The JP Morgan Chase office in Columbus, Ohio is surrounded by a moat—literally. But that didn’t stop five hundred Americans, organized by the New Bottom Line coalition, from finding a way across and storming the castle on May 17. Homeowners, community leaders, union members, clergy members and more converged on Tuesday’s shareholder’s meeting. Many dressed as Robin Hood to send a message: stop hoarding resources and pay your fair share! Continue reading
On a typically rainy Seattle morning, Tuesday, May 2, commuters stuck in rush hour traffic were treated to a perfect view of a banner declaring peoples’ demands to big banks – PAY YOUR TAXES! The banner, hoisted up by 8-foot weather balloons and anchored by local students’ sailboat, reading “Wells Fargo-Pay Your Taxes” flew above Portage Bay to send a message to local Wells Fargo board member Judith Runstad as she departs for the company’s annual shareholders meeting in San Francisco on May 3.
Last Thursday, April 14, Washingtonians from all walks of life put on their walking shoes and set out on the People’s Walk for Our Future. The five-day, 50-mile walk included stops at places in communities that are facing devastating cuts because of Washington’s $5 billion revenue shortfall: schools, mental health clinics, and many more. Legislators are choosing to make these deep cuts over closing tax loopholes for big out-o- state banks and corporations, and walkers wanted to make clear that they would not take it lying down. Continue reading
Over 400 Montanans from across the state, all the way from Ashland to Missoula, converged on the State Capitol in Helena on Monday, February 21, for the first annual Citizens Day at the Capitol, hosted by Alliance for a Just Society affiliate the Montana Organizing Project.
Since the state legislative session began in January, Montana lawmakers have been slashing jobs and funding for public services even though the Governor’s budget clearly shows that there is no sound financial reason for doing so. Members from Native tribes, Indian People’s Action, unions, churches and community groups came together as one to demand that critical services stay completely funded, that the state tax system be restructured and made more equitable, and that federal health care reform be properly implemented, ensuring that all Montanans have a safe and secure future.
All day long, the halls of the capitol building bustled with working people from all four corners of the state who came to tell their stories of how cuts to health care, education, and public safety programs would adversely affect their families and communities. They presented legislators with Protecting Montana’s Future, a book filed with the stories of ordinary Montanans which amplifies the voices of small business owners, Native Americans, students, public servants, and senior citizens throughout the state and shows the need for a healthy public infrastructure.
Citizens Day culminated in a mass rally on the snowy capitol steps with members of the Montana Education Association and Montana Federation of Teachers. The crowd of over 400 declared their support for a new way forward in Montana, one that involves “reversing the cuts and restoring the future.” Moving testimony from firefighters, faith community, small business owners, progressive legislators, veterans groups, and teachers riled up the crowd, many of whom held signs proclaiming why they were there and expressing solidarity with the workers and protesting at the capitol in Wisconsin.
The Capitol truly belonged to the citizens of Montana on Monday, and they all walked away with the pledge to keep coming back until their legislators get the message.
Recent reports show the bankers in charge of approving the foreclosure paperwork weren’t even reading what they were signing. Wall Street has bought and sold our mortgages so many times, they’ve lost track of who owns what. And now they’re getting caught red-handed. In one state, two banks tried to foreclose on the same home. In another state, Bank of America tried to take a house away from a man who’d never even had a mortgage. Continue reading
Today, Wednesday, July 28, 2010 Judge Susan Bolton ruled that Arizona’s controversial law SB1070 does indeed overstep the state’s boundary to enforce federal immigration law. The ruling will put an injunction on the most egregious provisions of the law, while other provisions remain intact. The ruling is a major victory for the immigrant rights movement, and for civil rights in America. Continue reading
On Thursday, after weeks of increased pressure from immigrant rights advocates President Obama addressed a crowd at American University on the need to fix our broken immigration system. The speech outlined his commitment to a comprehensive immigration reform that provides a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrant families currently in the U.S. Continue reading
Just weeks after conservative Scott Brown was elected to replace Senator Ted Kennedy in a Massachusetts special election, and the Supreme Court squashed restrictions on corporate campaign contributions, the health care bill appeared dead. Pundits across the country warned of the end of the progressive agenda. Meanwhile in Oregon, hundreds of volunteers poured into union halls to collect the canvass materials to educate voters on tax fairness and the need to preserve social services. The result? Oregonians stood up to say that they valued social services and didn’t mind asking those who have weathered the storm of the recession to finally pay their fair share to keep them around. Continue reading
In 2007 millions of people took to the streets to demand comprehensive immigration reform. Despite these strong numbers, we were unsuccessful in getting legislation passed that year. But we did learn one key lesson from this fight: in order to win immigration reform, we need to reach out to non-immigrant communities and educate them about how the system is broken—and what they can do to become allies in this important fight. Montana is a state with a small immigrant population in a sparsely populated space, making it easy for its lawmakers to feel that they don’t need to take a stance on the issue. As a result, residents and citizens fall victim to the barrage of hateful language and misinformation that is so prevalent in the immigration debate. Continue reading
