NORTH CAROLINA VOTING BLOCK
— Rock the Vote, Demos, The Brennan Center for Justice, USAction,
Planned Parenthood Action Fund, UltraViolet, Color of Change, Demos,
Advancement Project, and over 40 other organizations launched a petition to #ProtectVoting in the wake of a North Carolina Federal Judge’s ruling that upheld the state’s highly restrictive voting law.
The law reduces early voting from seventeen to ten days, eliminates
same-day registration during the early voting period, and prohibits
counting provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct. The Nation Magazine Contributing Writer Ari Berman: “North Carolina is the perfect case study for what happened after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act.”
READ “The Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014: A Constitutional Response to Shelby County” over at the American Constitution Society and SIGN Demos and MoveOn.Org’s petition to Congress to enhance and pass the Voting Rights Amendment Act HERE.
TEAM COCO H20 — Comedian and talk show host Conan O’Brien and Andy Richter teamed up
with the NRDC and Save Our Water–California’s drought awareness
program–for a series of comedic PSAs highlighting water conservation
amidst the state’s historic drought. WATCH the PSAs and FIND OUT if you are as water smart as Conan O’Brien HERE.
A YEAR OF ACTION — 7 million workers
will benefit from wage increases in the 13 states and the District of
Columbia that have raised the minimum wage since early 2013, according
to the new progress report on raising the minimum wage released by the
White House. Meanwhile, women in female-dominated industries are fighting back against wage theft, unfair schedules, and other unjust practices:
Cheerleaders from three NFL teams are taking a stand against wage theft
and demeaning requests, hotel workers are are seeing the benefits of
their fight against illegally low wages, and domestic workers are taking
back their rights in California, Massachusetts, and New York.
READ: “5 Things That Have Changed Since the Federal Minimum Wage Was Last Increased” over at AFL-CIO.
WITH LIBERTY TO MONITOR ALL
— Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the ACLU published a new report exposing
the increasingly dangerous impact that large-scale surveillance has on
journalism, law, and democracy. HRW and ACLU Aryeh Neier Fellow and
report author Alex Sinha: “The work of journalists and lawyers is
central to our democracy. When their work suffers, so do we.” READ: “With Liberty to Monitor All.”
ECONOMIC GROWTH, FROM THE MIDDLE OUT – Center for American Progress Policy Analyst Brendan Duke argues
that overtime reform would help grow the economy from the middle out.
Guaranteed overtime rights would help solve three critical economic
problems: low consumer demand, slow hiring of the long-term unemployed,
and stagnating human capital growth. READ more HERE.
PROTECT WHISTLEBLOWERS
— The Other 98% launched a petition urging the SEC to create new rules
in order to protect corporate whistleblowers before another financial
crisis. SIGN HERE.
PP MUST READ: “Jamie Dimon’s $13 Billion Secret: The Inside Story of JPMorgan Chase’s Landmark Mortgage Settlement” over at The Nation.
A FEMINIST TAKE ON PIKETTY — Roosevelt Institute Campus Network Director Joelle Gamble joined Center for American Progress Chief Economist and Top Wonk Heather Boushey and other feminist and economic thinkers to examine Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the 21st Century in the latest installment of The Curve. READ the full column HERE.
COMMEMORATING FREEDOM SUMMER — Advancement Project will be hosting a screening for Stanley Nelson’s new documentary Freedom Summer
on August 21st at BusBoys and Poets in Washington, DC. The event will
also feature a panel discussion with Advancement Project Co-Director and
Top Wonk Penda D. Hair, as well as other civil rights activists and leaders. REGISTER HERE.
FROM THE WONK WIRE …
… A PRECARIOUS NEW POPULISM: Campaign for America’s Future Co-Director and Top Wonk Robert Borosage warns that powerful moneyed interests threaten the stability of the alleged victorious new populism.
… BIG COAL’S AMNESIA: NRDC Policy Director and Top Wonk David Doniger exposes the false history propagated by coal giant Peabody Energy.
… DON’T BLAME THE MARKET: CEPR Co-Director and Top Wonk Dean Baker explains
that the wealth of most of the financial sector is the result of
deliberate policy decisions rather than a product of market forces.
Find out more at www.TopWonks.org.
… ON OUR AGENDA … PP is back from hiatus with WEEKLY ISSUES! Check back every Thursday at 10:30am (EST) … Visit our twitter @PractProgress!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY FREEDOM
SUMMER…THE TRUE COST OF RETAIL…A FAMILY AFFAIR…WITNESS WEDNESDAYS…KOCH
BROTHERS EXPOSED…A Changing American Electorate…Does Feminism Have a
Class Problem?…More from the Wonk Wire!…
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY FREEDOM SUMMER –
Fifty years after hundreds of student volunteers joined forces with
Mississippi organizers to register African American voters, the North Carolina NAACP has launched Moral Freedom Summer,
a program placing fifty highly-trained youth organizers to fifty
counties throughout North Carolina to register African American voters
and to engage in voter education.
