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Low-Wage Workers to Democratic Leaders: Fight for Us or Face 'Consequences'
"Democrats must act now to protect workers and show that they are fighting for the people who need them most," said one economic justice leader.
Nov 19, 2024
With Democratic leaders grappling with how to move forward following this month's devastating electoral losses and governors in the party moving to resist President-elect Donald Trump's policies, low-wage workers are planning on Wednesday to send a clear message to several Democrat-led statehouses: Prioritize workers and fair wages, or "face the consequences."
The national economic justice group One Fair Wage, which works closely with restaurant industry and other service workers, is organizing direct actions in Detroit, New York, and Springfield, Illinois, demanding that Democratic leaders in blue states "act decisively" to protect working people from Trump's anti-regulation, pro-corporate agenda.
The group said tipped service workers, advocates, and labor leaders will take part in the actions, in which participants will deliver an open letter calling for the passage of legislation to raise the minimum wage and eliminate subminimum wages.
"Workers in blue states are raising their voices because they cannot afford to wait any longer," said Saru Jayaraman, co-founder and president of One Fair Wage. "With a cost-of-living crisis squeezing families and an anti-worker Trump administration on the horizon, Democratic leaders must act boldly to protect workers and provide economic security. If they fail to prioritize wages and worker protections, they risk losing the trust—and the votes—of the very people they need to win."
The actions come after preliminary demographic data from the election showed working-class voters from a variety of racial backgrounds swung toward Trump. Two-thirds of Trump voters said they had to cut back on groceries because of high prices, according to a New York Times/Siena College survey, compared to only a third of people who supported Vice President Kamala Harris. Latino-majority counties shifted toward the Republican former president by 13 percentage points, and Black-majority counties did the same by about three points.
"Last week's electoral results made one thing clear: Voters overwhelmingly prioritize wages and affordability."
"Last week's electoral results made one thing clear: Voters overwhelmingly prioritize wages and affordability," said Jayaraman.
The actions were planned amid reports that U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, a key adviser to former President Barack Obama, is among those considering a run for chair of the Democratic National Committee—a plan that one former adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said seemed aimed at ensuring "the Democratic Party continues to lose working-class voters." Other possible contendersinclude former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and, reportedly, progressive Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler.
One Fair Wage said that following Democratic losses across the country, and with Republicans set to take control of the White House and both chambers of Congress in January, Democratic leaders at the state level must "act boldly on behalf of working families."
In Michigan, workers will call on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to uphold the state Supreme Court's decision to raise the minimum wage and eliminate subminimum wages for tipped workers.
At the Illinois state Capitol, advocates plan to push for statewide legislation to extend fair wages for all workers, building on Chicago's minimum wage reforms.
In New York, One Fair Wage will lead the call for Gov. Kathy Hochul to "safeguard tipped and immigrant workers from the looming anti-worker policies of the incoming Trump administration."
The workers and supporters will deliver their demands to state lawmakers as well as hold "solidarity turkey giveaways for struggling families let down by elected officials."
Since the election, some Democratic governors have pledged to resist Trump's far-right agenda. California Gov. Gavin Newsom called a special legislative session aimed at "Trump-proofing" the state by finalizing climate measures and protecting reproductive and other kinds of healthcare. Govs. JB Pritzker of Illinois and Jared Polis of Colorado announced a coalition that will resist Trump's deportation plan and reinforce key state institutions.
The governors' plans have not specifically mentioned efforts to protect workers from Trump's policies. The president-elect attempted to pass regulations that would make tips the property of employers during his last term, and the National Restaurant Association has pledged to revive such efforts in the next four years.
"There's a glaring omission in these efforts: low-wage and tipped workers," Angelo Greco, a political strategist working with One Fair Wage, told Common Dreams. "When Democrats say they will fight for the most vulnerable, who exactly does that include if not the people earning the lowest wages and facing the greatest economic instability?"
"Tipped workers—many of whom are women, people of color, and immigrants—continue to be paid below the minimum wage in a system rooted in the legacy of slavery," Greco added. "They face Trump's imminent rollback of Biden-era workplace protections, and now restaurant workers are on the front lines of his anti-labor rampage. If governors truly want to protect workers, they must include tipped workers in their efforts."
