WE NEED A SWIFT, INCLUSIVE BAILOUT, BY AND FOR THE PEOPLE.

March 24, 2020 Cynthia Swan The Cielem'el Survival & Growth Journal

As nurses and grocery clerks keep the country running, Congress is developing a relief and recovery package to address the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Policymakers and the administration have put forward plans that attempt to return the economy back to a status quo where safety and security are promised only to corporations and the wealthy few. Gambling trillions of tax dollars on stimulating the stock market can’t fix the shortage of hospital beds, or the pollution in our skies. Only workers can.

In this moment of crisis, we need to change the rules. Let’s pull together, as we’ve done in times past, to demand our government provides money and care to those who are hardest hit by this crisis.

The Sunrise Movement is working with over 500 groups to demand our Members of Congress commit to the following 5 principles of just COVID-19 relief:

Health is the top priority, for all people, with no exceptions
Economic relief must be provided directly to the people
Rescue workers and communities, not corporate executives
Make a downpayment on a regenerative economy while preventing future crises
Protect our democratic process while protecting each other

Right now, letters are circulating in Congress from Reps. Dingell, Ocasio-Cortez, Jayapal, Pocan, and Lee in the House and Senators Markey and Duckworth in the Senate. We have a window of opportunity to show Congress that in this moment of crisis, we need to expand health protections for all and get millions of people back to work in good jobs.

Use the tools available at Sunrise Movement and The People’s Bailout to add your voice and contact your Representatives and Senators directly!

The People’s Bailout – e-mail all your state’s members of Congress at once

Sunrise Movement – tweet to all your state’s members of Congress at once

This stimulus plan and any future relief packages must expand health protections for all, and get millions of people back to work in good jobs.

A people’s bailout is rooted in justice. We demand the bailout provide a just recovery by prioritizing and funding those who have been hit first and worst by COVID-19 and the current recession. We will not let Congress leave anyone behind – not our working families, health workers, Black and Latinx communities, undocumented immigrants, Indigenous peoples, or people who are homeless or housing insecure.

A people’s bailout balances short and long-term recovery. We demand the bailout address urgent needs, including testing and treatment as well as health funding, while also making a down payment on our future. This means higher wages and meaningful work that contributes to the health of individuals, communities, and our planet. It means everyone can access the care that they need without fearing they’ll go bankrupt to do it.

We are pulling together to demand that the people’s government takes care of the people, whether we’re Black or white, Latinx or Asian, Native or newcomer – no exceptions.

With the people’s bailout, we will all have a job to do. We’re ready to get to work to build a world prepared for any crisis.

We will emerge stronger and more united than ever.

The people’s bailout should follow the following five principles that have been endorsed by hundreds of organizations, unions, community leaders and policymakers.

Tell your representative that you support a bailout for the people by the people, and ask them to do the same.

The People’s Bailout – e-mail all your state’s members of Congress at once

Sunrise Movement – tweet to all your state’s members of Congress at once

Five Principles for Just COVID-19 Relief and Stimulus

The COVID-19 pandemic demands swift and unprecedented action from the federal government. The depth of the crisis and the scope of the response mean that choices being made right now will shape our society for years, if not decades to come. As policymakers take steps to ensure immediate relief and long-term recovery, it is imperative that they consider the interrelated crises of wealth inequality, racism, and ecological decline, which were in place long before COVID-19, and now risk being intensified. This is a time to be decisive in saving lives, and bold in charting a path to a genuinely healthier and more equitable future through a just recovery.

We, the undersigned organizations, call for COVID-19 relief and stimulus packages to contribute to a just recovery by upholding these five principles:

1. Health is the top priority, for all people, with no exceptions.

We support the calls of community leaders, public health organizations, unions, and others for free and accessible testing, treatment, and protective equipment; expanded hospital capacity, including in rural areas, territories, and tribal lands; paid sick leave and paid family medical leave for all workers without exception; expanded federal funding for Medicaid; and full funding for Indian Health Service and urban Indian health centers.

Critically, the government must ensure such health protections cover all people, including low-wage workers, health workers, independent contractors, family farmers, Black and Latinx communities, undocumented immigrants, Indigenous peoples, people who are incarcerated, people who are homeless or housing insecure, and others likely to be hit first and worst by COVID-19 and the economic downturn.

