After the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, Senator Mitch McConnell stated, "Of course, the American people should have a say in the court's direction. It is a president's constitutional right to nominate a Supreme Court justice, and it is the Senate's constitutional right to act as a check on the president and withhold its consent." He held the seat vacant for over 321 days (between the date President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the day President Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch). It is only right that he respect the American people's choice in the court's direction. Senator McConnell must keep Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat open until after Inauguration Day 2021.

America does not stand for this kind of (or any) inhumane behavior and we will not tolerate it on any level, especially from our federal agencies. We demand investigation and justice for individuals who have been detained and subjected to this abuse from ICE.

Hispanic immigrant business owners face significant exposure from the coronavirus-induced economic downturn. They accounted for 51% of all Hispanic-owned businesses in 2016, shares similar to the percentages of Hispanics who are immigrants. They are now closing their businesses at a staggering rate. Historically, there are racial and gender inequalities in business ownership. Nationally, people of color represent about 40% of the population, but only 20% of the nation’s 5.6 million business owners with employees. The U.S. could have millions more businesses if women and minorities became entrepreneurs at the same rate as white men. Now, with the COVID-19 crisis, millions of “missing businesses,” are facing a massive potential disruption and some risk permanent closure. There is not the same urgency to address it—COVID-19’s impact on minority-owned small businesses—, because it is already established that’s been built up over decades, even if closing these disparities would result in the creating of millions of new small businesses.

A spike in apprehensions of migrant children crossing the U.S. southern border without a parent or guardian is threatening to overwhelm the systems set up to care for them, and has reinvigorated debate over the detention of minors. The Donald J. Trump administration has called the influx of asylum seekers—both adults and minors—a national security threat, and has implemented a suite of policies meant to deter migrants and combat human traffickers. Critics, including many in Congress, say the administration’s response is exacerbating a humanitarian crisis in Central America, breaking U.S. law, and violating international human rights norms, according to on The Council on Foreign Relations.

In addition to hundreds of thousands broken families, the economic costs to American society from mass deportations are in disproportion to the economic benefits that Latinos bring to the US economy. While direct costs to taxpayers amounts to about $70 billion in enforcement agents, detention facilities, immigration judges and transportation, the Center for American Progress estimates that approximately $4.7 trillion is lost in economic output, nearly a trillion dollars in lost tax revenue over the next decade, while the conservative American Action Forum calculates some $2.6 trillion in lower GDP over 10 years, according to Unidos US. The increase in apprehensions has come as a growing number of migrants seek asylum. The demographic profile of those crossing the border has changed, too: People traveling in families, not single adults, accounted for the majority of those apprehended last year (56%). And most of those apprehended were from the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, which have struggled with violence and a lack of economic opportunities.

