#economic justice
2015 Application
http://www.onlinecpi.org/sej_application
Who will be the next class of organizers in San Diego? SEJ Fellows are the current and future leaders in the fight for social and economic justice.
Help spread the word to passionate college students interested in fighting for social and economic justice!
Overview
The Students for Economic Justice (SEJ) summer fellowship will be an intensive 6-week program that will give committed student activists organizing experience in a current campaign for economic justice. College students will receive organizing skills training and will be engaged in educational discussions on various topics. The goal of this program is to build the next generation of young leaders and community organizers who will effectively push forward social change and economic justice in San Diego. Students receive trainings from various community and labor leaders throughout San Diego and will finish the program with a better understanding of the social and political landscape of the region. These are some of the trainings and hands-on experience that will be provided during the summer internship program:
Organizing Skills
Doorknocking, Phonebanking, and Turnout 101
Understanding Power / Choosing Your Strategy
Coalition Building
Communications and Using the Media
Organizing and Taking Action to Win Change
Political Education
Accumulated Struggles: A History of Economic and Social Movements
Understanding San Diego’s Regional and Political Landscape
Current campaigns for economic & social justice in San Diego
Ideal candidates
First, second, and third year college students are encouraged to apply. If you are a graduating senior, we highly recommend for you to apply for the SEJ Assistant Coordinator part-time position.
Commitment
The SEJ fellowship is an intensive full-time program. It is not recommended that fellows hold other jobs or attend summer school at the same time. Exceptions may be negotiated. Fellows are also expected to stay involved after the program is over and to hold SEJ info sessions at their respective schools.
Dates of Program
Monday, June 29, 2015 - Friday, August 7, 2015 (six weeks). It will be up to 40 hours a week. Some evenings and weekends may be required but not mandatory.
COMPENSATION
This is a paid fellowship at a living wage ($14/hr). CPI makes the effort to ensure that interns are compensated fairly for their time and that financial challenges do not inhibit students from participating in the program.
Requirements
All applicants are required to fully complete this application form and also submit (1) a separate page with answers to two essay questions, (2) a resume, and (3) one letter of recommendation.
Applications Due Date
5:00 pm, Friday, February 27, 2015. Applications should be submitted via email to [email protected].
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions, contact Trinh Le: 619-584-5744 ext. 24 or [email protected].
The Center on Policy Initiatives is proud to be an affirmative action employer. People of color are strongly encouraged to apply.
Go to a trunk show or flea market in DC and you’ll meet some really good people. This might be true of everywhere but I’m from here so I claim that as a bias.
I had a table next to Mike and Monique of Hood Hippies at last year’s Georgia Avenue Winter Fest and they embraced me before we even introduced ourselves properly. You ever heard someone say, “I love everything you go going on over there” and mean it? That was the feeling.
What I found out after looking them up was that I love everything they’ve got going on too. They are a couple creating a lifestyle brand which curates powerful images and words to challenge and re-script the economic, environmental, racial and gender narratives around black marijuana consumption and cultivation culture. They have been holding space in the DC Cannabis community since before last year’s referendum on legalization and created Hood Hippies in 2008 as a means of celebrating cannabis as an avenue of self expression. Their typical experience shopping in cannabis stores was that there weren’t images of people of color in or on the cool clothing and accessories that were becoming popular signifiers of the legalization movement. They also noticed that people were tight-lipped when it came to talking about the medicinal benefits that they had experienced with cannabis and that they believed could benefit their community. Their answer? Make some noise and provide a platform for other like minded people and so Hood Hippies was born.
Mike and Monique’s observations could be written off as subjective unless we understand upon what foundation the modern legalization movement was founded – The Global War on Drugs – described by Wikipedia as:
“A campaign of prohibition of drugs,military aid, and military intervention, with the stated aim being to reduce the illegal drug trade. This initiative includes a set of drug policies that are intended to discourage the production, distribution, and consumption of psychoactive drugs that the participating governments and the UN have made illegal.” [Quote and links from Wikipedia]
Even as marijuana legalization advances, that war is ongoing and has consumed over a trillion dollars to feed far-reaching political, economic and militaristic interventions into vulnerable communities and sovereign states across the globe. In its wake, millions of people, disproportionately from communities of color and poor communities, have been killed, imprisoned, had property seized or were denied access to basic resources and freedoms because of these policies. The policies were created and enforced more harshly on black and brown communities from the start in the twilight of the civil rights era to today.
