December 7, 2023
WAPO boycott, make gun violence a public health emergency, gender pay gap, and more!
- ONE-DAY BOYCOTT OF THE WASHINGTON POST TODAY
More than 700 Washington Post employees with the Post Guild are walking off the job for a 24-hour strike today. The union has been attempting to negotiate a fairer contract for the last 18 months in the face of buyouts and threatened layoffs that aim to reduce the workforce by 10 percent. The Guild is asking readers to refrain from interacting with Post journalism in any form – including print and online news stories, podcasts and videos. Let’s be sure to respect the digital picket line and boycott the Washington Post today. We can also send a letter to Washington Post leadership expressing solidarity with the union members here. - DECLARE GUN VIOLENCE A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCYCongressional Democrats are working to frame gun violence as a public health emergency. This step could support collecting data on firearm violence and expanding successful programs such as hospital services to help gunshot patients avoid additional gun injuries. Let’s contact our Congress members to support calling gun violence a public health emergency. If our senators are on the Senate Judiciary Committee, tell them we know that in November, they heard medical and community safety experts support this action. If our House representative is not on the list of cosponsors of H.R.5010, the Recognizing Gun Violence as a Public Health Emergency Act, let’s ask them to support it.
- INFORM FLORIDA VOTERS OF NEW VOTE BY MAIL REQUIREMENTS IN TIME FOR KEY 2024 ELECTIONSA new restrictive voting law now requires Florida voters who wish to vote by Mail to request a ballot after every election cycle. Voters who requested vote by mail ballots before November 8, 2022, must make their requests again if they want to receive ballots for upcoming elections, including the 2024 Presidential one. Since many voters are still not aware of this restriction, Postcards to Voters is letting them know. We can join their latest postcarding campaign and let voters in Escambia County know what they need to do to keep voting by mail. Every vote matters! Let’s make sure that every voter has a chance to vote. If we are new to Postcards to Voters and want to join we can email them at Join@TonyTheDemocrat.org. If we are already approved writers, we can contact them through Abby Slack or email HELLO to: Request@AbbyAddresses.org
- GENDER PAY GAPWomen typically earn 82 cents—others estimate it at 77 cents—for every dollar earned by men—a statistic that has barely budged in two decades. “These lost wages mean women and their families have less money to support themselves, care for their families and communities, and save and invest for the future.” The Paycheck Fairness Act, if passed, will update the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to eliminate loopholes, end the practice of pay secrecy, and strengthen remedies for women to hold employers accountable. Let’s tell our US Senators to co-sponsor S.728 and our US Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 17.
- SUPPORT INCREASED RAILWAY SAFETYThe National Railway Safety Act of 2023 (HR 1674/S 576) is a bi-partisan bill that would improve railway safety standards, especially for trains carrying hazardous materials, in hopes of averting another disaster like the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The bill has been reported out of committee in the Senate, but hasn’t yet been brought to the floor for a vote. In the House, it has been introduced but not yet assigned to a committee. Let’s tell our Reps that instead of wasting time on bogus investigations of the Biden family, we’d like to see some action on this bill, which might reassure the American people that Congress can actually do something for the good of all. And let’s urge our Senators to bring this bill to the floor for a vote.