While Local 355 will continue to accept support from organizations and the community at large for the new initiative in the upcoming months, one of its first actions will be to formally request that Broward County commissioners implement a "worker retention policy" to ensure that concession workers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport do not lose their jobs, even as their employers' contracts are being evaluated, [Jay Mehta] said. "The survey shows us that the best way to express our solidarity is to...continue to fight," said UNITE HERE Local 355 organizer Romane Petit Joseph, referring to the union's original purpose, which includes working toward quality jobs, workers' rights, immigration reform and living wages.
The National Black McDonald's Operators Association (NBMOA) has announced a donation of $100,000 to the Red Cross for its ongoing Haiti relief efforts. The NBMOA consists of McDonald's African American franchise owners, who together raised the funds independent of corporate contributions. The group hopes that its contribution will help keep the focus on the ongoing needs to rebuild Haiti.
The donation comes as the Red Cross and other groups continue to work on immediate relief needs in Haiti as well as plan for and implement years of rebuilding efforts following the massive earthquake that struck the country Jan. 12. Members of the NBMOA own more than 1,400 McDonald's restaurants throughout the United States with annual sales collectively exceeding $3.2 billion. The NBMOA also is one of the largest and most influential African American organizations in the United States.
"The National Black McDonald's Operators Association is honored to contribute to the Haiti relief effort," said Rita Mack, Chair and CEO of The National Black McDonald's Operators Association. "As Haiti enters a time of rebuilding, we McDonald's operators, including McDonald's Hispanic Operators Association, as a collective recognize that there are great needs and that additional assistance is warranted, augmenting' what McDonald's as a corporation has given toward Haiti relief efforts."
Obviously, Haitians in the country and the Haitian Diaspora must play the leading roles in rebuilding the nation. Therefore, it is not surprising that there was a flurry of meetings and conferences leading up to the major UN Donor's Conference where Haiti presented its Development Plan. The OAS convened a major meeting in Washington March 21-23 to secure the input of the Haitian Diaspora and Haiti experts. March 26-27, I was privileged to attend the conference convened by the Trotter Institute, the National Haitian American Elected Officials Network (NHAEON) and the Haitian Studies Project at the University of Massachusetts/ Boston. Organized ground the theme: Haitians Building Haiti: Towards Transparent and Accountable Development, it was an incredibly well designed and facilitated conference. I was very impressed by the genuine effort to create an environment where views of the community and the conferees could be heard on the critical issues of the principles and strategies which should guide the reconstruction process. In that regard, the sessions were profoundly enriched by the participation of leading organizations from civil society who traveled to the conference from Haiti. A recurrent refrain from these organizations was deep concern that their voices and those of grassroots organizations on the ground were not part of the process when the Government formulated the Plan that was presented at the Donor's conference. There was a sense of anger and frustration that the Plan appears to be a fait accompli without widespread engagement of the Haitian people. To his credit President [Preval] has shown a remarkable capacity to bring people from divergent political parties into his Government; indeed it is one of the unheralded achievements of his second tenure in office. Now his Government has the opportunity to utilize that attitude and posture of inclusion to conduct a National Dialogue that could become the hallmark of his presidency. The Donor Conference concluded with a pledge of $10 billion over the next four years to rebuild Haiti. If there is to be a new Haiti, however, no dollar amount will be sufficient to achieve that goal. What is required is a new way of tapping the energy of Haiti's greatest resource, its people. A National Dialogue on Building the New Haiti could give new meaning to L'Union Fait La Force in the 21st Century!
Poverty and suffering are nothing new to the brave Haitian people. They have survived the hellish reign of the murderous dictator Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier and, later, his son, Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Dulavier. They have lived through the nightmare of one military coup after another, barely existing at lower than subsistence levels. They have had to pay ransom money to France because they dared to fight for their freedom.
Dr. Ron Daniels, president of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century and founder of the Haiti Support Project, has announced that the Pilgrimage of Hope Humanitarian Cruise to Haiti originally scheduled for Oct. 310, 2011 is being postponed until January of 2012. As originally stated, "For the Love of Haiti: Pilgrimage of Hope Cruise is envisioned as a "rollup-our-sleeves project," a heartfelt effort to lift the spirits of the Haitian people by making a contribution to building the new Haiti. HSP also hopes to link faith-based institutions and civic-minded organizations from the U.S. with various projects, organizations, and initiatives in Haiti to provide ongoing support for the reconstruction process after the Cruise.
It's against this backdrop that filmmaker Roger Boisrond will screen SAK PASE? In the heart of the Haitian community, me grande premiere of his latest unedited documentary on the Haitian community. A Centre Mandela-King Production, the film will give viewers a better understanding of the Haitian presence in Quebec society, and the longtime solidarity that exists between Quebec and Haiti. A discussion will follow the screening.
BET's "SOS Saving Ourselves-Help for Haiti" benefit and concert telethon debuted live from the American Airlines Arena on Friday night. The event was hosted by Queen Latifiah, Sean "Diddy" Combs and Pharrell.
Attorney Michael Etienne, Irvence St. Jean, President of United for Haiti, Sandra JeanPierre, owner of WOW Factor Weddings and Events and the Fernande Saint Jean, the host for United for Haiti Gala, enjoy a night of celebration at the United for Haiti First Annual Black Tie Gala at FIU.
"All kinds of relief funds have been raised for Haiti and I asked him [[Joe Biden]] where is all the money going," [Jacques Despinosse] said. "What I saw with my own eyes was far worse than what we have seen on television. There are over one million people living on the streets, hungry and with no proper facilities to use the bathroom. We don't need to keep sending rice to farmers or meat to fishermen. They need grain and tools, boats and fishing nets, so they can provide for their families on a regular basis."
