The July 22, 2025 edition of the Updates and Announcements newsletter.
Updates and Announcements: July 22, 2025
The Virginia Defender
Established in 2005 as The Richmond Defender, The Virginia Defender is a free community newspaper, published quarterly for the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality. Print distribution is currently 12,000 and statewide. The online publication launched in Summer 2020.
Updates and Announcements: June 19, 2025 – Juneteenth
The Updates and Announcements newsletter for June 19, 2025. The newsletter contains information about an urgent protest the morning of Friday, June 20, against the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
The Rise & Fall of Donald J. Trump
An analysis of the political phenomena of Trumpism, and a proposal for how to fight back.
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden staff unionize!
Workers at Richmond’s Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden have become the second- ever group of botanical garden workers in the country to unionize. On Nov. 21, they voted to be represented by the International Association of Machinists.
Starbucks workers strike in largest walkout to date
This past Christmas Eve, customers looking for a hot cup of coffee at many Richmond-area Starbucks were met with the warmth and energy of striking workers.
NLRB immobilized by Trump administration
On Jan. 27, the Trump administration fired National Labor Relations Board Acting Chair Gwynne Wilcox and General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo.
NLRB sides with fired Mom’s Siam workers
Firing workers because they fight for better pay is illegal. That’s what the National Labor Relations Board told the owner of Mom’s Siam, a Thai food restaurant in Richmond’s Carytown district. (There is a second Mom’s Siam in downtown Richmond that is not linked to this story.)
The Virginia Defender 