#SaborLatinoRI Holds Taco Mania!

Rhode Island Latino Arts, in collaboration with Rhode Island Food Fights, will celebrate Latino Heritage Month from September 15-October 15, 2015 with a month-long culinary exhibition event, Taco Mania.  For the cost of a book of tickets or a passport, patrons will have to opportunity to visit participating venues and receive two tacos.  As of this printing, twelve restaurants are already involved, with a list to be finalized by July 1.  Founded as The Hispanic Heritage Committee Rhode Island in 1988 by Marta V. Martínez, the organization has sponsored Hispanic heritage celebrations since 1989 while promoting pride in the immigrant population, encouraging second generation engagement in Latino heritage, and reaching out to non-Latinos to foster understanding of major contributions of their neighbors.  In 2013, the organization was re-named Rhode Island Latino Arts in celebration of its twenty-fifth anniversary.
Parties interested in registering for this event or obtaining tickets can do so at its FaceBook page or by clicking here.

Protest March For Tipped Workers On June 2

On Tuesday, June 2, 2015, Restaurant Opportunity Center of Rhode Island, in collaboration with Rhode Island Jobs With Justice, will hold a protest march to the State House called '20 Years Is Long Enough!'  Beginning at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, located at 15 Hayes Street in Providence, the protest is intended to bring attention to the plight of tipped workers in Rhode Island.  As of this writing, it has been two decades since the minimum wage for laborers on such income has been adjusted, with the current wage at $2.89 per hour.  In a statement issued via email today, one such worker said

The industry teaches servers that we are worth less. We are not paid as professionals with a skill but are instead made to curry favor with whoever we can in order to scrape together a living...  How am I supposed to stand up for myself when the customer who sexually harasses me pays 68% of my hourly wage?  

Parties interested in further details or registration can do so here.

Union Organization Meeting For Food and Retail Workers Monday Evening

On Monday, May 18, 2015 at 6 PM, the Providence branch of the Industrial Workers of the World will host a town hall-style organizational meeting for food and retail workers interested in unionizing their workplaces at 319 Broadway in Providence.  Called PRECARIOUS AND PISSED OFF! A FORUM FOR FOOD AND RETAIL WORKERS, the event is described by the hosts as the following:

This is a town hall meeting for and by food and retail workers in the Providence Metro Area to come together and learn about the future of the industry and why we need to organize together as food and retail workers today.

The IWW is one of America's oldest still-extant labor unions.  Founded on July 27, 1905 in Chicago, it is based around the syndicalist model of organization, where members of multiple trades are united in One Big Union instead of divided into different trade unions.  Famous members include Mother Jones, Lucy Parsons, Helen Keller, linguist Noam Chomsky, musician Tom Morello, anthropologist David Graeber, and Roger Nash Baldwin, founder of the ACLU.
For more information or to register for attendance, click here.  Childcare will be available for free.