Action for Animals hosted a rally against animal abuse in Ringling Bros Circus on Wednesday, August 17th from 6pm-7:30pm at the Erwin Center. The rally was organized to call attention to the mistreatment of animals at Ringling Brothers and other circuses which use animals.
Austin Indymedia Interview of Action for Animals Austin in 2010 (audio only)
Larry Flynt was in Austin, TX on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 speaking at Book People as part of his tour to promote his newest publication, One Nation Under Sex: How the Private Lives of Presidents, First Ladies and Their Lovers Changed the Course of American History.
Sexual Violence Free Austin joined allies and advocates who stand in opposition to rape culture and the commoditization of women's bodies, the sexualization of young girls. R.A.G.E. - Radical Action for Gender Equality was also an organizer for peacefully protesting this event.
Larry Flynt has made a 400-million-dollar fortune from his pornographic empire, including cartoons such as "Chester the Molester", which follows the life of a pedophile, and his infamous publication, Barely Legal, that features very young women portraying even younger girls in a pornographic manner. Want to learn more about his most famous magazine, Hustler?
Sponsored by Sexual Violence-Free Austin and Radical Action for Gender Equality
CodePink Austin, along with other friends and supporters of the U.S. Boat to Gaza, held a symbolic "launch" on the Pfluger Bridge over Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas. Participants read excerpts from writings by Alice Walker and Kathy Kelly and the letter... to President Obama regarding the reasons for the trip to Gaza. Austin citizens were asked to stop and write messages to the passengers and participate in other symbolic actions.
Texans United For Families (TUFF), a local human rights group working to end immigrant detention and deportation, protested at the Austin Wells Fargo headquarters on Friday, July 1st as part of the National Private Prison Divestment Day. TUFF held the protest to call on Wells Fargo to cease all investments into the private prison industry.
July 1st was a national day of action targeting the companies and investment firms which make the private prison industry possible. The Austin protest was one of over a dozen actions held across the United States calling for an end to an unjust system of profit over people.
Members of TUFF were at the corner of Congress Avenue and Cesar Chavez Street at lunchtime chanting, handing out flyers and engaging the public on Wells Fargo's role in the anti-immigrant movement and industry. The protest ended with three members of TUFF delivering a letter to a Wells Fargo representative asking the bank to act according to its own stated commitment to community values.
Texans United For Families stated "Wells Fargo is a major investor in the private prison corporation the GEO Group, holding over 3.5 million shares in GEO valued at $92 million. GEO has a history of human rights violations, especially in their Texas facilities, leading to deaths, riots, and hunger strikes. Even so, GEO continues profiting from billions in taxpayer dollars. Wells Fargo’s investment in GEO is supporting the construction of a new detention center in Karnes County, TX. GEO’s history points to future human rights violations at this facility. Wells Fargo claims to value community-building and ethics, yet they are investing in and profiting from an industry with unethical practices that harm our communities and prevent our feeling of belonging to a community."
World Refugee Day March & Rally in Austin, TX 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNg-YItXrKU
Music from World Refugee Day March Rally in Austin, TX 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUMb7gtCPqg
This video contains live Son Jarocho music from June 20th 2011; which was World Refugee Day, and it also marked a lengthy discussion at the Texas Capitol on Senate Bill 9 and House Bill 9, both immigration bills left pending in committee.
Outside the Capitol building, civil rights and immigration rights groups marched in opposition of those two bills and in opposition of an immigrant detention center being built outside San Antonio. The march was organized by Texans United for Families, but the immigration bills have stirred up plenty of controversy.
Other organizations joined the march including PODER, Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition, Austin Tan Cerca de la Frontera, American Gateways, American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, Detention Watch Network, Grassroots Leadership, Texas Civil Rights Project, Texas Jail Project, Texans United for Families, San Antonio Immigrant Youth Movement, Save Our Youth, Southwest Workers Union, Wilco Justice Alliance and Workers Defense Project.
To learn more about the movement and the detention center to be built outside San Antonio in Karnes, check out the Grassroots Leadership website (http://www.grassrootsleadership.org/).
It has been almost two years since three construction workers died while building the 21 Rio complex in West Campus. Now, the company that subcontracted some of that crew is partnering with the Workers Defense Project to raise awareness about employee safety. The three men who died at 21 Rio were employed by American Mast Climbers, a company subcontracted by Maxum Development.
Investigators say faulty scaffolding led to the workers' death in June of 2009. It's reported the crew was forced to work more than 60 a hours week applying stucco to the building, which is now an apartment complex."They not only worked long hours, but were forced to work in hazardous working conditions without workers compensation or rest breaks," Director of the Workers Defense Project, Christina Tzintzun, said.
"They were even illegally charged for their safety equipment."This past April, a judge forced the contractor to pay $15 million to the victims' families, and Maxum
Development dropped American Mast Climbers from all of its projects. In addition, Maxum plans to improve communication at construction sites and increase safety inspections and training."We are trying to build a repertoire with the workers to make these projects flow better, safer and work better as a team," Gary Perkins with Maxum Development said. Maxum's Gary Perkins signed an agreement Thursday with Workers Defense Project, promising those construction site improvements.
"I think many construction workers that already work in Texas are sometimes even afraid to go out every day to do their jobs," Tzintzun said.
"I think we need an industry where people--at the end of each work day--know that they can go home safely to their families."As Austin's skyline continues to change and urban development moves forward, the Workers Defense Project hopes other companies will follow Maxum's lead.Last fall, Austin City Council adopted an ordinance requiring workers to take breaks every four hours. The mandate also requires contractors to have drinking water available on site.Construction rights advocates still say there is still much to tackle in terms of safety. Just this past Tuesday, a teenager was hospitalized after suffering a severe heat stroke on a construction site. He told investigators he did not take any breaks and was not drinking enough water.
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