March, 01 2018, 11:30am EDT
CREDO Mobile Announces Grant to Combat Recent Attacks on the Internet, Democratic Values and Worker Rights
In reaction to the FCC’s threats to end net neutrality, the Trump administration’s fiscal and immigration policies, and the fight to raise the minimum wage, CREDO Mobile will support the efforts of three progressive organizations.
San Francisco
CREDO Mobile, the mobile carrier with a conscience, announced today that Free Press Action Fund, Center for Popular Democracy, and OUR Walmart will receive grants in March to build on their recent successes and aid their goals to counteract attacks on an open and free internet, labor inequality, and civil rights.
"We are proud to be strong and dedicated fighters for an open and free internet, an inclusive society for all, and the fair and equal treatment of workers across the country. This month, CREDO Mobile customers will help champion progressive, positive change through the invaluable work of Free Press Action Fund, the Center for Popular Democracy, and OUR Walmart," said CREDO Mobile CEO Ray Morris.
During the critical fight to maintain an open and free internet, Free Press Action Fund catalyzed a public outcry on Twitter against FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, mobilizing 500,000 activist calls to Congress and 600 protests at Verizon stores across the country. To disrupt Trump's deportation and health care policies, The Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) brought together thousands of people for a large-scale protest against the repeal of the Immigrant Ban and Affordable Care Act. And, winning the largest corporate pay raise in US history, OUR Walmart championed the fight to raise Walmart employees base pay from $7.25 to $11 per hour, ultimately resulting in a $2 billion redistribution of wealth to working people.
With the support of CREDO Mobile, these three groups will be able to advance future initiatives, including Free Press Action Fund's advocacy efforts for digital rights, CPD's mobilization and action to defend democratic progress from recent years, and OUR Walmart's initiative to broaden the fight for economic stability for people who work in retail to the American South.
CREDO Mobile's donations to progressive causes total roughly $2 million per year, and over $85 million has been given since its founding in 1985. Each month, CREDO members power these donations, which come from a portion of their phone bills, by voting on how to divide more than $150,000 in grants each month among three progressive groups.
"CREDO members were crucial in securing strong Net Neutrality protections in 2015. With CREDO's help, we'll push Congress and the courts to overturn the Trump FCC's terrible decision to roll back those safeguards -- and so much more," said Craig Aaron, President and CEO of Free Press Action Fund
"We're incredibly grateful for CREDO's support. The communities we represent - more than 50 of the most dynamic community organizations in America - are on the front lines of the resistance, working every day to move a powerful vision of racial and economic justice from the local level up. We are mobilizing hundreds of thousands of members to fight the Trump administration through protest and through forward-thinking policies that both protect our communities and act as a model of the kind of world we want to live in, a world where people of color, immigrants, and working families can thrive. CREDO is helping to make that work possible, and we look forward to working with CREDO to further advance our vision of a just, equitable society," said Jennifer Epps-Addison, Network President and Co-Executive Director of Center for Popular Democracy
"OUR Walmart is leading the fight to raise pay and transform working conditions for people working in low wage retail jobs starting with the country's largest corporate employer, Walmart. Thank you for your support! CREDO members have always stood with people working at Walmart as we fight to make our lives better. We couldn't do it without your love and support. We love you, CREDO!" said Mary Watkines, Member of OUR Walmart
CREDO Mobile is a progressive phone company that makes it easy for its customers to fight for change - and raises millions of dollars for nonprofit groups that do the same. CREDO Mobile has raised more than $72 million for progressive groups, including the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Rainforest Action Network.
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"State-sanctioned murder is not justice, and President Biden has an opportunity and an obligation to save lives," Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley said earlier this week.
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U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that he is commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 Americans and pardoning 39 people convicted of nonviolent crimes, a move the White House described as "the largest single-day grant of clemency in modern history."
But the president's sweeping use of his clemency power as his term nears its conclusion did not appear to extend to any of the 40 men currently on death row—some of whom have been there for decades.
According to a White House fact sheet, those who received commutations "have been serving their sentences at home for at least one year under the Covid-era CARES Act," a law that extended the amount of time in which people could be placed in home confinement to reduce the spread of the virus in prisons.
The White House did not name those who received pardons or commutations but said the list includes a "decorated military veteran," a "nurse who has led emergency response for several natural disasters," and "an addiction counselor who volunteers his time to help young people find their purpose."
