The Syracuse Cultural Workers (SCW) is a corporation founded on July 17, 1982 to further "a culture that honors diversity and celebrates community; that inspires and nurtures justice

Justice

Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...

, equality

Egalitarianism

Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...

 and freedom

Freedom (political)

Political freedom is a central philosophy in Western history and political thought, and one of the most important features of democratic societies...

; that respects our fragile Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

 and all its beings; that encourages and supports all forms of creative expression."

The Syracuse Cultural Workers view work in cultural fields to be integral to change in both politics and economics. The organization also works to both create and distribute promote campaigns for social change and their leaders, which the SCW feel have been glossed over by mass media

Mass media

Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...

 and school textbooks. The Syracuse Cultural Workers are perhaps most famous for their annual 'Peace Calendar', which honors and documents various socially significant historical events.

The organization is based in the Hawley-Green Historic District

Hawley-Green Historic District

The Hawley-Green Historical District is in the Near Northeast neighborhood of Syracuse, New York. The name comes from the district's two principal streets, Hawley Avenue and Green Street...

 of Syracuse's Near Northeast

Near Northeast, Syracuse

Near Northeast is a Syracuse, New York neighborhood, located northeast of the city's downtown. It corresponds to Onondaga County Census Tract 15, 16, 23, and 24.-Borders:Northwestern* Butternut StreetNorthern* South Carbon Street...

neighborhood.

Controversy

Syracuse Cultural Workers has faced some criticism for paying low wages to seasonal temporary employees and for denying them overtime pay as well as engaging in anti-union intimidation against organizing drives to address these poor and legally questionable workplace conditions.

http://rochester.indymedia.org/newswire/display/985/index.php