News in Brief: May 5, 2014

Students for a Just and Stable Future and 350 Massachusetts – State House
Environmental activists met with Governor Deval Patrick on Friday to raise concerns over state investment in fossil fuel-related industries. The meeting was granted with Students for a Just and Stable Future (SJSF) and 350 Massachusetts members, following a rally outside the State House at the beginning of April. In an interview with Open Media Boston, an SJSF leader Ben Thompson says that the governor was “very interested” in hearing the demands of the activists, which include bans on coal, fracking, and tar sands in the state, as well as the banning of the development of new fossil fuel-related infrastructure. Further details of the brief meeting were kept confidential, and the governor’s office declined to provide a press statement on the meeting.

Jobs Not Jails – State House
On Wednesday, supporters of the Jobs Not Jails campaign rallied at the State House calling on legislators to pass criminal justice reforms, invest in jobs, and decrease funding for the prisons. Advocates wrapped a large banner around the building with roughly 30,000 petition signatures in support of the campaign’s goals.

UNITE HERE – Cambridge
Members of the Cambridge City Council voted unanimously in favor of supporting the boycott of the Harvard-owned Doubletree Hotel in the city on Monday last week. Workers at the hotel have been picketing the hotel and calling for a boycott by patrons until their demands for a fair unionization process have been met.

SEIU local 32BJ – Cambridge
With the support of elected officials and labor leaders, dozens of security officers rallied outside Cambridge College on Tuesday last week in support of higher standards for security officers at the school. Advocates claim that security officers at Cambridge College have been denied the industry standard for pay and benefits in the Cambridge area, receiving wages lower than the $16 an hour standard, and poorer benefits.