The damaging impact and ripple effects of Christopher Hickman's violence against Johnnie Rush extend far beyond their individual stories. Hickman’s violent actions cut open deep and historic wounds in the relationship between the Asheville Police Department and the Black community of Asheville, long overdue for healing. This Restorative Justice case will set a precedent one way or the other for the future of Restorative Justice in Asheville. On a national level, this case will set a precedent for the use of Restorative Justice in other cases of police violence. If done poorly, or cut short, this Restorative Justice process will only exacerbate the breach of trust between the Asheville community and the police department and will not lead to healing. We want to see Restorative Justice uphold the principles of equity, inclusion, and healing in this case and in all future cases. What we need for healing: * To make sure the voices of the black and brown community are heard relative to what has happened to Mr. Rush brought about by Mr. Hickman. * To ensure that Mr. Hickman along with Asheville Police Chief David Zack, take part in a meaningful facilitated dialogue with the impacted community (not just a few cherry-picked individuals) to talk about and agree on what can heal the harm. * To ensure that Mr. Hickman and the Asheville Police Department follow through with their agreements. Click here to see bodycam footage of the incident: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOR2P-nA3xI #AVLCantBreathe

This is important because across the world, we're seeing the rise of right-wing governments that continue to use hateful rhetoric and especially from the Trump Administration, we're seeing the impact of what happens when people like Stephen Miller have unchecked power to create exclusionary and destructive domestic policy as it pertains to immigration. We need to take action and demand Mr. Singh's release. Read about what happened with Mr. Singh here: https://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/immigration-case-new-hyde-park-1.47257516

The federal moratorium banning evictions ended on July 31, and as many as 23 million renters could get evicted from their homes by the end of September. And it's not only the low-income families who are at risk of losing their homes. There are many wealthier families now facing homelessness for the first time. When all of these families are evicted from their homes, they may end up homeless or have to navigate our nation's overcrowded and sometimes dangerous shelter systems—during a health pandemic. The executive director of Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio warns: "I've never seen this many people poised to lose their housing in a such a short period of time. This is a huge disaster that is beginning to unfold." The president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition is sounding the alarm: "The wave of evictions has already begun, and now Congress needs to act to prevent it from becoming a tsunami." Millions of American families are living in fear. The families' breadwinners lost their jobs; they've lost their federal unemployment benefits because Congress let them expire on July 31; and now they're facing a countdown to eviction. Putting families out on the street, especially now, is unconscionable, and it will hurt our nation's children. A researcher on evictions writes that "the end of the moratoriums might mean millions of students lose their homes just as the school year starts, beginning the semester dogged by a process that would throw their lives into even greater chaos." Kids staying in homeless shelters or sharing crowded homes will have a very tough time learning, especially because they likely won't have access to internet to participate in classes online. And kids may even go hungry because living on the brink of eviction results in "a 450 percent increase in child food insecurity." Millions of Americans and their children are at risk of homelessness. We are demanding Congress immediately pass a long-term moratorium on evictions to protect them.

Buried in the 177-page GOP COVID-19 relief proposal are BILLIONS of dollars for weapons of war wish list: fighter jets, helicopters, and missile defense systems. That’s right, while they’re nickel and diming families who desperately need protections and benefits to put food on their tables and keep roofs over their heads — Senate Republicans are ready to hand out $29 BILLION for Pentagon pet projects completely unrelated to COVID-19. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has the power to reject this absurd proposal and stop it entering the final bill, because nothing the Senate has proposed can become law without House approval. Add your name to tell Speaker Pelosi: NO COVID-19 relief money for weapons of war!

To bring about police reform so that the police will respect our community first before they attempt to protect and serve us As well as work towards gaining the respect of all of our citizens.

The freedom to assemble in the United States is a fundamental right protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, part of the Bill of Rights, and by the constitutions of most U.S. states.

We need to get the virus under control with proper tools in place. Other countries have mobile telephone apps to assist Contact Tracers in targeting infected people and groups. We are way behind in the US and particularly in Florida. We need to demand better services so that we can resume our lives and build the economy. This should be Federally mandated but if all States take action, we will be in a better place more quickly.

