LATEST NEWS

Justice Theater Conference Advances Human Rights Zone Campaign
Monday January 18: NESRI partner United Workers’ Justice Theater Conference brought together social and economic justice organizers and human rights activists, with theater, art, storytellers, and puppet makers. Together they shared skills, culture, struggles and a vision for a world free from poverty. The theater conference set the stage for the United Workers’ Human Rights Zone Campaign spring event.  Our Harbor Day, on May 1, 2010, will be a huge theatrical participation play at the Baltimore Inner Harbor. See a conference photo gallery >>>

Cathy Albisa on GRITtv to Discuss a Human Rights-Based Vision for Social Housing
Thursday, January 14: Cathy Albisa, NESRI Executive Director, and Rob Robinson of NESRI ally Picture the Homeless discussed public housing, homelessness and the foreclosure crisis on GRITtv with host Laura Flanders. The housing crisis was where the economic meltdown started: a bubble popped, and foreclosures spread across the country. Now houses stand vacant while people sleep on the streets in record cold, and in some places public housing is actually destroyed to make way for new development. In response to this situation, Alibsa and Robinson insist the key is to build a social movement for the human right to housing.

Write a Letter to the Editor about the Human Right to Health Care
Wednesday, January 13:  NESRI Ally Amnesty International USA is running a letter-writing campaign to bring attention to the failure of current health care reform efforts to meet human rights standards. Get ideas for writing your own letter to local newspapers >>> Read NESRI's Anja Rudiger’s regular contributions to AI's Human Rights Now blog >>> NESRI has prepared a preliminary human rights assessment of the Senate and House health care reform bills. Download the powerpoint presentation >>>

UN Housing Mission Makes "The 10 Most Notable Homelessness Stories of 2009"
Monday, January 11:  Change.org recently compiled a list of the 10 news stories on homelessness that stood out the most in 2009.  The UN Housing Mission to the US, coordinated by NESRI and partners, came in at number four.  See the entire list >>>

Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign Calls For Bold New Year's Resolution - Zero Evictions in 2010
Monday, January 5:  NESRI ally the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign has been working hard to extend the Cook County (Chicago) Holiday Season moratorium on evictions.  They are reaching out to folks around the country to call Chicago authorities and demand that the moratorium be extended throughout 2010. According to a statement from the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign “With the economy in shambles, respecting the human right to housing is more important than ever.” Read the attached document and call Chicago authorities and DEMAND the moratorium be continued >>> View CBS 2’s coverage of the Anti-Eviction Campaign on Jan 4 >>> and Jan 5 >>>

CIW Walk for Farmworker Justice! Vote for Publix as Scrooge of the Year!
Friday, December 11:  As part of the Alliance for Fair Food, NESRI supported the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' largest Publix action of the year in Lakeland, Florida, where Publix's headquarters are located. On December 6 over 500 CIW members and supporters from all over the country gathered in front of a local Publix store, where hundreds marched in a picket line and others held banners for passing traffic, accompanied by musicians.  The group then marched through town to a local city park for a rally, where religious leaders and CIW members spoke, urging Publix to stop making excuses, to admit that there is no fair market price for slavery, to stop purchasing from tomato growers whose farms use slave labor, and to join other major retail food corporations in working with the CIW to raise wages and improve working conditions.  For a photo report of the action >>> To vote for Publix to receive Jobs with Justice's annual Scrooge of the Year Award >>> To read about the United Workers Fair Food Solidarity Tour bringing together Baltimore's United Workers and the CIW for days of action and sharing >>>

New CD Release:  Care For All
Thursday, December 10:  Recently a committed group of musicians released a benefit CD in support of realizing health care as a human right. Blues singer/guitarist Scott Ainslie pulled together nine other recording artists and produced "Care for All", a compilation CD to support the Healthcare Is A Human Right campaign of NESRI Partner Vermont Workers' Center. The CD includes a special appearance by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, with his words set to music.  Speaking about the CD, Care for All producer Scott Ainslie suggests "The premise here is simple: when we agree that healthcare is a human right, public policy will move toward a healthcare delivery system that is based upon medical need rather than corporate greed."  To order the CD >>>

