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Coalition Pushes for “Just Cause” Employment in Ithaca The campaign for “just cause” employment legislation in Ithaca continues. According to the Cornell Sun, the Ithaca Just Cause Coalition has been pushing Common Council to adopt their proposal and a working group on the matter is being formed. The coalition includes unions, nonprofits and businesses. The proposal would end “at will” employment in Ithaca. Under the proposed rule, employers would need to demonstrate that progressive steps were taken to address poor work performance before terminating an employee. Employers would also be able to fire people for illegal or dangerous behavior, or for economic reasons like loss of income. Employers who violate the rule would…
Youth Farm Project participants Stella Sapp-Dietrich and Etienne Exantus and Ray Hage Assistant Director of Cornell’s Science & Technology Entry Program (STEP) with Greta Garrison of the Youth Radio Project on WRFI.
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Listen to author Raul Palma in conversation with student organizers April Morales, Emily Trage, Riley Rhoder and Professor Jacob White. The 2024 New Voices Festival runs from April 24-26 at Ithaca College and in your community.
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What does community radio mean to you? We think this commercial-free, free-form, independent station helps make our listeners lives-and life in our communities-just a little better. We strive to make programing that opens ears, opens hearts, and leads us to ask important questions about our world. Even if it’s just to ask yourself, “What in…
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This is the last of my three stories about freedom of expression at Cornell University this year. Here are links to the first and second stories. The academic theme at Cornell this year is “Freedom of Expression.” In earlier stories, we reported about the general mood at Cornell around free speech, and students’ opinions about…
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The 2020 Ithaca Festival has been cancelled due to COVID-19 and state regulations on large gatherings, reports Ithaca Journal. Yesterday’s announcement comes after the festival was rescheduled from June to August amid the pandemic. Ithaca Festival is a four-day event with a parade, performances, food and vendors that dates back to 1977. The next festival…
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The coronavirus crisis has highlighted and exacerbated long-standing, racial and social inequities. Now, the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others have ignited renewed outrage and mobilization against systemic racism, oppression, and police violence. What can we learn from past struggles, and how can we build a strategy for dismantling the systems that…
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Juneteeth commemorates the June 19th 1865 announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas, and the emancipation of enslaved black people throughout America. Every year Ithaca’s Southside Community Center holds a festival to celebrate Juneteenth, and this year the festival will be held online, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WRFI News Director Michayla Savitt spoke…
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It’s been two weeks since George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis policeman. Worldwide protests continue and federal and state governments are moving quickly to consider reform legislation. Congressman Tom Reed, who represents New York’s 23rd district, commented on the bills during a call with media. WRFI News Contributor Fred Balfour reports.
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