2. Provide economic relief directly to the people.

We support the urgent calls to expand the social safety net by broadening unemployment insurance, vastly increasing food aid programs, extending housing assistance, expanding childcare for working families, relieving student debt, and halting evictions, foreclosures, and shut offs of water and electricity. As with expanded public health measures, these economic measures must be implemented to ensure coverage of workers and communities likely to be hit first and worst by COVID-19 and the economic downturn.

In addition, to counteract the economic downturn, the federal government should immediately direct sizable cash payments to every person. Larger payments should be made to lower-income workers and the poor, who are disproportionately exposed to both COVID-19 health risks and heightened job insecurity. These payments should be made swiftly and regularly throughout the duration of the economic recession.

3. Rescue workers and communities, not corporate executives.

Any financial assistance directed at specific industries must be channeled to workers, not shareholders or corporate executives. Specifically, any federal loans must be used to maintain payroll and benefits, not executive bonuses or stock buybacks.

In addition, such funds should come with pro-worker conditions, such as requiring worker representation on the company’s board of directors, company-wide enactment of a $15/hour or higher minimum wage, and compliance with high-road labor standards such as payment of prevailing wages, use of project-labor agreements, adoption of a neutrality policy with regard to union collective bargaining, and adoption of a “ban the box” hiring policy to ensure fair employment opportunities for all.

4. Make a down payment on a regenerative economy, while preventing future crises.

While we urgently need a large, short-term stimulus to protect the health and economic security of those on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis, it is imperative that policymakers also plan for a large, medium-term stimulus to counteract the economic downturn and ensure a just recovery. This stimulus should create millions of good, family-sustaining jobs with high-road labor standards; counter systemic inequities by directing investments to the working families, communities of color, and Indigenous communities who face the most economic insecurity; and tackle the climate crisis that is compounding threats to our economy and health.

All three goals can be achieved simultaneously with public investments to rebuild our infrastructure, replace lead pipes, expand wind and solar power, build clean and affordable public transit, weatherize our buildings, build and repair public housing, manufacture more clean energy goods, restore our wetlands and forests, expand public services that support climate resilience, and support regenerative agriculture led by family farmers. Critically, stimulus packages should include conditions for industries to implement high-road labor standards, workforce development, and reductions in climate emissions and toxic pollution. The response to one existential crisis must not fuel another.

5. Protect our democratic process while protecting each other.

People must not be forced to choose between exercising their rights as citizens and protecting public health. The federal government must support states, by providing funding and technical support wherever needed, to ensure that every American can vote safely in primary and general elections.

Specific life-saving and democracy-defending measures include expanding vote by mail, online or automatic voter registration, among others. The 2020 Census must be fully supported and resourced to achieve an accurate and safe count under the new and evolving conditions. US Congress, state capitals and city halls should not shut down until they have amended rules to ensure continuity of governance in the case that in-person sessions are suspended.

Write to your representatives: support the 5 principles of a #PeoplesBailout

As Congress acts swiftly to develop relief and recovery packages to address the COVID-19 crisis, we must make sure that they prioritize the health and wellbeing of all people, with no exceptions.

Use the tools at The People’s Bailout to write a message to your Member of Congress, demanding they commit to the 5 principles for just COVID-19 relief and stimulus. These principles are backed by over 500 groups and were introduced in a letter from Reps. Dingell, Ocasio-Cortez, Jayapal, Pocan, and Lee in the House and Senators Markey and Duckworth in the Senate.

1. Health is the top priority, for all people, with no exceptions
2. Economic relief must be provided directly to the people
3. Rescue workers and communities, not corporate executives
4. Make a downpayment on a regenerative economy while preventing future crises
5. Protect our democratic process while protecting each other

If you have time, share your own story about how this is affecting your life. Together we can flood the inboxes of our representatives with powerful testimonies that demonstrate why we need to bail out people, not corporations, in this crisis!

The following organizations endorse these five principles:

Sponsors:

Center for Popular Democracy

Climate Justice Alliance

Greenpeace

Indigenous Environmental Network

Indivisible

It Takes Roots

MoveOn

People’s Action

Sierra Club

Sunrise Movement

US Climate Action Network

Working Families Party

Signatories: