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Gives information on labor news: Nov 7-13, 2021

Who Gets The Bird – Excerpts from Nov 13, 2021 Edition

Jonah Furman is a labor movement organizer and writer.  One of his many writing projects is his Newsletter, Who Gets The Bird.  Jonah has graciously allowed PPOW to publish excerpts from his newsletter.  Update on Labor news. All the Washington state Labor news is highlighted and bolded below. 

This week, I spoke with Nausicaa Renner (who I speak to every week!) about the Deere strike, the labor market, and union democracy, for Intercepted. You can check that out here. Also, big news! The 2022 Labor Notes Conference is now open for registration: see you in June.

STRIKES & NEGOTIATIONS

A lot of news about strikes & negotiations across the nation below, including news of the first union contract for 5 Burgerville fast food chain locations in the Pacific Northwest.

My latest on the Deere strike dropped Thursday afternoon, and by Friday night, everything had changed. It’s deja vu all over again — there is now a new contract offer from Deere to the 10,000 UAW strikers. I say contract offer and not “tentative agreement” because the union has emphasized that this is a final offer from the company (with the implicit threat to go to arbitration and risk it just being imposed) and not something the bargaining committee voted to approve. The previous claims from Deere about “last and best offer” have proven to not be technically true, though the new offer basically only changes CIPP (and some slight vacation policy tweaks, I believe), the departmental performance pay plan that is so convoluted that most members couldn’t precisely explain it and I certainly don’t have it down. The change means that members who are covered by CIPP — which I don’t have figures on, but seems to be something between half and two-thirds of the workforce — will make a bit more money, and get that money sooner. It’s not the maximalist demand of post-retirement healthcare and pre-97 real wages, but it could certainly be enough to sway the roughly 500 votes needed to ratify, along with the additional two weeks of being on strike, and the increasingly-real-seeming threat of impasse/final offer. We’ll know on Wednesday, when the locals will vote on whether or not to ratify the deal.

An even bigger tentative agreement was announced on Saturday morning, when the Alliance of Health Care Unions, the group of 20 unions currently negotiating a national agreement with healthcare giant Kaiser for something like 50,000 workers, around 40,000 of whom had authorized strikes and some 32-35,000 of whom were set to strike starting on Monday. The roll-out of the tentative agreement announcement was clunky, with Kaiser apparently jumping the gun, and then UNAC/UHCP also kind of jumping the gun, but eventually all the relevant unions announcing they do, indeed, have a national TA. Ratification processes TBD, but these particular unions will not be striking on Monday as planned. The word I’m hearing from union sources is that they killed the two-tier wage proposal and got something in the ballpark of 10% raises over four years (up from 3% over three years). Notably, when we say there’s a national TA and “the strike” is off, that does not mean that the Operating Engineers Local 39 strike is settled (it’s still on, nearing its 2-month mark), and the independent Guild of Professional Pharmacists is still planning to strike for a week starting Monday, which will mean around 2,000 Kaiser pharmacists in Northern California will be on strike. SEIU UHW and the California Nurses (NNU) still plan to strike this week in sympathy with the Operating Engineers, which will mean something like 50,000 Kaiser workers will strike, but only for one day and not over their national master agreement.

Elsewhere in hospital unions: Around 1,000 hospital workers at Cabell Hospital in Huntington, WV remain on strike with 1199 WV/KY/OH, with “no end in sight”; the boss has cut the strikers’ healthcare and a judge has granted a temporary restraining order against the picketers. 350 SEIU UHW hospital workers at Sutter in Antioch, CA held a five-day strike this week, after having struck last month; as at so many hospitals, the biggest issues are staffing ratios and working conditions. 2200 members of the Michigan Nurses Association at Sparrow Health System in Lansing, MI will take a strike authorization vote this week. The reports of an end to the St. Vincent Hospital strike in Worcester, MA are greatly exaggerated, says management; not only is the strike not over, but the CEO blamed the Massachusetts Nurses Association for apparently spreading rumors that there’s a deal at hand. Clearly lots of good will here. The CWA Local 1133 strike at Catholic Health’s Mercy Hospital in Buffalo is officially totally over, with a 96% contract ratification. Other healthcare & social assistance: Elsewhere in Buffalo, 1199 SEIU members at the Weinberg Campus nursing home are rallying for their own safe staffing contract. The 1199 New England group home strikers against Sunrise Group in Connecticut marked a month on strike with a rally in Hartford. 25 nursing home workers at Blue Circle in St. Louis are on strike with SEIU Healthcare Missouri, after having struck for one day in September, over a $15 minimum wage among other issues.

