November, 09 2017, 07:45am EDT
WASHINGTON
Grassroots organizers cheered the loud and clear message in Tuesday's election results: voters are eager for progressive candidates with the bold ideas that People's Action and its state organizations are proposing and supporting.
Throughout the country, candidates fighting for health care for all, a $15 minimum wage, race and gender justice, ending mass incarceration, tuition-free higher education and climate justice won seats from city council to state legislature, from Washington state to Maine.
"Tuesday's elections mark a turning point. Among the most hopeful signs of a more hopeful future were the victories down ballot, where working class progressive candidates won," said George Goehl, co-executive director of People's Action. "Already we have 70 people from our membership signed up to run in 2018. The new generation of truly progressive people, especially women and people of color, running for office and winning is one of the most important takeaways from this election.
In New Jersey, Governor-elect Phil Murphy, supported by People's Action member organization New Jersey Citizen Action, proposed a state-owned bank that would invest in local communities.
In Maine, voters won Medicaid expansion that would bring health care to 77,000 more people in the state. The referendum was endorsed and led by Maine People's Alliance and People's Action.
In Pennsylvania, Reclaim Philadelphia and 215 People's Alliance, endorsed Philadelphia's Larry Krasner who was elected district attorney on a platform to end mass incarceration.
In Virginia, People's Action leaders helped elect strong progressives in three House of Delegates districts to take out three corporate, conservative incumbents.
In Washington state, People's Action organizations OneAmerica Votes and Washington Community Action Network helped push Manka Dhingra into the state senate giving Democrats full control of state government.
Here are some of the newly-elected leaders who were endorsed and supported by People's Action and its members:
Colorado
Colorado People's Action has built a progressive block on the Aurora City Council with three candidates elected: Crystal Murillo and Nicole Johnston both defeated incumbents; Allison Hiltz led in an eight-way race for two at-large seats
Iowa
Ross Grooters won a seat on the Pleasant Hill City Council running under the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Action banner.
Maine
A ballot measure led by Maine People's Alliance to expand Medicaid in the state passed easily with 59 percent of the vote.
Maryland
Progressive Maryland candidate Laurie-Anne Sayles was elected to Gaithersburg City Council.
Massachusetts
Neighbor to Neighbor Action members Adam Gomez and Nelson Roman were re-elected to the Springfield and Holyoke City Councils respectively.
Michigan
Michigan United member Tasha Green was elected to the Westland City Council.
Minnesota
TakeAction Minnesota's city council candidate Andrea Jenkins won in Minneapolis and is the first transgender woman of color elected to public office in the country. Jeremiah Ellison,looks likely to claim a city council victory on the northside of Minneapolis. In Duluth, TakeAction Minnesota candidate Renee Van Nett, elected to the city council, will bring a progressive and Native American voice to the table. Justice4All leader, Londel French is poised to be elected to the Minneapolis Park Board.
New Jersey
New Jersey Citizen Action-endorsed Phil Murphy easily won the governorship. Murphy won on a platform of state-owned banks and a $15 minimum wage. His election returns the state to full Democratic control.
New York
Three candidates from Community Voices Heard Power candidates won: Corazon Pineda was re-elected to the Yonkers City Council; Ann Finney was elected to the Poughkeepsie Common Council creating a progressive majority; and Christopher Johnson to the Westchester County Board. In Albany, Citizen Action of New York candidate Alfredo Balarin won his seat on the Albany Common Council. Long Island Progressive Coalition candidate Laura Curran was elected Nassau County executive. People's Action candidate Lynn Eckert won election to the Ulster County Legislature and Alfredo Balarin became the first Latino elected to Albany city council..
Pennsylvania
Reclaim Philadelphia and 215 People's Alliance endorsed progressive Larry Krasner who was elected to district attorney with a strong racial justice platform.
Virginia
The People's Action Virginia leadership team won three huge upsets in the House of Delegate races: Elizabeth Guzman, Chris Hurst and Kelly Fowler.
Washington
OneAmerica Votes and Washington Community Action Network candidate Manka Dhingra won her State Senate election giving Democrats a new majority and full control of Washington government. OneAmerica Votes candidates Lorena Gonzalez and Teresa Mosqueda were elected to Seattle City Council and De'Sean Quinn and Zak Idan won seats on the Tukwila City Council.
People's Action builds the power of poor and working people, in rural, suburban, and urban areas to win change through issue campaigns and elections.
LATEST NEWS
'Join a Union': Boeing Workers Ratify Contract With Over 43% Wage Hike
"Working people know what it’s like when a company overreaches and takes away more than is fair," said union leaders.
