Candidates Ready for GOP Debate: Alleged NY Backers of Hate Rhetoric
NEW YORK - Protestors called out some prominent New Yorkers ahead of tonight's GOP presidential candidate debate, accusing them of funding a network of groups that promote anti-immigrant hate...
NEW YORK - Protestors called out some prominent New Yorkers ahead of tonight's GOP presidential candidate debate, accusing them of funding a network of groups that promote anti-immigrant hate speech. Connie Razza, director of strategic research for the Center for Popular Democracy Action, said those allegations are confirmed in a new report that identifies New Yorker Barbara Winston as a financial contributor and board member of groups that, for example, worked to restrict undocumented immigrants' access to driver's licenses in the wake of the 9-11 attacks.
"When Donald Trump talks about deporting all of the undocumented immigrants in the United States," she said, "he's really picking up the platform that these wealthy New Yorkers have been investing in, over years." We reached out for comment to Bruce Winston Gem where Barbara Winston serves as president. Asked to respond to the allegation that Barbara Winston funded hate speech organizations, a manager there said, “No, it is not true.” Immigrant advocates say they protested in front of the Harry Winston Jewelers on Fifth Avenue Tuesday, because they say Barbara Winston owns that property.
Daniel Altschuler, managing director of the Make the Road Action Fund and co-editor of the report, "Backers of Hate in the Empire State," said it calls on nonprofit groups, political parties and the news media to sever ties with the New Yorkers cited in the report and the groups they are allegedly funding. "These are folks that have been buttressing the anti-immigrant infrastructure in this country," he said. "It identifies these folks, and demands that they be held responsible for promoting this kind of anti-immigrant rhetoric and false facts." Razza said it has been a major goal of these anti-immigrant groups to get their views front and center in prime-time slots such as tonight's GOP debate. "These wealthy New Yorkers are providing funding both to this anti-immigrant hate network and to the Republican Party," she said, "and starting to mainstream anti-immigrant hate in a way that's really dangerous."
The report is online at cpdaction.org. - See more at: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-10-28/immigrant-issues/candidates-...
Source: Public News Service
A Terminally Ill Progressive Activist Confronted Jeff Flake About The Tax Bill On A Flight
A Terminally Ill Progressive Activist Confronted Jeff Flake About The Tax Bill On A Flight
A leading progressive activist with Lou Gehrig’s disease appealed to Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) to reconsider his support for the Republican tax bill during a flight to Phoenix on Thursday.
...A leading progressive activist with Lou Gehrig’s disease appealed to Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) to reconsider his support for the Republican tax bill during a flight to Phoenix on Thursday.
“I need you to make your vote match your principles, senator. And for the rest of your life, you will be proud if you vote this bill down,” said Ady Barkan, founding director of the Fed Up campaign, a group backed by the Center for Popular Democracy that pushes the Federal Reserve to set monetary policy that favors workers.
Read the full article here.
Immigrants, Advocates Rally For New York State Citizenship
CBS New York - June 16, 2014 - They are not U.S. citizens, but a plan is in the works to allow undocumented New Yorkers to become citizens of the state.
Chanting “New York is my home” and...
CBS New York - June 16, 2014 - They are not U.S. citizens, but a plan is in the works to allow undocumented New Yorkers to become citizens of the state.
Chanting “New York is my home” and with the Statue of Liberty in the background, immigrants and their advocates rallied for New York state citizenship in Battery Park on Monday, WCBS 880′s Peter Haskell reported.
The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Gustavo Rivera, D-Bronx, said the legislation would grant state citizenship if “someone can demonstrate proof of identity, live here for three consecutive years, pay taxes for three consecutive years.”
Assemblyman Karim Camara, D-Brooklyn, said state citizenship would allow 2.7 million immigrants to legally drive, vote in state and local elections and receive tuition aid.
“We have the opportunity now to step in where the federal government has not and make New York stronger by strengthening the rights of new immigrants,” Camara said.
The bill is not likely to pass, but is being called a conversation starter, Haskell reported.
“We deserve to receive the aid necessary for us to go to college,” said Antonio Alarcon, 19. “We deserve to vote. We deserve to drive.”
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Charter Schools Struggling to Meet Academic Growth
Star Tribune - February 17, 2015, by Kim McGuire - Students in most Minnesota charter schools are failing to hit learning targets and are not achieving adequate academic growth,...
Star Tribune - February 17, 2015, by Kim McGuire - Students in most Minnesota charter schools are failing to hit learning targets and are not achieving adequate academic growth, according to a Star Tribune analysis of school performance data.