Corporate America is one of the largest supporters of anti-choice, anti-women politicians -- even those who claim they are pro-woman. Some of the worst offenders champion anti-choice candidates at the local, state, and federal level, empowering an extremist agenda that is not only anti-abortion and anti-women but antithetical to equality and justice.  As consumers, we have the power to hold corporations accountable and demand they actually stand for the values they sell in PR statements and advertisements. This is why UltraViolet is collecting the receipts and launching a major campaign calling out six of the biggest companies in America to stop supporting the dangerous anti-women, anti-justice political agenda. But we need your help to show that consumers care about reproductive rights and will not stand for corporations funding extremist politicians like Senator Ted Cruz. Earlier this month, Sen. Cruz attempted to pressure the Food and Drug Administration to continue its restrictions on medication abortion. Cruz stated, “Pregnancy is not a life-threatening illness,” despite the rising maternal mortality rate in the country, especially for women of color.  Can you join our campaign? Here are the receipts: Company giving to anti-choice candidates or their associated PACs/committees AT&T: $1,956,953 Coca-Cola: $1,028,838 Disney: $203,350 Nike: $99,000 Procter & Gamble: $144,000 Uber: $148,000 The total? Over $3.6 million. The actual total and cost for women around the country? Incalculable. The reality of the impact of these political donations goes beyond the raw numbers. Hundreds of bans and restrictions. Several lawsuits. Clinics closed. Lives disrupted. Futures denied. These corporate titans are complicit in the denial of our rights through their political giving and make these extremist views acceptable and even “normal.” But these views are not normal or acceptable. They are at odds with the majority of Americans who support legal abortion, and the millions of people who need accessible reproductive healthcare. Many of these companies have bragged about their social justice cred to consumers in the face of Black Lives Matter and the racial pandemic. But what about the Black, Brown, Indigenous, queer, rural, and young people who bear the brunt of the impact of anti-choice policy? Oftentimes, anti-choice views are a sign of a larger framework that is also opposed to racial justice efforts and to science-backed responses to the pandemic. Many of the candidates these contributions support are not just anti-women, they are anti-justice and have harmed our nation’s journey toward progress. Let’s call on these companies and demand they stand by the values they espouse where they can have real impact: their political giving. All of these corporations claim to support women in their workplaces and, sometimes, in their products or where they will do business. But you can’t say you are for women in the workplace or racial justice but stay silent on reproductive rights. Women live intersectional lives and it is time corporations center intersectional policies. As consumers, we have the power to change this narrative. Corporations know that increasingly consumers care about the social impact of corporate power and demand more from corporations than one-time donations or PR statements. Corporations have changed their policies in response to consumer pressure. Just last year, UV members organized to force Netflix to denounce the 6-week abortion ban in Georgia. This year, we made tech platforms change their moderation policies. There is a fierce urgency now. With our rights and lives on the line this election, we need to push on all fronts to ensure reproductive justice now and in the future. Can you join our #ReproReceipts campaign? Sign the petition and tell these companies enough is enough. Stop the anti-choice political giving!

Now is the time to have paid sick leave for all Michigan workers! The COVID crisis has magnified just how vital paid sick leave is, and how unprepared we were when the pandemic hit. Paid sick leave has been proven to be an effective policy to reduce the spread of the virus. Paid sick leave for all workers is critical as we re-open, is the best way for businesses to stay open and would help get the nation working again while supporting public health. While Congress passed emergency paid leave for many, it was temporary and limited, omitting as many as 106 million workers nationally and 1.7 million working Michiganders, many of them essential workers and on the front lines risking their lives and further exposure. Many of these workers are disproportionately people of color, women, and low-wage workers. Michigan Paid Leave for All (MiPaidLeave4All) is a coalition of individuals, businesses, community groups and nonprofit organizations that have committed to organize and fight for the right of EVERY worker in Michigan to have access to paid sick time to take care of themselves and their loved ones when illness strikes. The coalition is composed of civil rights, economic justice, faith-based, and women’s rights organizations. Together, we are united in a long-term fight in Michigan for establishing Paid Leave for All. Combined, these organizations have decades of experience strategizing, organizing, and mobilizing on behalf of racial, economic and gender justice in policy making. We firmly believe that no singular group can bring about this change. Together, however, through a coalition built on trust, we will be able to fight for and amplify policies that enable workers to have the ability to care for the families they work to support and sustain without losing their jobs, incomes, or livelihoods. As a coalition of your collective constituents, we expect our goal of achieving a public health policy that affords paid leave for all Michigan workers to be heard, listened to, and supported by you. We know that working individuals, their families and the state are strongest with time to heal from illness or injury, to welcome a new child, to help a loved one recover, or to ease their passing. We believe that everyone should be able to take time to care for themselves or a loved one without risking their job or paycheck. Being there for family is what matters—no exceptions. Right now the United States is the only industrialized country in the world that doesn’t guarantee paid sick leave for members of its workforce. Current laws have failed to keep up with the needs of our workers, families, or our businesses in the 21st century. Having widespread access to paid leave would also give workers the confidence in their employers to abate their fears and concerns about getting exposed to COVID-19 (and other likely communicable illnesses) while on the job. Despite existing protections from retaliation for workers who are exposed or who may need to take time off to quarantine because they or a close contact has been exposed, many workers are still concerned that without adequate paid leave policies, they will have to choose between risking their physical health and their financial health. It’s a zero-sum situation and lose-lose situation for our workforce and the power to rectify that is at our collective fingertips. This is a workers’ rights issue, an economic justice issue, a racial justice issue, and a gender equity issue. And as a matter of equity, it’s time for paid sick leave for all of Michigan workers, not just those who already are lucky enough to have access to it. Because of dedicated community organizing Michigan has a Paid Sick Leave law; however, the COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated that it is inadequate. We must update and expand it in the very short term in order to cover every working person, to provide paid leave for a longer period of time than the current law provides, and include health pandemics, as SB 961 sponsored by Sen. Erika Geiss does. We urge you to support SB 961 so that Michigan is never caught unprepared again, whether the crisis is national or personal.

