2/22/2012
Over the next month, the communications team at Working America will make several exciting announcements. Our website is getting a complete makeover, we are launching a mobile site and creating a new workers' rights resource. This is all very exciting stuff, and we are proud to be able to show you what we've worked on behind the scenes for months.
These changes will help us serve working families better than ever. While the big changes are still a few weeks away, I wanted to take this time to re-introduce you to some of the resources we already have, which you might not be aware of.
Main Street Blog
- Our Main Street blog is part of the conversation among influencers, having been cited by The Washington Post, Think Progress and the Ed show.
- Each week our Main Street Digest delivers the best of our blog and social media to your inbox, making sure you never miss the most important issues.
- NEW FEATURE: Starting this week, each Main Street Digest will contain an inspirational quote to remind us why these issues matter.
- Click here to sign up for the Main Street Digest.
Membership Has Benefits
- Not only is Working America membership the best way to speak up, it also provides you with access to money-saving discounts and programs.
- Our new Membership Has Benefits e-mail stream will alert you to discounts and benefits available to you as members. You'll receive about one e-mail per month.
- Click here to sign up for the new Membership Has Benefits e-mails. As a special thank you for signing up, you'll receive a free "We Are the 99%" bumper sticker (while supplies last).
Working America is much more than our e-mails or even the conversations we have with members at their doors. Get connected on social media, our Main Street Digest or with our new Membership Has Benefits e-mail. And stay tuned for all the new stuff coming your way in the next month.
In solidarity,
Christian Norton
Senior Online Organizer
1/26/2012
You have earned a big thank-you and congratulations! The nearly 50,000 emails, phone calls and faxes paid off. Last night, during the State of the Union address, President Obama announced a full investigation of mortgage bank fraud and abuses. This takes us one step closer to keeping millions of people in their homes, and to imposing real penalties on the bad banks.
In large part due to the work of Working America members like you, we have slowed down the rush to a bad settlement. President Obama proclaimed that this investigation, co-chaired by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, "will hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans."
This much-needed investigation would not have been possible without the collective action of tens of thousands of Working America members. When we show our strength in numbers, we can change the course of our country.
While this is a major victory for Working America and homeowners everywhere, it is also just another step toward relief. We cannot let up on the pressure. We'll continue to put pressure on the Obama administration, the state attorneys general and this newly formed investigatory committee. We cannot allow another bank bailout, or a slap on the wrist.
Commit to staying in this effort by sharing your story with Co-Chair Eric Schneiderman. He needs to hear how bank greed has hurt working families. He needs to remember that if the banks don't pay, millions of people will lose their homes.
Thank you again for everything you've done to get us this far. This is a major step toward justice for the 99% and for working Americans everywhere.
1/20/2012
Stand Up to Mortgage Fraudsters and Big Banks
Wow! Last week we asked Working America members to write their attorney general and tell him or her we need a settlement that holds mortgage banks accountable for the damage they’ve done. The response was incredible!
In a little more than a week, more than 30,000 people have taken action—and the stories they shared have been powerful. We need to keep this momentum going; will you join in this effort?
Misconduct by the nation’s biggest banks gave us the financial crisis, and this is our chance to hold them accountable. Time is running out—a settlement is coming soon—and we have to get this right.
The original proposal would help only 1 in 20 homeowners. We're fighting to keep millions more people in their homes. Write your attorney general and the White House and ask them to fight for a fair settlement.
In solidarity,
Senior Online Organizer
P.S. Did you miss last week's e-mail? Find it below this note and learn more about what’s at stake.
The Big Banks have a lot to answer for. As their greed and recklessness gave us a devastating financial crisis, they also abused and defrauded consumers. There are 7.5 million homes that have entered the foreclosure process, with another 4.8 million homeowners at risk. It’s time to set things right—and not with a slap on the wrist for bankers and fraudsters.
Unfortunately, some state attorneys general are considering just that—a small slap on the wrist, not real accountability. To get the best deal for homeowners, and to make sure the banks are held fully accountable, your voice needs to be heard.
Your attorney general has the power to hold the banks accountable. Tell the AG you want real accountability and not another giveaway.
The collapse of the housing market and widespread abuses of homeowners are holding back our economy. That’s why real mortgage relief is one of the 9 Demands of the 99%. We need to keep people in their homes and prevent the banks from exploiting us.
Misconduct by the nation’s biggest banks gave us the financial crisis, and your attorney general has the chance to hold them accountable. A deal already is being considered—and we have to get this right. We can’t repeat the mistakes of the bailout process. Your attorney general will be making a decision soon; tell the AG to put homeowners above banker greed.
In solidarity,
Christian Norton,
Working America
P.S. Have you signed on to the 9 Demands of the 99%? View eight commonsense solutions we need to fix the economy, add your own and sign on in support!
1/112012
The Big Banks have a lot to answer for. As their greed and recklessness gave us a devastating financial crisis, they also abused and defrauded consumers. There are 7.5 million homes that have entered the foreclosure process, with another 4.8 million homeowners at risk. It’s time to set things right—and not with a slap on the wrist for bankers and fraudsters.
Unfortunately, some state attorneys general are considering just that—a small slap on the wrist, not real accountability. To get the best deal for homeowners, and to make sure the banks are held fully accountable, your voice needs to be heard.
Your attorney general has the power to hold the banks accountable. Tell the AG you want real accountability and not another giveaway.
The collapse of the housing market and widespread abuses of homeowners are holding back our economy. That’s why real mortgage relief is one of the 9 Demands of the 99%. We need to keep people in their homes and prevent the banks from exploiting us.
