Submit official comment to Dept. of Labor to protect tipped wages of servers

Since taking office, Donald Trump has continuously sided with Wall Street, big business and the Chamber of Commerce over working people.

He has allowed Wall Street “investors” to fleece retirement savers out of billions of dollars.

He is letting employers hide fatal injuries that happen on their watch.

He has refused to uphold overtime pay rules that would raise the wages of millions of working people, and much more!

Time and again, Donald Trump has undone or refused to enforce rules that protect the rights and wages of working people. And now he’s siding with the National Restaurant Association over tipped workers.

Donald Trump’s Department of Labor has proposed a new rule that would let restaurant owners steal the tips of its servers. EPI estimates that employers could pocket roughly $5.8 billion in workers’ tips each year under Trump’s proposed rule.

Submit an official comment to the Department of Labor today to oppose this proposed rule and to protect the tipped wages of servers.

DOL has proposed this rule under the guise of sharing tips with untipped employees like cooks and dishwashers. But nothing in the rule actually requires employers to distribute the pooled tips―meaning managers and owners would have the right to pocket them.

Additionally, DOL did not provide its own estimate of the amount of tips that will be transferred from workers to employers―even though such an estimate is legally required.

One plausible explanation for why DOL left out the required estimate is that any good-faith estimate would have shown this proposed rule will result in a substantial shift of tips from workers to employers (EPI estimates the shift would be roughly $5.8 billion).

But before Donald Trump’s DOL can implement this awful rule, they are required to hold a public comment period.

Stand with EPI and millions of tipped workers across the country. Submit your official comment to the Department of Labor to oppose this rule and to protect the tipped wages of working people.

Together, we’re standing up to an administration that shows its repeated contempt for working people. We’re demanding an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few!

- Heidi Shierholz
Senior Economist and Director of Policy, EPI

Call key Senate Republicans: Stop Trump’s handout for the wealthy & big corps

The Trump Tax Scam would be disastrous for middle- and low- income families, and key Senators are starting to doubt if they should continue to support it, especially after this week’s results in Alabama. Can you call key Republicans today? Click below for a sample script and the number to call:

Earlier this week Alabama voted to send a Democrat to the White House for the first time in 25 years – repudiating Trump-backed Roy Moore.1 But Senate Republicans are still trying to rush the Trump Tax Scam into law before Jones is seated in the Senate.2 The committee reconciling the House and Senate bills could release its next version as soon as today and the Senate could vote as early as Monday to send the bill to Trump’s desk.3 This fight is still not over. Reports indicate that the new version of the Tax Scam would lower the tax rate for the highest income earners even further and end the corporate alternative minimum tax – making it easier for corporations to get away with paying far less than their fair share.4 It would be disastrous, but key Republicans could still buck their party. We just need to show them what overwhelming opposition looks like. Call key Republican senators: No tax handouts for the wealthy and big corporations. Click here to get started with your calls. The Trump tax scam would make deep cuts to the social safety net and raise taxes on middle- and lower-income families – all while giving Trump and his wealthy friends trillions in handouts. Senate Republicans were so desperate to ram the Trump Tax Scam through in the dead of night a few weeks ago, they passed a version with hand-written edits in the margins.5 But for all the Republicans’ secrecy around it, here’s what we do know is in the Trump tax scam: Repeal the deduction for state and local taxes, used by the majority of middle-class taxpayers, and strain budgets for local services.6 Allow massive amounts of wealth to accumulate untaxed by raising the cap and then eliminating the estate tax – a tax paid only by the ultra-wealthy.7 Slash the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to just 20 percent – less than what most workers would pay.8 Allow tax dodgers to get away with refusing to pay their fair share by eliminating the alternative minimum tax, which has been a safeguard against the ultra-wealthy like Donald Trump paying virtually nothing in taxes.9 Sneakily undermine health care by repealing the individual mandate.10 Increase the burden of health care costs by eliminating the deduction for out-of-pocket medical expenses.11 Make higher education even more unaffordable by eliminating the deduction for student loan interest and ending exemptions for graduate students paid for research work or teaching while in school.13 Reduce incentives for consumers to purchase clean energy vehicles.14 Jeopardize the fragile natural environment of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by opening it up to drilling in order to pay for corporate tax handouts.15 Republicans need to know that going along with Trump’s greedy and cruel tax plan will be devastating for everyone but the 1%. CREDO activists made more than 10,000 calls to key House Republicans, and two of them voted the right way.16 As we showed when we stopped Trumpcare, our collective action makes a difference. We must show up in force to stop this dumpster fire of a bill in its tracks. Call key Republican senators: No tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations. Click the link below to get started with your calls. https://act.credoaction.com/call/Stop_Trump_Tax_Scam_Senate/?t=7&akid=26417%2E3130208%2EKbLflv - Kaili Lambe CREDO Action from Working Assets Click below for a sample script and the number to call: References: Alex Seitz-Wald, “In stunning upset, Democrat Doug Jones is projected winner over Roy Moore in Alabama Senate race,” NBC News, Dec. 12, 2017. Jordain Carney, “McConnell: Strange to stay in Senate until end of current session,” The Hill, Dec. 12, 2017. Alexander Bolton, Scott Wong, and Naomi Jagoda, “GOP strikes deal on Trump tax cuts,” The Hill, Dec. 13, 2017. Jordan Weissmann, “Republicans Reach a Tax Deal, Decide to Cut Rates Even Further for the Rich,” Slate, Dec. 13, 2017. Jim Tankersley and Alan Rappeport, A Hasty, Hand-Scribbled Tax Bill Sets Off an Outcry,” The New York Times, Dec. 1, 2017. Josh Barro, “Here's how the Trump tax plan would raise taxes on many middle-income families,” Business Insider, Sept. 28, 2017. Michael Leachman, "House Tax Bill’s Changes to State and Local Tax Deductions Would Hurt States,” The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Nov 2. 2017. Heather Long, “The House is voting on its tax bill Thursday. Here’s what is in it.” The Washington Post, Nov. 16, 2017. Americans for Tax Fairness, “13 Terrible Things About the House Republican Tax Plan,” Nov. 2 2017. Appelbaum, “Republicans May Use Cuts in Entitlement Programs to Reduce Deficit.” Jennifer Haberkorn, Seung Min Kim and Bernie Becker, “Senate GOP adding Obamacare mandate repeal to tax bill, senators say,” POLITICO, Nov. 14, 2017. Americans for Tax Fairness, “13 Terrible Things About the House Republican Tax Plan.” Charles P. Pierce, "This Tax Bill Isn't Just Bad Economics. It's Got a Backdoor Anti-Abortion Measure, Too," Esquire, Nov. 3, 2017. Long, “The House is voting on its tax bill Thursday. Here’s what is in it.” Ibid. Dino Grandoni, “The Energy 202: ANWR drilling is one step closer to happening,” The Washington Post, Nov. 16, 2017. K.K. Rebecca Lai, Wilson Andrews and Alicia Parlapiano, “How Every Member Voted on the House Tax Bill,” The New York Times, Nov. 16, 2017.

Tell Your Republican Senator: #NoJonesNoVote

Doug Jones was elected to represent Alabama in the US Senate on December 12, 2017—but he won’t be seated until early January. The people of Alabama deserve to have their duly elected Senator vote on the Tax Scam, not a lame duck Senator appointed by a Governor that resigned in disgrace.

Remember: this is a bill that repeals a key feature of the Affordable Care Act, leaving 13 million more people uninsured and spiking premiums an extra 10%. It gives huge tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations while RAISING taxes on 83 million families. And it adds $1 trillion to the deficit, which will force deep cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and more down the road.

The Tax Scam is currently being finalized by the “Conference Committee,” a group of members from the House and Senate that are resolving the differences between the House and Senate bills. Both the House and Senate have to take one more vote on the final version of the bill that the Conference Committee produces. Your Senator should refuse to cast a final vote on the Tax Scam “conference report” until Doug Jones is seated. Call them at 1-855-980-2350 today.

