Tag Archives: United States

Washington State Legislators and Boeing need to DUMP ALEC –


 

a repost from 12/2012 ~~

 

Given the havoc we all know the American Legislative Exchange Council has created on so many levels effecting our past and present; we all know that we need to make sure companies DUMP ALEC for a better Future. If Coca-Cola, Kraft and Pepsi-Co among others can … so can our State Representatives and Senators.

John Nichols wrote in an April article …  Don’t Just Pressure ALEC’s Sponsors, Name and Shame ALEC Legislators    – a good read

Below is a list of some Washington Legislators with & without associations with ALEC …

Demand that they sever their ties to ALEC Now !

Washington State Representatives  …

— Representative Jan Angel, 26th District, Port Orchard, Republican

Committees: Education, Transportation, Rules and Local Government.

Representative Matt Shea, 4th District, Spokane Valley, Republican   – Front office states they absolutely support ALEC

Committees: Labor & Workforce Development, Judiciary,Transportation and Leadership

Representative Charles R. Ross, 14th District, parts of Yakima County, Republican

Committees: Public Safety and Elections Task Force Member

Representative Barbara Bailey , 10th District, Island County and portions of Skagit and Snohomish counties, including the cities of La Conner, Oak Harbor, and Stanwood, Republican

Committees: Health and Human Services Task Force Member

Representative Joe Schmick, 9th District, Colfax, Republican – Front office states that Rep.Schmick feels the info RE:ALEC is not accurate

Committees: Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force Member

Representative Kevin Parker, 6th District, Spokane, Republican

Education Task Force Member

Representative Mike Armstrong, 12th District, Chelan and Wenatchee, Republican

Committees: Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force and Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force Member

Representative Bill Hinkle, 13th District, Cle Elum, Republican   — Retiring

Committees: Health Care and Wellness, Agriculture & Natural Resources, Ways and Means

Washington State Senators …  

Washington State Constituents appreciate and respect legislators who have made the choice to DUMP ALEC

a message from Ed Markey …


The Republicans are getting serious about this fall’s campaign. My opponent has joined forces with GOP candidates up and down the ticket, and they’ve opened a command center on the outskirts of Boston.

 

Back in 2008, our country suffered the worst economic recession since the Great Depression. It happened because deregulation allowed Wall Street to turn into a big casino. Huge financial firms made bad bets — and they lost — damaging the economic welfare of the American people.

The Dodd-Frank Financial Reform bill, passed 4 years ago this month, went a long way to put the reins back on out-of-control Wall Street risk-taking.

But today, Dodd-Frank is in trouble.

House Republicans are trying to strip the teeth out of Dodd-Frank. If that happens, Wall Street could go right back to the practices that brought our nation to the brink of disaster.

We have one week until our pre-primary filing deadline, and we’re aiming to raise $25,000 by then. Republicans are getting organized and running hard, and we need to respond — make a $5 contribution and help us hit our goal.

The Tea Party has control in the House.

The Tea Party is able to push legislation through the House that puts Wall Street’s wishes before the needs of Main Street families.

We can’t let that happen to the Senate, too.

 

In July, MassLive: Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey join Democrats in pushing bill to address Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling granting religious exemptions to health care law

WASHINGTON — In the wake of the Supreme Court decision granting companies the right to cite religious beliefs in denying health insurance coverage for things like birth control, Democrats in the U.S. Senate are wasting no time fighting back. On Wednesday, the Protect Women’s Health from Corporate Interference Act introduced in the Senate was co-sponsored by dozens […] More »

Resource: Ed Markey’s site and fundraiser for Ed http://www.edmarkey.com

Orangutans and palm oil


WorldOrangutanDay_v1.pngRan

August 19, 2014, World Orangutan Day!

There are only 60,600 orangutans left in the wild, and unchecked palm oil expansion in Indonesia and Malaysia is driving these beautiful creatures to the brink of extinction. Join people all over the world who are taking a stand for endangered orangutans and ask PepsiCo to get Conflict Palm Oil out of our food.

