News from the Frontlines of the Political Revolution!
HEADLINES: "We Will Never Relent” | Year in Policies | PRO Act Holiday Tour | Kellogg’s Strike Update | Cities Push for M4A | Revise Carbon Credits | 2021 Election Roundup | Sawant Defeats Recall | & MUCH MORE!
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As we embark on another year in the struggle for justice, we must grow our movement and amass more resources to overpower the opposition. If each of us sets a New Year’s Resolution to recruit just one person in our life to become a recurring monthly donor, we could double our coalition and our impact in 2022.
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Happy Holidays from your friends at Our Revolution! We hope you have a chance to enjoy time with loved ones during the holiday season.
Our Live Monday Night Broadcast will resume in January - STAY TUNED for exciting news about our 2022 plan to hold insurrectionists accountable & elect progressive patriots across America!
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WE WILL NEVER RELENT
Corporate Democrats are failing the American people.
At this moment, the fate of Build Back Better and the Freedom to Vote Act remain unclear, thanks to weakness of party leadership and a handful of obstructionists in Congress.
We’re fighting for the strongest possible legislation to improve working class life in America and stave off a return to rightwing authortarianism in 2022 and 2024.
The indomitable Nina Turner will reflect on the past year and where our movement goes from here. We’ll ask her what makes a good movement candidate and strategize for another year in the struggle for justice.
“Democrats are going into 2022 with very little to show,” Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese told Reuters this week. “We need to show that once we take the reins of governing power, we have the ability to quickly deliver.”
The midterms are going to be tough enough with Republican gerrymandering and voter suppression, we can’t let Democrats be an accessory to the death of democracy.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus restructured in 2021 and was able to show discipline. But, the amount of power our elected partners can wield in office is directly proportional to the power of our outside movement.
Progressive power is growing, and 2022 is an opportunity to strengthen our coalition, elect more allies, and go even harder for our priorities.
It’s horrifying seeing the Democratic Party unable to get behind basic and necessary solutions. The road ahead is clearer than ever — we have to take them out and replace the enemies of progress with true fighters for justice.
This moment is a call to arms. Despair is not an option as we come up against climate deadlines and the rise of fascism. Together, we must rise up to meet the challenges of our time.
As Nina Turner said on our Live Monday Night Broadcast: “We must be resolute. We must expand our reach in the grassroots and in office. They’re after us because they know our power to change the destiny of this nation. They can keep on coming, but we are never gonna relent.”
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Tell us your top issues and help define our 2022 National Organize to Win Platform!
Our Revolution is crowd-sourcing our platform for 2022! Take our survey to pinpoint the policies you want to see our candidates champion!
With midterms coming up, we also need your voice in choosing the next generation of progressive champions. All monthly members get a vote in deciding our 2022 endorsements!
Cycle after cycle, Our Revolution keeps building the bench — from city halls to the halls of Congress, and this election cycle will be no exception.
Become a member to help determine who we endorse in this monumental election year. You could choose who becomes the next Cori Bush or AOC!
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THE YEAR IN POLICIES
With Trump out of office, 2021 presented the chance to move the ball forward on our progressive priorities — and our movement went to the mat.
Over the course of the year, Our Revolution activists were arrested for Voting Rights outside the White House, criss-crossed the country in the PRO Act Pickup Tour, and rallied in the Fight for $15.
We held countless Revolution Recess actions at the offices of obstructionist corporate Dems blocking passage of Bernie’s budget bill and its working class investments. Our Revolution was instrumental in getting an end to $86B in fossil fuel subsidies included in the bill.
The organizing work of Our Revolution activists in New Jersey and other states has raised the tally to more than 75 municipalities nationwide that have now passed Medicare for All resolutions.
Our Revolution was instrumental in passing important ballot measures such as the Safer Cleveland Initiative to create a community police commission and expanding affordable housing in Minnesota.
We also helped set a $15 minimum wage in many cities across America, including the hometown of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in Tucson, AZ. To date, more than 35 cities and a handful of states have adopted $15, and we’re pressing for more!
Our Revolution Texas helped defeat Prop A in Austin, which would’ve diverted funds from mental health first responders and a family violence shelter to hire hundreds more police officers.
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PRO ACT HOLIDAY TOUR
Our Revolution wrapped up our cross-country Pass the PRO Act Holiday Tour this week, finishing a 3,000-mile journey from the office of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in Phoenix to the office of Sen. Chuck Schumer in NYC.