The IATSE ratification vote closes on Monday, and Sarah Hughes spoke to one of the members voting “no” for Labor Notes. Unscientific member polls on social media seem pretty heavily unfavorable, but that’s obviously a self-selecting group. Presumably we’ll know the results by Tuesday or sooner, and in the seemingly less-likely (but certainly possible!) scenario that it is voted down, that doesn’t mean a strike is necessarily happening.

Kellogg’s is suing some of its striking BCTGM workers in Omaha for the sin of picketing. The company wants them to be able to “communicate” their position without having any influence on production, which is just not what a picket line is. The law is unfortunately stacked against picketers, but as in so much of our society and in particular as it concerns unions, the law is deeply broken, and is just one tool Kellogg’s is using in its attempts to break the strike.

At Jacobin, Nora de la Cour has a full account of the UMWA strike at Warrior Met, through contract rejection, mass pickets, injunctions, protests in New York City with arrests of top union leaders, and more.

Higher ed: Rachel Himes wrote about why she’s on strike, along with 3,000 other student workers, against Columbia University for Jacobin. Elsewhere in UAW Local 2110, around 200 museum workers at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts are planning a one-day strike this week. And elsewhere in Columbia… ok, that’s a stretch, but Columbia College faculty in Chicago are still threatening a strike, as contract negotiations continue. Around 6,000 lecturers across the University of California system will strike over unfair labor practices Wednesday and Thursday with UC-AFT; they’ve authorized a full strike, but for now are just doing the two-day, though I’d assume this is functionally a warning shot to the University, which probably doesn’t love that this is happening just as two other units of a combined 24,000 union members are voting on authorizing their own strikes across the UC. Labor Notes covered the broader fight here. Harvard’s Clerical and Technical Workers have ratified a one-year contract, after much debate.

K-12: 900 K-12 educators in Scranton, PA remain on strike, and are pressing their case in the state capital (Harrisburg, for you Zip Zap Map dropouts). In Pleasanton, CA, educators have a tentative agreement that reduces some class sizes and raises pay, after having threatened a strike. After similarly tense negotiations, educators in Anderson, IN have a TA as well. 20 newly-organized K-12 custodians in Chisago Lakes, MN are pushing for a first contract with SEIU Local 284.

School bus drivers: 40 school bus drivers in Cumberland County, NC have joined the school bus drivers mini strike wave, with particular outcry from special education bus drivers: “We call ourselves CNAs with CDLs,” said one special education driver. In Howard County, MD, school bus drivers did the same, with 80 drivers calling out sick. In Minneapolis, 100 unionized school bus drivers with Teamsters Local 320 unanimously authorized a strike; the complicated public sector law there means the earliest they could strike is January 15 or so, but the trend holds.

Other transit: Around 200 transit workers with Teamsters Local 533 are on their third strike since August as they battle French transit contracting giant Keolis in Reno, NV; Keolis took over the contract for Regional Transportation Commission from MV Transportation in 2019 and has been playing hardball in negotiations with the union, which has responded by filing unfair labor practices and striking over each one. TWU‘s national leadership has intervened to call off (or maybe just delay) a strike of 275 Local 1 transit workers in Akron, OH that was set to start on Monday, and has placed the local union in receivership. TWU says Local 1 didn’t provide proper notice of the strike, somehow mishandled the strike authorization vote, and the local president is no longer officially employed by the employer. Those issues all sound pretty process-oriented to me, so I’m curious to learn more, and why the national union would take this drastic step. If you’re a member or have more insight, I’d love to hear from you.

Grocery unions: Kroger workers with UFCW Local 455 in Houston are taking a strike authorization vote at their worksites and the company has repeatedly called the police on them (who for the most part seem to show up and shrug their shoulders and leave). As I mentioned last week, in Michigan, members of UFCW Local 876 have rejected a tentative agreement at the grocery giant, but I haven’t seen updates on what happens next. On the west coast, contract negotiations are beginning across several UFCW and Teamsters locals, covering 100,000 workers.

Members of the New York NewsGuild have authorized a strike at the New York Times’s Wirecutter on or around Black Friday.