Nov 05, 2024
After seven weeks on strike, Boeing workers voted Monday to ratify a new contract that includes a 43.65% wage increase over four years—a significant improvement over the 25% increase that the aerospace giant offered in September.
Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Districts 751 and W24 approved the contract in a 59%-41% vote around two weeks after rejecting a tentative deal that called for a 35% pay increase over a four-year period.
The contract approved by workers also includes a $12,000 ratification bonus, improvements to retirement and healthcare benefits, and improved overtime rules.
"Strikes work," labor journalist Kim Kelly wrote in response to the contract vote.
Jon Holden and Brandon Bryant, respectively the presidents of IAM District 751 and W24, said in a joint statement that "working people know what it’s like when a company overreaches and takes away more than is fair."
"Through this strike and the resulting victory, frontline workers at Boeing have done their part to begin rebalancing the scales in favor of the middle class—and in doing so, we hope to inspire other workers in our industry and beyond to continue standing up for justice at work," said Holden and Bryant. "Through this victory and the strike that made it possible, IAM members have taken a stand for respect and fair wages in the workplace."
"Livable wages and benefits that can support a family are essential—not optional—and this strike underscored that reality," they added. "This contract will have a positive and generational impact on the lives of workers at Boeing and their families. We hope these gains inspire other workers to organize and join a union. Frontline Boeing workers have used their voices, their collective power, and their solidarity to do what is right, to stand up for what is fair—and to win."
IAM's international president, Brian Bryant, called the contract "a new standard in the aerospace industry—one that sends a clear statement that aerospace jobs must be middle-class careers in which workers can thrive."
"Workers in the aerospace industry, led by the IAM—the most powerful aerospace union in the world—will not settle for anything less than the respect and family-sustaining wages and benefits they need and deserve," said Bryant. "This agreement reflects the positive results of workers sticking together, participating in workplace democracy, and demonstrating solidarity with each other and with the community during a necessary and effective strike."
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and an outspoken supporter of the Boeing strike, congratulated IAM members on Monday "for winning a hard-fought victory."
"I also congratulate Machinists President Jon Holden as well as Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg for working to reach a deal that ensures Boeing will continue to build quality planes that contribute to our country's security and mobility while valuing and respecting the fact that there is no Boeing without the IAM," Jayapal said in a statement.
As did the union leadership in their remarks, Jayapal specifically thanked Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su of the Biden administration for helping secure the deal, citing "skilled leadership" that brought "both parties to the table and to an agreement."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Harris Voters for Human Rights' Work to Defeat Trump—and Fight for an End to Gaza Genocide
"To voters who can't yet entrust Harris with their votes because of the genocide, the fascist Trump will make it even worse for the people of Gaza, and you can trust us to fight to push Harris to end it if we put her in office together."
Nov 05, 2024
Warning that a victory for Republican nominee Donald Trump would bring even greater catastrophe for Palestinians, a coalition of progressive organizers and activists is vowing to both back Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in Tuesday's election and engage in nonviolent civil disobedience at the White House to demand an end to U.S. complicity in Israel's assault on Gaza.
The coalition, dubbed "Harris Voters for Human Rights," declares in a pledge shared with Common Dreams that "we are fighting to end the horror in Gaza AND defeat fascism."
"We believe Trump will be even worse for Palestinians," the pledge states, echoing the sentiment expressed by Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim community leaders in Arizona and elsewhere. "We know he will be a disaster for women, working families, immigrants, democracy, and life on planet Earth. Whatever the VP says or not, know this: You can count on the Harris coalition base to fight for Palestinian human rights."
While the coalition is pushing for a Harris victory, organizers said they intend to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience at the White House on November 12 "regardless of the election result"—unless a cease-fire deal is reached or an arms embargo against Israel is implemented by that date.
"To Biden and Harris, we—your voters—will escalate our pressure to end our complicity in this horror," said Kai Newkirk, a founder of the coalition and co-chair of the Arizona Democratic Party Progressive Council. "To our fellow Harris voters who support Palestinian human rights, put your body where your mouth is. To voters who can't yet entrust Harris with their votes because of the genocide, the fascist Trump will make it even worse for the people of Gaza, and you can trust us to fight to push Harris to end it if we put her in office together."
The planned protest date marks the end of the 30-day period in which the Biden administration told Israel to take "urgent and sustained actions" to improve humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip or face a possible cut-off of U.S. military support.
