ACTIONS OF THE MONTH - April 2021
Action #1 - For the People Act (HR1/S1)
The For the People Act (HR 1, S1) would expand and protect this most fundamental right and bring voting into the 21st century.
• End gerrymandering for US House races
• End the worst aspects of Citizens United (Dark money in politics)
• Allow Same-Day and Online Registration
• Protect Against Flawed Purges
• Restore the Voting Rights Act
• Restore Voting Rights to People with Prior Convictions
• Strengthen Mail Voting Systems
• Institute Nationwide Early Voting
• Protect Against Deceptive Practices
Read More at the Brennan Institute for Justice: (Read more at the Brennan Institute for Justice
WHO TO CALL:
Sen. Warren Springfield 413-788-2690 DC 202-224-4543
Sen. Markey Springfield 413-785-4610 DC 202-224-2742
Rep. McGovern Northampton 413-341-8700 DC 202-225-6101
SCRIPT:
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent and my address is [address] and telephone number [number]. I’m calling to express my support for [H.R. 1/S. 1] the For the People Act and urge [Representative/ Congressman] to work to swiftly pass this legislation. Addressing corruption, protecting voting rights, and reforming campaign finance should be a bipartisan priorities to make our democracy better for all Americans, regardless of political affiliation. Thank you for your time and attention.
Action #2 - Statehood for DC
BACKGROUND: Residents of Washington DC pay federal taxes but don’t have Senators or Representatives to vote on issues affecting them. DC has a larger population than both Vermont and Wyoming. After the deadly insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6th, Mayor Bowser requested aid from the National Guard but was denied and delayed because the Pentagon, not the Mayor oversees the District’s forces
ACTION: Call Senators Warren and Markey and Representative McGovern and urge them to support HR 51/Senate S. 51 making DC the 51st State of the Union. Support Voting Rights Act (HR1 in the House, S 1 in the Senate)
Script:
Hi, my name is [NAME]. I’m your constituent. My address is [ADDRESS AND ZIP CODE]. My phone number is [NUMBER]. Tonight I’m calling to urge [Senator/Congressman] to make the District of Columbia the 51st State of the Union. The January 6th coup attempt makes it clear that issues like the inability of city leaders to protect the District in emergencies, let alone taxation without representation, is unacceptable.
Action #3 - Pathway to Citizenship -- 3 or 4 part action
Support pathways to citizenship. The House has passed two bills that would establish citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants including those brought to this country as children.
1. The Dream and Promise Act of 2021 would provide permanent legal protections and a pathway to citizenship for DACA and TPS recipients. The bill would allow TPS (Temporary protected status) recipients who have in the US since the fall of 2017 apply for green cards and full citizenship after five years. DACA recipients could apply for conditional permanent residency after meeting certain requirements. They could then apply for a green card after completing two years of a bachelor’s or technical program, receiving a bachelor’s degree or serving in the military. If passed the Dream Act could help as many as 2.5 million people obtain legal status and put them on a path to citizenship.
2. The Farm workforce Modernization Act of 2021 (HR 1603) To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for terms and conditions for nonimmigrant workers performing agricultural labor or services, and for other purposes.
These bills are now in the Senate
Call Senator Elizabeth Warren- (413-788-2690) or (202-224-4543)
Suggested Script: Hello. My name is ___. My address (including zip code) is ___. My phone number is ___. I am calling Senator Warren to urge her to support a pathway to citizenship Through passing the Dream and Promise Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021 to provide dignity and critical COVID-19 relief for the many hardworking families in our community. Its time we permanently protect our DACA and TPS recipients as well as provide assistance to our nonimmigrant workers. Thank you.
Call Senator Ed Markey- (413-785-4610) or (202-224-2742) or (617- 565-8519)
Suggested Script: Hello. My name [is __]. My address [including ZIP is __]. My phone number [is ___]. I’m calling Senator Markey to urge him to urge him to support a pathway to citizenship Through passing the Dream and Promise Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021 to provide dignity and critical COVID-19 relief for the many hardworking families in our community. Its time we permanently protect our DACA and TPS recipients as well as provide assistance to our nonimmigrant workers. Thank you.
