***CLICK ON THE TOPIC HEADER TO EXPAND THE DETAILS***
Local Level Actions
Support the Displaced Farmers and Families at Sarabanand Farm with Volunteer Time and Donations
Source: RC Member
Description: Donate $ or supplies in support of displaced farmworkers in Sumas.
Background:
Community to Community Development (C2C) and Familias Unidas Por La Justicia (FUJ) are leading the support effort for the displaced farmers and families at Sarabanand Farm. Read more on their Facebook pages (links listed below) and discuss the unfair treatment of farmers with at least three friends and neighbors.
Updated lists of items that the camp needs to function can be found on C2C’s Facebook page. They are currently raising funds for two port-a-potties to be delivered to the camp for the 200+ workers and family members there, which cost $500/week.
The workers have been picking blueberries under harsh production standards in high heat and the blanket of smoke from the fires in BC. They have been complaining for days of health issues; including their 28-year-old co-worker who finally collapsed in the blueberry field and is now on life support at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Only then did company management act. Approximately 60 workers reported questioning the management’s decisions during the week and having been summarily fired for “insubordination,” having their work permit visas nullified, and being given one hour to vacate their housing with their families and belongings. Another 10 workers and their families quit and marched in solidarity to the encampment on Saturday (08/05/17) afternoon. (Information provided by C2C.)
Contact Information: Click here to donate.
Additional Information:
Attend (and invite friends!) Community Forum on Farmworker Justice: Facts, Flaws, & Abuses of the H-2A Program Event on 08/08
Source: RC
Description: Riveters Collective, Community to Community Development and Familias Unidas por la Justicia are hosting a panel discussion and community dialogue about the H-2A program and farmworker justice. The panel will also include workers currently striking at Sarbanand Farms in Sumas, due to abhorrent working conditions. The event will be held at The Leopold Crystal Ballroom, 1224 Cornwall Ave, Bellingham, WA, 98225 on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017 from 6:00-8:00p.m.
Background: This event is a direct response to the horrifying treatment of H-2A workers by Sarbanand Farm in Sumas, WA.
Additional Information: Visit Facebook for more information and to spread the word.
Vote for Stand Up to Oil Through CREDO Donations!
Source: RE Sources for Sustainable Communities
Description: Vote for Stand Up to Oil through CREDO Donations. Stand Up to Oil is a regional coalition of dozens of NGOs working to protect the Salish Sea, and is in the running to win a huge grant for their work to stop dangerous projects to increase oil shipments by rail and pipeline through the Pacific Northwest. The size of the grant depends on each of us! CREDO apportions the funds by the percentage of votes for each organization! Please vote today, it only takes 30 seconds.
Contact Information: Click here to vote. Or, try googling “Credo Donations vote for Stand Up To Oil.”
Additional Information:
- See the Stand Up To Oil website for more information about the work of the coalition: http://www.standuptooil.org/about/
Submit Comment: Tell the Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) to Push for an Early End to Coal Use
Source: RC Member and Washington Environmental Women’s Alliance
Description: Tell the Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) to push for an early end to coal use for Washington. If you are a PSE rate-payer, let them know you don’t want PSE to raise our energy bills to fund their fossil fuels infrastructure.
Background: Read more about the Puget Sound Energy (General Rate Case), Dockets UE-170033 & UG-170034.
Contact Information: Submit public comment here. If you are on Twitter, tell @PSETALK that you want them to go #CarbonFreePSE.
Call the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife and Governor Inslee and ask them to Stop the Killing of Wolves
Source: RC Member and Washington Environmental Women’s Alliance
Description: The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) has killed the second wolf in a pack, bringing the total number killed to three wolves in the last few months. Cattle are in wolf rendezvous sites. This is fourth pack in 4 years killed or substantially killed for cattle.
Background: Read more at The Spokesman-Review.
Contact Information: Please make your opinions known to:
- Donny Martorello, Wolf Policy Lead Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife: (360) 902-2515, donny.martorello@dfw.wa.gov
- Jim Unsworth, Director Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife: (360) 902-2225, director@dfw.wa.gov
- Governor Jay Inslee: (360) 902-4111, or send a message on his contact page.
Email Bellingham City Council Members in Support of Renaming the Pickett Bridge
Source: RC Member
Description: Send a message to the Bellingham City Council members supporting the renaming of Pickett Bridge. The council members are working with local historians, the Good Time Girls, on drafting a resolution for the renaming.
Contact Information: Bellingham Mayor and City Council Email Addresses
- Kelli Linville, mayorsoffice@cob.org
- City Council General, ccmail@cob.org
- April Barker, abarker@cob.org
- Gene Knutson, gknutson@cob.org
- Daniel Hammill, dchammill@cob.org
- Pinky Vargas, ptmvargas@cob.org
- Terry Bornemann, tbornemann@cob.org
- Michael Lilliquist, mlilliquist@cob.org
- Roxanne Murphy, rjmurphy@cob.org
Suggested Script:
Dear Bellingham City Council,
It is my understanding the city council is working with local historians, the Good Time Girls, to help draft a resolution to rename the Pickett Bridge. I am writing to voice my support for drafting such a resolution and to recommend consulting other parties of interest like Community to Community Development and the Racial Justice Coalition since they are both organizations who brought the renaming of the bridge forward to the public. Also, it may be good to reach out to Black Lives Matter Bellingham, since the namesake of the bridge is intertwined with the history of slavery in our country. It is likely there could be insights from these groups that can be of help and importance in the council’s process of renaming in an effort to better reflect our current values and sense of honor.