Along the way, our decked-out PRO Act pickup truck made stops for rallies to shame Rep. Henry Cuellar in Texas, Sen. Ron Johnson in Wisconsin, Sen. Rob Portman in Ohio, and others standing in the way of this critical legislation for worker rights.
We also joined the picket line with striking Kellogg’s workers in Memphis, TN and celebrated with Starbucks workers who recently voted to unionize in Buffalo, NY.
"We need to bring democracy into the workplace. Why should the voice of the workers not matter? There is a gaping inequality that threatens the American dream,” an organizer told the crowd at the Buffalo rally.
"We deserve rights. We deserve better pay. We deserve safer working conditions. We need the PRO Act. They should not be allowed to threaten us," said Sam, a Starbucks organizer. “The unionization of Starbucks in Buffalo will spread across the country and I am confident in that.”
Starbucks workers have started union drives at locations in Arizona and Massachusetts.
KELLOGG’S MAKES OFFER TO STRIKERS
After striking for more than two months, Kellogg’s workers are expected to respond this weekend to the company’s most recent offer made on Thursday.
On our Live Monday Night Broadcast, Kevin Bradshaw, Vice President of Local 252 of BCTGM Union, said strikers were waiting for Kellogg’s to come to the table in good faith.
The strike started as a response to a two-tier system in which Kellogg’s gives employees hired after a certain date “less money with no pension, no insurance, and no benefits,” Bradshaw said.
Kellogg’s new offer purports to provide “an accelerated, defined path to legacy wages and benefits,” but it's unclear if it fully eliminates the two-tiered system.
Following the initial contract rejection, Kellogg’s had responded with threats to move 275 jobs to Mexico and permanently replace most of 1,400 workers who went on strike in October.
Tech-savvy supporters flooded the company with bogus job applications to hinder replacement efforts. Bradshaw said when the company did bring in scab workers, it resulted in fires and other incidents at the plant.
“We know they can't make this product without us because it takes a special type of skill,” Bradshaw said Monday. “We aren’t really concerned about them permanently replacing us.”
Kevin also said: “We’re gonna be here one day longer and one day stronger than them.”
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M4A RESOLUTION PASSES IN JERSEY CITY
Our Revolution New Jersey got a 13th municipality to issue a resolution urging Congress to implement Medicare for All! Read more about it here.
Jersey City, the second-largest city in the state, joins more than 75 municipalities nationwide.
“Rep. Albo Sires, communities in your district have spoken,” ORNJ tweeted. “Both Hoboken and Jersey City support M4A, we need you to co-sponsor H.R. 1976 in Congress!”
Town by town, state by state, we are muscling through Medicare for All to guarantee healthcare as a human right in this country.
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BILL TO REVISE CARBON TAX CREDITS
Our Revolution has signed on in support of a new bill introduced in the House by US Rep. Ro Khanna that would prevent investors from getting tax credits for the use of carbon capture to boost oil production.
A tax credit known as 45Q currently allows companies to earn money for every ton of carbon that they capture off a polluting facility and store underground — including injecting it into oil fields to push trapped oil out of the ground, something the industry calls “enhanced oil recovery,” Reuters explains.
Ro’s bill would disallow this loophole which defeats the purpose of carbon capture by promoting the carbon-intensive fossil fuels industry.
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2021 ELECTION WINS
Our Revolution-endorsed candidates saw a 68% win rate in 2021! That’s close to 150 candidates elected on bold progressive platforms filling out school boards, city councils, mayoral seats, and more.
This makes more than 700 progressive champions that have been elected since Our Revolution began 5 years ago.
Progressives clinched executive power with new mayors Justin Bibb in Cleveland, Aftab Pureval in Cincinnati, Kahlil Seren in Cleveland Heights, Michele Wu in Boston, and khalid kamau in South Fulton, GA.
Our candidates also won city council seats: Richie Floyd in St. Petersburg, FL, Indira Sheumaker in Des Moines, IA., and Tiffany Caban in NYC.
NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and NYC Comptroller Brad Lander both won re-election, and Larry Krasner fended off a recall as District Attorney in Philadelphia.
These are just a few of our big wins this year, and we want to THANK all our members for their hard work in making calls, sending texts, and knocking on doors to get out the vote!
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INDIRA SHEUMAKER
New Des Moines, Iowa City Councilwoman Indira Sheumaker joined our Live Monday Night Broadcast to talk about her 10-point win over an 8-year incumbent.
