LABOR PARTYALACHUA COUNTY

W i n t e r 2 0 1 3 N e w s l e t t e r

The Alachua County Wage Theft Task Force gave a presentation to the Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) on Tuesday, January 8th to formally introduce our elected officials to the issue of wage theft, as well as propose a Wage Recovery Ordinance. After hearing about the pervasive nature of this crime in Alachua Coun-ty, as well as how ineffective our federal and state governments have been in enforcing existing laws against wage theft, commissioners Byerly, Chestnut, Hutchinson, and Pinkoson seemed satisfied with the presentation and showed mild to strong support for passing new legislation. Commissioner Baird, a Tea Party Republican, did not meet us with the same enthusiasm.

Labor Party members and coordinators as well as community members came out in sup-port of the ordinance and took the time to share personal stories of wage theft with the County

wage recovery ordinance introduced to county

BY DIANA MORENO

WAGE THEFT cont’d on p. 4

Alex Cardelle, Diana Moreno and Jeremiah Tattersall togeth-er presented Jan. 8th before the Alachua County Commis-sioners to make a case for the enactment of a Wage Recov-ery Ordinance in Alachua County.

IN THIS ISSUEWage Recovery Ordinance P. 1, 4-5

P. 2

P. 3

P. 6-7

P. 8-9

P. 10

P. 11

Upcoming Events

Member Spotlight: Garrett Quinlivan

Looking Back and Leaping Ahead: 2012/2013 Strategies and Goals

Join the Committee of 100!

No Insurance Companies, No Deductibles, No Co-Pays - Just Health Care

Labor Party Coordinator Change-Up

Alachua County Labor Party floridalaborparty.org

Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 5:30pmJust Health Care Committee Meeting at La-bor Party Office.

UPCOMINGEVENTS

Email:aclp@floridalaborparty.org

Phone Number:(352) 375-2832

Mailing Address:Post Office Box 12051Gainesville, FL 32604

Office Address:14 E. University Ave. #204

Office Hours:M, W, F 3pm-6pm

Alachua County Labor Party Board

Chad Hood - ChairDavid Hennig - TreasurerGaby Gross - Secretary

Chelsea Hetelson - OrganizerMarie Dino - Organizer

02

sunday, January 27, 2013 at 5:30pmAlachua County Wage Theft Task Force Meeting at the Labor Party Office.

Monday, January 28, 2013 at 7:30pmJoin Labor Party member Kali Blount as he presents a single-payer presentation and The Health Care Movie at the Story Hour Room in the Downtown Library. 

Want to do More?Join Labor Party members earlier be-fore the film at 6:00pm to participate in the Library District’s program “Law in the Library: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” We will collect health care surveys and invite people to our single-payer presenta-tion and film screening.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013 at 6:30pmACLP General Meeting at the ACEA Hall

Board meetings are held on the 1st & 3rd Tuesday of the month in the ACLP office and are open to

all Labor Party members.

ALACHUA COUNTYLABOR PARTYwww.floridalaborparty.org

“Alachua County Labor Party”

@ACLaborParty

Stay updated with the Labor Party via our website, Facebook group or Twitter for related news,

upcoming Labor Party events and meetings.

Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 3:00pmJust Health Care Reading Group. We are researching right-wing opinion pieces in an effort to understand and argue against them. Each person will choose three useful links and send to the other members by February 1st. Contact Gaby Gross at 256-4222 for loca-tion.

{

Alachua County Labor PartyWinter 2013

Several Labor Party members attended the recent January 8th Alachua County Board of County Commissioner meeting to sup-port the Wage Theft Task Force’s presenta-tion to push for a Wage Recovery Ordinance. Among them was Garret Quinlivan who used his turn during public comment to ask how many attendees at the Board of County Com-misioner meeting were in favor of the ordi-nance. A vast majority of those in attendance, about forty people, stood up in support, and many took the time to share their personal ex-periences with wage theft. Garrett’s question

not only raised the consciousness of the com-missioners, but also showed the unity of the Gainesville community. We are proud to have members likes Garrett Quinlivan to represent the Labor Party.

When did you get involved with the Labor Party?

