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The Handful of Salt
is published eleven times a year by the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane. It is named for Mahatma Gandhi’s salt tax protest, a successful, nonviolent grassroots action that created significant social change against overwhelming resource advantages.
Steering Committee
Michelle
Guilford, Maurina Ladich, Mike Nuess, Avery Rendon, Marianne Torres,
Lew Wilson
Lowell Brocklehurst
Staff
Carla Brannan, Joni Brown, Nancy Nelson, Rusty Nelson, Shane Russell (EWU Intern)
Volunteers
Christy Anderson, George
Avellar, Brock Baker, Linda
Greene, Loel Hobson, Myrta Ladich, Ron Myers, Keith Thomas, Elaine
Tyrie, Rick Trombley, Terry Walline.
Diamond Press
Editorial
The last Pinch, our between issues update, however, was a fiscal disaster. I was not notified of the bulk mail changes that went into effect at the same time first class postage went up to 41 cents, and had our volunteers prepare the mailing in the easiest way. At the bulk mail unit, I found it would cost me twice as much to send one sheet of paper with a single fold as we had been paying to send our 12 page newsletter with a couple of inserts. Now, time is running out for me to catch up on the rules quickly enough to get this issue to you without putting a first class stamp on it.
Some other nonprofit bulk mailers are saying all of the changes this year are at the expense of small publications to benefit the big magazines, mailed to hundreds of thousands of subscribers. The writing on the wall says PJALS is still lagging behind in the rush to do it all online. Maybe by the end of the year, we’ll make a few hard copies for those of you who don’t do email and send them first class. Then we’ll use bulk mail only for special messages and events.
Maybe this is a good time to remind you that we would like to have your current email address. If you aren’t getting occasional messages from us about meetings and other opportunities, we don’t have your email and may be keeping a bad or outdated eddress in our records. You may email it or phone it to us. Thank you to everyone who has kept us up to date with your changes.
Speaking of changes, I mention some in another article, but there are others to come, and they are not yet very clear. I have applied for Social Security, and Nancy and I expect to reduce our PJALS hours to a combined 20/week sometime this fall. It remains to be seen if we will continue to direct the organization or become something like consultants or senior correspondents. That probably depends upon subsequent hires and the vision of the steering committee. If you have opinions, ideas and suggestions, I’m not sure I want to hear them, but I would love for you to run them by the steering committee.
By the way, a very good way to run something by the steering committee is to join it. We need a couple of seats filled, and this could be an exciting time to do a job that is not always thankless and often a lot of fun. Visit a meeting to check it out.
Many snapshots tend to vie for my subconscious attention as I approach the 20th anniversary of my PJALS employment. Perhaps I’ll share some of them over the next few months, but at this moment, it feels like I’ve been a long term apprentice or intern. There has never been enough time for a slow learner to absorb the wisdom and insight from you who were making peace and practicing nonviolence while I was a soldier. Others came along with fresh ideas and enthusiasm to add to my education, even if you thought I was a sage just because I was allowed to be the voice or the face of PJALS.
Retirement is very appealing to me, but I think I can do it part time, just like I’ve done every job I’ve had for the past 20 years. I don’t want to ride off into the sunset or trade my computer for a satellite dish, but I’d like to watch more sunsets and write something for fun. I expect to show up for some meetings and demonstrations, but I’m ready for someone besides Nancy to plan and run them, someone who won’t care if times and dates work for us. But, we can’t walk away from PJALS, even after we leave the staff . We’re still members, like you.
The steering committee, I think, will need some help in guiding our group over the next 20 years. You might have feelings about someone who could bring the energy, leadership, and development skills to revitalize PJALS. I’ve had some notions, some of which might have been brilliant and some of which were stupid, but I’m ready to place the future into the hands of the steering committee and offer a few hours a week to help someone else chart the stars and map the landmines.
PJALS does not depend too heavily upon staff leadership. It’s a grassroots organization, dependent upon membership support and participation. At times, Nancy and I have been the right people to have on staff. At other times, we’ve been rescued, bolstered, or corrected by volunteers or steering committee.
I’d like to watch from a distance as someone comes in here and communicates with and motivates radicals and moderates and helps them appreciate each other, all while being evangelical about nonviolent action and fearless and creative in fundraising. Such a person, I believe, will have enough help from the membership to deal with every issue at hand.
