Pittsburgh police tightening security for march after Dallas
Pittsburgh police tightening security for march after Dallas
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh police say they're using uniformed and plainclothes officers and "extreme caution" to...
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh police say they're using uniformed and plainclothes officers and "extreme caution" to safeguard police and the public at an activists march on Friday.
The march opening the People's Convention at the city's convention center is billed as protesting "growing inequality and a toxic atmosphere of hate." Organizers expect 1,500 activists to march through downtown protesting what they believe are various social ills.
Pittsburgh's Public Safety Department is working with the FBI and other law enforcement in the wake of sniper shootings that killed five police officers and wounded seven others at a protest march in Dallas on Thursday.
Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik also planned a noon Mass to pray for "peace and reconciliation."
And Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput (SHAP'-yoo) says the Dallas murders "only discredit" such protesters' "legitimate anger."
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Policy for a new majority
The Huffington Post - July 15, 2013, by Brittny Saunders - Two weeks ago, the U.S. Senate approved historic federal...
The Huffington Post - July 15, 2013, by Brittny Saunders - Two weeks ago, the U.S. Senate approved historic federal immigration reform legislation in a 68-32 vote. Observers have linked the bill's relatively rapid movement -- perhaps unimaginable only a few years ago -- to the growing numbers of Latino and Asian voters and their overwhelming support for President Obama in the 2012 presidential election. The progress of federal immigration reform is just one signal that as the country undergoes sweeping demographic changes that will make the U.S. a majority people of color nation within 30 years, traditional understandings of what the machinery of public policy can produce and for whom will also shift.
Changes in the racial and ethnic makeup of the nation's population demand policies that account for the needs of communities of color as well as the increasingly central role such communities will play in driving economic growth in coming years. As experts have noted, the continuing viability of entitlements like Medicare and Social Security will soon depend on the Latino, Asian and Black workers who will constitute a growing portion of American workers.
These shifts are also altering constituencies and causing some elected leaders to revisit old positions. While much attention has been focused on the implications of these demographic changes for national elections and policymaking, this is not only a national trend. In state houses and city halls across the country, a historic moment has been taking shape. People of color, immigrants and workers are fighting for and winning state and local legislation that demonstrates the growing influence of the emerging new majority. In Connecticut, for example, communities fought for and won a statewide policy that makes it clear that local governments need only comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer requests under limited circumstances, helping to restore trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement. The legislation, called the TRUST Act, was passed only weeks after Connecticut legislators voted to grant driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants, joining a growing list of states -- including Washington, New Mexico, Utah, Maryland, Illinois and Oregon -- that have already enacted similar measures.
The demographic shifts that are underway also create increased opportunities for immigrant communities to unite with others that have long been targeted by discriminatory state and local policies and practices. Growing efforts to challenge tactics like racial and ethnic profiling and disparate enforcement are evidence of this. These tactics have grave consequences for immigrant Americans, for whom an unjustified street or vehicle stop can lead to detention, deportation and permanent separation from loved ones. And even for those for whom immigration status is not an issue, such targeting can lead to costly, long-term engagement with the criminal justice system with implications for housing and employment opportunities. But across the country, in urban, suburban and rural settings, immigrant and African-American communities are working together to win policies designed to end police targeting of their communities.
In New York, such efforts led recently to a victory that promises to set a new standard for what state and local governments can do to tackle the problem of discriminatory policing. At the end of June the New York City Council passed two historic bills that will enhance NYPD accountability. The measures -- which passed with support from a supermajority of the Council -- will establish external oversight of the Department, expand protection against profiling to a broader cross-section of New Yorkers, and give City residents new tools for challenging discriminatory practices. The bills' passage is due to tireless advocacy by Communities United for Police Reform, a coalition including groups representing not only immigrants and communities of color in the City, but also LGBTQ New Yorkers, homeless New Yorkers and others. While the Council must still override a promised mayoral veto, its leadership in this area is significant. With this legislation, New York City has an opportunity to move to the forefront of state and local public safety policy, demonstrating that there are alternatives to the discriminatory, outdated and ineffective policing strategies that have been in place in far too many communities for far too long.
Of course, success is not inevitable. And these and other attempts to change policy at the state and local levels have faced organized and passionate opposition. But each of these efforts suggests a tantalizing possibility: that in the decades to come we may actually succeed in breaking with the entrenched patterns of old and building power among communities that for much of our nation's history have been marginalized.
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Low-paid Workers to Protest April 15
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - March 31, 2015, by Jim Gallagher -Fast-food labor organizers in St. Louis are calling for a...
