Myrna De los Santos struggled with health issues for years – but she simply could not afford the health care she needed on McDonald’s pay. Last week, she passed away. She was 49. Myrna worked at fast-food restaurants in Independence, Missouri outside Kansas City, for over a decade. For the past 4 and a half years, she worked at McDonald’s – until low pay and deteriorating health drove her to quit 4 months ago. McDonald's failed Myrna with pay so low she couldn't afford to go to the doctor – and even though she made only $9 an hour, Missouri's broken safety net was not there to catch her. She never qualified for Medicaid or other help – she was left on her own. To those who knew her personally, she was an inspiration. Full of warmth and joy. Always hardworking despite the odds – even walking to work through rain and snow when she couldn’t afford transportation. To the #FightFor15, she was a leader – inspiring others on strike lines for over 2 years. She is the reason we fight. The reason we will not stop until all people who work can afford to live. Today, we call on McDonald’s to pay employees enough to afford the care they need – and make sure no hardworking person suffers Myrna’s fate again.

The next City Council meeting is September 14, 2016 at 10 a.m. 121 N. LaSalle- Council Chambers

Computerized “flash-trading” is one trick hedge funders use to manipulate the market for their sole benefit. Essentially, they use a computer program to execute millions of trades in a short period of time – sometimes holding an “investment” for a matter of microseconds. These trades produce nothing of value while destabilizing the market, driving up costs for pension funds and putting everyone else’s investments at risk – yet, it gets a small group of traders very rich. I’ve proposed to tax each stock trade at a modest 0.03% – that’s 3 cents for every $100 in trades! That would be a great thing for America. The tax would drive out traders that created market instability and lead to the “flash crash.” It would raise $40 billion a year that could be invested in education, infrastructure, and other vital economic needs. The stock market should be about making smart long-term investments in growing companies, not electronic insta-trades that treat Wall Street like a casino and destabilize the entire economy.

Fair Trade activists have been excited about our apparent victory in stopping TPP, but there are more battles ahead. Perhaps the most insidious is TISA, the secret privatization pact that poses a threat to democracy. TISA stands for Trade in Service Agreement. and like the TPP, TISA is being negotiated in secret, even though it could have a major impact on countries that sign on. According to Global justice Now, "The Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) is a proposed international trade treaty between 23 Parties, including the European Union and the United States. "Unlike most trade deals, TISA is about services, not goods. This means that it has serious consequences for things that have little to do with trade, affecting areas like labour rights, banking regulation and whether public services like electricity and water are run for the benefit of the people or by profit-making multinational companies. "Five reasons to oppose TISA "It could lock in privatisation of public services. TISA contains mechanisms, such as ‘ratchet’and ‘standstill’ clauses, that make it much harder to reverse privatisations and will allow greater market access for foreign companies. "It will be terrible for the climate. TISA entrenches the idea of technological neutrality on energy policy. This could stop countries favouring renewables over coal, oil and gas. "It will mean more casino capitalism. TISA will undermine efforts to regulate the financial sector and avoid another crisis. "It threatens online privacy. TISA promises to hand much more power to the likes of Google and Microsoft to move personal data across borders to countries with lax data protection laws. "It will be especially damaging to countries in the global south. TISA includes countries likePakistan that could be hindered in developing public services. It also poses a threat to countries outside TISA, because, once approved, rich countries will seek to impose TISA-style measures globally through the WTO." See full report here: http://www.globaljustice.org.uk/resources/what-tisa-and-why-we-need-stop-it

On August 30th, NJ Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have changed the lives of nearly 1 million people by gradually raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2021. Thousands of these workers are parents who are working full-time and still can't bring home enough to take care of their children. And it's back-to-school time to boot—how can they possibly afford food, clothes, AND the school supplies needed to make sure their kids succeed on $17,430 a year? This bill has the support of 73% of of New Jersey voters and would have given a raise to 1 in 4 Jersey workers. The legislature approved it. But Chris Christie is ignoring the will of the people by vetoing it. Here's the good news. We can go around Christie. The NJ State Legislature can pass a resolution to bring the decision to the people by putting it on the ballot in 2017. Let's let the voters decide! Sign our petition to the leaders of the NJ State Legislature to bring a $15 minimum wage to the ballot box.

NOTE: FASTING CAN BE DANGEROUS. THOSE WITH HEALTH ISSUES OR CONCERNS THAT MAY BE AFFECTED BY FASTING SHOULD NOT PARTICIPATE. ANYONE UNSURE OR WITH QUESTIONS SHOULD CONSULT THEIR DOCTOR BEFORE PARTICIPATING. Farm workers are vital to our well-being as a nation. But for nearly 100 years, they’ve been treated like second-class citizens and denied real overtime. But right now, we have an opportunity to right this wrong with Assembly Bill 1066 by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez. AB 1066 is a commonsense solution that will give farm workers overtime pay after eight hours. But powerful corporate lobbyists are trying to tear it down. That is why on Tuesday, August 16, legislators, faith-based leaders, and activists across the country are going to fast for 24 hours in support of farm workers and help pass AB 1066.