This work is very obviously not rocket science. I’m tempted to say a passion for social justice is required, but then I remember that 20 years ago, I barely knew what that was.
When the time
comes, there will be a job description. I hope I don’t have to write
it...that sounds like hard work. More than that, I hope we’ll find
someone who will enjoy working for you as much as I have. - RN
We can happily report that we
feel we have enough signatures to survive the validation process. We
hope it will be enough to show city officials, the business community,
and undecided voters that Spokane Citizens for a Living Wage speaks for
the majority of the people in the city in demanding an ordinance that
addressing the plight of the working poor (a term that should be an
oxymoron in any just society). Now, we expect the Big Box Retail
Living Wage ordinance to be on the Spokane ballot in November. That’s
good news, but we’re not able to sit by and wait until hundreds of
families have the opportunity to circulate some of the money that has
traditionally been spent in Spokane and then shipped to corporate
headquarters in other parts of the country. The November election will
be a challenge. PJALS believes this ordinance has
something positive to offer the entire community, even those managers
and executives who had hoped to subvert Washington’s best-in-the-nation
minimum wage, instead of adding another level of hope to retail
employees and their families. It also offers encouragement to small
retail employers who are not required to pay more than the state
minimum wage, because more workers in Spokane will be able to buy their
products. We hope our campaign for the election will teach the public
that most of us live every day in a Spokane economy that has nothing to
do with the price of sowbellies, or gold or a Hummer, or a vacation in
Tahiti. We live in an economy that revolves around prices for a gallon
of milk, a gallon of regular, unleaded gas, a pair of children’s shoes,
or a bus ticket to Moses Lake. If you’ve followed our project,
you know we take liberties with the term “living wage.” We’re talking
about an enhanced minimum wage for employees of retailers with more
than 95,000 sq. ft. of retail space in Spokane, $10.71 for a worker who
gets some health care benefits, $13.08/hr. without benefits. Sure,
these wages are better, but it is a rare family that can survive on
that rate, even at 40 hours/week. Representatives of the stores
affected by this ordinance say it is unfair. It seems rather unfair to
us, however, for a huge corporation to base its profits on goods
manufactured by foreign workers locked into poverty wages and sold by
underpaid employees who are expected to be neat, clean, courteous and
reliable, in order to enrich stockholders who reward executives with
millions in compensation, even when the company performs poorly. Without demonizing any business,
we must be clear that big box retailers can easily afford to pay a lot
more than we demand. Some of you who love justice are
also reluctant to support this ordinance. We ask now that you
reconsider and back our election campaign. There are track records for
other living wage laws, and you can see how they help level the playing
field and add hope to economically challenged communities. Chicago is
the only city to attempt a big box model, and after a strong positive
vote by the Board of Aldermen, the mayor caved to pressure, not from
voters or local businesses, but from Target and Wal-Mart. This is new, and has scary
elements. Oddly enough, we don’t hear about fears that retail workers
won’t have to ask for public assistance or line up at the food bank. We
don’t hear concerns that schools in depressed areas might have better
attendance and qualify for more state dollars or have fewer children
eligible for free meals. Nobody worries that fewer full time workers
will need subsidized health care and housing or that more money will be
circulated in Spokane instead of piped to distant corporate
headquarters for distribution to the very rich. The scariest thing we hear is
that the city may be sued if our ordinance becomes law. That is scary
to PJALS only because we know some city leaders fear the threat of
litigation more than they fear the ravages of poverty and hopelessness
in our families and neighborhoods. Long before we printed our
petitions, lawyers vetted our ordinance. We only regret Chicago wasn’t
there first, to deflect the legal challenges that are inevitable, but
we’ll keep trying to convince the big guys that this ordinance is in
their best interests, too. - RN
Samuel Morales returned home to Saravena June 15
after nearly three years in prison for "rebellion." He committed the
crime of being a teacher and president of the Unified Workers
Federation in Arauca. I accompanied him on the flight from
Bogota to Saravena and it was a joy to witness his homecoming. "I was kidnapped by the governmental regime
for 33 months," he said. "If opposing a militaristic government and
offering alternative ideas is to be a 'rebel,' then I don't mind being
called a rebel." Jose Murillo also returned home to
Saravena on June 18 after more than three years in prison for
"rebellion." His crime was being the president of the Joel Sierra Human
Rights Foundation. 40 people and the Savanna folk music group greeted
Jose in the airport, with another reception following. "You find out in prison just how committed you
are to the struggle for social justice," Jose told me. "It's one thing
to support people that are suffering repression, and another to
directly experience that repression yourself. I was held in a
maximum-security prison that was modeled after U.S. prisons. The prison
system is designed to isolate you from your social environment, your
family, and your own self." I visited Samuel and Jose in the
maximum-security wing of La Modelo prison in June 2005. My arm was
stamped with a visitor number, my fingerprints were taken twice, and my
arms were stamped six more times at various checkpoints. Jose told me
the history of the Arauca social movement, and Samuel described each
moment of the August 5 massacre. During the reception for Jose, I expressed my
appreciation to him and Samuel for that visit. My voice suddenly
choked-up as I recalled them confined in prison while viewing them free
and at home again here in Saravena - a moment of profound joy and
sorrow. I was gone from Saravena for just
two-and-a-half months, but it's also been a very emotional return for
me to my Colombian home. It's wonderful to experience again the love
and warmth of our sisters and brothers, and the beauty of this region.