It was last year in September when the La-bor Party was tabling in Bo Diddley Plaza, and Jack Price talked about the Labor Party’s single-payer health care campaign. I was in-terested because I’ve lived in Germany for a long time, and when I moved to the U.S. I knew that America’s health care system was nothing compared to that. I went to my first Labor Party meeting, and I knew that we needed to do something.

 What has been the most meaningful action or campaign you’ve been a part  of in the Labor Party? 

For the short time I’ve been in the group, besides the County Commissioner’s meeting, I’ve been most involved in the Just Health Care campaign. I’m trying to tell people about the single-payer system. I know that our current book that we have in the health care reading group helps a lot.

Member Spotlight: Garrett Quinlivan

From all of us at the Labor Party, we would like to thank the Alachua County Education Association for allowing us to use their meeting room for our gen-eral meetings once a month. Without the support from ACEA we would not be able to meet and organize as one unit. We are very fortunate to have allies with another organization who fights for working people. We stand in solidarity with their efforts to bargain for fair contracts for public employees. Thank you for the continued support.

Thank you to the alachua county education association

03

Member Spotlight features a different member each quarter to get to know each other and to learn from each other’s different experiences and perspectives.

Garrett Quinlivan is also a member of Move to Amend, an organization dedicated to amending the constitution to firmly establish that human beings, not corporations, are entitled to constitutional rights.

ACLP

Alachua County Labor Party floridalaborparty.org

Commissioners. LP members James In-gle, Paul Ortiz, and Sheila Payne were among them.

Unfortunately, a dissenting voice did ar-rive to drown out the voice of the public. State Representative Keith Perry missed the presentation, but promptly stood up to have his say during public comment to denounce any possible ordinance. He did not identify himself as an elected official, however. As the owner of Perry Roofing Contractors, he chose to represent the “business owner”community by stating his distaste for any new “regula-tions” that he believes will make it harder for businesses to hire workers. Unfortunately, Perry failed to listen to the research the Task Force worked hard to present which dispelled the myth that a Wage Recovery Ordinance would add any regulatory burden on busi-nesses.

Miami-Dade County was able to pass a similar ordinance in their county with the support of the small business community because they saw wage-theft prevention as a benefit against unfair competition. In fact,

the Wage Theft Program in Miami-Dade County was originally housed in the Small Business Development Department of the county. Moreover, the Alachua County Wage Theft Task Force has worked tirelessly to partner with businesses in order to show the

commission and the public that businesses also have a vested interest in preventing wage

theft. The businesses that have endorsed our proposed ordinance include small local gems

such as Satchel’s Pizza, but also large regional contractors, such as the North Florida Chap-ter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (for a full list of endorsements, please visit www.acwttf.org, and click on the “Endorse/Sign on” tab).

The Task Force has a scheduled meeting with the Chamber of Commerce on February 6th to ask for their endorsement.

An ordinance to prevent wage theft will have a direct, positive effect on the lives of working people in our county, and it will also work to improve our business and communi-ty ties in the long-term. The Labor Party has played a key role in organizing for and sup-porting the Wage Theft Task Force. The need for a Wage Theft Ordinance in Gainesville as just the latest evidence that labor law in this country is in desperate need of an overhaul — especially when workers can’t rely on our existing system to get the wages we’ve already worked for and earned.

We must recognize the possible obstacles before us, since people and institutions that benefit from practicing wage theft will work just as hard as we are to defeat such an ordi-nance. It is now that we need your support more than ever.

WAGE THEFT cont’d from front page

04

Alachua County Wage Theft Task Force at the Martin Luther King Jr. Parade in Bo Diddley Plaza on Jan. 21st.

An ordinance to prevent wage theft will have a direct, positive effect on the lives of working people in our county, and it will also work to improve our business and community ties in the long-term.

Alachua County Labor PartyWinter 2013 05

• Call, write or email our County Commissioners>> Tell them you strongly support a Wage Re-covery Ordinance. These calls and/or letters make a difference!

Mail: Alachua County Board of County Com-missioners, 12 SE 1st Street, Gainesville, FL 32601Email: bocc@alachuacounty.usCommission Office Phone: (352) 264-6900

• If you are in his district, contact Representa-tive Keith Perry >> Tell him you strongly support a Wage Re-covery Ordinance and are disappointed in his opposition to an ordinance that will guaran-tee fairness for both workers and businesses.