I grew up in Northeast DC in the late 1980s, at the height of the so called crack cocaine epidemic, and came to know early that being from a black community came with a stigma of being criminalized via a defacto association with drug use, poverty and violence. That association was more than a notion. It had real impacts on the lived experience of black and brown people across the globe. Before “harm reduction” and “drug use as a public health issue” became the lingua franca of modern campaign politics, there were “tough on crime” policies which criminalized all sorts of activities through association with drug use or with the black market economy created by drug prohibition. Parents were stolen from families. Family homes and property were seized and a lot of money was made off the backs of poor communities.
Fast forward to today and it seems to some that the strategy towards marijuana legalization is to leave those associations behind and take on new ones without making amends for the harm done. The question that looms is one we have asked before in the context of black farmers and marijuana cultivation.“Who will benefit, socially and financially from an end to the prohibition? Who will inherit the economic and cultural windfall from the green rush?”
Like what you’re reading? Want to book Good Sense Farm for a panel or conference? Want to reprint this piece for a larger audience? Email us at [email protected].
Enter Monique and Mike with a straightforward concept. Create t-shirts which speak to the black experience and aspirations in marijuana culture, tap into sacred practice of adornment to create a movement aimed at healing and affirmation on a psychic and cellular level. From where I sit, seems like they are doing spirit work, healing black relationships to a place of trauma, and challenging the power structures which hoard resources from black communities under a any disguise. Watch out ya’ll, they coming for the green in more ways than one.
Let’s hear what Monique and Mike have to say about it!
GSF: We are black farmers so we’re used to being told that we’re rare when we’re not. From the outside looking in, I see a few folks of color running cannabis-related businesses in DC and wonder what the community is like. How has your relationship changed to the work since DC legalization? What are roadblocks that need to be knocked down? What aspirations do you have for yourself going forward?
Monique: This is a great question! Thank you for being farmers. I am in love with nature and farming. People don’t understand the positive effect of plant life and our relationship to nature. I’m no scientist, but the energy of plants could make DC a much better city. Anyway, to answer your question, prior to legislation I was living in MD. Real estate in DC is pricey, you get more bang for your buck in MD. Professionally, I have been teaching in DC for 11 years–always at risk kids, always special education. Our babies need us and my calling is to be in education.
I will admit, I was not on the ground pushing for legislation in DC–I watched and worked my company and supported in other ways by pushing the culture through design and truth (spreading information). Once the law was passed, I immediately moved to the city and got busy. The cannabis community is multi-layered because there are all of us excited for the plant and the law and the opportunities.
The newness of the “green rush” has all of us smiling and celebrating. There are some good people working within the community. Good souls, ya know? But, as you settle into the groups you quickly notice different folks: growers who have been doing this and can now work as consultants to others; new growers with questions and who need direction; medicine makers who change flowers to teas and edibles and concentrates to share; folks who never forget our people (those in federal housing or living in rentals and are not allowed to grow or smoke due to crappy landlords and federal law); those who don’t grow and want to assume power positions so they come as organizers who attempt to bring folks together and charge fees (something like a union or group mentality); genuine folks who are sick and need access; artists and all sorts of creative beings who have launched businesses; and of course women who have formed alliances to push our businesses forward.
