Tag Archives: New Jersey

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a message from Senator Al Franken


 

 Tuesday night, we saw progressives stand up and fight.

 In Ohio, voters resoundingly defeated a terrible law that stole collective bargaining rights away from nurses, teachers, cops, and firefighters. In Mississippi, they voted down an extreme anti-choice amendment. In Maine, they reversed a decision to end same-day voter registration. In Arizona, they recalled a state senator well-known for being a radical right-wing demagogue on immigration. In Kentucky, Iowa, and New Jersey, Democrats triumphed.

 And right here in Minnesota, I was proud to see Duluth add three terrific women to its City Council (meaning four of the nine Councilors will be women), and excited that a vast majority of school levy questions were approved.

 We didn’t win every battle, but those who fought to stop far-right laws and elect progressive candidates deserve our gratitude. And, of course, those who won Tuesday night deserve our congratulations.

 There’s going to be a lot of talk about what those results meant. But let’s not get big heads just yet. We have a lot of work to do. There are still a lot of workers whose basic rights are under attack, a lot of states where reproductive rights are in jeopardy, a lot of voters who may be disenfranchised by new Republican-backed laws, and a lot of work to do before 2012.

 I hope that, if you were part of one of these fights, you took yesterday to celebrate and rest up. But today, it’s back to work. We have big fights ahead. And I’m proud to have you on my side.

 Thanks,

 Al

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The Middle Class in Action … Ohio, New Jersey and Kentucky


Now that’s what an election night is supposed to feel like!

I just spent the last four days crisscrossing Ohio and let me tell you, the energy is higher than I’ve seen it since 2008. We fought back against the Republican War on Working Families, the War on Voting, and the War on Women — and we won! To top it off, twelve fantastic DFA-endorsed candidates won critical races in places like New Jersey and Kentucky. We proved once again that when progressives stand up and fight, we win.

Click here to view all of our victories from last night — and keep the momentum going as we head into 2012.  http://act.democracyforamerica.com/go/1292?akid=1475.1480546.SWDcz0&t=1

Thanks to your hard work, and the work of DFA members across the country, we have a lot to celebrate today.

Thanks for all that you do.

– Jim

Jim Dean, Chair
Democracy for America

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No child should be afraid to go to school …Joe Solmonese, Human Rights Campaign


It’s more evident than ever: discrimination and hate aren’t reserved for far right politicians and pastors.

Last month at The Master’s School outside Hartford, CT, a model student told school administrators she was a lesbian – and was immediately told to withdraw.

And just last week in New Jersey, a special education teacher publicly tore into gays and lesbians in a hideous tirade on Facebook, calling homosexuality “a perverted spirit.”

It’s all happened in the last few weeks around National Coming Out Day, a time to encourage openness – not intimidation, discrimination, or hatred.

If incidents like these make you want to stand up and say “No more!” you’re not alone. Since we launched our new Call it Out campaign, HRC supporters have written hundreds of thousands of letters holding people accountable for discrimination. To ramp up our efforts – from the airwaves to red state communities to the halls of Congress – we need 500 new members to donate in the next 5 days.

Join HRC now and fight back against the hatred polluting our classrooms and our communities. Help us reach the ambitious goal of 500 new members in just 5 days.

WWW.HRC.ORG

, we’ve made remarkable progress together in the last few years. From repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” to boosting awareness of bullying, to winning marriage equality in New York – our movement has only grown in its victories.

But opposition to LGBT rights continues, and it isn’t relegated to the far-right fringe. You and I are up against mainstream, powerful organizations like the Catholic Church, whose top U.S. bishop just sent a letter to President Obama threatening a “national conflict between church and state of enormous proportions” if he continues to stand up against the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act.

