Our National Organize to Win Call TONIGHT features Rep. Jim McGovern from Massachusetts, Dianne Morales and Maya Wiley, who are both candidates for Mayor of New York City, and Sam Rasoul, who’s running to be the next Lt. Governor of Virginia!
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News from the Frontlines of the Political Revolution!
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IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE: Read how Our Revolution is carrying out our 5-Point Plan to Win Progressive Change by:
- Mobilizing our nationwide network of grassroots groups to “Fight for $15” by supporting striking McDonald’s workers;
- Holding our elected officials accountable to fighting to end the filibuster and passing the For the People Act;
- Electing progressive champions like Larry Krasner, the Philadelphia DA, and other down-ballot candidates;
- Fighting for progressive policies like ending “qualified immunity” that shields rogue cops from prosecution; and
- Taking on the Democratic party machine in New Jersey; AND MORE!
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On "Walkout Wednesday," Our Revolution members rallied outside the U.S. Capitol in support of striking McDonald’s workers who are calling on the company to raise its wages at all store locations to $15 an hour. In addition to Washington DC, our members mobilized to show solidarity with the Fight for $15 by joining actions in Tennessee, Kansas, and dozens of other states.
Last year, the fast-food giant made nearly $5 billion in profit, paid out billions to shareholders, and paid its CEO 470 times the $27,000 its average worker makes. McDonald’s blames Congress for not raising the minimum wage, but our message was clear: McDonald’s is profitable enough to raise wages on its own.
Lizbeth Caceres, a McDonald's worker at the Pentagon and member of Our Revolution, talked about how she’s walked out on strike dozens of times with the support of Sen. Bernie Sanders. “Because we stood up, McDonald's raised my pay from $7.25 to $11.50 an hour, but that’s still not enough to survive and support my family. Not only does McDonald’s pay us poverty wages — but it also fails to give us healthcare. As a result, I have to rely on Medicaid and other public assistance programs to make ends meet. This is unacceptable. As Bernie says — “No one who works full-time should live in poverty.”
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Illinois Congressman Chuy Garcia spoke on our Monday National Organize to Win Call about how much our movement has accomplished and what we must do to move forward in this moment. “Together, we organized and kicked Donald Trump out of the White House, took back the Senate, and kept the majority in the House. We cannot back down or waste our leverage — now we must organize for transformational change, and it's going to take a grassroots army like Our Revolution to make that change a reality.”
He noted the Congressional Progressive Caucus is working with Bernie Sanders and other senators to overcome the filibuster threat and pass the boldest legislation possible. “If we want to get folks out to vote, it has to be transformative.”
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As the Biden administration negotiates with Senate Republicans, Rep. Pramila Jayapal and the Congressional Progressive Caucus are pushing Congressional leadership to go bigger, bolder and faster with the Build Back Better package, saying that “the pursuit of Republican votes cannot come at the expense of limiting the scope of popular investments.”
The letter — signed by 60 House Democrats and endorsed by Our Revolution — calls on Democratic leaders to push beyond the administration’s current proposal and instead look to Biden's campaign pledge to spend $7 trillion on housing, education, clean energy and environmental infrastructure programs, in addition to lowering prescription drug pricing and expanding Medicare.
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On our Monday National Call, Arizona State Sen. Martin Quezada spoke about his state’s GOP-led election “audit” and voter suppression bills.
“The GOP election audit has been a complete clown show,” he said, noting how the Republican State Senate handed over sensitive voter data and election equipment “to a completely biased, unqualified, and frankly fake auditing firm. They tried to lock out the media and our Secretary of State so there would be no oversight and allowed biased volunteers to lead the audit.”
In addition to the election audit, Sen. Quezada talked about how Republicans passed legislation to purge over 100,000 voters from the state’s early-voter list.
To overcome the attacks on voting rights, Sen. Quezada is joining forces with Our Revolution to call on Arizona’s senators — Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema — to pass the For The People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. “We need our U.S. senators to have our backs and protect Arizona voters, and we're going to keep the pressure on and hold their feet to the fire to eliminate the filibuster so this legislation can pass because we desperately need it.”
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On Thursday, Our Revolution Arizona and hundreds of progressive activists gathered in downtown Phoenix to urge Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and Sen. Mark Kelly to end the filibuster and clear the way for passage of progressive legislation. “Our rally was the kickoff for a summer of intense grassroots organizing — we’re going to ramp-up the pressure on our Democratic senators to stand with the progressives who elected them,” said Kevin Loera, an Our Revolution Arizona organizer.
