Main Street Alliance members Edgar Andrade of Bushwick, Brooklyn and Jim Houser of Portland, Oregon were joined on a press call Wednesday by Mayor Paul Bridges of Uvalda, GA to address the drastic ramifications of state-based, enforcement-only immigration laws. These laws are being enacted in states across the country, starting in Arizona and spreading to the South.Continue reading “E-verify Hurts Local Economies”
Immigration and Modern Day Slavery in the Deep South
Back in 2005, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in Florida made headway in their campaign against modern day slavery. In the months leading to their victory, CIW went on tours throughout the country. They made at stop in Boise State University, where I was attending college at the time. One of their speakers told the story of how immigrants, after crossing the U.S. – Mexico border, would be picked up by a contractor with the promise of shelter, food, and a job in Florida. “What a great deal, you might think,” the speaker said. In the hopes of finding a job that would help sustain their families back home, the workers would accept the offer. However, “this is when their nightmare was about to commence,” the speaker said.Continue reading “Immigration and Modern Day Slavery in the Deep South”
Meet Today’s Help
When the movie The Help opens this week, hundreds of thousands of viewers will get swept up in the story of domestic workers who are struggling for dignity and respect in Civil Rights-era Mississippi. What those viewers might be surprised to learn is that across America, modern domestic workers are living out that struggle today.Continue reading “Meet Today’s Help”
Debt Deal Puts a Bull’s Eye on Medicaid
As I write, the U.S. Senate has just passed the debt deal that was negotiated with the President over the weekend. It got 269 votes in the House yesterday and 74 votes in the Senate today. It was opposed by both the most progressive and most conservative members.
The immediate effect is a cap on spending that will produce a savings of $1 trillion over the next ten years. There are no new revenues in the deal. There is to be a vote on a balanced budget amendment by the end of the year.Continue reading “Debt Deal Puts a Bull’s Eye on Medicaid”
Medicaid Makes a Difference Report
Congress is locked in a budget battle that’s grabbed round-the-clock media attention. Lost in the coverage are the real stakes in the debate, including the lives of the more than 50 million people covered by Medicaid, which is now in the budget-cutting cross-hairs. More than half of these 50 million are people of color. Racial disparities in health coverage have already reached alarming proportions. Cuts to Medicaid would make these disparities even worse, taking a toll on the real lives of real people. The experiences and perspectives of some of these real people are captured in Medicaid Makes a Difference: Protecting Medicaid, Advancing Racial Equity, from the Alliance for a Just Society and 14 members of its Health Rights Organizing Project, a network of grassroots organizations across the country committed to the fight for health equity. Continue reading “Medicaid Makes a Difference Report”
Washington Community Action Network’s Sunny Summer Conference
On July 23, 250 Washingtonians spent a rare sunny Seattle Saturday in a leadership conference!
WashingtonCAN’s annual Summer Leadership Conference was attended by about 250 committed community members. Turnout included people from WashingtonCAN, Working Washington and other progressive organizations and labor unions across Washington. Folks from Vancouver to Tacoma to Spokane participated.
Workshop topics ranged from Holding Banks Accountable and Knowing Your Rights with Police and ICE, to Direct Actions, Building a Movement for Jobs, and Fighting Structural Racism.
Continue reading “Washington Community Action Network’s Sunny Summer Conference”
Hispanics are the Hardest Hit of the Economic Recession
A recent study released by the Pew Research Center brought to light the fact that Hispanics have been the hardest hit during this economic recession. According to this study, the decline in the housing market in 2006 and the economic recession from 2007 to 2009 were enormously felt in communities of color. For instance, the Asian median household fell 54 percent, the African American community saw a drop of wealth of 54 percent, and Hispanics experienced a drop of 66 percent – this in comparison with their white counterparts who experienced a loss of 16 percent.Continue reading “Hispanics are the Hardest Hit of the Economic Recession”
Let’s Not Get Fracked!
If you listen regularly to public radio’s “This American Life” (TAL), you probably weren’t surprised by their recent, in-depth examination of fracking in Pennsylvania, where natural gas companies are now ripping through the Marcellus Shale. The radio program has made a real niche in dissecting the way power works across our country, and fracking – a hazardous process of natural gas extraction – has given the TAL team a lot to sink its teeth into.Continue reading “Let’s Not Get Fracked!”
Insurance Companies Weaken Language Access Regulations while Getting Wealthier
A few weeks ago, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a regulation stipulating that insurance companies only have to provide language services to a person with Limited English Proficiency if 10% of people in their county speak their same language. This is a high bar – only 177 out of 3,143 counties in the United States have communities that would qualify under this guideline. Hundreds of thousands of people will be left out due to this unscrupulous regulation. For instance, Spanish speakers in Los Angeles County will be able to communicate with their insurance companies, but speakers of Asian and Pacific Island languages won’t because they don’t meet the 10% threshold, which amounts to having 355,581 people not receiving language services.Continue reading “Insurance Companies Weaken Language Access Regulations while Getting Wealthier”
Homeowners Present New Bottom Line to Attorneys General
Forty homeowners and clergy members traveled across the country on Tuesday to Chicago’s Drake Hotel to welcome and urge the nation’s states’ Attorneys General to stand firm for a strong settlement agreement with the big banks.
While the Attorneys General gathered for their NAAG summer meeting, members of the New Bottom Line brought along “welcome packets” that contained cookies with frosted handcuffs to symbolize that the big banks must be held accountable for their crimes, a tourist map of foreclosed homes in Chicago, and a flyer with homeowner’s demands. In addition, they held a press conference to release “No End in Sight” a new report by New Bottom Line organizational member, National People’s Action detailing foreclosures in Cook County, IL.Continue reading “Homeowners Present New Bottom Line to Attorneys General”