The Save the Post Office Rally was a huge success!
We're still keeping a full calendar of remote events. Check https://indivisibleyolo.org/calendar/for the most up-to-date information on actions and events you can join!
Hello Indivisibles,
We are so glad enthusiastic supporters of the Postal Service came out for both the Davis and Woodland "Save the Post Office Saturday" rallies, showing postal workers their support and pushing back against Trump's effort to suppress the vote! The Post Office shouldn't be used as a partisan weapon, and Indivisible Yolo members showed our determination to fight back when the Trump administration is trying to dismantle this basic and necessary service. We're not done yet! We can thank Rep. Garamendi for voting for the "Delivering for America" act, which passed in the House on Saturday. But we'll still need Senators Harris and Feinstein to pass the HEROES act, which includes money for coronavirus election safety and for the Post Office.
The wildfires across California are a real concern for a lot of people in our area. We hope everyone is keeping safe! Unfortunately, Davis Abolition, TGI Justice and Initiate Justice have brought to our attention that there are incarcerated people in Vacaville who were not evacuated even when the surrounding neighborhoods were, and who are still in danger from the fire and smoke. So we're asking Gov. Newsom, CDCR Secretary Ralph Diaz, and our state senator Bill Dodd (who represents Vacaville as well as Yolo) to make sure the people who are still in danger are evacuated and to ensure this failure to bring people to safety never happens again.
We've also heard that an important police reform bill may come up as soon as this week in the State assembly. It's SB 731, which would allow decertification of abusive police officers. It may be surprising to learn, but California is one of only 5 states that has NO process to decertify abusive cops to ensure they cannot be hired again as police officers. We're asking Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry to support this bill to allow decertification of police who have been fired for excessive force, sexual misconduct and dishonesty.
The election is right around the corner! Now is the time to join a phonebank and rally people to get out and vote. Please see below where we have a list of events and information sessions- if you're new to this type of work, we have you covered! You can also find example scripts and contact information for our calls and actions.
Would you like company making calls to representatives or doing the action of the week? Join our Virtual Action Coffee Zoom meeting Monday mornings at 10 am: https://zoom.us/j/721847201. We'll talk through Indivisible Yolo's action of the week, call or email our representatives, talk politics, and stay connected to each other and the work in this challenging time.
And remember to mark your calendars for the next Indivisible Yolo General meeting, online by Zoom Monday, August 31st at 7pm.
Take care, and take action!
-The Indivisible Yolo Team
Protestors at the Woodland Post Office at Saturday's "Save the Post Office" rally
Protestors at the Davis Post Office at Saturday's "Save the Post Office" rally
Action: Thank Rep. Garamendi for supporting the Postal Service!
Sample script for Rep. Garamendi:
Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME] and I am a constituent from [CITY/ZIP CODE]. I’m calling Representative Garamendi to thank him for cosponsoring and voting for the Delivering for America Act. We need to maintain current service standards as well as the integrity of our elections and bedrock democratic principles. The Postal Service should not become an instrument of any political party. Thank you, and please keep fighting against Trump's attempts to suppress the vote!
Action: Evacuate CMF and Solano State Prisons from Wildfire Danger!
On this page, click “Have comment,” enter your name and email address in the fields provided, choose “Prison Issues/Concerns” for the Subject options. Click the “Continue” button, and you will then be taken to a page where you can enter your message (see below). For position, choose “Pro.”
Sample Script:
Hi my name is [NAME} and I’m calling from [CITY/ZIP]. I am [calling/writing] to demand that CDCR immediately evacuate all people housed at California Medical Facility and Solano State Prisons in Vacaville. People at these prisons are having serious trouble breathing, including the many medically vulnerable people at CMF.
This is an extremely dangerous situation and the state cannot just leave people to die. CDCR must immediately evacuate these prisons and take the people housed there to locations that will be out of danger. CDCR must also take all feasible measures to ensure that nothing like this occurs again. Thank you.
Background:
Brought to our attention by Initiate Justice, TGI Justice, and Davis Abolition. From TGI Justice:
"California Medical Facility (CMF) and Solano State Prisons are dangerously close to the fire lines in Vacaville. There was an evacuation order for the area, but CDCR has so far refused to evacuate people incarcerated in those prisons! Even homes literally across the street from these prisons had been evacuated. The evacuation order for the area containing CMF and Solano was lifted in the middle of the night on August 20th, but an evacuation order remains in effect for nearby neighborhoods. Our loved ones in CMF and Solano are in serious danger, as the fire line is still dangerously close to both prisons. All that CDCR has done is hand out N95 masks to people housed at CMF and Solano, even as embers fell on the prison yard and people are having serious trouble breathing."
