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Hi John,
I’m excited to share a new four-part mini-series on power building [[link removed]] that I am co-hosting with Steven Pitts on his podcast “Black Work Talk.”
In our first episode we spoke with organizer and writer Linda Burnham, who talked about building power beyond elections to win meaningful change. Among the many kernels of wisdom that Linda shared, her vision of Black freedom has stayed with me. In her words, “Black freedom is not having to hear stories of white supremacy or violence and its impact on communities. Those burdens have been let loose. There’s a side of Black freedom that is not imaginable to those of us living today. It’s hard to imagine a time where you are not carrying the weight of your ancestors.”
Her words speak to the need of being visionary and remind me of important lessons from Black feminism and Afro-futurism—we have to dream up the worlds we wish to see, because they don’t exist yet.
There’s a lot of work to do between building people's power in the here and now, and achieving our vision of freedom for our communities. It involves strengthening the institutions, organizations, and structures that support people as they contend for power. Here at PowerSwitch, part of that means growing our team and building our capacity to get involved with local fights and campaigns happening across the country ( you can meet our newest team members here [[link removed]] ).
Linda’s vision of Black freedom – being free of legacies of violence – may seem inconceivable to us right now, but this kind of dreaming and ideating is how we begin to create new systems and structures that truly serve our communities. We owe it to ourselves, our ancestors, and future generations to lay the groundwork for a free, thriving, and abundant world.
Lauren Jacobs [[link removed]] In solidarity,
Lauren Jacobs
Executive Director
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Spotlight On: PowerSwitch Action's Newest Team Members! [[link removed]]
When we rolled out our new Long-Term Agenda, we realized that in order to achieve our vision of multiracial feminist democracy, we would need to grow and scale up. As we continue to build people power in cities across the country, we know that strengthening our team will enable us to drive transformative campaigns alongside our affiliates. Over the past few months, we’ve welcomed six new team members to help us do this work:
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Alonso
Hernandez
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Creative
Lead
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Elizabeth
Brownlow
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Communications
and
Research
Strategist
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Jessica
Vollmer
,
Campaign
Director
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Stop
Corporate
State
Interference
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Rodney
Brown
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Base
Building
Manager
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Silvia
Saldivar
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WILL
Empower
Apprentice
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Vincent
Acuña
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Campaign
Coordinator
for
Worker
Power
and
Corporate
Accountability
Meet our new team members [[link removed]]
Our Network in Action [[link removed]]
[[link removed]] Putting people over profit in St. Paul, MN
In a win for renters, ISAIAH organized with residents to call on the St. Paul City Council to side with renters over landlords. They successfully pushed the council to vote down a harmful amendment that would have allowed landlords to make unlimited rent increases any time they changed tenants.
Amazon workers went on strike in the Inland Empire [[link removed]]
Earlier this month Amazon workers in San Bernardino, known as Inland Empire Amazon Workers United (IEAWU), went on strike to protest unfair labor practices [[link removed]] at the KSBD air hub. They have been organizing for over a year to improve their jobs and transform the impact that Amazon is having on the region. We joined IEAWU on the picket line along with our affiliates Warehouse Worker Resource Center (WWRC) and Center on Policy Initiatives (CPI), community allies, and supporters. More than 100 workers went on strike during this powerful, energizing action.
[[link removed]] Rallying against corporate landlords and displacement in Nashville, TN
Stand Up Nashville (SUN) has been organizing renters and housing allies to push back against CREA, a corporate landlord that has displaced tenants and families from the RiverChase Apartment Complex in East Nashville. SUN organized a rally [[link removed]] outside of the Metro City Council on October 4th to demand that the council side with renters, not landlords. Organizers successfully secured a deferment on the vote to allow CREA to proceed with their development plans. Residents who were harmed by the corporate landlords were able to make their voices heard, and advocates from all over the city came out to speak at the council meeting.