“We didn’t go tell people we know what's right, we're gonna tell you what you need,” Indira said. “We asked, ‘What do you need?’ and said, ‘We are going to fight that fight.”
As a ward councilperson, she’d been organizing around city council meetings since June 2020. “I realized they didn't work for us, so I started reading agendas and bringing that information back to my community,” she said. “I was self-taught in city government.”
Now, she’s developing a People’s Council for folks to bring their priorities in — and she hopes to see this as a model for more direct democracy.
“We need to be building up power at the local level while our issues are at the forefront of politics,” Indira said. “For 2022, we need to get a huge progressive movement behind candidates.”
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SANTOS WINS IN HOUSTON
CONGRATS to Elizabeth Santos who won re-election as Trustee of Houston Independent School District 1 in a run-off election last week.
With a margin of just 40 votes, we can be sure that Our Revolution Texas groups made a difference!
In her first term, Elizabeth helped shift $30M to the classrooms, increase teacher salaries, and led a tough fight to provide the largest raise to support staff in HISD history.
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It’s official! Thursday night, Kshama Sawant was declared victorious in defending her Seattle City Council seat against another recall attempt.
“We have defeated the combined efforts of big business, the right wing, corporate media, the courts, and the political establishment who sought to remove our socialist council office by any means necessary,” Sawant said to a crowd of supporters. “We won because we did not back down.”
Voter turnout was 53% — 10% higher than in November’s general election in the city. Sawant has now been elected by Seattle voters three times.
She helped Seattle become the first major city to adopt a $15 minimum wage and passed the “Amazon Tax” to build affordable housing. Sawant also developed a local Green New Deal and won a campaign for renters’ rights.
Now, it’s up to San Francisco voters to defeat a rightwing recall attempt against SF District Attorney Chesa Boudin.
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EDWARDS HEADING TO MA STATE SENATE
Our Revolution-endorsed Lydie Edwards scored a decisive win in the Democratic primary for Massachusetts state senate and now heads to the general election unopposed.
Lydia, a recent Boston City Council member, is a labor-activist lawyer who champions policies to prevent homelessness and address the climate crisis. She also ran on issues of rent control and eliminating qualified immunity for police officers.
CONGRATS to Lydia and Our Revolution Massachusetts for putting in the hard work to bring home this win! Lydia’s victory continues a regional trend of electing progressive candidates.
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Our Revolution Maryland ended the year with a fundraiser to spotlight four great 2022 candidates. Moderated by 2018 MD Democratic Gubernatorial nominee Ben Jealous, guests presented a positive vision for a progressive Maryland future.
Michele Gregory, running for State Senate on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, spoke of her pride in the initiative called “Heroes Home” in Salisbury that is “committed to take action to get unhoused people back on their feet.”
Robbie Leonard, candidate for Baltimore County State’s Attorney, “committed to fight for people and fight for justice.” This means “holding both police and violent offenders responsible.”
Brandy Brooks, seeking an at-large position on the Montgomery County Council, noted how Montgomery County “is a microcosm of the nation at large with tremendous diversity but also tremendous economic and racial inequality.” Brandy’s top goals include addressing the housing crisis, helping small businesses, and fighting the climate crisis.
Edward Burroughs, who is vying in a District 8 Special Primary for Prince George’s County Council on Jan. 4th, discussed his tenure on the Prince George’s Board of Education which began in 2012. He noted the importance of teaching “financial literacy” to kids from struggling families and fighting for fair treatment of county workers.
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We get the world that we fight for. We must keep growing our movement to be able to take on the corporate class and return power to the people. Become a sustaining member of Our Revolution today to make sure we hit the ground running in 2022.
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2021 PARTY TRANSFORMATION
This year, Our Revolution put in the work to grow progressive numbers and influence within the Democratic Party.
We organized hundreds of Our Revolution members to run for party positions at the local, state, and national levels who will help to shape party platforms and rule changes that will empower progressive candidates in future elections.
In March, we scored a major organizing victory when our endorsed slate of progressives, led by new chair Judith Whitmer, swept the Nevada Democratic Party elections.
We also joined with allied organizations to create a network of state Democratic Party Progressive Caucuses. More than 30 participants from 13 states joined our first national meeting in September.
In Massachusetts, Our Revolution organizers successfully got the party to adopt state party platform amendments to end fossil fuels and support Medicare for All.
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Together, we’re building an unstoppable movement to fight for peace and justice in the New Year. Thank you for your solidarity and support!
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