Multiple rail unions (including at least BMWE-IBT and TCU (IAMAW) but I think like seven others) are threatening a strike at Chicago’s Metra commuter rail, after three years without a contract.

Three years after they first unionized, 100 IWW-represented workers at five Burgerville fast food chain locations in the Pacific Northwest have their first union contract. 

NEW ORGANIZING

4 places in Washington state unionized this last week: 1) Social services agency, Communitas in Bremerton, 2) Concrete workers at Precision Concrete in Seattle, 3) Workers at WestRock in Tacoma, and 4) Cement masons with Hoffman Structures in Washington state.  Details below.

65 workers for social services agency Communitas in Bremerton, WA are unionizing with SEIU Local 775. 

Smaller shops: 41 workers at a Dollar General warehouse in West Sacramento, CA are unionizing with Teamsters Local 150. 39 workers at what I believe is an “automated” Kroger grocery warehouse in Middletown, OH operated by Ocado are organizing with Teamsters Local 114. 35 steelworkers at Amerinox Processing in Camden, NJ are organizing with SMART Local 19, as are 17 workers for HVAC company Custom Aire in Bensalem, PA. OPCMIA Local 528 is organizing 29 concrete workers at Precision Concrete in Seattle. 

NLRB election wins…: 17 workers who make packaging products for WestRock in Tacoma, WA voted 16-1 to join the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters. Six clerical workers at rec center/waterpark Albergue Olimpico in Salinas, PR voted 5-0 to join UTIER. Five cement masons for contractor Hoffman Structures in Washington state voted 4-0 to join OPCMIA Local 528. 


Read Jonah Furman’s full newsletter here to read more labor news on all the following topics (Don’t forget to subscribe and support Who Gets The Bird!)

  • STRIKES & NEOGIATIONS
  • POLITICS & LEGISLATION
  • INTERNAL UNION POLITICS
  • NEW ORGANIZING

Get Even More Up-To-Date News On Labor Strikes & Protests

Check out an always up-to-date Twitter feed on Labor strikes & protests here. This Labor Action Tracker feed (@ILRLaborAction) is maintained by Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations Labor school.

Labor News Twitter Feed

Read Jonah Furman’s full newsletter here to read more labor news on all the following topics (Don’t forget to subscribe and support Who Gets The Bird!)

  • STRIKES & NEOGIATIONS
  • POLITICS & LEGISLATION
  • INTERNAL UNION POLITICS
  • NEW ORGANIZING

Get Even More Up-To-Date News On Labor Strikes & Protests

Check out an always up-to-date Twitter feed on Labor strikes & protests here. This Labor Action Tracker feed (@ILRLaborAction) is maintained by Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations Labor school.

Labor News Twitter Feed

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Supporters on Why They Love PPOW

Photo of Veda, a 70+year old woman and Washington People's party volunteer

“I am a child of the 60s and worked to end the Vietnam War. We ‘did that,’ but at that time we did NOT address the reality that the system… was broken. I’ve been waiting for The People’s Party for 50 years and am thrilled to be working for this movement with people I consider to be the cream of the crop!” Read more “What I’ve Been Waiting For”

Veda S. - Camano Island
PPOW Newsletter Team
Graphic of the People's Party of Washington volunteer who made this why statement

The answer to the question ‘why I joined the People’s Party’ is dirt simple. I want to change the way people think about our government and their place in it.… Our current form of government is just fine as defined in the US Constitution and spiritualized in the Declaration of Independence. But, our government has been usurped by our economic system and those who control it. It was sold to the highest bidder in a private auction decades ago. We the people must unite to take it back, and the People’s Party is the perfect mechanism to do just that. United we stand, individually we are nothing. “We the people,” from the US Constitution, is now the People’s Party. The three rules of taking back our government are: Unite. Unite. Unite. Read more ““We the people,” from the US Constitution, is now the People’s Party.”

