Inmates in all 122 federal prisons across the country have had their visitation rights revoked to curb the spread of COVID-19. While many facilities have offered additional phone minutes and video calls in place of in-person visits, many families still have to pay for the extra time. In the United States, the average rate for a 15-minute phone call from a federal prison is $3.75. As more reports detail just how vulnerable prison and jail populations are to the spread COVID-19, it is now more important than ever for families to stay connected with incarcerated loved ones. Families say they are left in the dark about facilities’ plans to contain and treat the virus, and suspended visitation means that families cannot see their loved ones for themselves to determine if they are safe and healthy. As of April 8, the Bureau of Prisons had confirmed 253 federally incarcerated people and 85 staff members have already tested positive for COVID-19, including 8 inmate deaths. These numbers will continue to rise as prisons face shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), soap, and hand sanitizer. Starting April 1, all federally incarcerated people will be confined to their cells for the next 14 days, effectively putting them on lockdown. Though the BOP said that “to the extent practicable” inmates should still have access to services like mental health treatment and education programs, questions still remain concerning the impact this will have on access to phone calls and other forms of communication. Add your name to this petition to demand the Bureau of Prisons and DOJ act to allow phone calls, video calls, and other communication to be free and more accessible to incarcerated individuals.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, only 7 percent of Black men in federal prisons would be considered low-risk enough to get out using PATTERN—compared with 30 percent of white men. Additionally, Justice Department policy excludes non-citizens convicted of immigration-related offenses from serving out their time at home. Barr’s use of PATTERN is unacceptable and unethical as it excludes some of the most vulnerable groups from release. At a minimum, Barr must reconsider incarcerated people with immigration-related offenses, low-level drug offenses, compromised immune systems, 12 months or less left on their sentence, and pregnant people who fear for the health and safety of their unborn children. These requests are in line with steps that have already been taken in other localities across the country in recognition of the unique vulnerability incarcerated people and correctional staffs have to the spread of COVID-19. As facilities, institutions and businesses across the country are doing their due diligence to #flattenthecurve and stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, correctional facilities in the United States are still dealing with the issue of overcrowding. It is nearly impossible to practice social distancing in federal prisons, which exposes incarcerated people and prison staff to infection. The PATTERN risk assessment algorithm had never been fully tested or independently reviewed before put to use. Allowing an algorithmic system founded upon predominantly white databases to make human decisions puts people of color at a higher risk of mistreatment than their white counterparts. Please sign this petition to urge Barr to eliminate the barrier of race in the home confinement selection process and ensure that federally incarcerated Black and brown people are not disproportionately subjected to the inevitable spread of the coronavirus.

We are longtime GE employees and proud IUE-CWA union members who know that we and our co-workers can make a real difference during this crisis by producing ventilators, but GE has failed to act. We are calling on President Trump to use his authority under the Defense Production Act to require GE to start producing ventilators at its underutilized facilities immediately! We have the skills necessary to make ventilators and GE has the manufacturing capacity, but instead of producing this desperately needed equipment the company has announced massive layoffs of its workforce and GE factory space is sitting empty. GE is partnering with other corporations to jumpstart ventilator production because its existing GE Healthcare production plant is now running at capacity. Meanwhile, thousands of Americans are dying every day. We need more companies producing more ventilators in more locations now, and the quickest way for GE to do that is to put its skilled workforce and excess capacity to work. Workers like us are ready to start producing ventilators to help our country get through this crisis and save lives. President Trump must act now to require GE to do the right thing and start producing live-saving ventilators immediately. Please join this fight and sign our petition.