The first evening here, I went up to the terrace roof to watch the
sunset over the Andes, and a flock of herons flew past. A few days
later, Samuel referred to me as the "adopted son" of the Arauca social
movement. In love and solidarity. Scott Nicholson
More than 30 people came out to the heavily-militarized Saravena
airport to greet Samuel, and there was a larger reception for him in
the Arauca Social Organizations building.
Samuel was an eyewitness to the massacre of three social leaders by the
Colombian Army on August 5, 2004 - Alirio Martinez, president of a
peasant association; Leonel Goyeneche, teacher and union treasurer; and
Jorge Prieto, president of the health care workers union. Samuel was
detained by the army and flown to the Saravena military base. When he
stepped out of the helicopter, the base commander told him "You're very
lucky. The plan for you was supposed to be different."
[It’s hardly a surprise that our area
representatives, McMorris Rodgers, Hastings, and Sali supported the
Pentagon, but it is frustrating that we can never meet with them to
present our strong and well-informed opinions. Even in the absence of
an active local campaign, PJALS remains eager to educate elected
officials and the public about terrorist training at Ft. Benning, and
we have speakers, videos, and background to share with church, school,
and study groups. It’s certainly appropriate to tell U.S. representatives they missed a great
opportunity to save millions of dollars and lots of future
embarrassment, not to mention the human misery that is always found in
the wake of SOA graduates.] Because of your persistence, 209 Members of
Congress voted with us, despite pressure by the Pentagon. Together
we educated hundreds of Representatives and staffers about the
SOA/WHINSEC. We built new relationships and strengthened long-term
ones. We thank you for all your amazing work, sacrifice, commitment and
support! - SOA Watch, www.soaw.org
The grassroots mobilizing effort was
tremendous: Tens of thousands of emails, faxes and calls flooded
Congress . Students, clergy, union members and veterans traveled to DC
and visited hundreds of Congressional offices to communicate clearly
that there is no room for institutions like the SOA/WHINSEC in our
future. Despite this, 214 Members of Congress missed the chance to
stand up for human rights, justice and democracy, and voted to keep the
funding flowing.
The WHINSEC PR machine and high-ranking Pentagon officials used
taxpayer money to pressure Congress. However, this is no excuse for
Representatives to not be accountable to constituents. There were
Members who committed to cut funding, then shifted their votes. They
need to hear from us, loudly and in public.
WE WILL CLOSE THE SOA/WHINSEC
While we did not get enough Members to vote with us, it’s clear to us
and our supporters in the House that we have tremendous power when
we mobilize together. We gained the support of new Republicans and new
members of Congress. The margin of SOA survival is rapidly dwindling,
and due to grassroots pressure, we added several new cosponsors to HR
1707, bringing our total to 111.
Finally, Congress is beginning
to address U.S. policy on Cuba. Witness for Peace says Senators Murray
and Cantwell are co-sponsors of a bill to end the U.S. travel ban and
allow for sale of food and medicine there. Meanwhile, Rep. McMorris
Rodgers voted for a huge funding increase for Cuban, right wing
organizing in the U.S.
