Postcard Pizza Party for California Congressional District 25 on April 25th!

We will be joining a statewide effort to get out the vote in California Congressional District 25!

When: Wednesday, April 25th at 11:00AM – 2:00 PM
Where: Santino’s Pizza Parlor – 4321 Telegraph Rd, Ventura
Fun! Pizza will be provided! (A little cheese grease goes a long way toward making our postcards have that special “homey” touch!)

CD25 is Steve Knight’s district which includes part of Ventura County, Santa Clarita, Lancaster, and Palmdale. We Venturans can’t vote Knight out, but we can help our neighbors rid themselves of him – and help ourselves by removing one of the 24 Trump minions needed to turn the House blue! We are not endorsing a candidate, just advocating power to the polls.

Our appeal will be directly to the voters in CA25 – NOT mass political mailings, because all of our cards will be handwritten. Each will be a message from one voter to another. We are simply asking Americans to do that most American thing — VOTE!

Here are some tidbits from about Steve Knight to inspire us:

Let us count the ways Steve Knight has betrayed us: He votes with Trump 98% of the time. He voted against our healthcare. The National Rifle Association gives him an A rating. He voted for the #TrumpTaxScam. He’s Continue reading “Postcard Pizza Party for California Congressional District 25 on April 25th!” →

Why we Need to Help our Sister District, CA-25, – and how YOU can Help!

We Venturans can’t vote Knight out, but we can help our neighbors and friends in Simi Valley and Santa Clarita rid themselves of him – and help ourselves by removing one of the 24 Trump minions needed to turn the House blue!

Let us count the ways Steve Knight has betrayed us: He votes with Trump 98% of the time. He voted against our healthcare. He voted for the #TrumpTaxScam. He’s rabidly anti-choice. He opposed raises to minimum wage for workers. And his environmental record is dismal.

The National Rifle Association gives him an A rating.

2nd amm knight

And we’d bet our shirts that when it’s time to vote for the DREAMers or the Stupid Border Wall, he’s going to rubber stamp Trump too.

Continue reading “Why we Need to Help our Sister District, CA-25, – and how YOU can Help!” →

This Week in Sanity-saving Good News – “The Kids are Alright” Edition…

Lego welcomes the women of NASA.

The kids are alright.

First, let’s talk about this 11 year-old girl who’s been worried about the Flint water situation since she’s been 9. Along with playing piano, swimming, fencing and taking dance lessons, she has invented the cheapest, most effective test for lead in water and won “America’s Top Young Scientist”. God, what was I doing when I was 11?

Then there’s Ames Mayfield, who in 14 years or so, will be running for office. Put in on your calendars now.

Continue reading “This Week in Sanity-saving Good News – “The Kids are Alright” Edition…” →

Today’s 2-for-1 action. Call and write to protect overtime pay for millions!

First you need to call….

The Trump administration is threatening to strip overtime protections from millions of workers. Because he LOOOOVES the American Worker and that should be enough for them.

Minimal Script: I’m calling from [___] to ask Senator [___] to vote “NO” on the deceptively named S.801: Working Families Flexibility Act.

Senator Feinstein: DC (202) 224-3841, LA (310) 914-7300, SF (415) 393-0707, SD (619) 231-9712, Fresno (559) 485-7430

Senator Harris: DC (202) 224-3553, LA (213) 894-5000, SAC (916) 448-2787, Fresno (559) 497-5109, SF (415) 355-9041, SD (619) 239-3884

Other Senator Contacts: http://www.phoneyourrep.com

Then you need to write. This is another one of those damn regulation-removal-ripoffs!

Continue reading “Today’s 2-for-1 action. Call and write to protect overtime pay for millions!” →

Protect Worker’s Voting Rights: Advocate for Weekend Voting. Vote YES on H.R. 1094

Minimal Script: I’m calling Rep. [Brownley/Carbajal] to vote YES on H.R. 1094, the Weekend Voting Act.

More script if you want it: Weekend voting increases participation, allows working people to access the polls more easily, and reflects 21st century needs.

Rep. Julia Brownley: (CA-26): DC (202) 225-5811, Oxnard (805) 379-1779, T.O. (805) 379-1779
OR Rep. Salud Carbajal: (CA-24): DC (202) 225-3601, SB (805) 730-1710 SLO (805) 546-8348

More info:

Continue reading “Protect Worker’s Voting Rights: Advocate for Weekend Voting. Vote YES on H.R. 1094 “ →

Protect Unions: Preserve Collective Bargaining Rights

Minimal Script: I am calling Rep. [Brownley/Carbajal] to vote NO on H.R. 2723 and H.R. 2776.

More script if you want it: These deceptively named anti-union measures threaten collective bargaining rights. The “Employee Rights Act” (H.R. 2723) permits employers to count non-voters as “NO” votes in elections on union formation. The Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act (H.R. 2776) permits delays to elections that allow employers time to fill the voter rolls with anti-unionists.