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GET YOUR STICKER! Sen. Sinema sent progressives a message with her bling - but we’re letting her know how we feel about the filibuster with our LIMITED EDITION sticker.
ORDER YOUR STICKER TODAY AND SUPPORT OUR GRASSROOTS ORGANIZING IN ARIZONA!
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The bombing of Gaza has killed over 200 Palestinians, left thousands homeless, and leveled Gaza's only coronavirus clinic during a pandemic. This week, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Mark Pocan introduced a joint resolution of disapproval in Congress to block a $735 million precision-guided weapons sale to Israel that was recently approved by the Biden administration. As Bernie tweeted, “It is illegal for U.S. aid to support human rights violations.” Our Revolution joined over 150 organizations endorsing this unprecedented resolution.
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This week at the Supreme Court, Our Revolution executive director Joseph Geevarghese joined with Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream and the leaders of the End Qualified Immunity Campaign, to call for an end to the doctrine that shields rogue cops from accountability.
Reminding us that it’s been one year since George Floyd’s murder at the hands of law enforcement, Jerry said, "There will be no justice for victims’ families without accountability for police,” and made clear that “ending qualified immunity is not anti-police — it’s pro-good policing."
Ben, wearing a shirt emblazoned with the names of victims of police brutality, called out the racism that is part and parcel of the qualified immunity doctrine. “Black people are bearing the brunt of this, but it's not a Black problem. This is a white problem. And the problem is rampant. If we are not actively working to end racist policies, then we are allowing them to continue.”
Joseph spoke about how “qualified immunity” negates the 14th Amendment and its promise of equal protection under the law, pointing out that today — more than a century and a half after it was ratified — it “remains an unrealized ideal in America. The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others remind us that state- sanctioned violence continues unabated.”
You can watch the press conference here.
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On Tuesday, Our Revolution helped Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner fend-off an aggressive primary challenge led by the Fraternal Order of Police and win re-election by a two-to-one margin!
The primary was seen as a referendum on whether a new generation of Our Revolution-backed progressive prosecutors who won election by championing criminal justice reform — measures like reducing prison time and ending cash bail — would be vulnerable to “tough on crime” challengers during a time of increasing violence.
“We in this movement for criminal justice reform just won a big one,” Krasner said. “Four years ago, we promised reform, and a focus on serious crime. People believed what were, at that point, ideas — promises. And they voted us into office with a mandate. We kept those promises. They saw what we did. And they put us back in office for what we’ve done.”
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Our Revolution member Jalen Mckee-Rodriguez joined our Monday National Call to discuss his upcoming election in San Antonio, the second largest city in Texas. McKee-Rodriguez is one of four progressive Our Revolution-backed candidates who are in the June 5th runoff.
McKee-Rodriguez said that while San Antonio is already considered to have a progressive City Council, “when it’s time to pass progressive policies, it’s crickets.” If elected, he will be the first openly gay elected official in San Antonio and the first openly gay Black man elected in Texas.
SIGN UP HERE TO PHONEBANK this Monday for Jalen and our San Antonio slate of progressives!
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Our Revolution New Jersey partnered with the New Jersey Working Families Party and the Good Government Coalition to change New Jersey’s primary ballot design which allows party bosses to pick election winners by giving their picks favorable placement. “Our party claims to be progressive, but nothing is further from the truth. Progressive candidates face undemocratic, systemic barriers and rarely get elected because of a rigged ballot system. We are squarely against the party ballot line because it blocks progressive representation of any kind,” said Our Revolution New Jersey’s Anna-Marta Visky.
TAKE ACTION AND HELP US END THE LINE!
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Become a Movement Builder TODAY! Make a recurring monthly donation of $5 and become an official member of Our Revolution!
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Our Revolution Massachusetts monthly meeting on Sunday will focus on how progressives can organize to halt Amazon’s rapid expansion in the state.
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Join Our Revolution Maryland for an update on criminal justice, environmental, and healthcare reform legislation that our members helped pass in the General Assembly this year.
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Join Our Revolution / New York Progressive Action Network as we gear-up for New York City elections in June! We’ll roll out our endorsements for over 30 progressive candidates who are running for mayor and city council seats.
RSVP HERE
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ACTION ALERT! Sen. Mark Warner is only one of three Democrats in the United States Senate who has not signed on to the PRO-Act, the most progressive labor legislation in decades. Join us and our movement allies on Saturday, June 12th as we put the pressure on the Senator to support the labor movement!
RSVP HERE
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On Tuesday, June 15th, join award-winning journalist Alec MacGillis, author of “Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America” for a discussion about Amazon’s negative impact on towns and cities across the United States.
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