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Growing advocacy group plans major rally ahead of hearing on US2 development
Somerville Stands Together, a community-labor coalition fighting for affordable housing, good jobs and responsible development, knocked hundreds of doors in a campaign to make sure Union Square won’t turn into another Assembly Row–where developers got rich and local residents got nothing but skyrocketing rents and worse traffic.
Volunteer canvassers shared with neighbors their plans for a major rally on Oct. 22, ahead of a public hearing on the proposed US2 development project in Union Square.
The message is simple: wealthy developers who seek to profit from Somerville’s red hot real estate market must support Somerville’s values and must provide meaningful community benefits.
Somerville Stands Together (SST) launched in April 2018 in response to a growing sentiment that Somerville is headed in the wrong direction. Since then, the coalition of labor, community and social justice groups has steadily gained momentum.
The group’s first campaign, holding Clarendon Hill developer Redgate accountable to provide both good homes and good jobs, was buoyed by the Massachusetts state legislature this summer. Lawmakers voted to require the developer to pay prevailing wages, so that workers who renovate and build Somerville housing can afford to live in Somerville.
Now SST is turning its focus to Union Square, urging elected officials to establish the following requirements for any development deal:
• City of Somerville tax dollars should only support developments that pay living wages and respect workers’ rights
• Affordable housing, built sooner, to safeguard residents from further displacement
• A union Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with US2 to ensure jobs for local residents high standards for safety and training; and career pathways for workers
• Empowering members of the community and increasing economic opportunity
• New neighborhood parks and sustainable ‘green’ building practices
• Allowing employees of new businesses in Union Square to have free and fair elections for collective bargaining
• City of Somerville tax dollars should only support developments that pay living wages and respect workers’ rights
• Affordable housing, built sooner, to safeguard residents from further displacement
• A union Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with US2 to ensure jobs for local residents high standards for safety and training; and career pathways for workers
• Empowering members of the community and increasing economic opportunity
• New neighborhood parks and sustainable ‘green’ building practices
• Allowing employees of new businesses in Union Square to have free and fair elections for collective bargaining
“We care about the future of Somerville, and we aren’t going anywhere,” said Virginia Hussey, Somerville resident and SST member. “Local elected officials need to make sure that ANY new development deals are good for Somerville residents, including working families, students and seniors–not just for the wealthy developers who stand to make hundreds of millions.”
Somerville Stands Together will hold a series of canvassing and outreach events to spread the word about the upcoming Oct. 22 public hearing on the proposed US2 Union Square development and the planned rally demanding elected officials build a Somerville that works for all of us.
Details of the rally:
Monday, Oct 22, 2018
4:00 PM Assemble and Rally in Union Square
7:00 PM Public Hearing on land transfer to US2
at Board of Aldermen meeting, City Hall
About Somerville Stands Together: Somerville Stands Together is a coalition of community and labor groups committed to maintaining the city’s diversity and its history as a place where hardworking families can build a life and a community. Somerville must continue to uphold progressive principles, where everyone is welcome regardless of race, creed or orientation; and where creativity and innovation are part of the fabric of our city. Somerville stands for immigrant rights, quality education, LGBTQIA rights, racial and economic justice, green justice, affordable housing and workers’ rights. The coalition includes AFSCME Local 274, Building and Construction Trades Council of the Metropolitan District, Firefighters Local 76, Good Jobs Somerville, Good Jobs, Strong Communities Coalition, Our Revolution Somerville, Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters, Somerville Municipal Employees Association, SEIU Fireman & Oilers Local 3, SEIU Local 509, SEIU Local 888, and Teamsters Local 122.
— Somerville Stands Together
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this group is nothing more than NIMBY extremists and labor organizers looking to put their financial interests above local residents. They pay lip service to things like “parks and green space” and “racial and economic justice” but their #1 goal is demanding inflated wages for unionized construction workers. There is no shortage of work and high wages for construction labor. Workers are already driving in from New Hampshire and Rhode Island to take good paying construction jobs in Boston. This group has a divide and conquer strategy to pit Somerville residents and workers against each other. Don’t fall for their spin and lies. They are only looking out for themselves. You’ve been warned!
What this group did to the residents of Clarendon Hill, among the poorest people in Somerville living in some of the worst conditions, is pure evil.
The hypocrisy of this group is stunning. Rich kid millennials like Jacob Kramer, who are in love with their own politically correct images, and taking time out play at left wing socialist politics. Unionism is the hip topic this week. These unions have their organizations already in place. So for them to try to exploit the community of Union Sq for their own ends shows their lack of care for real democracy. They just want more union jobs for people who won’t and don’t live in Somerville.
Leave the Union Square neighborhood alone. Let them figure out their own ideas about what they want. This is yet one more hijack about to try to happen. And with union organizer Rand Wilson heading up Our Revolution Somerville, is anyone really going to be surprised when they ask for a union labor agreement before any of these other values they claim to have?
I wish Bernie would come back to see how his message has been manipulated by hypocrites like some of these people. Shame on you. And shame on you for even saying “Bernie”. ‘Our Revolution’ has become a bad case of ‘Their Revolution’.
