Victory

Five Victories Against Wrongful Convictions In The First Week Of 2024

January 14, 2024 Victoria Valenzuela, Scheer Post. Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Legal System, Victory, Wrongful Imprisonment

The new year has just begun and already there have been five victories against wrongful conviction within the first week, with the release of Montana Innocence Project (MIP) client Bernard Pease Jr. and the exonerations of William Williams and Renay Lynch in the U.S., and Robert Mailman and Walter Gillespie in Canada. Each of them had served decades in prison – a total of 191 years — for crimes they did not commit. They all received the help of innocence organizations, which are nonprofit organizations that provide legal services to innocent people in prison and prevent wrongful convictions through legal education and reform.

Marvin Haynes Exonerated And Released From Prison After 19 Years

January 10, 2024 Niko Georgiades, Unicorn Riot. Organize! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Marvin Haynes, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Police, Police abuse, Victory

Minneapolis, MN — In a historic ruling, Hennepin County Judge William Koch vacated Marvin Haynes’ murder conviction, dismissed his charges with prejudice, and ordered his release from prison where he was sentenced to serve life. Haynes walked out of MCF-Stillwater as an exonerated man into the loving arms of his family and supporters on Dec. 11, 2023. Marvin Haynes was 16 years old when he was framed for murder by the Minneapolis Police and Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. Haynes’ wrongful conviction was supervised by former Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar and upheld by the Minnesota Supreme Court years later in an appeal.

‘Hard-Won Movement Victory’: MVP Extension In North Carolina Halved

January 1, 2024 Jessica Corbett, Common Dreams. Resist! Mountain Valley Pipeline, North Carolina, Pipelines, Victory

Frontline critics of the Mountain Valley Pipeline celebrated after Equitrans Midstream revealed Friday in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that the distance of the proposed Southgate extension project has been cut in half. The partially completed MVP project—long delayed by legal battles until congressional Republicans and President Joe Biden included language to fast-track it in a debt limit deal earlier this year—is set to cross 303 miles of Virginia and West Virginia. The MVP Southgate extension into North Carolina was supposed to be 75 miles, but the filing details plans for a redesigned 31-mile gas project that "would include substantially fewer water crossings and would not require a new compressor station."

The Longest Adjunct Strike In US History Comes To A Close

December 23, 2023 Jeff Schuhrke, In These Times. Resist! Adjunct, Higher Education, Strikes, Victory, Worker Rights and Jobs

The longest adjunct strike in U.S. history ended this week after part-time faculty at Columbia College Chicago voted overwhelmingly in favor of ratifying a new four-year contract that will grant them greater job security and more decision-making power over their working conditions. The 49-day strike was led by the Columbia College Faculty Union (CFAC), which represents approximately 600 part-time adjunct instructors at the private, arts-and media-focused institution in Chicago’s South Loop. The tentative agreement was reached on December 17. Eighty-five percent of the membership participated in the ratification vote, with 99.7% approving.

Win For LGBTQ+ Youth, Supreme Court Rejects ‘Conversion Therapy’ Case

December 12, 2023 Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams. Educate! Conversion Therapy, LGBTQ, LGBTQ Rights, Supreme Court, Transgender Rights, Victory, Youth

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a lawsuit challenging Washington state's ban on the harmful practice of so-called "conversion therapy" for minors, a move welcomed by LGBTQ+ rights advocates. The nation's highest court rejected an appeal from Washington, where the 2018 law prohibiting therapists from attempting to change a minor's sexual orientation or gender identity has been upheld by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Although right-wing Justices Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, and Clarence Thomas dissented, their votes fell one shy of the four needed to get the case on the court's shortlist for full review.

A Trailblazing Tenants Union Forced A Mega-Landlord To The Table

December 10, 2023 Thomas Birmingham, In These Times. Organize! Connecticut, Housing, Landlords, Tenant Union, Victory

New Haven, Connecticut - Things looked bleak on Blake Street when, at around 3:30 p.m. on August 19, Jessica Stamp and 15 of her neighbors found eviction notices taped to their door. Ocean Management, Stamp’s landlord and one of New Haven’s most powerful companies, seemed intent on getting her out. But 13 days later, on Sept. 1, Ocean called off the evictions and came to the bargaining table to negotiate the first agreement of its kind between a landlord and tenants in Connecticut. In those 13 days, a local tenants union realized just how powerful they’d become.

The Transit Equity Movement Wins Biggest Zero Fare Victory Yet

December 10, 2023 Liam Crisan, Inequality.org. Create! Albuquerque, New Mexico, Racial Justice, Transit Equity, Transportation, Victory

Albuquerque, New Mexico - It’s happening: The city of Albuquerque is permanently eliminating public bus fares, becoming the largest U.S. city to embrace this critical step toward racial and economic equity. A coalition headed by Together for Brothers — a community organizing and power-building group led by and for young men of color — made the victory possible. In an interview with Inequality.org, the group’s Co-Founder and Executive Director, Christopher Ramirez, explained that it all started in 2017 when Together for Brothers applied for a Health Impact Assessment grant. “When we were applying for the grant, we had a couple sessions with the young men of color we were working with,” Ramirez said.

Charges Dropped On The Tampa Five

December 9, 2023 Fight Back! News. Resist! Florida, Free Speech, Legal System, Police, Tampa 5, Victory

The Tampa 5 are proud to announce a great victory: their misdemeanor and felony charges will be dropped! This victory was made possible by months of mobilizations of people across the state of Florida, and even across the entire country, in defense of the Tampa 5. It is because of the bravery of students and youth protesters coming out for diversity and for student protest, that these five members of Students for a Democratic Society protesters will not see a single day in prison. They have just agreed to a misdemeanor intervention program that will lead to the dismissal of their charges upon the fulfillment of various conditions such as 24 hours of community service.