New Publication:  Bringing Human Rights Home
Tuesday, December 8:  We are excited to let you know about the publication of the new abridged edition of Bringing Human Rights Home: A History of Human Rights in the United States, edited by Cynthia Soohoo, NESRI Executive Director Catherine Albisa, and NESRI Board President Martha F. Davis.  We are pleased this book is now available in a much more affordable version suitable for classroom use and personal reference.  Encourage your university or local library to stock a copy.  View a flyer about the book >>>  Order a copy online >>>

New Video: Holidays Video for Mayday New Orleans Save the Iberville Campaign
Saturday, December 5: In this video, NESRI Partner Mayday New Orleans and Tulane Student Group SERA decorate a Christmas Tree at the Iberville Public Housing Project in New Orleans. The action and video are part of Mayday New Orleans' fight for the human right to housing in the Gulf Coast.

Mayday & SERA from alex glustrom on Vimeo.

Dignity in Schools Campaign Releases National Resolution for Ending School Pushout
Thursday, December 3: Today NESRI and over 180 organizations and individuals have signed on to support the Dignity in Schools Campaign National Resolution for Ending School Pushout, a call to action for our school systems to end the harsh disciplinary policies and law enforcemnet tactics that push too many young people out of school. The National Resolution calls for schools to create positive climates for learning and adopt alternative approaches to discipline that protect the human rights of all young people. To read the Resolution and see the list of signatories >>> To view the press release >>> To read about activities being organized around the country to release the Resolution >>> To find out more about the National Resolution >>>

Voices from the Dignity in Schools Campaign
- Damekia Morgan from NESRI on Vimeo.

Walk for Farmworker Justice
Tuesday, December 1:  After a series of successful protests at Publix supermarkets across the South last month, NESRI partner the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is preparing for the largest Publix action of the year on Sunday, December 6, in Lakeland, Florida, where Publix's headquarters are located. The Walk for Farmworker Justice will begin at a local Publix store and end at a local park for a rally and candlelight vigil. The CIW and its allies will be urging Publix to stop purchasing tomatoes from tomato growers involved in last year's slavery prosecution and to work with the CIW to support tomato growers who today are implementing more ethical farm labor practices in Florida's fields.  Details about the Walk for Farmworker Justice are available here >>>  For more information about the Campaign for Fair Food >>>  For breaking news about the CIW's partnership with labor monitoring NGO Verite to design and implement a program to monitor the improved labor conditions required by the CIW's agreements with retail food corporations, see the December 1st press release >>>

Take Action! Join the Student Safety Coalition in Urging the City Council to Vote on the Student Safety Act Now!
Monday, November 23: NESRI is a founding member of the Student Safety Coalition, a coalition of nineteen organizations working to increase accountability over school safety and discipline policies to protect students’ human rights to education and to be treated with dignity in school. The Student Safety Act would create new data reporting requirements about discipline and safety incidents in schools to increase transparency, and would require that students be educated about their rights to file complaints against school safety agents. Read NESRI testimony before the City Council >>> If you are a NYC resident, click here to ask the New York City Council to hold a vote on the Student Safety Act on November 30 >>>

The School to Prison Pipeline: Is it a Human Rights Violation?
Friday, November 20:  Back in October the Dignity in Schools Campaign co-sponsored the Roundtable Socratic Dialogue - The School to Prison Pipeline: Is it a Human Rights Violation? The dialogue was part of a full day conference entitled - Raising Our Hands: Creating a National Strategy for Children's Right to Education and Counsel.  To view a recently released video of the dialogue >>>  To view a recent Chicago Catalyst article about the dialogue and the model code project >>>

UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing Finds “Millions Lack Access to Affordable and Adequate Housing in the U.S.”

