Dear friends,
This is a themeless, short post for the first Friday of summer. Imagine some leftovers on bamboo skewers.
The summer solstice arrived on Wednesday. Here in New York City, the weather has been relatively cool. But around the country and the world, the impacts of climate change are manifesting in extreme heat, bee die-offs, dangerous hailstorms, and the catastrophes of fire, flood, and drought.
People who work outdoors are more vulnerable to extreme weather. Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed legislation that takes effect in September which will eliminate local provisions like those in Austin and Dallas that require rest and water breaks.
That’s insane. We need federal standards to protect workers from extreme heat.
Tell OSHA to adopt emergency heat regulations to protect farmworkers! This quick action is from United Farm Workers.
Greenwashing is a tiresome variety of virtue-signaling, in which corporations pretend to care about the environment and the people in it while profiting off exploitation of people and resources.
But while Daimler Truck’s markets its new electric cargo vans, they still hold membership in the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA),
an industry group that has fought hard to delay efforts to put more electric trucks on the road because it represents some of the biggest manufacturers of diesel trucks and engines.
Tell Daimler to quit the EMA and publicly support clean truck standards now. This quick action is from Public Citizen.
Our governor vetoed a revision of wrongful death bill last year, and a new iteration of the Grieving Families Act, which would broaden the base of people eligible to bring claims in wrongful death cases, passed this session.
State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal noted that under the current law, courts are
“forced to discount the value of lives in wrongful death actions for those who aren’t breadwinners for their families, resulting in a disproportionate negative impact on people of color, women, children, seniors and New Yorkers with disabilities.”
loss of love, society, protection, comfort, and companionship.
Tell Governor Hochul to sign the Grieving Families Act. This quick action is from Everytown for Gun Safety.
City Council primaries are underway in NYC, but they have a dangerously low profile. Part of that is because in about half the districts, incumbents face no challengers.
But there are some important races, particularly in Manhattan’s District 9, where Kristin Richardson Jordan is not seeking reelection, District 1, where Christopher Marté faces multiple challenges, and in two Brooklyn districts, 41 and 43.
Incumbent Darlene Mealy in 41 has an attendance problem. She introduced zero bills during the current session. Her most serious challenger is Isis McIntosh Green. McIntosh Green has been endorsed by the Working Families Party, but too late to get the line on the ballot.
an “Asian opportunity” district that acknowledges the growing Asian-American community in South Brooklyn. The borough has never before elected an Asian City Council member.
Find out what’s happening and who’s running in your district. This resource is from The City. Remember to vote on or before June 27.
Have a great weekend!
with love,
L