"We have been working to restore fusion voting in Oregon," says David Strader, OWFP co-chair. "Fusion voting would allow us to cross-nominate any Democrat or Republican who supports working families' values, or to nominate our own candidates where appropriate."
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There has been no greater supporter of America’s working families and their unions than Sen. Edward Kennedy. To honor his life, we must rededicate ourselves to improving the lives of all workers.
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The Oregon state legislature
has passed our fusion voting bill! Congratulations to all of us and thanks
so much for the hard work you put in to make this happen.
The strange legislative gymnastics that led to the bill's passage are worth hearing (so keep reading) - but before we get too comfortable resting on our laurels, we've got to make sure that Governor Kulongoski actually signs it.
And the latest rumor is that some political insiders are trying to persuade the Governor into vetoing the bill. (Read more here.) So we need your help to make sure the Governor signs this crucial election reform, and we need it now.
Please contact the Governor and ask him to sign SB 326.
If you can, the most effective way to persuade him is with a personal hand-written letter. I know it's old fashioned, but it works. So get out a piece of paper, a pen, and envelope, and a stamp. Address the envelope to the Governor:
The strange legislative gymnastics that led to the bill's passage are worth hearing (so keep reading) - but before we get too comfortable resting on our laurels, we've got to make sure that Governor Kulongoski actually signs it.
And the latest rumor is that some political insiders are trying to persuade the Governor into vetoing the bill. (Read more here.) So we need your help to make sure the Governor signs this crucial election reform, and we need it now.
Please contact the Governor and ask him to sign SB 326.
If you can, the most effective way to persuade him is with a personal hand-written letter. I know it's old fashioned, but it works. So get out a piece of paper, a pen, and envelope, and a stamp. Address the envelope to the Governor:
Governor Kulongoski
160 State Capitol
900 Court Street
Salem, Oregon 97301-4047
Then just write a short, personal message asking him to sign SB 326. Here are
some suggested talking points:
- More than one quarter of Oregon voters are not registered as Democrats or Republicans - and SB 326 will give us a way to have a role in the political process too.
- SB 326 will give all voters more information at the ballot about candidates and issues.
Writing a letter is best. If you can't do that, second best is to call
Gov. Kulongoski at (503) 378-4582. Or, you can email him by going to this
website:
http://governor.oregon.gov/Gov/contact_us.shtml.
You can point your friends and family to this page and ask them to reach out to
the Governor too:
http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/t/95/content.jsp?content_KEY=2656
Now, here's the bizarre legislative wrangling I was telling you about - it was
really like some kind of Alice in Wonderland transformation.
Our original bill, HB 2414 went through a "gutting and stuffing" and emerged
as an entirely different Bill - this one, with the backing of Democratic
leadership (think Red Queen). You might have read about the new HB 2414, where
'yes' would mean 'no' and 'no' would mean 'yes' on legislative referrals.
While everyone was distracted, arguing back and forth about that piece of
legislation, our original fusion voting bill was amended into SB 326, where it
was joined to another election reform bill. Then, the Cheshire Cat grinned, and
somehow SB 326 passed. Voila!
But just as we started popping the champagne corks, we heard that Trent Lutz of
the Democratic Party of Oregon (think Mad Hatter) is trying to persuade the
Governor to veto the fusion bill!
That's why it's so important we speak out right away. We shouldn't let political
insiders kill this measure down some rabbit hole - we need to remind the
Governor why it's so important to us.
Please take a moment write now to write the Governor a personal letter in
support of SB 326 and ask him to sign it right away.
Don't forget the stamp!
And thanks again for all your hard work.
-Barbara Dudley and Dave Strader
Co-Chairs, Oregon Working Families Party
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Who We Are. We are working people, school parents, small business owners, family farmers, representatives of community groups and labor unions -- Oregonians from all walks of life and all areas of the state -- who are forming a Working Families Party in Oregon. What We're Doing. We are determined to get our government focused again on the things that can make our jobs better, our families more secure and our communities more prosperous. That means:
We're not trying to create a minor party that will run "spoiler" candidates with no chance of winning. We want to win for working families. We can do that by staying focused on the issues that matter most to working families, by organizing in our communities and by restoring a system of voting in Oregon (fusion voting) that rewards major party candidates who commit to support the issues advanced by parties like the Working Families Party. |
www.WritingResource.org/ Organize Activism. Volunteer. Be an Active Resource for Working Families.