Tuesday, November 17:  Raquel Rolnik, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing concluded her first official Mission to the U.S. on Sunday, November 8.  In her final statement to the press, she commented that “Millions lack access to affordable and adequate housing in the U.S.”  To view the official UN press release >>>  To view the Special Rapporteur’s preliminary findings >>> To view the Housing Mission blog >>>  To view the full list of press coverage >>>

New Articles on the Health Care Reform Debate
A new NESRI post on the Amnesty International USA blog analyses the new health care reform bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, and argues that the proposed reform measures continue to make access to health care dependent on the ability to pay. >>> 

A previous NESRI post reviews the growing number of health advocates that are calling for the human right to health care, and asks why their principles don't give rise to human rights-based policy demands. It also discusses why the idea of a civil right to health care is different from the human right to health care. The post "Beyond the Market: Health Care as a Civil or Human Right?" can be read on the Amnesty International USA blog, and it was also cross-posted on The Huffington Post and the Health and Human Rights Journal's blog, Open Forum.

First Official UN Housing Mission to United States Began October 22
Thursday, October 22:  The arrival of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, Raquel Rolnik, to New York City today, marks the start of her Official Fact Finding Mission to the United States.  During her tour of the country the Rapporteur will be documenting the national housing crisis, and in particular its impact on those suffering from foreclosure, homelessness, and inadequate social support for housing through limitations on section 8 vouchers, and demolition and defunding of public housing.  To follow the Mission, please visit the Housing Mission Blog where Mission materials, itineraries and updates will be posted >>>  Already the blog hosts a a number of posts, including a podcast about the housing crisis from NESRI ally Willie Baptist of the Poverty Initiative. Also, you can now follow NESRI on Twitter where we’ll be tweeting daily about the Mission >>> View a flyer for the NYC Town Hall Meeting with the Rapporteur tonight, Thursday, October 22, at 6:30 pm at Union Theological Seminary >>>

During the Celebrations:  World Habitat Day 2009
Monday, October 5:  In a statement released today, entitled “During the Celebrations:  World Habitat Day 2009” NESRI Executive Director Cathy Albisa calls attention to the serious housing crisis facing the US and the less than impressive steps taken by HUD under the new Obama administration to address the situation.  She states “… let’s consider holding off on the celebrations until people in the United State have a guarantee of a secure and stable home, and instead make World Habitat Day a day of action and a day of making resolute commitments to change the shameful state of housing in America today.”  Read her statement >>>  Read the Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing's statement which calls for  "with and for the poor"urban planning >>>  Read a statement from International Alliance of Inhabitants who call for the entire month of October to be World Zero Evictions Days >>>

Shackdwellers Movement Attacked, World Community Outraged
Friday, October 2:  The Shackdwellers Movement, or Abahlali baseMjondolo (ABM), are a movement of the poor in South Africa, at the forefront of emerging global struggles of the poor for a right to a decent life and a right to housing.  NESRI and many of its partners had the opportunity to meet representatives of Abahlali at the recent Poverty Initiative Leadership School in West Virginia where the Abahlali impressed and inspired grassroots anti-poverty leaders from across the U.S. Beginning on the evening of Saturday, September 26, Abahlali, based in the Kennedy Road Shack Settlement of Durban, faced what appears to be an ANC sponsored mob attack.  Many Abahlali leaders have fled for their safety. Armed forces now occupy the Kennedy Road settlement where the attacks occurred and the local ANC government has established ID card checks for all who wish to participate in meetings.  For latest updates and solidarity statements, see the Abahlali website >>>  For a recent Abahlali press statement >>> For solidarity statements from Poverty Initiative >>>  and the Center for Constitutional Rights >>>  To sign an international petition >>>

UN Fact Finding Mission to the US to Investigate Status of Human Right to Housing
Thursday, October 1:  The UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, Raquel Rolnik, has been exhorting governments globally to look beyond narrow market strategies in order to protect the human right to housing.  Now NESRI, the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (NLCHP), and grassroots housing rights organizations across the country are coordinating Ms. Rolnick's first official visit to the United States from October 22 – November 8.  During her tour of the country she will be documenting the national housing crisis, and in particular its impact on those suffering from foreclosure, homelessness, and inadequate social support for housing through limitations on section 8 vouchers, and demolition and defunding of public housing.  Over the course of her seven location tour (Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, New Orleans, Northeast Pennsylvania, and Pine Ridge, SD), the Special Rapporteur will attend town hall meetings, conduct site visits, meet with local and national government officials, and organize press conferences.  Following her visit she will present a report to the United Nations General Assembly on the status of the human right to housing in the US.  Read a March 2009 press release and report released by the Special Rapporteur on the financial crisis, its causes and its relation to the right to housing.  View the Special Rapporteur in a BBC World Debate entitled "Housing the Future" >>> Visit a photo gallery from the Special Rapporteur’s October 2008 unofficial visit to New York City >>>

