This summer, fast food workers across the country demanded higher wages. This fall, a small city in South King County is in the national spotlight in the battle for a living wage. 1

SeaTac Proposition 1, the Good Jobs Initiative, deals with fair labor practices and the minimum wage. It will raise the minimum wage for more than 6,000 transportation and hospitality workers and give them common sense benefits, like paid sick leave.

Dozens of Democratic officeholders have endorsed SeaTac Proposition 1, including Rep. Adam Smith, King County Executive Dow Constantine, and Speaker Frank Chopp. 2

Providing a living wage shouldn’t be such a radical idea. The problem is… we haven’t kept our bargain with wage earners.

Earlier this year Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) shared this information during a Labor and Pensions hearing:

“If we started in 1960 and we said that as productivity goes up, that is as workers are producing more, then the minimum wage is going to go up the same. And if that were the case then the minimum wage today would be about $22 an hour.” – Senator Elizabeth Warren

Large corporations located in the SeaTac area are fighting tooth and nail to defeat Proposition 1. If Democratic voters in the area turn out, we will succeed in requiring corporations to pay a fair, equitable living wage.

Less than a week to go. Chip in $5, $10, $25, or whatever you can afford and join us as we fight for Washington’s workers.

Many thanks,

Dwight Pelz Washington State Democrats Chair

1 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/14/us/in-washington-state-home-of-highest-minimum-wage-a-city-aims-higher.html?_r=0 2 http://yesforseatac.com/twenty-leading-democrats-endorse-seatac-proposition-1/

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Texas and Virginia

10/31/2013 Nativegrl77



	Dear Friend, Two weeks before Election Day, Texas implemented a voter ID law so radical a district judge was barred from voting early because she had her maiden name on her driver’s license. If a well-connected judge has trouble voting, can you imagine how hard it will be for the low-income women, minorities and seniors the law was designed to reject? We have to act NOWto stop these abuses. The threat is not limited to Texas. In Virginia, Republicans just purged 38,000 voters to boost Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s chances to claim the governor’s mansion. This is not democracy we believe in. ThinkProgress has been a leader in exposing voter suppression, but we need your support now. We need $15,000 by midnight Saturday so we can get into Virginia and Texas to expose voter suppression tactics. Your help can make it possible. We have 3 days. The story of election night can’t be voter theft. Donate $5 or more to help us ramp up our efforts to expose attacks on voting rights. We’re the last line of defense standing against these shady dealings. The Right’s hardly even hiding their strategy anymore – just the other day, a North Carolina Republican resigned after saying voter ID laws were made to suppress “lazy blacks.” But wherever they have power and know they are losing the battle of ideas, they are using all means necessary—unafraid of the consequences. We need to make them feel the consequences, by making sure the public knows what’s happening and why. As aggressive as attacks on voters have been, we need to be even more aggressive in protecting everyone’s right to vote. Can we count on you to help us raise $15,000 right away? In 6 days, all eyes will be on Virginia. Help us make sure the election’s decided fairly. Donate as much as you can before midnight Saturday to help stop the right from stealing elections and silencing anyone who doesn’t agree with them. The battle over voting rights has a long history that has been written by those willing to stand up over and over again. Thanks for all you do, John Podesta Chair, Center for American Progress Action Fund

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

BREAKING: RAN Crashes Hershey’s Halloween Party

10/31/2013 Nativegrl77

When Americans think Halloween, we think chocolate and treats, often from Hershey. That all changed today In Hershey, PA, when Strawberry the orangutan and RAN exposed the link between Hershey’s halloween treats and the plight of the world’s last wild orangutans. Hershey won’t guarantee that its products are Conflict Palm Oil free, so we took action today to drive home the message that Americans don’t want to drive orangutans towards extinction for something as trivial as chocolate.
Take action now to tell Hershey you won’t accept Conflict Palm Oil in your snack foods.
Picture this: A black limousine pulls up outside Chocolate World next to HersheyPark, the doors open and a group of dancing orangutans emerge and attract the attention of the crowd. They begin to roll out a red carpet in preparation for the appearance of the one, the only Strawberry the orangutan. Strawberry recently shot to fame after a video of her plea for help went viral two weeks ago. The dancing orangutans told the fans and paparazzi that Hershey had been so touched by Strawberry’s story they had decided to adopt a responsible palm oil policy and plan that would remove Conflict Palm Oil from Hershey’s products. They told the crowd that Strawberry was invited by Hershey’s very own CEO to make a grand appearance at the biggest event of the year, Hershey’s annual Halloween extravaganza.

