Monthly Archives: February 2019

Take Action! Send a letter to Congress: Hands off Venezuela!

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NO Coup

NO War

NO Sanctions

HANDS OFF VENEZUELA!

Act Now! Click HERE to send a message to your Congressperson and Senators (US) or your Government (Canada)

Tell them you demand that they respect international law and honor the right of Venezuelans to choose their own government and to resolve their own problems with peace and dignity. Sanctions hurt the poor most of all. A coup will plunge Venezuela into bloody chaos, just like the Obama administration’s coup in Libya. War will spread death and misery throughout the region and for years to come as we witnessed in Central America in the 1980s and in Syria today.

The Trump administration, with the cooperation of Canada, Great Britain, and some European allies and South American client states, are threatening the very structure of diplomacy built painfully step-by-step over the past 500 years. Their reckless actions threaten to return us to the “might makes right” “survival of the fittest” world depicted in post-apocalyptic movies. Our world is not a movie. Innocent women, children and men die when our leaders choose violence over diplomacy and negotiation.

WE WILL NOT STAND FOR IT!

In this time of great danger, it is morally imperative that we take our opposition into the streets…into the halls of government…into the corporate boardrooms…into the media studios and the newspaper pages.

We ask you to take three actions:

  1. Click HERE to send an email to your elected officials.
  2. Call the White House Comment Line and tell Trump Hands Off Venezuela 202-456-1111
  3. Write a letter-to-the editor of your local newspaper

 

Dear [Sen or Rep]

As a voting constituent I demand that you speak out against the dangerous and illegal campaign by the Trump Administration to overthrow the legitimate government of Venezuela. If the United States invades Venezuela with US troops or proxy forces or foments a coup using my tax dollars, my vote will be determined by the actions and positions you take. Illegal, unilateral sanctions are already making the suffering of the Venezuelan people worse in the current economic crisis and are depriving the government of the economic tools to recover. The confusion and chaos caused by the baseless and unconstitutional recognition of opposition politician Juan Guaido simply makes matters worse for ordinary Venezuelans. Violence in the form of direct invasion or low intensity warfare will cause untold suffering and the danger of turning Venezuela into a failed State like Libya. This is an extremely important issue to me and I will be watching your actions closely.

Sincerely,

January 26, 2019 Stand For Peace, Milwaukee, WI

Educators strike against charter operator CICS in Chicago, Need Support

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https://www.ctulocal1.org/

For Immediate Release:  February 5, 2019

Contact:

Chris Geovanis | 312-329-6250 | chrisgeovanis@ctulocal1.org | Mobile: 312-446-4939
  • Press availability: 4:30AM, Tues., Feb. 5
    CICS Wrightwood, 8130 S. California, Chicago
  • Picket lines: 6AM, Tues., Feb. 5
    CICS Wrightwood, Ellison, Northtown, Quest: see below for addresses

Management refuses to move on “equal pay for equal work” for poverty wage for paraprofessionals and teachers, threats to cut social workers, counselors, student programs. Full video of press conference announcing strike is at this link.

CHICAGO—Top CICS bureaucrats have put management greed ahead of student need, forcing a strike at four unionized schools in the profitable charter operator’s 14-school stable. CTU members will strike for CICS schools

CICS management was also busted over the weekend for working to line up strikebreakers, offering to pay temporary workers $21.75/hour to scab, an annual pay rate more than $10,000 greater than the low-wage paraprofessionals that management has refused to provide a living wage. Some of those low-wage paraprofessionals make barely $30,000/year or less, despite bachelors or masters degrees and years of service at CICS, yet CICS’ ‘offer’ barely covers the inflation rate.

“CICS has spent nine months at the bargaining table stringing our members along. They are pocketing increased taxpayer funding and insulting our teachers and low-wage paraprofessionals with threats to cut counselors, social workers and critical frontline programs for our overwhelmingly low-income students” said CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates. “They have contempt for the Black and Brown students they serve, and contempt for the educators who work long hours for low wages to educate those students. They have contempt for the Chicagoans who pay their taxes to educate our public schoolchildren – that’s why they are stealing funds from our students’ educational needs. They’ve forced us to be on the picket line, and we will shut these schools down.”