Mail: Representative Keith Perry, Suite 120 2440 Southwest 76th Street, Gainesville, FL 32608-0345Email: keith.perry@myfloridahouse.govPhone: (352) 313-6544

• Join us at our next Task Force meeting>> Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 5:30pm at the Labor Party office.

• Endorse our proposed ordinance>> Online at www.acwttf.org/sign-the-letter.

• Share your personal experience with wage theft>> Online at www.acwttf.org/take-the-wage-theft-survey.

Please join our fight in making wage theft history in Alachua County:

ACLP

The Labor Party Program:A Call for Economic Justice

Below is just a portion of the Labor Party Program, “A Call for Economic Justice.” For the full text, visit our website at www.floridalaborparty.org.

Amend the Constitution to Guaran-tee Everyone a Job at a Living Wage

Pay Laid-off Workers Two Months Severance for Every Year of Service

Restore Workers Rights to Organize, Bargain and Strike

End Bigotry: An Injury to One Is an Injury to All

Guarantee Universal Access to Qual-ity Health Care

More Time for Family and Com-munity

Protect Our Families

Ensure Everyone Access to Quality Public Education

Stop Corporate Abuse of Trade

End Corporate Welfare as We Know It

Make the Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share of Taxes

Revitalize the Public Sector

End Corporate Domination of Elec-tions

Build A Just Transition Movement to Protect Jobs and the Environment

Enforce Safety & Health Regulation with Worker Inspectors

Reclaiming the Workplace: Job Design, Technology and Skill

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

44

4

4

4

4

4

4

Alachua County Labor Party floridalaborparty.org06

2012/2013 Strategies and Goals2012 accomplishments

- We were successful in showing one labor movie, Made in LA, before we shifted towards health care with showings of The Healthcare Movie. We are interested in what members think about specifically hosting a Labor Film Series in addition to our ongoing work around The Healthcare Movie. However, to do both in 2013, we will need your help and assistance.

The Labor Party held a Strategy Planning Meeting at the Civic Media Center earlier this month to evaluate our accomplishments from 2012 and map out where to go in the coming year.

quarterly film series

- We hosted several successful showings of The Healthcare Movie. This comparison of the Canadian health system success-es with the failures of our own has proven to be a very helpful tool for outreach. We will continue to use the movie in 2013 to link with other community groups interested in learning more about single-payer.

- ACLP Chair Chad Hood gave two single-payer slide pre-sentations last year – one at the Civic Media Center to train Labor Party members. The other was at Santa Fe College and open to the public, drawing good participation and even a counter-demonstration by the Tea Party. We will continue sharing the information with other groups in 2013, including Students for a Democratic Society.

- In conjunction with Healthcare-NOW, we collected peti-tions urging our elected officials to protect Medicare and Social Security from cuts in the fiscal cliff discussions. This will be an ongoing issue as these programs continue to remain on the chopping block. Collecting signatures creates an opportunity to discuss how people feel about these programs, and to highlight Medicare as a great working model for a national health care plan.

Community Outreach

- At the urging of members at last year’s Planning Meeting, ACLP Treasurer Gaby Gross compiled a list of free health care services available in the community. This can be a valuable re-source to those falling through the cracks left by the Affordable Care Act and is available on our website, floridalaborparty.org.

- We continue to receive frequent calls from workers who have fallen victim to unfair labor practices. Fortunately, we are now able to direct some of these issues to the Wage Theft Task Force (see more below).

- Further assistance in both of these areas can be a great ser-vice to the community and can help attract people to the larger work of our organization – to build a real working class move-ment beyond just the temporary fixes.

Community Services

Defense of Medicare and Social Security - The Reading Group had great discussions this year about inter-national health care systems, how government-run health care in the V.A. system actually outperforms the private sector, and an analysis of the Affordable Care Act. This continues to be a great source of education and information to our members. Check out the calendar on page 2 for infor-mation about the next meeting.