Action: Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry: YES on SB 731- Peace Officer decertification
Sample script:
Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME] and I am a constituent from [CITY/ZIP CODE]. I urge you to support SB 731 to allow decertification of abusive police. SB 731 will help keep Californians safe and make sure that officers who violate the law cannot continue bouncing from department to department. This bill will create a process to remove abusive police from the streets and protect historically marginalized people targeted by police violence. [add a personal story here if applicable.]
Background:
(via ACLU of Northern California)
CA must create a process to remove abusive police from the streets to protect those who are targeted by police violence: Black people, indigenous people, people of color, LGBTQIA individuals, and those with disabilities. CA is one of only 5 states that has NO process to decertify abusive cops to ensure they cannot be hired again as police officers. For too long, our communities have been hurt by police officers who move from one department to the next, dodging disciplinary action for their brutality and abuse of power. This bill will ensure the officers we employ to uphold our laws are held to basic standards and removed from our communities when they violate them. Officers who have been fired for excessive force, sexual misconduct and dishonesty should not be able to patrol our community. SB 731 will also strengthen CA’s civil rights law to allow individuals or impacted family member that have lost a loved one to seek accountability through civil actions. Now is the time for California to join the 45 other states with the power to remove abusive cops from their communities and give families the opportunity to hold police officers accountable when they violate their civil rights.
Action: Tell our Senators to save the Post Office by passing the HEROES act:
Sample Call Script for Sen. Harris and Feinstein:
Hi my name is [NAME} and I’m calling from [CITY/ZIP] to tell Senator [FEINSTEIN/HARRIS] that I am furious that the U.S. Senate is on recess while the Trump administration dismantles the U.S. Postal Service to undermine our elections. I want Senator [FEINSTEIN/HARRIS] all over the news, demanding the Senate return to session and taking every action in her power to stop these crimes against our democracy, to prosecute those who committed them, and to get the HEROES Act passed to fund and protect our elections and the American people who are still suffering from a pandemic that did not have to be.
Please fight to roll back DeJoy's attacks on the Postal Service to get DeJoy removed as Postmaster General. And please pass the HEROES Act to protect the Post Office, to fund election protections, and to help people who are still suffering during the pandemic.
Action: Pick a phonebank and/or information session and attend (remotely)!
"Years from now, this moment will have passed. And our children and our grandchildren will look in our eyes and ask us: Where were you when the stakes were so high? They will ask us, what was it like?
And we will tell them. We will tell them, not just how we felt. We will tell them what we did." -Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention
The stakes of this election are so high, and we have an opportunity to take action by getting out the vote and rallying folks to participate in the most consequential election of our lives. Sister District - CA-3 and Indivisible Yolo host 5 virtual, welcoming, supportive phonebanks a week, and we need your help. Join us!
Your mission this week and until the election: attend a phonebanking and/or information session
If you're a newcomer to this type of work or want a refresher, this is your invitation! The phonebanking sessions listed below provide training, and you are also very welcome to attend one of the dedicated information sessions.
Information sessions:
Wednesdays, 3:30pm – 4:00pm. Now until November
Sundays, 1:30pm – 2:00pm. Now until November
Think you might want to volunteer? Join an information session! We will tell you a little about us and the work that we do, and you can ask questions and tell us about yourself.
To join a Zoom information session use this link: https://zoom.us/j/804500806
Phonebank sessions (training provided):
Tuesdays, 3-5pm: Phonebank with Tim
Wednesdays, 4-6pm: Phonebank with Scott & Steve (right after the information session)
Thursdays, 6:30-8pm: Phonebank with Katherine
Saturdays, 10am-12pm: Phonebank with Kelly & Rebekka
Sundays, 2-4pm: Phonebank with Betsy & Amy (right after the information session)
To join the Zoom phone bank sessions use this link: https://zoom.us/j/804500806
All you need is a laptop or device to join the Zoom meeting and a phone to call voters. Call campaigns vary each week. Campaign details and training provided on the Zoom call and updated weekly: linktr.ee/CT2020.
