(Source: Food Research & Action Center) If it seems like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has been under near-constant threat for the last year and half, that’s because it has. The Trump Administration’s latest proposal would take food assistance benefits away from 3.1 … [Read more...]
Stop Abusive Debt Collection Practices-Comment by September 18th
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), an agency meant to protect American consumers, is also back at it with yet another proposal that actually expands the freedoms of debt collectors. The CFPB’s proposed Debt Collection Practices rule would boost the frequency with which debt collectors … [Read more...]
Homelessness in Seattle and King County with KUOW’s Kate Walters, Sept. 28, Shoreline WA
Homelessness is one of the biggest issues faced in Seattle and King County. On any given night there are roughly 11,200 people experiencing homelessness county-wide. This is a complicated issue that evokes strong emotions from people across the region. There are a wide range of opinions on how to … [Read more...]
Help Stop Climate Change Threats to Workers
Interfaith Worker Justice asks you to: Tell your Representatives to endorse sensible heat protections TODAY!!! It’s time to cool things down for workers. Eighteen of the last nineteen hottest years on record have occurred since 2001 and this year is on track to continue that trend. The effects of … [Read more...]
Birnbaum Lecture–The Affordability Imperative: Delivering on the Promise of Health and Health Care for All, Nov. 13, Seattle
Mark your calendar for Kaiser Permanente Washington’s Annual Birnbaum Lecture—Wednesday, November 13, 7 to 9 p.m. at Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle This year, we present Eric B. Larson, MD, MPH, a leading expert in health services, clinical research, and healthy aging. Dr. Larson’s lecture will … [Read more...]
King County lost FEMA homelessness funding because the region is too wealthy
Despite its homelessness "state of emergency," King County no longer qualifies for a federal grant used by local shelters and food banks. by Josh Cohen / August 30, 2019 . . . Each year for nearly three decades, King County has received funding from the Federal Emergency Management … [Read more...]
Protest SNAP Food Assistance Cuts by September 23rd
Food assistance is at risk--again. Just months after Congress rejected cuts to our most important food assistance program (SNAP), the Administration is now proposing to implement, through executive action, a second SNAP benefits cut it failed to secure through legislation. Remarkably, the Trump … [Read more...]
Public Charge Rule to Discourage Immigrants from Using Public Assistance
In mid-August, the Administration announced its final version of the “public charge” rule, which would force immigrants to undergo a rigorous wealth test in order to obtain their green card—an important step in the process of ultimately becoming a US citizen. Under new guidelines, immigrants may be … [Read more...]
Planned Parenthood Forced to Withdraw from Title X
Planned Parenthood was forced on August 29th to withdraw from the Title X family planning program. The administration’s nationwide gag rule is destroying Title X, the nation’s only dedicated program for affordable birth control and other essential reproductive health care — and for the first time … [Read more...]
Backbone Awards Dinner: Celebrating Heroes & Solutions, September 28th, Seattle
Get your ticket today to an incredible evening - Backbone Awards presented to US Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson for their courageous leadership, as well as awards to 3 relentless activists fighting for the orca, the immigrant children, and for a just future. … [Read more...]
New Rule Meant to Deter and Intimidate Non-Citizens
On August 14th, the Department of Homeland Security published a prospective rule which fundamentally changes the longstanding “public charge” policy and sends a message of who is desirable or welcome in the U.S. The final rule, scheduled to take effect on October 15th of this year, will change the … [Read more...]
Sign Reverend Barber’s Petition Calling for Presidential Candidate Anti-Racism, Pro-Voter Registration Rally
I'm Reverend William J. Barber, II, of Repairers of the Breach, the Poor People's Campaign, and the Moral Mondays movement. And I am asking you to join me in this call to all the presidential candidates: All presidential candidates should unite for a massive, pro-voter, anti-racism rally in … [Read more...]
Sierra Club Organizes Actions on Green New Deal
The Sierra Club, in conjunction with the youth group Sunrise Movement, has organized national action on the Green New Deal, which has also been endorsed by the UUA (see below). Sierra Club leaders are hosting debate watching parties, where people interested in pressuring the Democratic National … [Read more...]
UUMFE Organizes UUs for Green New Deal
After the UUA General Assembly passed an Action of Immediate Witness endorsing the Green New Deal (see below), the UU Ministry for Earth (UUMFE) began actions to work for passage of the Green New Deal. The UUMFE has organized climate activists by state and region and appointed coordinators for each. … [Read more...]
The Green New Deal: Online Panel Discussion Can Spark Your Congregation’s Climate and Economic Justice Activism
Much has been said and written about the political aspects of the Green New Deal. The substance of the Green New Deal has not gotten as much attention. House Resolution 109, introduced by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, lists the goals of the Green New Deal. These goals are captured into two … [Read more...]
The Lessons of Washington State’s Watered Down ‘Public Option’
By Sarah Kliff, June 27, 2019 For those who dream of universal health care, Washington State looks like a pioneer. As Gov. Jay Inslee pointed out in the first Democratic presidential debate on Wednesday, his state has created the country’s first “public option” — a government-run health plan that … [Read more...]
Join the ACLU Discussion of Transgender Rights to Health Care, July 30 in Seattle
Flights & Rights is ACLU's community series featuring important civil rights issues and great beer in the KEXP Studio Gathering Space, 472 1st Ave N, Seattle, WA! All people have a right to be who they are, be safe, and live free from discrimination. Yet many transgender people are unfairly … [Read more...]
Urge Congress to Raise the Minimum Wage Today!
Julian Medrano, Director of Public Policy at Interfaith Worker Justice says: It has been 10 years since Congress raised the minimum wage. That’s the longest period in history – since it was implemented in 1938 – without an increase. Millions of Americans across the country are still struggling to … [Read more...]
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN The Untold Stories of Jail Deaths in Washington
Columbia Legal Services, May 2019 A punitive and inequitable model that holds people who have not been convicted of any crime simply because they cannot afford bail; a model that condemns people fighting mental illness and cognitive disabilities to serve days, weeks, or months for behaviors … [Read more...]
Historic Congressional Session Debates Reparations
"It is tempting to divorce this modern campaign of terror, of plunder, from enslavement, but the logic of enslavement, of white supremacy respects no such borders. And the god of bondage was lustful and begat many heirs: coup d'etats and convict leasing, vagrancy laws and debt peonage, redlining and … [Read more...]