Relief to All People that prevents the accrual of interest on all types of loans & credit cards through this period of National Emergency because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the first case of the Covid-19 was diagnosed in the United States on January 20th, the response from the federal government to this pandemic has been slow and ineffective. From personal protective equipment to ventilators and tests, healthcare workers are still being left to treat Covid-19 without the supplies they need. Many clinics and hospitals have run out of respirators and even simple procedural masks are running low. In some hospitals, providers are being asked to use a single mask for multiple days even though these masks were designed for one time use. New reports are coming out everyday highlighting the desperate, war-like situation in some of our nations’ hospitals, with patients lining the hallways and refrigerated trucks being used as a supplementary morgues. In the United States, the only institution with the power to lead a strong and coordinated response, ensure adequate production of medical equipment, and provide widespread testing is the federal government. Our leaders need to step up, right now, to ensure the health and wellbeing of our healthcare workers while also taking the necessary steps to slow this pandemic. That starts with passing the Medical Supply Chain Emergency Act This is not a partisan political issue. Our loyalty is to our patients and our colleagues who are on the frontline sacrificing so much for their communities. We need our federal government to do their job. By passing the Medical Supply Chain Emergency Act, Congress can force the White House to take this critical action. Congress must immediately address this issue when they return to session for the next emergency Covid funding bill. Without sufficient access to testing and necessary protective equipment, the crucial shortage will become healthcare workers. We must do something now. Sign the petition. Demand your members of Congress vote to support the bill. Why is this important? I’m a doctor in Portland and I am spending all of my free time volunteering with #GetUsPPE. My fellow healthcare workers don’t have the PPE they need to protect themselves during this pandemic. Losing these workers due to infection or quarantine not only risks their health but also endangers the stability of our entire healthcare system. I am afraid. I’m afraid that I might become infected and die, or worse that I might transmit the virus to my loved ones. I am afraid tThat my fellow doctors and nurses and support staff might die. That my hospital might run out of PPE. That I can’t adequately treat my patients. That they might die alone and afraid. Meanwhile, President Trump continues to drag his feet on using the Defense Production Act, our most important law supporting the production of necessary supplies in times of emergency. Due to this delay, Senators Chris Murphy and Brian Schatz have introduced the Medical Supply Chain Emergency Act (Senate Bill 3568) to force the White House to utilize the Defense Production Act, and the bill is gaining momentum. But Congress won’t act unless enough of us demand, loudly, with one voice to #GetUsPPE and all of the other supplies and equipment like ventilators and medications that we need to save lives. Will you help me get Congress to pass this bill? Add your voice to ours. #GetUsPPE Dr. Val Griffeth, MD, PhD GetUsPPE.org

President Trump is once again waging a war against legitimate, independent oversight of his administration. His latest target? Glenn Fine -- the acting inspector general who was set to watchdog the administration's management of the $2 trillion COVID-19 response package that Congress passed last month. Fine, a longtime and dedicated public servant, was chosen by a panel of inspectors general to lead these oversight efforts. But Trump just had Fine removed from his position -- without explanation. This is just the latest attempt by Trump to eliminate any and all supervision over his actions. He also recently fired Michael Atkinson, the inspector general who brought the Ukraine whistleblower’s complaint to Congress -- and he attacked inspector general Christi Grimm on Twitter after she released a report describing widespread COVID-19 testing delays in the U.S. Trump took one lesson from his party’s lockstep defense of his impeachable conduct: there’s no line you can’t cross that Republicans in Congress won’t back you up on. We’re seeing the consequences of that inaction now -- as Trump continues to openly abuse his power. Unless we speak out, Trump won’t stop until there isn’t a single watchdog left in the White House -- no one overseeing his administration's decisions, and nobody to put a stop to waste, fraud, or abuse of power. The Special IG must aggressively oversee the administration of this money and use their subpoena power to get necessary information. Similarly, both the SIGPR, the Congressional Oversight Commission and the PRAC must be given live access to the computer servers of the Treasury and any agency shoving money out its doors. Add your name to condemn Trump’s firing of Glenn Fine -- and to demand strict oversight of the Trump administration.

Now more than ever, every Healthcare worker in the United States deserve this recognition.