- We also had one labor-focused reading series, although as with the film series we were not able to sustain momentum specifically on a labor theme. The group discussed Wage Theft in America by Kim Bobo across several sessions, which was very help-ful in developing information for the Wage Recovery Ordinance. At the Planning Meeting, members were very enthusiastic about restarting the Labor Reading Group although we need people to assist with book selec-tion and coordination.

labor reading group

health care reading group

wage recovery ordinance- The greatest area of progress

came in helping launch a community campaign against wage theft, push-ing for a county-wide Wage Recovery Ordinance. This was led by Labor Party members Diana Moreno and Jeremiah Tattersall working with oth-ers as part of a newly formed Alachua County Wage Theft Task Force. For more information on the ongoing work of this campaign, see the cover story on page 1.

Alachua County Labor PartyWinter 2013

- We are always looking to increase membership, but sometimes that can fall by the wayside in the wake of our ongoing activities. A good place to start is by re-evaluating why we ourselves joined the Labor Party. This practice will help strengthen our arguments and pitch to prospec-tive members. At the next Labor Party meeting, we will spend a few minutes going around and answering the questions “Why did I join the Labor Party and what is it in my life that I’d like to see change?”

The next meeting will be January 29th, 2013 at 6:30pm in the ACEA Hall. We will be re-viewing the accomplishments and goals from above, voting on a 2013 budget, and addressing the above question. Hope to see you there and we look forward to a successful year!

07

2012/2013 Strategies and Goals2013 goals

- Former co-chair Mark Piotrowski was in at-tendance and suggested we look into holding Truth Hearings. This involves collecting health care sur-veys to draw on people’s personal experiences with health care and insurance problems. We collected similar surveys several years ago as part of nation-wide Congressional Health Care Hearings, hosting our own hearing in Gainesville with hundreds in attendance.

- We think now, in the dawn of the Affordable Care Act, is a good time to explore anew what people are actually going through in their lives, where they would most like to see improvements, and what if anything would change for them as the Affordable Care Act continues to be implement-ed. Once an appropriate amount of surveys have been collected, we will invite responders to testify at public events about their experience and draw community attention to single-payer as the health care system we need.

The Labor Party held a Strategy Planning Meeting at the Civic Media Center earlier this month to evaluate our accomplishments from 2012 and map out where to go in the coming year.

- In 2012 we encountered some ob-stacles to coordinating single-payer events as the Labor Party, due to other organiza-tions’ or facilities’ concerns about affiliat-ing with a political party (even though we don’t run or endorse candidates). To over-come this problem, and to expand our potential for outreach to other groups, we have launched Just Health Care – or rather, relaunched it. The term itself refers to the national Labor Party’s single-payer propos-al (see page 9 for more information).

- Our plans for 2013 are to expand Just Health Care to specifically recruit involve-ment from other community organiza-tions. This will also involve a Just Health Care website, organizing materials, and separate meetings focused on single-payer open to other groups.

just health care

- With the current level of support from the County Commission, we expect that we will be able to get a Wage Recovery Ordinance passed in Alachua County in 2013. But what happens after that? LP member Diana Moreno suggested that we utilize the momentum built by the Alachua County Wage Theft Task Force to build a bigger local movement for the working class. This will include drawing people into Labor Party activities and membership, promoting the success of the ordinance in outreach to unions and other organizations, and identifying future goals for us all to work towards together.

Drawing on what we learned from last year, and incorporating some new ideas, the group put together some other areas of focus for 2013.

truth hearings

wage theft task force - beyond the ordinance

Recruitment and membership

Alachua County Labor Party floridalaborparty.org08

WHAT IS THE COMMITTEE OF 100?The Committee of 100 is a group of Labor Party members who have pledged $20 a month to fund two part-time workers to coordinate Just Health Care and other Labor Party campaigns.

WHY IS A FULL-TIME ORGANIZER SO IMPORTANT?In 2000, we sponsored a non-binding referendum asking Alachua County voters if they would support a system like Just Health Care. It won overwhelming support, receiving more votes than either Bush or Gore. We’ve determined that having a paid organizer was the key to that highly successful campaign. And keeping a paid organizer is critical for our continued success.The struggle for Just Health Care is now being fought at the local, state,

and national levels. While we coordinate volunteers and events at the local level, we are also working around the state and country to build the coalition of groups fighting for single-payer health care.

IT’S WORKING!The contributions of the current Committee of 100 allow us to fund our part-time organizers. By joining you will allow us to expand Chelsea and Marie’s hours.