Focus on Issues, stay Active, write Letters to the Editor... Activism makes a difference
Together, we can turn the
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The OWFP seeks to focus our government on making our jobs better, our families more secure and our communities more prosperous:
- Healthcare for all Oregonians without private profit;
- Debt-free higher education and technical training;
- Promote green family wage jobs;
- Create affordable housing;
- Curb predatory lending.
Oregon Working Families Party
503-841-7161
|
It's plain as day: Workers are struggling in this country.
I've seen it. You've seen it.
Today's workplaces are tilted in favor of lavishly paid CEOs,
who get golden parachutes while middle-class families struggle to get by.
But it doesn't have to stay that way.
You and I have the opportunity to restore the balance.
The Employee Free Choice Act would give American workers
more power to demand better wages, health care and working conditions.
Click here to sign the petition for the Employee Free Choice Act today.
For more information about the Employee Free Choice Act, click here.
What is Working America?
It’s all about
strength in numbers:
A million voices for
the
Employee Free Choice Act...
and millions more union workers raising living standards
for all of us.
Working America is a community-based organization for working people that fights for good jobs and a just economy. With 2 million members, we hold elected leaders accountable on issues that matter most to working people. As the community affiliate of the AFL-CIO, which represents 10 million working men and women, Working America is dedicated to making a difference for working families in every state across the country and in your community. For more information, visit www.workingamerica.org.
Living wages for America’s workers, including a higher minimum wage. Millions struggle to make ends meet on a minimum wage of $5.15 an hour, and it isn’t right. Everyone should be able to support a family on what they make.
Health care for all, especially the most vulnerable. We're fighting to make sure all children are insured, regardless of income level, and to make sure every senior has affordable access to the prescription drugs they need.
Safe retirement plans we can count on. We seek to protect our pensions from corporate corruption and to stop the Bush administration's gamble with Social Security.
Quality education to give our children every opportunity. Investments in education—whether it’s early education programs like Head Start or programs to make college more affordable—are investments in America’s future.
Family leave that is flexible and fair. Paid family and medical leave and guaranteed time off for vacations and sickness help maintain the important balance between work and family life.
Good jobs for America’s workers. Congress should stop giving corporate incentives to send jobs overseas and support fair trade, not free trade.
Power for Workers and Working Families in politics and in the workplace. We need to make it easier for working people to vote through longer voting periods, same-day registration, voting by mail and time off from work for voting. Pass the Employee Free Choice Act to give working people a democratic voice in their workplace.
The Republican
Party has been hijacked and is now history.
They have been undone by greed, avarice, and corruption.
They have been undone by greed, avarice, and corruption.
And too many in
the Democratic Party are sitting at the wrong table.
Moderate Republicanism is not the center, nor does it represent
the interests, values, and concerns of everyday American citizens.
Most Americans want good jobs, honest government, great schools, excellent
health-care, affordable housing, adequate pensions, and efficient public services.
This is the road-map for a journey back to peace, freedom, justice, and security.
If Republicans want to sell out to corporate hacks and Democrats refuse to
Moderate Republicanism is not the center, nor does it represent
the interests, values, and concerns of everyday American citizens.
Most Americans want good jobs, honest government, great schools, excellent
health-care, affordable housing, adequate pensions, and efficient public services.
This is the road-map for a journey back to peace, freedom, justice, and security.
If Republicans want to sell out to corporate hacks and Democrats refuse to
put the rule of law and the constitution
on the table.... What can we do?
In the short term, we can vote to defeat McSame. Bush does not deserve a third term.
In the longer term, we can say "grassroots organizing." It works.
In the short term, we can vote to defeat McSame. Bush does not deserve a third term.
In the longer term, we can say "grassroots organizing." It works.
