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JOB OPPORTUNITY – Communications Director

By admin on June 15, 2012

When President Obama signed the health care bill into law, standing next him was 11 year-old Washington CAN! member Marcelas Owens. Marcelas lost his mother in June of 2007 because she didn’t get the health care she needed after she got sick, lost her job and her health insurance. Marcelas became a spokesperson for national health reform to ensure no other child would have to lose their parent due to lack of health care.

Stories win campaigns and make change. Alliance for a Just Society (AJS) seeks a communications professional to tell the story of our national organization, provide support to our member organizations, and promote our campaigns for social, economic and racial justice.

The Alliance for a Just Society is a national organization with affiliates and Main Street Alliance partners in over 15 states. The Alliance begins with one focus and one strategic commitment: to challenge the corporate power that dominates the political process in our nation to the detriment of individuals, families, and communities. We lead with our analytical lynchpin that structural racism is at the heart of this society’s dysfunction. Continue reading »

Direct from Main Street: Maine Small Business Views on Credit and Lending

By admin on May 31, 2011

This report shares the findings of a survey of Maine small businesses, focusing on their experiences with credit and their reactions to one current proposal to support small business and economic growth: the creation of a state bank. This report contributes to the discussion of such a proposal by sharing the perspectives of Maine’s Main Street small businesses.

Click here to download the full report. Continue reading »

Montanans Stop Drastic State Budget Cuts

By admin on May 4, 2011

Last week, on April 28, the 62nd Montana Legislative Session came to a close. The session was a contentious one, featuring some of the worst budget cut proposals in state history. Faced with devastating cuts to health and human services, education, and public employee jobs and salaries, members of the Montana Organizing Project responded by rallying, telling their stories, making phone calls and writing letters to their legislators throughout the session. MOP and its partners tirelessly made the case that Montanans deserve better. And, when the session was over, $150 million in crucial funding — three-quarters of the budgets cuts — was restored. Continue reading »

Montanans Rally for Budget Courage, Not Cuts

By admin on April 27, 2011

On Friday, April 1st, 2011, 1,500 Montanans flooded the Capitol lawn to voice their objections to sweeping and hurtful cuts in the Montana state budget. “Courage, Not Cuts!,” was their rallying cry. The “No Fooling with Our Future Rally” was presented by Montana Organizing Project leaders and activists, who partnered with many groups within the Partnership for Montana’s Future.

Foreclosure Fairness Now Law in Washington State

By admin on April 18, 2011

Last week, the Washington state “Foreclosure Fairness Act” was signed into law, marking a major victory in a long, multi-year fight by advocates for low-income borrowers, including the Statewide Poverty Action Network and Washington Community Action Network (an Alliance affiliate.) Continue reading »

On Tax Day, Some Alarming Tax Stats

By admin on April 18, 2011

Did you know…

The federal government collected less in taxes in 2010 than it has in over three generations, and tax rates are at historic lows
The Bush tax legacy means we currently tax wealth less than work: middle-income paychecks are taxed at 25% compared to stock dividends and capital gains for the wealthiest, which are taxed at a top rate of only 15%.

These statistics come from Demos’ Taxes Matter Top Ten Stats. During the week leading up to Tax Day, Demos, a public policy and advocacy organization, has been publishing articles and infographics on how we think about taxes. Read more at Our Fiscal Security.

Washington CAN! Leads Takeover of State Capitol to Protest Budget Cuts

By admin on April 15, 2011

At 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6, Lieutenant Mark Arras of the Washington State Patrol addressed a crowd of 100 people who had filled the Capitol Building rotunda with sleeping bags and pillows. They had taken up camp in the Capitol to protest state budget cuts slashing social services like health care and education. “We are asking you to leave,” Arras said. “If you are waiting for us to arrest you, we are not going to do that. We respect your right to be here. Please work with us, and we will work with you.”

Arras was greeted with cheers, thanks, and applause, which quickly gave way to a chant that had been heard many times that day, “Whose house? Our house!” Continue reading »

Unfair to Immigrants, Costly to Taxpayers

By admin on April 11, 2011

This op-ed, originally published in the New York Times, is co-authored by Andrew Friedman, co-executive director of Make the Road New York, an Alliance affiliate.

Every year thousands of immigrants being held on Rikers Island are transferred to federal custody and deported. Only about half of them have a criminal record, many of them are here legally, most of them have their due process rights violated and all of them are subjected to substandard conditions before being returned to their countries of origin. Continue reading »

Big Banks Must Step Up to Address the Revenue Crisis

By admin on March 18, 2011

The big banks live in a parallel universe.

In their universe, the financial meltdown was beyond their power to stop. The recession that left more than 1/10^th of the American workforce unemployed is a shame they had little to do with. The massive government bailout of the financial system was an opportunity to make a tidy profit so that you could give your executive hefty bonuses. And the budget deficit that was catapulted to its current highs because of the recession proves that the government has gotten too big. Continue reading »

America’s Food Sweatshops

By admin on March 18, 2011

This article is written by Yvonne Yen Liu and reprinted with permission from Colorlines.com. Liu presented the findings of her report, “The Color of Food,” at the Alliance’s IPP Symposium, “Health Equity — Beyond Health Care Reform” on March 11, 2011. You can download the full report here. Continue reading »

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