April, 09 2021, 12:00am EDT
Sunrise Movement Responds to Amazon Unionization Vote: Amazon Used Jim Crow Style Tactics, PRO Act Must Be Passed
WASHINGTON
Today, in response to the Amazon unionization vote in Bessemer, Alabama, Ellen Sciales, Press Secretary of the Sunrise Movement, released the following statement:
"After weeks of Amazon egregiously intimidating and gaslighting its workers, Sunrise Movement stands with the RWDSU in objecting to this vote, and demands the PRO Act is passed and workers are treated the way they deserve. It's clear that in a power grab, Amazon employed illegal and deceptive actions to manipulate and hijack the vote.
"Throughout this process, we've seen a pattern by Amazon that is eerily reminiscent of Jim Crow era voter intimidation tactics. They're deceiving their employees and illegally interfering in this union vote because they're scared of the power of people, and know working people are so close to taking power back from corporate executives. Despite this roadblock, we are a force and the people will persevere.
"Coming out of this pandemic, we've seen that executives like Jeff Bezos made a fortune while working people suffered. As this happened communities stepped up to support each other, providing kindness and mutual aid. Now as we reflect on this past year, people everywhere will continue to organize, but are demanding their government starts doing its part to support them by standing up to exploitative companies like Amazon and passing the PRO Act.
"This vote is a stark reminder that the PRO Act must be prioritized and passed immediately. The PRO Act would increase penalties for illegal intimidation and retaliation and other union-busting by companies like Amazon, while making it easier for more workers to join a union. The PRO Act is essential in our vision of a Green New Deal and a core part of Sunrise's Good Jobs for All campaign - for the federal government to guarantee meaningful work to all and ensure workplaces empower and protect workers. If Biden and Congress are serious about strengthening labor and uplifting everyday people, they'll follow through on their promises and do everything in their power to pass the PRO Act immediately."
Sunrise Movement is a movement to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process.
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A campaign finance watchdog on Wednesday filed a Federal Election Commission complaint accusing former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, affiliated political groups, and an accounting firm of violating U.S. law in a scheme "seemingly designed to obscure the true recipients of a noteworthy portion of Trump's legal bills."
The Washington, D.C.-based Campaign Legal Center (CLC) said that "evidence appears to show an illegal arrangement between several Trump-affiliated committees and a compliance firm named Red Curve Solutions that is designed to obscure the identities of those providing legal services and how much they are being paid."
"Voters have a right to know how the presidential campaigns and other committees supporting presidential candidates spend their money."
CLC alleges that the Trump campaign, Trump's political action committee (PAC) Save America, and three affiliated organizations "violated federal reporting requirements based on a scheme in which the committees reportedly paid over $7.2 million—described as 'reimbursement for legal' costs or expenses"—to Red Curve.
The watchdog also said that Red Curve appears to be "making or facilitating illegal contributions that violate either federal contribution limits or the prohibition on corporate contributions."
According to CLC:
Red Curve is a domestic limited liability company that offers compliance and FEC reporting services but does not appear to offer any legal services. It is managed by Bradley Crate, who also serves as the treasurer for each of the five Trump-affiliated committees concerned in this complaint, as well as over 200 other federal committees.
According to filings with the FEC, Red Curve appears to have been fronting legal costs for Trump since at least December 2022, with Trump-affiliated committees repaying the company later. This arrangement appears to violate FEC rules that require campaigns to disclose not only the entity being reimbursed (here, Red Curve) but also the underlying vendor. By not disclosing the vendors that actually provided legal services, the Trump-affiliated committees effectively blocked the public from knowing which attorneys and firms are being paid—and how much they are being paid—through this arrangement.
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Trump—who is the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee—faces 91 federal and state felony charges related to his role in the January 6 insurrection and his organization's business practices. He is currently on trial in New York for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments to cover up sex scandals during the 2016 election cycle. The twice-impeached former president has been open about his use of campaign donations to pay his legal costs.
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The coalition supporting the amendment, Arizona for Abortion Access, highlighted on social media that the House-approved bill "did not include the emergency clause required to stop the 1864 ban from taking effect on June 8," meaning H.B. 2677 wouldn't apply until 90 days after the end of the legislative session.
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While continuing to give Israel billions of dollars in support to wage war on the Gaza Strip, the Biden administration this week has declined to join the growing global demands for an international probe into mass graves discovered at hospitals in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Two journalists on Tuesday questioned Vedant Patel, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, about the administration's response to the hundreds of bodies found at Gaza City's al-Shifa Hospital and Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis as well as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk's call for an independent investigation.
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"Somehow I don't think the U.S. State Department would defer to Russia as a credible source to investigate itself if a mass grave were discovered in Ukrainian territory it had occupied," Finucane said on social media in response to Stanage's questioning.
Meanwhile, European Union spokesperson Peter Stano made clear Tuesday that the E.U. supports an independent probe.
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Amnesty International senior director of research, advocacy, policy, and campaigns Erika Guevara Rosas said in a statement that "the harrowing discovery of these mass graves underscores the urgency of ensuring immediate access for human rights investigators, including forensic experts, to the occupied Gaza Strip to ensure that evidence is preserved and to carry out independent and transparent investigations with the aim of guaranteeing accountability for any violations of international law."
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