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

INDICTING THESE INDIVIDUALS IS ONLY FAIR! COMMIT THE CRIME, DO THE TIME! By NOT acting, & indicting them, YOU ARE ENABLING THEM, TOO! By your inaction, you are normalizing terroristic behavior from our elected public officials. Congress has ways to deal with traitors amongst their ranks. THERE ARE LAWS TO DEAL WITH THEM! USE THEM!!!!!! CENSURE THEM! WRITE RESOLUTIONS TO EXPEL THEM! DEMOCRATS, CALL FOR THEM ALL TO BE EXPELLED! DO YOUR JOB TO PROTECT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC FROM FUTURE DOMESTIC ENEMIES. You took the oath, to protect us from enemies, foreign & domestic. HONOR YOUR OATH! If you DON'T indict them, they are emboldened to continue lying to the public, inciting continued violence from their supporters, & not only obstructing a Democratic agenda, but still in office, pressing for their abysmal agenda, which persecutes women, children & families across the nation. Furthermore, since they're not charged with insurrection, they can run for re-election, no problem! And continue terrorizing the country! WE CALL ON CONGRESS & WHITE HOUSE & DOJ TO DO YER JOB!!! CENSURE, CHARGE, REMOVE THESE TRAITORS FROM OFFICE, & BAR THEM FROM FUTURE ELECTIONS. I personally urge all of you to DESIGNATE THE GOP AS TERRORIST ORGANIZATION! Although this sounds fair to me, probably most Americans would not agree with this measure - yet.

Climate scientists and organizers have been sounding the alarm on the climate crisis for years. The latest findings from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) tell us that regardless of what we do now, temperatures will still rise globally. But, we still have time to mitigate damage to our most vulnerable communities by using the full power of the government to tackle the climate crisis head on. Fossil fuel CEOs are set to make near-historic profits this year, while working people have been navigating everyday life between a deadly pandemic—made worse by the Trump administration—unemployment and the worst effects of this crisis, from a record-breaking wildfire and hurricane season. Scientists have told us exactly what we need to do to mitigate this crisis, but will we listen and respond? Now is the time for President Joe Biden and his administration to make change for working people across the country and declare a climate emergency.

Last month, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioners Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson blocked an investigation into Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) – the pharmaceutical industry’s giant corporate middlemen that result in higher prices across the country. Now we have a chance to fight back against these prescription drug middlemen, but we need your help. 77% of all prescriptions filled nationwide are controlled by three PBMs, all owned by the largest health insurers: Caremark (owned by CVS), OptumRx (owned by United Health), and Express Scripts (owned by Cigna). PBMs decide what pharmacies you can use, which of your medications are covered by insurance, and how much you, the pharmacy, and your insurance company must pay, giving them immense control over drug prices in the United States. Defenders of Big Pharma would tell you PBMs aim to lower drug costs and help patients efficiently access medications. In reality, PBMs work to jack up the price of life-saving drugs like insulin, steal from community pharmacies until they go bankrupt, and turn pharmacy care -- one of the most important (and often only) sources of health care for rural patients -- into a living nightmare. When FTC Chair Lina Khan first pushed to investigate PBMs’ role in sky-rocketing drug prices and illegal monopolistic practices, Commissioners Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson blocked the investigation. Chair Khan can call for another vote, but Commissioners Phillips and Wilson must hear from Americans demanding that they reconsider their vote and allow the FTC to conduct this essential study. Together our voices can be louder than the pharmaceutical industry’s.

Most people think sending money to a friend or family member in need is a personal matter, but ICE disagrees. We just found out that ICE has been collecting personal financial data on millions of people who use money transfer services like Western Union.1 ICE can use this data to try to target immigrants who send money back to their families, and potentially deport them. The federal government should never be in the business of spying on people who are just trying to financially help their friends and family. Sign the petition: Tell Congress and President Biden to ban ICE surveillance of money orders and cash transfers! For millions of people in California, Arizona, New Mexico, or Texas, who recently used a money order service, like Western Union, their personal information and the personal information of the person they sent money to likely ended up in a database without them even knowing – a database that is shared with ICE and other law enforcement agencies. Since 2019, ICE used administrative subpoenas to money order and cash transfer companies like Western Union to collect sender and recipient names and addresses. This essentially criminalizes people for not having bank accounts, and specifically targets immigrant communities of all kinds for the commonplace practice of sending remittances back to family members. Once Senator Wyden started asking questions about the program, ICE shut it down.2 That’s because ICE has gotten so out of control that they don’t stop to question whether their actions are legal or not – they’re just out to hunt down, detain, and deport as many immigrants as they can. This has to stop. ICE has consistently proved that they will abuse any amount of power given to them. That’s why Congress and President Biden need to act now to specifically and permanently ban ICE from spying on people’s private financial data. Sign the petition: Tell Congress and President Biden to ban ICE surveillance of money orders and cash transfers! Sources: 1. Buzzfeed, “ICE Conducted Sweeping Surveillance Of Money Transfers Sent To And From The US, A Senator Says,” March 8, 2022. 2. Ibid.

