Dear friends,
I memorized these lines from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice when I was in high school. And here they were this morning:
The quality of mercy is not strained.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
The approval of the Pfizer vaccine for everyone 16 and up is a mercy, to be sure. Yesterday’s announcement moved the Pentagon to speed up its plans to require vaccinations for all active-duty troops; as a cohort, they have a shockingly low rate of vaccination, at 30 percent. New York City is now mandating vaccinations for all staff. Many universities and businesses are likely to go forward with vaccine mandates as well.
And while the FDA process has been uncommonly efficient, the news arrives none too soon. More than a thousand Americans died of COVID yesterday (and the day before) and hospitals in too many places are overfilled and understaffed. Meanwhile, confused and misinformed people are taking medication to deworm farm animals. Can they be helped? As my sixth grade teacher used to say, Lord, have mercy.
LGBTQ+ adults have high vaccination rates across age, race, and ethnicity. There’s nothing like surviving a plague without a vaccine to make people clamor for a shot.
The situation in Afghanistan has been more than troubling. I was, however, heartened to read this morning that the US has evacuated 48,000 people from Afghanistan since August 14.
Here are some ways to assist people in Afghanistan:
Women for Women International — a nonprofit that aids female survivors of war and conflict — established an emergency campaign in Afghanistan.
Women for Afghan Women, the “largest women’s organization in Afghanistan,” according to its website, is also accepting donations to help provide “safe shelter, resources, and aid to the thousands of women, children, families, and staff.”
The Child Foundation, which helps impoverished children access education, created the Afghanistan Crisis Fund for Emergency Assistance in the Balkh province, where about 800 children supported by the foundation live. According to its website, it has raised $15,000 to feed 300 families.
Contribute to Women for Women International, Women for Afghan Women, and the Child Foundation.
And here are some ways to support Afghan refugees:
No One Left Behind is a U.S.-based nonprofit devoted to “ensuring that America keeps its promise to our allies and their families who risked their lives for our freedom.” The organization aids Afghan interpreters trying to get visas and resettling in the country.
Miles4Migrants accepts donated airline frequent flier miles, credit card points and cash to help people reunite with loved ones or resettle in a new country after fleeing their own that’s imperiled by war, persecution or disaster.
Pledge miles or points with Miles 4 Migrants. Donate to No One Left Behind.
At long last, we have a new governor.
I was moved by the number of governors who quickly expressed their state’s readiness to accept and assist Afghan refugees. Among them are Republican governors of Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, and Iowa, and Democratic governors of California, Colorado, Kansas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
In the last several days, the governors of Arizona and New Jersey have also stepped forward, as did Governor Hochul.
Time will tell if some of these pledges turn out to be empty rhetoric. By the end of last week, some of the governors were already taking heat from nativists like Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Pakistan has embarked on a tree-planting project, with the goal of planting 10 billion trees by 2028. Young people are excited to be a part of the planting efforts to fight erosion and capture and store carbon dioxide. The project began in 2015 with the goal of planting a billion trees and was received so enthusiastically that officials set the new, more ambitious target.
Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced that borrowers with permanent disabilities will automatically receive federal student loan forgiveness. This policy will excuse more than 320,000 borrowers from $5.8 billion in debts. Because a new rule allows student loan providers to match their data with the Social Security Administration, borrowers with disabilities will not have to apply for loan forgiveness.
More than 43 million borrowers carry student loan debt in the US. Together, they owe $1.73 trillion.
Take this ready-made action to call on your senators and your representative to support the cancellation of student debt.
Support The Debt Collective, a debtors’ union fighting to “build a world where college is publicly funded, healthcare is universal, and housing is guaranteed for all.”
The AFL-CIO has its first female president. Liz Shuler was elected last week after the sudden death of Richard Trumka earlier this month. In her inaugural speech, she said some encouraging things:
We’re going to build a modern labor movement to meet this extraordinary moment. COVID-19 has amplified long-standing structural inequity... our systems are broken...the climate crisis is accelerating...technology is changing how work is done...but we want working people to know they can find hope with us.
I believe in my bones...that this is a moment for us to lead societal transformations; to leverage our power to bring women and people of color from the margins to the center...at work, in our unions and in our economy; and to be the center of gravity for incubating new ideas that will unleash unprecedented union growth.
Shuler plans to continue Trumka’s campaign to get the PRO Act through the Senate. It passed the House in the spring. The bill includes penalties for employers that violate workers’ rights and allows workers to join secondary boycotts. Importantly, it eliminates the exceptions that prevent some workers from joining unions when they are misclassified as managers or independent contractors.
Demand that the Senate pass the PRO Act to protect the right to organize.
Here’s some local good news on the labor front: The 377 staffers that work in New York City Council — fielding our calls and answering our emails, among other duties — will now be represented by the Association of Legislative Employees, the nation's largest legislative staff union.
Most urgently, the newly unionized council staff wants a voice in any reopening process that brings workers back to downtown offices. Enduring labor issues — long hours, low pay, and protection from arbitrary dismissal — will also be addressed.
Have a great day!
with love,
L