Want to help us support the Women Riders of Harley-Davidson? Then come, join us on Saturday, May 22 from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. in Milwaukee to cheer on the Riders. That's it. We just have to wear pink and be ready to cheer. Are you up for it? We would love to have you join us. Lots of fun and food available before and after you volunteer at the crossroads of Milwaukee St. and Wisconson Ave. for live music, motorcycle displays, beverages, special guests and food deals from area restaurants and bars. Any questions, please emailevents@networkofstrength.org or call 312-294-8538.

To volunteer, please RSVP here. Bring your friends and family! We need a great cheering seection for the women participating in the Group Ride! If you want to make a night of it, please consider staying at a hotel in the area.

May 22 - 23, 2010
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Be a part of one of the biggest events in the world that celebrates women and motorcycling in the place where the Harley-Davidson dream began more than a century ago.

Downtown Street Party

The Saturday night party on Milwaukee St. (starting at Milwaukee St. and Wisconsin Ave. and running north) is going to be full-throttle fun for women riders, non-riders and everyone else, so bring a friend! The event is free and open to the public. The party features:

• Live Music and Entertainment by local artists.
• Food Specials & Beverages for Guests - Enjoy signature dishes from a variety of Milwaukee establishments on Milwaukee St. for a taste of the local culture.
• Thrill of the Throttle Ride - Not a rider yet? Hop on this cool, stationary Harley to get the feel of a V-Twin and shift through the gears. No motorcycle license required.
• Special Rider Recognition - Join in observing memembers of US and internatational motorcycle groups who have come from near and far.
• Win Dozens of Prizes - some valued at more than $200.
• Free motorcycle parking (while dedicated space lasts).

Note:  All riders in the Group Ride will land on Milwaukee St. in the middle of downtown Milwaukee so bring your camera!

Milwaukee Group Ride

Take part in the group ride that celebrates women riders and the spirit behind the sport.

Saturday Women's Group Ride - Staging at the Summerfest Grounds 4:30 - 6:00 p.m. with a 6:00 p.m. launch, and ending at the Downtown Street Party on Milwaukee St., this group ride will inspire and energize you as you ride alongside hundreds of other motorcyclists celebrating women riders. Men are welcome to ride (at the back of the group) and encouraged to come out and show their support of the female riders in their lives.

Wear your Harley-Davidson Pink Label gear and apparel and show your support for Breast Cancer Network of Strength - survivors and supporters will be present to cheer you on at the end of the ride.

>>>>>Volunteer to cheer on Harley-Davidson as they support women and Breast Cancer Network of Strength.

Larry Merritt    312.744.5716

Tweet Home Chicago: Bird House Design + Build Competition

The City of Chicago in collaboration with the Chicago Park District and its partners announced a unique competition that will increase awareness and ownership about the importance of habitat restoration and improvement for our avian population.Tweet Home Chicago is a partnership of the City, Chicago Park District and the Chicago Bird Agenda working group.

Select houses will be displayed at high-profile public venues, installed near Chicago Park District field houses, or auctioned to raise money for bird conservation efforts in the city.

Professional designers, carpenters, and artists, along with students and novices are encouraged to enter. Participants can build houses for one of eight species that nest in cavities in Chicago. Bird houses will be judged on functionality, suitability (of the suggested location), use of sustainable materials, and aesthetics.

“This competition intends to show how many green spaces throughout Chicago can serve as important habitat for birds,” said Suzanne Malec-McKenna, Chicago Department of Environment Commissioner. “By improving or creating bird habitat in backyards and neighborhood parks, we can also achieve such as stormwater management and site cooling.”

The Tweet Home Chicago panel of judges will include esteemed professionals from the design, art, and conservation fields. Confirmed judges include Theaster Gates (University of Chicago), Terry Guen (Terry Guen Design Associates), Donnie Dann (Bird Conservation Network), and Sarah Dunn (UrbanLab).

“More than 7700 acres of our parkland throughout Chicago and 26-miles of our lakefront are designated as an Important Birding Area by the National Audubon Society and offer migrating and non-migrating birds essential habitat,” said Timothy J. Mitchell, Chicago Park District General Superintendent and CEO. “We are excited to work with our partners on this project because the Tweet Home Chicago competition is a great way for interested participants to not only give back to the avian population of Chicago, but learn about their needs and way of life.”

Chicago is a great city for birds. Chicago is home to over 80 native species of birds and serves as a resting stop for millions of migrating birds every spring and fall. Those birds that call Chicago “home” find habitat and food in the city’s parks, river ways, lakeshore, school grounds, street trees, and backyards. Birds are an important part of the web of life --controlling insect populations and other pests, pollinating flowers and bringing nature into people’s lives.

The Tweet Home Chicago partners include the Chicago Department of Environment, Chicago Park District, Audubon Chicago Region, Bird Conservation Network, Chicago Public Schools, Friends of the Chicago River, Nature House, Inc., ReBuilding Exchange, Thirst and Moving Design, UrbanLab, and the U.S. Green Building Council.

People interested in participating should contact birds@cityofchicago.org or 312.743.9283 with questions. Click here for more information on Tweet Home Chicago.

