleaned his apartments were hired by subcontractors, and that the the subcontractors owe the money, not him.

On Thursday about a dozen workers and activists showed up at Civetti’s offices near Providence College, and began leafleting houses and passing students. Organizer Raul Figueroa carried a megaphone and broadcast the workers’ complaints to the neighborhood. Once the workers arrived at Civetti’s offices, Fabian, one of the workers, called Civetti on the phone and asked him to come down and pay him the money he is owed. When Civetti would not commit to do so, the protest continued.

Eventually, as can be seen towards the end of the third video below, Civetti agreed by phone to meet with the workers at the Fuerza Laboral offices for a second time. According to Fuerza organizer Raoul Figueroa and Mike Araujo of RI Jobs with Justice, Civetti agreed that he did owe the workers their unpaid wages at this meeting. He has agreed to pay the workers on Friday.

This story will be updated.

UPDATE: Raoul Figueroa has informed me that the employees have been paid.

Nabisco made the announcement in January.

“They said, ‘we’re laying off 600 people, we’re sending the production down to Mexico, you can basically deal with it,’” explained Nate Zeff, of the BCTGM International Union. Zeff was in Rhode Island to explain the plight of the Nabisco 600, workers who once made products such as Oreos, Honey Grams, Fig Newtons, Animal Crackers and Ritz Crackers in Chicago, who watched as their good paying jobs were sent to Monterrey and Salinas Mexico.

The workers were told that they could prevent the company moving to Mexico, said Zeff, if they would agree to a staggering $46 million a year in concessions, in perpetuity; an impossible demand to make of working class families.

Mexican workers are paid a tiny fraction of what United States workers earn, allowing Nabisco to pay starvation wages in one country while wiping out an entire community of workers in another. And lest you think these savings might be passed along to consumers, think again. The money ‘saved’ is funneled directly into the pockets of overpaid corporate executives like Irene Rosenfeld, CEO of Nabisco parent company Mondelez International, who made a shame worthy $21 million in 2015.

To counter Nabisco’s move, and to bring these jobs back to the United States, the BCTGM has announced an audacious plan: A targeted boycott of Nabisco products made in Mexico. There are two ways to determine if a product on the shelf is made in Mexico, as seen in the video and picture below. One, the package may simply have the words “Made in Mexico” in the fine print near the ingredients label. Otherwise, check out the “plant identification code.” MM and MS stand for Monterrey and Salinas, Mexico, respectively.

There are a couple of things to note about this boycott. One is that there are still plants in the United States making Nabisco products. This boycott is not against all Oreos, it’s a targeted boycott against Oreos made in Mexico. Note also that it’s not enough to simply not buy the Mexican made products. Take the product to the store manager and tell them why you are not buying.

Sure, the manager will say that they are not responsible for ordering the product, or that they have no control over where the product comes from, but if enough people complain, the complaints will start their way up the chain of command.

Anthony Jackson, a disabled veteran, was also in Rhode Island as part of the tour. He had a job paying him $26 an hour, now that job has gone across the border to a worker who makes less than $100 per week. “This is a $35 billion corporation,” said Jackson, “the Oreo alone made $2.9 billion last year.”

Jackson was at a shareholder’s meeting and asked CEO Rosenfeld why the company couldn’t treat Chicago workers fairly. Rosenfeld said the workers received “fair-market value.”

“To this day we’ve received zero dollars and zero cents,” said Jackson, “So what [Rosenfeld] said to us is that we are nothing.”

Jackson had five requests for those who want to support this effort.

1. Go to fightforamericanjobs.org and learn more about the boycott and the Nabisco 600.

2. Like their Facebook page.

3. Call the number on Oreo packages and complain about the fact that American jobs are being lost even as Mexican labor is being unfairly exploited.

4. Check the label (as seen above) for the country of origin and don’t buy made in Mexico products

5. Tell somebody. Spread the word. “We want to be the first company to bring production back from Mexico,” said Jackson.

Mike Araujo agreed to meet with me a second time for another podcast, so here it is! Topics include revolution, agency, and the labor movement (if there is such a thing–opinions differ). We also talked a little about the aspirational and inspirational Black Lives Matter platform, but we had some slight disagreements as to the best way to implement it, probably none of which will surprise you. In any event, enjoy!

“We need a union because of the respect that we need and the unity that we need and because of the good salary that we need,” said  David Ozuna, who speaks little English and used a translator to communicate with the media.

So far, 32 employees have signed union cards with the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, District 11. They are primarily sandblasters and hydroblasters, though they perform a variety of chores for Goodison, which does work primarily for the federal government. Sandblasters remove paint from boat hulls. The paint is often highly toxic and sandblasting itself can cause permanent skin and/or eye injuries. It’s very difficult and dangerous work that takes a toll on a body. Starting wages for these workers is between $10 and $12 an hour.