Solidarity with striking nursing home workers in PA [[link removed]]
Last month, Pittsburgh United stood with striking nursing home workers as they demanded fair union contracts that invest not only in their staffing, but in quality resident care. Workers called on Comprehensive Healthcare and Priority Healthcare (two groups that own facilities across the state) to bargain in good faith, meaningfully address staffing issues, and put taxpayer dollars into raising wages and improving resident care. Shortly after their strike, the nursing home workers won their new contracts.
[[link removed]] Supporting workers organizing at Kingspan Light + Air factory
OCCORD is supporting Kingspan workers as they unionize with SMART (the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers) to improve their working conditions. OCCORD became aware of an immigrant worker who was fired for updating their personal information. Under California law, employers cannot retaliate against workers for doing so. On top of this, the working conditions are harming employees' health and are hazardous to the environment. OCCORD has delivered a letter to Kingspan Light + Air [[link removed]] and created a petition for community members [[link removed]] to voice their support for workers at the factory.
Taking voter engagement on the road in PA [[link removed]]
POWER is firing up their #FreedomExpress Bus Tour, which will run from October 18th through November 4th. It aims to promote a vision for building a beloved community in the state of PA that is rooted in inclusivity, diversity, and justice. The four week non-partisan civic engagement tour will include get out the vote activities, multifaith services, breakfasts, voter canvassing, and more.
[[link removed]] Advancing renter’s rights in Aurora, CO
United for a New Economy (UNE) members in Aurora met with City Councilor Angela Lawson to analyze the city budget, advocate for investment in the housing plan, and dig into the problems that renters have with landlords failing to maintain and fix serious issues in rental properties. “This was my first meeting with a public official and I felt powerful,” said UNE member Christina Morales. “Seeing other tenants sharing their story with our local elected official makes me hopeful we can make change. We have work to do to protect our tenants’ rights!”
Justice for Janitors at Meta/Facebook [[link removed]]
Silicon Valley Rising, a campaign co-led by Working Partnership USA, has been supporting janitors at the Meta/Facebook offices who went on strike after mass layoffs. After walking off the job on October 4th to protest unfair labor practices, layoffs, and brutal workloads, the janitors have secured a reduction in the number of workers that will be laid off, guaranteed severance packages for the impacted workers, and better sustainability of the workload for the remaining workers. Read more [[link removed]] .
In Case You Missed It [[link removed]]
[[link removed]] Playground asphalt sizzles to 145 degrees in extreme heat waves. Parents demand school shade [[link removed]]
During last month’s intense heatwave in California, students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) tried to keep cool despite the severe lack of green spaces and shade. Rudy Gonzalves, Education Campaign Director at Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE), spoke to the LA Times [[link removed]] about the importance of greening LAUSD. “This crisis demands a comprehensive approach that involves parents, students, educators and the community at large.”
Black Work Talk: Power-Building Mini-Series [[link removed]] [[link removed]]
Co-hosted by Steven Pitts and Lauren Jacobs [[link removed]]
In this four-part series, Steven and Lauren talk with guests about the nuances, strategies, and challenges of building power in cities across the US. Two episodes have been released so far. Listen here [[link removed]] .
[[link removed]] Countervailing Powers | Using Policy to Reorganize Power [[link removed]]
Co-authored by Lauren Jacobs and George Goehl
This article is part of Countervailing Power, a joint series by The American Prospect and The Forge that explores the ways organizers can use public policy to build mass membership organizations to countervail oligarchic power. Read their piece here [[link removed]] .
Pushing for community stewardship of land in Seattle, WA [[link removed]]
Together with BIPOC-led community organizations across the city and county, Puget Sound Sage has released a set of recommendations to the City of Seattle for its Comprehensive Plan, centering around their Community Stewardship of Land [[link removed]] framework as the only antidote to unending cycles of displacement for BIPOC communities. Read the full post here [[link removed]] .
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.
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Chief
of
Staff
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You can check out open positions across our network here [[link removed]] !
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PowerSwitch Action
1305 Franklin St.
Suite 501
Oakland, CA 94612
United States
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