This is an
invitation to join with UNA-USA Spokane, PJALS, and The World Affairs
Council to peacefully observe the International Day of Peace
on September 21st 2007. It is our vision
that many civic groups and organizations, businesses, schools, churches
and people in the arts community will celebrate this day through use of
posters, observances, speakers, discussions, study groups, worship
services, and events expressing peace through artworks, music, dance
and poetry and celebrations that support and reflect on peace. One person:
Jeremy Gilley, a British film maker was instrumental in creating a day
for the already existing International Day of Peace and also make it a
day for global cease-fire and non-violence. He imagined a day for
everyone in homes, schools and communities around the world to stop
fighting!! He picked the day: 21 September. He called the the project: PEACE
ONE DAY! The International
Day of Peace was established on September 7, 2001 by the
General Assembly of the United Nations, through Resolution 55/282. The
resolution 1. Decides…. the
International Day of Peace shall be observed on 21 September each year,
with this date brought to the attention of all for the celebration and
observance of peace. 2. Declares that the International Day of Peace shall
henceforth be observed as a day of global ceasefire and nonviolence, an
invitation to all nations and people to honor a cessation of
hostilities for the duration of the Day; 3.
Invites all member states, organizations of the UN system,
regional and non-governmental organizations and individuals to
commemorate, in an appropriate manner, the International Day of Peace,
including through education and public awareness, and to cooperate with
the UN in the establishment of the global ceasefire. As a result of the work of Jeremy Gilley, and the support of
the governments of Costa Rica and the UK this resolution passed. The first day of global ceasefire and non-violence, 21st
September 2002, was celebrated in 98 countries by individuals,
organizations and governments. We in Spokane would like to make this a big
celebration in our community with the participation of many groups and
organizations. Marcia Loft and Golie Jansen are spearheading this effort. The
next planning meeting will be on July 10, as speakers,
entertainers and venues are considered. If you would like to be
involved as a PJALS member or want to suggest the participation of
another organization, please contact Rusty or Nancy
International Day of
Peace, September 21
Spokane Friends Meeting
Invites You to A Discernment Workshop Saturday July 14 from ten a.m. until three p.m. The
Elders of Spokane Friends have underwritten this event, including
lunch. An opportunity will be provided for contributions to defray
costs. Advanced registration is helpful but not essential. Spokane Friends
Meetinghouse is located at 1612 W. Dalke St., one block south of
Francis between Maple and Ash streets. You will
find it helpful to have read Practicing Discernment Together,
Finding God’s Way Forward in Decision Making by Lon Fendall, Jan
Wood, and Bruce Bishop © 2007 (ISBN 1-59498-009-8) before the
workshop. It is available from Barclay Press (press.com) or contact
Spokane Friends. Lon
Fendall, our resource person, is Director of the Center for Global
Studies and the Center for Peace and Justice at George Fox University.
He has authored several books including the Heroes of the Faith edition
of William Wilberforce and Unlocking Horns, the story
of ethnic cleansing and restoration in East Africa. He is Presiding
Clerk of NW Yearly Meeting and works with Quaker United Nations
Org.10:00- 11:15 -- Session One Defining listening, consensus,
discernment and clearness - what words mean. Often it seems we reach
consensus through language, finding words acceptable to all while
leaving the underlying issue unresolved and masked. Is discernment a
skill set, a set of rules (an alternative to Robert's Rules) to be
learned and followed or is it a way of life? 11:30 - 12:45 -- Session Two Tools
for discernment – focus on decision making by organizations. How do we/
what does it mean/ to make decisions – set directions? 12:45 – 1:45 -- Lunch Break 1:45 – 3:00 - Session Three “Clerking 101” or “A Participant’s guide to Clerking”.
Understanding what the clerk is about. What is the role of the
participant in corporate decision making? For additional information: (509) 327-7852;
www.spokanefriends.com
Have you made an online contribution to PJALS?
