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"Justice for Michael Brown" Anti-Police Brutality Rally in DC on August 14, 2014 (photo credit: Elvert Barnes/Flickr).
CPD's Director of Civic Engagement & Politics Katrina Gamble traveled to Ferguson, MO last week to stand in solidarity with Michael Brown's family and community against police brutality. The following includes her thoughts on the tragic murder, biased-based policing, and police impunity.
While the traditional media begins to leave Ferguson and shift their attention to the next blip in the news cycle, young leaders, community members, and social justice organizations within Ferguson and around the country are preparing for a protracted fight. The killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, even as he lifted his hands up in a plea for his life, falls into a long history state violence against black and brown people in the United States. Just in the past few months we call the names of Eric Garner, John Crawford, III and Ezell Ford whose lives were taken through excessive use of force by law enforcement.
This is not a fight that is going away. The mostly young black people that took to the streets in resistance night after night in Ferguson understand clearly what is at stake. The second night I went out in Ferguson as we walked up to W. Florissant, where the protests were concentrated, the first thing I saw through dissipating clouds of tear gas was a young black man with his t-shirt tied around his face holding up a sign that read, “Stop Killing Us.” As I turned to the right, I saw this young man and many others facing off against police in military fatigues, armored trucks, and a tank. That moment, in my mind, clearly reflects the fight ahead of us.
It is about standing against the devaluation of black and brown lives. It is about refusing to be silenced even in the face of militarized police state in an American city. The spirit of resistance demonstrated by the young people is so powerful. It sits in stark contrast to the continued escalation of violence by the police in Ferguson. In communities across the country the lack of transparency, accountability, and community input along with the surge of federally supplied military equipment have createdpolice cultures of impunity, violence and abuse. At the Center for Popular Democracy we understand, this is a systematic problem that predates the unrest in Ferguson and unless we combat it will endure.
We stand in solidarity with the people, particularly young people of color in Ferguson, Los Angeles, Dayton, New York and cities nationwide in demanding accountability and justice. We support groups across the country, including our partners in Missouri, Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment, and New York, Communities United for Police Reform, calling for an end to police brutality and broken windows policing practices.
We are in a moment of building a national movement against police impunity, excessive use of force by law enforcement and bias-based policing practices as well as even more transformative change around policing in black and brown communities. National demands that CPD, Freedom Side, Dream Defenders and others have developed with local leaders in Ferguson can be found here.
We are committed to supporting the local fight for Justice for Mike Brown. You can see how you can support local groups here. CPD along with others are thinking about this as a national moment and how we can drive this movement beyond Ferguson. To find out more about how to connect with actions across the country and national strategy discussions you can contact Katrina Gamble or join next week's call.
Despite the overwhelming use of force in an attempt to crush the voice of protestors and community members in Ferguson, the young people in Ferguson who are unshakeable in their commitment to stand for justice strengthen us in this fight and we stand with them.
Something happened there in Jackson Hole today that has never happened before: protests. – CNBC
Last week, for the first time in memory, unemployed and low-wage workers had face-to-face engagement with the nation's most powerful economic decision-makers. And the workers' voices were amplified by wall-to-wall national media coverage that highlighted their passion and message: this economy is not working for us.
The Federal Reserve's top officials are usually insulated from the concerns of working families, but when they gathered at their annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Thursday, they were met by a team of 10 activists -- brought together by the Center for Popular Democracy and our core partners around the country.
Tyrone Raino, a member of MN Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, in Jackson Hole, WY (photo credit: Reuters).
The Fed has enormous power over our economy. But its lack of democratic accountability, and its deep relationships with Wall Street and corporations, mean that its policies have failed to create an economy with good jobs and rising wages. Now the Fed is in the midst of a major debate about whether the economy has recovered sufficiently from the Great Recession. It's considering raising interest rates -- a move that would slow the economy down and increase the cost of debt for working families -- so we traveled to Jackson Hole to make our voices heard.