The Biden Justice Department paused federal executions in 2021, but President-elect Donald Trump pledged on the campaign trail to expand the use of the death penalty and is expected to allow the executions of the 40 men on death row to take place if they're still there when he takes office next month.
In a statement on Thursday, Biden said that he has "the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses."
"That is why, today, I am pardoning 39 people who have shown successful rehabilitation and have shown commitment to making their communities stronger and safer," the president said. "I am also commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 people who are serving long prison sentences—many of whom would receive lower sentences if charged under today’s laws, policies, and practices. These commutation recipients, who were placed on home confinement during the Covid pandemic, have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance."
Biden, who campaigned on ending the death penalty at the federal level, vowed to "take more steps in the weeks ahead" as his administration reviews clemency petitions, leaving open the possibility of commutations for death row prisoners.
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"State-sanctioned murder is not justice, and President Biden has an opportunity and an obligation to save lives and make good on his campaign promise to address the federal death penalty before leaving office," Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) said at a press conference earlier this week. "With the incoming administration planning to execute the 40 individuals on death row, we're calling on the president to use his clemency authority to commute their death sentences and resentence them to a prison term."
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Despite the Pentagon's repeated failures to pass audits and various alarming policies, 81 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives voted with 200 Republicans on Wednesday to advance a $883.7 billion annual defense package.
The Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025, unveiled by congressional negotiators this past Saturday, still needs approval from the Senate, which is expected to vote next week. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Wednesday that he plans to vote no and spoke out against the military-industrial complex.
The push to pass the NDAA comes as this congressional session winds down and after the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) announced last month that it had failed yet another audit—which several lawmakers highlighted after the Wednesday vote.
Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), co-chairs and co-founders of the Defense Spending Reduction Caucus, said in a joint statement, "Time and time again, Congress seems to be able to find the funds necessary to line the pockets of defense contractors while neglecting the problems everyday Americans face here at home."
"Instead of fighting the rising cost of healthcare, gas, or groceries, this Congress prioritized rewarding the wealthy and well-connected military-industrial complex with even more unaccountable funds," they continued. "After a seventh failed audit in a row, it's disappointing that our amendment to hold the Pentagon accountable by penalizing the DOD's budget by 0.5% for each failed audit was stripped out of the final bill. It's time Congress demanded accountability from the Pentagon."
"While we're glad many of the poison pill riders that were included in the House-passed version were ultimately removed from the final bill, the bill does include a ban on access to medically necessary healthcare for transgender children of service members, which will force service members to choose between serving their country and getting their children the care they need," the pair noted. "The final bill also failed to expand coverage for fertility treatments, including in vitro fertilization (IVF), for service members regardless of whether their infertility is service-connected."
Several of the 124 House Democrats who voted against the NDAA cited those "culture war" policies, in addition to concerns about how the Pentagon spends massive amounts of money that could go toward improving lives across the country.
"Once again, Congress has passed a massive military authorization bill that prioritizes endless military spending over the critical needs of American families. This year's NDAA designates $900 billion for military spending," said Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), noting the audit failures. "While I recognize the long-overdue 14.5% raise for our lowest-ranking enlisted personnel is important, this bill remains flawed. The bloated military budget continues to take away crucial funding from programs that could help millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet."
Taking aim at the GOP's push to deny gender-affirming care through TRICARE, the congresswoman said that "I cannot support a bill that continues unnecessary military spending while also attacking the rights and healthcare of transgender youth, and for that reason, I voted NO."
As Omar, a leading critic of the U.S.-backed Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, also pointed out: "The NDAA includes a provision that blocks the Pentagon from using data on casualties and deaths from the Gaza Ministry of Health or any sources relying on those statistics. This is an alarming erasure of the suffering of the Palestinian people, ignoring the human toll of ongoing violence."
Israel—which receives billions of dollars in annual armed aid from the United States—faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court last month issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The NDAA includes over $627 million in provisions for Israel.
Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), who voted against the NDAA, directed attention to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), set to be run by billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
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Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who also opposed the NDAA, wrote in a Tuesday opinion piece for MSNBC that he looks forward to working with DOGE "to reduce waste and fraud at the Pentagon, while strongly opposing any cuts to programs likeSocial Security, Medicare, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau."
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