INSIDER NEWS FROM THE FRONTLINES OF THE POLITICAL REVOLUTION
HEADLINES: Climate Chaos & the Dirty Deal | Stop the Mountain Valley Pipeline | Rally to Raise the Wage + Tips on Top | Critical Virginia Elections | & MORE!
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A cloud of heavy smoke hangs in the air from a wildfire burning millions of acres of Canadian forests, suffocating any doubt that we’re in the midst of climate chaos.
Our Revolution joined US Rep. Rashida Tlaib and a powerful coalition of environmental justice groups led by People vs. Fossil Fuels at the White House on Thursday, calling on President Biden to stop the Mountain Valley Pipeline which he allowed into the McCarthy debt deal last week.
The MVP pipeline is a disaster in the making - Joe Manchin’s pet project is set to add millions of tons of emissions to our heating planet.
“The White House needs to understand this isn’t just a climate crisis. The corruption needs to stop,” Rep. Tlaib told the crowd. “Instead of the fossil fuel industry inside the White House right now drafting these bills, it should be the people of the United States.”
“Corporate greed is killing us every single day,” she said. “Don’t tell me this is about the deficit, this is about making more money!”
Because of our member support, Our Revolution sent hundreds of thousands of texts and our phonebank teams connected thousands of people with their representatives, calling on them to strip Manchin's pipeline and other terrible environmental rollbacks from the debt bill.
All told, 38 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and 28 senators voted against the bill, providing insights for the climate fights ahead, as Our Revolution Deputy Director Paco Fabián explains in this clip.
We must be ready. Big Oil and the right-wing will try to use upcoming must-pass legislation like the Farm Bill, National Defense Authorization Act, and Budget Bill to get more giveaways at the expense of our people and planet.
We need your help. Chip in an extra donation today to invest in our organizing work so we’re prepared to take on the power of the fossil fuel industry wherever and whenever it rears its ugly head.
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Our Revolution’s campaign to raise the wage and end subminimum wages for tipped workers is also heating up!
Senator Bernie Sanders just wrapped up a tour with the growing worker justice coalition with rally stops in NC, TN, and SC — calling for a $17 federal minimum wage and to raise the tipped wage from the outrageous $2.13 per hour it’s been stuck at for more than 30 years.
Last week, we joined One Fair Wage activists in Chicago to protest the National Restaurant Association, and on Thursday we took the fight to D.C., rallying to demand a full minimum wage for restaurant workers with tips on top.
“DC voters overwhelmingly approved Initiative 82 - which requires restaurants to pay a full minimum wage of $16 with tips on top - with over 70% support last year,” Aaron Chappell, Political Director of Our Revolution, said during his testimony Thursday afternoon before the D.C. Council.
“Now the Restaurant Association of DC is trying to undermine this goal by shifting from tips to service charges and by passing a bill to exclude restaurants from DC consumer protection laws,” he said.
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VICTORY! The Supreme Court on Thursday preserved the ability of people with disabilities, older adults and their families to sue when federally-funded programs like Medicaid aren’t fairly and safely administered.
The 7-2 decision, which marks Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s first major majority opinion, upheld a lower court’s ruling that the daughter of Gorgi Talevski could sue an Indiana health care system, wrote Vox
Our Revolution Field Director Mike Oles “organized local protests against the Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County in Indiana and was part of the coalition that unsuccessfully attempted to pressure withdrawal or settlement of the case,” 19th News reports.
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Our Revolution is working on legislation to eliminate Medical Debt and organizing people with medical debt around the country to speak up and fight for health care justice.
This week, our organizers and patient activists are working to generate comments to the CFPB to get medical debt excluded from credit reports!
Join our Medical Debt Team to build pressure at every level of government to cancel medical debt, end price-gouging, guarantee free care, and stop predatory collection tactics. Our next meeting is this Thursday at 7 pm ET on Zoom!
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VIRGINIA ELECTIONS: WHAT'S AT STAKE
Elections in Virginia on June 20th can turn the tide against rightwing extremism - and we have a strong slate of progressives on the ballot!
We must expand Democrats’ slim one-seat majority in the state senate to hold Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in check, safeguard the last haven for reproductive care in the South, and get critical progressive policy over the finish line.
For State Senate, Our Revolution is proud to be working to elect Ben Litchfield (SD-27), Heidi Drauschak (SD-35), and Elizabeth Guzman (SD-29); and for State House, Rozia Henson (D-19).
One of our progressive candidates for VA Senate, Ben Litchfield, is working with Our Revolution in the fight for affordable housing, quality education, and more.
Ben knows first-hand about the challenges faced by working class families. Early in his childhood, his family was ripped apart by the opioid crisis. His father, a blue-collar worker, got hurt on the job and became addicted to prescription painkillers, and when those became too expensive, heroin. Being raised by a single mother shaped Ben’s views on issues like paid family leave, childcare subsidies, and the struggle to make ends meet.
“One of my earliest memories is standing in line at the food pantry with my mother. But, like many working families, giving up was never an option,” Ben said.
Despite working on campus during college, Ben said he couldn’t afford to eat and had to return home to get a job and take online classes to save up to return the following year.
After graduation, he went to work as an attorney at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, assisting in the aftermath of the Financial Crisis of 2008 and the Great Recession that followed.
“It feels harder for workers to find a job that pays a living wage, for families to afford housing in the communities where they work, and for our kids to receive a first-rate education,” Ben said. “That’s why I’m running for State Senate in Virginia.”
Early voting is underway and Election Day is June 20th! Our phone bank team has been making lots of calls for Ben Litchfield and said they’re having amazing conversations with voters on the ground.
We hope you’ll join our phone bank team to help mobilize voters to stave off right-wing extremism and win real progressive policy in Virginia and around the country in this year’s important down-ballot races!
MAKE SOME CALLS!
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VICTORY! Our Revolution helped get out the vote in California leading up to a major win for our Troublemakers Slate in the CA Progressive Caucus leadership election.
Thanks to our members, we were able to reach out to thousands of California voters by text, email, and more — leading to a landslide victory over the candidates aligned with corporations and fossil fuels.
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Our Revolution Board Chair Larry Cohenwill speak at the Healthcare Not Warfare Forum on Sunday, hosted by Massachusetts Peace Action - LIVE this Sunday from 2-5:30 pm ET. Larry goes on at 4:30 pm ET.
Larry will join public health leaders from around the country to discuss how the bloated Pentagon budget is harming the wellbeing of our communities and families by diverting precious resources away from healthcare, public health, and research towards war, militarism, and corporatism.
TUNE IN TO HEAR THE DISCUSSION
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Our Revolutionis waging campaigns to raise the wage, abolish medical debt, end fossil fuel subsidies, and more. If you’re not a recurring monthly donor, sign up to sustain our critical work. If you are already a member, thank you for supporting this movement!
HELP SUSTAIN OUR WORK
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An estimated 41% of Americans are saddled with nearly $200 billion in medical debt. It forces people to cut back on food and shelter, put off needed care, and put their lives on credit cards.
Do you owe money for medical care that you couldn’t afford? Have you put life expenses on credit cards to pay medical bills? Share your story!
Our goal is to feature voices from every congressional district in America to build pressure on Congress and the White House to abolish medical debt at its source.
TELL YOUR STORY
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WHEN WE ORGANIZE, WE WIN!
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