Blog moved to ErikMcGregor.com : July 2018

Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Abolish ICE Everywhere: Protest outside New York Governor's offices in Manhattan demanding Governor Andrew Cuomo to stand up to ICE

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING MY WORK

New York, NY - Members of the activist group Rise and Resist organized a protest outside New York Governor's offices in Manhattan on July 31, 2018 as part of the four days of protests targeting local politicians and business profiting from ICE. Activists demand Governor Andrew Cuomo to follow the lead of other cities, states, and lawmakers by standing up to ICE.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

NYC Activists devoted four days to Abolish ICE protests, targeting NYC Mayor De Blasio, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senator Chuck Schumer, and Wall Street businesses that profit from ICE

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

ICE, formed in the panic after the 9/11 attacks, has itself become an instrument of terror, raiding courts, schools, and the homes of our neighbors. ICE targets productive, peaceful New Yorkers, almost all people of color, many of whom have lived and worked here for years.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

Rise and Resist expands the growing movement to Abolish ICE by calling on city and state government, along with banks and other corporations, to step up and protect immigrants from the arbitrary cruelty of ICE. Lacking responsible federal leadership, the rest of us must abolish ICE by defying it and limiting its powers. If you are not protecting immigrants with all the tools at your disposal, you are complicit.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

Rise and Resist will demand that Mayor de Blasio (Day 1), Governor Cuomo (Day 2), and Senator Schumer (Day 3) follow the lead of other cities, states, and lawmakers by standing up to ICE. On Day 4, we call on individuals and businesses to stop funding the corporations that profit from the brutal imprisonment of our neighbors.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

At each action, we’ll present demands - concrete steps - that each person or entity can take to make this city, state, and country safer for all of its residents. Demands include:

* That Mayor de Blasio push the NYPD for transparency in classifying immigrant youth as gang members; this is often done falsely, without sufficient evidence, and puts those youth in ICE’s crosshairs.

* That Governor Cuomo sign an executive order to legalize drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants.

* That Senator Schumer join elected officials across the country, including Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Mayor Bill de Blasio, in calls to Abolish ICE.

* That Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase stop extending credit to The GEO Group and CoreCivic, the firms that profit the most from detaining immigrants.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

Rise and Resist is a direct action group committed to opposing, disrupting, and defeating any government act that threatens democracy, equality, and our civil liberties. Previous Rise and Resist actions include an Abolish I.C.E. banner drop at the Statue of Liberty, an occupation of the Trump-managed Central Park ice skating rink, dozens of demonstrations against the New York State Senate members of the IDC (Independent Democratic Conference), and protests against the MTA and Governor Cuomo for failing to include working elevators in the vast majority of NYC subway stations.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

Members have also participated in mass civil disobedience including the 6/28 protest of child separation at the Hart Senate Office building, at which over 600 women were arrested, and last summer’s wave of protests of the attempted repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

Activists demand Governor Cuomo to stand up to ICE

#AbolishICE #Activism #chingalamigra #DefendDACA #DefendTPS #demonstration #DeportICE #DirectAction #DumpTrump #FamiliesBelongTogether #HereToStay #humanrights #ICEfreeNY #immigration #KeepFamiliesTogether #NewYorkCity #NoBorders #NoHumanIsIlegal #NoICEinNY #NoWall #NYC #politics #ProtectFamilies #Protest #RefugeesWelcome #ResistTrump #RiseAndResist #SanctuaryCity #‎Solidarity #StopDeportations #StopICEraids

Immigration advocates protest DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Vice President Mike Pence outside DHS conference

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING MY WORK

New York, NY - Immigration advocates seeking to Abolish ICE gathered on July 31, 2018 outside the Alexander Hamilton Custom House in Bowling Green where DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Vice President Mike Pence attended a DHS conference, to demand that Secretary Nielsen and VP Pence reunite the families they cruelly separated through their anti-immigrant policies.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

The Trump administration failed to reunify all of children taken away from their parents by the court-ordered deadline on July 26. Over 700 children remain separated from their parents. This protest is part of a national effort to keep the pressure on and hold the administration accountable until every family is reunited.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

“The Trump administration officials responsible for separating families shouldn’t be able to go about their business as usual while there are children who don’t know where their parents are and when they will see them again,” said NYCLU organizer Drea Herrera. “This is a crisis of the Trump administration’s own making, and we won’t rest until every child is reunited with their parents.”

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

The family separation crisis is the direct result of the Trump administration policy choices, driven by the view that immigrants and asylum seekers deserve nothing but cruelty and punishment.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit earlier this year to stop family separation and to require the immediate reunion of all separated children and parents. On June 29, a federal judge issued a national injunction in our class-action lawsuit, requiring the reunification of thousands. Now, we must ensure the administration heeds the court’s ruling and the policy of family separation ends once and for all.

