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Hi John,
These past few weeks we have witnessed the power of direct actions, from nurses striking in Minnesota to Amazon workers walking out in San Bernardino to railroad workers organizing across the country.
I’ve been thinking about the purpose of actions like these. They can create a moment of crisis where people, whether they are fellow workers or community members, have to choose a side. They are also an opportunity to tell a story, to bring attention to a problem and invite other people to be a part of the solution.
Actions breathe oxygen into a campaign or movement. Earlier this month when we disrupted a corporate landlord conference in DC, tenants from across the US met for the first time, marched together, and celebrated their collective power. It was a chance to bind local housing fights into a shared, national movement.
When people have been told over and over that they have no power, actions are the space to prove that kind of thinking wrong. People can exercise their own power and leadership, and grow into leaders in their workplaces and in their communities. Take the Amazon workers organizing in San Bernardino, demanding better pay, safe working conditions, and an end to retaliation at their workplace. They are wielding their power as key players in the corporation’s warehousing and supply chain systems, pointing out that “we [the workers] make those packages move” ( read more in our latest spotlight below [[link removed]] ).
Finally, actions allow us to create connections, deep relationships, and community. We need all of these things in order to truly act in solidarity with one another and build our collective power.
I’m excited by the actions we got to participate in these past few weeks. They add wind to our sails and keep us energized and focused on the work ahead.
Lauren Jacobs [[link removed]] Onward!
Lauren Jacobs
Executive Director
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Spotlight On: Workers and Community Taking on Amazon in the Inland Empire [[link removed]]
Last month our affiliate, Warehouse Worker Resource Center (WWRC), supported people working at Amazon’s KSBD air hub in San Bernardino as they walked off the job to demand better pay, safe working conditions, and an end to retaliation. The workers organizing at KSBD are known as Inland Empire Amazon Workers United (IEAWU). This month Vincent Acuña (Campaign Coordinator for Worker Power and Corporate Accountability) talked with Sheheryar Kaoosji (executive director of WWRC) and two members of IEAWU, Sara Fee and Ricardo Perez , about organizing warehouse workers and communities in the Inland Empire.
Vincent: How has WWRC been bringing workers and community members together to challenge Amazon’s impacts and make things better for everyone in the Inland Empire?
Ricardo: After the KSBD walkout, we saw the amazing support, not just from WWRC, but from at least 10 different groups there supporting us. It was really incredible.
Sara: Regular community members just want to be involved in making their community better. They're taking time out of their life, out of their family's life, and they're showing support for what we're doing and we're super thankful for that.
Sheheryar: The “warehouse worker” identity is both broad and also kind of thin. That's something that WWRC has really leaned into and acknowledged. Whether you’re working in a warehouse or not, you and your family are affected either way because warehousing is the dominant employer in our region. So, we organize around the whole person and their family. We acknowledge that building community in this region is a revolutionary act.
Read the full conversation [[link removed]]
Our Network in Action [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] Disrupting the NMHC’s annual corporate landlord conference in DC
Earlier this month, we rallied with renters and housing advocates [[link removed]] from across the US in Washington, DC to call out the corporate landlords that have been jacking up rents and opposing tenant protections. Together with Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE), Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) and tenant leaders and organizers from our affiliates — United for a New Economy, Working Partnerships USA, Stand Up Nashville, and Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy – we disrupted the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC)’s annual conference and demanded safe, affordable housing for all.
Demanding better pay, improved working conditions, and safety for warehouse workers in San Diego [[link removed]]
The Center on Policy Initiatives co-hosted a panel discussion about the Warehouse Worker Policy [[link removed]] with the Teamsters Local 542, UFCW Local 135 and San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Fletcher and Vice Chair Vargas. Sheheryar Kaoosji, Executive Director of the Warehouse Worker Resource Center, also joined the panel to provide insight about the fight in the Inland Empire and to talk about how this policy could set a standard for the rest of the state. CPI’s Executive Director, Kyra Greene, spoke about the importance of setting higher standards [[link removed]] to protect all working people in San Diego.
[[link removed]] Building microgrids and establishing energy democracy in Boston
The Green Justice Coalition (GJC), convened by Community Labor United, has worked alongside Resilient Urban Neighborhoods (RUN) to bring microgrids to Chelsea and Boston’s Chinatown. The coalition is excited to announce that $750,000 of federal funding has been allocated to support this project and make this much-needed resource a reality. RUN-GJC’s microgrids project [[link removed]] will establish a public-sector entity that provides community-owned power and a pathway to climate resiliency [[link removed]] for frontline communities like Chinatown and Chelsea.
Fighting against ShotSpotter, surveillance, and policing in Detroit [[link removed]]
This month the Detroit city council was set to vote on whether to allocate $7 million in COVID relief funding to Shotspotter, a corporation whose flawed surveillance technology disproportionately harms in Black, Brown and poor communities. Detroit Action, along with community partners and organizations, are calling on elected officials to instead put that money towards real community solutions. Thanks to their organizing and mobilizing, Detroiters made clear to the city council that the public is against ShotSpotter, resulting in the vote being postponed twice.
[[link removed]] Engaging students and getting the vote out across Georgia!
From International Day of Democracy to National Voter Registration Day, Georgia STAND-UP has been hard at work getting out the vote in schools and communities across the state. They are a core partner of The Black Youth Renaissance Tour, a civic engagement tour, and they’ve traveled to universities across the state to register, educate, and mobilize students, while amplifying issues that young folks are most concerned about.
In Case You Missed It [[link removed]]
Celebrating the leadership of Maritza Silva-Farrell [[link removed]]
Earlier this month, City and State New York named ALIGN’s Executive Director Maritza Silva-Farrell to both their 2022 NYC Labor Power 100 [[link removed]] and 2022 Power of Diversity: Latino 100 [[link removed]] lists.
[[link removed]] Strengthening inclusionary housing policies in the Central Coast
Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy organized a virtual panel discussion on inclusionary housing policies with over 70 attendees from across the Central Coast. They explained how local ordinances can be used to require developers to designate affordable units in new buildings for lower income households. The panel helped to advance CAUSE’s campaigns to update and strengthen inclusionary housing ordinances for the cities of Ventura and Oxnard. Watch the recording here [[link removed]] (Passcode: 2e4whT$D).
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