The analysis of 128 of the state’s 157 charter schools show that the gulf between the academic success of its white and minority students widened at nearly two-thirds of those schools last year. Slightly more than half of charter schools students were proficient in reading, dramatically worse than traditional public schools, where 72 percent were proficient.
Between 2011 and 2014, 20 charter schools failed every year to meet the state’s expectations for academic growth each year, signaling that some of Minnesota’s most vulnerable students had stagnated academically.
A top official with the Minnesota Department of Education says she is troubled by the data, which runs counter to “the public narrative” that charter schools are generally superior to public schools.
“We hear, as we should, about the highfliers and the schools that are beating the odds, but I think we need to pay even more attention to the schools that are persistently failing to meet expectations,” said Charlene Briner, the Minnesota Department of Education’s chief of staff. Charter school advocates strongly defend their performance. They say the vast majority of schools that aren’t showing enough improvement serve at-risk populations, students who are poor, homeless, with limited English proficiency, or are in danger of dropping out.
“Our students, they’re coming from different environments, both home and school, where they’ve never had the chance to be successful,” said April Harrison, executive director of LoveWorks Academy, a Minneapolis charter school that has the state’s lowest rating. “No one has ever taken the time to say, ‘What’s going on with you? How can I help you?’ That’s what we do.”
Minnesota is the birthplace of the charter school movement and a handful of schools have received national acclaim for their accomplishments, particularly when it comes to making strong academic gains with low-income students of color. But the new information is fueling critics who say the charter school experiment has failed to deliver on teaching innovation.
“Schools promised they were going to help turn around things for these very challenging student populations,” said Kyle Serrette, director of education for the New York City-based Center for Popular Democracy. “Now, here we are 20 years later and they’re realizing that they have the same troubles of public schools systems.”
More than half of schools analyzed from 2011 to 2014 were also failing to meet the department’s expectations for academic growth, the gains made from year to year in reading and math.
Of the 20 schools that failed to meet the state goals for improvement every year, Pillsbury United Communities is the authorizer for six of those schools: Dugsi Academy, LoveWorks Academy for Visual and Performing Arts, Connections Academy, Learning for Leadership Charter School, and the Minnesota Transitions Charter School’s elementary, Connections Academy and Virtual High School. Those schools also missed annual achievement gap targets.
Officials with the Urban Institute for Service and Learning, which oversees Pillsbury’s charters, say most of their schools cater to students at risk of dropping out, those who have been kicked out of other schools, and many who are learning to speak English.
“We intentionally work with students that most other people would really not want to work with,” said Antonio Cardona, director of the institute.
Two years ago, Pillsbury closed Quest Academy, a small St. Louis Park charter school that consistently failed to meet state performance goals.
Cardona said Pillsbury would consider closing more chronically low-performing schools, or more likely, adopt new turnaround strategies. They also want to add some high-performing schools to their portfolio so that some of their low-performing schools might be able to absorb successful teaching strategies.
At LoveWorks Academy in Minneapolis, about 85 percent of the school’s students qualify for free and reduced-price lunches. About 13 percent of its students were proficient in math and 12 percent are proficient in reading.
“What success means for me is our students are reaching the top,” Harrison said. “We are going to work until we get there.”
Some charter schools struggle with stability and finding qualified teachers who are the right fit. In one year, about 65 percent of LoveWorks’ teaching staff turned over. Some left on their own accord while others were not offered their job back.
“I think that’s why we’re seeing success now because we have a staff that’s willing to listen and learn and take the coaching,” said Jamar Smith, the school’s arts coordinator.
Just like traditional public schools, the highest-performing charter schools tend to serve students from more affluent families, the analysis shows.
There are some notable exceptions, many of which are noted annually in the Star Tribune’s “Beating the Odds” list, which is a ranking of high-performing schools that serve a large number of poor students. For years, that list has been dominated by charter schools.
“These are schools that have fully utilized the charter school model to do what needs to be done,” Sweeney said. “If a program isn’t working, if a schedule needs to be changed, they have the flexibility to turn on a dime.”
New Millennium Academy, a Minneapolis charter school that serves mostly Hmong students, has hit the state’s benchmarks for improvement every year from 2011 to 2014. In 2013, it was designated a Celebration school, one of the state’s top school designations.
Amy Erickson, the school’s director of teaching and learning, said the school’s improvement is due to a focused effort to help its students who are learning to speak English — about 85 percent of New Millennium’s enrollment.