Jayaraman called on Democrats to "act now to protect workers and show that they are fighting for the people who need them most. Ignoring these demands will lead to alienated voters and further political losses."
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'The Law Is Clear': NY Officials Back Memo Outlining Criminal Charges for Big Oil
"These companies are endangering my constituents, and I believe New York prosecutors should act accordingly," one state assembly member said.
Oct 17, 2024
Several New York City and state elected officials endorsed a memo published Thursday outlining how New York City prosecutors could charge major fossil fuel companies and their CEOs with reckless endangerment for knowingly contributing to the climate crisis that has worsened deadly, destructive storms like Sandy and Ida.
The memo, published by Public Citizen and Fair and Just Prosecution, argues that the reckless endangerment case against Big Oil is strong enough for New York prosecutors to launch an investigation.
"Big Oil's conduct was not just immoral. It was criminal," Aaron Regunberg, the senior policy counsel with Public Citizen's Climate Program, said in a statement. "Reckless endangerment occurs when someone engages in reckless conduct that risks injuring or killing another person. That's exactly what these companies and their CEOs have done by knowingly creating the climate crisis that is causing extreme—and extremely dangerous—weather events."
"The findings in this memo are clear—fossil fuel companies have knowingly put New Yorkers' lives at risk."
2021's Hurricane Ida, for example, damaged 3.3% of the buildings in New York City and killed more than a dozen people when it dumped nine inches of rain in less than 24 hours. Nearly a decade earlier, Superstorm Sandy killed 44 city residents, damaged nearly 70,000 residential buildings, and temporarily displaced thousands.
"Hurricane Sandy destroyed my home," said Rachel Rivera of New York Communities for Change. "My family deserves justice. That disaster didn't just happen—it was done to us by oil and gas companies. They made trillions of dollars, while we lost so much."
The memo names as possible defendants ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, Occidental, BHP, and Peabody and possibly some of their CEOs. These companies have emitted 15.37% of all industrial-era climate pollution since 1965, the year the industry became "unquestionably aware" that oil, gas, and coal were heating the planet. Even earlier, at a 100th birthday bash for the U.S. oil industry in 1959, Edward Teller warned the guests that a 10% increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide could raise temperatures enough to "submerge New York."
Yet the fossil fuel industry and its leaders have continued to pump climate-warming products and spread misinformation about the harm they cause, delaying action that could have prevented or mitigated storms like Sandy and Ida.
"If I committed a crime like that against a corporation, you can bet I'd get prosecuted," Rivera said. "So why shouldn't they be held accountable? Isn't that why we have a criminal justice system?"
Amy Fettig, co-executive director of Fair and Just Prosecution, said that charging the fossil fuel majors would mark an important reevaluation of the meaning of public safety.
"We are spending millions of dollars and using violent force to target minor crimes like fare evasion, while Big Oil corporations and their billionaire CEOs continue to accelerate a climate crisis that is actively putting residents in real, concrete danger," Fettig said.
Several New York elected officials have embraced this strategy. The memo earned statements of support from New York State Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, New York State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, New York State Assembly Member Emily Gallagher, New York City Council Member Sandy Nurse, and New York City Council Member Carmen De La Rosa.
"We rarely include corporate crimes in our 'tough on crime' rhetoric and public safety strategies, but that's the crime truly threatening our communities," Gallagher said. "Because of Big Oil, so-called 'one-in-1,000 year' storms are becoming regular occurrences, and these dangers are only getting worse. These companies are endangering my constituents, and I believe New York prosecutors should act accordingly."
Reynoso added, "The findings in this memo are clear—fossil fuel companies have knowingly put New Yorkers' lives at risk."
He continued: "By willfully ignoring and concealing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their products, these corporations have contributed to a dramatic uptick in extreme weather events, which hit Brooklyn's most vulnerable populations the hardest. This is more than an environmental issue, it is a matter of public safety and equity across our borough, and those responsible for perpetuating the climate crisis in the pursuit of profit should be held accountable."