Meanwhile, youth organizers from around the country are heading to Jackson, Mississippi this week for the Freedom Summer 50th Anniversary Conference.
The conference will lay out an inter-generational action plan for
today’s civil right’s movement, and will also be attended by members of a
youth organizing network called The Freedom Side–which includes Dream Defenders, Black Youth Project, United We Dream, Better Schools Better Jobs, and Advancement Project. CHECK OUT the full agenda HERE.
THE TRUE COST OF RETAIL — 1.3 million women working in the retail industry live in or near poverty, according to new findings by Demos. Women currently lose an estimated $40.8 billion annually due to the gender gap in retail … Earlier this month working moms employed by Walmart walked off the job in 20 cities across the US to demand better pay and working conditions, organized by OUR Walmart (Organization United for Respect). FIND OUT more about the group HERE.
Meanwhile, Roosevelt Institute breaks down why CEO pay is not only harmful to the average worker but also general economic stability. READ: “Taking Stock: Why Executive Pay Results in an Unstable and Inequitable Economy.”
A FAMILY AFFAIR — Demos will host a panel discussion
on the political and practical lessons New Yorkers can glean from the
implementation of paid family leave in New Jersey and California. The
panel will include experts Donna Dolan, Sherry Leiwant, and CEPR Senior
Economist and Top Wonk Eileen Appelbaum. The event will take place tomorrow, June 24th, at the Demos offices in New York. RSVP HERE.
WITNESS WEDNESDAYS
— The Center for Effective Government, the National Employment Law
Project, the Coalition on Human Needs, and the National Women’s Law
Center are organizing Witness Wednesdays, a national effort to push for the passage of federal long-term unemployment benefits. Witness Wednesdays take place at the House Triangle at 12:30 EST every week through July 30th.
Center
for Effective Government President and CEO Katherine McFate: “This
should not be a partisan issue — there are unemployed Republicans as
well as unemployed as well Democrats, all of them hardworking Americans
who are wondering why we’ve abandoned them in their time of need.”
NO VACANCY — Alliance for Justice released a new report indicating that Senate Democrats have reduced the number of judicial vacancies to a five-year low. READ the full findings HERE.
KOCH BROTHERS EXPOSED — A new report by The Nation
exposes the Koch Brothers’ billionaire summit, offering a
behind-the-scenes look at what happens when the world’s richest and most
powerful conservatives meet behind closed doors. READ more HERE.
MoveOn.org is organizing a set of viewing parties for “Koch Brothers Exposed: 2014 Edition.” FIND a party near you HERE.
A CHANGING AMERICAN ELECTORATE — Center for American Progress released
a new report analyzing the potential effects of the growing Latino
electorate, pointing to the rising influence of American-born children
of Latino immigrants. These new voters will make it increasingly
difficult for anti-immigration Republicans to win elections. READ the full report HERE.
DOES FEMINISM HAVE A CLASS PROBLEM? — The Nation launched a new project called The Curve,
a bimonthly roundtable blog exploring questions related to the
intersection of economy and gender. The Curve will feature voices of the
nation’s leading economy and gender experts, including Demos President
and Top Wonk Heather McGhee. READ The Curve’s first installment HERE.
THE CASE FOR PLACE, NOT RACE — The Brennan Center for Justice will host a conversation with Sheryll Cashin on her new book, Place, Not Race,
this Thursday June 26th in New York. Cashin’s book provides a new
framework for achieving truly equal opportunity in education, including
proposals for making standardized testing optional and replacing
merit-based financial aid and need-based financial aid. RSVP HERE.
FROM THE WONK WIRE …
… WHAT MIDDLE CLASS?: Demos Distinguished Senior Fellow and Top Wonk Robert Kuttner examines the disappearance of the American middle class and investigates the steps we can take to rebuild it.
… CAPPING CARBON: NRDC President and Top Wonk Frances Beinecke praises the EPA’s new limits on carbon pollution, calling it the most important step the nation can take to fight climate change.
… REGISTRATION AS REPARATION: NAACP President and Top Wonk Benjamin Todd Jealous argues
that communities of color have the potential to shift the balance of
power in southern states if Democrats make large investments in voter
registration.
Find out more at www.TopWonks.org.
… ON OUR AGENDA … Visit our twitter @PractProgress! …
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