Leave Union Square be. We don’t want you.
This group is not democratic. It’s the usual pretense that characterized much right wing Fascism, that they represent the people in Somerville “standing together”, when, in fact, it’s about the mentality of the few. Our Revolution Somerville honcho Rand Wilson espouses the value of “more fool them” if people don’t join a union, and ignores the times when folks aren’t able to, don’t want to, or are afraid to. But, more than this, unions have their organizational structures, and are able to negotiate for themselves. Union Sq residents are not a union, and this SST group should leave them be so they can determine their own future. Outside interference like this is a pressure group tactic, and where, despite the many apparent social justice values they claim to have, their primary value is for more union jobs which will mostly go to union members outside of Somerville. How is this of help to Union Sq community residents who have many social justice values outside of union labor? It’s no help. It’s an attempted hijack of a Union Sq community political process, and in relation to their US2 developer.
But we’ve seen this before in Union Sq. Union United honcho Karen Narefsky was another Fascist. The Union United membership application asks members to sign away their right to an Open Society by agreeing not to disagree in a public setting. So when Karen and co set the social values in their meetings, these were the values members were held to, and where they shouldn’t disagree in public. Why people put up with this kind of bullshit is almost beyond belief. But it certainly doesn’t have democracy and transparency as a basic care.
The Union Sq Neighborhood Council Board of 15 members was elected late last year. 40 candidates ran for election. The election result was dominated by an Our Revolution Somerville and United United slate of 15 people that Rand and Karen had major influence on, and 13 of them were elected largely by the Our Revolution millennial voting group which had seen much success with the Board of Aldermen elections. But, as we’ve seen with those who got elected, saying “I’m Bernie” is no guarantee of capability, and any damn fool or geek had chance to get elected, and some of those sit in elected office today.
At the recent Our Revolution Somerville Citywide Meeting, USNC Co-Chair Bill Cavellini, speaking into a microphone to a room of about 45 people, and which included 4 BOA members a 2 State Reps, said that the 25 USNC Board candidates who weren’t part of the 15 ORS/Union United slate, “were in the pocket of the Mayor, the Developer, the Chamber of Commerce, and Union Square Main Streets”. But such a ludicrous statement is typical of this fake left wing mentality, where images of Stalin’s totalitarian regime in Russia might come to mind, and where lies and coercion gain traction.
And, not surprisingly, the USNC Board voted to publicize this SST rally in Union Sq, because, as some might remember from Hitler’s days in Germany, these brown shirted Fascists do like to stick together. And while this is an artistic analogy, the point is made.
And Senator Bernie Sanders? I wish he’d come back to Somerville and see the ideological fake left wing mess that some people have created in his name. This is no real democracy. It’s back to bullies and Fascists who hijack for their own ends, and who exploit a millennial group who have real desire to find a better way for politics, social justice, and democracy. However, saying politically correct words and voting with them is not enough; going home feeling that you’ve done your bit for a better world is not enough; and there’s a generation of millennials out there who might take some time to think about what Bernie is actually all about, because these hijacks of real democracy are certainly not him.
The community of Union Sq has to find its own democracy. And so that an Open Society has some real chance to exist.
SST and Rand Wilson have announced that Ayanna Pressley will speak at SST’s rally today in Union Sq. Isn’t this just an auspicious start for Ms Pressley, to be conned by the likes of Snake Wilson, who, it appears, will do anything other than listen to the communities who he intends to exploit. How is Our Revolution Somerville to have any credibility with such a serpent as Snake Wilson at their helm, with his lies and deception? And Ayanna, why not come to Union Sq and find out what’s really going on before you allow yourself to be fooled by such insincerity? You’re new–I get it. But Ayanna, seriously, this is not good enough.
This SST agenda is such deception: US2 has already been held to 20% affordable housing[ AH] by the BOA and the Mayor, the first major developer to be constrained so. But such zoned AH is something of an illusion for Somerville residents: the AH waitlist in Somerville is closed with 10,400 applications, of which only 2,200 are Somerville residents. So it does NOT–as SST says– safeguard residents from further displacement. A reality check is needed here because many people submit applications to more than 1 AH waitlist; if they are accepted into another town or city then they must go there or be removed from ALL the AH waitlists which they are on; so there is a displacement aspect to this, and if you don’t take your slim chance of being accepted as 1 of only 20% of residents on Somerville’s waitlist.
For SST to claim not they are interested in “new neighborhood parks” is a deception and a lie. If these fools understood anything of the real fight in Union Sq, then they’d know that residents are fighting to get 1 large park in the center of the D2 parcel, and which will require US2 to redesign their building heavy model. And just where is that *s* making park into parks? At 15.5 acres for all 7 D blocks, how would all these parks of theirs give Snake Wilson’s union buddies a chance to have their union jobs? Maybe they can get paid $100 an hour to clean the dog poop off this green deceiving trickery of theirs? And they’d better watch out for snakes in the grass, because Rand might be sliming along with malicious intent in his venom.
