 I’ve seen a lot of change in the world since I spoke out in 1991 about the sexual harassment I experienced when I worked for Clarence Thomas.Over the years, I’ve continued working as an educator, lawyer, and advocate. I’ve seen progress for women and families moveforward, backward, and forward again. I know we’ve accomplished much, but we still have much to do.That’s why I serve on the board of the National Women’s Law Center. Because we have a long way to go in the struggle for equality — and NWLC will be the one to take us there.
Just this year, NWLC helped win a Presidential Executive Order to strengthen equal pay protections and stop federal contractors from firing women who ask about fair pay. The Center wrote a groundbreaking report that calls attention to a key roadblock to enforcing sexual harassment laws — and so much more. We’ve got a lot of work to do to ensure fair treatment for women in 2015 and beyond. We have to defend the gains we’ve made and push not only Congress but also regulatory agencies, state legislatures, and the courts to dismantle the barriers women face. And the National Women’s Law Center is exactly who I trust to get the job done. It’s up to all of us to speak out as the struggle for equality continues into the next generation, in 2015 and beyond. Thank you so much for your support. Sincerely, P.S. I’m grateful to NWLC for leading the way in the fight for equality. I know you are too. Make your year-end donation and it will be doubled by a matching gift. |
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Tag Archives: senate spot
Do it for the kids
I heard you.
Recently, I asked you to tell me your top priority for the session. Thousands of Washingtonians told me, “Fund the schools.”
I listened, and last night, I announced my top priority for the next legislative session — and a real plan for action.
The $2.2 billion proposal I outlined last night lays out plans to improve education at all levels, including a $1.3 billion investment in basic education — the largest our state has seen in two decades — that would reduce class sizes in early grades, implement full-day kindergarten, and cover special education and school costs. And the $130 million investment in early education I’ve proposed would be our largest ever.
But with a plan this ambitious, you can bet there will be naysayers — opponents who will claim that it costs too much, that it can’t be done, or that it’s just not a priority for Washington voters.
I need you to help me prove them wrong, and show we have the momentum to pass this plan.
Our state is long overdue for a plan that takes education seriously.
Almost three years ago, the Washington Supreme Court unanimously declared that our state had failed to fulfill its constitutional duty to amply provide for education — and that it needed to take immediate action.
Since taking office, I’ve already delivered $1 billion in additional funds to fill in the gap, fighting tooth and nail for every dime. But some leaders still want to kick the can down the road, even after the court held the legislature in contempt earlier this year.
But today’s students shouldn’t be robbed of a high-quality education with only vague promises for action in the future. They deserve immediate action.
If we succeed in passing my plan, we’ll invest in the full continuum of education from early learning to higher education, with greater access and affordability, higher graduation rates, and increased investments in quality educators and administrators.
And with a $26.4 million investment in math and science education in colleges and universities and job training and education for adults without a diploma, we’ll create new jobs by showing employers that building their factories, laboratories, and offices in Washington will give them access to some of the best educated workers in the country.
But to make that happen, I need your help to show that Washington demands action now — not years down the road.
A comprehensive plan on this scale has been a long time coming, and our kids have waited long enough. Thanks for helping build the support I need to take action now.
Very truly yours,
Jay Inslee
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Rashad Robinson, ColorOfChange.org … What happened yesterday
To be real with you, I was hoping that I’d never have to send you this email.
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To be real with you, I was hoping that I’d never have to send you this email. With Republicans now in control of the Senate, we will see a change in Congress that signals deep challenges for our families and communities.
Over the coming weeks and months, analysts will have much to say about the role that Black voters played in this election. Already we know that across the country, Black voters defied expectations and turned out at rates higher than in 2010 despite continued attempts by the right wing to suppress our votes.
And, unfortunately, it still wasn’t enough.
It wasn’t enough for Kay Hagan (D-NC) who lost a must-win Senate seat to Thom Tillis (R-NC) by a razor thin margin — while our communities faced the most aggressive voter suppression laws passed in the country since the Voting Rights Act. It wasn’t enough in Georgia, either, as we watched Michelle Nunn (D-GA) concede while thousands of voter registration forms remained unprocessed. And it certainly wasn’t enough in Kentucky where Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) Democratic challenger wouldn’t even admit to voting for President Obama.