Protest during VP Pence and DHS Nielsen visit

#AbolishICE #ACLU #Activism #BowlingGreen #chingalamigra #demonstration #DeportICE #DHSConference #DHSSecretary #DirectAction #FamiliesBelongTogether #HereToStay #humanrights #ICEfreeNY #ImmigrantNY #immigration #immigrationCustomsEnforcement #KeepFamiliesTogether #KirstjenNielsen #MikePence #NewYorkCity #NoBorders #NoFamilySeparation #NoHumanIsIlegal #NoICEinNY #NoWall #NYC #NYCLU #politics #ProtectFamilies #Protest #RefugeesWelcome #ResistTrump #RiseAndResist #SanctuaryCity #‎Solidarity #StopDeportations #StopICEraids #TakenFromUs #USVicePresident

Monday, July 30, 2018

Abolish ICE Everywhere: Protest outside New York City Hall demanding Mayor Bill De Blasio to stand up to ICE

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING MY WORK

New York, NY - Members of the activist group Rise and Resist organized a protest outside New York City Hall on July 30, 2018 as part of the four days of protests targeting local politicians and business profiting from ICE. Activists demand Mayor De Blasio to follow the lead of other cities, states, and lawmakers by standing up to ICE.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

NYC Activists devoted four days to Abolish ICE protests, targeting NYC Mayor De Blasio, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senator Chuck Schumer, and Wall Street businesses that profit from ICE

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

At each action, we’ll present demands - concrete steps - that each person or entity can take to make this city, state, and country safer for all of its residents. Demands include:

That Mayor de Blasio push the NYPD for transparency in classifying immigrant youth as gang members; this is often done falsely, without sufficient evidence, and puts those youth in ICE’s crosshairs.
That Governor Cuomo sign an executive order to legalize drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants.
That Senator Schumer join elected officials across the country, including Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Mayor Bill de Blasio, in calls to Abolish ICE.
That Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase stop extending credit to The GEO Group and CoreCivic, the firms that profit the most from detaining immigrants.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

NYC Activists demand De Blasio to stand up to ICE

Monday, July 23, 2018

UPDATED: Judge Rules Necessity Defense Allowed in Resist Spectra Trial

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING MY WORK

Cortlandt, New York - Six people who are on trial in Cortlandt Courthouse for trespassing for an action that halted construction on the Spectra/Enbridge AIM fracked gas pipeline for 16 hours in 2016 will be allowed to argue that their actions were necessary to prevent imminent harm.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

The decision by Judge Ragazzo to allow the necessity defense comes on the heels of the release of the executive summary of an Independent Risk Assessment from Governor Cuomo’s administration that acknowledged unanswered questions and echoed years of safety concerns of experts and community members alike.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

The AIM pipeline runs within 105 feet of critical safety infrastructure at the aging and failing Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant putting 20 million people, including New York City, at risk.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

UPDATE: On July 27, 2018, Cortlandt Judge Kimberly Ragazzo ruled that all charges be dismissed for lack of evidence from the prosecution on elements of the trespassing charge for defendants Judith K Canepa, Judy Allen and Kim Fraczek. Court has been adjourned for the other 3 defendants Rebecca Berlin, David Publow and Janet Gonzalez until October 23 when the necessity defense will be presented by Attorney David Dorfman.

Opening statements at Spectra pipeline crawlers trial

#Activism #ActOnClimate #AIMpipeline #CivilDisobedience #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #climatejustice #ClimateTrial #CommunitiesFightBack #Cortlandt #CourtHearing #courthouse #CourtSupport #FossilFree #Fracking #IndianPoint #infrackstructure #KeepItIntheGround #MakePollutersPay #Methane #NecessityDefense #NewYork #NoPipelines #OffFossilFuels #OpeningStatements #ResistAIMpipeline #ResistSpectra #‎Solidarity #StopAIMpipeline #StopSpectra #WaterProtectors #WeSayNo #YOUAREHERE

Saturday, July 21, 2018

NYC students organize Youth Climate March to advocate for a safe and livable future

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING MY WORK

NEW YORK, NY - Hundreds of New York students took to the streets of Manhattan on July 21, 2018 for the NYC Youth Climate March and Rally from Columbus Circle to Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, to demand immediate governmental action on climate change.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

