Tag Archives: Arizona

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It’s a Historic Moment …


–Rashad, Arisha, Matt, Bhavik, and the ColorOfChange team

2014 has been transformative for the racial justice movement
Cease and Desist StampChip in to make 2015 even biggerContribute

 I was at the ColorOfChange annual staff retreat. On the first morning we held four and a half minutes of silence: one minute for every hour Michael Brown lay on the street after being killed by Officer Darren Wilson. It was a powerful reminder of why we fight, and also of the historic time we’re in.

There’s a sense of pain and anger, but also of possibility as Black folks and our allies have taken to the streets across the country asserting that “Black Lives Matters” and demanding an end to discriminatory, militarized policing.

The moment of silence was also a reminder of the important role that the ColorOfChange community plays in this movement for a just and inclusive America. At the staff retreat we took stock of our work over 2014, and while we’ve faced hardships, I was blown away by what we’ve accomplished together this year…

  1. We successfully pressured Saturday Night Live to hire not one, but three Black women. This included Sasheer Zamata, who became the first Black woman cast-member since 2007.
  2. We stopped the fight between DMX and George Zimmerman, who was continuing to victimize Trayvon Martin and capitalize on his death.
  3. We got racist Clippers-owner Donald Sterling kicked out of the NBA, forcing him to sell the team.
  4. We fought back against the telecom corporations attempting to buy the Internet and end Net Neutrality, which has been critical to our 21st-century fights for justice. We made sure our voices were heard in DC, and – in November – President Obama let us know he was listening.
  5. More than 1 million people saw our #IfTheySpeakForMe YouTube videos, encouraging folks to get out and vote during the 2014 mid-term elections.
  6. We divested nearly $60 million from the private prison industry, which is responsible for some of the most abusive and inhumane conditions in the country.
  7. We fought hard for important reforms to New York City’s Stop-and-Frisk program, including a city-wide ban on discriminatory policing and an independent monitor to oversee changes.
  8. We helped pass California’s Prop 47 ballot initiative, reclassifying nonserious, nonviolent crimes as misdemeanors instead of felonies, keeping countless Black folks out prison and giving many a chance to get out.
  9. And we brought the campaign for police accountability and systemic reforms to the White House, delivering nearly 1 million petition signatures. During this amplified moment we’re continuing to fight for justice for Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Ramarley Graham, John Crawford, and too many others.

Our work is far from done, which is why spent the second half of the retreat hatching plans for 2015. We discussed ways to improve our work so that we can more effectively win real-world change for Black folks. Ultimately, that’s what ColorOfChange is about.

But change takes a community. Our 2014 victories and achievements wouldn’t have happened without you signing petitions, advocating on social media, showing up on the streets, and chipping in your hard-earned money. And now we’re looking toward the year ahead.

Our ability to make ambitious plans for 2015 is constrained by what we’re able to fundraise this month. If we can raise $100,000 by December 31, we’ll have the resources we need to dream big this coming year. We’ve proven that we’re an effective force for change for Black folks and our allies. Click to contribute whatever you’re able to, today.

Thanks and peace,

–Rashad, Arisha, Matt, Bhavik, and the ColorOfChange team

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ACA 101


Affordable Care Act 101 Webinars

SBA and Small Business Majority will host a free Affordable Care Act 101 webinar so small business owners can learn the basics of the Affordable Care Act and how they can enroll in health insurance marketplaces.

Free Affordable Care Act 101 webinar covering healthcare reform and your small business hosted by SBA and Small Business Majority. Click to RSVP today

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Low Wages? Low Sales.

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The Middle Class Squeeze Is Worrying Big Retailers, Too

Earlier this month, CAP released a report highlighting how squeezed middle-class Americans have become. That report showed that while the cost of attaining middle class security has increased by over $10,000 since 2000, wages for most Americans have remained stagnant.

The cycle of economic stagnation—low wages, leading to weak demand, leading to slow growth, leading again to low wages—is not only hurting America’s hard-working citizens, but it is also hurting businesses where those workers might spend their money and in turn boost the entire US economy. Wall Street is finally starting to get it: Standard & Poor’s has issued a report saying that inequality is holding back economic growth and Morgan Stanley has warned investors that stronger wage growth is critical to our economic growth.

A new CAP report released today provides further evidence that this squeezed middle class weakens our entire economy, hurting both businesses and the consumers who support them. The report, ”Retailer Revelations,” looked at the financial reports of the top 100 retailers in America and statements of Wall Street’s top economists about the outlook for the country’s biggest retailers. The consensus: trickledown economics is not working.

