Dear friends,
A third good decision came down from the Supreme Court: the Court rejected the race-based argument of a white couple in Texas who have encountered obstacles to adopting a Navajo child.
Backed by powerful corporate interests and other non-Native families, the Brackeens brought their grievance to the US supreme court and attempted to overturn the Indian Child Welfare Act, or ICWA. The “rights” of individuals thereby stood against the collective rights of entire nations of people.
In spite of the efforts to frame ICWA in racial terms, tribal groups are adamant that the question is political. The children involved are
“citizens of sovereign governments with rights that derive from treaties, acts of Congress and other federal action.”
Citizenship is a powerful concept, at the center of so much of our struggle for justice.
The Senate has recently confirmed a handful of new District judges that reflect the diversity of American citizens. Three newly confirmed judges for California districts include Wesley Hsu and Hernán Vera, who are children of immigrants, and Casey Pitts, who has a background in public interest law and is gay.
Nusrat Choudhury, a veteran of the ACLU and the child of Bangladeshi immigrants, is the first Muslim woman to be confirmed to a federal judgeship. She will serve in New York’s Eastern District.
As of last week, 134 of Biden’s nominees to the federal courts have been confirmed. To illustrate the importance of the federal judiciary, District Judge Jay Moody today overturned Arkansas’s ban on gender-affirming care.
In his order, Moody ruled that the prohibition [against providing hormone treatment, puberty blockers or surgery to anyone under 18] violated the due process and equal protection rights of transgender youth and families. He said the law also violated the first amendment rights of medical providers by prohibiting them from referring patients elsewhere.
“Rather than protecting children or safeguarding medical ethics, the evidence showed that the prohibited medical care improves the mental health and well-being of patients and that, by prohibiting it, the state undermined the interests it claims to be advancing,” Moody wrote in his ruling.
Health care is a human right and this decision augurs well for the defense of trans health care even if an appeal goes forward.
In light of the maternal health care crisis, this expansion of Medicaid and Child Health Plus is an important means of
narrowing racial and socioeconomic disparities, delivering holistic person-centered care, and improving population health outcomes.
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about the Catch 22 facing people detained at Rikers, where the population has surged, dangerous conditions prevail, and folks can’t get to their court appearances, eliminating the possibility of going home.
Judge Laura Swain ruled last week that she would accept legal briefs from the Legal Aid Society to pursue the question of whether part or all of the city’s Department of Correction should be handed over to a federal receiver. Thanks to those of you who wrote to her, urging her to pursue receivership.
There have been some important labor victories worthy of mention:
After authorizing a strike by an overwhelming vote, nurses at Brooklyn Methodist Hospital beat back proposed cuts to care and won staffing increases and raises for each year of the three-year contract, including full retroactive pay. The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) ratified the contract two weeks ago.
Los deliveristas — the food delivery workers in New York City that speed by you on the sidewalks — are getting a significant raise next month: $17.96 an hour before tips. The raise is important.
Because app-based delivery workers, currently estimated to number 60,000 in New York City, are classified as independent contractors and not employees, they are not currently entitled to a minimum wage. They also do not get reimbursed for expenses.
UPS workers have voted to authorize a strike if the company doesn’t reach a tentative agreement with workers by the end of July. According to the Teamsters Union, the company’s profits exceeded $56 billion from 2019 to 2023.
“We worked very hard through very tough times, when most people couldn’t or wouldn’t go to work, the UPS workers came to work at the risk of their own health. The company was always about cheerleading, ‘Oh heroes work here, heroes work here,’” said Scott Gove, who has worked at UPS for 35 years. “They need to start sharing the profits that were made through the pandemic across the backs of those Teamsters.”
Negotiations are ongoing and one of the big wins the Teamsters have secured is air-conditioning for UPS delivery trucks. The dark brown trucks can reach 150°F in the back, which explains why negotiators have been focusing on the issue. Under the tentative agreement,
(a)ll new package delivery trucks will get equipped with AC, and use of those trucks will be prioritized in the hottest areas of the country. Existing package cars will get two fans installed, one within 30 days of ratification of the contract, and a second by next June.
Heat shields will be installed in both new and old trucks, on the cargo floor, and are expected to reduce temperatures by as much as 17 degrees.
One hope is that UPS will set the industry standard in its efforts to address the dangers that extreme heat pose to workers.
We have just one action today, on behalf of care workers. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), is now considering a rule that would:
Ensure that 80% of public funds spent on personal care services to support older adults and people with disabilities in their homes and communities goes directly to worker wages
Make states publish data on rates paid for Home and Community Based Services and the wages paid to those workers
Create an Advisory Group of direct care workers, beneficiaries and their authorized representatives (including advocacy groups), and other interested parties to recommend rate payments and weigh in on wages for the workforce.
Make a public comment in support of care workers! The National Domestic Workers Alliance has made it easy.
with love,
L