Yes, there needs to be a slavery/slave trade museum or interpretive center in Shockoe Bottom, but it doesn’t need to be a $220 million legacy project for people who have played a very mixed role in the ongoing struggle to reclaim and properly memorialize what once was the epicenter of the U.S. domestic slave trade.
FIRST IN STATE, RICHMOND TEACHERS WIN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS!
On Dec. 6, Richmond became the first locality in Virginia to approve collective bargaining for its teachers and other public school employees.
RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERS TWO PUBLIC SECTOR BARGAINING ORDINANCES FOR CITY WORKERS
In May 2021, a change to state law came into effect that allows local governments and school boards to bargain collectively with their workers. Richmond City Council now has two bills to consider on this topic.
RICHMOND JOINS GROWING NATIONAL MOVEMENT TO UNIONIZE STARBUCKS
Workers at two Richmond-area Starbucks stores, one at 6980 Forest Hill Avenue in the city and the other at 11136 Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield County, have filed petitions with the National Labor Relations Board for recognition of their union.
WORKERS’ POWER SHAKES UP RICHMOND’S DIVERSITY THRIFT
In November 2021, workers at Richmond’s Diversity Thrift used-goods store went on strike. After a whirlwind nine-day campaign, they won higher wages, staffing changes, and new store policies regarding sexual harassment.
UNITED BLACK BIRTH COLLECTIVE GROWING ‘SLOWLY AND WITH INTENTION’
In January 2020, Weluna Finley and a group of like-minded Black mothers, birth workers, mental health professionals and healers founded the United Black Birth Collective.
NEWS U CAN USE: WINTER 2022
The Winter 2022 edition of News U Can Use includes information about free at-home COVID tests and an online map tool to monitor sewage overflow into the James River.
The Virginia Defender 