Zero Hour, founded and led by high school students across the US, is organizing the day of peaceful protest to bring national attention to climate change’s impact on their generation and future generations. Zero Hour affirms that environmental justice is social justice. New York citizens in socio-economically disadvantaged communities are disproportionately impacted by the dangerous effects of the city’s overconsumption of fossil fuels.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

Speakers:

● Aryaana Khan (Youth Climate Activist)

● Alysa Chen, Anya Martinez & Leela Sostky (Climate Museum Youth Advisory Council)

● Izzi Graj (Fellow, Sunrise Movement)

● Sylvana Widman (NY Chair, YPPG)

● Harris Khan (Executive Vice President, Student Government at CUNY City College)

● Rachel Lee (Junior Coordinator, Zero Hour NYC)

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

Local partners include People’s Climate Movement, Alliance for Climate Education, Youth Progressive Policy Group, and 350 NYC.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

In Washington, D.C., there will be a lobby day, art festival, and march July 19-July 21, 2018. The NYC march is one of many planned for this day, with sister marches being held in cities across the United States and around the world. Together, we will demand immediate, common sense climate change legislation at the federal, state and local levels.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

Zero Hour, a youth-led climate and environmental justice nonprofit, will lead the largest climate mobilization effort by youth of color in Washington, D.C., and across the world this July. The movement has been endorsed and supported by more than 40 national and grassroots organizations, including 350.org, Sierra Club, Climate Reality, Indigenous Environmental Network, March for Science, and others.

NYC Youth lead Zero Hour march on climate

#Activism #ActOnClimate #cleanenergy #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateDisaster #climatejustice #ClimateMarch #CuomoWalkTheTalk #DefendPeoplePower #DisasterCapitalism #EnergyDemocracy #energyefficiency #EnergyIndependence #environment #EnvironmentalJustice #FossilFree #GovernorCuomo #GreenJobs #KeepItIntheGround #MakePollutersPay #MakeREVreal #MayorDeBlasio #news #NewYorkCity #NoPipelines #NYC #OffFossilFuels #ParisAgreement #PeacefulProtest #PeacefulResistance #‎PeoplesClimate #rally #RenewableEnergy #ResistTrump #‎Solidarity #ThisIsZeroHour #ThisIsZeroHourNYC ‪#‎weareallconnected‬ #WeRise

Friday, July 20, 2018

NYC Stands with Gaza’s Great March of Return

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING MY WORK

New York City – Responding to a call from Palestinian Civil society, a small group of NYC-based activists have come together at Bryant Park on July 20, 2018 in solidarity with Palestinians’ Great March of Return in Gaza, showcasing photos and sharing stories of those killed during the protests along the Gaza Strip border fence by Israeli Defense Forces.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

The Great March of Return is a historic non-violent resistance action, which marks 70 years of colonization of Historical Palestine, beginning with the creation of Israel in 1948. Referred to as the Nakba or 'Catastrophe', Palestinians commemorate the ethnic cleansing and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their villages and homes. Many Gazans are direct descendants of those displaced refugees, and still hold the keys to their homes.

Bryant Park security harassing protesters by ripping away the photos
>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

Since the weeks-long protests began on March 30, at least 145 Palestinians have been killed and 15,000 wounded, according to health officials in Gaza. Around the world, people of conscience mourn the killing of civilians, who demand that Palestinian Refugees and their descendants be allowed to return to what is now Israel, a right which is internationally protected according to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Fourth Geneva Convention.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

Solidarity activists showcased images of martyrs, such as Razan an-Najjar, a 21-year old paramedic killed while treating the wounded, the young journalist and father Yasser Murtaja who was wearing is “PRESS” jacket when he was shot, and Layla Ghandour, an 8-month-old Palestinian girl who fell ill after inhaling tear gas. Such brazen attacks constitute war crimes, and activists seek to send the message that Palestinian Lives Matter. Many of the wounded have suffered limb amputations due to an Israeli policy to target protesters’ legs. Football player Mohamed Khalil’s career ended early when a sniper shot both of his knees, and will require knee replacement surgery if he is ever to walk again.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

With conditions worsening for Palestinians living under Israeli-imposed air, sea, and land blockade in Gaza, the march is also seen as a large-scale rejection of the United States’ role in the conflict, including provision of over $3 billion in military aid to Israel and Trump’s recent decision to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

Activists in NYC join a worldwide demand to outcry to end to the massacre of civilians in Gaza, an end to occupation and siege, implementation of refugee’s right to return, accountability for Israel’s crimes, and collective liberation for all. This action was organized by independent activists including members of All That’s Left Anti-Occupation Collective, MuJew Antifa, and IfNotNow. Follow up to date news with the hashtag, #GreatReturnMarch.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

#Activism #Apartheid #BDS #BryantPark #BuildMovementsNotWalls #demonstration #DirectAction #EndIslamophobia #FreePalestine #GAZA #GazaSolidarity #GazaUnderAttack #genocide #GreatMarchOfReturn #GreatReturnMarch #HandsOffJerusalem #humanrights #intifada #Israel #IsraeliWarCrimes #Jerusalem #JerusalemForAll #Netanyahu #NewYork #NewYorkCity #NY4palestine #NYC #NYC2Palestine #Palestine #RefugeesWelcome #ResistTrump #Right2Boycott #RightToResist #SanctuaryCity #‎Solidarity

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Immokalee farmworkers return to NYC to demand, “How Much Longer, Wendy’s?

