What to Expect at Beautiful University Park, PA

As a Penn Stater, it would be fair to assume that I have some bias when I say that Penn State has the most beautiful college campus on Earth. But I didn’t choose Penn State for nothing! Our scenic campus, however, might be a bit daunting to newcomers because of its size (we have our own zip code!), but as a first year survivor, I’d like to give my sisters some tips on navigating the heart of Happy Valley.

Bring comfortable walking shoes! One thing I’ll never forget is mapping out my class schedule and realizing that my first class on Mondays was 1.2 miles away. While we likely won’t be walking that far (I had a pretty rough schedule), I would recommend wearing shoes that could accommodate 10-15 minute walks a few times a day. The dorms we will be staying in are some of the nicest we have on campus, but they are also a bit out of the way from classrooms!

While we’re discussing footwear, bring rain boots if you have them. You never know what the July humidity will bring! A small umbrella will also be a big help in the case of a rain shower on the way to a workshop. On the flip side, a humid July day with no rain can be exhausting. I never leave my dorm without a water bottle!

Bring a large purse or a backpack for anything you gather from all the workshops, whether it be papers, books, business cards, or freebies! If you are lacking in the bag department, we will be selling totes with our UALE 40^th Anniversary logo! There will be a variety of other UALE swag available, including logo buttons for only one dollar!

Bring your cellphone and or camera! It’s pretty cool to be able to ask that you bring your phone rather than tell you to leave it at home. With 130 + sisters, the school this year's school is at capacity. That means that the excitement will be ubiquitous all week. Capture every moment that you can! Photos and videos will help the memories you make last a lifetime, and they will also come in handy during the blogging workshop, where you will be able to share your memories and our good work with others all over the world wide web! Moreover, the college kid inside me is screaming “Network! Network!”, so having your phone on hand to exchange numbers with sisters and new friends will be a handy convenience during this incredible opportunity to connect with sisters from so many different backgrounds.

This is going to be an amazing week for all of us, whether you’re familiar with Penn State or not. I hope that you are all as excited as we at the Penn State School of Labor and Employment Relations are for the opportunity to gather in solidarity and continue to promote and improve our work for the labor movement. I assure you that Penn State is an outstanding place to do these things, but if you are at all concerned about anything involving our campus and what to expect, please feel free to message me, Jodi Rafalko, on Facebook or email me at jlr5979@psu.edu. We Are….sisters!

See you very soon! 

M. Dante, Sister and Sex Worker

M. Dante` is a Red Umbrella advocate, speaking out about disparities of the sex industry since the early 1990s. Transcending homelessness herself via the industry, and maintaining industry affiliations, she supports the New Zealand model of decriminalization.  Her 2003 Goddard College BA senior study, “XXX: A Cultural Exploration of Contemporary Feminism’s Relationship with Commercial Sexuality” offers discussion on the varying definitions of feminism, along with contemplation on what defines mutually consensual erotic labor services or sex work, forced prostitution during armed conflict or war, and trafficking. M. Dante assists on projects with: Community United for Safety and Protection (CUSP), the Diabolique Foundation, the Erotic Literary Salon (ELS), Erotic Services Providers Union (ESPU), the ESLPER Project, Fundamentals of Communication and Kindness (FUCK) Workshops at Community College of Philadelphia (CCP), Lady Dahlia Entertainment, Philadelphia Anti-Trafficking Coalition (PATC), Scantily Clad Storytelling hosted by Eris Vale, SEXx Interactive in affiliation with Sex with Timaree and GALAEI, Philadelphia FIGHT, Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP)-USA, SWOP-Philly, Project SAFE, Victoria Woodhull Sexual Freedom Summit (VWSFS), International Sex Worker Foundation for Art, Culture and Education (ISWFACE), Reverend Beverly Dale and the Incarnation Institute for Sex & Faith; and more!

M. Dante is herself a sex worker, and also – according to the current federal definition - a former victim of domestic minor sex trafficking as a result of being homeless as a teenager and young adult. She is actively contemplating legitimate opportunities to participate and contribute to the evolving needs of those whose lives are touched by consensual sex work, or coercion by sex trafficking.

“I desire clear, quantifiable, and qualitative outcomes as a result of innovative community collaborations, crossing class and cultural borders, generating entirely new opportunities from what is – I believe defined as - a current state social and economic crisis.” 

Bella Robinson- Fighting for Our Sisters in the Erotic Community

Bella Robinson - a sex worker rights activist -  has worked in the sex industry for over thirty years. She is the director of Rhode Island chapter of COYOTE (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics) since 2009, and a board member of ESPU (Erotic Service Providers Union) and the ESPLER Project, or ESPLERP (The Erotic Service Providers Union Legal, Education and Research Project).

In 1976 the Rhode Island chapter of COYOTE sued the Rhode Island Attorney General, in the landmark case COYOTE vs. Roberts, regarding the constitutionality of the state’s prostitution laws, resulting in the decriminalization of indoor sex work between consenting adults.