I hope everyone will realize the gravity of the situation at large regarding economic development and the specific development of this truck terminal. This is for the community as a whole. This petition is a means to start real change and show the city officials that we are not just complainers that are easily pacified by minimal results, weightless promises, or passage of time. It shows we desire real results and are willing to take the time to see them done and to see our tax dollars put to good use. See this as the first initial positive investment in the long-term growth and success of our community, the success of your personal home, and the continued enjoyment of this beautiful area! Please sign immediately, so we can get this to the officials before this truck stop is approved and it is too late. It is easy to complain and harder to change after the fact. Take this simple step to voice your opinion. This is not a political platform, movement, and not even based upon personal political ideology. This is our given right as citizens of this great country. Take this simple step to show that our elected officials are accountable to a democratic system; they are accountable us! Please note that I cannot change the text after signatures have been gained. Thus, while the title has been changed to reflect a "terminal" rather than truck stop, the only difference in the points would be the potential to disregard the crime linked to "truck stops" specifically. However, please not the remaining points of pollution, traffic congestion, and image still remain valid concerns. While the criminal activity may be lessened, I still posit the potential for increased criminal activity should be considered.

At a time when millions of Americans are facing poverty and homelessness, the City of Oakland is labeling hundreds of shopping cart recyclers as "addicts" and "thieves" and shutting down Alliance Metals, a recycling center that serves as a lifeline for Oakland's underclass. Join us, the ACLU, the NAACP and filmmaker Oliver Stone. Demand that Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf find a compassionate solution, one that dignifies the labor and protects the economic livelihood of Oakland's most vulnerable residents.

Democrats are furious with Florida Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz following WikiLeaks' release of documents showing Democratic National Committee officials under her leadership "conspiring to sabotage the campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders," as the New York Times put it. [1] Sanders' supporters are furious that what they long suspected has been proven true. Democrats who didn't support Sanders are furious that the scandal has overshadowed the beginning of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. [2] Representative Wasserman Schultz has a ready means at her disposal to begin to make restitution: come out publicly against the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement [TPP]. Hillary Clinton is against the TPP. Tim Kaine is against the TPP. [3] Bernie Sanders is against the TPP. The labor movement is against the TPP; the climate justice movement is against the TPP; the access to essential medicines movement is against the TPP. [4] Wasserman Schultz was one of only 28 House Democrats who voted for "fast track" authority to negotiate the TPP. [5] By coming out against it now, she can help ensure that there is no anti-democratic "lame duck" vote on the TPP after the election. Urge Debbie Wasserman Schultz to come out against the TPP now by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/25/us/politics/debbie-wasserman-schultz-dnc-wikileaks-emails.html 2. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/07/24/debbie-wasserman-schultzs-dnc-resignation-and-headlines-the-clinton-campaign-doesnt-want-during-convention/ 3. http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/kaine-comes-out-against-trans-pacific-partnership-deal-226064 4. http://msfaccess.org/about-us/media-room/press-releases/there%E2%80%99s-still-time-stop-tpp-cutting-critical-lifeline-affordable- 5. https://ourfuture.org/20150615/the-28-democrats-who-voted-for-fast-track

It is unacceptable for Hopkins to consider Broadway Services, a non-union security contractor that is under no obligation to pay the men & women who keep us safe the future wage increases and maintain the path to employer paid health care they need and deserve. Having received over a billion dollars in grants from Michael Bloomberg, John’s Hopkins does not need to use a contractor that would try and save pennies off the backs of African-American workers who are already struggling to provide for their families on low wages. A prestigious, wealthy and powerful University like Johns Hopkins has a moral obligation to do everything in its power to avoid using a contractor that could push low-wage, African-American workers closer to poverty and deny them employer-paid health care. I call on Hopkins to ensure that any new security contractor continues the gains in hourly pay that officers made in their first contract, and maintains the path to employer-paid health benefits that are now established. Health care should be paid for by JHU's contractors who can afford it and not by taxpayers.

Time to rein in the banks.

The language of the platform of both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions calls for a restoration of the Glass-Steagall Act, a law that supported a more level economic playing field and a six-decade rise of a more egalitarian financial system and strong middle class. Luckily, there is already a bill in Congress to do just that: The 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act (S. 1709)! This bill is a modern version of the Depression-era Glass-Steagall that is sponsored by Senators Warren, Cantwell, King, McCain, Sanders, Baldwin, Whitehouse, Mikulski, Markey, and Merkley. The 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act will help tackle “Too Big to Fail” by shrinking and simplifying the banking system, ensuring that the riskiest banking activities are no longer supported by the public safety net, and regulators can more easily oversee banks that are central to financial stability. Restoring Glass-Steagall wouldn’t just make our financial system safer, it would diminish the influence of big bank money in politics – by introducing more competition among investment banks and commercial banks. Stability in America depends upon a viable middle class. The 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act provided excellent protections for that class and the economy as a whole. Its reinstatement will go a long way to providing a powerful economic safety net that will more reliably limit ongoing risk to the strongest economy in the world.