As a movement, we’ve got a lot to figure out; a lot more work to do to hold the people in power accountable.
I know this much: an America in which candidates are afraid or unwilling to speak directly to Black voters about the issues that matter to us is an unacceptable, insufferable status quo; an America where politicians ignore police violence and support a broken criminal justice system, prioritize corporate interests over community values and fight to make it harder for us to vote is intolerable.
If we learn one thing from yesterday’s election, it’s that — now more than ever — is a time to organize.
Will you help sustain this movement with a $3 monthly contribution?
Obscured by the larger national picture, yesterday had some meaningful victories which demonstrate the strength of our movement. Californians passed Proposition 47 which will force the state to change course from four-decades of misguided, incarceration-only policies which have destabilized Black families and drained resources from Black communities.
Massachusetts passed a bill providing for earned sick time that will relieve working folks of having to choose between their job and the health of their families. Additionally, voters in South Dakota, Nebraska, Arkansas and Alaska passing ballot measures to increase the minimum wage shows that there is a groundswell of popular support for issues of economic equality but candidates must exhibit political courage to move this agenda forward.
And despite the Republican takeover, the 114th Congress will have more Black members than at any time in history.
With announcements coming soon about the indictments of the officers responsible for murdering Mike Brown and Eric Garner our movement has never been more important. We can’t afford to stop fighting.
Thanks and peace,
Rashad
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GOP Senate Majority To Raise Retirement Age, Cut Medicare
The Republicans have made big promises to their ultra-wealthy financial backers: Should they take the Senate, they promise to cut ‘entitlements’ and pass the savings on with more tax cuts for the 1%.
This isn’t fear mongering. This is taking them at their word. Republicans have promised to raise Medicare age and cut Social Security benefits.
- Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, who would become chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, proposed legislation to raise the retirement age to 70 and supported President Bush’s plans to privatize the system.
- Representative Bill Cassidy, who hopes to replace Mary Landrieu as senator from Louisiana, has pledged to raise the retirement age to 70 and turn Medicare into a voucher program.
- Senators Ron Johnson and Ted Cruz both refer to Social Security as a “Giant Ponzi Scheme.” Cruz went further, going on the record with the Texas Tribune for privatization. As Texas solicitor general, he even sued the federal government to strike down Medicare’s prescription benefit.
- Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona said he’d prefer “savings in entitlement programs rather than defense spending.”
Campaign for America’s Future has defeated similar bad ideas before. We’ve done it when Democrats are in charge, and we’ve done it when Republicans held all three branches of government.
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In 2010, Representative Paul Ryan and House Republicans tried to use their new majority in the House to raise the retirement age and cut benefits. We fought back and prevented a “Grand Bargain.” Right-wing GOPers wore their folly around their necks in the 2012 election and it helped re-elect Barack Obama.
In 2015, the assault is likely to be a retirement age of 70 and yet another attempt to replace Medicare with vouchers.
We will not let them savage Americans who are vulnerable because of retirement or disability.
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Stand with Peggy
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 No one should ever have to choose between her job and the health of her pregnancy.Unfortunately, that’s exactly what many women find themselves facing. When employers refuse to accommodate pregnant workers with medical needs, women can end up without a paycheck at the moment they need it most.Stand with pregnant workers.When Peggy Young, a delivery driver for UPS, found out she was pregnant, her doctor recommended that she avoid lifting more than 20 pounds. But UPS refused her request for “light duty” — even though the company provided accommodations to people with disabilities or on-the-job injuries, and even though it gave breaks to delivery drivers who had lost their drivers’ licenses as a result of DUI convictions.Peggywas pushedonto unpaid leave forthe duration of her pregnancy, and lost her UPS-provided health benefits.
In a few weeks the Supreme Court will hear Peggy Young’s case, Young v. UPS, to decide whether UPS violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act by refusing to offer her the same accommodations it made available to non-pregnant workers with similar limitations. How the court rules in Young v. UPS will impact working women across the country. And because many families rely on mothers’ earnings, when pregnant women are forced off the job and lose their paychecks and health care, their families suffer as well. Send your message of support for Peggy Young and all pregnant workers today. We’ll collect your messages and present them to Peggy Young on the day of the Supreme Court hearing, Dec. 3. Thank you for all you do for women and their families. Sincerely, |
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Be a Seed for Change 
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