Coronavirus has spread to over 50 Amazon facilities across the country. Amazon delivery lead Kathy Knight said "I'm worried that I have infected 1000 people in the last three days." She and her 22-year-old son, who is also an Amazon driver, are awaiting test results for COVID-19 after her son began showing symptoms. Amazon workers across the country have been organizing strikes and actions demanding safer working conditions and paid leave. Instead of protecting workers, Amazon fired one of the worker organizers, Christian Smalls, and planned to smear him with a racist PR campaign. Thousands of workers are packed together with few protective measures in Amazon facilities. Workers report that Amazon is refusing to shut down and properly sanitize warehouses, that Amazon is not providing gloves and masks, is not adhering to social distancing measures, and isn’t being honest about the risk of infections in its facilities. Jeff Bezos has already hired 80,000 new warehouse and delivery workers during this pandemic without doing enough to protect workers. Health experts say that if we are not successful at slowing the spread of COVID-19, as many as 1.5 million people may die in the U.S. alone. If Jeff Bezos continues to risk the safety of Amazon workers, their families, and neighbors, COVID-19 could spread even faster around the world. The Squad is pressuring Amazon and leading the way in Congress--but we need more congressional support to take federal action if we’re going to slow the spread of COVID-19 across all Amazon facilities. Jeff Bezos is riding this pandemic out in comfort while Amazon profits from coronavirus. We can’t wait for Jeff Bezos to prioritize the health of our communities. We urgently need your voice now. Tell Congress to investigate Amazon’s unsafe working conditions and shut down unsafe warehouses.

Major platforms including MoveOn agree: America's weak and inconsistent emergency response has let the Covid-19 pandemic kill thousands more people than necessary. And it's not over. Trump squandered precious weeks -- denying, delaying and lying about emergency preparedness and the severity of Covid-19. "A hoax," he said, "like impeachment." Let's give credit where credit is due: it's the Trump Virus. This is important for three reasons: 1) Naming is powerful. Trump named this pandemic the "Chinese Virus", prompting hatemongering and random assaults on Asian-Americans. It's time to flip the script. 2) Naming is framing. It frames public policy by telling folks what to think. Under Trump and the GOP, for instance, longtime protections in federal law become "job-killing regulations". 3) To drive out Trump in November, we need to tie him to this disaster in people's minds, welded like steel. It hasn't happened yet: polls reveal lots of folks still think he's doing a fine job. Bringing "Trump Virus" into common usage will help shift public perception, a crucial goal. Thanks for doing your part. Constantly tweet #TrumpVirus, talk Trump Virus, blog and comment about the Trump Virus. And please, urge news media and other public platforms to give credit where credit is due: it's the Trump Virus. For more, see https://TrumpVirus.cc. Thanks again.

With a blank check from the Senate’s sham impeachment trial in hand, Donald Trump is out for revenge. He’s continuing his rampage against anyone who put their loyalty to the country ahead of their loyalty to him. His latest target? Michael Atkinson, the former intelligence community Inspector General who faithfully upheld his oversight duties -- when he notified Congress of the anonymous whistleblower complaint that alleged Trump withheld security aid from Ukraine in exchange for dirt on Joe Biden. Atkinson did this country a great service. He felt, in his words, that he was doing what he was supposed to as “an independent and impartial inspector general.” Now, that honorable act has cost him his job, his career, and his privacy. Atkinson needs to know that Americans are thankful for his courage -- and that Trump's attacks can't change the important truth that he helped to uncover. And the White House must be met with a nationwide outcry -- thousands and thousands of us speaking out and condemning Trump's abhorrent decision to punish Atkinson for his patriotism.

