The American Legislative Exchange Council is using pay-to-play politics to push their pollution agenda on our elected officials and state legislatures.

ALEC meets behind closed doors with big oil companies like ExxonMobil and Koch Industries. Together, they work to repeal the environmental safeguards that keep our air clean and drinking water safe. Tell ALEC to stop putting polluters before people today!

http://StandUpToALEC.org

The ALEC agenda blocks the use of renewable and clean energy, supports controversial “fracking,” denies the science of climate change, and seeks to repeal pollution defenses. Not surprisingly, these bills would directly benefit many of ALEC’s corporate members.

Our government should be beholden to the people, not ALEC corporations like Koch Industries, Exxon Mobil, Shell Oil, BP, Chevron, and the American Petroleum Institute. Please join me in standing up for our planet and up to ALEC’s corporate-backed polluter agenda by visiting StandUpToALEC.org today!

http://StandUpToALEC.org

Thank you,

Marisol Garcia

p.s. Hyperlinks

By  CAP Action War Room

The Latest Good News On The Minimum Wage

A few weeks ago, we wrote about a number of states around the country that aren’t waiting for Congress to raise their minimum wages. This week brings yet more big news for those of us who believe that raising the minimum wage is a critical step in creating an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few. Here are a few of the top stories:

1. Gap, Inc. Will Raise Its Minimum Wage To $10. The retail clothing chain announced its decision yesterday, which is estimated to affect 65,000 U.S. employees. “To us, this is not a political issue,” GAP Chairman and CEO Glenn Murphy said. “Our decision to invest in frontline employees will directly support our business, and is one that we expect to deliver a return many times over.” Gap joins other chains like Costco, Whole Foods and In-N-Out Burger in embracing higher wages because employees work harder and stay longer after wages increase.

2. Nonpartisan Study Finds Raising Federal Minimum Wage To $10.10 Would Raise Earnings For 16.5 Million Workers. The report, from the Congressional Budget Office, also estimated that the increase would result in $31 billion in more earnings and would lift 1 million out of poverty.

3. Economists Dispute The CBO Estimate That Raising The Minimum Wage Would Cost 500,000 Jobs. The one piece of bad news in the CBO report was its estimate that 500,000 jobs would be lost as a result of a minimum wage increase to $10.10. However, numerous economists who study these impacts have disputed the methodology used. The New York Times Editorial Board, which supported raising the minimum wage in the wake of the CBO report, explains in plain language: “The budget office didn’t do its own research on those variables. It surveyed the economic literature on the subject, and chose a figure more conservative than the most recent and rigorous studies have found.”

4. Wal-Mart Announced It Would No Longer Oppose Certain Increases In The Minimum Wage. The largest private employer in the U.S. will not oppose minimum wage proposals as long as they have provisions to “manage the impact,” like a phase-in period, according to their Vice President of Corporate Communications, David Tovar. Tovar also indicated that the company is “looking” at throwing its support behind a proposal.

5. Iowa State Senate Committee Approves Minimum Wage Increase To $10.10 By 2016. A bill to raise the minimum wage in the state cleared this key procedural hurdle yesterday morning by a 7-4 party-line vote. “Nobody that works full time should live in poverty,” State Sen. Jack Hatch said. “This should not be a partisan issue, this is about working people struggling to provide the very basics for their families.”

6. State Lawmakers Will Try To Live Off Of The Minimum Wage For A Week. Five Minnesota lawmakers are raising awareness for the cause by taking the “Minimum Wage Challenge” and living off of a typical budget for a worker who makes the federal minimum wage of $7.25. The challenge allows $5 a day for food and $9 a day for transportation.

BOTTOM LINE: Momentum for raising the minimum wage continues to build. Gap, Inc. is leading the way in showing that higher wages will help, not hurt, businesses. The latest studies show that the benefits of increasing the minimum wage in additional earnings and decreased poverty rates far outnumber the potential costs. And lawmakers in the states continue to work to pass their own laws without waiting for federal action.

Contribute $5 to the fight to repeal “Shoot First” laws nationwide.

“I believed he was guilty.” —Juror No.4 (“Valerie”)

This past weekend a Florida jury failed to convict Michael Dunn for the murder of Jordan Davis. Now, juror No.4 has broken her silence and confirmed that it was the issue of self-defense that lead some jurors to detract from the overwhelming majority who wanted to convict Dunn of first-degree murder.¹ Florida’s so-called “Stand Your Ground” law was mentioned to the jury during their instructions when Dunn’s defense lawyer said his client had a right to “stand his ground and meet force with force, including deadly force.”²

Anywhere there is a so-called “Stand Your Ground” or “Shoot First” law we are poised to see miscarriages of justice like we have witnessed in Florida. These laws provide immunity for vigilantes who neglected their duty to retreat. And when you add deep-rooted racial prejudice like Dunn’s,³ they become even more dangerous as a threat to Black youth, who these shooters profile as “thugs” and criminals.

Can you pitch in $5 or more today to make sure ColorOfChange has the resources to fight and win repeal of “Shoot First” across the country?

Because of “Shoot First” we saw a jury fail to convict Dunn for the murder he actually committed just a day before what would’ve been the 19th birthday of his victim, Jordan. Had it not been for “Shoot First”-influenced instructions in Dunn’s trial, we might have seen justice completely carried out for all of the charges against Dunn and not a select few.⁴

Florida’s “Shoot First” law is the product of an obsessed right-wing gun industry lobby — those who have no actual concern about public safety or self defense. It’s because of their work to increase profits for this industry that “Shoot First” is becoming a refuge for shooters in states with susceptible political leadership across the country.⁵

We have to demand accountability from our elected officials around the dangers of “Shoot First”: we’re urging elected officials to repeal these dangerous laws that put everyone at risk. We will provide support to the officials that have the courage to fight for us and we will increase pressure on those that don’t.

Help stop the next Michael Dunn: please make a contribution of $5 or more today.

Thanks and Peace,

–Rashad, Matt, Arisha, Aimée, William, Johnny and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team    February 20th, 2014

References

1. “Florida ‘loud music’ trial juror: ‘I believed he was guilty’,” CNN, 02-19-14 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3300?t=6&akid=3307.1174326.HhLY-I

2. “How To Make Sense Of The Michael Dunn Verdict,'” ThinkProgress, 02-15-14 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3299?t=8&akid=3307.1174326.HhLY-I

3. “Michael Dunn Takes Stand, Racist Letters Take Center Stage Online,” The Root, 02-11-14 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3301?t=10&akid=3307.1174326.HhLY-I

4. “Fla. man faces 60 years for shooting at teens,” USA Today, 02-16-14 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3302?t=12&akid=3307.1174326.HhLY-I

5. “ALEC and the NRA: Profiting from gun violence,” ColorOfChange campaign, 01-04-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2834?t=14&akid=3307.1174326.HhLY-I