Last month Fight Back Pittsburgh was hard at work organizing in Pittsburgh and on the road. On October 11th we sent a delegation to Metropolis to stand on the picket line with the members of Local 7-669 at Honeywell. The delegation continued on to Ferguson on October  12 and 13 to join people from across the nation for a day of action in solidarity with Mike Brown and other victims of police brutality. We also sent a delegation to New York City on September 21 and 22 to take part in the the largest climate march in history. 300,000 people marched together in the streets of New York City to fight against climate injustice. 2,646 solidarity actions in 162 countries participated in this international day of action. On October 23rd Fight Back Pittsburgh members participated in a 3,000 person sit in for Flood Wall Street in New York City as well.

In Pittsburgh, we co-sponsored a solidarity action with Ferguson on Columbus day and worked with the Alliance for Police Accountability and other organizations for the National Day of Action To End Police Brutality on October 22nd where at least 100 people came out to hear organizers and community members from BPEP, HRC Fed Up!, New Voices Pittsburgh and others.

We have also been busy helping workers fight back right here in the city. Organizing efforts at the Childrens Museum are proceeding on pace. Workers got together on October 5th for their first big organizing meeting and are planning to move forward on November 2 with a silk-screening event. The Fight Back at Work Committee sent a delegation to a Shadyside salon where an employee who was experiencing harassment in the workplace was being retaliated against by their bosses for making a complaint. Our New Community Committee is developing a plan to help the Pittsburgh community fight back against greedy landlords as well!

Perhaps the most exciting news for Fight Back Pittsburgh is that we have hired our first employee! Fight Back Pittsburgh member Rachel Nunes applied for a $15,400 grant with the Berger’s Marks Foundation to fund a project focusing on building a diverse corps of Fight Back Pittsburgh members. She will be developing a bi-monthly woman’s story and skill sharing hour, developing a know your rights at work, civil rights/sexual harassment workshop, a train the trainer workshop, and will be working on organizing a city-wide women’s labor solidarity event.

It’s been a busy and exciting month for the organization and we are excited to continue these organizing efforts into November!