John,
This is your WFP August Newsletter, a roundup of just some of what our multiracial working-class movement achieved last month thanks to the efforts of amazing members like you.
Read on for need-to-know announcements, victories, and information about the fights ahead:
WFP ENDORSES TWO MORE CHAMPIONS FOR HOUSE AND SENATE IN 2024
This month, we were proud to roll out our support for California’s Barbara Lee for U.S. Senate and Raquel Terán for Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District.
Rep. Barbara Lee is a progressive legend with a long history of making history, including:
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Fighting as a high school student to integrate her cheerleading squad, ultimately becoming the first Black cheerleader in her high school,
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Being the first Black woman elected to the State Assembly and Senate from Northern California,
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Serving as the first woman elected to Congress from her district in 1998, then spearheading nearly every single major piece of HIV/AIDS legislation and working with then-President Bush to secure $15 billion in funding to address the epidemic, and
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In 2001, becoming the only member of Congress to vote against the resolution that gave George W. Bush a blank check for war.
She has never been afraid to take on big fights, and we’re standing with her as she runs for a historic seat in the U.S. Senate.
The San Francisco Chronicle wrote about our endorsement: “Winning the battle for progressive voters will be key in California’s U.S. Senate campaign, and Oakland Rep. Barbara Lee just won an early round.”
Arizona’s Raquel Terán knows how to beat back far-right extremist bullies — and win. She helped lead the charge to defeat Sheriff Joe Arpaio and oust State Senator Russell Pearce — the author of the “show me your papers” law. As a state legislator, she has worked to expand access to affordable healthcare, protect our access to safe, legal abortions, and promote economic opportunity and higher wages for all. Raquel is exactly the kind of powerful voice for working people that we need in the United States Congress.
WFP Director of Federal Affairs Natalia Salgado told POLITICO, “We want to recapture the House. That is a non-negotiable. But we also want to recapture the House with Working Families candidates… We’re excited to do that and we’re especially proud of starting the 2024 election season with the endorsement of a candidate like Raquel Terán.”
With champions like these on our side, we’re more fired up than ever to fight for a Working Families Majority in 2024! Get involved by joining us for an upcoming volunteer event.
STOP COP CITY CAMPAIGN WINS KEY LEGAL VICTORY
In Atlanta, Working Families Power and our partners in the Cop City Vote Coalition are gathering signatures for a city-wide referendum to stop Cop City — a $90 million urban warfare training facility that would tear down part of the Weelaunee Forest to build a mock city where police forces can test weapons and explosives, helicopter landings, and further militarize law enforcement against communities.
And last month, we won a major legal victory! A federal judge has overturned the restriction requiring canvassers to live within the city of Atlanta, meaning that anyone in Georgia can help gather signatures from Atlanta residents. The judge also reset the 60-day window for collection, giving us an additional month (until September 25) to get the 70,000 signatures required to add the referendum to the ballot and let the voters decide.
Still, the fight against the city government and billion-dollar corporations supporting Cop City is not going to be easy, and we need your support. Can you pitch in to support the efforts to gather 70,000 signatures and stop Cop City now?
WFP CHAMPION REP. GREG CASAR FIGHTS FOR WORKERS’ RIGHTS
Rep. Greg Casar, a WFP champion from Texas elected to Congress last year, led an all-day “thirst strike” on the steps of the U.S. Capitol last week to protest the lack of water breaks many workers receive — even in extreme heat.
We’re excited to share that the Biden administration listened, and two days after the strike, President Biden announced new steps to protect workers from dangerous temperatures.
While we still have work to do to expand these protections and make them permanent, they will save lives, and we’re proud to have Greg Casar as a leader in our movement for workers’ rights.
Rep. Casar told Democracy Now: “We have to declare a climate emergency, pass heat protections for all workers, and go beyond that, give everybody the right to a union, get everybody a living wage, transition Texas workers from the fossil fuel industry to the renewable energy industry, and save countless workers’ lives in the future; otherwise, we’re all going to be paying for it.”
PHILADELPHIA'S KENDRA BROOKS, NICOLAS O’ROURKE, AND JARRETT SMITH MAKE THE BALLOT
Voters in Philadelphia have the opportunity to elect three candidates running on the Working Families Party ballot line to the City Council and stop Republicans from being handed power by default.
The Philadelphia City Council reserves two seats for members of a minority party, and the City Commissioners office reserves one seat. For years, that meant Republicans had an outsized say in city governance — until 2019, when we elected Kendra Brooks as City Councilor At-Large on the WFP ballot line!