"Today was the first time participants could remember demonstrators showing up," the New York Times reported. “'Their presence has been mentioned repeatedly by Fed officials and speakers, suggesting that it has made an impression,' [said Times reporter Binyamin Applebaum]." Although one CNBC anchor said that we had come "dangerously close" to Fed Chair Janet Yellen, she told us that she understands our concerns and, through her staff, extended an invitation to meet with her in Washington, DC.
Becky Dernbach of NOC sends a message to Fed Chair Janet Yellen (photo credit: Bloomberg).
The national media gave extensive coverage to our protest. The Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported on the conversation between Stanley Fischer, the Fed's Vice Chair, and Reggie Rounds, an unemployed member of Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment who lives in Ferguson, MO and who explained to the BBC World Service that the current crisis there is inextricably linked with the lack of good jobs in the African American community.
The Washington Post previewed our action through the voice of Shemethia Butler, a McDonald's worker and member of Our DC who is struggling to survive on $9.50 an hour. The Post also described the open letter that we wrote, signed by 70 organizations from around the country, calling on the Fed to provide maximum support for the economy until we reach full employment, with rising wages and less inequality. (And, yesterday the NY Times published an editorial repeating our arguments).
We sat down for two hours with Kansas City Fed President Esther George, who was hosting the conference and who has, disturbingly, been one of the loudest voices calling for an end to the Fed's expansionary policy. George listened to the workers' stories and accepted the invitation of Reuben Eckels, a pastor in Wichita, KS and leader of Sunflower Community Action, to visit with his congregation and see what life is like in their community. “The Federal Reserve decides how many of us will remain unemployed and whether our wages will go up or stay low,” Eckels, told the Times in the paper's second article about the protest. “They need to hear voices from everyday people.”
Kansas City Fed President Esther George spent two hours listening to community members' experiences.
Julie Miller, a former bank manager representing the Committee for Better Banks and New York Communities for Change, told President George that the current high unemployment rate disempowers workers and allows commercial banks to exploit their front-line staff.
At the conference, we also ran into Christina Romer, President Obama’s former chief economic advisor, who told us how glad she was that we were there.
The workers' stories were read in hundreds of outlets around the country because they made the wire services. Kendra Brooks, a leader of Action United in Philadelphia, told the Associated Press that the so-called "economic recovery" has been a failure for working families: "This has been what my recovery looks like, and it's a nightmare."
Tyrone Raino, of Neighborhoods Organizing for Change in Minneapolis, told Vox that "I want to at least get our voices heard before they make their decisions" and published an op-ed in the Minneapolis Post explaining his experience as a young worker in this economy.
Our protest was just the beginning of a sustained campaign to convince the Federal Reserve to adopt pro-jobs policies that raise wages, expand the middle class, and reduce inequality. In the coming months and years, in collaboration with state and national partners, we'll make sure that workers' voices are a central part of the Fed's decision-making process and will fight to ensure that its policies advance the interests of working families, not corporate and financial interests.
Below are links and excerpts to full coverage of our action and photos of the brave leaders who made the historic trek out to Jackson Hole. If you agree with us, please donate to support more of this work. Together, we can build a more democratic economy.
Thanks to MORE, NOC, Sunflower Community Action, the Committee for Better Banks, Make the Road New York Action Fund, New York Communities for Change, Action United, Our DC, and the Economic Policy Institute for help making this effort such a major success.
News clips:
Washington Post: Meet the Ordinary People Who Are Organizing Around Monetary Policy “I’m going to Wyoming to let these bankers in Jackson Hole know that we are not in recovery,” said [Shemethia] Butler, 34. “I need them to understand. I need them to see where I’m coming from.”
“We can’t leave the debate about Fed policies up to academics and elite bankers and corporate executives,” [said Ady Barkan, senior attorney for the Center for Popular Democracy].
Wall Street Journal: Activists at Jackson Hole See Recovery on Wall Street, ‘Not My Street’
"“I have no vehicle. My housing situation is stressful. I’m about to lose my apartment. I’m struggling really hard,” [Shemethia Butler] said. “Things may be fine on Wall Street, but they’re not fine on my street.”
