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Today is Not a Free Day Off
January 21st, 2013 by TaylorBy Reverend Scott Marks and Kennard Ray
Every January we take a Monday off to celebrate the advocacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for racial and economic equality. We all recognize Dr. King for his speech “I Have a Dream,” in which he laid out a vision for a fair and equal America. He described a democracy in which all people and their families had access to opportunity and dignity.
Dr. King’s dream has not been realized. Today, we live in a world tragically similar to the one he dedicated his life to improving. A recent study released by The Working Poor Families Project illustrated that the richest 20% of families in the United States own about half the wealth, and the poorest 20% own only 5%.
Inequality in Connecticut is particularly bad. Our state is one of the ten that saw its share of low-income working families jump by at least 5% since the last census. The number of families categorized as ‘working poor’ in the state is increasing at a particularly alarming rate, jumping more than 30 percent over the last few years. As bankers and CEOs continue to profit, average families fall farther and farther behind with stagnant wages and an economy shifting to part-time, low-wage work.
Dr. King fought for equality at the ballot box and the lunch counter, but he also fought for equality in the workplace and in our paychecks. Many forget that Doctor King’s last days were spent in Memphis, standing with and fighting for the rights of public sanitation workers who were on strike. He stood for higher wages, family-sustaining benefits, and workers’ rights to organize. In 2013, we’ve made tragically poor progress on these principals in the past few decades.
In his 1967 book Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Reverend King writes, “the curse of poverty has no justification in our age. It is socially as cruel and blind as the practice of cannibalism at the dawn of civilization… The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct and immediate abolition of poverty.” In Connecticut, we have the opportunity, and the imperative, to tackle poverty and build a society more like the one Dr. King envisioned. We must support legislation to raise the minimum wage, and pay workers fairly for their labor. We must pass a fair budget that does not punish those who can least afford it, or take away vital services from those who need them most. We must give workers the freedom to negotiate together for fair treatment and dignity.
But to celebrate the legacy of Dr. King while opposing policies that make our economy more just is an abuse of history. If you don’t support raising the minimum wage, taxing the rich to protect services for the poor, or empowering average workers then don’t take today off. We cannot applaud the work of a leader for justice such as Doctor King without continuing to demand these very real solutions to the injustice that he fought.
What CEOs don’t know
October 20th, 2011 by mattcainIt’s been a month since a group of bold and passionate demonstrators set up to Occupy Wall Street in New York City’s Zuccotti Park. Since then, the movement has spread to 105 cities across the country. A few blocks from where I live in Hartford, the encampment is growing at Turning Point Park.
People are raising their voices against corporate greed. One of the best examples is here in Connecticut. GE has made billions in profits – while somehow managing to avoid paying any federal income taxes. CEO Jeff Immelt, took home $21 million in 2010. And, even though the company is sitting on nearly $100 billion in cash reserves, GE has shed more than 19,000 U.S. jobs since 2008.
But that didn’t stop Immelt from being named to the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness early this year.
CEOs like Immelt don’t know what life is like for the other 99%. He needs to hear from you: If you or someone in your family is struggling, tell him about your lost jobs, your depressed wages, your struggles to keep your home and your healthcare.
Click here to share your story.
We’ll be delivering your stories right to Jeff Immelt.
CEOs like Immelt don’t understand what it’s like to live in these difficult times without a huge corporate income. While their paychecks have been getting bigger, ours have been getting smaller – if we’re lucky enough to still be getting one. They collect multi-million dollar bonuses while millions of us only collect unemployment. We need to make sure they understand what their corporate greed has done to our economy.
The message of Occupy Wall Street has struck a deep chord around the world and changed our idea of what we, the people, can accomplish by doing one simple thing: bearing witness on the very doorstep of those responsible for the global economic crisis.
The movement is catching hold with the public. Despite our growing strength, the Wall Street CEOs who crashed our economy still act like they can ignore us. So we’re raising our voices directly at the corporate bigwigs who caused this global crisis by delivering stories of how their greed has led to suffering for ordinary Americans.
Click here to explain to Jeff Immelt and other executives who just don’t get it how their boardroom decisions affect the other 99%:
http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/1306/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4913
Thanks for all you do,
Jon Green
Executive Director
www.connecticutworkingfamilies.org
PS – Thanks for sharing your story. On Saturday, we’ll deliver some of them to Jeff Immelt personally. We hope you can join us. You can RSVP here.
Standing up to Verizon
August 10th, 2011 by Joe DinkinVerizon is up to their ears in cash: $19 billion in profits in the last four years. But they’re demanding workers give back unprecedented concession, including healthcare cuts that will cost each employee thousands of dollars a year.
Why are they doing it? Because in a tough economy, they think they can get away with it. They’re kicking workers when they’re already down, because they don’t think that workers will have the courage to fight back. But I think it’s time to stand up to bullies.
45,000 Verizon workers are on strike. And we’re standing with them. Read the rest of this post.
Fighting back.
August 4th, 2011 by Jon GreenYesterday evening, President Obama signed the debt ceiling deal, marking an end to one of the most disheartening episodes we’ve seen yet from Washington.
A group of Tea Party extremists morphed a routine procedure to keep the nation’s lights on into a high stakes crisis. The result: trillions (that’s trillion with a t) in cuts to infrastructure and services, without asking multinational corporations or multimillionaires to pitch in even a single red cent.