Overall, I have have a mixed experience in the DC community because some are in it for the economy building and power and money and some are in it for unifying and educating. As you work through, you find out who is who and you go from there. I never did cliques, I’ve always had close friends, but I enjoy being a loner in the sense that I don’t need anyone to approve what I do or to make a move with. The roadblocks are the same as in any other industry, the cannabis field is open for opportunity but you have to pay to play. You have to know people in places or you have to be willing to be grassroots and tap the power of the people. Hood Hippies always sides with the people. You will always find us in the streets with our products, designed with the people in mind. 90% of what we make or carry is hand made by us or another small business in the USA. As far as aspirations, I have many. Going forward in 2016, I will position my company both locally and nationally by attending events in DC and other major markets like Philly, Atlanta, Richmond and Baltimore. It’s no secret, I love a good challenge and intention is everything. Our designs this year will celebrate women and men who are true to themselves and are proud of their genius. I’m a rebel in that sense. Conforming is boring and draining, Hood Hippies represent the light of being and the healing power of cannabis!
GSF: The way you describe the Hood Hippies lifestyle/philosophy as “a new trend in thinking, being and living" is really interesting. Can you tell us what’s new? How do you embody this philosophy? Can you take it off and put it on like your really nice t-shirts? If so, what’s the thread count?
Monique: I love this! You have such a great vibe, Zach! Our philosophy “new trend in thinking, being and living” means just be yourself, be the best you that you can be–whoever that is. It’s new because we have been taught and trained and bombarded with all these social norms and “American ways” that we have no idea who we really are. Black folks in America have had our identities hidden, stripped, changed and manipulated so that we are left to either do the research and study so that we understand our greatness or we just put on the masks of what we are given. The path of self discovery is the design process; you encounter a “new you.” We create our reality, we design our lives.
At Hood Hippies, we provoke thought with what we produce. For example, our Good Vibes hoodies strikes people and makes them feel good. It reminds them to be happy and enjoy the fact that they are alive. The pot leaves offer a way to access that happiness and reduce the stress levels that we all encounter living in this place. I am not perfect, I make mistakes, but I am woman enough to make strides daily to improve. I get knocked down and I take that blow and get right back up. You cannot live in fear and that’s how I embody this philosophy. Life is short and each day matters; our designs push people to know their power.
Another example: this “Beauty is a Beast” tee for ladies is a black woman in all of her glory. I love men, we need men, but the awe-inspiring well of strength found in a woman is so so amazing! We bear so much and have played a vital role in making positive change in the world and that’s what life is about.
My husband is a “Pot Snob”–he values the garden and the medicine. He gets lost in the flavor and the aroma. He takes pride in the process with time and attention. BUT remember, Mary Jane is female; it’s the female that produces the goodness. LOL. Pot Snobs are connoisseurs–just like cheese, coffee or wine, we want the best bud. Those better buds come from care during the growing process. I’m sure you can relate to the love that goes into your farming.
Thank you so much for this opportunity–so glad we met! When you put on a Hood Hippies tee you express the real you, the good vibes, the fabulous, let’s do the damn thing part of you! The thread count is infinite! The only one in your way is you! Let’s get it.
And there you have it folks. If you didn’t peep it, Mike didn’t do much talking but we plan to catch up with him in a future episode about the underground connection between fungi and plants!
In the meantime, visit the Hood Hippies site here and on Facebook and follow @swankyladycouture on Instagram!
See you in the subterranium!
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“What happens when you pay two monkeys unequally? Watch what happens.”
Because inequality is unbearable.
Help us reach out to the US Congress in support of a law that limits a company’s highest-earner’s pay to a multiple of the lowest earner’s pay, with increased multiples for larger companies. Basically, this would be a law that says the rich shouldn’t be allowed to make an unreasonably larger amount of money than the poor at their same company.
Help Us Reduce Income Inequality. If you’re interested, contact us on social media or at [email protected]
Learn more about the petition: http://wageratio.tk/
Even if you don’t have the time to get involved, please reblog this to spread the word.
If you want to help us out, we can send you information that can help you write your letter to congress. If you would like to help in a different way, please let us know.
Help us reach out to the US Congress in support of a law that limits a company’s highest-earner’s pay to a multiple of the lowest earner’s pay, with increased multiples for larger companies. Basically, this would be a law that says the rich shouldn’t be allowed to make an unreasonably larger amount of money than the poor at their same company.