It has taken more than five years for retail spending per person to reach its prerecession level in the United States and business have begun to realize the impact that is having on their bottom line. Using new information to show the impact middle-class stagnation has had on the economy, the report demonstrates that businesses’ support for economic policies that grow the middle class would directly benefit their own business.

Here are some key findings:

  • Eighty-eight percent of the top 100 US retailers consider weak consumer spending a risk to their stock price.
  • Sixty-eight percent cite falling or stagnant incomes as a risk to their stock price — roughly double the percent that cited them in 2006.
  • Fifty-seven percent cite rising costs of essentials like housing, healthcare and energy, as risks to their stock price, further showing the middle class squeeze.
  • Wall Street economists even argue that low wages drive low demand and high unemployment.
  • Retailers could see their bottom line increase by supporting a growth-oriented agenda with policies such as a minimum wage increase.

BOTTOM LINE: America’s biggest retailers have realized that when the middle class loses, everyone loses. It’s time conservative lawmakers and pundits realized it too. An economy that works for everyone is an economy that grows from the middle out.

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Walmart has bowed to pressure from A Better Balance


 
” WALMART: SUPERCENTER” by alphageek is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Dear Friend,
Breaking news! Walmart has bowed to pressure from A Better Balance and our allies to improve its policies for pregnant workers! This is a huge development for low-wage working women. As detailed in the Washington Post, “anytime the world’s biggest retailer changes how it treats its workforce–especially women, with whom the company has a fraught history–the rest of the industry tends to take notice.”  
The path to this victory began with an email to A Better Balance in 2012. We heard from Brittany,* a 28-weeks-pregnant Walmart worker who was sent home because she needed a modest accommodation on the job in order to stay healthy. Alarmed by this story, we sent a letter to Walmart’s general counsel, outlining the ways in which Walmart’s treatment of pregnant workers violated the law. After further investigation, ABB, joined by the National Women’s Law Center, and Mehri & Skalet, PLLC, filed a class action pregnancy discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against Walmart and its discriminatory policy.     
“Three months before my baby was born, Walmart forced me out the door,” said Kathy,* the Walmart sales associate at the center of the EEOC charge who was seven months pregnant when Walmart refused to accommodate her restrictions despite routinely accommodating workers with a wide array of non-pregnancy-related disbailities. “I was doing my job as a sales associate just as I had been for months, but suddenly I lost the paycheck that my family was counting on—simply because I was pregnant.”   
What happened to Kathy and Brittany is part of a larger national trend at Walmart, in which pregnant workers are treated like second-class citizens in violation of the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
After we filed our charge with the EEOC and after two Walmart workers proposed a shareholder resolution, with our assistance, demanding changes, Walmart announced its new Accommodation in Employment policy, which now explicitly states that temporary disabilities caused by pregnancy are eligible for the same reasonable accommodations as other disabilities. 
Although a major win, this policy change does not go far enough: Walmart can continue to evade its legal obligations and force pregnant workers off the job if they are not considered “disabled” under the policy.
“While we are enthusiastic about this policy change, there is still work to be done,” said Dina Bakst, Co-Founder & Co-President of A Better Balance. “Over and over again, Walmart has failed to accommodate pregnant workers. Many pregnant women without illnesses or complications are advised by their doctors to stay off tall ladders, drink water throughout the day, or take other steps to prevent health problems. Walmart must further update its policy to make clear that it will provide reasonable accommodations for all pregnant workers who need them, regardless of whether they are ‘disabled.’  The Pregnancy Discrimination Act mandates equal treatment, nothing less, and we will continue to fight until Walmart obeys the law in full. No woman should have to choose between her job and a healthy pregnancy.” 
We are thrilled that our efforts will assist hundreds of thousands of pregnant Walmart associates across the country, and we will continue pushing for broader reform. Click here to read the Washington Post’s story about our work on this case and please share this story with your friends.
Thank you for all that you do,
Sherry, Dina, Phoebe, Jared, Elizabeth, Risha, Liz, & Rachel
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Food Safety


48 Million: About 48 million people in the US (1 in 6 people) get sick from contaminated food each year. CDC Vital Signs.

Each year, roughly 1 in 6 people in the US gets sick from eating contaminated food. The 1,000 or more reported outbreaks that happen each year reveal familiar culprits—Salmonella and other common germs. We know that reducing contamination works.

Remember to practice food safety.