Associated Press: Jackson Hole Demonstrators Rally Against Rate Hike
Carrying placards and green T-shirts embossed with the slogan "What recovery?" they said they'd come from New York, Missouri, Minnesota and elsewhere to draw attention to people left behind by the recovery and still unable to find work . . . .Yellen spokesman Doug Tillett said her staff would seek to arrange a meeting between the chair and the demonstrators back in Washington . . . .Tillett, the Yellen spokesman, said, "We're certainly willing to meet with them and hear what they have to say."
Reuters: Unemployed take their case to Fed officials at Jackson Hole
While small in number, the activists managed to get a great deal of face time with senior officials. On Thursday, they spoke with the host of the conference, Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George, for two hours. On Friday, Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer stepped out of the conference to spend ten minutes to listen to their plight.
BBC World Service: Recovery? What Recovery? (radio)
Reggie Rounds from Ferguson Missouri says, "The community in which I reside is a disheartened community ... there is no recovery ... we have no jobs and the jobs that we do get are not sustainable. We aren't able to survive as a community ... There is no recovery. Things are getting worse. Daily."
CNBC: Mellow Protestors at Jackson Hole (video)
"There were guys wearing green shirts saying "What Recovery?" and urging the Fed not to raise interest rates ... These were the nicest bunch of people you ever want to meet, apparently Esther George the Kansas City Fed President talked with them at length ... they're a very well behaved bunch."
NY Times: Fed Chief Sees Not Enough Data to Raise Rates
“The Federal Reserve decides how many of us will remain unemployed and whether our wages will go up or stay low,” said Reuben Eckels, the pastor of a church in Wichita, Kan. “They need to hear voices from everyday people.”
Vox: Meet the activists who want to make the Fed listen to workers for a change
This year [the Jackson Hole conference] was different. A group of community activists traveled to the conference to urge policymakers to not do what an increasing number of voices in the Fed system and in the financial sector have been urging them to do: raise interest rates."
"I want to at least get our voices heard before they make their decisions," Tyrone Raino, who recently took a job requiring a 40 mile commute from his home in Minneapolis, says.
MarketWatch: A first for Jackson Hole — protesters are here, and they don’t want rate hikes
Kendra Brooks, 42, a resident of Philadelphia who has an MBA but still found herself out of work even after her unemployment benefits ended, said the American dream has “fizzled” in this economy.
“We are not their [the Fed's] primary concern. They are more focused on the top end of the [income] scale,” she said . . . . The activists said the Jackson Hole protest was the start of a new effort to get officials to understand the economy is broken.
The Hill (Shemethia Butler Op-ed): Workers like me want the Federal Reserve to get real
Minnesota Post (Tyrone Raino Op-ed): What recovery? Workers are telling the Federal Reserve to get real
US News: Activists Push for More Everyday Voices Before Fed
“The vast majority of people who are impacted by Fed policy never get a voice in what that policy will be, and Federal Reserve officials communicate regularly with corporate executives and bankers, but they rarely communicate with working families, so we’re going to try to change that,” [Ady] Barkan says.
Bloomberg: Yellen Cites 19-Measure Labor Market Index: Jackson Hole Journal
Shemethia Butler, who works part time at a McDonald’s Corp. restaurant in Washington, was one of those to make the trip. The 34-year-old said that while she isn’t up on monetary policy, she wants policy makers to know she fears higher interest rates for her and her community. She said she works 25 to 35 hours a week for $9.50 an hour at a job she’s had for just over a year. Before that she was unemployed for two years.
“There’s no recovery,” Butler said. “The economy is broken because there aren’t enough jobs for people like me.”
Al Jazeera: Fed chair cautious on timing of rate rises, questions health of job market
Kansas pastor and activist, Rueben Eckels, was one of those taking part in the Jackson Hole protests. He urged the Fed to “be doing much more to help vulnerable Americans achieve real economic security.” He told the Washington Post: “It’s time for the Fed to use its power on behalf of working people, instead of the wealthy elite.”