Clarendon Hill Co-President Jessica Turner, of Clarendon Residents United, was very local about how Snake Wilson and his out-of-town union buddies had no care for the Clarendon people who had real concerns about their futures, and no care for those who made minimal wages, were immigrants, were single moms with young kids, and who represent those in real need. Snake Wilson exploited a largely working class group of folks who needed significant help, and so that his union buddies might get more jobs and more money. And Snake Rand puffs himself up as a savior for the working classes. It’s yet more lies and yet more deception.
And what of those “massive profits” for developers? It turns out–if snakes would actually pay attention–that the Mayor and the BOA got into the US2 developer’s wallet already to hold such ‘massive’ profit down by $32 to $35 million with contributions to the GLX [ $8 to $10 million], infrastructure work, linkage fees, and AH. Somerville isn’t like wealthy neighbor Cambridge–where Cambridge had a $200 million + budget surplus last year, and not that much less than Somerville projected budget total of $243 million. Somerville politicians will pick developer’s pockets whenever they can. So Snake, you’ve a little late to the table of pocket picking.
And what of that Project Labor Agreement[ PLA] and all else union related that Snake is really after? Did Snake talk to the “local residents” of Union Sq or of Somerville that he pretends to help? Of course he didn’t. Snakes don’t care nor do they listen.
So, Ayanna Pressley, way to go, huh?
Our Revolution Somerville should look to their own house now, invest in a pet Mongoose, and offload Snake Rand Wilson before he slimes the place up with more insincerity.
And SST should quit pretending that they represent Somerville. Enough of this smoke screen of deception.
Lots of trolling, and as usual, no courage. None of these comments are signed. Put a face to the name, why don’t you? Better yet, come to the hearing, put your name and address next to these ugly statements.
I would LOVE to run the public records check and get a sense of how much property folks on this thread collectively own and how much you all stand to make from developers in this city. Just sayin’
Sorry, that was unkind. These types of comments make me really frustrated and sad. They do not represent the best of old Somerville, or new Somerville for that matter, and they do nothing to help people who are being displaced.
Katie didn’t you move to Providence Rhode Island? Haven’t the socialist do gooders and you wrecked enough divisiness in this community. All you privileged elitist’s think you have the answers when it comes to social justice issues. Somerville doesn’t need anymore left wing radical bullies fostering their failed political market economy nonsense on us. Our city needs dialogue and adults in the room for a real substantive conversation. Sorry Katie you aren’t going to fix the real divide in Union Square with the neighborhood council and our ongoing housing crisis. If reasonable residents and not bullies in Union square are given credence to help negotiate a CBA then maybe some real discussion can begin. Unfortunately nothing will accomplished with all the rhetoric and fighting going on. The losers in the end are the residents. However, you moved to Providence so you have other fish to fry as they say!
Thank you, Katie. That needed to be said.
Truly despicable comments from Simon Hill above, whose weird obsession with an organizer who left town a year ago is telling.
I’m a union square resident NOT a member of a union, and I strongly support SST, Union United, Our Revolution Somerville and any group fighting to make sure this city isn’t sold out to developers.
The CBA will cover things like deed restrictions in the area to ensure businesses pay a living wage. That impacts Somerville residents AND ANYWAY who cares where someone lives? Everyone except for the developers are making out like bandits in the boston metro area. Somerville folks work in Everett and vice versa: I want good jobs for everyone, and that requires us to stand up for good jobs wherever they are, on the Everett casino, Union Square, Kendall Square or Quincy.
This Clarendon stuff is a red herring, you’re just repeating developer talking points. They lied to the Board of Aldermen about not having the money to pay fair wages, and refused to open their books to prove it. After the BoA fell for their scare tactics, the State legislature didn’t. I understand folks in the building know that Clarendon is going to proceed, but it’s SHAMEFUL that RedGate and POAH have decided to pump the breaks for now to save face and not show that they were bluffing. Give it a few more months and they’ll come out to report that “miraculously” they cobbled together financing to pay prevailing wage.
Simon, and others– Quit viciously attacking your neighbors over the table scraps and figure out how to work with people to get a better deal for everyone. You’re not helping.
For someone who’s never lived or worked in Union Square, and doesn’t even live in Somerville anymore, Ms. Gradowski sure has a fixed opinion about what motivates the people of Union Square. Few people could ever match the lies and false accusations spun by Ms. Gradowski during her time in Somerville, and the community is better off now that she’s left for greener pastures. Like so many others who’ve passed through (Geweritz, Scortino, all the paid “community organizers” that come and go), she used Somerville as a springboard to her next opportunity. They move here with their Ivy League degrees, drive up rents, and head elsewhere when something better comes along. You know what that’s called? Privilege.
The union reps have decided to play chicken with the lives of the people who live in Clarendon Hill. It’s disgusting. Everyone there can walk away and be fine, except the residents. My guess is they cut down the number of new middle-income units. That’s a bad outcome, but SST will claim it’s a victory.
