Did you hear the news?
Yesterday three Democrats on the Seattle City Council shelved the bill our coalition has been fighting for to tax Amazon and the 800 richest corporations in Seattle to provide immediate Covid economic relief to the 100,000 people in Seattle most in need. It would also fund the construction of union-built, green, social housing and environmental retrofitting of homes starting next year.
But on Thursday, Councilmembers González, Mosqueda, and Herbold claimed that this bill might not be legal to discuss because the Governor’s proclamation ordered local governments to deal only with Covid emergency issues and necessary routine matters.
But how can they claim that the bill does not address the Covid relief crisis even though that is precisely what a significant part of the bill would do?
Even if these Councilmembers are correct in suggesting that the legislation does not comply with the state of emergency, working-class people living on a razor's edge need real, material relief now. These legal back-flips appear to be a convenient way of avoiding taxing the richest corporations in our city, which was urgently needed before the Covid crisis, and even more so now.
It is incredibly hypocritical for Councilmembers Herbold, González, and Mosqueda—Democrats who ran for office promising to be progressive champions—to block discussion on the Amazon Tax which would pay for Covid relief and green homes.
The Council’s decision is a wake-up call that we need to urgently build a stronger movement. Winning a corporate tax for green housing is not only vital for Seattle’s working class; it’s also an important step toward winning a Green New Deal. This is how we build our power, get organized, and raise workers’ expectations!
Since the Council is delaying, we need to ramp up pressure on them by preparing to take this matter directly to the voters, which may ultimately be required. We are calling on all Seattle DSA members and supporters to go all out to help collect the required signatures by July 1st.
WAYS YOU CAN HELP:
Most importantly, please RSVP to attend the Tax Amazon / Green New Homes emergency Zoom meeting! Tomorrow, Saturday, May 9 at 2:30 pm, we will discuss these developments, our response, and phone-bank DSA members to ask them to sign the ballot initiative petition.
Help us collect signatures: All Seattle DSA members will receive the official petition in the physical mail in the next few days. Please fill it out, ask people while practicing social distancing to sign as well, and send it back to us immediately.
Then please ask your friends to request the official petition via mail by filling out this form.
This signature gathering is expensive because we can’t collect signatures in front of grocery stores. We have to mail ballot petitions and pay for postage. If you can, please donate to our Green New Homes campaign!
Can you help us spread the word through one of our phone-banks? Please text your name to Harris at (206) 962-1352 or email [email protected] and we'll plug you in!
Finally, for more info please read Seattle DSA’s press release below.
In Solidarity,
M. Harris, Seattle DSA Co-Chair
Chris N., Seattle DSA Tax Amazon Committee Co-Chair
PRESS RELEASE
Democratic Socialists condemn City Council shelving Amazon tax and promote ballot initiative
Contact:
Mimi Harris, Co-Chair, Seattle Democratic Socialists of America: (206) 962-1352
Chris Natale, Co-Chair, Seattle DSA Tax Amazon Committee: (724) 713-2130
Email: [email protected] | Web: www.GreenNewHomes.org
Seattle Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) strongly condemns the shelving of the Amazon tax to fund COVID-19 relief and green social housing by City Councilmembers González, Mosqueda, and Herbold. While the Council leaders’ decision is a temporary set-back, we are stepping up the mobilization of our supporters, including over 1,000 DSA members, to win a ballot initiative to fund Green New Homes.
Mimi Harris, Co-Chair of Seattle DSA, declared: “Amazon has made record profits during the COVID-19 crisis while millions of people have been thrown out of work. As we emerge from this pandemic, we need social housing and a Green New Deal more than ever to rebuild our society with union, living wage jobs, and the wealthiest corporations need to pay for it. Since the City Council has shelved this proposal, we call on all Seattle residents to sign the petition to put this initiative on the ballot in November 2020.” Please go to GreenNewHomes.org to get the petition or email [email protected]
It is hypocritical for Councilmembers Herbold, González, and Mosqueda—Democrats who ran for office promising to be progressive champions—to block discussion on the Amazon Tax to pay for COVID-19 relief and affordable housing.
Even if these Councilmembers were correct in suggesting that the legislation does not comply with the state of emergency, people living on a razor's edge need real, material relief now. We call on these Councilmembers to use their authority to help collect signatures for the Tax Amazon ballot initiative instead of simply putting this effort on hold indefinitely.
Furthermore, “there is no reason the City Council could not at least move things forward quickly by amending the current council legislation, taking out the legally disputed parts, and passing the immediate COVID-19 relief to Seattle’s lowest-income residents by taxing Seattle’s 800 wealthiest corporations,” urges Harris.
The Council’s decision is a wake-up call that we will need to build an even stronger Tax Amazon coalition to fund COVID-19 relief and green social housing, through legislation or ballot initiative. We call on individuals and labor, community, and religious organizations to join the Tax Amazon coalition and help collect the required signatures by July 1st to pass this desperately needed tax.
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