Beginning at 4:30 AM, CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates will join CTU members at CICS Wrightwood, 8130 S. California. Formal pickets go up at 6AM Tuesday at the following Chicago campuses:

CICS is currently stockpiling more than $36 million in public funds it has refused to spend on classroom needs—though just a fraction of those funds could settle the strike. Those public dollars could save the jobs of counselors and social workers that management has threatened to cut in exchange for raises for teachers, with management also seeking to ratchet up already large class sizes and deny low-wage paraprofessionals—some of whom step in to fill teacher shortages—a living wage.

In 2018, CICS, like charters across the state, saw an influx of additional revenue in the wake of the state’s 2017 education funding formula. According to CICS’ 2018 audit, CPS revenue to the charter operator increased from $82 million in 2017 to to $93 million in 2018, an increase of 13%.

Instead of investing in classroom needs, management increased spending overall on “management and general” expenses by 31%—while increasing spending on program services for students by a paltry 3%. The misspending is even worse at CICS’ four union schools, where expenditures on program services increased only $500,000, or 2%, in the last year—while CICS spending on management at the union schools increased by 35%. CICS has jacked up its six-figure salaries from four positions in 2017 to 14 today.

CICS’ audit also shows that management created two new charter management organizations wholly owned by CICS that function as shell companies to siphon away public dollars from classroom needs. CICS-owned CMOs at the striking schools drain away upwards of thirty cents on the dollar into management fees and away from classrooms. That shell game has allowed the operator to amass the close to $40 million public dollars it is either hoarding in ‘reserves’ or has invested with the company of its co-founder and former president, Craig Henderson.

“Management’s indifference to our students’ needs is bitterly disappointing, but not surprising,” said Northtown high school teacher Jen Conant, who’s been at the bargaining table with management since May. “CICS has decided to put their management greed ahead of student needs. They would rather sacrifice our students than fund classroom resources or pay a living wage to the educators who support our students. CICS has forced this strike, and we will be on the picket lines until we win real educational justice for our students.”

The Chicago Teachers Union represents more than 25,000 teachers and educational support personnel working in Chicago Public Schools, and by extension, the nearly 400,000 students and families they serve. The CTU is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Federation of Teachers and is the third-largest teachers local in the United States. For more information please visit the CTU website at www.ctulocal1.org.
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Tell ICE to release 21 Savage now!

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Atlanta-based artist and beloved father of three children, She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, also known as 21 Savage, has been arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (ICE).1 She’yaa is currently caged in a detention center outside of Atlanta, Georgia. We have to move quickly. He can be deported at any moment.

It’s no secret that the Trump administration has significantly ramped up its efforts to target, arrest and deport Black immigrants. For the last two years, Black immigrants have been especially vulnerable — from the Mulsim ban to the cancellation of the decades-old Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for immigrants from Guinea, Sudan, Haiti, Sierre Leon, and Liberia.2 Black immigrants are often caught at the very center of immigrant detention and deportation. The arrest of She’yaa drives home the personal cost of racist immigration policy on Black people.

Now a powerful coalition of Black-led organizations including Black Lives Matter, UndocuBlack Network and the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, are coming together to help end the attack on Black immigrants.

We are asking that you join us. If we can secure the release of She’yaa then we can put a cog in Trump’s deportation machine, and shine a light on the insidious ways criminalizing immigrants affect Black people.

Sign the petition: Demand the immediate release of She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph!

As a young child, She’yaa’s family came to the United States looking for better opportunities. Like many immigrant families, She’yaa’s family overstayed their work visas, and he, like almost two million other children, was left without legal status. Fast forward years later, on February 4, She’yaa was apprehended by ICE agents based on completely false information.  In fact, Mr. Abraham-Joseph has been petitioning the U.S government to adjust his immigration status through a U-visa application for over two years.3 She’yaa has never tried to hide his immigration status from federal agents or misrepresent his citizenship status. This recent arrest is another attempt by ICE to weave a false narrative that Black immigrants are inherently criminal and unworthy of basic respect.