Help Us Reduce Income Inequality. If you’re interested, contact us on social media or at [email protected]
Learn more about the petition: http://wageratio.tk/
Even if you don’t have the time to get involved, please reblog this to spread the word.
Income inequality hurts young peoples’ educations. Help us reduce income inequality by signing our petition https://www.causes.com/campaigns/77701-tie-companys-workers-highest-earnings-to-lowest-salaries
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“Strong people don’t need strong leaders.” - MS. Ella Baker
“It is said that the Chinese word for “crisis” is a combination of two characters: one representing dangerthe other representing opportunity. The election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States certainly represents danger, especially to African Americans, Hispanics, members of the LGBTQ community, Muslims, Jews, women, and for everyone who is poor.
This is why he was rejected by a majority of the voters who cast ballots in this past presidential election. However, given the Electoral College system, he is president-elect now and it is important that we do not become paralyzed or overwhelmed and sink into despair. There is also great opportunity to organize and take advantage of America’s great diversity, making it a liberated and safer country for all of its people.
Fearwas at the heart of Donald Trump’s campaign. He successfully exploited the fear and anger that many white Americans feel over changes, both demographic and cultural, that seemed threatening to a way of life they expected to last forever. He used fear to fan hysteria that Mexicans, other Hispanics, Black people and nonwhite people in general are subverting American values and undermining the nation’s “greatness.” He coupled fear to his most blatant lie: that he was a man of the people willing and prepared to take on the moneyed interests that sent jobs overseas causing lost jobs and income here at home.
He also used the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and hyperbole about Islamic terrorism to create great fear of Muslims (and now as his administration comes in, discussion of internment camps for Muslims has begun.) Trump also used similar hyperbole about Black communities to create fear in white America about crime and their safety.
Donald Trump’s slogan, “Make America Great Again” especially sold hope to white male America that people of color would not be political or economic players of any significance; that women would return to the kitchen, gay people would remain in the closet, and that immigrants would come mostly from Europe. He breathed new life into the Ku Klux Klan.
So now what is to be done?
Thousands of people across the country have taken to the streets to display their anger and frustration at the temperament, the policies and the pronouncements of Donald Trump. While all of this is understandable and important, we must now turn our attention to the kind of organizing that will put forward policies and people at the local, state and national levels to make sure that America represents all of its people.
We can do this. Hillary Clinton received 7 million fewer votes than Barack Obama in the 2012 election. Aside from low turnout, Clinton’s poor campaigning and alienation were undoubtedly important parts of the reason for this loss. Now we see media falsely steering post-election analysis into discussion of how to reach the white working class male as if that is where her failure lay. So part of what is needed are efforts to turn the discussion toward the real issues of democracy that have largely been obscured and avoided. Topping this discussion is surely the issue of economic justice, an issue to which Secretary Clinton offered nothing new.
Our main point here, however, is that there is work to be done over the next two years-between now and the mid-term elections-that will shape the Congress, and local and state offices. Indeed, in the final analysis, when we talk about what impacts our lives day-to-day, it is the kind of decision-making at this level that most immediately affects us. Legislators at the state level, for example, drive voter suppression.
Police violence, to give another example, will not be contained until we who are most affected by it gain the levers of power to restrain and end it. And, at a higher level, we have the numbers to end Republican control of the Congress and to put fear into those who do manage to retain their seats. The energy we see on the streets in protest can be most effectively used at the grassroots in the kind of day-to-day organizing that uproots the old order in cities, counties and parishes. This is difficult but necessary work.
Anger is understandable but not sufficient to generate the kinds of changes that are needed; or to mobilize the kind of effort that is needed now. We want to repeat and emphasize what we think is urgently needed: hard, diligent grassroots work; the kind of organizing that will put forward policies and people at the local, state and national levels to make sure that America represents all of its people-the kind of deep community organizing that we of SNCC and the Freedom Movement engaged in to defeat Jim Crow segregation and win voting rights for people of color across the nation.
