Campaigns
Real Financial Reform
As early as this week, Senator Dodd will introduce his new financial reform package in the Senate. But, unlike the bill that passed the House last year that would make an independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency, this bill creates a new bureau within the Department of Treasury. The problem: the same regulators that looked the other way while Wall Street preyed on our pocketbooks will have a veto power over the regulations this bureau creates.
New York’s Soul at Stake
by Shanna Goldman, Organizing Director
Right now, we’re working to pass legislation that would change New York’s antiquated practice of adding the count of people in prison to the population of the district where they are incarcerated – as opposed to their home community. Folks keep asking me how “upstate” benefits from the change in legislation.
My first problem: the term “upstate.” Can you please tell me which of these communities best represents upstate?
Is it Elsmere Street in Buffalo, a hip strip of shops and restaurants and single and double family homes?
One Person, One Vote
The principle of ‘one person, one vote,’ is a sacred component of our democracy in the United States. But, here in New York, when it comes to counting people in prison, representation is anything but equal.
Last Thursday (January 28th), we kicked-off a new campaign to end prison-based gerrymandering, the undemocratic system for using people in [...]
No Representation Without Population
The U.S. Census Bureau counts incarcerated people as residents of their place of confinement, rather than as residents of their home communities. These false population counts are then used to draw state and local legislative districts. The result is that the political power of our communities is diluted. Prison-based gerrymandering is not just unfair; it also violates the New York State Constitution.
An Engine for Economic Development
The Southern Tier, like most of New York State, is now facing the drastically negative effects of the world-wide economic crisis. Loss of jobs and rising costs are continuing to burden the residents of this region, hurting families and hurting the community. But, there’s hope. President Obama has recently called for rail updates in the United [...]
We continue to fight, Murphy Continues to Support HCAN’s Principles
by Chris Scoville, Capital District Organizer
Yesterday, we took to the streets in Saratoga Springs. We walked up and down Broadway asking folks to call into Congressman Murphy’s office and sign our StandUpScott.org petition. As we were canvassing, we ran into the Congressman – the man we have been directing so much of our energy towards and the reason why we were in Saratoga. He stopped to speak with us and even agreed to wear a Health Care for America Now sticker!
Don’t Let Our Democracy be Sold!
On Thursday, January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. FEC that corporations have free reign to spend unlimited money on elections, ignoring two decades of precedent. The stakes are high. If big business like health insurance companies, oil companies, and Wall Street investment firms are allowed to spend billions to get candidates elected, the voices of ordinary people across America will be silenced.
Updated: Supreme Court: Opening the Floodgates to Corporate Influence
by Joan Mandle, Special Projects
Shed a tear for our democracy today. The Supreme Court decision today in Citizens United vs. FEC has unleashed unlimited spending from corporate coffers to influence elections. We need to fight back by passing public financing in New York and in the Congress.
What Massachusetts Really Means
by Shanna Goldman, Organizing Director
When I opened my email this morning, I found dozens of emails analyzing the outcome of the Massachusetts Senate election, but most of them seemed to miss the boat. In a state where almost everyone already has health care, this election was about who ran the better campaign – NOT a mandate for giving up on America’s desperately needed health care reform.
Stand up for Workers at E-Z Pass Call Center
Guest post by Kate Doehring, Campaign Coordinator, Communications Workers of America
In a Staten Island call center, 292 workers approached the union, Communications Workers of America (CWA), because they were overworked and underpaid. At this call center, workers handle all of the customer support for E-Z Pass users in New York State. (If you call the 1-800 number, you will speak to someone at the Staten Island call center.) They had no real affordable health care option and no 401(k) pension plan. They were worried their pay structure would change from a consistent hourly rate to a per call piece-work scheme.