New York is in crying out for help. But our federal government is failing us. We have socially distanced. We have stayed home--or risked our health to do essential work. We have lost income, put our lives on hold, shuttered businesses. We are homeschooling our kids, checking on our neighbors, and begging our parents to stay in. We are masking up. We are doing what we can. But the government is leaving us to die. This moment urgently calls us to exercise our collective power in spite of physical distance. Our communities, already ravaged by years of extraction and exploitation, now face a once in a 100 year crisis — the economic and political fallout of which will leave many of our people jobless, homeless, hungry or, even worse, dead. We need #Recovery4All, including immigrants! And in every crisis, the human spirit of solidarity, community and support also lives. We are asking you to open your window and bang on pots and pans at 2pm on Friday for 10 minutes to demand government action. We will do this in NYC every Friday until May Day. Then we will do it EVERYWHERE. We will keep banging until we are heard. In this moment, we can move beyond Zoom meetings and tele-town halls and elevate our struggles by directly confronting corporations, Wall Street, landlords, and the carceral state. May Day provides the perfect opportunity to link our struggles, lift our stories, confront those choosing to profit from our community's pain, and advance our urgent and long-term needs. We need a #Recovery4All On FRIDAY, APRIL 17TH FROM 2:00, let's take to our windows, our fire escapes, our roofs, our doors and our stoops, and make a racket loud enough to be heard in Washington. Let’s make noise and cry out for our state and federal elected officials to cancel rent, to house the homeless, to get a recovery for all people including the undocumented and hard hit Black and Brown communities, to get PPE to all healthcare and essential workers, to free our people from dangerous prisons and detention centers. We need a #Recovery4All! We need a #PeoplesBailout! We know that this is #TrumpsCOVIDFail We Demand: #CancelRent — Cancel rent and mortgage payments, establish a housing emergency fund, Freeze evictions, foreclosures, and utility shut-offs in all housing, Declare a moratorium on all work requirements for housing, house the houseless, $100 billion in rent assistance. #ReleaseThemAll - Decarcerate — Immigration and Justice Transformation. Release everyone currently in immigration detention, release particularly vulnerable populations from prisons and jails to relieve concentration of risk to coronavirus, close immigration courts and cancel check-ins and other immigration interviews, hold telephonic bond hearings, divest resources from wall construction and border enforcement to provide medical care and create cash-based disaster relief to out-of-work households regardless of status. CASA, MRPA, MRNJ, TOP, #EssentalWorker — UBI, UI, Green New Deal, Medicare For All, Childcare for All, Paid Sick, Hazard Pay, PPE, Paycheck guarantee #AmazonStrikes — Paid Leave, Hazard Pay, care subsidies, shutdown and clean facilities with workers paid, personal protective equipment, no discipline or raising safety concerns, end work practices such as production quotas. #ClimateStrike — The 50th anniversary of Earth Day is 4/22, which was planned as a day of mass action. #MedicareforAllCOVID Here's how it works: Wear something red, because it’s an emergency. Make a sign or banner saying something the government needs to do to protect us. Hold it or hang it out your window or off your roof. At 2 PM, make a racket for 10 minutes. Whistle, shout, sing, pray, bang on a pot, hoot, holler, drum, blast music and dance--it’s up to you. Just do it loud enough to wake up our leaders--and remind each other that our country is better, and stronger, than this. (Don't forget to follow social distancing.) Take pictures or videos and post with #PeoplesBailout #Recovery4All Send those photos to [email protected] Do it again next Friday Tell all of your friends to do it on MAY 1st!!! Huge national day of action Please sign this petition to pledge to participate if 1,000 other people commit as well. Then spread the word. [UPDATE 4.10. Good news!! Momentum is building. Several big NYC grassroots groups have decided to join, and asked to move the date back to give them time to spread the word. We have updated this to reflect the new date. Please keep sharing!] [UPDATE 4.16 - The date has been moved to Friday 4.17 AND the next two Fridays, building up to a huge push on May 1. Make The Road NY, the Working Families Party, NY Communities for Change, Center for Popular Democracy, and the Met Council on Housing are driving this — they represent the neighborhoods and communities that are being crushed by this crisis and they are demanding #Recovery4All and a #PeoplesBailout — please support their call.]

I have been personally affected by this pandemic. My daughter, an RN in Chicago, has been exposed to the virus and quarantined for 14 days. She is currently on her way back to work to face this virus all over again. Everyday that she goes into work she faces a war-zone environment. They have received no additional days off to recover from the effects and toll this pandemic is taking on them physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I believe the least we can do as a nation is to provide some type of compensation for their effort. Most of them are overwhelmed with student loan debt and now are burdened with the fact they could lose their own lives in the process of saving the lives of others.