Minimum wage already is climbing to $15/hr. I’m all for requiring more full-time jobs that offer benefits, but some of the “good jobs” rhetoric seems to revolve around wage levels that have been approved. Have a smart fight, not an irrelevant one. As a Union resident, what I really want is local, rather than chain, retail/restaurants and top quality green/open space. The sewer money, T money and affordable housing units are already baked in. If there’s more money to be extracted, I’d devote it almost exclusively to buying up existing units in Union to be converted to affordable housing (maybe via a land trust).
Shame on all of you who are bashing Ms. Gradowski for speaking her mind in a clear and civil manner, unlike yourselves.
It doesn’t matter if she lives here now or not, or never resided in Union Sq., as you well know. She has strong ties here and cares for the future of the city and its people, unlike those of you who are only interested in lining your pockets. That’s more than enough to qualify her to speak up, if any qualification at all is required, that is.
The mean and the greedy will be bullies for as long as they get away with it. Let’s not allow them get away with it.
*Union Square Resident* [ USR #2], huh? So why not pick a handle which isn’t another person, because the previous USR #1 comments are 1 person, and this person said that you are not them. But outing names is a tricky business–if you get it correct–just as much as a person naming their own name is, because how many will try to read the person rather than reading what they have said?
So let’s take what has been said: dear, dear, Katie didn’t say anything, other than she has feelings, which she gets stuck in, and as if her feelings are more important than real conversations about real issues. And Casimir names Katie in a validation that if Katie said something it must be OK, but Casimir doesn’t say what “needed saying”. Names and name calling appears to be where this *weird obsession* is, and wouldn’t it be wonderful if some out there tried to get to real interactive conversations so we can all take a look at what specific individuals really think and feel, and so that understanding of social reality can develop in a better way.
So, USR #2, what did you say? You said a number of things that don’t make sense. For example, “…to make sure this city isn’t sold out to developers” has what relation to “Everyone *except* for the developers is making out like bandits in the boston metro area”? Looks like a contradiction to me[ so what are you saying?]. And capitalization of words like City and Boston went on vacation where?
“The CBA will cover..” Really? I don’t have this crystal ball of yours to see into the future. “And anyway…who cares where someone lives”, and where have you been when Somerville residents said that they did care? But I get you: there are many regional issues. But one point that isn’t regional in intent is the recent CBO auxiliary document that this BOA signed, and which says that *community benefits* shall *directly benefit* Somerville residents. So, USR # 2, go look that up, and then you figure out what it means, because, right now, the BOA haven’t addressed this, and where it does appear to have influence on both out-of-town union jobs, and out-of-town residents getting affordable housing in Somerville as provided by the legal conditions of state and federal AH lottery schemes.
You want “good jobs”, eh? I’d like a real conversation about what *fair wage* means. Given a different society, we could progressive tax some of our wealthy high tech and bio-tech millennials down to a much fairer income level of net pay, but then many of them wouldn’t be able to live in Somerville’s high end Real Estate markets, so that digs up yet another conversation. Because if you keep talking about developers as the monsters, then did you forget realtors?
Clarendon, eh? Go talk to Jessica Turner and listen to what she says. Because union wage/prevailing wage isn’t the only Clarendon story. So there’s no “red herring” or “developer talking points” here: go talk to her. Wages haven’t won out as yet, and while politicos and business folks work this out, Clarendon residents lose out. Real events are not so singular. And who was the best speaker last night in the BOA chambers? I’m voting Jessica T. But you appear to feel that you know much about Clarendon. Have you lived there?
So, while you say support for UU, SST, ORS–and easy for you to say– what do you actually know? It’s all to easy for many folks to say politically correct words and feel that they have the correct feelings; but some/much of the conversations end up being empty words because people don’t do their homework to find out what really goes on. More bleeding heart liberalism in the pretense of socialism is not a good answer. It is a fake left wing. And we end up with all kinds of privileged rich kids who like to play at left wing politics, and many of them own houses, Katie, and where I never have. So if, USR #2, you want to get into naming names, then we can take a look at some of these messed up, paranoid, rich kids out there, and, yes, the ones in the ORS Steering Committee, on the BOA, in SST, and in the USNC Board. There’s plenty to talk about here if you go the route of naming names. As I said, people might be assessed more on what they say, and not because of who you think they are. But that’s your apparent problem, USR #2, that assumptions do make assholes out of people.
“Helping”? What have you done? And other than saying empty words.
