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ACTION United gets locked up sitting-in for Jobs Not Cuts

Five ACTION United folks were arrested November 17th during Occupy the Bridge Action on Market Street Bridge sending the message to Congress that we need Jobs not Cuts. 1,000 strong brought traffic to a stand still as protestors took over the Market Street bridge in Center City Philadelphia. 24 activists, including the five from ACTION United, were arrested for obstructing a highway.  ACTION United activists were released Friday afternoon and have no plans on stopping their protests any time soon.  Here are their own words on why they took ACTION:

Tiffany Lassiter

November 17th, 2011 was The National Day of Action; it also marked the day that I took a courageous step towards activism in America. I can personally attest to the huge job deficit in America. The lack of jobs in my own country startles me each day. It’s sad to see people that are willing to work yet can’t find or gain employment to save their lives (literally). There are soo many worldly issues that our government feels the need to be a part of, but our own homeland is under siege.

I wanted to truly represent myself as that 99% at the Market street Bridge on The National Day of Action and give a voice for something that was real. It was a humbling experience to physical sit on that bridge and join arms with soo many other people who were passionate about positive change in America. As the asphalt chilled my bottom and I chanted to the top of my lungs, I did actually have a sense of nervousness. I was nervous knowing that I was in fact giving my freedom up during this demonstration. As the news/media lights shined bright and the Philadelphia Police submerged in full force, I just knew that OUR voices were being heard (99%). The most physically and mentally draining part of this experience was definitely spending those countless hours at The Round House for the evening. Being in those holding cells made me realize even more how unjust our system is. I found it quite inhumane on the meal selection; rather lack thereof, being that cheese sandwiches and bottled were served as a three course meal. But what can you expect from a place that capitalizes off of imprisonment. The best part was reuniting with my loved ones and fellow supporters. This experience has further helped me to value the things that are important to me and to go hard on ALL my day to day actions throughout life.

Craig Robbins

On November 17, over 700 people marched from City Hall to the Market Street Bridge, where I sat down to protest the failure of our government to create good jobs and to work for the 99%.   I was joined by 23 other people, including 5 ACTION United members and staff, 2 SEIU Health Care PA staff, 5 or 6 Fight for Philly members and staff,  3 Temple Students and a smattering of others, some active with Occupy Philadelphia, others just mad as hell about the failure of our elected officials to do what's right. 

Our action was one of 300 taking places on bridges across the country.   Our goal since late spring has been to change the conversation in this country, to turn it away from a myopic focus on the deficit and blaming all of our country's problems on unions and working families, to talking about who broke our economy in the first place and where are the Jobs?  With over 1 hour of total combined, mostly Live at 5,  TV coverage last Thursday, we have continued to shift the discussion to where it needs to be.  ACTION United and Fight for Philly are now planning to take the fight to DC the first full week of December, where thousands from around the county, many unemployed, will demand that our elected leaders start to address the issue of jobs and restarting our economy as one that works for all of us, not just the few. 

Working families have taken a beating over the last 30 years-wages have stagnated, pensions are a long forgotten memory, and benefits, like Health Care or vacation time are becoming a thing of the past.  The main reason for this is the dramatic decrease in union density.  Today less than 10% of private sector workers belong to a union, down from 35% 50 years ago, and the numbers continue to rop every year. Being in a union is the single best way to insure you have a living wage job with good benefits.

There are also changes that communities can fight for.  ACTION United members have for the past 20 years been at the forefront of the movement to create living wage laws or increases in the minimum wage at the city, state and federal levels, with great success!  Typically 75% of Americans-that means Democrats AND sme Republicans and independents, support increases in the minimum wage. The latest fight on this battleground is for Earned Sick Time. These laws require businesses to provide paid time off to workers for sickness.  So far, the cities of San Francisco, Washington DC and Milwaukee have passed such a law.  In Philadelphia, the Promoting healthy Families and Workplaces Act, Bill No 080474 introduced by Councilman Darryl Clark two years ago...where it has sat with no action.  But within the last month, as the calls and post cards from workers and the community have started to flood into council offices, there is now movement!  It probably helps as well that there is a primary this May and an unusual number of council seats are either open (4) or have real challengers.

This bill if passed will impact 210,000 workers in Philadelphia. if it passes, low wag workers-let's be clear, these jobs are primarily service jobs, held by low income, primarily African American workers will not beforced to choose between losing a day in pay or taking care of their health.  This is a campagin of critical importance to our members and their communities.  Call your council person, send them an e-letter by clicking here, and make time to come to the hearing on the bill, date to be announced soon!