Among the ways the school has done that is through data-driven instruction. New Millennium tests its students about every six weeks to see how they’re doing. Those who need extra help receive it in small groups.
“Many of our parents don’t read or write English,” said Yee Yang, the school’s executive director. “So we have meetings where we just talk about the importance of education. We want to make sure they’re focused on that, too.”
In recent years, Minnesota has increased its scrutiny of charter schools, particularly organizations that authorize them. Starting in 2015, the state will begin evaluating authorizers. An unsatisfactory rating means an authorizer would lose the ability to create new schools.
The legislative effort has revealed a rift between differing charter groups.
Charter School Partners is supporting legislation that would make it easier for authorizers to close schools that perform poorly.
“We think it’s an inoculation for our charter community,” said Brian Sweeney, Charter School Partners’ director of public affairs.
The Minnesota Association of Charter Schools, which represents about half the state’s charter schools, will oppose any legislative efforts that give authorizers more authority to close low-performing schools.
“It’s the teachers and principals who have a much more direct impact on student achievement,” said Eugene Piccolo, the association’s director. “Not the authorizers.”
Instead, the association is throwing its efforts behind legislative proposals it believes might help level the financial playing field between charters and traditional public schools.
A recent report commissioned by Charter School Partners shows that Minneapolis Public Schools receives about 31 percent more in funding per pupil than the average Minneapolis charter school. St. Paul Public Schools receives about 24 percent more per pupil.
Charter school supporters say the model continues to evolve.
“Twenty years ago when charters began in Minnesota, it was 1,000 flowers blooming. Let’s experiment. Let’s innovate. Let’s see what works” Sweeney said. “Nobody ever thought it was to have schools last forever that are failing. So there’s a national move to improve the sector and I think we need to do that here in Minnesota.”
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“Let Our Wages Grow:” Fed Up Coalition to Attend Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole Symposium, Ask Fed Not to Kill the Recovery
On August 27 and 28, workers, economists and allies with the Center for Popular Democracy’s Fed Up coalition will return to Jackson Hole, Wyo. with a clear demand for Federal Reserve officials:...
On August 27 and 28, workers, economists and allies with the Center for Popular Democracy’s Fed Up coalition will return to Jackson Hole, Wyo. with a clear demand for Federal Reserve officials: Let Our Wages Grow.
Some Fed officials claim the risk of inflation as a reason to raise interest rates, and central bankers have even made “Inflation Dynamics” the theme of their annual summit. But inflation is nowhere to be seen. A raise in interest rates would mean slowing the economy, halting the recovery and harming families for whom the recovery has been weakest: women and people of color, especially African Americans.
With too many Black workers still unemployed and wage growth nowhere to be found, the economy is simply not ready for the Fed to slow it down. Members of the Fed Up coalition will take this message to Jackson Hole, and will contrast the Fed’s summit on inflation with their own conference focused more broadly on jobs, wages and other issues of primary importance for working families.
The Fed Up campaign, anchored at the Center for Popular Democracy, will hold a number of teach-ins in Jackson Hole, Wyo. during the Federal Reserve’s symposium from August 27 to 29 to convey why it does not make sense to stop the recovery for American families. The teach-ins will be led by workers, economists, and Fed Up allies and will cover an array of topics like the Fed’s role in full employment, the intersection of Black Lives Matter and the Fed, the selection process for regional bank presidents, a historical look at inflation, and more.
“There is no data supporting the Fed’s push for higher interest rates,” said Ady Barkan, campaign director for Fed Up. “While they toy with halting the recovery, there is a crisis of stagnant wages and a lack of good jobs. We will remind Fed officials that their actions could have damaging consequences for women, African Americans and Latinos.”
The Fed Up campaign’s efforts to highlight the urgency of letting the economy grow for working families goes back to its inception last year. Since then, the Fed Up members from across the country have attended Jackson Hole, met with Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and regional Fed presidents, held national mobilizations, and more.
“With Fed officials gearing up for a crucial decision-making period, it is more important than ever that they hear from workers and understand how their decisions play out in communities across the country,” said Connie Razza, Director of Strategic Research at the Center for Popular Democracy.
Details for the teach-ins will be released at a later date.
Interviews Available
There are interviews available with workers affiliated with the Fed Up campaign who are coming to Jackson Hole, as well as economists and policy experts from the Economic Policy Institute, the Center for Popular Democracy, and allies.
