On Tuesday, November 4th, in an historic election, 69% of Milwaukeeans who voted on the municipal referendum voted YES for paid sick days. A total of 156,874 Milwaukeeans voted yes on the municipal referendum for paid sick days. 42,000 Milwaukeeans signed the petition to put paid sick days on the ballot. This was a binding referendum, which means this will become law, after 90 days of rule-making.
“This win is a testament to the low-wage women who engaged the community to change working conditions,” said Donna Skenadore, 9to5 Milwaukee board co-chair, “Thanks to hundreds of volunteers who circulated those petitions, put up yard signs in their neighborhoods, and reminded people about this referendum, Milwaukee was able to guarantee this basic right for workers.”

On Milwaukee’s near south side, organizers and volunteers distributed over 25,000 bilingual leaflets and fliers to educate Milwaukeeans on the referendum. Volunteers talked to hundreds of people in south side neighborhoods, and [more]

Por Amy Goodman

Casi se podía oír el suspiro de alivio colectivo del planeta. Las elecciones presidenciales estadounidenses de este año han sido un evento global en todo sentido. Barack Hussein Obama, hijo de un padre keniano de color y de una madre blanca nacida en Kansas, que creció en Indonesia y Hawaii, representa para muchos un puente viviente entre continentes y culturas. Quizás, el trabajo que más lo calificó para la presidencia no fue el de senador o abogado, sino el más criticado por sus oponentes: su trabajo como organizador comunitario en el South Side de Chicago. Como se burló la gobernadora de Alaska, Sarah Palin: “Este mundo de amenazas y peligros no es simplemente una comunidad y no necesita un organizador, precisamente.”
Pero, quizá, eso sea exactamente lo que el mundo necesita. Obama logró su decisiva victoria electoral a través de la organización comunitaria masiva, en la calle y por [MORE]

Washington, DC – In a letter to President-elect Obama, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) today recommended New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson to be the next Secretary of State. NHLA was established in 1991 as a nonpartisan association composed of 26 leading national and regional Hispanic civil rights and public policy organizations, elected officials, and distinguished Latino leaders from all over the nation.

“No one is more qualified to serve as our country’s chief diplomat than Governor Bill Richardson. He helped free hostages in North Korea, Iraq, Sudan, and Cuba, secured an agreement protecting refugees in Afghanistan, negotiated a peaceful transfer of power in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and brokered a cease-fire in the troubled region of Darfur. He is not just a Democratic Party leader or an Hispanic community leader – he is an American leader,” [MORE]