December 2, 2022
looking out for each other
Dear friends,
Beginning next Wednesday, the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will convene for two weeks to
set out new goals and develop an action plan for nature over the next decade.
Andrew Terry, the director of conservation at the Zoological Society of London, offered a scathing assessment:
Absolutely no progress has been made. Populations have continued to decline at a rate of around 2.5% a year. We haven’t slowed the destruction in the slightest. Our planet’s biodiversity is now in desperate peril as a result.
Here is a small action, on behalf of sharks.
Sign the Shark Stewards’ petition to stop the shark fin trade that is decimating shark populations.
Do you know about other quick actions we can take to protect our fellow creatures?
We can’t protect ourselves or our animal siblings unless we insist on comprehensive climate action. NY Renews has organized a call relay for Monday to bombard the state’s legislative leadership with that message.
Note that you may take action even if you do not live in New York State.
Join the NY Renews call relay on Monday, December 5! Choose a convenient time for you and use their script. The climate can’t wait!
I want to take a moment to appreciate Joe Biden’s response to criticism for signing a measure — passed by Congress — to force the railway companies and their workers to abide by a tentative agreement that the president brokered in September.
“I know this bill doesn’t have paid sick leave that these rail workers and frankly every worker in America deserves,” Mr. Biden said. “But that fight isn’t over.”
Mr. Biden scoffed at a question over why he helped negotiate an agreement without paid sick leave on Thursday. Last year, an initial social-spending package that failed to pass included a proposal for providing up to 12 weeks of paid sick leave.
Biden is not the problem here; Congress must act. And we know which members of Congress are holding up social spending.
Joe Manchin was the only Democrat to oppose the separate Senate bill to provide sick leave to the striking workers; but the bill needed Republican support to reach the 60 vote threshold.
Interestingly, The Pregnant Workers Protection bill, important labor legislation, has strong bipartisan support AND support from businesses and unions. It has already passed in the House, but it hasn’t found a spot on the Senate calendar because of all the other urgent business.
Let your US Senators know that you’re waiting on the passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act! This quick action is from Moms Rising.
For extra credit, call Chuck Schumer — 202-224-6542 — to tell him to call a vote on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
Today is day 16 of a strike by part-time faculty at The New School in Manhattan. The bargaining continues, but so does the strike, as faculty and supporting students question the school’s claim that they lack the financial resources to compromise further.
The New School made its “final offer” on November 20 and the union rejected a
7% increase in wages for this academic year and a 2.5% increase in subsequent years. According to union representatives, part-time faculty at The New School have not received a raise since 2018. This means that when the new contract expires, the compensation increases will average to about 1.8% per year, according to the union — lower than increases won by other unionized New School employees, including librarians.
If you have ties to the New School, let them know where you stand on the strike.
Meanwhile, 48,000 student workers on University of California campuses have been on strike. The UC workers are demanding better pay, childcare reimbursements, and job protections, because they cannot afford to live in the cities where they work.
Graduate students have walked off the job, professors have cancelled class and even construction staff have put down their tools in solidarity.
The strike is groundbreaking – the largest in the history of US higher education and part of a wave of organizing at college campuses across the country. It has brought together 48,000 graduate workers, academic researchers and postdoctoral scholars within the nine-campus University of California system. The most common salary for graduate workers is $23,247, according to the academic workers unions.
Find a way to support striking workers at UC! There is a petition, picket information, and a strike fund.
Here are two quick actions that need more action:
Sign the To-Do list for Congress and fight for the expanded Child Tax Credit. This is a quick action from Moms Rising.
Ask your council rep what steps they’re taking to prevent the Adams Administration from involuntarily hospitalizing unhoused people with mental illness.
Have a great weekend!
with love,
L