For inquiries or interviews, please write to press@populardemocracy.org.
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The Center for Popular Democracy promotes equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with innovative base-building organizations, organizing networks and alliances, and progressive unions across the country. CPD builds the strength and capacity of democratic organizations to envision and advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial justice agenda.
“These Disasters Aren’t Natural Anymore”: A Dispatch from Puerto Rico After Maria
“These Disasters Aren’t Natural Anymore”: A Dispatch from Puerto Rico After Maria
Several weeks ago, Puerto Rico avoided a direct hit from Hurricane Irma, which shifted north at the last minute. But Hurricane Maria hit head on, and has left a humanitarian crisis in its wake....
Several weeks ago, Puerto Rico avoided a direct hit from Hurricane Irma, which shifted north at the last minute. But Hurricane Maria hit head on, and has left a humanitarian crisis in its wake. Power on the island could be out for as long as six months, and many parts of the island have yet to be contacted.
Read the full article here.
Una cita con el jefe de la Reserva Federal de NY
Una coalición de trabajadores latinos afroamericanos se reunirá este viernes con una de las personas más poderosas del sector económicos.
No vamos a hablar con un congresista ni senador, ni...
Una coalición de trabajadores latinos afroamericanos se reunirá este viernes con una de las personas más poderosas del sector económicos.
No vamos a hablar con un congresista ni senador, ni tampoco con el presidente Obama. En vez, le contaremos nuestra historia a una persona de la que pocos han oído; alguien sumamente importante, que está a cargo de dictar política: William Dudley, presidente del Banco Federal de Reserva de Nueva York.
La Reserva Federal es un banco central de Estados Unidos que en este momento es la más importante entidad de política económica, pues el Congreso no ha aprobado leyes significativas para estimular la economía y sacarnos de esta recesión. Eso significa que la Reserva Federal está tomando las principales decisiones sobre la economía, algo que históricamente ha hecho sin participación alguna del público.
Pero la coalición Fed Up, que incluye al Centro para la Democracia Popular, New York Communities for Change y Make the Road New York, se dedica a cambiar eso, pues la Reserva debe escuchar a la gente como usted y yo.
A pesar de lo que sabemos sobre la economía –la vida que llevan nuestras familias y su lucha diaria– miembros de la Reserva Federal como William Dudley se rehúsan a ver la realidad.
Tratan de afirmar que la economía se ha recuperado. Quieren aumentar las tasas de interés y dejar de estimular la economía antes de que el resto de nosotros siquiera tenga la oportunidad de recuperarse. Es una pésima idea.
El desempleo todavía es más alto y los salarios todavía son más bajos que antes de la recesión. Además, los salarios de los trabajadores afroamericanos en general no han aumentado en los últimos 15 años.
Dudley y otros miembros muy poderosos de la Reserva Federal viven en una burbuja y tratan de hacer que aceptemos el decepcionante nivel de desempleo y subempleo actual como algo normal.
Pero aún pasamos dificultades: el desempleo entre los latinos en Nueva York es de 8.5%, y el desempleo entre afroamericanos es de 11%. Por más que las cosas vayan bien en Wall Street para los amigos de William Dudley en Goldman Sachs, no van bien en Jamaica, Mott Haven, Sunset Park ni Washington Heights.
William Dudley ha dicho que la decisión de aumentar las tasas de interés representará un cambio tan profundo que será un “cambio de régimen”. Una decisión de tal magnitud es demasiado importante como para dejarla en manos de los banqueros de Wall Street.
Los desempleados, los subempleados, quienes trabajan demasiado y los mal pagados representan la mayoría en la economía, y tenemos el derecho a voz y voto.
Nos reuniremos con Dudley porque las decisiones más trascendentales de la Reserva Federal –las principales decisiones para toda la economía en este momento– son cruciales. Es necesario escuchar también las voces de los trabajadores latinos y de afroamericanos.
La incertidumbre de los puertorriqueños de Nueva York que no han podido comunicarse con sus familiares en la isla
La incertidumbre de los puertorriqueños de Nueva York que no han podido comunicarse con sus familiares en la isla
Por otro lado, el Center for Popular Democracy lanzó un fondo de emergencia para asistir a organizaciones que trabajan con comunidades de bajos ingresos, que son más vulnerables a los daños de...
Por otro lado, el Center for Popular Democracy lanzó un fondo de emergencia para asistir a organizaciones que trabajan con comunidades de bajos ingresos, que son más vulnerables a los daños de María.