CNBC (#2): Nightly Business Report (video)
Those weren’t the only headlines out of the symposium. Something happened there in Jackson Hole today that has never happened before: protests. “The Federal Reserve has its hands on the levers of macroeconomic policy and we need the Fed to know that raising interest rates right now would send millions of people out of work and it would be a terrible way to try to combat asset bubbles,” [said Ady Barkan of the Center for Popular Democracy].
Reuters (#2): Janet Yellen says U.S. job market still struggling out of Great Recession, calls for ‘pragmatic’ policy
A handful of workers in green “What Recovery?” t-shirts are also staying at the resort, pulling policymakers aside as they can in the mountain view bar and main lodge area to press the case that many families are still struggling.
Washington Post (#2): Yellen says improving economy still faces challenges
Kansas City Fed President Esther L. George — one of the most vocal proponents of raising interest rates soon — met with the protesters in Jackson Hole on Thursday for about two hours to hear their stories. Ady Barkan, senior attorney at the Center for Popular Democracy, said the groups plan to request meetings with other Fed officials as well.
NY Times (#2): Your Evening Briefing
[T]oday was the first time participants could remember demonstrators showing up.“Their presence has been mentioned repeatedly by Fed officials and speakers, suggesting that it has made an impression,” [said New York Times reporter Binyamin Applebaum]. Notably, the Fed chairwoman, Janet L. Yellen, stopped by to express sympathy. In a speech today, she said the central bank needed more evidence of growing employment before deciding when to raise interest rates.
MarketWatch (#2): Yellen says debate over when to hike now center stage (photo only)
Associated Press (photo only): Yellen says shifts in job market since Great Recession make Fed rate decisions more difficult
Liberty Times Net (Taiwan)
2013 was an inspiring year for the Center for Popular Democracy (CPD). Our work had significant impact catalyzing and supporting campaigns to promote dignity and opportunity for our nation’s workers, immigrant communities and people of color.
Download Our 2013 Annual Report
In January 2013, CPD had a staff of 12, working out of our New York office, supporting 45 projects and campaigns in a dozen states nationwide, providing policy, legal, organizing, strategy, technology and communications support. By January 1, 2014 we had grown threefold, to a staff of 40, with offices in New York and Washington and staff based in California, Illinois and Minnesota. We have built a very strong network of 11 national core partner organizations, 26 state core partner organizations and over 50 other partner organizations in 27 states. Together, we are now working on almost 200 projects and campaigns.
Much of this growth came about through CPD’s merger on January 1, 2014 with the Leadership Center for the Common Good. The merger of these two dynamic, innovative and growing organizations has allowed us to aggregate our capacities and build the strength, scale and reach we need to fight for the fair and just society we want to live in.
Importantly, 2013 also represented a major leap forward in our ability to make significant, game changing contributions to critical campaigns to promote a higher minimum wage and access to paid sick days, to end discriminatory stop and frisk policing tactics, to ensure a sound public education system, to challenge cruel immigration laws that separate families, and to expand participation in our democracy. We won new laws and policies that make a powerful difference in the well-being and safety of millions of low-income workers, immigrant families and people of color.
We are also working hard to strengthen the democratic, base-building organizations that are driving innovative campaigns in states and cities across the United States. We have built a dynamic capacity building team that is helping both emerging and established organizations to create the resilient, high-performing infrastructure they need to expand their impact.
While we are proud of the achievements of the past year, we are mindful of the enormity of the task ahead of us. Even as hundreds of thousands are helped by an improved minimum wage in one state, elsewhere tens of millions still struggle to support their families financially. The gap between the richest 1% and the rest of the nation is now greater than it was in 1928. The weak recovery has added more low-paying, irregular jobs, leaving working families desperately insecure, working ever longer hours to make ends meet. Economic inequality is matched by political inequality, as states continue an assault on the voting rights of immigrants and people of color and the federal government fails to reform our broken immigration system.We can, and we must, do better.There is plenty of reason for optimism. The growing strength of community organizations across the country and their ability to effect large scale, tangible change is inspiring. On important issues, such as raising the minimum wage or promoting immigrant opportunity, the success of local and state campaigns is changing the national narrative.