If you’ve been following our summer campaign push on PepsiCo, you know that things are heating up! Our message that #LiveForNow shouldn’t mean destroying tomorrow is hitting PepsiCo in a big way via all your beautiful photos and tweets, but today is the day to go big. Here is how to make a difference for orangutans on World Orangutan Day:

  1. Sign up right now for Thursday’s Twitter training with our expert digital team. In one hour you will become a social media ninja and walk away with the skills and knowledge to strategically pressure corporations on Twitter.
  2. Download your own sign, get a photo of yourself (bonus: with friends) holding the sign in front of any Pepsi display, product, vending machine or logo and start tweeting at @PepsiCo with YOUR demands and the hashtag #LiveForNow. Not sure what to say? Here’s a tweet I posted as an example.

Join me on World Orangutan Day by taking a stand for our red furry friends! Help us push huge corporations, like PepsiCo, to change.

Thank you!

Ashley Schaeffer Yildiz
Rainforest Action Network

the FBI and Washington State


NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre testified in Congress last year that we shouldn’t expand the criminal background checks system to cover more gun sales because — he claims — background checks don’t work.[1]Well, we’ve obtained key FBI data that shows more than 40,000 reasons why LaPierre and the NRA are just plain wrong.Since 1998, the federal background check system has blocked 40,976 dangerous people from buying guns in Washington State — including more than 6,000 domestic abusers.

And that’s precisely why we want to expand background checks to cover all gun sales here, including sales between strangers who meet online or at gun shows.

Please help spread the word about this important information on Facebook or on Twitter. Sharing this stat with others will help explain why it’s so important we pass I-594, Washington State’s ballot initiative to expand the state’s background checks law.

40,976 gun sales to dangerous people have been blocked.

Facebook     Twitter

If you don’t use Facebook or Twitter, you can still spread the word by forwarding this email to friends and family.

Initiative 594 — on the ballot in Washington this fall — would close loopholes in Washington’s background check law so that a convicted felon or domestic abuser can’t buy a gun at a gun show or on the internet without passing the same quick and easy background check that law abiding citizens do every day at gun dealers throughout the state.

Passing I-594 into law won’t stop all gun violence — but it is the most effective way to make Washington a safer place for our families.

The first step is to make sure our friends, neighbors and family members have the facts about background checks — no matter how hard the NRA’s leadership tries to undermine them. Share the message now: It’s time to close the background check loophole in Washington State.

Share on Facebook     Share on Twitter

Thanks for being part of this important fight,

Meera Bhardwaj
Washington State Organizing Director
Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund

1. “Wayne LaPierre, NRA Leader, Opposes Expanded Background Checks,” Huffington Post, January 2013.

Fair Employment Protection Art


AAUW Action Network

The Supreme Court has gotten it wrong again, and it’s up to us to get Congress to fix their mistake. In fact, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has specifically asked us to!

In a 5-4 ruling last year, the court created an artificial distinction between types of workplace “supervisors.” This decision creates an extra hurdle for workers suing their employers for workplace harassment, unequal pay, and other forms of discrimination.

Here’s the problem: The court’s ruling doesn’t mesh with the realities of the modern workplace!
Millions of workers are overseen by other employees who don’t have the authority to hire or fire them, yet still shape their day-to-day work experience through actions such as making their schedule, giving them time off, or assigning them projects and tasks. This wrong-headed decision virtually gives a green light to sexual harassment as long as it doesn’t come from “the boss.”

Under the 2013 ruling, known as Vance v. Ball State University, this “overseeing” type of employee is now classified as a co-worker, meaning that any harassment from them is subject to a lesser standard – despite the obvious fact that they have power over other workers. This problematic decision is of particular concern to women – a national poll found that 25 percent of women have experienced workplace sexual harassment, as have one in 10 men.

Tell Congress: We need laws that reflect what it’s like to work in the real world. We need the Fair Employment Protection Act, which would restore longstanding workplace protections the Vance ruling took away. We must return to a reasonable definition that reflects the modern workplace.

Think about your own experiences at work. You knew who set your schedule and gave you assignments, but did you know who could make the decision to fire you? Was it your direct boss? Was it the HR manager? Was it the company president that you met only once? Under the court’s standard, if your boss doesn’t have the power to fire you, he/she isn’t considered your “supervisor.” And that’s just silly.

The Fair Employment Protection Act was just introduced today, so it’s time to make your voice heard: Tell Congress to support the Fair Employment Protection Act to protect all workers from harassment.