Antonia is a mother of three whose legal status meant that she couldn’t return home or bring children to the United States for most of their childhood. In the years since she left El Salvador in search of opportunities for her family, Antonia has heard her three children grow up almost exclusively over the phone. Watch the video below to hear Antonia’s story, and what Mother’s Day means to her:

Maria came to America with her parents when she was just 6 years old. Her mother now lives in Mexico, and if Maria were to visit her, she wouldn’t be allowed to return to home to Chelsea, MA. Mother’s Day is an emotional holiday for Maria, whose mom is being treated for breast cancer. You can see Maria’s story and hear what Mother’s Day means to her here:

Antonia and Maria are just two of the many of stories that demonstrate the need for real, comprehensive immigration reform that includes a reasonable path to citizenship. No family should be torn apart because of outdated rules crafted decades ago — and it’s beyond time we took action.

As the immigration debate looms in Congress, more and more stories like these are emerging each day, showing the major impact reform will have in the lives of millions of immigrant families. Click here to join the call to fix our immigration system and pass comprehensive immigration form this year!

While the Mother’s Day celebration featured a festive, family-friendly atmosphere, participants also shared their personal stories of family separation caused by America’s broken immigration system. Many children took photos and made greeting cards to send to mothers in countries thousands of miles away and college students spoke of the need for a pathway to citizenship for young Americans-in-waiting, also known as ‘DREAMers.’

“For too many parents and children, Mother’s Day is a harsh reminder of years spent separated from loved ones,” said Conrado Santos, a DREAMer who works with fellow young immigrants every day at Student Immigrant Movement (SIM). “We hope this holiday will remind congress of the real need to pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform that reunifies loving families.”

The Mother’s Day event in East Boston came as part of a nationwide push for action on Immigration Reform, which has mobilized tens of thousands of supporters throughout the country in recent weeks.

“Too many people have died and more will unless GAP changes course,” said Paul Drake of Mass Interfaith Worker Justice, a leader in the local fight for workplace safety. “This latest disaster is proof that the time for excuses is over. We need action on a binding fire and building safety agreement now.”

A growing movement of garment workers and advocates are demanding that GAP and other major apparel retailers end their decades-long ‘self-regulatory’ approach to building and fire safety – policies that have led to more than 1,000 deaths in recent years. Just last week, at least 431 workers were crushed to death in the devastating collapse of another garment factory in Bangladesh, with hundreds more workers still unaccounted for.

Nearly a dozen organizations participated in Saturday’s vigil and demonstration, including Alliance for a Secular and Democratic South Asia, the International Labor Rights Forum, Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety & Health (MASSCOSH) and Massachusetts Interfaith Worker Justice.

In response to a massive Black Friday mobilization that targeted more than 1,000 stores nationwide, Walmart management made a commitment to making schedules more transparent and predictable for its Associates. Yet many workers report continued understaffing in stores, insufficient hour allotments and no tangible improvement in control over their schedules. The Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart), founded in 2011 by Walmart workers from across the country, has engaged customers and community allies to help hold Walmart management accountable to its commitments.

“We’re out here letting Walmart Associates know that they have rights, that management can and must do better in Massachusetts,” said Darrin Howell, a community advocate who engaged workers and management at Walmart’s Quincy, Mass. location. “We shouldn’t have to ask Walmart to provide their Associates with basic respect and dignity in the workplace, but we’ll do whatever it takes to hold them accountable.”

OUR Walmart members are demanding basic rights on the job – including fair wages and benefits, safe working conditions and more transparent scheduling practices. In Massachusetts, support for this effort is being coordinated by the Massachusetts Stands Up to Walmart campaign – a coalition of workers, community organizations, and faith and labor leaders that led the successful effort to halt Walmart’s planned expansion into the Greater Boston Area.

With roots in the American struggle for the 8-hour workday, International Workers’ Day is celebrated in more than 80 countries around the world as a day to commemorate the ongoing fight for workers’ rights. Yesterday’s Boston-area celebration came as the debate over immigration reform intensifies in Washington – along with several pending bills on Beacon Hill affecting low-income and immigrant workers at the state level.

Across the country, International Workers’ Day events echoed the call for immigration reform in cities from New York to Milwaukee to Salem, OR.  And in Boston, more than fifty community groups came together for the 14th annual May Day march and rally. Among the crowd of 1,000 were hundreds of  low-wage immigrant workers – many of whom are in the midst of local battles for better wages and working conditions.

“I marched today in solidarity with my fellow airport workers who are struggling to make ends meet on minimum wage,” said Yahya Bajinka, a West African immigrant who works in aviation services at Logan Airport. “We shouldn’t have to work multiple jobs in sweatshop conditions just to get by. It’s time for change at Logan.”

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In 2012, four-year tuition at the average public university cost more than $15,000 – not counting books, meals or housing. At the average private institution, that figure was even higher, clocking in at over $32,000. Even two-year and vocational programs ran nearly $9,000 per certificate.

With the cost of higher education skyrocketing, it’s easy to assume that professors – the men and women who educate our students – are doing quite well for themselves. In some cases, that’s true: tenured faculty members’ salaries at leading universities can top $160,000 a year. But the average adjunct professor makes just $2,700 per course, with no health care insurance or other benefits.

Here’s the kicker: 76 percent of university faculty in the United States are adjunct professors. Most have to work at multiple universities and still don’t make enough to stay above the poverty line. And considering the amount of time involved in preparing, teaching and grading each class, many adjuncts make less than minimum wage.