I won’t stand for these damaging attacks, and I know you won’t either – certainly not when lives and livelihoods are at stake. I’m counting on you to help us:

WWW.HRC.ORG
* Demand school policies that protect students, just as we did this week when HRC supporters like you sent 49,619 letters to The Master’s School asking that they adopt a non-discrimination policy;
* Continue to push New Jersey school officials to investigate teacher Viki Knox for her anti-LGBT Facebook rant;
* Mobilize red-state communities to fight for equality and help stop bullying through our “On the Road to Equality” national bus tour; and,
* Grow our Welcoming Schools program, which helps school communities embrace family diversity and reject harmful bullying and name-calling.

We need 500 new members to help us create a better world where fear and hate are no longer the dominant discourse – and we need you in the next 5 days. Join us now.

 WWW.HRC.ORG

Your gift today sends a powerful message. This is very much a battle worth fighting, and I’m so grateful to count you among our supporters.

Thank you for being part of this movement,

Joe Solmonese
President

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Never stop fighting for justice and WE WILL WIN …Ana Zamora, Death Penalty Focus


I write today with a heavy heart. Troy Davis was executed yesterday at 11:08 pm EST, by the state of Georgia. Last night, I was full of sorrow and grief for Mr. Davis, his family, the family of Officer Mark MacPhail, and our failed justice system.  This morning, I awake with a renewed sense of urgency and ready to channel this grief into action.

It has become utterly clear to me:  We must fight with everything we have, to end the death penalty.  The only way to ensure an innocent person is not executed is by erasing the death penalty as an option.  Mr. Davis, in his last day with us, understood this reality best:        WWW.deathpenalty.org

“There are so many more Troy Davis’. This fight to end the death penalty is not won or lost through me but through our strength to move forward and save every innocent person in captivity around the globe. We need to dismantle this unjust system city by city, state by state and country by country…Never Stop Fighting for Justice and We will Win!”

Today, while I grieve the loss of Mr. Davis, I also make the following promise: I, Ana Zamora, promise to fight to end the death penalty one state at a time.

In memory of Troy Davis and in the spirit of justice, will you join me? CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE PLEDGE.   WWW.deathpenalty.org

This will, by no means, be an easy task and we will need the support of many. We have already been successful in New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Illinois.  These successes, coupled with our powerful show of unity and strength for Mr. Davis, makes me confident that we will continue to succeed in ending the death penalty.

Thank you,
Ana Zamora

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Working Families Defeat Two Walker Republicans …support Unions


Photo credit: Unity@Verizon   

The strike by some 45,000 Verizon workers, members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the Electrical Workers (IBEW), continued into its third day today as workers across the country offer support to the strikers, whose struggle reflects the situation for millions of workers.

Rather than reward the hard work of Verizon employees who have provided the quality service that earned the company more than $32.5 billion in revenue over the past three years, management continues to insist on cuts that total $1 billion. These workers have played by the rules—and now Verizon wants to break them.

Verizon’s concession demands would strip away the standard of living workers have gained through bargaining over the past 50 years, workers say.

 

It is all too common for workers to face the prospect of losing benefits even though you have worked hard and valued your work, IBEW President Edwin Hill says:

This is a company with a $100 billion dividend. The top five company executives were paid more than a quarter of a billion dollars over the past four years. If a company like this is not willing to provide wages and benefits to enable its workers to be part of the mainstream middle class in America, then all who work for a living have reason to fear.

Click here to demand that Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam value employees’ work and share his corporation’s success with those who make it possible. Click here for a list of picket sites in the New York and New Jersey area.

You also can click here to sign and tweet an act.ly petition demanding Verizon drop its outrageous concessionary demands.

To tweet about the strike, use the hashtag #verizonstrike and feel free to direct to @VZLaborfacts.

The company also paid nothing (that’s ZERO) in corporate income taxes. In fact, it actually received nearly $1 billion in tax benefits from the federal government during that time, according to the Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ).

In fact, if Verizon had paid its corporate income tax at the official rate of 35 percent, it would have owed more than $11 billion, according to CTJ. This alone would have been enough to avoid the recent cuts in the debt deal to student loan programs.

Read updates on the strike at www.cwa-union.org/verizon.