The public hearing last night in the Finance Committee discussing the transfer of public land from SRA to US2 was entertaining and a complete farce. The Rand Wilson show is getting old and tiresome. Why doesn’t any Alderman with a spine ask this fraud if he has ever worked as a laborer in a union position. My guess is he hasn’t . The meeting was nothing but a dog and pony show about the poor unions affordable housing and responsible development without displacement. The taxpayers are going to be getting major increases in their taxes in the next couple of years and the moron Alderman are playing right into the hand’s of the activists. A note to the Board you don’t just represent tenant’s,union’s and activists you represent everyone in the city so understand your fiduciary responsibility. I am quite amused by Some of the Alderman who actually think they are accomplishing something on the board. Matt is under the illusion he is the savior of the housing problem in Somerville. Matt sorry you have accomplished zero since you have been in office and do yourself a favor stay off tweeter because you are making a fool of yourself. Lance and Jt the scholars of the board so they think are wasting taxpayers time talking about an Ordidance that allows the board to have outside counsel to advise them. Hey Lance and JT pick up a copy of the city charter and read what your role is as an legislator. Oh I forgot you are scholars and know it by heart. The nonsense that goes on at Board meetings is incredulous. The city has elected a bunch of Alderman who are narrow minded and not inclusive as they portend to be and it is completely embarrassing. Although they think they are saving our city from the evil doers in the community they are actually creating more divisiness in Somerville. My message to the Alderman is stop acting sanctimonious and make decisions that will benefit the entire community instead of listening to the likes of Rand the fraud Wilson, Katie from Providence, Ben privileged Bradlow, and all the other socialist ideologues who have all the answers for what’s best in our community. Grow a spine and keep your own failed ideologies out of the conversation.
Where was Ayanna Pressley yesterday? SST promotional material and tweets indicated the all important Congresswomen would be making a grandiose appearance to validate their stand for Union jobs. I guess she had 2nd thoughts after her office received many calls from Somerville constituents indicating the fraudulent hijacking of the USNC by Labor Groups. Better luck next time SST and Rand the Snake!
I’ve yet to post here but I feel it’s necessary now.
For you to say that “Clarendon will be just fine” is quite a statement coming from someone who doesn’t know a f**king thing about living here. You don’t know shit about our lives. I find it funny that you speak about our project but weren’t involved in any of it. Let’s talk about it for a minute, shall we?
Clarendon – the fight for healthy homes for minority families elderly, disabled and single mothers.
I do remember very clearly what occurred here. I remember earlier this year going to an ORS annual meeting and being told that we residents were supported and you’d fight alongside us for our community. A community you don’t know shit about besides us being poor. But that’s not what happened, is it? No. You used us to get leverage for the labor union.
Ben Echevarria is by far the biggest traitor to immigrants and the low-income community. A snake who squeezed his way in because we were desperate for help. I was desperate for help. Little did I know that he had zero intention of helping us. He tried to convince me to split our agreement and separate the finances of our project from the resident agreement but our contract is whole item and I refused to do this. He played the innocent person who so convincingly appeared to want the residents to have the best outcome but he was a liar. In the end what he did was lie about supporting us. He was spying on us for the Union collecting information that we had – that I had – and using every single one of our woes here at Clarendon to build up the Unions fight against our project.
Ben along with Aldermen, along with others from Our Revolution, along with elected officials who claimed they gave a flying f**k about us actually didn’t. They didn’t and they never did. To be told for a year nearly, by you people that you supported us and wanted to help us only to at the end use us – yes you USED me for your own gains, is pathetic and purely greedy and evil.
And you say the Developers are the bad ones but boy do I beg to differ. We would be temporarily moving residents out of our unsafe units by now had it not been for ulterior motives and GREED. Money, money, money.
We don’t give a f**k about money. And what’s funny is that we have some of the lowest income in the City. Myself, I am in the 1% of the population here. Not the rich 1% but the bottom of the food chain 1%. But you’ll use my struggles and the fact that I’m poor to degrade me and call me f**king entitled and a leech off the system. Did you know I’ve paid back $30,000+ to the public benefits that I’ve received? Were you aware that welfare isn’t free, that in MA it’s a debt that must be repaid? Or were you too busy jumping on the stereotypical bandwagon of hatred and joining the club of hijacking opportunities for the poor and taking and twisting it for the middle-class agenda?
I don’t expect an answer. But you don’t know a f**king thing. Were you aware that Ben Echevarria contacted residents behind our LTOs backs? Were you aware that he coerced residents to threaten me? To threaten my life? All for the sake of the Union? Were you? I bet you were. There is no doubt in my mind.
Remaining silent on the real issues does nothing but give approval.
I’m experienced with the games, the dirty looks, the gossip, the bullshit, the ones who pretend they want to be your friend but are working for the opposition – the aftermath of speaking out. I’m not afraid of anything and I sure as hell am not afraid of union. They are hurting people and it’s greedy.
I’m sick and tired of them ruining opportunities for us and residents in the community who want nothing more than to make sure that all people and residents are considered without some other incentivized group attaching themselves like leeches at any opportunity presented with these project proposals.
I hope everyone is aware that when they say “working class” they do not mean the underclass poor and low-income community. They think they live in poverty making $50,000 or more a year and prevailing wages which are well over $60/hour and with per diem! They make up to $3,000/week and they have the guts to say they don’t get paid enough – they need more and more and more. “Good wages”. What the hell is a good wage to them? $100/hour? $1,000/hour?