ICE is a rogue agency known for its dirty tactics. There have been several examples of ICE agents falsifying information,4 wrongfully arresting individuals,5 and entrapping people by posing as family members and other trusted members of the community.6Just a few months ago, Sean Peter Brown, a Black man born in the U.S., was nearly deported to Jamaica.7 She’yaa’s case is another example in a long history of federal officials using immigration enforcement to fulfill their anti-Black and anti-immigrant agenda.

We have to push back on this attack on Black immigrants. Free She’yaa and all immigrant families!

Unfortunately, She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph’s circumstances aren’t unique to him alone. Black immigrants are often harassed by both law enforcement and ICE agents, face compounded criminal charges, and experience discriminatory sentencing, all of which increases their chances of being detained and deported. Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latino and African immigrants experience higher levels of deportations as a result of contact with police than any other group. Trump’s attack on Black communities knows no bounds and will continue unless we stop it.

Immigration is a Black issue. She’yaa’s detention is a testament to this reality. She’yaa has been in the United States since he was a young child. Atlanta is his home. He has no current or prior criminal convictions and he is beloved by his friends, fans, and family. It is shameful that he and so many Black immigrants are separated from their families on a daily basis as part of the U.S.’s heartless and racist immigration policies.

Stand in the solidarity with She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph. Tell ICE to release She’yaa Bin and allow him to fight petition case outside detention! 

In solidarity,

Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Black Lives Matter

References:

  1. “Rapper 21 Savage Arrested By ICE For Allegedly Overstaying Visa.” NPR, 4 February 2019. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/121162?t=11&akid=23106%2E1413709%2E56ffuL
  2. “Temporary Protected Status Recipients and Their Families Are Suing the Government.” Teen Vogue, 11 March 2018. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/121163?t=13&akid=23106%2E1413709%2E56ffuL
  3. Kuck Baxter Immigration, 4 February 2019. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/121164?t=15&akid=23106%2E1413709%2E56ffuL
  4. “ICE agents lied about how they arrested a domestic violence victim” ThinkProgress, 17 February 2017. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/121165?t=17&akid=23106%2E1413709%2E56ffuL
  5. “ICE caught lying — again — about their tactics and immigration raids in Austin.” Grassroots Leadership, 26 October 2017. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/121166?t=19&akid=23106%2E1413709%2E56ffuL
  6. “ICE Agents Reportedly Posed as Good Samaritans Returning Lost Wallet to Make Arrest.” Splinter News, 9 October 2018. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/121167?t=21&akid=23106%2E1413709%2E56ffuL
  7. “Born in Philadelphia, U.S. citizen says he was held for deportation to Jamaica at ICE’s request.” The Washington Post, 4 December 2018. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/121168?t=23&akid=23106%2E1413709%2E56ffuL

February 23, 2019: International Day of Actions to Stop U.S. War, Mobilize Solidarity with Venezuela

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65+ Organizations and Nearly 1,000 Across the World Sign No War on Venezuela Statement in Days – Add Your Name!
*Please share widely across lists, networks, and on social media*
The response to the statement that a growing network of organizations and progressive people issued just days ago has been overwhelming – already, nearly 1,000 people in over a dozen countries have signed on, and more than 65 organizations have added their name to say: No sanctions, no coup, no war on Venezuela!

The statement has also been translated into Spanish, Farsi, Italian, French, Portuguese, Serbo-Croatian, and German. If you’re able to help translate the statement into other languages, please reply to this message. See the full list of signers here.

The weekend of Saturday, February 23 – the 1 month anniversary of the U.S.-backed coup attempt in Venezuela – has been set as a day of internationally coordinated actions in solidarity with the people of Venezuela and against the U.S., Wall Street, and the Pentagon’s drive to war.

Actions are being planned for that day, and the days immediately before and after.

Find an initial listing of actions below and on the website, and submit plans for your action using the button.

As the U.S. government, Democrats and Republicans, the corporate media, and their international allies ramp up the campaign to intervene in Venezuela – economically, politically, and even militarily – now is a critical time to redouble our efforts to mobilize the broadest possible solidarity in the streets on February 23.