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Oregon Working
Families Party
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Please feel free to contact us. General Information and Correspondence Oregon Working Families Party / 7095 SW Sandburg St / Tigard, OR, 97223 503-841-7161 info@OregonWFP.org |
The WFP was launched with the agenda of well-paying jobs,
affordable housing, accessible health care, better public schools,
and more investment in public services.
Join our Friends and Neighbors Program.
We're a grassroots party and we need your help to spread the word.
Do you know people who would be interested in hearing about the WFP?
We're a grassroots party and we need your help to spread the word.
Do you know people who would be interested in hearing about the WFP?
Membership Form: This link will direct you to our donations page
where
there is a downloadable membership form.
The Oregon Working Families Website
Home
- Who We Are Health Care Signup for Updates
- Downloads Steering Committee Press Room
- WFP History Site Map Contact Us
regards, Tim
Publicist: PCCFF/ AFT/ AFL-CIO Local 2277
Working families across this country are facing all kinds of
hardships: a staggering economy, stagnant wages, a broken health
care system, a home foreclosure and housing crisis, a disastrously
flawed U.S. trade policy and a hostile climate for workers seeking
to form unions.
But someone must have forgotten to tell Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), who has clinched the Republican presidential nomination. “I still believe our fundamental underpinnings of our economy are strong,” McCain said recently.
It’s no wonder—McCain has said economic issues are something he’s “never really understood.”
As the Democratic nomation fight continues, it’s time working families understand John McCain’s poor record on working family issues. Here’s a quick look:- McCain—Wrong on Trade: McCain has cast vote
after vote for every free trade agreement under the sun,
including the most devastating agreement in our history, the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He has gone on to
praise NAFTA and its effects and has voted to make it easier for
the president to enter into agreements without strong worker
protections.
- McCain—Wrong on Workers: McCain voted to
block the Employee Free Choice Act and supported a national
“right to work” for less law. He supported President Bush’s tax
cuts for the wealthiest Americans while voting against raising
the minimum wage.
- McCain—Wrong on Jobs: McCain has made it a
point to tell audiences that some jobs “aren’t coming back.”
What he doesn’t often explain is his role in exporting those
jobs in the first place. McCain voted against prohibiting the
overseas outsourcing of government contracts and voted to
privatize federal jobs. He also voted to contract out federal
jobs. And McCain has certainly done little to aid those who have
lost their jobs, voting against the extension of federal
unemployment insurance benefits.
- McCain—Wrong on Social Security: McCain
voted for Bush’s Social Security privatization plan and says the
only solution to fixing Social Security is through private
accounts.
- McCain—Wrong on Health Care: McCain wants
to make health care premiums part of taxable income, creating a
new tax for working families. His plan would force working
families to fend for themselves in the private insurance market
and undermine employer-based health care. In addition, McCain
has voted to slash funding for Medicare and opposed the
reauthorization and new funding for the State Children’s Health
Insurance Program (SCHIP).
- McCain—Wrong on George W. Bush: Since President Bush took office, McCain has supported Bush’s positions 89 percent of the time. McCain’s support of Bush’s policies reached as high as 95 percent in 2007.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll share more information with you about Sen. McCain’s record on the issues, including the economy, jobs, health care, trade, workers’ rights and retirement security.
For now, take a look at McCain Revealed: The Briefing Book, and send it to your friends and family.
And remember—sign up to be a part of our rapid response efforts and receive regular updates and alerts about John McCain:
http://www.unionvoice.org/wfean/mccainrevealed.html
In solidarity,
Working Families
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Who We Are. We are working people, school parents, small business owners, family farmers, representatives of community groups and labor unions – Oregonians from all walks of life and all areas of the state – who are forming a Working Families Party in Oregon. What We’re Doing. We are determined to get our government focused again on the things that can make our jobs better, our families more secure and our communities more prosperous. That means:
We're not trying to create a minor party that will run “spoiler” candidates with no chance of winning. We want to win for working families. We can do that by staying focused on the issues that matter most to working families, by organizing in our communities and by restoring a system of voting in Oregon (fusion voting) that rewards major party candidates who commit to support the issues advanced by parties like the Working Families Party. |
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