December 10, 2024
Key nominees need Senate confirmation, attacks on trans kids' health care, climate activism in the next four years, and more!
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SECURING SEATS ON THE NLRB…
Advocates are pushing hard to get the Senate to confirm, along with judges, nominees for independent agencies with set terms and protections against being fired by the president who will be able to serve as a check on the Trump Administration. Among the most prominent examples is the nomination of Lauren McFerran, whose term as chairwoman of the National Labor Relations Board ends on Monday and who Biden has submitted for another five-year term. If the Senate confirms McFerran, they can lock in a pro-worker majority on the NLRB through 2026 – the kind of majority that just last month delivered a ban on mandatory attendance at anti-union meetings at workplaces. If not, Trump controls two seats immediately, the balance of power shifts towards anti-labor conservatism, and this and other pro-worker policies will be overturned. Majority Leader Schumer filed cloture on McFerran’s nomination yesterday, setting up a procedural vote tomorrow, so the time to turn up the heat is now. Let’s reach out to our senators and urge them to vote in support of Chair McFerran and to not let the lame duck session end without her confirmed. We can do so directly or by texting PDMFNK to 50409 via Resistbot to send them this message.
…AND ON THE SEC
Another of the nominees positioned for action is Caroline Crenshaw, a current member of the Securities and Exchange Commission who President Biden has reappointed for another five years of regulating the financial industry. Crenshaw backed the climate-risk disclosure rule and has a record of being tough on the crypto industry, who have rallied to stop her confirmation and trashed her as a “Liz Warren flunky.” She is set for a vote before the Senate Banking Committee tomorrow. Let’s reach out to our senators, especially if they’re on the committee, and urge them to support Crenshaw’s confirmation. Let’s also ask them to make this one of the jobs they don’t leave Washington without completing.
BAN ON TRANS KIDS’ CARE FOR MILITARY FAMILIES ON THE LINE
Trump has already announced he plans to force trans people out of the military, and Congress is already making it clear it won’t stop there. A provision in the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would prohibit Tricare, the U.S. military’s health care program, from covering some gender-affirming care for trans kids. This would force those in uniform to choose between their children and their careers, and would be the first time such a restriction on health care for trans people will have been successfully written into federal law. The ACLU and other advocates are pushing back, calling for the ban to be removed or the bill to be blocked. Let’s reach out to our members of Congress and ask them to demand the trans kids health care ban is removed from the NDAA. We can reach out directly, or use this tool from the ACLU.
MESSAGING AGAINST DETENTION, DEPORTATION AND CRIMINALIZATION OF IMMIGRANTS
The support for Trump’s plan to engage in massive deportation and detention of immigrants has rested on language that enhances hatred and xenophobia, even when used subtly among people who would not consider themselves anti-immigration hardliners. A coalition of national immigration advocacy organizations have released a guide on how we can alter our language to promote a more empathic view of immigration when discussing the issue with our family and friends. Let’s download and read the guide and share it widely within our networks. We can also discuss how we can use it to increase opposition to Trump’s plans through changing the immigration narrative. (We can also take the next step and get involved with an immigrant support group in our area, which we can look for here.)
CLIMATE ACTIVISM IN THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
Climate change won’t wait for America to get its act together. 2024 was once again the hottest year on record, with heat waves killing again and again across the planet. We have to rise to meet the challenge. Here are some upcoming opportunities to get engaged:· Third Act, a group founded by the legendary Bill McKibben that organizes older people to use their power for climate action, will be holding its quarterly call to discuss strategy for the Trump era TOMORROW, December 11th at 8:00 PM Eastern (sign up here) and a welcome call for new volunteers on Monday, December 16th at 7:30 PM Eastern (sign up here).
· The Sunrise Movement, which organizes young people for the Green New Deal, is holding welcome calls for new people joining on Saturday, December 21st at 1:00PM and Thursday, January 9th at 8:30 PM Eastern (sign up for both here) and has an email list with action updates for supporters over 35 years old we can join here.
· The Environmental Voter Project, which aims to get low-propensity pro-environment voters to the polls, has GOTV phonebanks today, tomorrow and Monday for the El Paso mayoral runoff and special legislative elections in Virginia we can sign up to join here.