Hi friend,
Progress is a journey toward liberation, but not an easy feat; that is why I’m also thankful for our members, co-conspirators, and friends. I am so proud of the incredible difference that 9to5 is making across the country for working families as we continue to work towards justice.
As Thanksgiving approaches, I’m reflecting on the heartaches felt by our communities this past year as systemic violence continues to repress marginalized communities.
This year has been hard and heartbreaking – we lost a record number of trans and nonbinary people to senseless violence, the continued erasure of Indigenous communities and the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, and the recent acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse. Unfortunately, racism continues to be painfully prevalent across our nation.
As the fight for justice continues it will take ALL OF US to dismantle racism, white supremacy, and systems of oppression to create the future we envision. I challenge you to have these difficult conversations around your Thanksgiving table this season.
Wishing all a Happy and Peaceful Thanksgiving,
Leng Leng
Spotlight
We’ve been keeping a close eye on what’s happening with the Build Back Better Act. The bill would provide four weeks of paid family medical leave, child care funding meant to ensure that families pay no more than 7% of their income on child care, expanded monthly child tax credit payments, universal pre-k for 4 and-5 year-olds, investments in climate and much more.
- On Friday the House of Representatives passed Build Back Better, sending it to the Senate.
- Some Senators backed by corporate interests might want to make some changes to pass the legislation. We will have to keep pressuring our Senators to make sure nothing changes and that the paid leave that was added back into the bill isn’t removed.
- Congress hopes to pass the bill to the President before breaking for Christmas. We’ll keep you updated on what happens next.
Highlights from the field:
Wisconsin
9to5 state director Christina Thor wrote an op-ed on how affordable, accessible, and culturally relevant child care options are necessary to economic recovery and local businesses filling their empty positions.
Georgia
November’s virtual chapter meeting was about knowing your rights in the workplace. Do you have the legal right to take breaks at work? Does your boss have the right to suddenly change your job duties? What protections do workers have in GA?
Colorado
Colorado housing organizer Luz Galicia and state director Dre Chiriboga-Flor were featured in “A Decent Home,” a documentary that examines the wealth gap and housing crisis through the lives of mobile home park residents.
What we’re reading:
- Inside two Colorado mobile-home communities fighting to avoid corporate takeovers — with very different results
- Cockroaches and sewage backups move low-income residents to sue one of Denver’s largest landlords
- Why cuts to proposed federal paid leave policy could be a ‘huge loss’ to Americans
- We Must Listen to Women to Tackle Our Changing Climate
- ‘I went home and cried’: US employers offer few protections for pregnant workers
- Abortion After Roe: Long Road Trips and Crowded Clinics
- Build Back Better Would Achieve Feminists’ Long-Deferred Dream of Affordable Childcare