New NESRI Podcast with Christine Kaufmann on the Human Right to Health Care
Friday, September 18:  In August, NESRI’s Human Right to Health Director, Anja Rudiger, interviewed Christine Kaufmann, Montana State Senator and long-time Director of the Montana Human Rights Network, about her experience of developing Montana’s increasingly influential human right to health care campaign. In the interview Senator Kaufmann also argues that local and state-based activists need not wait for federal action on health care reform, reflects on her dual role as politician and advocate, and explains why politicians can be much more progressive if pushed by concerted pressure from the grassroots.  To listen to the podcast interview with Christine Kaufmann >>>

Four Years After Katrina - NESRI’s Tiffany Gardner Appears On GRITtv With Laura Flanders
Thursday, September 3:  On the occasion of the 4th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, NESRI’s Human Right to Housing Director Tiffany Gardner appeared with several other guests on GRITtv with Laura Flanders.  The show focused on the slow rebuilding and recovery process post-Katrina. According to the Institute for Southern Studies, who also appeared on the show, a recent survey of fifty grassroots leaders gave the Obama administration a grade of D+ on issues of housing, environmental protection, and using stimulus money to rebuild New Orleans.  To view the show >>>

New NESRI Podcast with Alan Peura on the Human Right to Health Care
Friday, August 28:  This August, NESRI’s Human Right to Health Director, Anja Rudiger, visited our partner organization, the Montana Human Rights Network, which is based in Helena, Montana. Together, the Network and NESRI held a series of focus group discussions on community health needs in Lewis and Clark County. On her visit to Montana Anja interviewed Alan Peura, the Helena City Commissioner who was instrumental in drafting the county’s right to health care resolution. The county adopted the resolution last December, declaring health care a human right and setting up a task force to identify ways for making access to health care universal. To listen to the podcast interview with Alan Peura >>> To view a photo gallery from the visit >>>

New Video Responds to HUD Secretary’s Visit to New Orleans 4 Years After Katrina
Thursday, August 27:  In this Mayday New Orleans filmed and produced video, New Orleanians say that HUD is still failing their city, even under the new administration. Jobs rebuilding public housing sites are going to out of town workers and are controlled by Texas based contractors. The numbers of units being built on the sites of demolished public housing developments are far fewer than pre-Katrina numbers. Redevelopment will not ensure the human right to housing for the city's working class residents.

Campaign to Restore National Housing Rights Wins Field Hearings in New Orleans
Friday, August 21:  In a victory for the Campaign to Restore National Housing Rights and Mayday New Orleans the Congressional Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity has concluded two days of field hearings in New Orleans. Yesterday’s hearing focused on the Road Home Program.  Today’s hearing focused on the demolition of the "Big 4” public housing projects.  The Campaign, composed of local and national housing rights advocates, has been meeting with Congresswoman Maxine Waters' office to discuss the importance of conducting congressional field hearings in select cities to hear directly from residents about the impact that failed federal housing policies have had on their lives, and to discuss viable solutions to this crisis.  Thus far, hearings have been held in Los Angeles, New York City and New Orleans.  To join the Campaign, contact Tiffany Gardner.  To view the written testimony of public housing resident Sam Jackson of Mayday New Orleans >>>

