Dear John,
Are we out the other side of this pandemic? Surely not. But with more government and corporate leaders urging us to move on and move forward even at the expense of our health, I believe we are at an inflection point. For working people all across the country, this pandemic has been a moment of extreme clarity. We’ve seen that our corporate bosses didn’t care if we got sick, didn’t care if we lost our healthcare, didn’t care if we were thrown out on the street, didn’t care if we died.
So what do we do, as a movement, now that the blinders are off? In an article in The Forge last month, I wrote that we organize people solely around the issues of work at our own peril. Organizing Amazon or any other megacorporation should be one prong of a larger political project that competes for power in the economic, political, and social arenas. As we organize around wages, benefits, and working conditions, we must make room for broader conversations about people’s full lives. Why do so many of our kids have asthma? Why is the school down the street closing? Why are so many of my neighbors being evicted? What we need now are labor leaders and rank-and-file members who are warriors for all working people — champions of their communities in the broadest sense.
That’s my take. But I want to hear yours. The Forge has put out a call for submissions – from organizers, policymakers, journalists, academics, and the community at large – on how to organize against the megacorporations of the 21st century, and what this moment will require from all of us. I hope you’ll join the conversation! In solidarity, |
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| Lauren Jacobs Executive Director
PowerSwitch Action |
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Spotlight On: CPI & the San Diego Black Worker Center! |
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Elly: You’re launching a Black Worker Center in San Diego, incubated by the Center on Policy Initiatives. Can you tell us about the center and what it does?
Brisa: Even before the pandemic, Black workers were already facing two lethal conditions: racism and economic inequality. It’s really important that we devote resources specifically towards Black communities and Black workers, that policy be made for Black workers.
The San Diego Black Worker Center is a home for Black people to build Black power and create their own table.
Right now, San Diego does not have a concentrated Black community, we are spread all throughout the county. The center is a place for Black workers to not only find community and find folks that are experiencing the same issues that they are, but to fight for solutions.
Elly: Kyra, how did CPI come to be involved?
Kyra: Here at CPI we always want to guide all of our work in deep partnership with community organizations and labor unions that are focused on the future of organizing in our region and really pushing a new vision of our economy.
To read the full conversation visit us on Medium! |
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Winning Rent Control in Oxnard, California In California, CAUSE has worked in coalition since 2019 to pass a local rent control ordinance in the city of Oxnard. The city council passed the rent control ordinance this month, preventing landlords from raising rents by more than 4% each year. |
Building Consensus for Paid Family Medical Leave in Minnesota
ISAIAH is moving Minnesota’s statewide Paid Family Medical Leave plan closer to passing than ever before – with the Governor coming out in support of publicly-funded paid family leave programs to allow workers time to care for a baby or an ill loved one. Read more about the proposed policy here.
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Launching Water Justice LA
Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy's water campaign has a new name and logo! Water Justice LA works with community, environmental, and labor allies to fight for water justice in Los Angeles. Follow them on social media: |
Establishing a Public Bank in Philadelphia
POWER is celebrating a win for public banking in Philadelphia, with a local bill creating the Philadelphia Public Financial Authority now officially becoming law! A public bank in Philadelphia will add resources to the City budget without increasing taxes, reduce the cost of public projects like repairing libraries and schools by an estimated 50%, and build opportunities to create small businesses by extending low-interest loans and credit to community banks. Read more here and here.
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Fighting Displacement in Seattle and King County
Thanks to the ongoing work of SAGE in Washington, the King County Council approved an Equitable Development Initiative (EDI) last month, putting into motion the first of a two-phase plan to combat displacement across King County. The EDI program will provide development support and resources to communities impacted by a wave of gentrification and displacement that has spread to nearly all corners of King County. Modeled off the success of Seattle’s EDI, this program will invest much-needed funds in community-led land stewardship projects at all stages of the development process, including affordable housing, small business spaces, and cultural facilities.
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Protecting Renters’ Rights in Colorado
In a time when so many families are struggling with rent, UNE has leveraged $199,000 in rental assistance so Colorado families can stay in their homes. UNE organizers have launched a door knocking campaign to tell residents about their renter’s rights work, help people apply for eviction assistance, and connect renters with attorneys from their Covid Eviction Defense Project.