Download an initial leaflet for use to build your local February 23 action, and be on the lookout for a more extensive toolkit in the coming days.

Madison, Feb. 9, 2019: “US HANDS OFF VENEZUELA!” RALLY

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12 NOON, State Capitol Steps, Madison

The revival of “Yankee imperialism” at its worst must immediately be brought to a halt. People here in the U.S. must once again come together to counter Washington’s aggression, overt and covert, in Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin America — the necessary precondition for peace, true democracy, and security. Join in opposition and voice demands for an end to US intervention and violations of Venezuela’s national sovereignty.

JOIN US! Bing signs, banners, your friends and comrades!

-U.S. Hands Off Venezuela!
-NO to a “Regime Change” Coup!
-NO to sanctions, oil embargo and economic warfare!
-NO to military intervention by the U.S. and its regional proxies!

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Black Agenda Report: The Racist, Imperialist War On Venezuela

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https://bit.ly/2RG8HOS

https://blackagendareport.com/

“The core opposition to the socialist government of Nicolas Maduro is white and upper class.”

….Donald Trump has thrown the full weight of U.S. imperial power on the side of the counter-revolution, through a designated traitor who would hand the country over to U.S. corporations. The same U.S. media and politicians that scream hysterically about a Russian social media “Pearl Harbor” against U.S. “democracy” and call for Trump to be impeached forthwith, make common cause with their orange nemesis to crush the sovereignty of the Venezuelan people.

Black America used to recognize the inherent racism of U.S. military adventures in the “Third World,” understanding such aggressions as global expressions of the same white supremacy they experienced at home. By every measure, Black America was the most pro-peace and anti-war constituency in the nation. Then came Obama, whose Black presence in the White House caused a significant segment of Black people to identify with the imperial war machine and its crimes. Donald Trump sits in the Oval Office. How ya like the Empire now?

BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com

https://blackagendareport.com/

Stand For Peace, January 26, 2019 Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Wisconsin basketball star Marsha Howard has no plans to stop protesting racism during the national anthem

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https://bit.ly/2WBa0Ct

….Howard said she has received an immense amount of support from her teammates, coaches, and the athletics staff on campus. They all beam with pride when talking about her, including head coach Jonathan Tsipis. When she told her coach and media relations staffers that she planned to protest, they didn’t try to stop her. Instead, they reached out to employees at the university who could help provide her with the support she might need. Her teammates — many of whom are white — have her back as well.

“Marsha, she’s always very passionate. And we do everything we can to support her,” guard Kendra Van Leeuwen said. “When she wanted to do it, it was something we all accepted, and we were right behind her with it. She’s just very proud of it, and I’m so proud of her for it.”

Most of the athletes who began protesting racism during the national anthem along with Kaepernick have moved on. But Howard has no plans to stop her protest any time soon.

“Change doesn’t come overnight,” she said. “So, as long as things are still the way they are, then yeah, I’ll continue to protest.”

Photo via Lindsay Gibbs, design via Adam Peck, ThinkProgress

Photo via Lindsay Gibbs, design via Adam Peck, ThinkProgress

House Fire Recovery for Steph Ortiz & Family in Green Bay

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https://bit.ly/2t34dIl

Hello Family & Friends,

My house caught on fire and damage is so excessive that my roommates and I will be displaced for at least 6 months. 6 adults lived in my home and also 1 child. I have to keep making my mortgage payments and my roommates simply wont be able to afford their monthly fees on top of finding another place to be temporarily. All of the financial support will go towards my mortgage payments and I appreciate any amount anyone can give. I’m a 1st generation home owner and this is just devastating. I was so proud of my home. I felt such a deep sense of gratitude waking up in a home i knew was mine and that i worked really hard for. I felt a deep privilege of being able to let loved ones stay with me when necessary. Thank you everyone in advance for any donations and any support you send our way.

Please keep my cousin Freddy in your prayers. He has 3rd degree burns and has a long road of recovery ahead.


Thank you,
Steph Ortiz

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