Ocilla, Ga. — The Irwin County Detention Center sits just outside the town of Ocilla, population 3,400, in southern Georgia. With 200 workers, it is the largest private employer in Irwin County. Fields of cotton, peanuts and tobacco fill the countryside around Ocilla. Drought, unemployment and poverty plague its residents. The one-story, sprawling ICDC building [...]
Displaying all posts for Dianne Mathiowetz
Georgia prison tour verdict: Shut it down!
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Dianne Mathiowetz June 17, 2013 » Add the first comment.
‘Ground the drones!’
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Dianne Mathiowetz June 9, 2013 » Add the first comment.
An upscale Atlanta hotel was the venue for an international conference on drones that brought scientists and researchers, manufacturers, investors, government and police officials, and representatives of the military together to project the future applications of unmanned aerial devices. Alarmed and outraged by the U.S. use of drones in assassinations in countries such as Pakistan [...]
No to Monsanto!
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Dianne Mathiowetz June 6, 2013 » Add the first comment.
An estimated 2 million people around the world demonstrated on May 25 in opposition to giant conglomerate Monsanto’s production of genetically modified organisms and their introduction into the global food chain. Monsanto, the developer of “Roundup” and other toxic chemicals, has expanded its hold on the agricultural industry to include ownership of seeds, endangering the [...]
Sanitation workers in McDonough, Ga., walk out
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Dianne Mathiowetz April 28, 2013 » Add the first comment.
An important labor strike is happening in McDonough, Ga., just south of Atlanta. Workers at Republic Services/Allied Waste are members of Teamsters Local 728 who won their election in 2011. They began an unfair labor practices strike on April 15, caused in part by the illegal firing of a union supporter. Republic Services is a [...]
School workers march to keep benefits
Georgia school workers marched in Atlanta on April 20 along with their union, student and community allies to claim victory after regaining their unemployment benefits. Labor Commissioner Mark Butler had illegally taken the benefits away from the workers in 2012. The chanting, singing crowd of school bus drivers from metro Atlanta, Columbus and Savannah; college [...]
Youth shout down Klan & Nazis
Atlanta — A few dozen Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members, in full racist regalia, stood on the steps of the Georgia Capitol here spewing their vile white supremacist filth on April 20. Across the street, 150 or more anti-racists drowned out their hate speech with a cacophony of drums, whistles and chants. Numerous police agencies, [...]
Georgia immigrants say, ‘Sí, se puede!’
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Dianne Mathiowetz April 17, 2013 » Add the first comment.
Thousands of immigrant workers and their families rallied and marched in Atlanta, one of the many cities taking part in the National Day of Action for Immigration Reform, on April 10. The demonstration was sponsored by the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights and endorsed by dozens of immigrant, student, community, faith, social justice and [...]
Georgia school workers score victory
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Dianne Mathiowetz April 8, 2013 » Add the second comment.
Atlanta — On the 45th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tenn., low-wage workers in Georgia scored a significant victory. School employees such as bus drivers, cafeteria workers and crossing guards will once again be receiving unemployment benefits while they are laid off during school breaks. In 1968, King [...]
Activistas de Atlanta detienen ejecución hipotecaria
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Dianne Mathiowetz December 19, 2012 » Add the first comment.
Atlanta, 10 de diciembre – Activistas defensores de la vivienda han incrementado la lucha contra los embargos, los desahucios y la falta de viviendas al tomar una vivienda propiedad de un banco que había sido cerrada en el barrio de Pittsburgh en Atlanta el 6 de diciembre. Acciones similares se llevaron a cabo el mismo [...]
Atlanta housing activists stop foreclosure
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Dianne Mathiowetz December 13, 2012 » Add the second comment.
Atlanta, Dec. 10 — Housing justice activists ratcheted up the struggle against foreclosures, evictions and homelessness by reclaiming a boarded-up, bank-owned property in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Atlanta on Dec. 6. Similar actions were held in cities across the U.S. on the same day. In front of TV cameras, dozens of people moved Reneka Wheeler and [...]