NESRI Travels to West Virginia for Poverty Scholars Leadership School
Monday, August 17:  Last week NESRI and its partners CADRE, Mayday New Orleans, FFLIC, and CIW all attended the Poverty Initiative’s Poverty Scholars Leadership School. Held from August 9th -15th, more than 160 leaders from across the country and around the world gathered for a week in Charleston West Virginia to study together, teach one another, and to work towards Reigniting the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Poor People's Campaign today. At the School NESRI facilitated a workshop entitled “Human Rights and Reigniting Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s Campaign.”  The workshop featured members of Mayday New Orleans, CADRE of Los Angeles, Michigan Welfare Rights Union, and United Workers of Baltimore.  For more information on the Poverty Initiative and the Poverty Scholars Leadership School >>>  Visit the leadership school blog >>>  View a NESRI photo gallery from the leadership school >>>

NESRI’s Tiffany Gardner Appears On GRITtv With Laura Flanders
Wednesday, August 6:  On the heels of a highly successful Advisory Group on Forced Evictions Fact Finding Mission to New Orleans, NESRI’s Human Right to Housing Director Tiffany Gardner, along with Sam Jackson of Mayday New Orleans, and Leilani Farha, co-leader of the International Advisory Group on Forced Evictions, appeared on GRITtv with Laura Flanders to discuss the housing crisis in New Orleans and the fight for the human right to housing across the country.  For the latest in press coverage from the AGFE Mission to New Orleans >>>  For a photo gallery from the Mission >>>

Take Action with Amnesty International USA for a national, Medicare-like Public Health Care Plan for All
Friday, July 31:  Amnesty International USA has launched an online action for a national, Medicare-like public health care plan for everyone.  According to the action, “Real health care reform could help bring the U.S. government closer to fulfilling the human right to health care. Yet Congress continues to treat health care as a market commodity, rather than a public good. Congress must stop pandering to the insurance industry and instead provide a Medicare-like public plan that is accessible to everyone.” According to AIUSA a “human rights assessment demonstrates that when private companies stand between us and our rights, too many people are unable to get the care they need. Publicly financed and administered health care is the strongest vehicle for creating a system that is truly universal, equitable and accountable.”  AIUSA calls on Congress “to provide a Medicare-like public plan that guarantees access for all, offers comprehensive benefits, and is publicly funded, without using private companies as middlemen.” To support the AIUSA action and email the Senate leadership >>> To email your own representative >>>

Advisory Group on Forced Evictions Visits New Orleans
Friday, July 31:  This week, our Human Right to Housing team was in New Orleans to participate in an Advisory Group on Forced Evictions (AGFE) Fact-Finding Mission.  The goal of the mission was to investigate housing rights violations in the city, both pre- and post-Katrina. Tiffany Gardner, our Human Right to Housing Director, and Sam Jackson, founder of NESRI partner Mayday New Orleans, together with other local experts, were assisting the Advisory Group with their investigation.  To see a flickr gallery from the visit >>>  To see press coverage of the visit >>>

NESRI Supports AGFE Fact Finding Mission on NOLA Housing Crisis
Monday, July 20:  In a victory for NESRI’s Human Right to Housing Program and its partner May Day New Orleans the Advisory Group on Forced Evictions will be conducting a Fact Finding Mission to New Orleans during the last week of July.  The advisors will be investigating infringements of people’s human right to housing through the forced eviction of thousands of residents as part of the city’s ongoing post Hurricane Katrina redevelopment. The investigation will be the third visit by an international authority to New Orleans in the past three years, demonstrating continuing concerns about the approach the city is taking toward housing and redevelopment.  The Advisory Group will travel to affected communities across the city, attend a Town Hall Meeting where residents will share their experiences of forced eviction and their vision for a rebuilding process, and meet with local and federal government officials to discuss their findings. For further information on the AGFE see >>> For more information on the Fact Finding Mission, see the press release >>> factsheet >>> and schedule >>>