“They don’t give us the safety and the protection that we need to do our job,” said Osuna.

More than 30 workers, in addition to an equal or greater number of union organizers and progressive activists, held court on the Quonset-area road leading to Goodison starting at 6:30 this morning. They chanted, gave motivational speeches and, using a megaphone, implored company officials – who watched the action from afar – to negotiate with the workers.

“The company is going to try to divide you,” said union organizer Sam Marvin. “They are going to try to divide the strength you are showing today. The important thing is you have to be strong today, you’ll have to be stronger tomorrow and you’ll have to be stronger the next day. But you’re going to win this campaign and we’re going to be there with you.”

Another organizer said, “There are two ways the company is going to fight: with fear and with lies. You are going to win with solidarity and the truth.”

One woman who said she came on behalf of her church said, “What you are doing is hard, it is a struggle, but it is of God.”

State Representative Aaron Regunberg, who came from Providence to stand with the workers, said, “I am proud to join you all this morning. I am proud of all the workers who are standing up today to say you deserve better. You know they are not going to give you what you deserve, you have to win it. This is what the labor movement is all about. Keep fighting until you have what you deserve.” He told the employees that there are many in the General Assembly who support their struggle.

So far, 32 Goodison employees have signed union cards, said Jobs With Justice organizer Mike Araujo. There are 55 total employees at Goodison and about 40 have expressed interest in forming a union, he said. The employees and Jobs With Justice have been asking management to voluntarily recognize their union and they plan to file for an election this week, Araujo said. After they file for the election, they have two weeks to hold a vote. If a majority of employees vote for a union, Goodison then has one year to negotiate a contract with the union.

According to the company’s website: “J. Goodison Company was founded in 1999 and incorporated in 2001. It is a veteran-owned small business that has grown from its humble beginnings as a father and son operation to an organization that supports 30 full time employees and an additional 25-50 skilled labor and trade subcontractors. The Company’s list of clients includes but is not limited to government clients such as the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy, NOAA, and the U.S. Parks Department. Similarly, the commercial clients list includes Senesco Marine, Boston Towing & Transportation, and Electric Boat to name a few. J. Goodison Company holds a GSA Contract and 9 Multi-Year IDIQ (Indefinitely Delivery Indefinitely Quantity) contracts with the U.S. Coast Guard.”

“It is really a complete pleasure to support your film project because it is living history really,” says Dr. Richard Lobban, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at Rhode Island College, who was a reporter at the time and wrote stories from the field. From 1961 until 1974, Amilcar Cabral and his African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde/Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde (PAIGC) engaged in an intense war against the Portuguese who had colonized Africa. Though Cabral himself was not a Communist, the conflict became one of the hot fronts of the Cold War.

“Cape Verdeans have always seen themselves, because they are an immigrant Afro-American population, as not having an attachment to the African American experience, or at least the same attachment to the African American experience,” Araujo told me several months ago. “The Cape Verdeans in Providence do one job in Providence. They were all longshoremen. The ILA [International Longshoremen’s Association] 1328 is an entirely Cape Verdean union. It was founded by Cape Verdeans. It’s officers are still Cape Verdean-majority. It’s also a very protective union. They were also able to keep the docks honest, which is the problem that they had in Boston and in New York. And they were able to keep it open to Cape Verdeans, most importantly!”

“Cape Verdeans were relatively politically sophisticated to a degree more than Azoreans. And also because of the amount of shipping that passed through there they were also more cosmopolitan,” he said. “They identify as an international people.”

This is a point that is vital to understand because the tensions on the macro level that played out in Cape Verde were staged on the micro level in Rhode Island. For example, the contradictions of race and racism impacted Cape Verdean identity in unique ways. Segregation in schools and churches would confound a population that in some senses does not regard itself as an African population as much as from an island near Africa that has its own unique traditions and culture. The expansion of Brown University and gentrification effectively dispersed a historic neighborhood by the end of the 1960’s.

These were the challenges that Cabral and his contemporaries were encountering when they began an armed insurrection against the same types of systemic racism and exploitation perpetrated by the Portuguese. And this is where the PAIGC’s links with the Communist bloc states proved to be so natural, it was because the ethos of internationalism, which defined Communist solidarity in the anti-colonial struggle, were part of Cape Verdean identity.

“Amilcar Cabral was from Angola, so there was this recognition, the same way that Che [Guevara] was from [Argentina], not Cuba, that there’s an internationalism,” said Araujo.

Guenny Pires, who is directing the documentary, says “I grew up with his story but I never really knew what happened and why. I was little when we got independence in 1975 so I could not understand a lot of stuff… I thought as a filmmaker it would be my responsibility to tell this story.”

Pires says the film was created “to honor Cabral and to keep his message alive.”

Click the Player Below to Listen to the Complete Interview!