HOW DO I SIGN UP?1. Join easily and securely on our website atfloridalaborparty.org/alachua/join 2. Fill out the C-100 Membership form on the last page and mail it to us at:Alachua County Labor PartyPO Box 12051 Gainesville, FL 32604

Tom AlmquistKirk Anthony

Arlene BargadLuJoye Barnes

Bill BatlleScott BillingsKali Blount

Joey BrennerJenny BrownCaron Cadle

Randi CameonScott Camil & Sherry SteinerLynn Chacko

Candi ChurchillIra Clark

Amy CoenenChris Cogle

Andrea CostelloJoe Courter

Arthur & Mary Crummer

Sally & Josh Dickinson

Shawna DoranMarilyn Eisenberg

Pennie Foster (in memoriam)

Adele FransonJason Fults

Carol Giardina*Danny GimenezAlice GoldmanNorma GreenGaby Gross

Nicole HardinDan Harmeling Dave HennigJane & Norm

Holland

Chad Hood*Robert Ing

James IngleBeth & Kurt Kent

Linda LaveryAlex Leader

Harriet LudwigRosemary Lynch & Norman Balabanian

(in memoriam)Murdo MacLeodEve MacMaster

Richard MacMasterJeff Mason

Kathleen MaynardGlen McClureChris MedvedAlbert Meyer

Pam MoormanJim Morrison

Ann MurrayJon F. NuttingJohn Penrod

(in memoriam)*Eric Piotrowski

Mark Piotrowski*Stephanie Ridgeway

Jean RiggFe Ripka

Clint RobinsonHoward Rosenfeld

Eileen RoyKathie Sarachild

Zoharah SimmonsBill Stephenson &

Michelle GouldTimothy Strauser

Zot Szurgot & Audrey Holt

Rich TemplinCarol Thomas

Genevie Trachsel (in memoriam)

Martin & Vibeke Vala

Veterans for PeaceBill & Sally Warrick

Kenneth WeeksJerry & Larissa

WilliamsonCharles Willett (in memoriam)

Steedly & Patricia Young

* Donors in memory of John Penrod, Spanish Civil War veteran

80 Committee of 100 Members, 20 to go!

JOIN THE COMMITTEE OF 100 TODAY!

JOIN THE COMMITTEE OF 100 TODAY!

Alachua County Labor PartyWinter 2013 09

In over 10 years of organizing in the Labor Party, we have made the great-est advances when we pool our resources to support a paid organizer. Having someone consistently in (and out) of the office, contacting members to follow-up, and coordinating tabling and events moves us beyond a typical volunteer organization. It gives us a momentum and continuity that is otherwise difficult to achieve. The Committee of 100 is the way we make that happen – dedicated supporters who have pledged $20 per month to fund our paid organizers over the years. We couldn’t do it without this vital group of people. Thank you!

A consistent conclusion amongst our organizers is that we can do so much more when there are two people in the office, working together, exchanging ideas, and motivating each other. However, there have only been brief periods in our history when we have been able to support two organizers.

Fortunately, we are currently able to do that, with the recent addition of Chelsea Hetelson as well as Marie Dino. Having the two of them together is a great leap forward for the Labor Party. It also gives us the ability to organize on two fronts simultaneously – continuing to spread the word about nation-al health care, and fighting for the rights of working people with other labor groups across the state. But we are currently only funded to provide 10 hours per week each to Marie and Chelsea.

We could do so much more if we continue to build the Committee of 100, allowing us to add more hours for these amazing organizers. Many of you read-ing this have been Labor Party supporters because of our track record pushing for single-payer health care. Others have been involved to help build a stronger labor movement in support of working people. Some are supportive of both important causes.

If you haven’t already joined the Committee of 100, I encourage you to do so today so that we can increase our strength and our ability to move forward on all fronts to protect the working class. If you are already on the Committee of 100, I thank you for your help. If you can increase your pledge or refer a friend, we can do even more.

Chad HoodChair, Alachua County Labor Party

Dear Labor Party Supporter,

Alachua County Labor Party floridalaborparty.org10

The Labor Party’s original call for econom-ic justice laid out a program to advance and defend the rights of working people. One part of that program that has resonated the loudest in our organizing is the guarantee of universal access to quality health care.