“Food, Inc. – Great Film, Chipotle – Don’t Believe the Hype”
Thursday, July 16: Chipotle sponsored a free screening of Robert Kenner’s Food, Inc. at the Beekman Theater in NYC as part of a nationwide initiative. NESRI’s partner, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) organized information tables at all screenings in theatres throughout the country to make sure audiences learn a little more about Chipotle’s labour practices in the Florida tomato industry.  Recently, the director of Food, Inc. Robert Kenner, together with co-producer/narrator Eric Schlosser, signed an open letter to Chipotle urging the restaurant chain to “work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers as a true partner in the protection of farmworkers rights.”  At the screening in NYC, NESRI staff and interns, together with other friends of CIW , handed out literature on the issue and copies of the open letter to Chipotle CEO Mr. Steve Ells, and also gathered signatures for the CIW's campaign to address the human rights crisis faced by Florida farmworkers. See photo gallery from the screening >>> Read the newly re-released "Challenging Chipocrisy" pamphlet >>> Sign on to the open letter to Chipotle CEO Ells >>> Read more on the NESRI blog >>>

New Internship Opportunities at NESRI!
Monday, July 6: Are you interested in becoming an integral part of building a movement for economic and social rights? NESRI is currently seeking Fall 2009 interns for its education and housing programs and its communications and development departments. For more information and to find out how to apply >>>

Chipotle Urged to Work With CIW in Protecting Farmworkers’ Rights
Monday, June 29: Last week, leaders of the food justice movement -- including Eric Schlosser and Robert Kenner, producer and director of the hard-hitting new documentary "Food, Inc." -- sent a strongly worded letter to Chipotle demanding that they "work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) as a true partner in the protection of farmworkers' rights."  Now it's your turn to get in on the action.  Add your name to the letter to Chipotle CEO Steve Ells demanding real "food with integrity" and an end to the human rights crisis in Florida's tomato fields. To participate in this email action sponsored by American Rights at Work visit >>>  To learn more about CIW’s campaign against Chipotle, read the NESRI prepared report "Challenging Chipocrisy" at >>>

Congresswoman Waters Introduces Resolution on Children's Right to Housing
Tuesday, June 23: Following up on a commitment she made at a Los Angeles Congressional Field Hearing on affordable housing in March, which was organized in cooperation with local members of the Campaign to Restore National Housing Rights, Representative Waters (D-CA) introduced a resolution today calling for a right to housing for children and their families. The resolution, House Resolution 582, affirms that housing for children is not just a value we share as Americans, it is a basic human right.  To view Congesswoman Waters’ press release about the resolution >>> 

Amnesty International USA Declares Health Care is a Human Right - Calls on Senate to Have a Real Debate on Single-Payer! 
Friday, June 19: In an E-Alert released today, AI USA stated that current draft health care reform legislation falls far short of fulfilling a human rights vision. AI USA suggests that one reason for this is that single-payer advocates, a crucial human rights constituency, have been largely excluded from the reform process. In fact, Senator Max Baucus' Senate Finance Committee, the single most important legislative grouping in the reform process, has yet to hold a public hearing on single-payer. The E-Alert references NESRI and NHeLP’s recent analysis of current single-payer proposals, which finds them to come much closer to fulfilling the human right to health care than the prevailing market-based reform plans. View the e-alert >>>  View the list of initial endorsers of Amnesty’s statement of principles >>>  Add your organization to the list of endorsers >>> Send a letter or email to Senator Baucus telling him to hold a Finance Committee Hearing on Single-Payer >>> Listen to a NESRI interview with Sameer Dossani of Amnesty International >>>

Frank/Waters Letter to HUD Urges National Moratorium on Demolition of Public Housing
Monday, June 15: Today U.S. Representatives Barney Frank and Maxine Waters signed and sent a letter to HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan strongly requesting a national moratorium on the demolition of public housing!  In the letter Frank and Waters state that in the last ten years “over 120,000 units of public housing have been demolished or disposed with only a portion being replaced by hard units.”  In light of this reality, Frank and Waters suggest that “now is the time to preserve this vital asset before more affordable homes are lost forever.”  This victory is the result of continuous hard work on the part of housing rights advocates and local community groups and leaders across the country, including the Campaign to Restore National Housing Rights.  The Campaign, of which NESRI is a founding member, is a coalition of national organizations and local groups advocating for the preservation and improvement of our nation’s public housing stock as a critical component to protecting the human right to housing for all. Read the letter >>>