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - March 31, 2015, by Jim Gallagher -Fast-food labor organizers in St. Louis are calling for a tax day strike by low-paid workers on April 15, part of a national day of protest.
Organizers say they'll have rallies in Forest Park in St. Louis and in Ferguson. They are demanding minimum pay of $15 per hour.
In St. Louis and nationally, organizers say they are expanding their demands for higher wages to include home health care workers and adjunct faculty members, including those at Washington University who voted in January to join a union.
Kendall Fells, organizing director for Fight for $15, said Tuesday the April 15 protests will include actions on about 170 college campuses, as well as cities around the country and abroad.
At an event announcing the actions in front of a McDonald's in New York City's Times Square, organizers said home health care aides, airport workers, adjunct professors, child care workers and Wal-Mart workers will be among those turning out in April.
Terrence Wise, a Burger King worker from Kansas City, Missouri, and a national leader for the Fight for $15 push, said more than 2,000 groups including Jobs With Justice and the Center for Popular Democracy will show their support as well.
"This will be the biggest mobilization America has seen in decades," Wise said at the rally as pedestrians walked past on the busy street.
In St. Louis, and around the country, fast food workers have been calling one-day walkouts and mass protests for the past two years to demand higher wages.
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Victima de abuso sexual se identifica con Blasey Ford
Victima de abuso sexual se identifica con Blasey Ford
Para la activista Ana María Archila, víctima también de violencia sexual, el caso de Kavanaugh despierta el de muchas...
Para la activista Ana María Archila, víctima también de violencia sexual, el caso de Kavanaugh despierta el de muchas mujeres que han sido objeto de abuso.
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#FedSoWhite? Lawmakers complain about Federal Reserve's lack of diversity
#FedSoWhite? Lawmakers complain about Federal Reserve's lack of diversity
More than 120 members of Congress say the Federal Reserve has a striking diversity problem similar to the one that hit...
More than 120 members of Congress say the Federal Reserve has a striking diversity problem similar to the one that hit Hollywood's Academy Awards the past two years, and it's harming the economic prospects of millions of Americans.
The lawmakers -- including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), as well as Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) and John Conyers (D-Mich.) -- wrote to Fed Chairwoman Janet L. Yellen on Thursday complaining about what they called "the disproportionately white and male" leadership at the nation's central bank.
"Given the critical linkage between monetary policy and the experiences of hardworking Americans, the importance of ensuring that such positions are filled by persons that reflect and represent the interests of our diverse country, cannot be understated," said the letter, signed by 116 House members and 11 Senators.
"When the voices of women, African Americans, Latinos, and representatives of consumers and labor are excluded from key discussions, their interests are too often neglected," said the lawmakers, who were all Democrats except for Sanders, an independent running for the party's presidential nomination.
The diverse group of House and Senate members praised Yellen, the first woman to lead the Fed, for her "strong leadership" and efforts to help raise wages while combatting economic inequality.
But they said the Fed had failed to fulfill its statutory obligation to “represent the public, without discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, or national origin" and called on Yellen "to take steps to promptly begin to remedy this issue."
All five members of the Fed Board of Governors are white and three are men.
All 10 voting members this year of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the monetary policy-setting body that includes Fed governors and a rotating set of regional Fed bank presidents, also are white and six are men, the letter said.
In addition, 11 of the 12 regional Fed bank presidents are white and 10 are men, with no African Americans or Latinos.
When the voices of women, African Americans, Latinos, and representatives of consumers and labor are excluded from key discussions, their interests are too often neglected.
— Letter from lawmakers to Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet L. Yellen
Regional presidents are appointed by the directors of each Fed bank. The Fed's Board of Governors in Washington approves the appointments.
In addition, the lawmakers cited a recent study by the Center for Popular Democracy, a worker advocacy group, that said that 39% of all regional Fed bank directors came from financial institutions, while 11% were from community, labor or academic organizations.
Fed spokesman David Skidmore said the central bank was "committed to fostering diversity -- by race, ethnicity, gender, and professional background -- within its leadership ranks."
The Fed's board has "focused considerable attention in recent years" on recruiting regional bank directors "with diverse backgrounds and experiences," he said.
Minority representation on the boards of Fed banks and branches increased to 24% this year from 16% in 2010, he said. And the proportion of women directors increased to 30% of the total from 23% during that period.
In a blog post in January, the former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Narayana Kocherlakota, raised concerns about diversity on the committee that sets monetary policy.
“There is one key source of economic difference in American life that is likely under-emphasized in FOMC deliberations: race,” he said.