Equally, the rise of many of the nation’s largest cities as major drivers for progressive change is a cause for celebration. From Seattle to Pittsburgh, from San Diego to New York, progressives are leading the way, enacting policies the federal government has failed to act on. As cities move forward, they generate the upward pressure needed to refocus the national policy agenda. We are excited to be new and increasingly powerful contributors to this movement. We are inspired by our partners across the nation, and determined to build on the tremendous success of 2013 to win bigger, more powerful campaigns for justice in 2014 and beyond.
Sincerely,Ana María Archila, Andrew Friedman & Brian KettenringCo-Executive Directors, Center for Popular DemocracyDownload Our 2013 Annual Report
This month Citigroup became the latest major bank to conclude a multi-billion dollar settlement with the US Department of Justice, agreeing to pay $7 billion to settle charges over the sale of flawed mortgage securities. The settlement includes $2.5 billion to be spent on relief for underwater homeowner and lending activities designed to help communities hard hit by predatory lending rebuild.
As Richard Eskow of the Campaign for America’s Future wrote, the settlement probably would not have happened at all without public pressure: “The Obama administration is clearly feeling the heat about its treatment of Wall Street. Otherwise the rhetoric wouldn’t be quite as stern and the settlement figures would probably be lower.”
While the Citigroup settlement contained more detailed language about getting the promised relief to hard hit communities than past settlements, the Home Defenders League, a grassroots coalition and membership organization of homeowners affected by the mortgage crisis continues to press the fact that past settlements have not delivered as promised, especially in communities of color that were targeted for predatory lending. As the Wall Street Journal reported:
Some activists are still skeptical of the government’s settlements with the financial industry. Kevin Whelan, national campaign director for the Home Defenders League, an activist group representing homeowners, said there’s been no noticeable impact from last fall’s J.P. Morgan settlement.
“We haven’t seen any evidence that they’ve done anything at all,” Mr. Whelan said.
Just days before the Citigroup settlement, Home Defenders League members and partner groups delivered thousands of petition signatures and letters demanding greater oversight and accountability for settlements the Justice Department to U.S. Attorney’s offices in ten cities. US Attorney Callahan of Missouri and US Attorney Walsh in Colorado agreed to contact Attorney General Holder directly with the community’s concerns.
The actions and a simultaneous “#ShowUsTheMoney” twitter rally brought attention the plight of families still reeling from the mortgage crisis, many of them featured on the “100 Stories of What Wall Street Broke” blog.
The Center for Popular Democracy (CPD), Communities United for Police Reform and Local Progress will co-host a two day National Convening on Police Accountability. In September, CPD partner organizations, elected officials, funders and other local leaders from across the country will gather in Manhattan to envision police reform campaigns that shift local policy, alter relationships between law enforcement and residents of impacted communities, and highlight and mobilize the growing power of immigrant communities and communities of color to stay the tide of ineffective, dehumanizing and discriminatory policing.
The convening will translate the interest and excitement of communities across the country working on issues related to discriminatory policing into a coordinated effort to increase police accountability through changes to state and local policy. In recent years, the hard work and creativity of organizers and advocates from across the country, has elevated the issue of discriminatory policing and the need for responsible, respectful and effective approaches to law enforcement. CPD’s work in coalition with Communities United for Police Reform is a powerful example of this: the New York City coalition has leveraged the expertise of its members—base-building groups, legal services organizations, policy advocates and researchers—to pass the Community Safety Act, a groundbreaking package of police accountability policies.
The National Convening on Police Accountability will focus on documenting and disseminating the lessons learned in NYC, and in cities across the country, among organizers, politicians and community leaders who are eager to see more responsive, respectful and effective law enforcement approaches implemented in their communities. By helping to deepen relationships among partners, elected officials and other stakeholders the convening will be an important contribution to the movement for respectful and responsive policing.
The Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) and Faith Action for Community Equity (FACE), our state partner organization in Hawaii, helped score a big victory for Hawaii voters on June 30 with the state’s enactment of Same Day Registration (SDR). Beginning in 2016, Hawaii voters who miss the state’s 30-day, pre-election voter registration deadline will no longer lose their right to vote. Instead, they will be able to both register and vote at early voting locations. Same Day Registration will be expanded to every precinct polling places in 2018. Hawaii now joins 12 other states and the District of Columbia in allowing SDR.