Jamie Henn of Fossil Free Media welcomed the state and city leaders' words.
"WHOA! New York officials are calling for Big Oil to be 'criminally prosecuted' for climate disasters," Henn wrote on social media. "They say the oil companies have engaged in 'reckless endangerment' by fueling and lying about the climate crisis. It's time to #MakePollutersPay."
The latest memo is part of a broader movement to hold the fossil fuel industry legally accountable for climate harms. Henn is also advocating for legislation that would make planet-warming companies pay into a fund for disaster relief and climate adaptation. Vermont became the first state to pass such a Climate Superfund Act in May, and a similar effort in New York is awaiting the signature of Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Public Citizen is also developing a wider strategy for holding the fossil fuel industry accountable. In an earlier memo, the watchdog group outlined how local and state authorities might charge oil, gas, and coal companies with "climate homicides."
"We're building the case for criminal prosecution of Big Oil brick by brick," Public Citizen climate counsel Clara Vondrich wrote on social media of the latest effort. "Here is the first 'prosecution memo' that lays out the case for filing, and winning, criminal charges for 'reckless endangerment.' The law is clear. Barriers are only political."
While Thursday's memo focuses on New York, Public Citizen said it could be relevant to any localities that experience climate disasters and have reckless endangerment statutes on the books.
"This discussion is the starting point for any prosecutor who wants to build a case to protect their constituents from climate harms that are threatening public safety in communities across the country," the memo authors wrote.
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25 Arrested Blocking Netanyahu's Motorcade to UN General Assembly
"Our world leaders have done nothing to stop Netanyahu and his genocidal administration," said one organizer. "We must be the ones to stop him."
Sep 26, 2024
More than two dozen Palestinian and Jewish activists and allies were arrested in New York City Thursday after blocking the planned route of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's motorcade ahead of the right-wing leader's United Nations General Assembly speech.
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), which co-organized the protest, said that 25 people including the actor Rowan Blanchard were arrested by New York police outside United Nations headquarters in midtown Manhattan.
"As Jewish New Yorkers we vehemently condemn Prime Minister Netanyahu's assault on Lebanon and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza," explained JVP's Jay Saper. "We will continue to raise our voices in dissent until the United States government stops arming Israel and Palestinians are able to live with the full freedom and dignity they deserve."
The protest and Netanyahu's New York visit came as Israeli forces continued the relentless assault on Gaza for which Israel is being tried for genocide at the International Court of Justice. According to Palestinian and international officials, more than 147,000 Gazans have been killed or wounded by Israeli forces since October 7, when Hamas led the deadliest attack on Israel since the country's founding in 1948.
Israel has also ramped up attacks on Lebanon in response to rockets launched from that country by the political and paramilitary group Hezbollah. Last week, a two-day bombings spree targeting Hezbollah communications devices that also killed civilians including children was attributed to Israel. Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon have killed hundreds of civilians and wounded thousands more.
"Our world leaders have done nothing to stop Netanyahu and his genocidal administration from murdering over 15,000 children and several times more adults," said Munir Marwan of protest co-organizer Palestinian Youth Movement. "As he plans to escalate the slaughter, we must be the ones to stop him."
Netanyahu is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Friday.
Several world leaders condemned Israel's aggression during their U.N. speeches this week.
"Gaza is one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history, and it is now dangerously spilling over into Lebanon," leftist Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Tuesday.
Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa—which is leading the ICJ genocide lawsuit against Israel—said that "we will not sit silent and watch as apartheid is perpetrated against others."
In a separate case, the ICJ recently ruled that Israel's 57-year occupation of Palestine is an illegal form of apartheid that must immediately end.
"The only lasting solution is the establishment of a Palestinian state, a state that will exist side by side with Israel, with East Jerusalem as its capital," Ramaphosa added.
Leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro asserted that "when Gaza dies, all of humanity will die."
"Those of us who have the power to sustain life speak without being paid attention to," he added. "That is why they do not listen to us when we vote to stop the genocide in Gaza. The presidents who can destroy humanity do not listen to us."
This post was updated to clarify that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's United Nations General Assembly speech was scheduled for Friday.
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