Action #4 - Call for an end to unconstitutional practices at the border
Title 42 is a Trump-era policy that uses the pandemic as pretext to expel refugee families and adults to danger under the guise of protecting the public’s health.
Thousands of asylum seekers in Mexico are waiting to hear how they will be processed into the United States and more are on illegal waitlists. Under the Title 42 CDC border order the Trump Administration weaponized the pandemic by closing the border, full stop, to asylum seekers, expelling them to Mexico and putting them on flights to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean still reeling from the pandemic. We are concerned that people are still being expelled from the border and flown back to danger in their home countries without any chance to seek protection because the Title 42 order is still in place. The policy has now been in place for over a year. It must be rescinded now.
Contact: Alejandro Mayorkas at (202) 282-8495 (DHS comment line) or
Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
245 Murray Ln. SW
Washington, DC 20528
Script: Hello, I’m [CALLING/WRITING] from [ZIP] in opposition to Title 42, which allows border agents to bypass normal immigration laws and rapidly expel many aspiring Americans at the southern border without due process. This policy disregards our constitutional duty to provide asylum to those seeking refuge in our country, and sends vulnerable individuals and families to await their hearings in dangerous border towns. I am asking Secretary Mayorkas to end the use of Title 42 and protect those who seek refuge in our nation.
Action #5 - Raise minimum wage to $15
The Raise the Wage Act (S. 53/H.R. 603) would raise the federal minimum wage by roughly a dollar a year until it reaches $15 in 2025. Thereafter, further increases to the minimum wage would be adjusted based on median wage growth without the need for additional legislation. The bill includes other provisions to address increasing income inequality, such as the gradual elimination of subminimum wages for young people, people with disabilities, and tipped workers (restaurant workers and others in the service and hospitality industry). Two-thirds of Americans support raising the minimum wage. Under the Raise the Wage Act, nearly 30% of American workers would see higher wages, including more than 40% of African American workers and a third of Latinx workers. Increasing the minimum wage would benefit not only struggling workers and families but also the US economy. Consumer spending would increase, and the need for taxpayer funded public-assistance programs would decrease. The time for Congress to act is now.
Call Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Dial (518) 431-4070 or (607) 772-6792
Suggested Script: Hello. My name [is __]. My address [including ZIP is __]. My phone number [is ___]. I’m calling Senator Schumer in his role as Senate Majority Leader, to urge him to support the Raise the Minimum Wage Act. This small hourly pay increase is long overdue. It is urgently needed to combat poverty and income inequality in our country. It supports our economy. And it is the right thing to do. That’s why the vast majority of Americans support the Act. I want Senator Schumer to please do what he can to move the Raise the Minimum Wage Act forward. Thank you.
Call Senator Elizabeth Warren- (413-788-2690) or (202-224-4543)
Suggested Script: Hello. My name is ___. My address (including zip code) is ___. My phone number is ___. I am calling Senator Warren to urge her to support the Raise the Minimum Wage Act. This small hourly pay increase is long overdue. It is urgently needed to combat poverty and income inequality in our country. It supports our economy. And it is the right thing to do. That’s why the vast majority of Americans support the Act. I want Senator Warren to please do what she can to move the Raise the Minimum Wage Act forward. Thank you.
Call Senator Ed Markey- (413-785-4610) or (202-224-2742) or (617- 565-8519)
Suggested Script: Hello. My name [is __]. My address [including ZIP is __]. My phone number [is ___]. I’m calling Senator Markey to urge him to support the Raise the Minimum Wage Act. This small hourly pay increase is long overdue. It is urgently needed to combat poverty and income inequality in our country. It supports our economy. And it is the right thing to do. That’s why the vast majority of Americans support the Act. I want Senator Markey to please do what he can to move the Raise the Minimum Wage Act forward. Thank you.
