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There are many families this year who will not come together for Christmas due to Walgreen corporation keeping it’s doors open to make a profit at others expenses. I urge Walgreens to close the doors at every location this Christmas Day and let families be together. Those who work in 24 hour stores never close. This means that they work every Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas for years in a row. These are also “black out dates” which means if the individual calls out they are fired. I am petitioning to end this and to have Walgreens shut their doors, especially the 24 hours locations (which never, ever close) this Christmas Day. |
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Tag Archives: Events
What if everyone in America listened to this?
“I can’t breathe.”
Those were Eric Garner’s last words after being put in a chokehold by a Staten Island police officer. He shouted repeatedly from the ground, gasping for breath, as bystanders watched in horror.1
If you haven’t already, please listen to the devastating audio of Eric Garner’s final moments. His last words ring as a call to all of us—to pay attention and to act.
And then, please share this with five friends who might not be fully aware of the protests that have erupted across the country, led by young people of color crying out for justice.
Listen and share the audio of Eric Garner’s last words.
Garner’s death—and the subsequent refusal of the Staten Island grand jury to hold the police accountable—have ignited a massive outcry, as people are flooding the streets in dozens of cities with eloquent and peaceful protests.
Now we’re at a turning point. This wave of public revulsion and outrage can help change the culture and policies that have been enabling police violence in communities of color for far, far too long. But only if enough people really tune in and take action.
For those of us who are already in motion, thank you. For the rest of us, let’s make sure we really hear Eric Garner’s last words and the moral call to act that they represent. They’re hard to take—but that doesn’t mean we can turn away.
Please listen and share Eric Garner’s last words.
Thank you for all you do.
–Corinne, Justin R., Erica, Anna, and the rest of the team
P.S. Check out FergusonAction.com to find ongoing peaceful demonstrations in your area.
Source:
1. “Protesters Fill the Streets Across the Country Over Decision in Eric Garner Case,” New York Times, December 4, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=301950&id=105527-17809870-KHfgCWx&t=3
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Our roads and bridges are too important
In a state like Washington — a state connected to the world by the ocean, the interstate, and the air — our roads, bridges, ferries, airports, and rails make up a vital system that feeds our economy and prepares us for the future.
We can’t let investments in this infrastructure — infrastructure that creates jobs and keeps our families safe — be derailed by another political showdown.
When the next legislative session starts, I’m ready to work with our state’s leaders to create a plan that works for everyone — but I want to know you’re standing with me.
Our state’s transportation infrastructure is long overdue for repairs and upgrades. But when the last legislative session ended, so did our hopes for a comprehensive transportation plan to be passed in 2014.
We can’t let that happen again.
I’ve already invited state legislators to meet with me and help develop a plan that works for Washington. That plan must do several things: fund desperately needed repairs and replacement of structurally deficient roads and bridges, support a multiplicity of transit options — from cars and freight trains to buses and ferries, and create jobs for Washington workers.
I believe we can develop a plan that is sustainable and ensures safe, reliable ways to move people and products whether by car, bus, bike, rail, boat, or plane. And I want to work with our state’s leaders to make that plan a reality.
But to make that happen, I need to show that I have your support. I need to make it clear that Washington wants the passage of a forward-thinking, sustainable transportation plan to be one of our top priorities in the upcoming legislative session.
Thanks for your support.
Very truly yours,
Jay Inslee
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The Jobs Report In 5 Charts
A Remarkably Positive Jobs Report, With A Reminder That There’s More To Do
The November jobs report was released today, and it brought a lot of good news. The U.S. economy added 321,000 jobs in November, well exceeding analysts’ expectations of 230,000. The unemployment rate remained at 5.8 percent. But the report also offers a reminder of the struggles that many working Americans continue to feel in the sluggish recovery.
The monthly jobs report doesn’t provide a comprehensive view of how our economy is doing, but it does offer an important glimpse into some of the macro employment and wage trends that reflect whether the economy is growing, and who is sharing in that growth. Here are five charts that show what to be happy about, and why we need to continue to work so that everyone has a chance for economic opportunity and prosperity.
1. A first for the U.S. economy: 50 straight months of job growth
CREDIT: DPCC
There have now been 50 straight months of payroll job growth — which has never happened before in the U.S. economy. 2014 will have them most job growth of any year since 1999.
