Water is a basic human right. At a school that demands academic excellence, it is hypocritical that no water is provided for paying students. Dehydration negatively impacts academic performance and focus. How can we perform if we are not given the basic tools in order to do so. We are also in school for the HOT summer months with no AC in the classrooms as well. Water is something that should AT LEAST be provided considering the tuition we pay to attend this institution.

Ben & Jerry’s is in court protecting their decision to stop selling ice cream in occupied Palestinian territories, after a betrayal by their parent company, Unilever. To appease the Israeli government, Alan Jope, CEO at Unilever, authorized a backroom deal to sell the franchise to an Israeli company – essentially overriding Ben & Jerry’s decision. Sign the petition: tell Unilever to stop its betrayal of Ben & Jerry’s and Palestinian human rights. Ben & Jerry’s made the human rights-affirming decision in 2020 to stop doing business in occupied Palestine, following a decade of grassroots organizing and campaigning by Palestinians and allies across the globe. In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s finally went public with their decision — after a particularly brutal Israeli military assault on Gaza which killed over 200 people — and during a huge surge of international support for Palestinian freedom. Now, a year after Ben & Jerry’s public announcement, their parent company, Unilever, has made a backroom deal to sell ice cream operations to the Israeli licensee rather than honor Ben & Jerry’s decision to respect Palestinian lives.

Amazon and the rest of corporate America want to reap the benefits of appearing pro-reproductive rights without actually having to stop their donations to candidates actively passing abortion bans. Companies across various industries—from AT&T and Disney to Amazon—have donated to Republicans and extremists for years including Republican governors who are now signing abortion bans into law. Amazon released a statement that “team members should get the care they need" and have offered to reimburse their staff for travel. But that’s simply not enough to combat an issue they’ve contributed to. Amazon has the opportunity to actually support their staff, by ending all donations to Republican and right-wing extremist candidates that will support abortion bans and limit worker’s rights across the country.

Big Tech companies have massive stockpiles of intimate user data that could be used to enforce laws criminalizing abortion. There’s no law or government requirement that Big Tech companies collect and keep records of its users’ data. Other tech companies like Apple says “privacy is a fundamental human right” and does not collect user location data. Although Google has said they will delete user location data for those visiting abortions, it’s not clear how Google will identify these locations. Moreover, Google will not delete search requests automatically, putting the burden on users who want to protect themselves to have to do that themselves. Google should prioritize privacy. Join us in demanding Google delete users’ location data that could be used by state governments to prosecute those seeking reproductive health care. SOURCES: 1. Ortutay, Barbara. “Democrats: Google must protect privacy of abortion patients.” Associated Press. 24 May, 2022. 2. Aten, Jason. “Apple's New Privacy Page Is a Not-So-Subtle Smackdown of Facebook and Google.” Inc. 7 Nov., 2019. 3. Rosenberg, Scott. “Roe's overturn is tech's privacy apocalypse.” Axios. 7 July, 2022.

On June 11th, 11 churches joined together to provide $25,000 in free gas in Prince George's County to provide direct aid to the community. Organizers were discouraged to learn that Sunoco Gas Station on Marlboro Pike increased the price per gallon by 10 cents during the event- and immediately lowered the price after. Currently, in Laurel, MD residents are receiving rent increases from $400.00 - $1600.00 as well as parking fees of varying amounts depending on rental seniority & Schweb Partners LLC based in Jackson, NJ claims this is market value for their units. Blatant exploitation and price gouging are unacceptable when our community is struggling to make ends meet, Maryland needs explicit anti-price gouging legislation to protect our citizens from industry greed.

Pride was not created to be a party. It was civil unrest to fight against police brutality and to celebrate who we are and fight for equality and justice. This cannot happen when organizers of pride are in bed with a corporation who funds campaigns to turn the clock back on our fight for equality. The Center on Colfax must end oors' sponsorship of Pride today. Pride was, and always should be, a grassroots movement.

Big Tech companies can take down and stop profiting off racist violent content like the Buffalo shooting video. Google designated the Buffalo shooting as a “sensitive event,” preventing ads from running on searches related to it. Facebook has not yet decided to demonetize and remove content related to the Buffalo shooting video and replacement theory. The New York Times and Tech Transparency Project found that “Facebook is surfacing the violent video or links to websites hosting the clip next to ads.” Facebook even recommended some search terms for the Buffalo shooting video as “popular searches” on the platform. A study by Media Matters for America revealed that Facebook has profited off over 50 ads from right-wing political candidates pushing the replacement theory and allowed hundreds of similar organic posts from right-wing media outlets. Facebook doesn’t have to profit off this racist violence and white supremacy. Join us in speaking out and demanding action from Facebook. SOURCES: 1. Mac, Ryan. "Buffalo gunman’s video is surfacing on Facebook, sometimes with ads beside it." The New York Times. 19 May, 2022. 2. Gogarty, Kayla. "Facebook profited from ads promoting white supremacist “great replacement” theory." Media Matters for America. 20 May, 2022.

If it passes, the NY Deforestation-free Bill can protect some of the world's most vital ecosystems, curb deforestation, inspire other states to do the same, and help humanity actually address climate change. Deforestation is a major driver of climate change. It causes 10 to 15 percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. What's more, keeping forests standing and promoting reforestation is a key solution to reversing climate chaos. If deforestation were a country, it would be the third largest “country” in terms of emissions. We need to fight for climate solutions on the federal AND the State level, and NY State can lead the way. Bill S.5921 is simple. It would ensure that products New York State buys are not contributing to the deforestation of the earth's most precious forests. If NY pulls this off, it'll be the first State in the US to do so. But NY won't be alone. In fact, the European Union and the United Kingdom are already creating regulations to curb imported deforestation into their jurisdictions. By having NY do the right thing, we can send a message to other countries and companies that they should do the same. Sign our petition to pass a strong law to fight deforestation! Be a forest champion and help save this planet for future generations.