Kocherlakota reviewed committee transcripts from 2010, the most recent available, and said he found no references at meetings "to labor market conditions among African Americans,” even though their unemployment rate never dropped below 15.5% that year.
The lawmakers cited Kocherlakota's post, calling it "unacceptable that discussion of the job market for these populations would be an afterthought, or worse, ignored entirely, and we are concerned that the lack of balanced representation may be a significant cause of this oversight."
Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.), who signed the letter, pressed Yellen at a House hearing in February to consider "getting an African American, for the first time in history, to be a regional president of a Federal Reserve bank."
Yellen said she "absolutely" would and regretted there hadn't been such an appointment.
"It's our job to make sure that every search for those jobs assembles a broad and diverse group of candidates," Yellen said.
The lawmakers said they appreciated her concern about diversity but urged her to do more.
Connie Razza, author of the Center for Popular Democracy report, said the large number of lawmakers who signed the letter showed that support is growing for changes at the Fed to make sure "the economy works for all."
The center coordinates Fed Up, a coalition of labor, community and liberal activist groups that has organized protests outside FOMC meetings urging central bank policymakers not to raise a key interest rate until the job market is stronger.
By Jim Puzzanghera
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Columbia Law Students Ready for Public Service Fellowships
Columbia Law Students Ready for Public Service Fellowships
“As the son of immigrants from Ecuador, Miranda said he developed an “intimate understanding of the injustices faced by...
“As the son of immigrants from Ecuador, Miranda said he developed an “intimate understanding of the injustices faced by marginalized communities.” He carried this understanding to Columbia Law School, holding internships at Bronx Legal Services (BXLS) and New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, in addition to an externship at the Center for Popular Democracy.”
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Immigrants in US illegally see this election as crucial - See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/immigrants-in-us-illegally-see-this-election-as-crucial-1.2472426#sthash.BroJZxQz.dpuf
Immigrants in US illegally see this election as crucial - See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/immigrants-in-us-illegally-see-this-election-as-crucial-1.2472426#sthash.BroJZxQz.dpuf
NEW YORK, N.Y. - There was never any doubt Juana Alvarez's 18- and 20-year-old American-born daughters would be taking...
NEW YORK, N.Y. - There was never any doubt Juana Alvarez's 18- and 20-year-old American-born daughters would be taking part in the election this year. Alvarez did her best to see to that.
"I had two people I wanted to get registered and I registered them," Alvarez, a 39-year-old housekeeper in Brooklyn who came to the U.S. from Mexico as a teenager, said through a translator.
For Alvarez and the estimated 11 million other immigrants living illegally in the U.S., this is a potentially crucial election, with Republican Donald Trump talking about mass deportations and a border wall and Democrat Hillary Clinton pledging to support immigration reform and protect President Barack Obama's executive actions on behalf of immigrants.
Come Election Day, these immigrants will be watching from the sidelines, their future in the hands of others. Under the U.S. Constitution, only full citizens can vote; legal immigrants who are green card holders also are not allowed to cast a ballot.
Trump has spoken of fears of election fraud or that immigrants living illegally in the country might vote. More broadly, he has said all immigrants should play by the legal rules.
Alvarez and others like her say although they can't vote, they have been taking part in get-out-the-vote efforts among citizens.
In places like New York, California, Arizona and Virginia, they have been knocking on doors and making telephone calls, registering people, urging them to go to the polls, and telling their stories in hopes of persuading voters to keep the interests of immigrants in mind when they go into the booth.
"For me, it's important that those who can vote come out of the shadows and make their voices heard," Alvarez said.
Isabel Medina, a 43-year-old from Los Angeles who has been in the country illegally for 20 years and has three sons, two born in the U.S., has worked phone banks and taken part in voter registration drives for U.S. citizens, making sure that "even though they're frustrated, they are disappointed, they still realize it is really important, that they know the power that they have in their hands."
She says she emphasized the need to vote for all the races, not just the presidency, and the importance of taking part in referendums and propositions.
Even though these immigrants can't vote, their pre-Election Day efforts make a difference, said Karina Ruiz, 32, of Phoenix, who came to the U.S. illegally from Mexico when she was 15 and is acting executive director of the Arizona Dream Act Coalition, an immigrant-advocacy group that has been doing get-out-the-vote work.
"It is making an impact because those people who wouldn't vote otherwise, when they listen to my story and hear their vote does count and make a difference, they're encouraged to participate and be my voice," said Ruiz, who has a work permit and an exemption from deportation under Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy. That policy was created by executive order, one that could be undone by any president in the future.