Now Kendra and PAWFP Organizing Director Nicolas O’Rourke are coming back for both seats on the City Council, and Jarrett Smith is running to replace the sole Republican City Commissioner.
This week Kendra, Nicolas, and Jarrett submitted three times the number of signatures required to make the ballot, proving we have the momentum to win and ensure that Philadelphia is represented by transformational leaders who will fight for working families.
Read more from Metro Philadelphia.
PRIMARY VICTORIES IN TUCSON AND WASHINGTON
Tuesday was a big night for the Arizona Working Families Party after Tucson City Council member Lane Santa Cruz successfully defeated a primary challenger and is now expected to sail to victory in the November general election.
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero also will move to the November general where she will face an independent challenger who previously received 40% of the vote against Regina in 2019 — assuring a competitive and well-funded race for Mayor in November. Both Regina and Lane are part of a growing progressive movement in Tucson and we are proud to have their backs.
And in the state of Washington, we endorsed a slate of candidates in King County and Spokane. While we are still waiting for the election results to be certified later this month, all of our candidates got in the top two and we are feeling confident that our entire slate will head to the general election in November including incumbents Spokane Council President
Betsy Wilkerson and Seattle City Council member
Tammy Morales, as well as
Paul Dillon who is running for Spokane City Council Seattle City Council member, and
Teresa Mosqueda who is running for King County Council.
WFP NATIONAL DIRECTOR MAURICE MITCHELL GIVES KEYNOTE AT NETROOTS NATION
Working Families Party National Director Maurice Mitchell gave the opening keynote at the Netroots Nation conference last month in Chicago. His powerful speech about building our multi-racial, multi-generational political movement touched on some of the victories we’ve won and opposition we face in making this a country that works for the many, not the few.
To see the full speech, click here. Then,
check out Maurice’s interview following the keynote with Daily Kos.
SPOTLIGHT ON WFP MEMBER, ACTIVIST, AND CAMPAIGN CAMP COUNSELOR CHUCK TYLER
Chuck Tyler, a dedicated WFP member, veteran, paralegal, and political advocate, has been volunteering as a WFP Campaign Camp Counselor to help develop new leaders and build a country for the many, not the few.
"Being a part of the WFP is being a part of a movement for change. I'm proud to contribute to this cause and to mentor the next generation of leaders," says Chuck.
From serving our country, to running a nonprofit providing free legal services to veterans, to helping reach voters by facilitating 45,000 doors knocked and 30,000 calls made, Chuck’s tireless efforts to promote equality and justice are deeply valuable.
"Working in politics has allowed me to make a tangible impact on our society. Every door we knock on, every call we make, brings us one step closer to a more equitable world," he reflects.
We're proud to have Chuck as part of the WFP family, and we look forward to his continued leadership and contributions!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Phonebank for Aaron Regunberg for Congress
One month from today, we have a chance to increase our Working Families Majority in Congress this year by electing Aaron Regunberg to Rhode Island’s 1st congressional seat. Aaron has been a consistent voice for working families, from winning paid sick days, to making green energy affordable, to raising wages for working people — and just last week Aaron was endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders!
Help us send this progressive to Congress by joining us at the next phonebank for Aaron next Thursday, August 17 at 5 PM ET!
WFP Welcome Gathering:
Don’t miss the WFP Welcome Gathering on Thursday, August 24 at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT!
Whether you joined the WFP yesterday or have been with us from the start, these monthly welcome gatherings are your opportunity to meet with other members and activists in community and discuss how we can build a world where everyone can thrive — not just survive.
WFP Tuesday Text Party
Join the WFP Text Party on Tuesday, August 29 at 6 PM ET/3 PM PT to grow our movement and support the candidates and legislation that will help people the most.
Whether you’re a first-time texter or an experienced pro, you can make a real difference by sharing our message with voters and let them know about the WFP champions and issues in their communities.
WFP Study Group: Reading for the Revolution
On Thursday, August 31 at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT, the WFP Study Group: Reading for the Revolution will be discussing Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora — a story about the author’s 3000-mile journey to the United States on his own at 9 years old. As a group, we’ll talk about what the book means for our work and how it can guide our own advocacy.
Thanks for joining us for another busy month building this people-powered movement!
To keep up the fight, we rely on people like you pitching in $10 or whatever they can to make sure that we have the resources to win these campaigns and pass the legislation that our communities need.
Can you make a contribution today to help fuel our organizing for bold policies and leaders around the country?
Pitch in »
In solidarity,
Team WFP