On July 22, 2020, the Department of Labor & Industries announced the launch of a new spoken language interpreting scheduling system with Interpreting Works starting in Fall 2020. The Department of Labor & Industries is requesting that all interpreters enroll now. This is a real-time listing of available interpreting jobs located in proximity, accessible through mobile devices or a home PC. It also syncs jobs assignments with calendars and provides electronic invoicing for PROMPT PAYMENT. Who is responsible for paying the Language Access Providers? The Department of Labor & Industries or Interpreting Works? Under RCW 41.56.113 (2) “This Subsection (2) applies only if the state does not make the payments directly to the language access provider. Upon the authorization of a language access provider within THE BARGAINING UNIT and after CERTIFICATION or RECOGNITION of the BARGAINING UNIT’S exclusive bargaining representative, the state SHALL require through its contracts with third parties that” a. The payment of monthly union dues as certified by the secretary of the exclusive bargaining representative be deducted from the payments to the language access provider and transmitted to the treasure of the exclusive bargaining representative. Labor & Industries is implementing SSB 6245 affecting language access providers without a Collective Bargaining Unit in place. The state of Washington introduced a House Bill 2691 as amended by the Senate in the 2020 regular session relating Collective Bargaining for Language Access Providers, Approved by Governor Inslee on April 2, 2020. This amendment gives the right to language access providers from the Department of Labor & Industries under RCW 41.56.030 to have a “Bargaining Representative” for collective bargaining to a lawful organization. The Scope of collective bargaining for language access providers is limited solely to: 1. Economic Compensation such as the manner and rate of payments, including tiered payments. 2. Professional development and training. 3. Labor-management committees. 4. Grievance procedures. 5. Health and welfare benefits; and other economic matters. The “Exclusive Bargaining Representative” of language access providers in the unit specified in (a) of this subsection shall be representative CHOSEN IN AN ELECTION conducted pursuant to RCW 41.56.070. Governor Inslee, Interpreters Rising is a labor movement organization that encourages the practice to have a collective bargaining unit, the practice to organize, the practice to unionize. The Department of Labor & Industries is acting unilaterally without a bargaining representative to represent language access providers. Such action constitutes a violation of our labor rights. Due to the unprecedented nature of the Coronavirus Pandemic Crisis, Labor Organizations have not been allowed to hold group campaigns or union card signing events as we are observing and adhering to social distancing guidelines set forth by your office. However, Labor & Industries Language Access Providers deserve the freedom to choose their representative by election. The right to fair working conditions, and the right to Unionize! We are calling on you to please take prompt action and delay SSB 6245 from taking effect until June 30, 2021.

As essential workers are demanded to show up to work and support the society's needs in the midst of a pandemic, they will need to arrange for childcare and tutors to enable their children's education and safety (both of which are legal requirements). For single-parent families of essential workers, many of whom are low income, virtual-only instruction is a sentence to oversized debt (if available), poor financial state, and even bankruptcy. For two-parent households, virtual-only instruction forces essential workers’ spouses to drop out of work, lose half of the household’s income and go into significant debt due to unexpected childcare costs. A virtual-only school plan is in effect challenging essential workers to choose between being good citizens and essential members of their communities and meeting the basic needs of shelter and food as well as the educational and emotional needs of their children. It asks essential workers to disproportionately bear the burden of the pandemic, and to do so twice: first, at a personal safety level, by being willing to make the ultimate sacrifice as they enter the workplace, risk being potentially infected with the COVID-19 virus and die, at no fault of their own; second, at a financial level, by making financial and career sacrifices to accommodate a virtual-only instruction and afford their children the learning and safety they deserve. These are unjust, cruel, and un-American options that essential workers, who have carried the society’s healthcare burden on their backs, are presented with to ensure the safety of their children and their educational advancements, as well as provide essential services to their communities. Through this petition, we urge the State of Michigan, the Ann Arbor Public Schools, and the community to support essential workers beyond lip service and front-yard signs at a time when essential workers need it most and the society needs them most.

Our Constitution is being ignored. An authoritarian, nondemocratic order of life in America is being prepared just before the election. This threatens the concept of democratic elections

The US Military has been using esports and live-streaming recruiters playing video games on sites like Twitch.tv to recruit. Military recruiters from the Army, Navy and Air Force pose as “esports athletes” and hang out with young children with the ultimate objective of increasing recruitment. The military collectively spends millions on promotions for these recruiting efforts, with some single-site or single-org partnerships exceeding millions. On Twitch, there are no meaningful safeguards to restrict the military from using and exploiting these parasocial relationships with people under 16. Recruiters often use video game tournaments in schools as recruiting mechanisms to target children as well. Additionally, recruiters take advantage of the poor seeking steady income, the vulnerable longing for stability, and the undocumented living in fear because of their citizenship status. Now, at a time when all those factors are magnified by a pandemic that has left half the country out of work and over 30 percent unable to afford their housing payments, conditions are ripe for recruiters to prey on anxious youth. They abused this dynamic by employing murky “giveaways” until Twitch recently told them to stop.

So that we still have a Democracy and have laws protecting protestors and press and not fall into an authoritarian regime and fascism. Thanks so much, Mateo Zapata Zachai