National Conference Articulates “A Collective Voice for Dignity in Schools”
Monday, June 8: On June 5 and 6, 150 advocates, organizers, youth, parents and educators from 20 states around the country came together in Chicago for the first ever Dignity In Schools Campaign (DSC) National Conference. There they discussed positive alternatives to zero-tolerance discipline and school pushout. Amongst the core conference organizers and participants were NESRI and its partners CADRE and FFLIC (pictured here). The goal of the conference was to reframe the national dialogue on school climate and discipline within a human rights framework. The DSC is now working to finalize a National Resolution on Ending School Pushout. For more information on the DSC and the conference >>> To view a conference photo gallery >>> To participate in the ongoing work to finalize the National Resolution email the DSC >>>

New CIW Victory:  Two Florida Growers Now Support CIW’s “Penny-per-Pound” Program!
Thursday, June 4:  Whole Foods Markets, the leading natural and organic foods supermarket, has announced that two of Florida’s largest organic tomato growers, Lady Moon Farms and Alderman Farms, have agreed to implement NESRI partner Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ (CIW) “penny-per-pound” program designed to improve wages for tomato harvesters.  The move effectively breaks the stalemate established nearly two seasons ago when the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange threatened to fine any of its members that sold tomatoes under the terms of the CIW agreements. At that time, two Florida growers who had been passing on the penny-per-pound increase under the Taco Bell agreement ceased doing so. To read the press release >>>

New Release: A Human Rights Assessment of Single Payer Plans
Wednesday, May 20: NESRI has released an in-depth analysis of four single-payer bills that are currently in the U.S. Congress and State Legislatures. The assessment measures the bills against human rights standards, and shows that single-payer plans are superior to market-based proposals because they go further towards creating a system that is universal, equitable and accountable to the people. Read the assessment >>> Read the press release >>> Read a summary that explains the “single payer” approach and how it can contribute to realizing our human right to health care >>> Read a summary that analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of two key single payer bills >>> View the accompanying resource kit >>>

Campaign to Restore National Housing Rights In D.C.
Wednesday, May 13: NESRI along with the other national and grassroots core organizations involved with the Campaign to Restore National Housing Rights were in DC earlier this week for a strategy retreat and meetings with Congressional leaders. The Campaign is advocating for the U.S. to ensure the human right to housing. As part of this agenda, the Campaign is calling for congressional hearings in six cities across the country - Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, New York, New Orleans and Miami. During their days in D.C. the group met with staffers at Senator Schumer's and Representatives Waters, Frank and Cao's offices. Pictured to the left is the group with Charla Ouertatani of Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) office. To view a photo gallery of the D.C. retreat and legislative visits >>> To view the Campaign's new blog >>>

Health Care is a Human Right Rally May 1st
Friday, May 1: NESRI ally the Vermont Workers’ Center (VWC) brought the human right to health care to the nation’s attention with a large rally at the State House in Montpelier. The “Healthcare is a Human Right” rally was endorsed by over 100 organizations, including NESRI, faith and labor leaders, and other national and state-based organizations. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) cheered the assembled crown on by telling them "You are saying loud and clear that healthcare is a human right for all people, not just the privileged or those who have a lot of money." Download NESRI's press release about the rally >>> View press coverage of the rally >>> Listen to a podcast of Bernie Sanders at the rally >>> View a photo gallery from the rally >>> Listen to Philadelphia's Labor Justice Radio podcast about the rally >>> Learn more about NESRI's work with VWC >>>

Montanans Fighting for Human Right to Health Care Featured on Democracy Now!
Thursday, April 22: Montana State Senator Christine Kaufmann, of NESRI partner the Montana Human Rights Network (MHRN), was featured on Democracy Now today. The MHRN has been leading a statewide campaign to achieve health care reform from a human rights perspective.  The campaign includes a legislative agenda and local initiatives. Kaufmann recently introduced a constitutional amendment in the State Senate to establish the right to health care in the state. Watch the interview >>> Learn more about NESRI's Human Right to Health Program's work with the Montana Human Rights Network >>>

