Good afternoon activists, sheros and movement builders. After weeks of somewhat warm weather spring has finally come out in full force with 80+ degree temperatures. With the sun shining a little brighter, I was finally able to explore my passion for bike riding and freestyle rapping. The result is one for the record books. The warm weather has also inspired an uptick in actions. We were involved in a few of our own. You can catch up on everything you missed below.
-Stanley
We are a people-powered organization. Support us in the movement for justice!
Occupy McDonald’s. On May 25, fast food workers (and members of Citizen Action and Metro Justice) from the Capital District and Rochester joined thousands of others in Chicago for McDonald’s shareholder meeting to stand up for union rights and fair wages. The fast food corporation made over $1 billion in profits last year but for some greed reason has been resistant to paying a living wage, allowing employees to unionize and providing good benefits. Corporate greed just won’t work in the kind of world we’re fighting for, so we thought we would take a visit to their headquarters and share our thoughts. Click here for some highlights from the action.
Verizon Worker Strike Day 40. Verizon workers are still striking for fair pay and good benefits so we’re right out there with them. On May 22, our New York City Chapter joined the workers in front of a Verizon store on 42nd street. Workers have now gone over a month without pay, or access to health insurance because the executives at Verizon refuse to do what’s right and pay them their fair share of the company’s profits. But have no fear, our efforts are being felt. Earlier this week Verizon CEO “Lowell McAdam admitted the company’s second-quarter earnings may take a hit because the strike has resulted in the company falling behind on new internet and television installations.” Verizon is starting to feel the heat, let’s keep the pressure on and continue to support our family in the movement.
UPDATE: Breaking News! It looks like our sisters and brothers at CWA and IBEW have come to an agreement with Verizon. Congratulations to those who put their livelihoods on the line to fight for a strong economy for everyone.
Demanding Democracy Across New York State. This was a huge week for campaign finance and ethics reform as the Capital District Chapter, Long Island Progressive Coalition and New York City Chapter of Citizen Action all participated in Demand Democracy actions across the state. Demand Democracy is a campaign with a goal of making sure that the voices of New Yorkers are being heard by our state government and not drowned out by the super wealthy. For far too long the political interests of the super rich and corporate elite have been prioritized over regular voters. On May 23, the Capital region held a press event at the State Capitol to launch the Demand Democracy campaign, New York City and Long Island followed suit on the May 26 and 27. Click here for more on the actions.
Justice Works
On July 23 and 24, 2016, hundreds of New Yorkers who fight for justice will join together. Regardless of the issues you work on or how you work on them: if you’re an organizer, a volunteer, a door knocker, blogger, policy wonk, all of these things or none of them – Justice Works is the conference for you. This year, the weekend will be broken up into three sections. Justice Works will take place on Saturday, July 23. On Sunday, we’ll host our first-ever Citizen Action Leadership Summit. It’s a great opportunity to talk with other Citizen Action leaders from around the state about the direction of our organization. While that’s happening, Justice Works attendees who aren’t members of Citizen Action will have the chance to participate in a series of workshops with the New York Civic Engagement Table. Click here to register for Justice Works.
Activist Check-In Podcast
We’re always looking for ways to keep you in the know. One of the ways we’re going to be doing that moving forward is the Activist Check-In Podcast. In the first episode, I connected with New York City Chapter Board Member, Ruthly Cadestin, to discuss her experience at Justice Works 2015, and why she’s willing to drive you to Albany if you want to attend! Click here to listen.
Upcoming Events
Join #NYRenews in Albany on June 1 and together let’s tell legislators in Albany that they were elected to represent ALL New Yorkers and that ALL New Yorkers deserve protection from the impacts of climate change. Click here to learn more.
On June 16, join the New York City Chapter of Citizen Action for their monthly chapter meeting. If you’re in the NYC area, this is your chance to plug into the movement and get involved with an awesome group of activists and organizers. Click here to RSVP.
Job Alert!
Citizen Action, PPEF and the New York Civic Engagement Table have a number of positions open across the state, including Organizer, Lead Organizer, and Regional Coordinator. Click here for more details.
Metro Justice is looking for a Fundraiser and Membership Director.
From the Blog
In a session where we saw two of New York’s most powerful elected officials be convicted and sentenced to prison for corruption while in office, New Yorkers have had enough and want to see a change. Maybe the first step will be closing the LLC loophole. As you know, the LLC loophole has allowed the super rich to unfairly influence important policies, so it’s something we need to get rid of. Earlier this week, Governor Cuomo introduced a package of legislation to close the loophole. Here’s our statement in response.
In the News
The Post-Standard. CUOMO, WHO GOT MILLIONS FROM LLCS, PROPOSES $5,000 CAP ON LLC DONATIONS
ABC News 10. NY LABOR, FAITH GROUPS BACK VOTING, ELECTION CHANGES
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. NEW RCSD CODE OF CONDUCT UNVEILED
Take Action!
The 2016 campaign has demonstrated that voters are fed up with pay-to-play politics. Billionaires and corporate interests have been able to wield incredible power by spending huge sums of money on campaigns and lobbying. Now is the time to continue building the movement to #DemandDemocracy right here in New York state. Click here to take action
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