Specifically, this legislation will: ● Require adequate transparency and approval around voting changes, including any attempts to deny voting rights or impose overtly stringent requirements for voters. ● Strengthen federal oversight and accountability around proposed changes to election procedures, particularly around specific measures and in specific jurisdictions that have a record of voter suppression. ● Grant the Attorney General authority to request federal observers be placed where racist threats to voting are prevalent. ● Ensure that “racial minority groups, language minority groups, or minority groups on Indian land” are not prevented from voting due to practices such as changing boundaries, voting locations or voter registration rolls. A recent Intersections of Our Lives poll shows that women of color voted at historic levels in the 2018 midterm election. Eighty-eight percent of respondents said the stakes were too high not to vote. Yet, 25 percent of Black, Latina, and Asian American and Pacific Islander women voters said they did not think their vote was counted accurately. Our democracy and our ability to influence decision-making that impacts our bodies, lives and families is fundamentally threatened when we are not all able to participate in the democratic process. #ProtectTheVote by signing this petition to show your support for voting rights. Urge Congress to take action to stop voter suppression. Call or email your Congressional leaders today, and let them know that you support the passing of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act!

The younger and more progressive Democrats are the future of the party. If there is a true desire to grow and build for the future then we need to have the younger voices heard. The Democrats of the past have so much speaking time but why only 60 seconds for one of the most relatable democrats for the younger generation of voters? It's way past due for the DNC to embrace the future. AOC is the future of the party.

We've told you about the dire situation happening at Primex Farms, a nut company in Wasco CA. The situation is escalating. According to a July 26 CNBC article, 150 of the 400 workers have now tested positive. In addition, a UFW census shows 49 of their adult family members and 34 children have tested positive for COVID-19. Sadly, one Primex worker has since died. A second worker, who tested positive, was removed from life support and sent home for palliative care; she is not expected to survive. Protesting Primex's flawed response to the virus, employees walked out on strike and formed a picket line. Workers were requesting safety measures, including social distancing procedures, company provision of personal protective equipment such as face masks and payment of sick leave for infected or exposed employees. The company promised improvements, but when they did not happen, workers -- including those in quarantine with the virus -- defied the company and held a virtual press conference. Now the major pistachio and almond processing company is retaliating against key groups of outspoken workers. This company uses several staffing agencies to supplement their direct hire workforce. Many of the workers who spoke out worked through USA Staffing. On July 22, Primex told the dozens of workers employed by USA Staffing that they were terminated because “production had dropped” -- but then they brought in new workers the same day! Brisdey Nieto is one of these fired workers. She tells us, “The company's anti-union consultant told us that due to the union taking the actions it had taken the clients had heard and therefore production had dropped. They were firing us. I could not believe that. I saw that same day they hired new workers and that they had started working. If production had dropped; why hire new workers?” The UFW immediately filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board for the company illegally retaliating against the workers for union activities and joining together to improve conditions. Workers don't want to wait; they want their jobs back now and they want to be protected on the jobsite. They're asking you to sign their petition telling the company to rehire them, with appropriate coronavirus protections in place. Workers are hoping to turn in thousands of signatures in the next few weeks. Will you add your signature today?

Progressives have been sidelined by the DNC for far too long. The people have spoken and they favor progressive politics. We will not allow our party to be taken over by never Trumpers. We believe in healthcare as a human right, a wealth tax, criminal justice reform, and so does America. We refuse to be pushed aside.

It’s important that one of the most influential people in modern day politics, especially a Democrat, to speak at the Democratic National Convention. We all need to hear what she has to say. And giving just 60 seconds is not enough. At the very least give her 2 minutes. Obviously we would love for her to have even more time than that since she is such a champion for fair wages, corporate accountability, environmental justice, and so many other important issues. Please sign and share!