United Workers March on Baltimore's Inner Harbor, Declare Human Rights Zone
Saturday, April 18: NESRI ally the United Workers of Baltimore marched 500 people strong as part of their Human Rights Zone March and B'More Fair. Nearly 60 organizations from across the country turned out to support the declaration of Baltimore's Inner Harbor as a Human Rights Zone where all workers can receive healthcare, education and work with dignity. United Workers highlighted workers rights abuses by three restaurants in the Harbor - The Cheesecake Factory, Phillips Seafood, and M&S Grill. View a video from the March >>>

Sign-On Letter Urges Education Secretary to Improve School Discipline, Achievement Through Stimulus Funds
Wednesday, April 17: NESRI and the Dignity in Schools Campaign (DSC) have asked the U.S. Department of Education to encourage school districts to invest federal stimulus money in Positive Behavior Supports (PBS), restorative practices and other innovative approaches to improve student behavior and achievement.  The organizations made the request in a letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan. The letter outlined several steps to encourage the use of stimulus funds for effective programs that improve student discipline, achievement and school safety.  Twenty-four advocacy groups and 41 individuals signed the letter.  Read the letter and the complete list of participating organizations and individuals >>>  Read the press release >>>  Obtain more information about the DSC Alternatives to Zero-Tolerance Working Group >>> Listen to a recent DSC teleconference on "How Education Stimulus Dollars Can Be Used to Solve Part of the Pushout Problem" >>>

NESRI Launches New Podcast and Photostream!
Monday, April 6: Today NESRI launched two new web 2.0 tools. In podcast 3 (of 5) NESRI Executive Director Cathy Albisa and CADRE Executive Director Maisie Chin, a NESRI partner, address the opening plenary of the U.S. Human Rights Fund's January 2009 Convening in New Orleans. In the most recent photo collection NESRI visits with May Day New Orleans to collaborate on a Human Right to Housing Participatory Survey. Listen to presentations by NESRI staff, board, and partners on our podcast page >>> Look through our new photostream where we document through photographs key events and actions >>>

Sign Amnesty International’s Human Right to Health Care Petition!
Monday, March 30: Amnesty International has launched a petition calling on health reformers to recognize that health care is a human right, not a commodity.  NESRI is collaborating with Amnesty International in a new Health Care is a Human Right Coalition, which also includes the Opportunity Agenda and the National Health Law Program (NHeLP). The petition urges elected officials to deliver a U.S. health care system that fulfills the human right to health care and meets the core principles of universality, equity, and accountability. It states that “publicly financed and administered health care should be expanded as the strongest vehicle for making health care accessible and accountable to the people.” Sign the short version of the petition >>>  Download the full version of the petition >>> Download the principles >>> Listen to NESRI Executive Director Cathy Albisa's address to the Amnesty International USA Annual General Meeting >>>

CIW Wins Florida Governor Crist's Support For Fair Food Campaign!
Thursday, March 26: Today, following months of struggle and advocacy by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and the Alliance for Fair Food (co-founded by NESRI), Florida Governor Charlie Crist finally sent the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) a letter stating "I have no tolerance for slavery in any form, and I am committed to eliminating this injustice anywhere in Florida..." Crist went on to recognize the indisputable link between slavery and the failure to protect the economic and social rights of farmwokers, and stated "I support the Coalition's Campaign for Fair Food." Read the Governor's letter to CIW >>>

New Release: Ten Human Rights Principles for Financing Health Care
Tuesday, March 17: NESRI’s Human Right to Health Program, run jointly with the National Health Law Program, has developed ten human rights principles for financing health care. The ten principles set down markers for health care reformers to help them meet human rights standards. Taken together they provide a framework for realizing the goal of a healthy society in a financially sustainable way. Read the press release here >>> Download the principles here >>> (longer version) or here >>> (shorter version).

New Documentary on New Orleans Schools
Thursday, March 12: Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children (FFLIC) have released a trailer of their new documentary Stopping the School to Prison Pipeline. Watch the trailer and find out what's happening in New Orleans schools and FFLIC's work to end the school to prison pipeline. >>>