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Expanding Voting Access in San José, California
In San José, Working Partnerships USA and Silicon Valley Rising Action have launched the Measure B campaign to move the Mayoral election to Presidential election years in order to increase voter turnout among low propensity and underrepresented voters, including young voters, people of color, and women. |
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Franceen Loy has joined our team as our first ever Creative Lead! She’s a multi-talented designer, illustrator, and animator who’ll be using her skills to explain issues, shift narratives, and lift up the powerful organizing happening across our network.
When she isn't drawing, painting, or nerding out on animated movies, Franceen can be found baking cakes, cookies, muffins... despite not being the biggest fan of sweets.
Check out Franceen's portfolio at franceenloy.com. |
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Pushing for Fair Taxation in Pittsburgh
Nonprofit hospitals in the U.S. often get tax breaks worth far more than they spend on charity care and community investment. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is one of the worst five hospitals when it comes to fair share deficits. UPMC is Pittsburgh's largest employer, private landowner, and healthcare provider, and in 2021 it brought in 1.46 billion in pure profit. Pittsburgh United is demanding that UPMC pay its fair share in taxes. Learn more about the revealing report behind the fair taxation proposal in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Organizing for Housing Justice in Nashville
STAND UP Nashville’s powerful housing justice advocacy is making waves. A recent article in Nashville Scene emphasized their work pressuring developers to create housing priced for low-income workers, pushing back against displacement, and creating the city’s first community benefits agreements – securing affordable housing units, a child care facility, a minimum wage of $15.50 for stadium employees, and more. Read Nashville Scene’s in-depth cover story on the Nashville Housing Crisis, featuring STAND UP Nashville staff and partners.
Pursuing a Just Transition Through Community Utilities
A new report from the Democracy Collaborative, The Power of Community Utilities, explores how publicly owned and cooperative electric utilities can act as anchors for community wealth building and a just energy transition. The report features interviews with experts from Puget Sound SAGE in Seattle, LAANE in Los Angeles, and POWER in Philadelphia. Explore the report at DemocracyCollaborative.org.
Demanding Worker Safety at Amazon Warehouses
The Warehouse Worker Resource Center in California worked with the Strategic Organizing Center this month to draw attention to high injury rates at Amazon facilities nationally and in California. The rate of serious injuries at Amazon warehouses last year was 6.8 per 100 workers. That’s over twice the rate found at other non-Amazon warehouses. Read more about the analysis in the Seattle Times.
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Internal Colonialism & Emancipatory Journalism with Dr. Jared A. Ball - Millennials Are Killing Capitalism Podcast
At the heart of this audio course is the question: How do we cultivate revolutionary culture? This podcast learning series looks at the specific intersection of media, cultural production and revolutionary organizing. Listen here. Capital City: Gentrification and the Real Estate State - Samuel Stein
This excellent book explores how government actors create opportunities and work in tandem with private real estate to drive poor and working class people and communities out of color out of their neighborhoods to juice local property value and in turn, local revenue. More here. The Resisters - Gish Jen
A thought-provoking and at times both dark and funny novel about surveillance, labor, and race in a near-future U.S. And a young girl's baseball talent! More here.
Housing Futures Month - PolicyLink
April is often celebrated as 'Fair Housing Month' – but we appreciate PolicyLink's reframe of April as Housing Futures Month, highlighting the failures of the Fair Housing Act and the hope and necessity to reimagine housing as a right, divorced from the concept of housing as a commodity. Read their analysis here. |
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Californians: Sign on to support AB 2847 to create unemployment benefits for excluded immigrant workers! |
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Please sign this petition to share with California legislators & Governor Newsom and show your support for the Safety Net for All Coalition's worker-led and worker-supported campaign to win unemployment benefits for excluded immigrant workers. When excluded immigrants - our friends, families, and neighbors - are locked out of a safety net, we are denying them and their families access to basic health and safety needs. This is unjust and not what an equitable recovery looks like in California. Take action here.
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We’re Hiring!
We are seeking experienced individuals to join our team! If you know anyone who would be a great fit, please send them our way. The ideal candidates will have a deep commitment to social, racial, gender, economic and environmental justice.
And be on the lookout for the following job opportunities later this year: - Research Director
- Housing Base Building Lead
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PowerSwitch Action
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