Having been produced over the past 15 years, he is now seeking funding for the completion of the picture. And, because his production is partnered with a non-profit, all donations are tax-deductible.

For more information or to donate, visit the website of Txan Films or email them at TxanFilm@gmail.com.

Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza tore past the twin protests taking place outside his exclusive fundraiser taking place at the Rooftop at the Providence G. On one side were members of Providence Fire Fighters IAFF Local 799, who are in the midst of difficult negotiations regarding overtime and staffing. On the other side were members of the STEP-UP Network, a coalition of community groups eager to pass the Community Safety Act (CSA), which candidate Elorza pledged to support in October, 2104.

Since his election, Elorza has avoided any substantive meetings with any groups about the CSA, and has not supported the bill’s  passage as he promised. This protest was, in the words of the STEP-UP Network, “to denounce the fundraiser for Mayor Jorge Elorza’s campaign as he has neglected and in some cases, refused to meet with groups representing low-income people of color on issues such as public safety, housing, and jobs.”

As a result of Elorza’s broken campaign promises and disinterest in meeting with community groups, the STEP-UP Network asks that instead of donating to Mayor Elorza’s campaign, funds be directed “to local organizations whose work directly impacts those affected by police violence, housing instability, and unemployment.”

Vanessa Flores-Maldonado, a PrYSM organizer, introduced three speakers outside, before the Mayor’s arrival.

Malchus Mills, volunteer for DARE (Direct Action for Rights and Equality), said in a statement, “A fundraiser for a mayor who refuses to meet with his constituents is absurd. We have been asking for a meeting for over a year now, but instead we keep getting passed off to police administrators. We still have not met with Mayor Elorza since the start of his administration, yet he falsely claims to have met with us on numerous occasions.”

Mike Araujo, Executive Director of Rhode Island Jobs with Justice, stated: “Not only have we been passed off to police administrators, but we have been given offers of only 15 to 30-minute-long meetings with the Mayor. How are we supposed to talk about the safety of an entire city in just 15 to 30 minutes?”

Jorrell Kaykay, volunteer at the Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM), stated: “Last time we publicly asked Mayor Elorza about his changing stance on the CSA, he got this bill confused for a statewide bill. Clearly, Mayor Elorza is not paying attention to the issues that are affecting the community he serves especially when he keeps denying to adequately meet with said community. Whose mayor is he really?”

Kaykay spoke in reference to an East Side community forum that took place in November 2015 in which protestors had shown up as it was the second forum held in a neighborhood where crime rates were actually falling. When questioned about his stance on the CSA, Mayor Elorza responded on a different bill that had recently been passed in the General Assembly. I covered that event here.

The STEP UP Network includes the Providence Youth Student Movement, Direct Action for Rights and Equality, the American Friends Service Committee, and the Olneyville Neighborhood Association.

Todos Somo Arizona (TSAZ) is a coalition of groups including Jobs with Justice, English for Action, Fuerza Laboral, Comite de Inmigrantes, RI Interfaith Coalition, 32BJSEIU RI, AFCS, Estudios Biblicos and ONA, that is holding a series of actions at the State House to keep attention focused on the issue and on Tuesday activists were loud and their presence was felt, even in the midst of a Second Amendment Rights rally happening at roughly the same time.

At least 400 2nd Amendment Coalition members turned out to pressure the House Judiciary Committee on a raft of bills being heard concerning guns. Nearly 100 members of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence (RICAGV) turned out to have their say on the bills as well.

This lead to some friction, like when former candidate for Mayor of Warwick Stacia Huyler decided to chide the Licenses for All coalition for being too loud. The irony of a Second Amendment activist complaining about people using their First Amendment rights was lost on Huyler.

The issue of granting driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants is not going away. Everyone, regardless of status, deserves to be allowed to function in our society, and until this becomes the law in Rhode Island, these protests will continue.

Here’s all of this year’s coverage of the issue from RI Future:

• Licenses for All rally rocks opening session at State House
• Progressive Dems urge Raimondo to issue executive order on driver’s licenses
• Two protests rock State House during Governor’s budget address
• Undocumented workers pay $33.4 million in RI taxes and they need drivers licenses
• I used to live in fear: Driver’s licenses and the undocumented
• Bishop Tobin supports driver’s licenses for undocumented workers
• Full video: House hears testimony over driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants
• Driver’s license debate is driven by nativism

“These workers are fighting for a fair shake,” said Mike Araujo of RI Jobs With Justice, “not just for themselves but for everyone that cares for our family members when they need help.

Last year Bannister House workers helped save the historic nursing home from being closed down. Bannister House was founded in 1890 as a “Home for Aged Colored Women” in Fox Point to provide care for African-American women, many of them retired domestic servants.

Today workers are demanding a living wage and affordable benefits. The workers are unionized under SEIU 1199.