2. Job growth is coming from full-time employment, not part-time.
Not all jobs are created equal. The good news, over the last few years, is that employment growth is coming from full-time, not part-time work.
3. Involuntary part-time work is decreasing — but still high.
CREDIT: Vox
The number of people working part-time for economic reasons declined by 177,000 from October to November. But years into the economic recovery, the number remains persistently high.
4. Wage growth continues to be sluggish.
Average weekly earnings rose faster than they have in a year, by 2.4 percent. But this economic expansion has brought slower wage growth than previous ones have: comparing this recover to the past three, it is doing 5 percent worse.
5. The share of Americans in the labor force is still historically low.
The unemployment rate measures those who are out of work–but are still looking. The percentage of able-bodied adults of working age who are not looking for work remains high and clues us into some of the economic pessimism still being felt.
BOTTOM LINE: The November jobs report brought lots of good news that we hope can continue in the months to come. But this isn’t the time to declare victory: this is the foundation we need to jump start growth that benefits everyone, not just the wealthy few.
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Ferguson Decision in Context
The Disturbing Facts Surrounding The Case And Where We Go From Here
By now the world knows about the grand jury decision announced last night to not indict Officer Darren Wilson for the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old, on August 9. What you may not know, however, is the context surrounding the case: how remarkably rare it is for a grand jury not to indict, but how remarkably common it is for tragedies like this one to occur; a prosecutor asked to step down before presenting the case, and then slammed by experts afterward for how he handled it. These circumstances have amounted to a situation that has left many people, paradoxically, shocked yet unsurprised at how it unfolded, and searching for accountability and answers about how to prevent more tragedies like this in the future.
A decision by the grand jury not to indict is very rare. According to statistics from the Justice Department, grand juries declined to return and indictment in just 11 of 162,000 federal cases prosecuted by U.S. attorneys in 2010, the most recent year for which we have data. While Wilson’s case was heard in state court, not federal, legal experts agree that it is extremely rare for prosecutors at any level to fail to win an indictment.
The prosecutor’s tactics made a charge much less likely. According to legal experts, county prosecutor Robert McCollough approached the case in a way that could have made an indictment less likely. He decided to let the grand jury hear “every scrap of evidence,” as he put it. Typically, prosecutors present to the grand jury only the evidence necessary to establish probable cause – a grand jury does not determine guilt or innocence but only if a reasonable jury could find the defendant guilty. Watch this video to learn more.
The prosecutor faced widespread criticism leading up to the decision, and after it. As the case began, civil rights groups called for McCollough to step down, citing his previous support for police officers in another police misconduct case, and a family history that includes many family members on the police force including his father, who was killed by a black man with a gun. After the decision last night, many decried McCoullough’s choice to make the announcement late at night, his long-winded explanation pointing fingers at the media, and his defiant tone that reinforced prior frustration with how he handled the case.
In the wake of the decision, community activists are taking the long view. ThinkProgress reporter Carimah Townes reports from Ferguson: “The death of Michael Brown was just the straw that broke the camel’s back, adding to a longer list of grievances in the community, such as income inequality and the need for a $15 minimum wage. And activist groups, professional associations, and individuals in and around the city are already looking — and planning — beyond the verdict, in the hopes of seeking justice for individuals who die at the hands of police.”
Lives cut short by police violence happen all too often. A 22-year-old carrying a sword his mother said was a toy. A 12-year-old gunned down by police while carrying a toy gun at a playground. Another 22-year-old who had just picked up a BB gun stocked on the shelf of a WalMart. A young man walking down a darkened stairwell in an apartment complex after he and his girlfriend got tired of waiting for the elevator. These are just a few of the numerous examples of lives cut short by police since Michael Brown was killed in August.
BOTTOM LINE: The context surrounding the decision not to indict Darren Wilson in the shooting of Michael Brown only increases the immensely troubling and tragic nature of the incident. While we respect the work and the decision of the grand jury, days like yesterday are a clear reminder about how much work we still have left to do to ensure that treatment by the criminal justice system is not determined by one’s race, and that the opportunity to prosper is not based on one’s ZIP code.
Be a Seed for Change 
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