Each month, a few more supporters find that this is the right way for
them to pay dues or make a gift to the little organization that keeps
on thinking globally and acting locally. Some of you may recall that we offered the
credit card option some years ago. Then, an adjustment in the way Visa
and Mastercard do business meant that all of our bank card
contributions were almost enough to pay our monthly fees for offering
the service. Now, you can use your credit card on PayPal, you don’t
have to have your own paypal account, and we don’t have to pay through
the nose. We hope things get even more convenient for
all of us, because expenses continue to rise, and we’d like to respond
to greater expenses by adding more members instead of
asking you for more money each year. Way back when we entered the
living wage movement, PJALS made a commitment to keep well ahead of the
minimum wage for our employees. That has never been easy, but the
effort has been worthwhile, and not just to the Money from page 10 paid staff. It has helped keep us honest in the continuing
discussion of what constitutes a fair, family, or living wage, while
maintaining a professional peace and justice presence for the Spokane
area. The struggle, of course,
continues. Capable workers still need more than a pat on the head and
$12/hour for 20 hours/week, and we try to work in some help with health
insurance and even retirement benefits for longtime staff. We still
can’t complain when an employee finds a job with more hours and better
benefits, especially when it’s with another organization contributing
to social justice in our community. Our steering committee,
meanwhile, works without fiscal compensation and with very little
thanks, looking out for the workers, the budget and the volunteers. Here are some recent changes:
Maurina Ladich has resigned from the steering committee, having served
well beyond a three-year term and having been involved in every
imaginable facet of PJALS activity, although she was one of those rare
SC members with both a demanding job and a young child. A few months
ago, Dennis Medina stepped down after a two-year term, having
successfully juggled PJALS meetings and activities with a tough work
schedule that includes hemispheric travel. Carla Brannan was a staffer who
hit the ground running because she had experience as an administrator
and as an active PJALS member. We’ll be happy to have her back in the
Community Building when her new employer, Community-Minded Enterprises,
moves into the Saranac. Meanwhile, as a volunteer, she’s helping us
resuscitate our database. Joni Brown, having completed
her MSW, is taking on more hours and will be your contact for INWE as
well as economic justice issues, before dividing her attention between
PJALS and another employer. She’s done a great job with Shane and
Romane, interns who have also become essential volunteers whom we would
love to keep around. We’d like to keep in touch with
you in more ways than asking for money. Because our hours are erratic,
some of you miss us when you drop by. We’re trying to get more
consistent, and we invite you to call ahead to see who’s here. And, we
are going to get better about asking you for money, meaning we’re going
to ask you for more money, more often. To do that, we feel we have to
offer you more, and that means we need to hear from you about what
you’d like to do with and for PJALS. Let’s be in touch. Your reading
this is a great start. - RN
Your Money, Your Energy, Our
Resources
Bart Haggin has agreed to take the torch and get us into the
role of big oil in our empire dilemma. He’ll speak and take your
questions on July 17, 7 pm, at the Community Building. For our finale, we go back to one of the most popular
presentations of last year’s series on Iran. Shawn Nikfar will show his
pictures and humanize the presumed enemy-in-waiting of the Bush
administration, July 24, same time and place. A Grant from INCF PJALS is grateful for a grant of $1000 for general operating
support from the Patricia M. Houff Fund of Inland Northwest Community
Foundation. We are delighted to have a relationship with INCF, formerly
Foundation Northwest, which serves 20 counties in Eastern Washington
and North Idaho. Patty Houff is one of two longtime PJALS members and
activists to honor us with INCF grants.
We couldn’t quit discussing Empire. After 3 sessions we
decided to keep cooking.
We need your help, of course, to make this event fun and
productive. If you hate sales like this, just bring us some good items
you no longer no longer need...old or new, but not junk or trash...and
we’ll convert it to a cash donation for PJALS. If you love this stuff,
make a weekend of it, call to see when you can best help us set up
Thursday and sell on Friday and Saturday. The more volunteers, the
better, for one hour or four. You may deliver items beginning the 9th. Call the office or
contact Jane at 838-5803.
The PJALS Garage Sale is back! And it’s back at that prime
location just off High Drive, the home of Jane Cunningham and Julian
Powers, at 2028 S. Adams. We’ll be in business from 9 am until 6 pm on
Friday the 13th and 9 am til 3 pm on Saturday the 14th.
PJALS is committed to
involving individuals and local communities in building foundations for
a just and nonviolent world. Please join PJALS or make
sure your annual membership is current. We are now able to take
contributions at this website: www.pjals.net
You do not need a Pay Pal account to make an online donation.
The Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane depends upon gifts and dues from members to continue to work for peace and justice, locally and globally. We welcome anyone who favors free exchange of ideas and nonviolent action to war or to inaction and ignorance. PJALS, 35 W Main, Spokane, WA 99201.
You determine your own level of support and participation. Members also determine issues and projects
that get the most attention and effort.
PJALS | ISSUES | HISTORY | CONTACT | HANDFUL | CALENDAR | SUPPORT | MEMBERSHIP