You can imagine people’s disappointment when Hershey security showed up and asked Strawberry to get back into her limo and leave HersheyPark.
Strawberry and friends forced Hershey to admit that this was a stunt pulled off by Rainforest Action Network and that Hershey still has not taken action to protect the world’s last orangutans. Unbeknownst to Hershey, this morning RAN also issued a fake press release from Hershey that announced a new commitment to adopt a global responsible palm oil policy and remove Conflict Palm Oil from Hershey’s products. The story was even picked up by the Patriot News, Hershey’s hometown newspaper. By forcing a public rebuttal of our statement and blocking Strawberry, Hershey is in the embarrassing position of publicly announcing that it has no plans to cut Conflict Palm Oil from their products.
This morning’s action was great but this day of action is not over yet—now it’s your turn to make sure that Hershey knows that there are thousands of people who care worldwide looking to it for leadership. Join us right now to tell Hershey to cut Conflict Palm Oil:
1. Post on Hershey’s Facebook wall: Hey Hershey, I’m standing with orangutans, and I can’t stand by brands that use Conflict Palm Oil. Demand responsible palm oil from your suppliers and eliminate Conflict Palm Oil from your products. The power is #InYourPalm.
2. Call Hershey at (717) 534-4200. Click here for a sample call script.
3. Send a photo petition to Hershey and the other Snack Food 20 companies demanding Conflict Palm Oil free snacks and candy.
4. Tweet at Hershey: Hey @HersheysKisses, I can’t stand by brands that use Conflict #PalmOil. The power is #InYourPalm.
As the biggest candy-consuming holiday of the year, this is the best time of year to tell the Snack Food 20 to cut Conflict Palm Oil from their snack foods, chocolates and candies.
Thanks for all you do.

		For the great red ape,
		Gemma Tillack Senior Agribusiness Campaigner @ProbWithPal

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Breast Cancer Awareness: Early Detection Saves Lives

10/30/2013 Nativegrl77

Breast cancer affects 1 in 8 women. Although it’s one of the deadliest cancers in the United States, breast cancer is often treatable when detected early.

Mammograms, which are low-dose x-rays of the breast, continue to be vital in the early detection of breast cancer. To learn more, read the publication Mammograms by FDA’s Office of Women’s Health. You can read it online, download it as a PDF, and order print copies for yourself and loved ones.

Visit WomensHealth.gov for additional information about breast cancer, including symptoms, risk factors, treatment, and more.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

the Other Washington : Whole Foods

10/30/2013 Nativegrl77

Tessa Bean via CREDO Action : My campaign on CREDO’s new site that allows activists to start their own petitions.

My petition, which is to Seattle City Council members Sally J. Clark, Sally Bagshaw, Tim Burgess, Richard Conlin, Jean Godden, Bruce A. Harrell, Nick Licata, Mike O’Brien, and Tom Rasmussen, asks the following:

The Whole Foods-anchored megaproject being proposed by developers is wrong for Seattle. Handing over public land to the project would mean good jobs at unionized grocers would be replaced by low-wage/low-benefits, non-union jobs at Whole Foods. I urge you to stand with Mayor McGinn, workers, and Seattle residents, and reject developers’ request to transfer the city-owned alley required for the ill-advised Whole Foods megaproject.

Developers are now pushing Seattle City Council members to approve a massive new megaproject that would snarl traffic, disrupt the local workforce, and require the transfer of public land to create private profits. And despite the presence of multiple grocery stores in the immediate area, including six with well-paid, unionized workers, developers want non-union Whole Foods to be the anchor.

Mayor Mike McGinn has already stood up to the developers, who have demanded the city vacate and transfer ownership of an alley needed to complete the project. Mayor McGinn sent a letter recently instructing the Seattle Department of Transportation to recommend rejecting the street-vacation request, based on city guidelines that require granting such requests to serve the public interest. As Mayor McGinn stated, in this particular project “family health benefits and employee wage scales offered by the proposed anchor tenant are significantly lower than other similar businesses.”

Whole Foods has defended its record, claiming its wages are excellent and its benefits package is more than fair. Yet, it refuses to share the actual wage scale it uses to determine the pay of its “team members.” Its catastrophic health-care policies are also more expensive and provide lesser benefits to workers compared to the health insurance provided to union workers at nearby grocers.

If concerns about threats to the local workforce weren’t enough, it’s also clear that, with dozens of delivery trucks servicing the new businesses, hundreds of apartment dwellers entering and exiting the 370 new apartments proposed, and hundreds more shoppers using the proposed 650 parking spaces, there will be very high potential for dangerous accidents and expensive infrastructure costs associated with the project.

Community development goals are important to communities like Seattle. When government officials sign onto these goals, they help ensure that economic development provides real public benefits and help voters understand where their elected officials stand. If enough of us speak out and demand that the members of the Seattle City Council follow the goals of Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan and reject the street-vacation request the Whole Foods megaproject requires, we can ensure the quality and values of our community remain intact for years to come.

Click here to learn more and add your name to my petition to the Seattle City Council, to demand they stop the ill-advised Whole Foods megaproject by denying the developers’ street-vacation request.

Thank you for your support.

Tessa Bean