Bill B. - Issaquah
Volunteer
Photo of the People's Party of Washington volunteer who made this why statement

I’ve been interested in politics since I was 4, when I wrote President Bill Clinton a letter begging him to prevent global warming. Fast-forward 30 years and now we’re staring… down the barrel of a climate crisis because the people who run both parties are too corrupt and cowardly to address it. I’m working to build a People’s Party because D.C. politicians represent their donors more than their voters. It’s time to take down the permanent political class and make our government work for us! Read more “”

John Paul P. - Kirkland
Photo of PPOW who made this testimonial

“I’m a 2nd-grade teacher who’s joined the People’s Party because we need a duopoly alternative immediately. Our government fails to meet the material needs of a growing number of people.… Elites won’t acknowledge the real situation, and things are getting worse fast. Like Nick Brana says, we need an exit door. An alternative to fascism and austerity.” Read more “Need a Duopoly Alternative Immediately”

Richard M. - Seattle
PPOW supporter
photo of People's Party of Washington volunteer

I started volunteering with PPOW because I could no longer sit around worrying and complaining, but not doing anything. I had tried Green Party, DSA, etc., but I wasn’t finding… the level of activity and forward motion I needed. PPOW was ready to build a state party, as well as join a national coalition of other parties and organizations looking to build a true party of the people. I found people who were also tired of the inaction and ineptitude of our current system, and who were ready to get involved and either end the corporate duopoly, or die knowing that they had at least tried. I cannot think of a better way to spend my time and energy than by trying to make this world a better place for my children. Read more “”

Rebecca M. - Bellingham
PPOW Administrator Extraordinaire
photo of Jamin - a father and a Washington People's Party volunteer

“My reason for being in the People’s Party is my 17-year-old daughter. She is lacing up her adult shoes and getting ready to use them in this unforgiving world. A… world I brought her into. In reality, that goes for all of our youth. I believe the People’s Party is the best avenue to finally create a better world for all our children. So let’s make sure we pass on a bright light to guide my baby and our collective youth, in all their splendor. I encourage you to join WPP with one mission in mind: To Make America Great FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!” Read more “For Our Children”

Jamin M. - Port Orchard
PPOW State Vice Chair
Photo of the PPOW volunteer who made this Why PPOW statement

“I’ve been so fed up with money in politics and the corporate domination of our government and country. I was ready for a party that puts people and the planet… first–and the People’s Party does that. I’m thrilled to be collaborating with folks who share my values and concerns as we all work for real change.” Read more “Putting the People &The Planet First”

Leslie C. _-Amboy
PPOW Volunteer & Tweeter Extraordinaire
THe PPOW who made this Why PPOW statement

“I have always shied away from partisan politics, but have long recognized that we must find a way to transcend the partisan divide and duopoly control.  The People’s Party presents… the opportunity to heal our broken nation by focusing on our shared Vision of the future we all long for.” Read more “Opportunity To Heal Our Broken Nation”

Jim L. - Spokane
PPOW Chair Platform & Policy
photo of People's Party of Washington volunteer

I shudder to contemplate the next Presidential election if our only choices are Biden and Trump types of candidates. For decades, regular Americans have had no political party fighting for… them. Increasingly people are desperate for an alternative to the two-party corporate-dominated duopoly. The People’s Party gives regular Americans a loud and clear voice. It supports candidates, policies, and a movement that will force the government to take significant actions that benefit regular folk, not big corporations. I am proud to be a volunteer and member of PPOW. Read more “”

Betsy C - Seattle
PPOW Media & Messaging
Photo of Nils - a young man and Washington People's Party volunteer

“I’m becoming increasingly worried about the fragile state of our nation, and it’s clear that our current political system won’t offer the right solutions. It’s time for an alternative to… our broken corporate duopoly and I want to be part of the journey to create a party not for Goldman Sachs, Raytheon, and ExxonMobil, but for the people.” Read more “Time For An Alternative”

Nils G. - Burien
PPOW supporter
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“I have hope. The People’s Party of Washington gives me hope. I do not have faith in the current political system. Despite having a majority in both houses and the… Presidency, the Democratic party has stymied. The supposed reincarnation of FDR seems to have just morphed into Reagan 7.0. Our desperate work to help Georgia win two Senators seems for naught as Sinema and Manchin always get things ruined while never being punished for it. The progressive caucus has revealed it will politely ask the establishment Dems if they can stand their ground, refusing to fight for little folk despite us asking so often. That’s why I believe in People’s Party of Washington. They are Us. People who feel left behind. Folks that see the obvious injustices in our systems. Workers wanting to help workers. American citizens together. Why wouldn’t you support that? I support any organization that shows solidarity, that fights for everyone, and believes in fairness. I believe in the People’s Party because they give me hope.” Read more “”

