Summer Newsletter
Dear John,
We have so much to contend with and so much to be proud of right now. Around the country, our affiliates are changing the rules of the economy to work for our communities — winning protections for essential workers, wage replacement for undocumented workers, clean air standards in warehouses and trucking, and more. Not only are we winning, but we are sharing our vision for change and creating new narratives in ways we’ve never done before, through books, podcasts, webinars, reports, and our upcoming rebranding and launch of our Long Term Agenda. I hope you’ll be part of all of these conversations — they are so essential for our goal of building a bigger “we” and organizing for transformation.
In solidarity,
Lauren Jacobs
Executive Director
Partnership for Working Families
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The Partnership is rebranding, and we want you to be part of our virtual launch, where we’ll unveil a new name, logo, and vision forward. RSVP here. We’ll be joined by Partnership leadership past and present, along with special guest Dorian Warren from Community Change.
Just announced: guest performance by singer Rissi Palmer!
Welcome new staff
Jahmese Myres joined our staff at the end of last year, but she is not new to our network — she comes to us with 9 years of experience at East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE), where she led community benefit campaigns, civic engagement and ballot measures, and organizational management. Her work with powerful community and labor coalitions has resulted in groundbreaking wins for economic justice including job access for the formerly incarcerated, local hire requirements, minimum and living wage increases, tenants’ rights, and protections for women on the job. Jahmese also served on the City of Oakland Planning Commission from 2014-2020, fighting for equity during one of the city’s biggest development booms.
Angie Liao joins us this summer through the Peggy Browning Fellowship. Angie is completing her JD at Yale Law School. She previously worked for AFT Michigan as an organizer. At the Law School, Liao has been a member of the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic and the Environmental Protection Clinic, and is currently working with the New Haven Legal Assistance Association, Inc. During the summer of 2020, she interned at the Detroit Justice Center. We’re grateful to have Angie with us for the summer.
Partnership staff join the DOL and
Asian Law Caucus
We said farewell earlier this year to two incredible members of our legal team. Rey Fuentes, who was awarded a Skadden Fellowship to work with the Partnership, has moved to Washington, D.C. and is working for the Department of Labor, in the Fair Labor Standards Division of the Office of the Solicitor in DC. He will be enforcing federal wage and family leave laws. At the Partnership, Rey led our work with misclassified workers and co-authored “Rigging the Gig,” a breakthrough report on California’s Prop 22 and the gig corporations that bankrolled it. Deanna Kitamura served as senior staff attorney at the Partnership and provided legal support and strategy for critical campaigns on land use, housing, and job and climate standards for warehouse employers like Amazon. She has taken a position at Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco to ensure that AAPI communities in California are engaged in the redistricting process.
Two new books to inspire activists and organizers of all ages
The newly released “Igniting Justice and Progressive Power: The Partnership for Working Families Cities” explores our role in the defeat of the right-wing in states such as California; the challenge to corporate neoliberalism in traditionally "liberal" areas; and contests for power in formally solid red states like Arizona, Georgia, and Colorado. Check out the Facebook page for the book for more details on where to purchase and upcoming book events.
As part of the Rise-Home Stories Project, we helped create “Alejandria Fights Back/La Lucha de Alejandria,” a bilingual children’s book about housing justice. The book will be in bookstores on Aug. 10. To request an advance copy, fill out this form.
ICYMI
Tune in to Episode 15 of the Black Work Talk podcast with Steven Pitts to hear his conversation with Lauren Jacobs on the importance of working with everyday people to build the capacity to see themselves as social change agents.
We hosted a panel discussion about deep democracy and the fight against corporate interference with powerhouse leaders Lauren Jacobs, Kyra Greene, Odessa Kelly, and Nancy Maclean, exploring how we can fight corporate influence in government and demand a say in the decisions that affect our everyday lives. Watch the recording of the event here.
Recent victories
NY HERO Act signed into law
Congratulations to ALIGN and close partners on the passage of the New York Health and Essential Rights, or “HERO,” Act, which creates workplace standards that employers must follow when it comes to infectious airborne diseases like COVID-19 and protects workers from retaliation if they report health and safety violations. Read more: Progressive lawmakers, advocates celebrate signing of NY HERO Act
Protecting workers and residents from warehouse and trucking pollution
Southern Californians had a major win with the passage of the Warehouse Indirect Source Rule after seven years of frontline community activism. The rule addresses the region’s serious air quality problems by cutting pollution from the trucks traveling to and from warehouses, electrifying warehouses, and creating local clean energy jobs.
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“The Indirect Source Rule ushers in a new era in Southern California environmental policy — one that prioritizes human lives over profits and improves the quality of our air, water, and health while creating quality green jobs,” said Kathy Hoang, Senior California Campaign Manager for the Partnership for Working Families. “Warehouses will remain an important part of our region’s economy, but because workers and communities joined forces to demand cleaner, safer communities for their families and their kids, corporations like Amazon will begin to take greater responsibility for our health and precious natural resources."
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Job opportunities
California Climate and Housing Campaign Manager - Partnership for Working Families
Communications Director - Partnership for Working Families
Lead Organizer - Gig Workers Rising / Working Partnerships USA
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Partnership for Working Families
1305 Franklin St.
Suite 501
Oakland, CA 94612
United States
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