And the “deal” was supported by majorities of Democrats and Republicans in Congress.
How did this happen? Columnist Peter Beinart at the Daily Beast gave one explanation[1]: “Since the economy collapsed in 2008, only one grassroots movement has emerged in response, and it’s been a movement of the right.”
I think it’s time we had a movement to go toe to toe with the Tea Party. That’s why I’m asking each of our supporters to help, and contribute $10 to Working Families today.
Make a $10 contribution to Working Families today.
If anything positive emerged from the wreckage of the debt ceiling debate it’s a renewed recognition that we need a movement too. Money and political power has not been so concentrated in the hands of few since the Gilded Age. We just can’t count on the politicians to solve our problems for us. We need to make them do the right thing.
That’s why Working Families was formed: to put the needs of ordinary families ahead of the wants of banks and billionaires once again. And today, that mission is more urgent than ever.
The Tea Party has heavy-duty corporate money to back it up, not to mention at least one cable news network dedicated to legitimizing its extreme views. We just have you. Hardly seems like a fair fight, to be honest, but we’re not backing down. I’m asking you to do the same. In fact, I’m asking you to step up.
Read the rest of this post.
A win you can be proud of
June 4th, 2011 by Jon GreenAfter a grueling debate, the House of Representatives gave final passage last night to the paid sick days bill. It could never have happened without the support of people like you.
The bill will allow hundreds of thousands of low wage service-sector workers to earn paid sick leave for the first time to care for their own health or their family’s health, without losing pay or risking their jobs.
As a supporter of the campaign, you should feel proud today, because together we made a real difference in people’s lives.
The debate drew late into the night and into the early morning, and the ranks of supporters and opponents alike at the Capitol thinned. But as Representative Zeke Zalaski entered the 11th hour (literally) of answering questions and defending the bill, we were still there outside the House chamber cheering him on.
Read the rest of this post.
It’s on
May 25th, 2011 by Jon GreenThe Senate has just begun debating the paid sick days bill. This is the biggest hurdle the bill faces. There are more business lobbyists here at the Capitol today than you can imagine.
With your help, we’ve come this far. Over the past months, thousands and thousands of Connecticut residents have sent letters and emails and made phone calls.
We’re at the Capitol now to support our allies in the Senate, and to show the groundswell of support for paid sick days. Can you join us here right now?
Stand up for Paid Sick Days — NOW
State Capitol Building
210 Capitol Ave, Hartford
We’ll be here until the Senate votes — it could be a while. If you’re able to join us, you can find us on the third flood of the Capitol Building, outside the Senate Chambers, or call Lindsay at (203) 278-2828. And if everything goes smoothly, you’ll be here to see something big happen.
If you can’t make it, you can still help: we need to keep the flood of messages from constituents coming in.
It’s not too late to send your Senator an email:
Tell your Senator to pass the paid sick days bill tonight.
CPHA: Paid sick days impacts our health
May 24th, 2011 by Joe DinkinBelow is a detailed letter from the chair of the Connecticut Public Health Association to the Connecticut General Assembly explaining why the lack of paid sick days is unhealthy for all of us — and for our healthcare system.
Economists for paid sick days
May 19th, 2011 by Joe DinkinBelow is a fascinating letter signed by 16 Connecticut economists in support of paid sick days. It’s worth a read.
Had enough?
April 30th, 2011 by Jon GreenProfits on Wall Street are back at record levels. Giant corporations like GE are getting away with paying no federal taxes at all. Meanwhile, most working families are still taking it on the nose. All the while, politicians clamor for austerity and some push to cut social security and eliminate Medicare as we know it.
Are you starting to feel like enough is enough?
Tomorrow is May Day — internationally, a day that working families stand up and make their voices heard. Please join us tomorrow (Sunday) in Bushnell Park:
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH Rally
Sunday, May 1, 2011 From 1 – 3 PM Rain or Shine
Bushnell Park Pavilion, Hartford, CT
The weather should be perfect. There’s no excuse to sit this one out.
See you tomorrow.
Join Rep. DeLauro to rally for paid sick days
April 23rd, 2011 by Joe DinkinEmployees at Friendly’s — like most food service workers in Connecticut — don’t get paid sick days.
That’s not very friendly, is it? Not for the employees who are forced to go to work sick, and not for the customers who might unknowingly order a grilled sneeze sandwich.
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro has been a national leader fighting for paid sick days legislation. She’s joining us for a rally outside Friendly’s Restaurant in West Haven this Wednesday.
Rally for Paid Sick Days
Wednesday, April 27th, 11AM
Friendly’s Restaurant
340 Saw Mill Road
West Haven, CT
(google maps)
If you can come, please reply to let me know, so we’ll know how big a crowd to expect.
If you can’t make it, you can still make a difference by telling your state legislators that you support paid sick days.
A big rally will remind our legislators in Hartford that this is an issue that matters to all of us. Paid sick days protect the public health, and help provide economic security for law wage workers. But when huge profitable corporations try to save a few pennies and endanger all of us, that’s just not right.
We’ve been holding rallies all around the state to highlight workers without paid sick days at stores like WalMart, McDonald’s and Starbucks. But this rally with Representative Rosa DeLauro on Wednesday at Friendly’s should be our biggest one yet. I hope you’ll join us.