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING MY WORK

New York, NY - Immokalee farmworkers and their families returned to to Nelson Peltz’s now-storied offices at Trian Partners, 280 Park Ave. in Manhattan on July 19, 2018 for a major march to demand that Wendy’s, the final fast food hold-out from the Fair Food Program, make an unequivocal commitment to human rights, once and for all.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

Following Wendy’s move to repatriate its tomato purchases from Mexico in response to consumers’ human rights concerns – but continued refusal to join the Fair Food Program – farmworkers and allies prepare to turn up the heat on the company’s leadership in the Big Apple.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

Only a few short months ago in March, over 2,000 farmworkers and their consumer allies – from New York and around the country – marched in Manhattan in a powerful display of support for the CIW’s five-day Freedom Fast, a fast carried out by nearly 100 farmworkers and allies on the sidewalk outside of Wendy’s Board Chair Nelson Peltz’s hedge fund offices on Park Avenue.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

The fasters were calling on Wendy’s to pull its tomato purchases from the Mexican produce industry, where sexual violence against women and other human rights violations are endemic and go unchecked. Instead, the Fair Food Nation was calling on Wendy’s to return to Florida’s tomato industry, where the company’s former suppliers have implemented the award-winning Fair Food Program in partnership with the CIW, transforming the fields into “the best working environment in U.S. agriculture”.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

In June, bowing to the pressure generated by the farmworkers’ campaign — including a petition that collected well over 100,000 consumer signatures in support of their demands – Wendy’s came half-way home. In a major announcement earlier this month at its annual shareholder meeting in Ohio, Wendy’s declared its intention to repatriate its tomato purchases from Mexico. It did not, however, agree to join the Fair Food Program. Instead, Wendy’s announced that it would be shifting its purchases to greenhouses in the US and Canada.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

Without a doubt, halting purchases from one of the hemisphere’s most abusive produce industries represents a step in the right direction, and the move is proof that when workers and consumers join forces to make their concerns about sexual violence and other human rights violations heard, Wendy’s has no choice but to listen. Indeed, Wendy’s cited the growing focus on “working conditions for tomato farmworkers” driven by the efforts of the “CIW and other associated organizations” as one of the principal reasons for the move. However, Wendy’s decision to continue evading the award-winning Fair Food Program, and instead rely on non-FFP farms and a discredited model of superficial third-party auditing to monitor its supply chain, is unacceptable.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

Contrary to Wendy’s claims, greenhouses do not inherently shield farmworkers from the abuse and poverty experienced in the fields. And infrequent third-party audits lacking worker participation or effective enforcement mechanisms have been proven time and time again insufficient to guarantee a workplace free of exploitation

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

By refusing to accept Wendy’s patently hollow claims that labor conditions in Mexico were decent and that is monitoring systems were up to the job of enforcing human rights, we compelled a multi-billion dollar retail food chain to move its entire tomato supply chain out of a country where violence, corruption, and impunity are the rule. That is a victory for human rights, won through consciousness and the tireless commitment to action of countess farmworkers and allies

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

But it is not a complete victory, and now it is time to cross the finish line. Neither farmworkers nor consumers will settle for anything less than the worker-driven Fair Food Program and its verifiable guarantee of fundamental human rights for the women and men who harvest our produce. What’s more, we will not allow Wendy’s or Board Chair Nelson Peltz to turn their backs on farmworker women and men’s urgent demands for justice, respect, and true partnership.

>>CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS<<

#Activism #BoycottWendys #CIW #CorporateGreed #DirectAction #FairFood #farmworkers #FarmWorkerRights #ImmokaleeWorkers #MeToo #NelsonPeltz #NewYork #NoMeansNo #NYC #PeacefulProtest #PeacefulResistance #rally #SexualAbuse #SexualHarassment #SexualMisconduct #TakeRapeSeriously #ThisStopsNow #TimesUpWendys #Wendys #WomenRights #womenrisingup #WorkerRights #WorkingWomen