Representative Jim McGovern (413-341-8700) or (202-225-6101)
Suggested Script: Hello. My name [is __]. My address [including ZIP is __]. My phone number [is ___]. I’m calling Representative McGovern to urge him to support the Raise the Minimum Wage Act. This small hourly pay increase is long overdue. It is urgently needed to combat poverty and income inequality in our country. It supports our economy. And it is the right thing to do. That’s why the vast majority of Americans support the Act. I want Rep. McGovern to please do what he can to move the Raise the Minimum Wage Act forward. Thank you.
Action #6 - Equality Act
Support LGBTQ Rights with the Equality Act of 2021; Passed the House 2-25-2021
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects people from discrimination based on race, skin color, sex, religion, and national origin. However, the Act’s crucial anti-discrimination provisions do not protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Thus, in the 29 states without robust LGBTQ anti-discrimination laws, LGBTQ people can legally be fired, harassed at work, barred from businesses, denied housing, and more because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. To remedy this in February, Democrats, and a few Republicans, in the House passed H.R. 5, the Equality Act. The bill would provide necessary national-level protections for LGBTQ people by updating existing laws, like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to explicitly ban discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. The law would also revise the Civil Rights Act to ban sex-based discrimination in public spaces and services, such as retail stores, pharmacies, and transit, as well as in federally funded programs. Polling demonstrates that majorities of Americans across nearly all demographic groups, including political party, support nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people.
SPECIAL NOTE: both of our senators are cosponsors of the bill. We will call and thank them and urge further action.
IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: Please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied.
Calls: Senator Elizabeth Warren Springfield 413-788-2690 DC 202-224-4543; Senator Ed Markey Springfield 413-785-4610 DC 202-224-2742
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent and my address is [address] and telephone number [number]. I’m calling in support of S. 393, the Equality Act. Thank you for your support of the bill and for being a cosponsor. Civil rights protections must be expanded to include gender identity and sexual orientation as protected characteristics. Please continue to support this important legislation and those it seeks to protect. Thank you.
Extra calls: Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) DC: 202-224-3954 Charlestown: 304-342-5855
Senator Manchin is the ONLY Democratic senator not to be a cosponsor. In fact, in early April he started signaling that he would vote against the bill, if it came up for a vote. Manchin told a co-sponsor of the Equality Act that his office was targeted for a massive call-in campaign organized by Christian conservative groups and that the calls his office got about the Equality Act have been “a thousand to one” against it.
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m calling in support of S. 393, the Equality Act. It is hard for me to understand any opposition to a bill that supports a part of our citizenry that is being marginalized.
LGBTQ people face violence and discrimination at work, in the housing market, and in everyday interactions. Civil rights protections must be expanded to include gender identity and sexual orientation as protected characteristics. Polling demonstrates that majorities of Americans across nearly all demographic groups, including political party, support nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people. Please support this important legislation and those it seeks to protect.
Judiciary Committee –where the bill currently is in the Senate
Chair - Senator Dick Durbin (D - IL) DC.: 202.224.2152 Chicago: 312.353.4952; Ranking Member – Chuck Grassley Senator (R - IA) DC: (202) 224-3744 Des Moines: (515) 288-1145
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a US citizen calling because of your position on the Senate Judiciary Committee. I am calling to ask you to support S. 393, the Equality Act. It is hard for me to understand anyone opposing a bill that supports a part of our citizenry that is being marginalized. LGBTQ people face violence and discrimination at work, in the housing market, and in everyday interactions. Civil rights protections must be expanded to include gender identity and sexual orientation as protected characteristics. Polling demonstrates that majorities of Americans across nearly all demographic groups, including political party, support nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people. Please support this important legislation and those it seeks to protect – vote it out of committee and onto the floor. My address is [address] and telephone number [number]. Thank you.
Action #7 - Reform Policing Act
BACKGROUND
The House has passed H.R. 1280 (The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act) with a 220 to 212 vote. The legislation now moves to the Senate for consideration.
To address what legislators call “persistent unchecked bias in policing” and “a history of a lack of accountability” that is wreaking havoc in black communities, this legislation proposes:
amending the U.S. Code to lower the legal standard of “mens rea”, making prosecution of misconduct easier;
reforming qualified immunity for police officers to allow individuals to recover damages when their constitutional rights are violated;
establishing a National Police Misconduct Registry to track police misconduct and thwart officers from switching jurisdictions to avoid accountability;
mandating training on racial bias and the duty to intervene;
placing limits the transfer of military-grade weapons to state and local law enforcement agencies and requiring the use of body cameras;
empowering state attorneys general and the Justice Department to play a much larger role in its oversight of police agencies;
allowing the federal government to restrict funding for state and local police agencies that fail to adopt the policies and training aimed at combating racial bias and profiling;
banning the use of choke-holds;
banning “no-knock” warrants in drug-related cases; and
making lynching a federal crime.
Call
Elizabeth Warren DC 202-224-4543 Springfield 413-788-2690
Ed Markey DC 202-224-2742 Springfield 413-785-4610
SCRIPT
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I'm a constituent from [full address].
I'm calling in support of HR 1280, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021. Congress must take immediate steps to increase accountability and reform police agencies across the nation, and this package of necessary limits and programs will go a long way.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Action #8 - State Action (MA transparency in how House votes)
Most votes taken in the Massachusetts House are not recorded. We are asking that you call your representative and urge them to adopt rules that would most votes public, including votes made by the joint House/Senate committees.
Lindsay Sabadosa: (617) 722-2460 or (413) 270-1166 or email: lindsay.sabadosa@mahouse.gov
Mindy Domb: (617) 722-2400 ext 4 or (413) 461-2060 or email: mindy.domb@mahouse.gov
Natalie Blais: (413) 362-9453 or email: natalie.blais@mahouse.gov
Daniel Carey: (617) 722-2060 or email: Daniel.carey@mahouse.gov
Jacob Oliveira: (617) 722-2800 x 7317 or email: Jacob.oliveira@mahouse.gov
Script: This is a message for Representative [___________]. My name is [_________] from [address with ZIP]. I’m calling to urge you to support rules changes for both the House and for the joint House/Senate committees to report their votes publicly. I believe these rules changes are critical to bring greater transparency, accountability and real democracy to our state.
Action #9 - Calls or postcards to CEOs
These are 3 companies that have made large donations to state politicians who either have voted in favor of voter suppression laws (e.g. in Georgia) or will be voting on those bills.
Script: I know that [COMPANY] supports social justice, yet you have been silent on the injustice of voter suppression. In solidarity with the voters of Georgia, I’m asking you to speak out against the injustice of lawmakers suppressing the vote. Thank you.
Walmart: Doug McMillon, President and CEO, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
702 SW 8th St, Bentonville, AR 72716; Doug.McMillon@walmart.com; (479) 273-4000
John Furner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Walmart U.S.
702 SW 8th St, Bentonville, AR 72716; John.Furner@walmart.com; (479) 273-4000
Ben-Saba Hasan, Senior Vice President and Chief Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Walmart
702 SW 8th Street, Bentonville, AR, 72716; https://twitter.com/bensabaHasan; (479) 273-4000
General Motors: Mary T. Barra, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, General Motors Company
300 Renaissance Center, Detroit, MI 48243; Via email: (mary.barra@gm.com)
Telva McGruder, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, General Motors Company
300 Renaissance Center, Detroit, MI 48243; https://www.chevrolet.com/new-roads/people/gm-chief-diversity-officer
Voting rights should fit right in: https://www.gmsustainability.com/material-topics/fostering-diversity-equity-and-inclusion.html
AT&T: John Stankey, Chief Executive Officer, AT&T
208 S. Akard Street, Dallas, TX 75202; js9991@att.com; (210) 821-4105
Corey Anthony, Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, AT&T
208 S Akard Street, Dallas, Texas, 75202
Voting rights should fit right in: https://about.att.com/pages/diversity/di_news
https://about.att.com/pages/racial_equality