"I think to myself: I could just vote once, if I had the power to," she said. But "if I can influence 50 to 60 people to go ahead and vote, that's my voice multiplied by a whole lot."
As for what will happen after Election Day, "the uncertainty, it is there, I don't know what's going to happen," said Medina, who avoids talking about the election with her U.S.-born sons because she doesn't want them to get scared that their parents might be deported. "I am worried, yes."
By Deepti Hajela
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The Fed has a rare chance to prove it's not Wall Street's bank
The Fed has a rare chance to prove it's not Wall Street's bank
William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, is retiring early, creating another vacancy at a...
William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, is retiring early, creating another vacancy at a central bank already in a flux of personnel changes. Here’s a suggestion to the the New York Fed’s board of directors, which will select Dudley’s successor: Try to avoid picking another banker.
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Activists Protest at Phila. Fed, Seeking a Say in Plosser's Replacement
Philly.com - December 17, 2014, by James M. Von Bergen - Seeking a voice in the process to select a new president for...
Philly.com - December 17, 2014, by James M. Von Bergen -
Seeking a voice in the process to select a new president for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, two dozen activists protested outside the bank in Center City on Monday.
"The Fed is such a mystery. We just want transparency," marchers chanted as they walked along Sixth Street, many wearing green T-shirts with the slogans "Fed Up" and "What Recovery?"
The march came amid speculation whether the Federal Open Market Committee, meeting Tuesday, would increase the discount rate - the rate charged banks for short-term loans they receive from the regional Federal Reserve Banks - in light of the improving economy.
In a statement Monday, the Philadelphia Fed said it had engaged an executive search company to find a replacement for president Charles Plosser, whose term expires March 1.
"Senior executives have met with representatives of groups who have expressed interest in the process," the statement said.
"The search committee has said it will look at a broad, diverse group of candidates from inside and outside the Federal Reserve System," the statement said.
The Fed's record low interest rates "should make us nervous," Plosser said in an interview with CNBC in November.
He has been among the central bank's most outspoken members on raising rates. Recent economic data indicate that "we should raise rates now or in the near future," he told reporters after a speech in Charlotte, N.C., the Wall Street Journal reported.
During Monday's protest, which lasted about an hour, various people told their stories, about how they had been unable to find jobs or were working below their educational levels even as they struggled to save their homes from foreclosure and pay their bills.
Kia Philpot-Hinton, 38, of Southwest Philadelphia, said she has not been able to find an accounting job. "It's crushing when you are struggling to make ends meet. We're not in a recovery in my neighborhood," she said.
"We deserve to make an ample amount of money to support our family," said Chris Campbell, 23, of Philadelphia, adding that he had been unable to find steady employment in construction.
The protest was mounted by Action United, a nationally organized group of activists that coalesces around economic issues.
One leader of Monday's protest was Kendra Brooks, who said she has a master's degree in business administration and was laid off from Easter Seals of Southeastern Pennsylvania in 2012. As an Action United organizer, she said, she now earns half of what she previously earned.
She was part of a group that visited Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen in November.
"They were engaged and interested in what we had to say," Brooks said, adding that Yellen wanted to know whether foreclosure-prevention programs and other efforts to help the poor were effective.
Brooks said raising interest rates would prompt businesses to cut back hiring, tightening the job market, and forcing people to accept lower wages.
Among those marching was Lance Haver, director of the Mayor's Office of Consumer Affairs. Haver said that even if the Fed is not the usual focus of protests by activists, they can be effective.
In 1998, he said, First Union Corp., which became Wachovia and is now Wells Fargo & Co., acquired CoreStates Bank in Philadelphia. Activists' protests, he said, prompted the Federal Reserve to prevent First Union from closing CoreStates branches in some poorer neighborhoods.
"Instead of shuttering them," Haver said, some branches became credit unions and led to First Union's being required to provide community-development funds.
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Más alta la factura de luz y otras implicaciones de los acuerdos de la junta
Más alta la factura de luz y otras implicaciones de los acuerdos de la junta
Encubrimiento de violaciones de ley, conflicto de intereses, ganancias desmedidas de especuladores financieros y...
Encubrimiento de violaciones de ley, conflicto de intereses, ganancias desmedidas de especuladores financieros y mayores cargas económicas para el pueblo son algunas de las implicaciones de los acuerdos que la Junta de Supervisión Fiscal está negociando con los acreedores del gobierno, según el Frente Ciudadano por la Auditoría de la Deuda.
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4 days ago
4 days ago