Call Rep. Julia Brownley: (CA-26): DC (202) 225-5811, Oxnard (805) 379-1779, T.O. (805) 379-1779

OR Rep. Salud Carbajal: (CA-24): DC (202) 225-3601, SB (805) 730-1710 SLO (805) 546-8348

More Info: Continue reading “Protect Unions: Preserve Collective Bargaining Rights “ →

Protect Working People’s Savings: Oppose Trump’s efforts to do away with the “Fiduciary Rule”

Script: I am contacting Secretary Acosta to demand that the Department of Labor preserve the Fiduciary Rule. Banks and other financial institutions advising individuals should be required to put their clients’ financial interests above their own.

Contact Secretary Acosta: executivesecretariat@dol.gov/ 1-202- 693-6000

More Info: Continue reading “Protect Working People’s Savings: Oppose Trump’s efforts to do away with the “Fiduciary Rule”” →

It’s decision time for hundreds of pieces of legislation in California this week. Make some calls!

The Senate’s fiscal committee will decide the fate of bills on Thursday, June 1^st; the Assembly will do so on Friday, June 2^nd. The ones that pass will then move to the opposite house.

With our strong Democratic majority, California has the ability to counter some of the negative policies coming out of Washington D.C. Our friends at Indivisible San Francisco short-listed some of the most important bills. If you have time this week, please pick the ones that speak the most to you, and make some phone calls.

State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson and Assemblywoman Monique Limon don’t receive many calls from their constituents, so if we all make our voices heard this week, we can make a real difference.

CALL TO STATE ACTION

TUESDAY 5/30 – FRIDAY 6/2
Pick your favorite bills from the list ISF has put together and let our state MoCs know how you feel.

Assembly: Call State Assembly Member Monique Limón: Sacramento: (916) 319-2037, Santa Barbara: (805) 564-1649, Ventura: (805) 641-3700 If outside of these areas, find your Representatives here.

Immigration
- AB21 & AB699: Protects against ICE in schools (Limon is co-sponsoring AB21)
- AB450: Protects against ICE in workplace
- AB578: Makes threatening to report immigration status felony
Criminal Justice Reform Continue reading “It’s decision time for hundreds of pieces of legislation in California this week. Make some calls!” →

Vote No on the Working Families Flexibility Act – Don’t be fooled by the doublespeak name!

The Working Families Flexibility Act strips workers of overtime protections and erodes the 40 hour work week. It replaces overtime guarantees with so-called “comp” time, giving employers more flexibility and workers less. They can be denied access to comp time when they need it, and can’t refuse requests for long days without fear of being fired. Vote no on this power grab.

Script: I’m calling to ask (____) to vote NO on the Working Families Flexibility Act. The name is very deceptive, as the flexibility goes to employers only. Workers that depended on some overtime pay will no longer get it, along with losing control of their schedules.

Call all three Members of Congress

Rep. Julia Brownley: DC (202) 225-5811, Oxnard (805) 379-1779, T.O. (805) 379-1779

Senator Feinstein: Continue reading “Vote No on the Working Families Flexibility Act – Don’t be fooled by the doublespeak name!” →

The History of May Day and Why/Where we can March in Solidarity with our Local Immigrants

We take our collective hats off to anyone that learns English as a second language…

Let’s consider the phrase “May Day”: If the space between the words were to become lost, it becomes an expression of distress.

If you were a child of the 60’s, May Day was the strange yearly ritual that required your whole class being assembled around a May pole, each of you clutching an attached ribbon, ready to find out which one of your classmates didn’t understand the concept of weaving in and out.

However, the “May Day” we’re interested in this Monday is the one known as “International Worker’s Day”, to commemorate the 1886 Haymarket Riot in Chicago. You can read about the Haymarket Riot here.

Its story started with thousands of overworked and underappreciated immigrants (in this case, Germans and Bohemians) unionizing and striking for an eight hour workday.

What started as peaceful protests ended in disaster, with a massacre of both police and workers and a trial that ended with four innocent men being executed.

The story marks the subsequent growth of labor unions and May 1, 1886, as the date the eight hour work day we take for granted became standard, an improvement paid for by the deaths of over a dozen people.

Now as we live in a time of diminishing unions and workdays that never seem to end, we still will march for our immigrants.

All of us. Todos Nosotros.

Here are some places to go to support our local immigrants on May 1…

Oxnard: “Day Without An Immigrant/Dia Sin Inmigrantes” Shut It Down
March and Rally starting at Plaza Park, 500 S. “C” St., at 12 noon.

Santa Barbara: “Day Without an Immigrant”

Los Angeles: “May Day March and Rally”

Here’s the May Day call to action from California Teacher Association for Ventura County. Continue reading “The History of May Day and Why/Where we can March in Solidarity with our Local Immigrants” →