In the weeks since the administration issued its notice, Israeli forces have continued their relentless bombardment of Gaza—particularly the northern part of the enclave—and the country's lawmakers have moved to ban the United Nations agency primarily responsible for administering humanitarian aid in the territory. Experts, human rights groups, and progressive lawmakers have argued that U.S. law requires an arms embargo against Israel, given its repeated obstruction of American humanitarian assistance.
The "Harris Voters for Human Rights" coalition is "calling on Biden and Harris to uphold U.S. law, which Israel is violating egregiously in Gaza, where it has killed tens of thousands of civilians, mostly women, children, and the elderly," and "decimated" the enclave's infrastructure.
The effort comes as Harris and Trump made their final pitches to the U.S. public ahead of Election Day, with the candidates in a dead heat in battleground states that will decide the outcome of the high-stakes race.
"As president," Harris said during a campaign rally in Michigan on Sunday, "I will do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza, to bring home the hostages, end the suffering in Gaza, ensure Israel is secure, and ensure the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, freedom, security, and self-determination."
Alan Minsky, executive director of Progressive Democrats of America, said in a statement Monday that "the first essential step is defeating Trump."
"He has made clear his intention to ruthlessly suppress pro-Palestinian demonstrations, making a mockery of our right to free speech while undermining the foundations of our democracy," said Minsky. "To prevent this, we need as many Democrats as possible to join our pledge. That will send a powerful message to dismayed voters who've lost faith in our party; and it will push Biden and Harris to do more to win them back."
"A public pledge to uphold our laws without exception would inspire hundreds of thousands of voters who may otherwise refuse to cast their ballots for her," Minsky added. "In the meantime, we will try to lead by example and inspire them to vote to empower the Democratic base that won't stop fighting until Kamala Harris delivers as president."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Who Should Pay for Climate Damage? Majority of the World Agrees: Big Oil
"As governments debate how to finance climate action, they can be confident that making polluters pay is not only fair, but also far more popular and effective than placing the burden on ordinary citizens."
Nov 04, 2024
A multinational survey commissioned by Greenpeace International and published Monday revealed that a majority of respondents favor making fossil fuel companies pay for being the main cause of the climate emergency.
Greenpeace International's Stop Drilling, Start Paying campaign commissioned the strategic insight agency Opinium Research to survey 8,000 adults in eight countries—Australia, Argentina, France, Morocco, Philippines, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States—ahead of this month's United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan.
"Asked about who should bear the most responsibility for climate change impacts, the most popular option across all eight countries in the survey was making oil and gas companies pay, with high-emitting countries and global elites ranked second and third," Greenpeace International said in a summary of the survey, adding that "60% of all surveyed countries see a link between profits of the oil and gas industry and rising energy prices."
The survey also found that two-thirds or more of respondents are angry about Big Oil CEOs getting huge bonuses even as their products exacerbate the planetary emergency; fossil fuel expansion; industry disinformation; and the "historic and ongoing role of oil and gas companies in conflict, war, and human rights violations."
Eight in 10 respondents said they were worried about climate change. However, more than twice as many people surveyed in the Global South said the climate emergency has personally affected them than respondents in the Global North.
According to Greenpeace International:
Imposing a fair climate damages tax on extraction of fossil fuels by OECD countries—proposed by the charity Stamp Out Poverty and supported by 100 NGOs, including Greenpeace International—is one example of a tax on big polluters. This could generate $900 billion by 2030... This would be key for annual climate-related loss and damage costs, estimated to be between $290-$580 billion by 2030 in low-income countries, as well as for reducing the emission of heat-trapping greenhouse gases and adapting to the impacts of the climate crisis in all countries.
"This research shows how taxing the wealthy polluters-in-chief—companies like Exxon, Chevron, Shell, Total, Equinor, and Eni—has become a mainstream solution among people, cutting across borders and income levels," said Stop Drilling, Start Paying co-chair Abdoulaye Diallo. "As governments debate how to finance climate action, they can be confident that making polluters pay is not only fair, but also far more popular and effective than placing the burden on ordinary citizens for a crisis for which they bear little or no responsibility."
The Opinium survey was published on the same day that Amnesty International called on the richer countries most responsible for the climate emergency to "fully pay for the catastrophic loss of homes and damage to livelihoods" in Africa.
"African people have contributed the least to climate change, yet from Somalia to Senegal, Chad to Madagascar, we are suffering a terrible toll of this global emergency which has driven millions of people from their homes," said Samira Daoud, Amnesty's regional director for West and Central Africa. "It's time for the countries who caused all this devastation to pay up so African people can adapt to the climate change catastrophe."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular