North Andover Amazon Project Faces Pushback | Patch PM

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — It's Tuesday, March 2. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• Labor unions and elected officials protested at the future North Andover site of a large Amazon distribution facility.
• Dr. Seuss Enterprises, which oversees the business and legacy of the late, Massachusetts author, said it will stop publishing six titles because of racist and insensitive imagery.
• The overnight windstorm knocked down tress, left thousands without power and hampered the state's effort to distribute the coronavirus vaccine.
• Worcester police in December agreed to adopt a controversial new crime forecasting tool, nearly three weeks before the idea was presented to the public.

Scroll down for those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today’s Top Story

Local unions and elected officials were among those protesting Monday afternoon at the future site of a large Amazon distribution facility.

The protesters called for better working conditions for both the construction phase and the future operation of the facility, as part of the "Amazon Updates" campaign launched in October by the Merrimack Valley Construction and Building Trades Council.

Chris Brennan, president of the Merrimack Valley Building Trades Council, said the unions are calling for "careers, not jobs." That means higher wages as well as benefits including healthcare and retirement — not just for Amazon's direct employees, but also for contractors like those constructing the facility.

The protest came just a day after President Joe Biden gave a boost to Amazon workers in Alabama attempting to unionize. While Biden did not specifically mention Amazon in his video, it was clear the "workers in Alabama" referred to the campaign to make the 6,000-employee strong facility the first Amazon workplace to unionize in the U.S.

Read the full story.

Nearby News

• Andover Seeking Candidates To Fill Dan Koh's Select Board Seat
• Wilmington Selectman Jonathan Eaton Announces Run For Town Moderator
• Power Restored For Most Of Andover After High Winds
• 'The Braces Place' Kept Kids In Braces Longer Than Needed: AG

Today’s Other Top Stories In Massachusetts

Six Seuss titles get shelved — permanently: Dr. Seuss Enterprises, which oversees the business and legacy of the late, Massachusetts author, said it will stop publishing six titles because of racist and insensitive imagery. The announcement on Tuesday —which is Dr. Seuss's birthday —follows complaints from a Cambridge Librarian in 2017 and the 2018 removal of a mural at the Dr. Seuss museum in Springfield, where he was born.

Patch Exclusive:

Emails show backroom deal: Worcester police in December agreed to adopt a controversial new crime forecasting tool, nearly three weeks before the idea was presented to the public. The full adoption of the ShotSpotter Connect program is on hold pending City Council approval, but emails obtained by Patch show police pushed to close the deal before the end of 2020.

Mother held on $100,000 bail: A not guilty plea was to a charge of attempted murder was entered for Marie Merisier, 33, Monday. Merisier, who has a history of mental health problems and recently lost her job, is accused of leaving her newborn baby in a trash can. She is being held on $100,000 bail.

They Said It

"The father was able to keep the mother warm and as calm as the situation allowed throughout the process."

• Massachusetts State Police in a statement on a trooper who helped deliver a baby girl on the shoulder of Interstate 95 Sunday.

By The Numbers

66 MPH: That was the wind speed in Dennis, MA at 7:09 a.m. Monday morning, the highest recorded in the state. Most parts of the state saw wind speeds topping 50 MPH overnight. The storm hampered efforts to put out a Salem fire, caused widespread damage and left thousands without power. Some people may not get their power back until this evening. The storm also hampered the state's effort to distribute the coronavirus vaccine. The National Weather Service says we can expect high winds throughout the afternoon before things calm down this evening.

The latest on the coronavirus response in Massachusetts

A local high school is helping to give free training to people who lost their jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic and want to get into the plumbing or automotive services industries, thanks to a $100,000 grant from the governor's office. Nashoba Valley Technical High School is one of eight schools to receive Career Technical Initiative grants from Gov. Charlie Baker's Workforce Skills Cabinet amounting to $1.3 million.

Today's other stories on the pandemic:

• Town Calls On Residents Not To Litter Masks
• 'We're Not Ending Here:' Melrose Ramps Up Full-Time School Return
• Danvers To Celebrate 'Superheroes' Amid Coronavirus Crisis