We can change state legislatures, and city councils, and congressional seats. We acknowledge that this will not resolve every issue confronting us. And the very large question of how best to hold accountable people we put into office through our work, remains. But we can put fear into the minds of those like Trump and his cohorts who think they have been mandated to start this country down a road leading to what amounts to fascism.
November 22, 2016
Washington, DC
SNCC Legacy Project
[email protected]
www.sncclegacyproject.org“
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We were up bright & early on Tuesday, 11/29 to support the #Fightfor15 day of action to raise the minimum wage to $15/hr. Each of us, in every job, should earn a fair wage that allows us to live with dignity and plan for the future. Shout out to our BOLD New York partners for showing up in full force!
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Puerto Rico Goes Dark
Juan J. Morales
The New York Times, September 20, 2017
As dark as the busy signal my father gets when calling his brothers and sister on the southwest part of the island.
As dark as the 95% of electricity blinking and then staying off.
As the empty grocery aisles where they used to store water, bread, milk, and cereal.
As the unanswered Facebook messages to my primos.
As the colonial Jones Act in place, longer than a century, lifted for only ten days.
As Pitbull’s private plane back and forth to deliver the goods for the people.
As the money sent to them on PayPal with receipts proving they only bought items on the survival list.
As the familia having a BBQ to use up what will spoil and what has to be cooked right now.
As dark as the swirl of the storm’s eye we watched from the mainland, thick red circle consuming the entire island under the name “Maria, Category 4.”
As the people who fight about to kneel or not to kneel in the NFL.
As the people who don’t understand PR is a commonwealth, its residents powerless US citizens.
As the four major airlines willing to gouge a plane ticket up to $1,600, $1,800, and $2,000.
As me posting more prayers for PR, with a handful of likes.
As El Yunque’s trees splintered and thrown into the void.
As the boricuas who hike each Saturday to the crossroad, near the last standing cell tower, making phone calls to the list of people from town until the signal goes out again.
As someone’s sarcasm, saying, “For once, I’m glad I have AT&T.”
As the dismantled ports full of tangled boats trying to deliver supplies.
As the decade’s worth of infrastructure that needed updating a decade ago, all washed away.
As dark as smaller Caribbean islands, wiped out.
As helpless as someone making plans to donate blood next week.
As dark as my father again, assuming everyone’s okay, but needing to hear from anyone.
As the airport in San Juan down to a handful of functioning gates.
As the thickest miles of trees now a flat, unobstructed view of the favorite beach.
As Mexico City after its earthquake last week, and Houston and Harvey a few weeks before.
As a still-hidden gem the world doesn’t visit.
As exhausted as my friend, here in Pueblo, on the phone with everyone, except his father, who is helping to clean up the neighborhood.
As me, finally becoming speechless for once.
As the flicker of hospital generators running on diesel.
As the president complaining that “these people want everything done for them.”
As dark as the complexion of the people, making them less important to the government.
As the hole where the coquís still whistle.
As the quick phone call from a prima who tells me they’re okay and then asks, “Where do we start to rebuild?”
As dark as the news broadcasts moving on to talk about the rest of the world in the dark.
==
(You can find ways here to support communities in Puerto Rico.)
Today in:
2020: Winter Psalm, Richard Hoffman
2019:King Kreations, Angel Nafis
2018:Letter to Larry Levis, Matthew Olzmann
2017:Only she who has breast-fed, Vera Pavlova
2016:First Love, Jan Owen
2015:At Navajo Monument Valley Tribal School, Sherman Alexie
2014:Boogaloo, Kevin Young
2013:The Fist, Derek Walcott
2012:Turning, W.S. Merwin
2011:Consolation for Tamar, A.E. Stallings
2010:Frida Kahlo to Marty McConnell, Marty McConnell
2009:Bike Ride with Older Boys, Laura Kasischke
2008:Let’s Move All Things (September), Denver Butson
2007:The Day Flies Off Without Me, John Stammers
2006:A Supermarket in California, Allen Ginsberg
2005:Tortures, Wislawa Szymborska
Fox News hosted a town hall with Bernie Sanders on Monday, and I decided to watch it. Here are my impressions and takeaways:
Audience Reception on the Issues
The town hall took place in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, described by Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum as an industrial town with a closed steel plant that voted for Obama and then voted for Trump. These are swing voters who Bernie Sanders should appeal to on issues like trade and workers’ rights. And, to be certain, when NAFTA, CAFTA, and TPP were brought up, the audience sided strongly with Sanders.
