A coalition of hundreds of worker, community and environmental organizations, including UE, launched a new People’s Bailout campaign yesterday, to demand that congressional coronavirus responses focus on the needs of working people.
“Now is the time for bold actions that will not only save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, but also create an economy that works for working people,” said UE General President Carl Rosen.
The campaign website, thepeoplesbailout.org, notes that:
Policymakers and the administration have put forward plans that attempt to return the economy back to a status quo where safety and security are promised only to corporations and the wealthy few. Gambling trillions of tax dollars on stimulating the stock market can't fix the shortage of hospital beds, or the pollution in our skies. Only workers can.
The People’s Bailout is demanding that Congress follow five principles, which were outlined in letters sent by Senators Ed Markey and Tammy Duckworth, as well as Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mark Pocan, Debbie Dingell, Pramila Jayapal, and Barbara Lee, to their colleagues on Tuesday:
- Health is the top priority, for all people, with no exceptions
- Economic relief must be provided directly to the people
- Rescue workers and communities, not corporate executives
- Make a downpayment on a regenerative economy while preventing future crises
- Protect our democratic process while protecting each other
“As we work to advance further spending packages to ensure immediate relief and long-term recovery, we need to consider the interrelated crises of income and wealth inequality, racism, and ecological decline, which were in place long before COVID-19, and now risk being intensified,” read the Dear Colleague letter sent by Reps. Ocasio-Cortez, Pocan, Dingell, Jayapal, and Lee.
TAKE ACTION: Call Congress to demand that they support a People's Bailout at thepeoplesbailout.org/call-congress
Learn more about the People's Bailout at thepeoplesbailout.org.