Voter advocates and progressive policy makers around the country have championed Same Day Registration as one of the most effective means of increasing voter turnout, particularly among youth and others with historically lower levels of political participation. Hawaii had the lowest voter turnout in the nation in the 2012 general election. With SDR, experts predict that turnout will rise in the state by almost 50,000 votes. Young people stand to benefit the most, with a nine percent increase in voter turnout.
The Hawaii victory was the culmination of a long, multi-year struggle, principally led by Hawaii Common Cause. FACE helped push it over the edge this year by engaging local communities in the legislative campaign, while CPD organized national voting rights groups to pressure wavering legislators.
CPD’s sights are now set on Delaware. Working closely with the Delaware Alliance for Community Advancement (DACA), our partner organization in the Diamond State, other voting rights groups and organized labor, we were able to get Same Day Registration passed in the state House of Representatives. The clock ran out on the 2014 legislative session before the state Senate could act. With a recharged new campaign next year, we expect Delaware to join the ranks of Same Day Registration states in 2015.
Women’s leaders, fast-food delivery workers, and low-wage tipped workers are demanding an end to sub-minimum wage for tipped workers in New York State. While New York’s minimum wage is scheduled to rise to $9.00 per hour by Dec 31, 2015, the minimum wage for thousands of tipped food service workers remains stuck at just $5.00 per hour
Workers and their allies rallied outside of a Manhattan Domino’s earlier this month as Governor Cuomo prepared to appoint a Wage Board charged with recommending an increase in the state’s tipped sub-minimum wage. The Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) was proud to help coordinate this effort along with our partners at Make the Road New York, New York Communities for Change, Restaurant Opportunities Center, RaiseUpNY and others.
A Wage Order eliminating the tipped sub-minimum wage would benefit an estimated 229,000 low-wage tipped workers in New York, according to a new report by the National Employment Law Center (NELP).
"Living off tips is a grind and a hustle for me to feed and support my kids, not knowing what you will bring home. This hurts family, looking at my kids face wants me to work harder to provide for them,” said Autumn Alston, Member of ROC-NY affiliate of ROC-United.
Why It’s Time for New York to Eliminate the Tipped Sub-Minimum Wage and Guarantee Tipped Workers the Full Minimum Wage Paid Directly by their Employers:
- Fair Pay for Women: Women are hurt most by NY’s low wage tipped minimum wage, as they make up more than 70% of all tipped workers. The low tipped minimum wage contributes to the persistent gender pay gap in New York, where women are paid just 83 cents for every dollar that men are paid.
- High Poverty, Low Wages: Nationally, tipped workers are more than twice as likely to experience poverty, and restaurant servers are almost three times as likely to experience poverty, as all other workers – yet companies like Domino’s that employ tipped workers earn millions in profits every year.
- Tips Are Not Wages: Without a significant base wage paid directly by their employers, tipped workers across New York must rely on tips alone for the overwhelming share of their earnings, leaving them vulnerable to wide fluctuations in pay as tips vary substantially with each shift and each season.
We recently wrote about Mayor de Blasio’s proposal to introduce a new “City ID” card for New York City. We are thrilled to announce that today, the New York City Council has formally voted by 43-3 to approve these plans.
The "City ID" program will make identification cards available to all city residents -- regardless of citizenship status, race, or economic means and it will be accepted as proof of identity by all city agencies, as well as a number of key institutions throughout the city. The new City ID will, for instance, smooth interactions with city agencies, and likely allow thousands of undocumented New Yorkers to check out library books, sign leases and open bank accounts. It will also give many of the city’s most vulnerable residents much greater confidence when they interact and engage with city law enforcement agencies.
The Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) has been on the front lines of this initiative. Our recent report surveyed the results of similar programs in other municipalities. The report found that municipal ID programs play a consistently positive role in empowering and protecting vulnerable communities. The report also found that beyond their practical value, the cards hold symbolic importance in creating a sense of shared community and belonging for immigrants and other marginalized individuals.