Lea el artículo completo aquí.
Immigration Advocates Applaud Mayor Bill De Blasio’s ID Card Plan
CBSNew York - February 11, 2014 - Undocumented immigrants and their supporters are cheering Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan for creating city identification cards this year. But, as WCBS 880′s Alex...
CBSNew York - February 11, 2014 - Undocumented immigrants and their supporters are cheering Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan for creating city identification cards this year. But, as WCBS 880′s Alex Silverman reported, they also want to make sure New York gets it right.
During his State of the City address Monday, de Blasio vowed to make municipal ID cards available to all residents in 2014 regardless of their immigration status, “so that no daughter or son of our city goes without bank accounts, leases, library cards, simply because they lack identification.”
“To all of my fellow New Yorkers who are undocumented, I say: New York City is your home, too, and we will not force any of our residents to live their lives in the shadows,” he said.
Aracely Cruz said she’s been waiting 10 years to hear a promise like de Blasio’s.
“I face fear every day,” she said. “I don’t trust anybody.”
Cruz was among the immigration reform proponents who gathered at a news conference Tuesday in lower Manhattan. Also in attendance were a mother who wants the freedom to walk into her child’s school and a day laborer who says he has spent 15 years in Queens with nothing to show to prove he’s part of the city.
City Councilman Carlos Menchaca, D-Brooklyn, head of the Immigration Committee, said members are drafting a bill to create the cards and plans to hold a hearing on the matter within the next month.
“We’re not going to wait for a federal government to give us reform,” he said.
“We’re tired of Congress failing us and failing our families,” said Linda Sarsour, executive director of the Arab American Association of New York. “And what we do in New York is we don’t wait for Congress.”
One concern advocates such as Steve Choi, executive director of the New York City Immigration Coalition, have is “we have to make sure we are ensuring trust, that the city agencies, such as the library and the police, are able to really accept these municipal ID cards without fear that folks are going to be branded somehow.”
Brittny Saunders, a lawyer with the Center for Popular Democracy, said other cities have created an incentive for citizens to also obtain the cards ”by connecting up these IDs with discounts at local businesses.”
Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, agreed the ID cards should be used for all New Yorkers, not just undocumented immigrants.
“I, for one, intend to get a municipal ID because I want to use the ID that’s accessible to all New Yorkers,” she said.
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Fed officials tell activists rate hikes won't derail economy
An unusually large group of Federal Reserve policymakers appeared before activists on Thursday and defended their plans to raise interest rates to keep the U.S. economy from eventually overheating...
An unusually large group of Federal Reserve policymakers appeared before activists on Thursday and defended their plans to raise interest rates to keep the U.S. economy from eventually overheating.
Several policymakers said raising interest rates gradually would allow them to stimulate the economy for longer, but that an overheating economy could end in a recession.
"It's not about trying to stop the economy from growing," San Francisco Fed President John Williams told about 100 labor activists from the Fed Up coalition who pressed policymakers not to raise interest rates. "We're going to keep this economy growing, we are going to run it hot."
"My objective is not to slow down the economy," said Kansas City Fed President Esther George, who organized the meeting ahead of the annual central banking conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Fed policymakers have yet to decide when to raise rates again after lifting them in December for the first time in nearly a decade. Policymakers are divided whether to hike soon or take a more cautious approach.
A core group of Fed policymakers, the Board governors, are currently debating what is going on in the U.S. economy and how to set policy, Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer told the meeting.
"Everything that's being argued here is being argued in the board as well," Fischer said.
Much of the public commentary of Fed officials in recent weeks suggests the central bank is moving closer to a hike.
But the activists, who met with 11 Fed policymakers, used catcalls and applause to signal they were not buying it.
Years of lackluster wage gains and underemployment have left many Americans feeling left out of the country's economic recovery despite a 4.9 percent jobless rate.
Raising rates at this point in the recovery, said Rod Adams of Minneapolis, means "You'll be leaving us behind, pulling up the ladder right after you've climbed it."
The meeting, billed by organizers as a polite "listening session" for exchanging ideas, turned out to be a tough grilling for the Fed policymakers, who rarely appear in public in such numbers.
Fed officials worry that leaving rates too low for too long could stoke inflation, forcing the Fed to raise rates aggressively.
"One of the key goals should be that we don't have another recession," said Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren.
(Reporting by Ann Saphir and Jason Lange; Editing by Toni Reinhold and Andrew Hay)
By Ann Saphir and Jason Lange
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