West Virginia teachers began going on strike on February 2nd, 2018 in response to their health care benefits being cut. The teachers stayed out of the classroom for nine days total, protested in the capital of Charleston and generated national headlines.
Non Una Di Meno, meaning Not One More, is a feminist grassroots collective started in 2015 after 22 year-old Sara Di Pietrantonio was burnt to death by her ex-boyfriend. The group was modeled after Ni Una Menos, the feminist movement started in Argentina earlier that year.
The Oklahoma Education Association is a professional interest group that considers itself to represent the voice of public education in Oklahoma. The OEA is a branch of the National Education Association, and works with local and state government agencies and legislation to ensure that public employees and schools in Oklahoma are properly funded and cared for. The OEA has nearly 40,000 active members and has been instrumental in taking care of public school employees in Oklahoma for over 100 years.
The West Virginia Education Association is a professional interest group in West Virginia that serves as a voice for all public school teachers in the state. The WVEA is a voluntary membership organization that has around 15,000 active members, with over a 100 local affiliates around the state and a larger association with the National Education Association. The WVEA is based out of Charleston, West Virginia and has 25 full-time staff members.
On November 26th, 2016, a demonstration was held in Rome by the members of Non Una Di Meno. It fell purposefully on the day after the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Several groups joined them, such as Io Decido (I decide), a pro-choice group, “D.i.Re.” Donne in Rete (Women’s Network), a network of organizations against gender violence across Italy. The group of over 100,000 people marched through the streets of Rome, from Piazza Esedra to Piazza San Giovanni.
North Carolinians Against Gun Violence is a non-profit organization created 25 years ago following the death of a jogger who was shot and killed in Chapel Hill, NC. The group educates families and schools on gun safety procedures and gun violence prevention. Direct involvement with community leaders and public officials helps spread the message and gain involvement across the state.
India is like a blanket, one woven with threads of various cultures, languages and people. That is the allure of India. A heterogeneity that is unified; an amalgamation of the modern with the quondam; the co-existence of high rise buildings that mark the skyline and the Banyan Trees with roots that penetrate into the depths of the earth. India is also home to one of the largest populations of tribal people, approximately 8.6% according to the 2011 census. Tribal people in India are called Adivasi.
For over the past one decade (former) FTSE 100 company Vedanta threatened to displace the Dongria Kondh tribe and destroy the virginal lands of Niyamgiri, in order to extract Bauxite from under its hills. Vedanta planned to build a mine that would violate not just the land but the rights of the people whom rightfully belonged there. Deleterious effects on the environment, the people and the heritage of the tribal community would ensue.
Underwritten by the Service Employees International Union, the Fight for $15 is composed of fast-food workers, home health aides, child care teachers, airport workers, adjunct professors, retail employees—and, as Fight for 15 puts its, “underpaid workers everywhere.”
#MeToo was created in 2006 by Tarana Burke to help survivors of sexual assault and to ensure survivors that they are not alone in their journey. In October 2017, #MeToo went viral on Twitter, and this group became an international organization, where survivors from all over the world were sharing their stories and creating support groups for all women affected by sexual violence.
