Economic Justice

Rosemary Williams, Linda Norenberg and thirty of their supporters crowded into Mayor Rybak's office on a rainy Wednesday morning. The mayor was out, it transpired.  So was his chief of staff.  Could the office call the mayor?  No.  "He doesn't have meetings with people who just stop in his office," said mayoral aide Erica Prosser.

"I'm losing my house, me and my kids are," said Norenberg, a Robbinsdale woman who is struggling to avoid foreclosure.  "We don't have time to wait for his schedule."

"We believe that if GMAC or US Bank or some other bank walked in here, the mayor would have a face to face, "Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign organizer Cheri Honkala told Prosser.

8:15PM Update: Free food and music have arrived and the atmosphere is festive as some people plan to stay the night.  Reports are that councilwoman Glidden spoke to a city inspector who claimed that no action would be taken tonight; however, Glidden was also told that no eviction attempt would occur today, just one hour before the sheriffs came.  Rosemary Williams is apparently staying at a neighbor's house tonight; beginning early Saturday, help is needed particularly in the form of vans and people to help move belongings.

6:30PM Update: Police squad cars have been doing drive-bys at Rosemary's house; many supporters still remain there.

4PM Friday: Approximately eight Hennepin County sheriff's deputies unexpectedly arrived at Rosemary Williams' home at 3128 Clinton Avenue around 2pm this afternoon, accompanied by four men presumably representing GMAC Mortgage.  All took photos of the inside of the house and garage; deputies installed a new lock on the garage and posted "no trespassing" notices on all doors.  They ordered supporters to leave the property, but did not enforce their order.  After some activists sat down on the front porch locking arms, one deputy pulled out his can of chemical spray.  Soon thereafter, however, all the sheriffs and GMAC representatives left the property in their unmarked vehicles, leaving the gathered supporters to wonder what will happen next.

BE PREPARED TO MOBILIZE QUICKLY TO ROSEMARY'S HOME IF THE SHERIFFS RETURN!

Currently, friends, family and supporters are moving some belongings from the house to a safer location.  Councilwoman Elizabeth Glidden, legal observers, major and independent media are at the house. | PPEHRC press release

MPR coverage

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"Today was supposed to be a very sad day," said a member of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC) to begin the press conference at Rosemary Williams's house this afternoon.  The sheriff had arrived at nine in the morning with an eviction notice.  Ms. Wiliams was packing.  Her son, his wife and their two small children had gone to their other grandmother's house.  Plans had been made for emergency foreclosure resistance.  "We were ready to go to jail," said Cheri Honkala of PPEHRC.  But twenty minutes before the press conference was to begin, one phone call changed everything.

In the wake of Tim Pawlenty's multi-million dollar budget cut, University of Minnesota president Bob Bruininks has announced that 1,240 university jobs will be eliminated.  Although this includes positions that won't be filled when employees retire or leave, approximately 600 workers will be laid off. The 1,240 vanished positions represent five percent of the university workforce.  Combined with a wage freeze and substantial cuts to the Regents' Scholarship program, these cuts mean that frontline staff at the U are doing more work for less money with no end in sight.

GRASSLEY: Good morning, Justice -- Judge Sotomayor. Yesterday, you said you would take a look at Baker v.

Four thousand men and
women at Acme in Philadelphia and the suburbs have
worked under a contract extension
since February 2008.
For many months their union – the
United Food and Commercial
Workers Local 1776 – and the
company have been in negotiations.
But on June 9, 2009, Acme issued a
last and best final offer. The company
threatened to terminate the existing
contract and implement its proposal
unilaterally.
The union remains willing to continue