With statistics like these, it’s no surprise that adjunct professors nationwide are forming unions through Adjunct Action, a project of the Service Employees International Union. This past weekend, faculty from more than 20 Bay State campuses kicked off their own organizing drive with an ‘Adjunct Faculty Symposium’ in Boston.

More than 100 professors from across Eastern Massachusetts gathered at the JFK Presidential Library Saturday for the daylong conference – discussing everything from classroom challenges to coalition building. Participants also met in small breakout groups to develop campus-specific organizing strategies and plan next steps, joined by scores of student supporters who were ready to stand in solidarity with their professors.

By the end of the symposium, adjunct professors were well prepared to launch organizing drives on campuses throughout greater Boston. And soon, they’ll be standing arm-in-arm with 15,000 other faculty members who have already unionized through Adjunct Action at SEIU.

For more information on the fight to raise wages and improve working conditions for adjunct faculty, check out this great interview from WBUR’s All Things Considered – or visit Adjunct Action online at www.adjunctaction.org.

In all, four of the transit demonstrators were arrested, while those in wheelchairs were moved out of the street by police officers. Organized by Massachusetts Senior Action Council (MSAC), the confrontation came just minutes before the House began their debate on a transportation budget that has been widely derided as woefully inadequate by transit users and advocates.

RIDE users and advocates contend that the disproportionate fare increases levied against passengers requiring paratransit services – 100 to 150% compared to 23% for standard riders – has left many low-income seniors and people with disabilities stranded. The more-than-doubled fares have prompted an 18% decline in RIDE use since the last round of budgeting in July 2012. MassDOT and the MBTA, have refused to acknowledge the gravity of the problem, instead announcing the possibility of $6.5 million in additional budget cuts to The RIDE. Not to be outdone, the legislature has ruled out any meaningful action to protect the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable residents, opting to put yet another short-term Band-Aid on our broke and broken transit system.

One thing’s for certain: affected riders aren’t going to let this fiscal fiasco go on without a fight, and this week’s demonstrations were just the opening salvo. Check out the video below to see footage from the event:

The Campaign for our Communities is deeply disappointed by the revenue proposal made today by the leadership of the House and Senate. Thousands of individuals from across Massachusetts have made the case for a plan that would raise substantial new revenue to invest in our communities and build a stronger Commonwealth for generations to come, but today’s proposal provides inadequate revenue, and its singular focus on transportation does not address the critical need to invest in education and other areas that are critical to the growth of our economy.

We ask that the House and Senate leaders reconsider their approach and move forward with an alternative plan that would provide adequate revenue for the investments in transportation and education that we know grow our economy, while raising that revenue in a way that holds down increases on low- and middle-income families and seniors.

The Campaign for Our Communities (@OurCommunities) was formed to improve the quality of life for Massachusetts families and to help build a stronger future for our state. The coalition, which includes more than 125 organizations (http://ourcommunities.org/endorsers-list.html), supports smart investments in people and communities. To fund these investments, it advocates for tax reforms that will raise new revenues while holding down increases for low- and middle-income families and seniors.

US House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi stopped in Boston recently for an important birthday celebration — one that impacts thousands of millions of families in Massachusetts and across the country. As part of a nationwide tour to raise awareness and push for improvements, Pelosi joined with US Rep. Mike Capuano (D-Somerville), local leaders and activists to cut the cake in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA). You can check out excerpts from the event in the video above.

President Clinton signed the historic Family & Medical Leave Act in 1993 with the goal of protecting workers who needed to take care of sick or injured family members. Since its implementation, FMLA leave has been used more than 100 million times by an estimated 35 million men and women — helping a generation of children get a healthy start in life and allowing parents and seniors to care for themselves and their loved ones without having to sacrifice their jobs or health insurance.

Though the event celebrated the important role that the Family & Medical Leave Act has played in the lives of American families over the past 20 years, there was also a recognition that our work is far from done. The original bill left out two-fifths of the workforce, and several million workers a year who are eligible for FMLA and need leave don’t take it – mostly because they cannot afford to go without pay. That’s where Pelosi’s new bill, the federal Healthy Families Act comes into play – as well as a host of state-level initiatives promoting ‘earned paid sick time.’ These bills will help close gaps in the FMLA and allow 30 million more workers to earn paid sick days nationwide.

Here in Massachusetts, political leaders and advocates are fighting to secure earned paid sick time for Bay State workers who currently do not have access. The 2013 Earned Paid Sick Time Bill, introduced in January by Sen. Dan Wolf and Rep. Kay Kahn, would enable eligible workers to earn one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked — extending protection to nearly one million people in Massachusetts who are currently forced to choose between their health and their paycheck.

The 2013 Earned Paid Sick Time Bill would be a major boost for workers like Terry Brinig from Boston, who has worked as a bus driver for more than 30 years without access to paid sick days. With a son who suffers from a chronic and serious illness, Terry is forced to lose wages and risks losing her job by taking time from work to care for him in the hospital. Nearly one-third of the Massachusetts workforce faces these same decisions every day, underscoring the real need for action on the state and federal level

Fortunately, champions like Nancy Pelosi, State Sen. Dan Wolf and State Rep. Kay Khan are taking action to strengthen the Family & Medical Leave Act and secure earned paid sick time for our families. To learn more about the fight or find out how you can get involved, visit the Massachusetts Paid Leave Coalition website: http://www.masspaidleave.org/