This week's calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.)
Public hearing on low-wage work
The Rochester Labor Council and Metro Justice will sponsor "Fair Wages for Fair Work," a two-day public hearing. The hearing's first session is from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 6, and will examine low-wage work and how workers are exploited. The second session will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, November 8. Several workers in low-wage jobs will give their personal stories and recommendations for improving working conditions. The third session will be held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and will focus on lifting workers out of poverty. All three sessions will be held at the Rochester Public Library, Gleason Auditorium, 118 South Avenue. Information: Erin Young at 263-2650.
Lecture on turmoil in Latin America
Nazareth College will host "Why are People Fleeing Honduras and Guatemala?" a lecture by Grahame Russell from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, November 13. Russell is an adjunct professor at the University of Northern British Columbia and director of Rights Action. Russell will discuss the underlying causes of turmoil in the region and how US economic and military policies have helped to create those conditions. The event will be held at Nazareth's La Casa Hispana.
Discussion of Hobby Lobby's impact
The Genesee Valley Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Monroe County Bar Association will present "Burwell v. Hobby Lobby: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, November 10. Brian Hauss, an ACLU attorney, and John Eastman, law professor at Chapman University and founding director of the Claremont Institute's Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, will lead a discussion on the Supreme Court's recent decision. Some of the questions that will be addressed: What are the arguments in support of and opposing the decision? And what are the ramifications of the decision? The event will be held at 1 West Main Street, on the 5th floor.
Controlling US borders is subject of talk
The Rochester Committee on Latin America and the Greater Rochester Coalition for Immigration Justice will present a talk by Todd Miller at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 5. Miller is the author of "Border Patrol Nation: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Homeland Security." He has written extensively about how the entire country, including smaller cities like Rochester and Buffalo, has been militarized in an effort to control immigration-related border issues. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Mother Jones, the Nation, and Salon. The event will be held at the Downtown United Presbyterian Church, 121 North Fitzhugh Street.
Poverty on film
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Canandaigua will host a showing of the documentary film "The End of Poverty" at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 7. The film raises questions about why poverty exists, the US economic system, and the foundations that support the current global economy. A discussion will follow the film, which will be led by Alan Frishman, economics professor with Hobart and William Smith Colleges. The event will be held at 3024 Cooley Road in Canandaigua.