Steve H. - Lacey
Supporter
photo of People's Party of Washington volunteer

This country has never needed the People’s Party more than it does now. I believe this can be an important offering or alternative to the present situations. The  Democratic Party… only continues to get worse. There seems to be no-one with any moral or ethical behavior left in our present leadership. The Republicans ram everything through & the Dems can’t seem to get even lunch money OK’d. Its been that way since Reagan. They are all only; “actors on a stage”. While we drown, each member of the Dem’s seems more concerned with making a headline, than doing real work for the people. Meanwhile horrible, tragic and terrorist acts continue to be used against the people by their own government. Massive amounts of our monies are being shuffled into Wall Street Corporations. This is truly a fight for the country, against Corporations set on making slaves of us all. Slaves without the benefit of our “masters” having to feed, clothe, educate or tend our wounds. What we’re seeing now seems a return of the Dark Ages and not the Enlightenment. These leaders have sold off so much of their power to the corporations they’ve become foolish actors and powerless puppets. All dangling under the strings of their masters. And they are not ashamed of what they have become. They all know better, still they just don’t care. It’s every representative for themselves now, grab whatever you can. The more chaos you can cause the more corp’s are able to steal. This battle to take back America from these buffoons is going to be long, hard & without compensation. Yet it needs to be done, immediately. This is an emphatic vote of “No Confidence” To allow these two parties to continue to sell off America at this pace, and place it under a Mafia type rule, must be stopped. There is no road forward with present leadership. That old 70’s movie “Network” has never been more fitting for the American people. “We are all Mad as Hell and We are Not Going to Take it Anymore.”  That should be one of our many cries outward to bring some sanity back from this Corporate Mafia Behavior of our Judicial system. And the 99% movement needs to return in force.  Where are you all? Were you scattered to the wind and then purchased in entirety? Capitalism has failed us entirely, by incorporating the entirety of Washington DC. Police & Schools, the majority of Media. Plus there’s that part where most of their products are toxic & killing us.  Everyone already knows these things. None of this is news. Facts; “The USA is selling off more of its citizens Financial information than anyone else in the world. The TSA is helping local Policing Agencies steal money from travelers, even though there is no law against taking money inside the country. We are being threatened and killed by our own Police Departments who now have been completely Militarized against us. etc. etc. etc….(I can go on for days here) 85% of the people want Medical & Climate Relief. Still we can’t seem to find 50% of our Representatives to get it. Why is that?  Even after they ran for office on these same Promises. How much longer are we expected to watch and listen to these Buffoons?  They lie so often, they had a law passed to protect them from themselves. Why are we still hoping for progress from  Professional Liers? Do you know the definition of insanity?  Doing the same thing over & over expecting different results. By giving $trillions to Corps here & overseas via Covid, the USA has caused and allowed massive inflation.  Making you spend your few remaining saved dollars to just exist, a few more years. While inflation raises the taxes you must pay to exist in your own homes. Without any raise in pay. While “shortages” cause 50% price increases everywhere. So whose home is it really?  All this is placed into play by our Representatives, like Actors reading from the Author’s script.  And, The Author’s raked in $Trillions. ( We received 170 million checks worth $400 billion. Where did the other 5.5 $trillion go?  Or was it $6.5 Trillion? It’s hard to keep track anymore. Much of it went overseas out of reach of prying eyes.) Meanwhile every agency of Government is out to collect more from its citizens. Every cent & more back.  Every Dept & Agency has been set up as a “For Profit” business. As each year passes, each department is expected to create new revenue streams.  How will we citizens defend ourselves against this type of behavior? You can choose not to go to the store. Yet, interacting with the government cannot be avoided.  They will seek you out and demand new payments. New revenue streams. There is no longer anyone looking out for you. No one to actually Protect and Serve. You may never feel safe & secure again. All scripted out by psychopath CEOs and their Special Interest Groups. “Habeas Corpus is no longer in effect to protect you. You are guilty until they say you are not. And they have the right to retain you anywhere by any means. What does it mean when you can’t feel safe anymore? It means you are being terrorized by those who are supposed to be protecting you. And there seems to be no recourse against all the groups set up to terrorize you. It’s OK if they sell every secret bit of financial information you have. In fact, it’s most likely against a law somewhere to restrict them from making money off all your private information. It’s time for a real party of the people, The “People’s Party.”  I’m not against somebody making and saving a dime. It’s just time to start taking back some of our Future that’s been taken away & stolen by these two existing “Actor Parties”.   It’s time to say; I’m Mad as Hell and I’m Not Going to Take it Anymore.  Everyone knows exactly what the problem has been for years. Let’s start doing something,  The People’s Party. Are you thinking of sending some money for a political cause?  I know I must get 4 emails a day asking for donations. Let’s decide to give money to non-liers from now on. No more excuses from our Reps. Let’s take steps toward creation of a completely different Representative who’s  Party’s name is subject to their belief. The People’s Party.  You don’t have to wonder about that…….. Thanks…………I understand it’s a long statement.  Sometimes it’s hard to get all of it in a few words.  I’ve left out so much & so many important issues. “The People’s Party.” Pass it on by telling a friend. If you still have anyone you trust anymore? Read more “”