Called “Just Health Care,” the term re-fers to the fairness of such a system, while also highlighting its simplicity. We would all be covered in one cost-effective program that would be universally accepted, giving us complete choice of providers and hospitals. Rather than adding costs, complications, and bureaucracy, a single-payer system such as this would remove the current nightmare of forms, policies, exclusions, co-pays, and de-ductibles, and actually save billions of dollars a year.

Imagine a life with complete coverage for all of your medical needs (including dental, vision, and mental health), being able to see whichever provider you want, not losing cov-

erage when you lose or change jobs, and get-ting quality care regardless of ability to pay. That’s the health care system that Americans want and deserve. That’s Just Health Care.

The Alachua County Labor Party has de-cided to do more organizing work in 2013 under the banner of “Just Health Care” in hopes of bringing in more people and com-munity groups. You will begin to see more activities and materials under this name, in-cluding a new Just Health Care website to be unveiled later in the year.

If you’re interested in working specifi-cally on the Just Health Care campaign, or just want to learn more, please call or email our organizers. In particular, we need help spreading the word to groups that YOU are involved with that would be interested in hearing about Just Health Care.

(352) 375-2832aclp@floridalaborparty.org

BY CHAD HOOD

NO INSURANCE COMPANIES

In addition to some of the best reporting on the state of the Labor Movement, one of their staff writers is none other than former Labor Party co-chair & Gainesville Iguana co-editor, Jenny Brown!

Subscribe at labornotes.org}

SUBSCRIBE TO LABOR NOTES!Why, you ask?

$30 — 1 year subscription $50 — 2 year subscription

Just Health CareNO CO-PAYS

NO DEDUCTIBLES

ACLP

Alachua County Labor PartyWinter 2013 11

Name: ___________________________________________Address: ___________________________________________Phone: ___________________________________________Email: ___________________________________________

You can also join or renew membership on our website at floridalaborparty.org

Please make all checks payable to “Labor Party.” Send order form to: Alachua County Labor Party, PO Box 12051, Gainesville, FL 32604

Labor Party Membership Form

We would like to formally welcome Chelsea Hetelson, as the second coordinator for the La-bor Party. As an active member of the Gaines-ville community, Chelsea is also involved in the Gainesville Chapter of National Women’s Lib-eration and was an editor, writer and designer for The Fine Print local magazine. Chelsea’s ex-ceptional skills in graphic designing, writing, and organizing will give the Labor Party a new look

and style of communication and organization. Chelsea and I will keep the same hours and

duties and responsibilities as one coordinator would traditionally work, but will divide them between the two of us. Since I started organizing with Chelsea, I have already seen great changes such as better newsletters, a more efficient e-mail server, and overall more communication be-tween us and the members. I am very confident that with the organizing power of two coordina-tors, we will produce the best and most efficient results to expand and organize campaigns.

I would also like to thank Diana Moreno for her remarkable time as a coordinator. With her promotion as a full-time organizer with the Unit-ed Faculty of Florida, Diana has transitioned from being a Labor Party coordinator to a Labor Party member. Diana will continue to be active with the Labor Party as an organizer within the Wage Theft Task Force.

Labor Party Coordinator Change-up!

BY MARIE DINO

Chelsea Hetelson waves hello to the Alachua County Labor Party and its members from her Chevrolet Aveo.

ACLP

Membership includes a one-year subscription to the ACLP newsletter. Joining the Labor Party DOES NOT affect your voter registration.

Joining the Committee of 100 includes Labor Party membership and a subscription to the ACLP newsletter. I’d like to pay my dues:

q I want to join the Labor Party ($20/year)

q I want to join the Committee of 100 ($20/mo)

q Monthly - $20/monthq Quarterly - $60/quarterq Annually - $240/year

Alachua CountyLABOR PARTYPost Office Box 12051Gainesville, FL 32604

January 2013Labor Party General

MeetingT

uesd

ay, Janu

ary 29

ACEA Union Hall618 NW

13th Ave. @ 6:30 pm

Satchel’s Pizza arrives at 6:15 pm

For more info or directions call 375-2832

or e-mail aclp@

floridalaborparty.org

ww

w.floridalaborparty.org

“Alachua County

Labor Party”

@AC

LaborParty

Stay updated w

ith the Labor Party via our w

ebsite, Facebook group or Tw

itter for related news,

upcoming Labor P

arty events and meetings.