May 1, 2023
Mother's Day of Action against gun violence, a Labor Secretary for workers, grassroots groups at work in our home states, and more!
Contact all members of Congress:
By phone: (202) 224-3121
By email: democracy.io
By US mail: Representatives / Senators
By fax: Representatives / Senators
By Resistbot: Resist.bot
Contact White House or other federal agencies:
GOP’S CUTS HURT REGULAR AMERICANS
Last week, the House passed a dangerous bill which the GOP wants to use as a bargaining chip in the debt ceiling debate. Unfortunately, the recommended cuts adversely affect many popular programs, including those that support children, farmers, veterans, health, food, climate issues, and more, while fully protecting the 2019 tax cuts to the rich that helped create our overwhelming debt. We can use this toolkit by Demcast USA to share info about all these proposed cuts.
MOTHER’S DAY OF ACTION AGAINST GUN VIOLENCE - PLANNING CALL TOMORROW
This weekend was marred by yet another mass shooting in Cleveland, Texas, where a man murdered five of his neighbors with an AR-15 after they asked him to stop firing rounds in his yard. One of them was eight years old. With Mother’s Day and the anniversaries of last year’s shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde coming this month, Moms Demand Action are organizing to make our voices heard for common-sense action on gun violence, holding a day of action for an assault weapons ban on May 13th. If we’re interested in hosting an event of our own, we can sign up for an organizing call TOMORROW, MAY 2ND at 3:30PM ET. We can also sign up to take part in phonebanking voters in key districts as part of the Virtual Afternoon of Action on the 13th.
TELL AT&T, GENERAL MOTORS, AND SUBWAY TO STOP ADVERTISING ON FOX NEWS
While Tucker Carlson is finally gone, other recent events around Fox News are disappointing. The company’s settlement in the lawsuit with Dominion voting systems did not require the network to acknowledge on the air any wrongdoing in spreading lies about the election. MoveOn has started a petition to some of the major corporations who are continuing to spend large sums of advertising dollars on Fox News, asking them to stop enabling these lies. We can sign that petition here. We can also call out these companies on their social media pages.
TELL OUR SENATORS TO CONFIRM JULIE SU AS SECRETARY OF LABOR
Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Labor, McArthur winner, and “fierce ally for working families” Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su needs our help. Although her background as worker’s advocate, California Secretary of Labor, and Assistant Secretary make her highly qualified for the position, a strong business lobbying campaign is putting her confirmation at risk. Her history of significant accomplishments, including successfully fighting against wage theft, protecting trafficked workers, increasing the minimum wage, helping to create good jobs, and improving worker safety standards show she is well qualified to serve. However, her confirmation is in now in danger as several business organizations are lobbying heavily against her, targeting uncommitted Senators facing tough re-election battles, including Mark Kelly (AZ), Joe Manchin (WV), Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), and Jon Tester (MT). Her detractors charge that she allowed fraud in California’s pandemic insurance program, ignoring that greater amounts of fraud happened in several states with Republicans Labor Secretaries, as well as her amendments to the programs that then-President Trump asked other states to implement. She also vows to follow federal law, and not, as her opponents claim, to try to force a state law into national policy. President Biden has promised to be the most pro-union President in history, and Su's nomination is key to fulfilling that promise. Together we can help them create a strong and fairer economy to benefit all of us.
Let’s call our Senators now, especially if Mark Kelly (AZ), Joe Manchin. (WV), Kyrsten Sinema (AZ) or Jon Tester (MT) represent us, and tell them to strongly endorse and then vote to confirm Julie Su for Secretary of Labor.
PROTEST SILENCING OF LAWMAKERS
First we saw the two Justins ejected from the Tennessee legislature and now the silencing of Montana lawmaker Zooey Zephyr. Leaving aside the constant attacks on transgender people and their rights we are seeing across the country, these silencings represent an attempt by the GOP to disenfranchise the voters who sent these representatives to their state houses. Common Cause is circulating a petition in defense of democratically-elected lawmakers and their right to speak. Let’s consider signing.
STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONS
ALL - PROGRESSIVE GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS IN THE STATES
There are so many excellent reasons to check out the website of the Movement Voter Project, and one of them is this: it’s a great resource for finding progressive grassroots organizations in our state that could use our help. Let’s go to the home page and scroll down to the “Explore the Map” feature. We can click on our state and learn about the progressive organizations that are working for change where we live.