Misconduct by the nation’s biggest banks gave us the financial crisis, and your attorney general has the chance to hold them accountable. A deal already is being considered—and we have to get this right. We can’t repeat the mistakes of the bailout process. Your attorney general will be making a decision soon; tell the AG to put homeowners above banker greed.
In solidarity,
Christian Norton,
Working America
P.S. Have you signed on to the 9 Demands of the 99%? View eight commonsense solutions we need to fix the economy, add your own and sign on in support!
We are facing the very real possibility of unemployment insurance expiring in nine days.
Unemployment insurance is a critical lifeline for those struggling to find work. Letting it expire now, while too many families still are struggling, is the wrong thing to do.
The bill is stuck in the House, and without quick action, it may not be passed in time. If you think we can't let this lifeline expire, the time to raise your voice is now.
Click here or call 1-877-560-4055 to connect to your member of Congress's office.
Tell the person who answers the phone: "Please pass the Senate's bill to extend unemployment insurance."
There is no time to wait—please make the call today!
In solidarity,
Christian Norton
Senior Online Organizer
P.S. Need suggestions to help with the conversation? Click here to use our click-to-call tool, and review additional talking points.
Demand 7: Extend Unemployment Insurance |
Across the country, people are protesting an economy that doesn't work. The very wealthiest people and big corporations are seeing a recovery, but today's unemployment reports show the economy isn't working for the other 99% of us.
Here are the facts. Unemployment is at 8.6 percent, with millions more underemployed or discouraged from entering the labor force. There are more than four job seekers for every opening. And more than 40 percent of the unemployed have been out of work for six months or more.
With this many people unable to get good jobs, the economy suffers. Without money in their pockets, families have a harder time making ends meet and keeping a roof over their heads, and they can't support businesses, either. Unemployment insurance is a lifeline not just for those without jobs, but for their communities and the economy.
Support the unemployed—sign on to the 9 Demands of the 99%.
The continued weakness in the job market makes extending unemployment insurance essential—but at the end of the year, extended unemployment benefits will expire for the long-term unemployed, taking millions of dollars out of the hands of those who rely on it. That's why extending unemployment benefits is one of the 9 Demands of the 99%.
Support the unemployed—sign on to the 9 Demands of the 99%.
We need to tell Congress it's time to get their priorities straight. Millions of unemployed people—and the families and businesses that count on them—need our support. Extending unemployment insurance is a necessary step to an economy that works for everyone, not just the 1%.
In solidarity,
Christian Norton
Senior Online Organizer
P.S. After you've signed the 9 Demands petition, send a letter to Congress urging it to pass unemployment insurance.
As the Occupy Wall Street protests extend beyond Manhattan and spring up across the country, it's clear they've hit on something that is important to all of us. For too long, the economy has worked only for those at the very top. And as the rest of us have fallen behind, big corporations have increased their control over our money, our politics and our lives.
It's a simple message to understand, and one that thousands of Americans are embracing every day: Wall Street can't go back to business as usual, leaving us to deal with the consequences of the mess it created.
Not everyone can take the time to go and make their voices heard by occupying a public space. But the message that drives these protests is one that must be heard. We'd like to help you share your story and show your support for a country that works for the 99 percent, not just the very wealthiest.
If you want to show your support by attending a rally or protest, you can find one near you by clicking here.
This is a real moment to push the economic issues facing our country to the front of the agenda. The more of us join in, the stronger this movement will be. We want to make sure you can get involved.
In solidarity,
Not Your ATM Help us bring the protests against Wall Street to the doors of our members on Main Street. Will you help with a $50 donation? |
Sometimes you can plan a movement. You see the challenge coming ahead of time. You can craft your message and make your budgets.
Sometimes a movement starts all by itself. It bubbles up from the bottom. Supporting it means moving fast and making plans as you go.
Help us mobilize to support the anti-Wall Street rallies by making a much-needed donation.
The rallies and protests we are seeing in cities across the country are organic and from the grassroots. Though we didn't start it, we know what motivates them and their message is what we've been saying for a long time.
Not everyone has the ability to join one of these rallies, but that's where Working America comes in. Every night our team brings the important issues with them to thousands of doorsteps, in neighborhoods across the country. We connect our 3 million members to the action. We can help connect Occupy Wall street to Main Street, and show this really is a movement of the 99%.
Help us bring the protests against Wall Street to the doors of our members on Main Street.
With your help we'll be able to raise the funds we need to get our members out to the rallies. We'll be able to carry the populist message with us at the doors. We'll mobilize an online call to Congress to make real changes to rein in the banks and get the real economy moving.
To do this, and much more, we need your help.
Will you help with a $50 donation?
See you in the streets,
Christian Norton
Senior Online Organizer
America Wants to Work |
Dear Mike,
Across the country, tens of thousands of bridges are deficient—and millions of vehicles cross those bridges every day. Meanwhile, 9.1 percent of Americans are jobless.
With so many out of work and so many bridges and other pieces of critical infrastructure in need of work, there's a simple solution: Congress must pass legislation putting jobless Americans to work fixing critical infrastructure—bridges, schools, roads, ports and more.
These projects don't just create good jobs for the people who do the original work—though that's a big part of why they are important right now. They also make our economy perform better in the long term by increasing productivity. And they make America and our state better, safer places to live.
Immediate work on our crumbling infrastructure is a start. But we also need to pass a fully funded surface transportation reauthorization and start now on even bigger projects—world-class communications and energy systems, high-speed rail and other infrastructure we need to be competitive in the 21st century.
Thank you for all the work you do.
In Solidarity,
Christian Norton
Senior Online Organizer