CPD, working closely with our partners at Make the Road New York and many others, has been proud to lead a strong, diverse coalition of allies who have worked with city officials over recent months to pass this bill. We would like to express our gratitude to all those who have helped make this bill possible. In particular, we want to recognize the invaluable leadership of Council Members Danny Dromm and Carlos Menchaca, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and Mayor Bill de Blasio.
New York City Councilman Carlos Menchaca, quoted in yesterday’s New York Times, said of the bill: “The city is sending a strong message to its residents that we have your back.”
We couldn’t agree more.
CPD is excited to help launch a bold new campaign to demand equality for non-citizens. The New York is Home campaign is dedicated to helping nearly 3 million noncitizen New Yorkers become state citizens, and is part of a larger movement to win state citizenship for immigrants in other states.
Working in tandem with a national coalition of elected officials, advocates, experts and community members, we are capitalizing on Eric Cantor’s recent defeat in Congress by moving quickly to refocus the debate on what states can do to extend full equality to millions of noncitizen residents in the United States.
CPD helped write the New York is Home Act, which was introduced earlier this week by Senator Gustavo Rivera and Assembly Member Karim Camara. The Act would grant New York state citizenship to noncitizens, giving them access to health care, drivers’ licenses, professional licenses, the right to vote, the right to run for elected office, equal access to higher education and protection against racial profiling. The New York is Home Act creates an ambitious new model of immigrant inclusion that we will work with states around the country to adopt.
“New York is Home recognizes and promotes the full equality and inclusion of all immigrant families in our democracy and our economy,” said CPD’s Co-Executive Director Andrew Friedman. “Washington may be deadlocked, but the movement for immigrant dignity is gaining real traction in states. What happens here in New York with this legislation will be watched around the country.”
Noncitizens should be treated with the same dignity and respect as American citizens. With state citizenship, countless immigrants, including millions of disenfranchised, aspiring Americans, will be able to exercise greater economic and political power, and help our communities grow and prosper.
CPD is proud to announce the launch of a new initiative focused on equitable part-time work and just scheduling practices for low-wage workers led by Carrie Gleason, formerly the executive director and founder of the Retail Action Project (RAP).
Carrie envisioned RAP’s groundbreaking Just Hours New York campaign to restore predictable, livable hours in retail through grassroots worker-community action and policy change, and is excited to grow that work as part of the new Fair Workweek Initiative at CPD.
As the fastest growing low-wage sectors of the economy increasingly shift to a “just-in-time” model of scheduling employment, workers face growing insecurity and instability. Only through an integrated strategy of worker organizing, critical research and policy action at the local, state and federal level will we ensure that our emerging economy provides quality employment for working families.
The Fair Workweek Initiative will convene key stakeholders, including community-based partners and national allies to formally launch this summer.
Click here for a video explaining how employers short-change workers through unscrupulous scheduling practices.
ABOUT CARRIE GLEASON:
Carrie Gleason co-founded the Retail Action Project (RAP), a fast-growing organization of retail workers dedicated to improving opportunities and standards in the retail industry. As RAP’s Executive Director from 2010-2014, Carrie oversaw the organization’s base-building and strategic campaigns, research and empowering direct services to grow an industry voice for New York City retail workers. RAP emerged from an innovative community-labor partnership with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU/UFCW) and the Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES) that helped thousands of retail workers in lower Manhattan successfully fight wage theft and discrimination, winning millions in unpaid wages.
Carrie has provided analysis of the retail industry and low-wage worker scheduling trends for national policymakers and media outlets including NPR and the New York Times.
Carrie began organizing retail workers in 2005 and has worked in the labor movement for over 14 years, leading several winning unionization campaigns for the RWDSU and the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council (UNITE-HERE). She is a member of the Presidential Council of Cornell Women and served on the North Star Fund Community Funding Committee. Carrie was a 2009-2010 Charles H. Revson Fellow, a Program on the Future of New York City at Columbia University, and holds a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University. She lives in Brooklyn with her partner and son.