Important Dates (2010):

April 16: Registration Deadline

April 29 – May 1: Submittals due at Chicago Center for Green Technology

May TBD: Awards Ceremony

Rebuilding Together, is a volunteer tradition among union carpenters throughout the United States. Founded in 1988 as 'Christmas in April', Rebuilding Together has worked on over 105,000 homes with the help of skilled tradespeople. This is a one day event that takes place on the last Saturday of April, each year. This nonprofit organization welcomes thousands of volunteers, who come out to get their hands dirty to complete home repairs, age 14 and up, which includes corporate  sponsors  and their employees, college students, bankers, lawyers, community groups, churches, construction companies, and all who wants to lend a hand. Many volunteers register  with their family members, and friends.

Rebuilding Together fills a pressing need in our communities. The rising cost of living and falling social service budgets have left some of our most vulnerable neighbors without the most basic of necessities, a warm, safe, and dry home.

The nation is facing enormous problems, many of which have reached crisis levels. The low-income homeowners that Rebuilding Together serves are disproportionately affected by these issues. Homeownership is at an all time high, especially among low to mid-income Americans, but the costs of owning and maintaining a home are growing exponentially. Healthcare costs are skyrocketing, leaving low-income citizens with less and less disposable income for home repairs and modifications.

Rebuilding Together focuses on the issues of homeownership, the elderly, the disabled, families with children, healthcare, and the rising federal deficit. By identifying the challenges associated with these issues we are well placed to face a problem with full understanding and to create real, sustainable solutions for the low-income homeowners we serve.

Sisters in the Brotherhood participates annually in this event, partnering with our children, new tradeswomen, local union members, and people who don't mind  being a carpenter for a day. In one work day, completed tasks range from rebuilding stairs, creating handicap accessible ramps, replacing drywall, remodeling bathrooms,  replacing entry doors, repairing cabinets, to replacing counter tops. 

We look forward to this day, year after year, because of the gratitude shown to us by homeowners. House Captains go to the greatest lengths to make the day fun, and smooth for the volunteers. We appreciate the opportunity to make a difference, just as much as we're appreciated by Rebuilding Together. 

We're going back for more this April. Hope you'll join us!

Find your affiliate, then register to receive your assignment. If you're not quite sure if you can commit beforehand, there's usually a meet up location the morning of the event, where you can receive an assignment the day of.

http://www.rebuildingtogether.org/

Looking forward to posting all of our Rebuilding Together pics! Send your RT photos to ubcsisters@aol.com.

 As fate would have it, I met Regina V. Polk for the first time in my life in January 2010. The problem is she died in a plane crash in 1983.

 I have to confess that I am one of the recipients of the Regina V. Polk Scholarship, which I benefited from while enrolled in the Depaul Labor Education Program back in the 90's. At that time, and until January 2010, I had no real clue of who Regina V. Polk was. The most I could tell you was that she was a generous benefactor who believed in the advancement of  Women Labor Leaders.

  Then a resource landed in my inbox, a resource to be promoted among Labor Union Women,

"I am a  Teamster".  

I had just completed a five year run on the appointed Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters Women's Steering Committee, and found Chapter 11 Resolution on Women Workers of particular interest. This was the moment that I realized that the revolutionary ideas I thought I had, weren't new at all. Women were fighting the same fight in the mid seventies, right here in Chicago. 

Well this is a resource that I WOULD like to share with Labor Union Women.

A biography about Regina Polk, a business agent and organizer with Chicago’s  Local 743, documents one woman's mark on labor union history. What makes her story interesting is the fact that she made it to the ranks of being an UNION ORGANIZER before the age of 33, at a time when it was unheard of for a woman to be TEAMSTER ORGANIZER. A Teamster Organizer who could not disguise her beauty, who wasn't afraid to express her femininity, who dared to  be fashionable, glamourous, and at the same time down to earth with the workers she organized. 

 The book, “I Am a Teamster: A Short, Fiery Story of Regina V. Polk, Her Hats, Her Pets, Sweet Love, and the Modern-Day Labor Movement” is by Terry Spencer Hesser and was published in 2008.

 I Am a Teamster” tells the life story of Polk, with an emphasis on her Teamster career. Polk died when she was just 33 in a plane crash on October 11, 1983, on her way to a meeting of the Illinois Jobs Coordination Council.

 The story of Polk’s life is told well in the biography and includes a wealth of information about a truly dedicated unionist. Early in the book, Hesser says, “This is her story—the legacy of a young woman who joined the labor movement at a precarious time in American history and fought hard to bridge the vast disparities between the power of owners and the dignity of workers.”

 While Hesser documents some remarkable stories about Polk, some of the passages that stand out the most are the ones written by Polk herself, like her speech to stewards from her local on May 9, 1981. According to Hesser’s book, before writing and delivering the speech, “she played a record of a speech that her hero Jimmy Hoffa had delivered at a Teamster convention 15 years before. She played it over and over again, listening to Hoffa’s elevated ideals as well as his flattened vowels.” Though she never met him, Polk “idolized him and found inspiration in his words as much as his accomplishments.”  

 -Nieko Malcom, Carpenters Local 1

Sisters In The Brotherhood