Signed as an MBA alum and current teaching assistant. Botstein must resign.

“How many of these gentle people have I helped to kill just by paying my taxes?" June Jordan, 1984

Leon Botstein, president of @bardcollege.bsky.social, has repeatedly made public statements about his relationship with the pedophile sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein that have turned out to be misleading, incomplete, or untrue. I'm going to make a thread to compile them all here.

Bus Cuts YouTube video by Maya Kelly

The cuts made to RIPTA go beyond a line item in the budget. Behind every cut & reduction in service is an affected community member.

Their stories matter. We encourage you to watch Bus Cuts. Special thanks to @pvdstreets.bsky.social for sharing this short film.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgsH...

Union Carpenter Derek Ellis of Skowhegan was down the street from his job site in Portland when he saw ICE agents shout at a woman to "get the hell out" of her car. As they tore her out of her car, she screamed "I'm a US citizen! I'm a citizen!" as her small child in a carseat cried hysterically.

MEDIA ADVISORY:

Join us Thurs. Jan. 8 at the State House for a press conference launching our 2026 Save RIPTA Legislative Campaign + releasing the 2025 Service Cuts Impact Report. The report illustrates the consequences that RIPTA riders & workers are suffering.

Read the release on our website ⤵️

Rhode Island is losing its iconic businesses. Employee ownership could keep the doors open. - The Boston Globe If we want to save more businesses from disappearing, we must act urgently, writes Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos.

3 cheers for this proposal for an investment into employee ownership from @sabinamatos.bsky.social. "It’s time to chart a new path: one where the businesses that define Rhode Island stay open and remain in the hands of the communities who built them."

Over the last five years we built
Reclaim Rhode Island into a potent housing justice, tenant organizing, left political organization. We’re hiring:

- tenant organizers to be supervised by SEIU 1199 NE

- an executive director to build Reclaim up into a powerhouse cadre org. Details below!

I love everything about this!

A joy to facilitate visioning & priority-setting with the RI Worker Cooperative Alliance last night at Fuerza's beautiful space!

The Economic Progress Institute celebrates 10 wins that promote progress and equity for Rhode Islanders “I put myself into it to make sure people talked about taxing the rich, and we did. We did it in a big way this year, and we’re not giving up," said Weayonnoh Nelson-Davies. "The year isn’t over yet.”

The Economic Progress Institute celebrates 10 wins that promote progress & equity for Rhode Islanders

“I put myself into it to make sure people talked about taxing the rich, & we did. We did it in a big way this year, & we’re not giving up," said Weayonnoh Nelson-Davies. "The year isn’t over yet.”

Climate Change Will Bankrupt the Country Climate-fueled disasters cost America almost a trillion dollars over the last year, far more than economists predicted.

turns out climate change will cost dramatically more than economists predicted, and the cost of addressing it is actually negative. oops! prospect.org/environment/...

We’re making the (g)rounds this summer, visiting some of Rhode Island’s finest coffee shops! Come out to see us every Wednesday morning at 8-9 a.m. for a quick hello, to talk community investment, or just to support a local business. We’re starting this Wednesday at worker-owned White Electric.

Amer Rabee was a Palestinian American born in New Jersey. He was not a terrorist — he was just a child.

In the West Bank and in Gaza, atrocities like the killing of Amer are occurring daily.

We cannot stay silent. We cannot look away.

“Beyond Description”: Report from Gaza as U.N. Warns 14,000 Babies Could Soon Die The U.N.'s humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher warned Tuesday that 14,000 babies could die in Gaza over the next 48 hours if more aid does not enter the besieged territory. The warning comes as Israel expands...

"The Suffering Is Beyond Description": Report from Gaza as U.N. Warns 14,000 Babies Could Soon Die

Republicans are attacking childcare funding. Their goal? To push women out of the workforce | Moira Donegan The right wants American women to bear more children and withdraw from full participation in society

I wrote about Republicans proposed cuts to childcare funding, and the broader right-wing effort to undo the Second Wave and push women out of the paid workforce. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Butler Hospital Union Workforce announces open strike beginning May 15, 2025 “Our decision to move forward with the strike on May 15 is not one any of us takes lightly but we know it necessary,” said Dawn Williams, RN.