Founded in 2004, ESPU is a California based non-profit supporting the decriminalization of prostitution. ESPU envisions sex workers gaining agency through the model of  industrial organizing for legal, occupational, social and economic rights.

Bella is also a board member of ESPU affiliate, the ESPLER Project.  ESPLERP  is a diverse community-based - erotic service provider led  - group seeking to empower the erotic community,  and advance sexual privacy rights through legal advocacy, education and research.  In our legal advocacy, we seek to create change through a combination of impact litigation, policy statements, and by voicing our concerns for our community in political arenas.  Through educational trainings and outreach, we will empower and build capacity to address discrimination of erotic service providers and the greater erotic community.  Lastly, ESPLERP strive to archive and rate much of the research which has been done by the sex worker community, and build on this history with research which seeks to be increasingly inclusive, respectful, and ultimately, relevant to the erotic service providers, the larger erotic community, and those who need factual information on our community.

We will have the privilege of meeting Bella at our 2015 UALE Summer School. Thanks to Bella for an intriguing submission!  

Some Things to Expect at your First UALE Summer School Experience- From Gail Rodgers

For new sisters attending the UALE Summer School for the first time: here are some helpful hints from alumna Gail Rogers. She was the Secretary-Treasurer of Local 1-S, RWDSU-UFCW, which represents the employees of Macy's in Herald Square, Parkchester, Queens and White Plains. She was involved in her union for 35 years as a shop steward, Executive Board Member, Business Agent, and an Officer. She first attended Summer School in 2002 at the invite of Ida Torres, a teacher at summer school and the President of Local 3, a sister union, and has attended several other UALE Summer schools with other members of her union.
"[The UALE Summer School] was a wonderful experience. I met some wonderful women and made some lifelong friends. What I discovered over those years was that when I first attended most of the women were staff or business agents in their union, There were very few officers. In the last year I attended the amount of women officers had increased quite a bit. That was great progress. I believe that summer school gave the women the confidence and knowledge to realize that they had a lot to offer their unions and that they could hold officer positions. Summer School gave these women the opportunity to meet other women who shared their problems and concerns and the ability to discuss possible solutions. For most, the nervousness of meeting new people and of the unknown only lasts a short time. Everyone there is there to learn and obtain new skills to do their jobs better. There is a bonding that takes place. The teachers make everyone feel comfortable, It is an experience that I wish more women had the opportunity to take part in. I am quite pleased at the amount of communication and promotion that has gone into this year’s Summer School. Hope it is well attended and successful. How can it not, It is run by Women." Gail sends the 130+ sisters attending the school this year her best regards.

Building Excitement for the 2015 UALE Northeast Summer School (The 40th One!)

Fellow bloggers and sisters,

Many of you have heard from me via email and or Facebook, but once again I'd like to throw this message out onto the world wide web in the hopes of reaching our summer school alumna and our new sisters, too! As the date of our 40th Summer School approaches, (July 26th) we're really hoping to build excitement for the event and maybe even get some new recruits by sharing stories of past schools that sisters have attended or bios of new students who are passionate about labor. As you all know, it is so imperative to share our enthusiasm for labor with others if we want to expand as a force. Please, if you feel that you can contribute by answering any or a few of these questions and allowing your answers to be featured here and on our Facebook page, contact me, Jodi Rafalko, Intern of the Penn State School of Labor and Employment Relations at jlr5979@psu.edu. Your input would be incredibly valuable to other sisters who might not know what's in store for them at our the UALE Summer School this July.

Thank you in advance for your help! See you soon!!

In Solidarity.......
Jodi Rafalko

Reflections on 2014 Summer School: 1 Day passed

          It is the second day after the end of summer school that now, seems like a distant past.  Despite the gloomy weather, as the rain hits my bedroom window, I wake to a visual of masses of people holding hands, doing the wave, swaying and singing:  "Solidarity Forever.  Our Unions Make Us Strong."

"I am a Human. 

I am a Female.

I am a Worker. 

I Have Rights."

Lourdes Ashley Hunter

      
 
      

    With the elections nearing, it is up to me to intelligently cast all my votes; to Question and Hold All Transparent and Accountable, "How Will You Affect Hard Working Human Life?"  For if I don't, We may lose all our existing rights.

          I miss my summer school sisters, but as I hear the rain trickle on my bedroom window, I get excited and look forward to hearing how my sisters will creatively reign.  

Bev on the guitar, as we sing, 

"Solidarity Forever. HIStory shows Our Unions make us strong."

Frances Perkins In Pictures!

This week we built bonds of sisterhood that we will never lose. The women of Frances Perkins were honored to be under her mantle, the woman who brought us modern fire safety rules after the Triangle Shortwaist Fire in 1911. She was a phenomenal woman and throughout this week we discovered that we are, too.

We mapped our unions, learned about ourselves and leaders and shared stories and marbles. The bond we have built here with us and with our new sisters in the labor movement. 

We are all necessary ingredients in the stew of our work! Without the pepper, where's the spice?!?!