Sincerely,
<Insert Your Name>
Additional Information: Click on the links below for more information on the organizations listed above.
National Level Actions / Other
Submit Comment: Tell the EPA Not to Delay the Critical Methane Rule, Comments Due by 08/09
Source: RC Member, Washington Environmental Women’s Alliance and the Union of Concerned Scientists
Description: Comment in opposition to a delay in the EPA Critical Methane Rule
Background: In 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized pollution standards for methane, one of the most potent heat-trapping emissions and a contributor to climate change. But now EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is moving to authorize a two-year compliance delay on these methane pollution standards. When it comes to climate change, methane is 84 times as potent as carbon dioxide as a heat-trapping gas over a 20-year period. Comments are due by Aug. 9, 2017.
The only people benefiting from a freeze on EPA methane standards are corporate polluters and their allies. The head of the EPA is supposed to represent the best interests of the environment and the American people—not the worst polluters in the oil and gas industry.
Contact Information: Take action with the Union of Concerned Scientists, or create a comment at Regulations.gov.
Volunteer to Fight for Net Neutrality
Source: RC Member and Demand Progress, Fight for the Future and Free Press Action Fund
Description: Sign up to be a volunteer texter for Team Internet.
Background: Team Internet is a decentralized group of volunteers who are working together toward a shared goal of maintaining Title II Net Neutrality. We’re combining people power with technology to build a volunteer network of bold activists who can hold their leaders accountable!
Contact Information: Sign up at DemandProgress.org.
Additional Information: Learn more at Battle for the Net.
Call Representatives and Ask them to Support H.R. 1447 Regarding Housing Access for LGBTQ Americans
Source: Jen Hoffman’s Action List
Description: Advocate for equal access to housing for LGBTQ Americans.
- Representative Rick Larsen (WA 2nd Legislative District), WA 360-733-4500, DC (202) 225-2605
- Representative Suzan DelBene (WA 1st Legislative District), WA (360) 416-7879, DC
Script: I am from [ZIP] and calling to ask [name] to support H.R. 1447. While it is currently legal in the US to deny housing to LGBTQ Americans, this discrimination is wrong and should be remedied. Can I count on [name] to co-sponsor this bill and stand up against housing discrimination?
Call Cantwell and Murray: Oppose new legislation that restricts access to abortion
Source: Jen Hoffman’s Action List
Description: Call senators and ask them to oppose new legislation that restricts access to abortion. Or use Stance to or leave message. (Comments on how Stance works? Should we use it in the future? Please make them in the FB discussion).
- Senator Patty Murray, WA (206) 553-5545, DC (202) 224-2621
- Senator Maria Cantwell, WA (206) 220-6400, DC (202) 224-3441
Script: I am calling from [ZIP] to express concern about two anti-abortion bills. H.R. 7 has just passed in the House and moves to the Senate to pull all funding for legal abortion in the US. Secondly, S. 231 would modify the 14th Amendment and define life as beginning at conception. I strongly oppose both of these bills and want [name] to do the same.
Call MoCs and Ask: Any MoC Town Hall Meetings?
Source: Jen Hoffman’s Action List
Description: Meet your Congressional representatives in person this month.
Call: Your 3 MoCs (lookup or leave message). Then comment on what you learn in the RC group Facebook post for this list!
Script: Hi. I’m a constituent from [town] calling to find out when [name] is holding a town hall meeting near me during August recess.
Bonus: Visit https://www.indivisibleguide.com/ for guidance on how to make the most of attending this event.
From the Calendar
Link to the Riveters Collective Calendar
Every Monday: Attend a vigil hosted by C2C and Keep Bellingham Families Working. A vigil will be held from 11:30a.m.-12:30p.m. in front of City Hall until Aug. 28, 2017 or from 5:00-6:00p.m. at the WTA downtown bus station. Support undocumented and immigrant families to live in safety and dignity in our community. Come together and join in building power in people!
Tuesday, August 8th 6pm – 8pm: Community 2 Community Development, Bellingham Racial Justice Coalition, and Riveters Collective host Farmworker Justice: Facts, Flaws & Abuses of the H2-A Program. The Leopold Crystal Ballroom, 1224 Cornwall Ave, Bellingham, Washington 98225
Sunday, Aug. 13, 2017 from noon-4:00p.m.: Join the Indivisible Rising—Celebration of Community Activism at Maritime Heritage Park, 500 W Holly St., Bellingham, WA 98225. You’ll meet representatives from many local advocacy, environmental, political, service, and action groups, and enjoy networking with other local activists. Visit Facebook for more information.
Monday, Aug. 13, 2017 from 6:30-8:30p.m.: Attend the RE Sources monthly Clean Energy Activist meeting at RE Sources for Sustainable Communities, 2309 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225. The meeting occurs the first Monday of every month.