#PVDlocal/#RIocal: Butler Hospital refuses to meet the need for safe staffing & fair wages, so the strike covered in this article is moving forward on Thursday 5/15. If there are opportunities for members of the public to support, I'll share them. steveahlquist.substack.com/p/butler-hos...

73% of mothers with kids under 18 are in the workforce. More than flowers or brunch, working moms need:

-Paid family leave
-Equal pay
-Universal childcare

(But get your mom flowers, too)

❤️

What is America’s pro-natalism movement really about? | Moira Donegan Pro-natalists aren’t actually interested in making motherhood easier by offering things like affordable childcare. So what is their aim?

Pronatalists: Encourage white births, enforce regressive, hierarchal & stratified social roles, push women out of public sphere & limit women’s prospects for social, professional intellectual life to pregnancy, childcare & housework. @moiradonegan.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

RI Tax the Rich – Wednesday evening power calls! · RI Working Families Party Protect Rhode Island from Trump and Musk's hostile takeover! Join Working Families Power every Wednesday at 6:30pm for focused, 20-minute organizing calls to raise taxes on the rich in RI and protect...

You already pay more than your fair share in taxes. It's time for the top 1% in #RI to pay theirs.

TONIGHT
Join our 20min "power calls"
Wednesdays at 6:30pm

For info on:
💸 RI's funding cliff
💸 why taxing the 1% matters
💸 what you can do to help

www.mobilize.us/riwfp/event/...

Chicago Teachers Union ratifies groundbreaking contract cementing LGBTQ+ protections Discrimination in education isn't welcome in the Windy City.

"The agreement includes meaningful raises, smaller class sizes, and more classroom resources, but it also codifies some of the most comprehensive LGBTQ+ protections ever included in a public school labor deal."

Check out "bargaining for the common good"

www.advocate.com/news/chicago...

Plan 2028: Bringing Labor and Social Movements Together UAW called for unions to synchronize contract expirations on May 1, 2028. How can we harness this compression point to coordinate our movements?

Action is necessary, planning is essential. convergencemag.com/articles/pla...

Admit you made a mistake

BREAKING: Mahmoud Khalil Can Be Deported, Immigration Judge Rules The judge said the Trump administration’s evidence – a two-page letter from Secretary of State Marco Rubio – is sufficient to deport Khalil under an obscure legal provision.

Chilling. They are saying that simply taking action in opposition to US foreign policy is grounds for deportation.

Think of the proud lineage of protests against US-backed wars, coups, torture...

BREAKING: Mahmoud Khalil Can Be Deported, Immigration Judge Rules open.substack.com/pub/zeteo/p/...

Trump Administration Aims to Spend $45 Billion to Expand Immigrant Detention A request for proposals for new detention facilities and other services would allow the government to expedite the contracting process and rapidly expand detention.

this is a staggering amount of money to build camps—suggesting that building & running a gulag will be the primary function of the otherwise gutted Trump-state

in last fiscal yr: "D.H.S. allocated about $3.4 billion for the entire custody operation overseen by ICE"

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/u...

So proud of Rhode Island for showing up this weekend. I saw neighbors, coworkers from former jobs, lots of people I usually don't see at protests. Mass mobilization is critical right now - there is no mandate for the corporate coup. Let's do it again soon! #HandsOff #PopularFront

Thousands take to the streets of Providence to protest the Trump/Musk Administration "Thousands mobilized today because we stand united against Rhode Island being bought, sold, and gutted just so billionaires can get a few more tax breaks."

Thousands take to the streets of Providence to protest the Trump/Musk Administration

"Thousands mobilized today because we stand united against Rhode Island being bought, sold, and gutted just so billionaires can get a few more tax breaks."

steveahlquist.substack.com/p/thousands-...

TOMORROW! AFT members are joining thousands of people in a nationwide day of action to say: Hands off our Social Security. Hands off our public schools. Hands off our Medicare. Hands off our jobs.

It's not too late to find an event near you: www.mobilize.us/handsoff #HandsOff #ProtectOurKids

On this Trans Day of Visibility, we celebrate and recommit to protecting our transgender, non-binary, and gender nonconforming siblings! 🏳️‍⚧️💜
Trans rights are labor rights! ✊

#TDOV #TransDayofVisibility