Recruiters Drop Elbit Systems After Campaign

December 2, 2023 Palestine Action. Resist! Elbit, Israel, Palestine, Palestine Action, Victory, weapons

After weeks of action, the sole recruiters for the British operations of Israel’s largest weapons company, Elbit Systems, have confirmed via email to Palestine Action that they ended their association with Elbit on the evening of the 29th November. For two months, activists in the Palestine Action network had disrupted iO Associates at their premises across the country, to impede their ability to recruit roles for Israel’s war machine. iO Associates recruited the likes of engineers, software developers, and finance staff for positions across the sites of the British branch of Israel’s largest weapons company, Elbit Systems.

Panama Supreme Court Declares Mining Contract Illegal

November 29, 2023 Ariadne Eljuri, Orinoco Tribune. Resist! Environment, Mass Action, Mining, Panama, Victory

The Supreme Court of Panama declared the mining contract which renewed a Canadian mining company’s exploitation concession of the largest open pit copper mine in Central America as unconstitutional. The renewal of this contract triggered a protest movement that has spread for more than a month throughout the country. On Tuesday, November 28, the president of the Supreme Court of Panama, María Eugenia López, stated that the ruling was approved unanimously. The case was opened in response to two appeals presented against Law 406, approved on October 20 by the unicameral Parliament and President Laurentino Cortizo and that contains the contract.

El Paso Tried To Turn This Historic Neighborhood Into A Sports Arena

November 17, 2023 Christian De Jesus Betancourt, Next City. Resist! El Paso, Gentrification, Housing, Texas, Victory

Sitting on a street bench on the closed-off Chihuahua Street on a crisp El Paso evening, Romelia Mendoza and Selfa Chew recall the seven-year struggle to save the historic Duranguito neighborhood from demolition. Since 2016, they and other locals have believed a sports arena would be built atop the home where Mendoza saw her siblings grow through the 1970s. Today, fences placed by the city surround the building. One of El Paso’s oldest barrios, Duranguito, sits along the border between El Paso and its Mexican sister city, Juarez. Once the “Ellis Island of the South,” as local historian David Dorado Romo puts it, was the entry point for hundreds of thousands of Mexican immigrants and even Chinese immigrants, some of whom made a home in Duranguito.

Another Win For Union And Worker Center Collaborations

November 15, 2023 Isabela Escalona, The Real News Network. Strategize! Minneapolis, Service Workers, Unions, Victory, Worker Rights and Jobs

In the late summer of 2021, a group of workers from First Avenue, the iconic Minneapolis music venue, were fed up with low pay, last-minute scheduling, lack of parking, and safety concerns, and wanted to implement some of their own ideas in their workplace. Unsure of how to get it done, the workers decided to first contact Restaurant Opportunities Center of Minnesota (ROC-MN) to learn more about their workplace rights. Fast forward to November 2: Over 200 bartenders, event staff, and other in-house workers across seven venues affiliated with First Avenue marched on the boss and delivered a petition that included the faces and names of over 70% of staff who want to unionize with UNITE HERE Local 17.

Minnesota Nurses Win Big, Then Walk Back Winning Model

November 1, 2023 Sarah Hughes, Labor Notes. Strategize! Minnesota, Nurses, Strikes, Unions, Victory, Worker Rights and Jobs

Last fall, 15,000 nurses were part of a creative coordinated bargaining effort to reshape health care in Minnesota. They won new contract language on safe staffing and substantial raises—things they hadn’t thought possible. But a year later, the Minnesota Nurses Association is riven with conflict. Members are being investigated on charges like “acting against the interests of the bargaining unit.” A candidate for vice president was removed from her elected positions and had her membership suspended, making her ineligible to run for office. How did one of the most exciting rank-and-file union efforts in health care take such a turn?

UAW Wins Tentative Contract Deal With Final Big Three Holdout

October 31, 2023 Jake Johnson, Common Dreams. Resist! Auto Workers, Ford, General Motors, Stellantis, Unions, United Auto Workers (UAW), Victory, Worker Rights and Jobs

The United Auto Workers on Monday secured a tentative agreement with General Motors that reportedly includes a 25% general wage increase over the life of the four-and-a-half-year contract as well as cost-of-living adjustments. According to Bloomberg, the UAW's agreement with GM has similar economic terms as the historic tentative deal the union reached with Ford last week and a subsequent agreement with Stellantis over the weekend. With the GM deal, the UAW has now reached a tentative contract agreement with each of the Big Three U.S. automakers, putting an end—at least for now—to the union's historic six-week strike that involved nearly 50,000 workers.

Ford Caves

October 27, 2023 Jane Slaughter, Labor Notes. Resist! Autoworkers, Ford, Strikes, UAW, Unions, Victory, Worker Rights

Since 1979, union auto workers have endured round after round of concessions. That era is over. On Wednesday, the 41st day of the union’s Stand Up Strike against the Big 3, Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain announced a deal with Ford. The contract gains are substantial. The union added the straw that broke the camel’s back this week when it hit General Motors’s and Stellantis’s two biggest moneymakers, SUV and truck assembly plants in Texas and Michigan, on Monday and Tuesday. Workers at Ford’s top cash cow, Kentucky Truck, had gone out October 11.

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