|
Portlanders created and voted for a new form of government, allowing for working class representation on our Council like never before. Starting in December I helped lead my colleagues to bring a new tone to negotiations with our over 1,100 city workers in AFSCME 189. It took a while, but our City and AFSCME struck a late night deal this week that should avoid an unnecessary strike that seemed inevitable, but was the last thing we needed. Let this be inspiration to take your life experience and bring it boldly into a new setting. There may be growing pains, but different outcomes become possible!
Trump and Billionaires Kick off Dark Days of Retaliation, Corruption, and Betrayal
We are all about to go through remarkably trying times. Instead of helping, our federal government is going to make almost everything worse:
We need to build more housing - the administration is seeking to deport the workforce and make the building materials more expensive.
We need to get more people housed - the administration is more concerned with crushing the critical services in the country's finest cities, for no good reason.
We need to tone down political violence - the administration is letting violent J6 criminals out of prison, as long as they express loyalty to the president's election lies.
We need to bring prices down - tariffs are about to make prices go up on everything, including natural gas for many Portlanders, and hurt many of our key industries.
We need to reduce inequality - our president and his billionaire friends are scamming gullible people with pump and dump crypto schemes.
We need competent leadership committed to serving the public, not themselves - we are being presented with exactly the opposite.
What can be done: for the betterment of our community we need to rapidly find powerful ways to speak together on behalf of our communal well-being. Portland has been under attack for years, but things could likely get much worse. We have to commit to sticking with each other and standing up to the bullies who have no purpose other than to destroy.
The City of Portland stands by its values:
Resources from the City of Portland website: "We stand in solidarity with our immigrant and refugee Portlanders. This page has up-to-date resources for legal services and hate crime reporting tools."
From January 21: "Mayor Wilson emphasized Portland's commitment to its sanctuary city status, supported by Oregon's sanctuary state laws and the Sanctuary Promise Act of 2021... He urged collaboration with local organizations to protect undocumented families."
|