And in the meantime we’ve got families who are working just the same and paying taxes just the same making less than $100/day barely putting food on the table. And when the opportunity comes to build more homes that are subsidized and affordable so that we don’t have to pinch pennies and get sick from our homes – and God forbid take some of the unfair load off of our “undeserving” backs, we are told no. It’s stopped dead on the floor all for the sake of “prevailing wages” and “livable wages” when that wasn’t even the purpose to begin with – to give the residents a say and address issues related to what all residents want and can agree upon was.
The opportunity was never to say, “Well this resident is employed in the labor department and is union so let’s fight for their specific agenda and be willing to throw the whole needs of the community under the bus to cater them”.
Calculating what my income is based off of annual amount I receive I get the equivalent of $5/hour for a 40 hour workweek. I’m still alive aren’t I? My living wage is $5/hour. So when they say they cant afford this or that they are lying. It’s that they don’t want to give things up and end up living like how we are forced to live. God forbid.
That is where I come from. I’m tired of the preaching about how hard it is to get by. You don’t know a f**king thing about struggling to make ends meet like the people that live in the bracket below you. And you don’t care. You’ve lied to me and you’ve lied to us. You dont support the poor. You don’t support minorities or immigrants. You don’t support any of it. It is a lie. You support yourselves and are using us to gain control of opportunities and are feeding off of our inequity. It’s all bullshit.
And I find it extremely sad that you who are DSA members and claim to be fighting for those who have no voice and are constantly shut down and subjected to being walked all over have allowed the USNC and the CBA as well as ORS to be infiltrated as it has.
I know for a fact that your hearts were in the right place when this began. That is why I supported you. But you’ve lost your focus in the politics of such other groups. And for what? Exposure? The chance to make allies? Your allies are people who are against the poor having anything at all. Your allies are the people who throw trash at our immigrants and tell them they don’t belong here. Your allies are the ones who take food out of our mouths and tell us we do not deserve it. Your allies are wolves on sheep’s clothing wearing a mask that covers their true intention.
Take your group back before it’s too far gone. You do have the ability to do this. You do have the ability to stand on your own as a community – a whole and inclusive community. You do have the heart and passion to be what you claimed and fight for causes of which many of you have expressed are the most important, in fact they are.
Take your group back and start making the whole community your priority without any special interest geared incentive. You can do this. Will you? – is the question.
Jess
For those of you trying to besmirch Katie Gradowski – you don’t know diddly.
She devoted herself to the good of this city through Parts & Crafts. She also attended countless hearings about the future of Union Square–not to further her own agenda–but because she gave a damn about Somerville.
So what if she’s now in Providence? During the years she was here, she contributed to the betterment of our city. She was a good citizen.
“Quit viciously attacking your neighbors over the table scraps and figure out how to work with people to get a better deal for everyone.”
Karma’s a bit¢h.
Katie a leader in Somerville? Please don’t insult my intelligence she is divisive and a bully. Go back on Facebook and read her left wing maniacal rants on Facebook when she wasn’t being taken serious. Once again a white privileged trust fund baby thinking she can save the world and Somerville with her socialist ideology. Katie good riddance if you like I can recommend some good Italian restaurants in Federal Hill in Providence.
Somerbreeze, dear, same old blah, blah, blah?? I liked Katie also, but
she was an ideologue. Sentiment isn’t always enough. Even here, in
this very comments section, she goes down that dark road of hers,
and assumes a person is a property owner because they hold what
she assumes to be a certain value. But, yeah, she gave much of
herself, and I wish her well also. Katie was….Katie. But others saw that
dark side of hers too, and they won’t agree with you or I. And that’s
how it is, dear. Parts and Crafts was great.
Karma what? The joke about my karma running over your dogma?
A quote and 3 words does not a life make.
Ben Echevarria. Ben, dear, perhaps try not messing with female tigers
who have cubs next time? Because if she’s correct in this, the sign
on the door will read “Not Welcome”. And that would mean you. So
fend this off–or don’t–but if you can’t do it, then perhaps a trip to
Providence is in order, and where you can settle down as Katie’s
neighbor and stay there. And betting money on a tiger v a Ben[ 2 or
more I can think of], and that tiger will eat you alive. I believe she just
did.
Good Lord! Who are these morons? Puh-thetic. The funniest part is they see themselves as grand wits and intellectual giants, even though all they’re good for is babbling about the crazy “leftists” and making up goofball insults.
I smell desperation as their great orange “Nationalist” prepares to grab the vaseline. That’s when things will really get funny. I can hardly wait.
Here we go the far left fascists in the peoples republic of Somerville have their panties in a knot because someone has the temerity to have an opinion. The bully tactics rear their ugly head in insults and character assassinations. The only desperation I can see is the socialist’s aren’t taking their medication as prescribed and acting like petulant snotty little babies because their hero’s are being attacked for their idiotic drivel and social engineering. The only Vaseline needed is for the white privileged trust fund babies, Katie, Jacob, Ben b,and the queen of the delegation Karen N.,to slide their way out of Somerville. Please Wayan stop insulting residents with your smear tactics and your attempt at humor it is far from funny.BTW the only smell in Somerville is the dirty socialist’s take a whiff of them sometime in public meetings.Soap was a wonderful invention. Oh my the nonsense continues.