Even as the price of gas per barrel is well below recent records, gas prices remain high.1 That’s because oil and gas companies are gouging consumers, and taking advantage of the war in Ukraine to rake in as much profit as possible. Senator Elizabeth Warren introduced a bill that cuts to the heart of the problem: corporate profiteering. The Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax will stop price gouging at the pumps by forcing oil and gas companies to share their recording-breaking profits with consumers.2 This can’t wait, tell your elected officials to pass this bill and stop gas price gouging. Sign the petition: Tell Congress to tax oil and gas companies and stop price gouging at the pumps! Senator Elizabeth Warren’s bill would take on price gouging. The Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax would tax the big oil companies and also go a step further: by using that revenue to give Americans a rebate to offset how much soaring gas prices hit people’s pocketbooks. If oil and gas companies had their way, every major news event would trigger unnecessary gas price hikes at the pumps, and squeeze new record profits out of the hands of everyday Americans. We have to put a stop to this. Sign the petition: Tell Congress to tax oil and gas companies and stop price gouging at the pumps! Sources: 1. Newsweek, “Oil Prices Are Dropping — Will Gas Prices Go Down, Too?,” March 14, 2022. 2. Truthout, “Warren Says Democrats Are Working on a Bill to Tax Big Oil’s Windfall Profits,” March 9, 2022.

Amazon wants to build a new HQ in South Africa by bulldozing over sacred indigenous land.1 And just like when Amazon tried to build a new HQ in New York City, local activists in Cape Town are pushing back. Amazon didn't choose a sacred indigenous site by accident. They know it has historical, cultural and environmental significance.2 They just want to destroy and build on it anyway. But since Amazon is a US company, they're particularly vulnerable to grassroots pressure here in the US. You can show your solidarity with indigenous activists in South Africa by calling on your member of Congress to denounce this new Amazon headquarters. Sign the petition: Tell Congress to denounce Amazon's plan to build a HQ on sacred indigenous land in South Africa! The indigenous land sits on the banks of the Liesbeek River where in the year 1510 Khoi peoples successfully fought back Portuguese intruders. The area is still a source of pride and cultural heritage for the Khoi, which also survived decades of oppression under Apartheid. But now Amazon wants to bulldoze it and build a sprawling campus. Over 50,000 residents in Cape Town signed a petition opposing the construction, but Amazon is pushing ahead anyway. That's why folks on the ground there are asking for your help! If US elected officials publicly denounce this HQ project, Amazon will face an international political and PR nightmare. Activists here in the US successfully blocked an Amazon HQ in New York City. Together you can show solidarity with indigenous activists and help block this new Amazon HQ in South Africa. Sign the petition: Tell Congress to denounce Amazon's plan to build a HQ on sacred indigenous land in South Africa! Sources: 1. Reuters, "Heritage dispute engulfs site chosen for Amazon's new African HQ," June 3, 2021. 2. Africa News, "Controversy over the location of Amazon African headquarters in Cape Town," May 14, 2021.

The IRS wants taxpayers to provide credit history and submit to facial recognition just to access their tax information online. They’ve hired a third party company called ID.me to verify user identity even though it’s common knowledge that facial recognition technology has racial and gender biases. Anyone who cares about privacy and racial justice should be up in arms. That’s why we’re pressuring President Biden to end the contract between the IRS and ID.me. Sign the petition: Demand President Biden end facial recognition at the IRS! ID.me’s verification process is so invasive that a technology reporter at Gizmodo felt “sufficiently creeped out” and refused to finish it.1 If ID.me is allowed to continue working with the IRS then every tax filer will have to give over personal information – like photo IDs and access to consumer credit reports – just to access their tax information online. But this gets much worse! The CEO at ID.me got caught lying to journalists about how it uses facial recognition2 and admitted that the company uses Amazon Rekognition, which is well known to have racial biases. The IRS already 1) has enough of our sensitive income information, and 2) is scarily underfunded. They shouldn’t be spending more of their resources on an untrustworthy third party vendor who wants to scoop up more of your information and subject you to racist facial recognition technology. The Treasury Department is already asking the IRS to reconsider this contract, but President Biden can end this private contract with the stroke of a pen. That’s why we’re taking the issue directly to him. Sign the petition: Demand President Biden end facial recognition at the IRS! Sources: 1. Gizmodo, “IRS Will Require Facial Recognition Scans to Access Your Taxes Online,” January 19, 2022. 2. Axios, “ID.me CEO apologizes for misstatements on IRS facial recognition,” January 27, 2022.

Google is aggressively pursuing the Pentagon’s Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability (JWCC) contract, despite turning down a chance at a similar contract a few years ago. At the time, they said the contract would violate their AI principles of not developing technology that causes harm. That’s still true: Developments in military technology have meant ever-more devastating weapons, drone warfare, and unfettered surveillance. Google employees are expressing serious concerns about the ethics of this contract, and we agree. Sign the petition to join us in urging Google not to work with the Pentagon!