The Yellowstone River covers an area abundant with fish, birds and many more species of wildlife. Last Friday an ExxonMobil pipeline rupture spewed an estimated 42,000 gallons of oil into this cherished ecosystem. As we've learned from the Exxon Valdez and BP oil disasters, the full-scale impacts of oil spills to local wildlife may not be known for weeks, months, or even years. That's why ExxonMobil needs to know of the public's immediate demands that they do everything in their power now to minimize the devastating impacts this oil disaster could have for local wildlife. Please show your support for Yellowstone River wildlife by signing this petition today!

Reduce the salaries of all federal employees 5% and reduce their benefits to a 401(k) program and Medicare as their health insurance provider. They can pay for a supplemental Medicare insurance policy out of their own pocket. If you can please donate $2 to our campaign which covers advertizing costs, paper, materials, etc. by following this link... https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=ZZF6SK57LHFY6

The bill gained final passage from the state Assembly on a vote of 49-25, without a single Republican supporting it. The measure cleared the state Senate in April. California already requires public schools to teach the contributions made to society by women and by racial and ethnic groups that were historically discriminated against, such as blacks, Latinos and Native Americans. Supporters of the latest bill said it would simply include gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals in that existing requirement, making it part of the curriculum in history and other social studies classes.

Makes it illegal for jurors to profit in any monetary way, including media incentives resulting from their involvement in a trial, unless it is to be donated to a foundation in honor of the victim, such as a scholarship fund, etc.

All six Republican members of Congress in the state of Missouri supported the Paul Ryan budget, which would end Medicare as we know it and would continue to hand out corporate welfare, while working class Missourians continue to struggle. Enough is enough.

Undersigned citizens request that our representatives not allow the Department of Defense to water-down the Freedom of Information Act by putting a provision into the Defense Authorization Act of 2012 that would prevent the public from accessing information having to do with Emergency Response and safety concerns effecting communities adjacent to Federal Facilities. This new legislation is the Department of Defense response to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Milner v. Navy. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Milner as the Navy could not use the exemption put forward and that the community had a right to know the risk to their community. The public has a right to know about explosives, harmful chemicals and emergency response plans for military bases. Section 1044 would allow the Department of Defense to withhold records essential for Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) requirements. The Department of Defense is not exempt from these regulations. By signing this petition you are letting your representatives know that you want an open transparent government that allows the public access to information concerning their safety and well being.

Many congressmen in Texas voted to short the Texas school children about $4 billion and not use the money still in the rainy day fund. This will result in the loss of around 100,000 teacher and staff positions around the state. We need to ask these State Representatives hard questions, like why they chose bills such as giving tax breaks to yacht owners at the expense of the children of their district.

San José has suffered 10 years of budget deficits; closed $300 million in deficits through layoffs and cuts in services in the past 3 years, and yet the General Fund will be $78 million in the red next year, and hundreds more layoffs expected. While the city’s population has increase by 100,000, the workforce has shrunk by 30%, providing dwindling services. Since the ‘90s, previous Councils, or labor arbitrators, have increased retirement benefits, particularly in public safety. A public safety officer receives an average pension of $102,000, increased 3% yearly, with free health insurance. Unfortunately for many reasons, including the economic crisis, these benefit increases have created unfunded liabilities in excess of $3.5 billion in San José’s retirement funds, and most of the burden lies on the General Fund. There are no frills to cut; without change these retirement costs will continue the cycle of massive layoffs. Many of us have found our retirement significantly reduced with no bail out. Most of us do not make a 6-figure salary, especially after retirement. I'm not anti-labor, it's just that City Services are essential and cannot be sustained without sacrifices during hard times. Petitions circulated by Councilmember Ash Kalra implied that workers would lose benefits and collective bargaining rights with current proposals. He provided no background information about the dire straights of the city, the efforts undertaken, or inform you that 5 of the city’s 11 unions are currently collectively bargaining! As a San Jose resident who has hosted many Moveon events and parties, I call for all to focus on solutions for the budget deficit, rather than political attacks. Workers, residents and ALL labor leaders need to quit the blame game, and work with the San Jose officials to provide rational solutions to this budget crisis. All residents and businesses of San Jose need to find ways to keep our libraries, parks, police and fire safety services. Let’s work together to solve this budget crisis!

More midwives with the right skills, equipment and support would save 1.3 million newborn babies and 350,000 mothers every year around the world. We are calling on global leaders to invest more in midwives and health workers with midwifery skills in the right places, at the right time, with the right education, the right support and the right pay.

Residents on Gangjeong Village on Jeju Island in South Korea have been organizing nonviolent protest to stop the construction of a massive naval base which will destroy their community, way of life and rich marine ecosystem women sea divers, fisherman and farmers depend on for their livelihoods. Due to its natural beauty and pristine environment, Jeju is a finalist to become one of the "New 7 Wonders" in the world.

Update - 7/22/2011: Today, the Minnesota government re-opens, and Minnesotans can finally get back to work. Sadly, Republicans chose millionaires over Minnesota’s future. They insisted that tax hikes for the richest Minnesotans be off the table. But your pressure played a vital role in stopping GOP plans to erode critical public services, take away Minnesotans’ workplace rights and put tens of thousands in the private and public sector out of work through mass layoffs. And because of the huge public outcry, Gov. Mark Dayton was also able to put more Minnesotans back to work with his jobs and infrastructure bill. Because of GOP legislators’ continued insistence on protecting millionaires, Minnesota’s revenue shortfall will continue over the next two years. Ultimately, the only way we will truly solve Minnesota’s revenue shortfall and build a better state is for the richest to finally pay their fair share in taxes. We know the public is on our side. And with your help, we are confident that this is a fight we can win. To stay up-to-date on our work, "like" the Minnesota AFL-CIO on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/mnaflcio and follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/mnaflcio.

Every day, thousands die because they cannot get replacement organs. Every day, thousands of useful, life-saving organs are destroyed. Changing the wording of the law from a default of "no" to a default of "yes," can double or triple the number of organ donors. With today's medicine, nearly any healthy part of a body can be used to save other people.