Oh I know who these morons are – or rather I know their type. They are 3 or 4 regular trollers – with a few stragglers here and there – who claim to represent the interests of some 80,000 residents. Obviously shilling for the developers. Nasty little thugs. Pay no attention. They are all but completely irrelevant and crooked as hell.
Dear Union Square Resident (October 22nd) – thanks for your call for civility. One thing I would beg you to do – since the Clarendon issue, and the SST tactics, are actually very relevant to future affordable housing construction in Somerville – in the spirit of having an open and candid conversation, please talk to folks who really know about Clarendon. This would include – Jessica Turner, anyone else on the CRU board, Ellen Schacter (office of housing stability, and former counsel for CRU), Ben Ewen Campen, Mark Niedergang, Katjana Ballantyne, Mary Cassesso of the Trust, anyone on the mayor’s staff, the Somerville Housing Authority leadership, and probably a few others. The facts don’t always fit into as simple a narrative as you would suggest.
Here’s the thing, I’m one of those crazy leftists. Yet I’ve got little tolerance for do-nothing, all-for-show, coffee house leftists. What I see is way too much foot dragging in an effort to keep anything from happening in this city. As Jessica laid out, there’s real poor people and families feeling the squeeze from all this designed inaction. They’re harming the very people they’ve turned into talking points. We enacted 20% inclusionary housing, but then we see SST agitate against the first major project to use (and even go above) it. The SNWG suggested a host of changes that are in the zoning proposal the BOA has sat on for years.
We’re spending too much time spouting empty talking points and not nearly enough taking concrete steps to improve our housing situation. And, just a reminder, the greatest income equality leveler this city has to offer is a good school system (my kids are in it), but I hear nothing from groups like SST about it.
Oh dear, it’s back from mailing out pipe bombs. Well at least here it’s harmless.
Yea, here we go. Ready?
“Voice of Reason” LMAO! You slay me. Okay, Mr. Reason, let’s run it down: bully tactics, character assassinations, petulant snotty little babies, smear tactics, and attempts at humor. Did I miss anything? I doubt it. Those are the only things you’ve got when you open your cyber pie hole here. Nothing. Else.
And who’s paying for your Wifi here? US2? Someone else in the shadows?
Your infantile tirades only shine a light on your greed, corruption, and complete lack of character. So please, by all means, keep it up. I know you will. It’s all you’re good for.
The left wing fascists at it again name calling and assuming anyone who has original thought is a thug and incapable of having a real dialogue. The white privileged millennialis are attempting to drown out any discussion if it doesn’t meet their narrow minded ideology. You are right on one account don’t pay attention to left wing radicals who are the nasty ones and who are inciting fear and exploiting the poor in our city. Don’t flatter yourself and insinuate
I am are schilling for developers nice try and a typical smear campaign by the fascists to stifle any criticism. The only crooked people in the city are the pretend activists who come from money and who continue to spew false and erroneous information about union square. The whole process has become a complete joke.
I know who at least one of these characters is. It’s clear from the language he uses. A certain washed up, recently dethroned public official who also recently quit his job, and now he’s got nothing better to do with his time than to knock back Chivas and cook up these dumb ass posts. I suppose he imagines it’s prep work for his big political comeback. Well guess what genius, it ain’t happening. These “fascists” you keep railing about are the vast majority of the people who live here and voted your worse than useless butt out of office. Now, have another drink, kick the dog, and get right back to us, won’t you? We need the laughs.
@ Take back democracy – Setting aside the incredible shrillness of your rant, you obviously took your cue from a certain Porter Square clown who attended Union United meetings–open to all and democratically run–to continual badger, harass and disrupt attendees, especially Karen Narefsky, who dealt with him civilly.
If Karen Narefsky is such a Fascist, then why was she honored at a recent Labor Dinner for her dedicated organizing around Community Benefits for Union Square?
If there’s a Fascist here, pal, I think it’s YOU, who’s tone reminds me of the raw-meat fury on display at Trump rallies all year.
God spare us from the likes of your uncivil venomous spewing. Somerville is not the better for it.
Somerbreeze, dear, I answered you once in “A breeze, a car…”, and
answered USR #2 with “Unimpressed”. And here you go again with
the name calling. Because actually talking about Union Sq and politics
is something you don’t do. “Shrillness”, eh? So what does that actually
mean? Outside of your name calling, that is. And who looks like they
are the “clown” here–I’d say that was you; and why don’t you have
enough sense to pick your fights with any one idea that has meaning?
And where you say anything at all about what’s going on in Union Sq?
USNC meetings have not been democratically run, and not even from
the very first meeting. Do you really want to get into this, because I
have a lot to say and the facts to back it up with.
And what is your clear obsession with Karen? I mentioned her once
and moved on. She’s long gone to NYC early in the year. But you
just ca’t get away from Karen ad Katie, can you? And it does seem
that for you, if you don’t like what people say with their 1st Amend.
freedom of speech rights, that they “badger, harass, and disrupt”,
because you don’t like opinions other than yours. Way to go, eh?