Steve C - Mount Vernon
PPOW supporter
Placeholder image of PPOW volunteer who made this Why PPOW statement

“I joined the Peoples Party because I believe in upholding education as a human right. No person anywhere in the United States should be denied education of any form and… should be able to be in a community that fosters that growth by any means.” Read more “Education As a Human Right”

Shelby S. – Seattle
PPOW Supporter
photo of People's Party of Washington volunteer

I started volunteering to build a new, major Party of the People last year when the Democrats refused to even put a $15 minimum wage in their platform! I knew… then, beyond a shadow of a doubt that Democrats, just like Republicans, had no interest in fighting for the people. And since it was clear that both parties in the duopoly had been captured by the wealthy corporate elites in this nation, I knew that I could never again vote for any candidate that identified with either of those parties. So now I’m working to help build a voice of the people here in Washington, and Nationwide! Helping to create a party that is people-powered, people-focused, and people-funded… a party dedicated to enfranchising all of us who are fed up with this system! Fed up with the wealthy corporations stealing our value; fed up with a government that only watches out for the wealthy; fed up with a nation that refuses to value or listen to its people! It’s time to build a party for us, a People’s Party! Read more “”

Marc M. - Bellingham
PPOW State Chair
Photo of volunteer who made this Why PPOW statement

“I’ve been politically active my entire adult life. I registered to vote at age 18 and never looked back. In the 1980s, I marched against the South African system of… apartheid. I spent a summer canvassing for ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) in my hometown of Memphis, TN. Since then, I have been active in supporting Planned Parenthood. After the 2016 and 2020 Presidential elections, I was done with the do-nothing duopoly. The People’s Party offers a path to break free of corporate grip on our political system and the opportunity to build an agenda that works for the 99%.” Read more “Done With The Do-Nothing Duopoly”

Shannon S _-Bellingham
PPOW Vice Chair Media & Messaging
Washington lake

The poisonous notion that the most we can hope to do with our votes is damage control necessarily leads to ever-worsening political options and outcomes. We deserve more. I’m not… sure what other evidence people need that the Democrats will never fight for us than the fact that, time after time, they immediately abandon all their campaign pledges once they’re in office and get down to business doing nothing. The strategy of smuggling progressives into Congress on the Democratic Party ticket has failed, and instead of doubling-down, we clearly need a new strategy—and a new party. The old parties are both unwilling to meet our needs and are completely beyond redemption. We can and must do better. Read more “”

Jenny B. – Burien
PPOW Supporter

Growing up in a politically active family, I became increasingly disillusioned by a growing awareness of the widespread deceit practiced by political candidates of both Parties, speaking from both sides… of their mouths from the campaign trail to whatever elected office they gained…But it’s relatively recently that I learned the ‘truth’/actual dynamics behind how our government works…Sadly, NOT for the electorate, but for whomever can pay them the most for their allegiance in a corporate capitalist culture~! The gross injustice of it all came to a head for me during Trump’s ‘reign’ of terror, when the realization of how this nation, which I had believed was a ‘constitutional democracy’ was a sham/charade that many believed in, but stood ready to betray that trust and ‘bend the knee’ before the idol of the ‘almighty dollar’~But I also became aware of those who championed the core values and human connection between people…and I believe that ‘TOGETHER, We Can/Will Overcome’, as we did segregation and the Viet Nam war, to raise up and realize the HOPE that is possible…’United,’ We Stand…’Divided,’ We Fall, and here in Washington State we seem to be succeeding in making that a political reality as the rest of the nation seeks an antidote to the ‘duopoly’ that has abandoned us~! The PPOW epitomizes that ‘Hope’ as we work toward sharing and participating in transforming our Democracy in reality…Together~! Read more “”

Ivana Grace - Mount Vernon
PPOW supporter

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