But on other issues, even though this town hall aired on Fox News, the audience was often very supportive. This might have best been illustrated by one of the most interesting moments of the town hall: Bret Baier asks the crowd how many of them have private work-provided health insurance, by a show of hands. Many hands raise. When asking the crowd whether they would want Medicare for All, more hands shoot up, some people stand, and some vocalize their support, as well. This is, I’m sure, not what Baier was expecting, because one of the arguments used against universal healthcare, often framed disingenuously, is that people want to keep their private insurance. The audience responded very positively to the idea of having stable, ongoing coverage.
Later, I was surprised by how loudly the crowd applauded the following comment:
“The American people, I think, are ready to deal with justice in America. That is what we’re fighting for. And that’s economic justice, social justice, environmental justice, racial justice.”
Even though this was a Fox News town hall with attendees who appeared to be mostly white, the audience got really excited and loud when Sanders brought up racial justice. From that point through the end of the town hall, it was fairly clear that the majority of those in attendance supported most if not all of what he had to say. Viewers could hear Bernie chants here and there, particularly in the second half of the telecast. Towards the end of the town hall, one of the hosts was booed for asking if Bernie supported prisoners having voting rights for his own political benefit. When he was given an opportunity to provide a closing remark, he and the audience engaged in some call and response, and he was sent off with repeated chants of Bernie.
The message
The case Bernie Sanders made was for a politics and a movement for the working class. He’s advocating for a positive agenda that benefits all workers. In many ways, he appealed to liberal Democrats: he proactively discussed climate change, he discussed suppressing black people’s voting rights, advocated for universal healthcare, challenged the demonization of immigrants, and he didn’t criticize other Democrats when given a chance while criticizing Fox News. But he also advocated for policies further to the left of Democratic Party dogma: he criticized the military industrial complex and the Pentagon for refusing to do an audit and for wasting incalculable amounts of money, he called on us to “rid the world of nuclear weapons,” he said it’s not anti-Semitic to criticize Israel, and he brought up poverty over a handful of times, even mentioning childhood poverty. And that’s where the strength of Bernie’s campaign lies: appealing to the shrinking middle class on standard Democratic issues while also appealing to the poor and working classes of all ethnicities, and he was particularly effective in advocating for inclusive class-based politics and policy, even on Fox News.
What the town hall achieved
First,he looks like the front-runner and a leader. He was criticized by the center and the Democratic Party for appearing on Fox News, and he was criticized by some of my compatriots on the left for platforming Fox News. I see the merit in the latter argument, but Fox News is mainstream and has been for a long time. I’d be concerned if he went on Tucker Carlson, but that’s not what this was. That said, being a leader means making choices you think will be beneficial even when the decision is unpopular. Effective leadership also means walking the walk: Bernie Sanders is about working class politics; refusing to go on Fox News does, to some extent, leave out a platform where some of the working class goes for news–even if the outlet itself is a horrible news source. Trump won the votes of some Americans who voted for Obama; failing to try to bring those voters back into the fold would be political malpractice.
Finally,Sanders effectively demonstrated that he can take on Trump. At multiple times during the broadcast, he spoke directly to Trump: when he brought up his support for staying out of Syria and Yemen and ending endless warfare, he called on Trump to sign the measure he introduced to end America’s support for Yemen. He also went after Trump’s hypocrisy of refusing to cut Medicare on the campaign trail but then proposing budgets that support Medicare and other social insurance programs. At multiple times during the town hall, he positively contrasted himself with Trump. Democrats and many independents–and some Republicans–want to envision a candidate who can emerge victorious against Trump. Bernie’s performance could help some of those voters envision that.
Was his appearance effective?