Why was Karen honored? You might think about who honored her
and why? Karen pulled the wool over too many people’s eyes, and
manipulated many to her way of thinking. But then Karen was yet one
more paranoid rich kid–an elite private high school in Chicago; a
famous lawyer/developer father; took romance languages at Harvard
and spoke many of them–who thinks that downtrodden people have
skin colors that ain’t white. She was a bigot. So it’s ironic that she
would be honored by labor unions who are mostly white, male, and
working class. Being an ideologue wasn’t Karen’s achilles heel: she
was a messed up, paranoid, person. And she took advantage of
some in Union Sq to twist their perceptions to hers. So, yes, that
Fascist observation still holds good….but she’s gone, Somerbreeze,
so why continue to talk about her? Or dear, dear, Katie? There’s no
good legacy here; it’s been the spawning ground for the other messed
up, paranoid, folks like Ben Bradlow and Ben Ewen-Campen, rich Ivy
League kids from very privileged backgrounds. And those similar
ones like Jacob Kramer, who apparently thinks that reading his poetry
at City Hall is a good idea, and where all he did was to throw his
privilege in the face of Old Somerville, and we all noticed. Way to go,
Jacob! But now Jacob plays with the SST union snake Rand crowd,
because that’s hip this week.
So. Is this “uncivil venomous spewing” enough for you, because I’d say
it’s still a freedom of speech issue. But you don’t want me to have that,
because you’re scared what I might say. But, news to you: I’m concerned
about what you DO say, because if there’s a hollow Trump supporter
type here it’s you. Way to go, huh?
I’d like MY left wing back from these idiots that are not socialists. They
just use the same old empty words. And these are not solutions.
Socialism doesn’t mean squat if they can’t even be good Democrats
first. Because then freedom of speech does mean something. And
it’s also the freedom to try to fight off these fake left wing rich kid
bigots–too many of whom appear to have gone to Harvard–who
some said were *special people* in their pasts, and who now think that
they have the pretentious right to tell the rest of us what to do. So
if you’re going to call that a ‘rant’, Somerbreeze, then I’d say it’s other
than this: it’s about the right to express an opinion. And the more
opinions the better, because that’s democracy, and which can make
Somerville better. It’s an easy equation: 1 person, 1 say, 1 vote. And
that doesn’t have gender, age, skin color, or any other of the flaws
of demographics in it. Any person walks into demographic analysis at
their own risk; too many have used it for their own ends, like Karen
did. But then rich kids still want to hand out care packages just so
long as their elite lifestyle isn’t changed too much. Kids, this is not
a real answer; you keep sticking band aids on issues because you have
to; but you don’t address the real problems.
And for those who followed along with Mike Capuano’s newsletters since
Trump got elected, we are going to need a much bigger boat to carry
all those band aids to fix issues the Republican Party has created since
Trump took office. But it’s still band aid Democratic answers. Bernie’s
“our” cannot get there when it’s these fools with “Their Revolution” ,
and where a person stands to benefit if they fit the right empty
stereotype that this ORS/SST has. Pressley almost beat Capuano
in Somerville–she lost by 200 votes–and what did that say? 1 thing
it said is that being young, female, and black pays off in this silly
ideology where the demographic means more than the reality. Hell,
even I’m going to convert to Islam and run for President. *Diversity*
means ALL people: quit thinking of it as demographics. You are going
to create a monster.
OK, Somerbreeze, what’s next? If you actually want to talk about real
politics and real social life in Union Sq?
And Bill Cavellini should resign. About the same chance as Trump doing
so. Do be careful who you vote for in the next USNC Board elections
in December. Do your homework. Better still if more people run as
candidates. There’s no democracy here right now with them when a
slate has so much influence on an election, and when 13 of 15 get
elected from that slate, and when the trolls take over the 7 person
CBA negotiating committee. Hyper-local government had a bad day
with this. SO: please, please….all of you in Union Sq do think about
your options with this next election, and don’t get fooled by groups
like ORS and SST. They only care about themselves, and we’ve seen
this quite clearly by now.
I only ever did go to ONE Union United meeting, and didn’t disrupt
anything. So why your lies? The issue was the Union United
Membership Application which is/was a First Amendment violation,
because, in signing your name to it, you sign to accept that Union
United members will NOT contradict each other in a public setting.
So values/positions are spoon-fed at U.U. meetings, and members are
expected to adhere and acquiesce to them. It’s called *dictatorship*,
Somerbreeze. Do you remember the joke: what do you get when you
cross a penis with a potato? A dictator. Might you, in fact, be the
dickhead here? Sure looks that way.
Blow away to Providence…or anywhere, and quit with the lies and
the name calling. It’s always fun name calling back, but it didn’t get
us anywhere, nor has it gotten to talking about Union Sq.
You fake left trolls are not the brightest lights on the tree. Lies and
empty words don’t cut it.