What does financial regulation have to do with the baby formula crisis? More than you might think. Just four companies sell almost all baby formula in the United States: Abbott, Reckitt Benckiser, Nestle, and Perrigo. This concentration in the industry leaves the supply chain vulnerable. Abbott Laboratories, a $35 billion conglomerate, is under fire for manufacturing baby formula in dirty facilities that caused two babies to die of a bacterial infection and made at least two others sick. Now, one of the biggest factories in the country is closed while regulators work to ensure it’s free of contamination, which means desperate parents are driving hours just to find formula. How did this crisis happen? One reason is that regulators let Abbott Laboratories buy back more than $5 billion of its own stock while it covered up unsanitary conditions in its factory. Instead of making sure their product was safe, Abbott’s executives lied to safety inspectors while spending corporate cash on pumping up its stock price. Before 1980, corporations were outlawed from buying back their own stock — and there’s no good reason regulators shouldn’t outlaw it again. This year, the biggest corporations are expected to spend a record $1 trillion on stock buybacks, shattering records and showering cash on shareholders — instead of investing it in product safety, innovation, or workers. The baby formula crisis should be the last straw. It’s sickening that Abbott would buy back stock instead of keeping babies safe. Chair Gary Gensler at the Securities and Exchange Commission has the authority to slam the brakes on corporate buybacks. Chair Gensler is doing good work to rein in financial wrongdoing, but needs to hear from us that this is important. Please help us send a message to Chair Gensler that corporate stock buybacks are bad for everyone but the CEOs and executives they enrich.

Over the past year, we've seen unprecedented attacks on democracy, including the ability of eligible voters – especially Black and Brown voters – to participate in elections and have their vote count. This must stop and companies need to step up and defend democracy. Unfortunately, many companies that claim to support civic participation and racial justice – including AT&T – have practically done the opposite, standing by and passively supporting the same politicians who have launched these attacks. - AT&T was one of the first companies[1] to break their commitment[2] to stop contributions to members of Congress who voted against certifying the 2020 election results. - AT&T is a top corporate donor to politicians that sponsored laws making it harder for many voters to participate in elections, especially Black and Brown voters. In 2021, for example, AT&T gave Texas Gov. Greg Abbott 100,000[3] on the same day he called a special session to pass legislation that makes it harder for eligible voters to register and cast their vote. - AT&T is also a top corporate contributor[4] to the sponsors of bills designed to intimidate and criminalize peaceful, non-violent forms of protest. - AT&T needs to stop giving money to radical insurrectionists and do business in a manner consistent with its values. Actions speak louder than words and AT&T's actions often contradict the company's commitment to equal opportunity and racial justice. That cannot continue. We call on AT&T and CEO John Stankey to stop supporting extremist politicians that are making it harder to vote and participate in our democracy. ----------------------------------------------- References 1. https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-04-19/corporations-pledge-donations-politicians-opposed-election-certification-biden 2. https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-04-19/corporations-pledge-donations-politicians-opposed-election-certification-biden 3. http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/business-a-lobbying/563541-watchdog-says-att-gave-over-100k-to-abbott-gop 4. https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Democracy-Report-2.pdf

Justice Gorsuch should hold no influential office in the Colonial Williamsburg organization as long as he pursues overturning Roe and Casey. His actions are egregiously uncompassionate, harmful, and inconsistent with the values and mission of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. As the organization stands to have "the future learn from the past", it must acknowledge that this decision is legally, intellectually, and socially regressive and would be desultory for the health, safety, and well being for a large portion of the American public. Colonial Williamsburg should stand against such behavior and expel Justice Gorsuch from its ranks.

Nurses have gone above and beyond to keep the Stanford hospitals running through the pandemic and to maintain the world-class care that has built the hospitals’ reputations. In the face of a staffing crisis, unprecedented case loads and extremely high patient acuity, Nurses have continued to pour our hearts into helping our patients. Since January, we have put forward proposals in contract bargaining to address serious issues and create a sustainable workplace for Nurses at Stanford’s adult and children’s hospitals, but management just keeps saying no to many of our demands. Even after working with a federal mediator after our contracts expired on March 31, we were unable to reach a fair agreement. The hospitals have refused to acknowledge the understaffing that makes our work so hard. We are fighting to recruit more Nurses, reward the Nurses are working in the critical care areas, allow Nurses to take time to rest and recover, and to get meaningful mental health resources to Nurses who need them. When we could not get these basic commitments from the hospitals, more than 93 percent of eligible Nurses voted to authorize a strike. Now, the hospital executives are trying to use our health benefits as a weapon to break our resolve and prevent the strike. This decision is cruel and immoral. Health benefits should not be used against workers, and especially against the very health care professionals who have made Stanford a world-class health system. Please stand with Nurses and demand that the CEOs David Entwistle and Paul King immediately reverse this decision and pledge to maintain our benefits while we work to reach an agreement. Colleen Borges, pediatric oncology Nurse at Lucile Packard and CRONA president Kathy Stormberg, radiology Nurse at Stanford and CRONA vice president Eileen Pachkofsky, pediatric oncology Nurse at Lucile Packard and CRONA vice president