TAKE ACTION ON PAID SICK DAYS

Promoting Healthy Families and Workplace Act fact sheet

The 164th State House District has been held by Republicans for the last 25 years.  It's shaped like a handgun, and many of our members and allies in this district have felt like it's been pointed at their heads.  The District, encompassing all of Upper Darby as well as Millbourne and East Landsdowne, is a majority Democratic District: 63% Democratic performance index and 52% Democratic registration advantage.  But the Republican machine in this Delaware County town (the largest town in Delco) is powerful and has found a way to maintain power at the local levels even while the larger 7th Congressional District it's nested in was won by Democrat Joe Sestak in 2006, becoming only the 2nd D to represent the district since the Civil War.  With Sestak running for Senate this year the open seat is a toss-up between former US Attorney and Republican Pat Meehan and former State Legislator Bryan Lentz.

ACTION United build a strong neighborhood chapter in Upper Darby in late summer, signing up several hundred new members who elected a strong leadership team. That team has been very active on pushing the Upper Darby Township officials to start paying attention to their neighborhoods--primarily Stonehurst.  In September, ACTION United PAC members invited both party's candidates out for an interview.  Only Democrat Margo Davidson met with our PAC and base on that fact, and the strength of her support for ACTION United issues (education funding being a top issue) members voted to endorse her candidacy.

This race is important for a number of reasons. First, it's important to our members in determining whether their State House official will work with them and fight in Harrisburg for the issues that they care about. Second, it's an opportunity to start shaking up what has been a very one party system in Delaware County.  If you are not a Republican in Delco, there's a good chance your garbage isn't getting picked up, or as our members in Chester know, you don't get that supermarket you need.  This backwards system needs to change!  But finally, beyond those critical reasons there is the issue of redistricting.  Whoever controls the State House, the State Senate, and the Governor's office will shape what election districts around PA will look like over the next decade.  The R's control the Senate already, and the Governorship looks likely.  Winning this seat for the D's could help preserve D control of at least the house, making for a more balanced process as we shape our political districts next year.

Getting the gun pointed away from our member's heads by electing Margo Davidson for State House is our goal, and we have a chance on Tuesday November 2nd.  Call Amanda at the office if you are interested in getting involved making phone calls or canvassing. 

Midterm elections are 6 weeks away and if you listen to almost any TV and radio or read any paper, you probably think that our country is about to be taken over by the Tea Party. Talk shows and newspaper stories go on about that the Tea Party wants and imply that they somehow represent what the majority of the country wants: smaller government, a government that gets out of the way and lets business do its thing, and government that just, well, LEAVES US ALONE! 

Is this really what a majority of Americans want?

A recent poll and report done by Project Vote called "What Happened to Hope and Change?" looked at the Americans who voted in 2008 across the board and found some very interesting things. In particular it found that the Rising American Electorate (RAE)- young voters, poor voters, and African American Voters, who make up 32% of the 2008 voting population, outnumber tea party supporters- the OWW (Older, Whiter and Wealthier)*-who make up just 29% of the voters in 2008.

It also found that:

• Tea Partiers are financially better off than the rest of the country, and 75% rate their personal financial situation as either very good or fairly good;
• When asked if at anytime in the past 12 months they struggled to provide food for themselves and their families 37% of blacks and 39% of low income said they did not always have enough money for food; only 5% of the tea partiers did not have enough money for food;   
• At the same time, Tea Partiers are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country and 93% rate the national economy as either fairly bad or very bad.

The poll also asked about the role of government.  Should it spend to stimulate job growth or reduce the deficite?

• 62% of blacks and 56% of youth said spend money to create jobs; whereas 72% of Tea partiers said only to reduce the deficit.

Interestingly, even 51% of the tea partiers thought the government should increase spending on roads and bridges; but only 41% thought increased spending for education was in order while 90% of blacks and 84% of youth thought we needed more money going to our schools.

Other interesting contrasts between the RAE's and the OWW's:

• While 80% of RAE voters want the government to create a living wage, only 41% of OWW voters do;
• While 70% of RAE voters think the government should spend the same or more for income security programs like food stamps, only 33% of OWW think so;
• While 65% of RAE voters think the government should spend to help homeowners facing foreclosurem only 13% of OWW do.

What does it mean?

This poll shows a huge split in attitudes and thinking between the Rising American Electorate, the voters who surged to the polls in 2008, and the Old, White and Wealthy electorate who tend to dominate midterm elections and who set the agenda during the Bush years.

Call to ACTION

We see this as a call to ACTION.  Our members will be knocking on tens of thousands of doors in PA to get out the vote in November to try to preserve the advances we fought for in 2008.  We already see the backlash in Corbett's suit to stop Health Care Reform and in the latest Tea Party victories in Delaware, New York and Alaska.  We will be working hard to ensure that we do not go back to the failed policies that got us into this mess and to give the President the continued support to enact our agenda--not HIS agenda, OUR agenda, because that is what we elected him for. 

Will it be enough? Its hard to say. But on November 3rd we wont be left wondering what would have happened if only we had ACTED.

Craig Robbins

*OWW is not from the report