Press coverage suggests it was. Here’s a sampling of headlines:
- “Bernie Sanders may have just set the model for 2020 Democrats with his Fox News town hall” -The News-Times
- “Sanders takes on Fox” - and emerges triumphant -Politico
- “Bernie Sanders Beat Fox News on Its Own Turf” -Spin
- “How wide is Bernie Sanders appeal? This cheering Fox News audience is a clue” -The Guardian
- “Bernie Sanders Shines on Fox News” -The National Review
- “Bernie’s victorious Fox News town hall” -Vice
- “Bernie Sanders on Fox News is Most-Watched Town Hall of 2019″ -The Wrap
What could he have done better?
The first ten minutes of this town hall were particularly combative, and I think that largely stems from the initial focus on Bernie’s tax returns, which revealed him to be a millionaire, and possibly his desire to ensure that he articulated clearly that he is not on board with Fox News as a media organization. While the line of questioning about why Sanders wouldn’t just send his tax cut from Trump back–even though he voted against the bill–is completely asinine, I would like to see him come up with a better answer to what he’s doing with his newfound wealth. Ultimately, though, I think this is a debate of minimal consequence. You can certainly support policies that benefit the 99% without actually being in the 99%. Sanders, as he pointed out, also supports taxing himself at a higher level. And I think most people can draw a distinction between the Clintons, Donald Trump, Jeff Bezos, and others and how they generated their wealth versus how Bernie made his. And, not to forget, the very real degree of separation in their wealth.
And while I think that Bernie has improved on his messaging around foreign policy and developed a better vision of what that would look like, he didn’t proactively bring up foreign policy in the first half of the event. Mostly, I’d like to see him connect what’s happening at the border with our foreign policy. He said that people are desperate and “fleeing violence and misery in Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala.” This is true. He said we need more immigration judges. That’s also true. But he needs to then say that we need to stop intervening in the affairs of these countries and using diplomacy to support stability and economic growth throughout the Americas by supporting workers’ movements at home and abroad.
Final Thoughts
If you know me or were aware of my blog during the 2016 election, you know that I was a strong Sanders supporter and that I volunteered for his campaign. Over the past few years, my political views have shifted more to the left, and I’ve developed more criticisms of Sanders. In spite of that, I did come away from this town hall reminded of the appeal of the Sanders campaign: one that could represent a shift towards an inclusive working class policy focus and movement building, and away from a divisive Red State/Blue State paradigm.
I haven’t made any kind of endorsements for 2020 because, again, it’s too early, and there are many candidates running who will be out of the race a year from now. However, it was difficult not to come away from viewing the town hall with some combination of familiarity and inspiration. One could say I was feeling the Bern…
ArchaeoDoor - The Archaeologist’s GlassDoor
I encourage anyone working in archaeology and archaeology-adjacent jobs to fill out this anonymous form, and share the link far and wide. We all deserve as much information as possible regarding pay rates and company culture in our field.
Bah, Humbug! Behind every billionaire hoarding wealth are underpaid and exploited workers. Let’s explore some issues of workers past, present and future.
☕ In 2021, when workers at three separate Starbucks locations in and around Buffalo NY, started organizing to unionize, company executives swooped in with anti-union efforts. Workers are fighting for higher wages as Starbucks claims record profits in 2021.
In 2019, Amazon withheld a third of its driver’s tips before being ordered to pay the $61.4 million back in a federal lawsuit. Warehouse workers across the country have also experienced grueling working conditions that include: too few bathroom breaks, excessive productivity goals, & unsafe working conditions. Amazon saw record profits in 2021.
In 2018, McDonald’s workers walked off the job for what would be the first of many multi-state strikes to demand an end to the rampant sexual harassment in their restaurants. Despite McDonald’s promises, they have failed to adequately address continued sexual violence at their stores. McDonald’s saw record profits in 2021.
❤️ Created in collaboration with @FightFor15.
Forgive Our Debt
Art by Liberal Jane
Digital illustration of a person in a graduation gown and pink flowery pants. They are holding their graduation cap which reads, ‘forgive student debt’ with a pink tassel.