SAMPLE CALL DIALOGUE

Caller: Hello! My name is [___] and I’m calling from [part of state]. I want [Senator] to refuse to take a final vote on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act until the new duly-elected Senator from Alabama is seated.

Staffer: Senator [___] is in favor of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and thinks the American people can’t wait to reform our broken, complex tax code. There is no need to wait until the New Year to vote on it.

Caller: That’s terrible. The people of Alabama deserve to have their voices heard and be represented by the Senator they elected. Keep in mind that [Senator] helped Mitch McConnell keep a Supreme Court seat vacant so that “the people could decide.” Well, here the people have decided and their will should be respected. After Scott Brown was elected in a special election in Massachusetts, there were no further votes on the Affordable Care Act until he was seated. That’s the approach [Senator] should follow here.

Staffer: Thank you. I’ll let the Senator know your thoughts.

Caller: Yes please do, and please take down my contact information so you can let me know what the Senator decides to do. He/she can do the right thing with his/her vote alone. I will be watching to see that he/she does.

- Indivisible 

Investigate the EPA's removal of independent scientists from advisory boards

The petition to the comptroller general of the United States and the Government Accountability Office reads: "Investigate Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt's decision to ban EPA-funded scientists from scientific advisory boards." Add your name:

As the head of Trump's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Scott Pruitt is shameless in his quest to get rid of environmental protections. In the latest assault on his own agency's mission, Pruitt has quietly moved to replace independent scientists on EPA advisory boards with fossil fuel and chemical industry representatives. This attack on science and scientists affects all of us. EPA advisory boards make recommendations about our environmental safety and protection – covering everything from pesticides and hazardous waste to climate and air pollution. We must resist Pruitt's blatant efforts to undermine scientific integrity at every turn. Tell the comptroller general of the United States: Investigate the EPA's removal of government-funded scientists from advisory boards. Click here to sign the petition. Pruitt has banned scientists who have received EPA grants from serving on advisory boards, claiming that he is eliminating conflicts of interest. In fact, his policy does the opposite. Pruitt is getting rid of academic experts – who rely on outside research funding – and replacing them with corporate-funded scientists. Because research grants often go to the top scientists in a given field, Pruitt's policy systematically excludes many of the most qualified scientists from advising the EPA. Just five days after announcing his new policy, Pruitt appointed 66 new scientists to advisory boards – many with ties to the same polluting companies the EPA is supposed to be regulating, including Phillips 66, Dow Chemical and Procter & Gamble.1 Two of the new board chairs have attacked the EPA's science in the past.2 Now 10 senators have called on the Government Accountability Office to investigate. In their words (emphasis in original): The double-standard is striking: an academic scientist that receives an EPA grant for any purpose cannot provide independent advice on a completely different subject matter on any of EPA's science advisory boards, while industry scientists are presumed to have no inherent conflict if their research is entirely funded by a company with a financial stake in an advisory board's conclusions.3 Stand with these senators and demand an investigation into Pruitt's corporate takeover of scientific advisory boards. Tell the comptroller general of the United States: Investigate the EPA's removal of government-funded scientists from advisory boards. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/investigate-EPA?t=7&akid=26443%2E3130208%2EihP0n3 - Brandy Doyle, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: Juliet Eilperin, "EPA’s new science advisers add more industry experts, conservatives to the mix," The Washington Post, Nov. 4, 2017. Ibid. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse et al., "Letter to the Honorable Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States," Nov. 9, 2017.

Stop bots from dismantling Net Neutrality

Anonymous online robots have used thousands of stolen identities to submit over a million fake anti-net neutrality comments to Trump’s FCC.(1)

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating the comment hacking. But the FCC is being accused by Schneiderman -- and one of its own commissioners -- of withholding key evidence and obstructing the investigation.(2)

Twenty-eight Democratic U.S. senators have called on the FCC to delay Thursday’s vote to repeal net neutrality until the fake comments have been fully investigated.(3) But unless more Republicans in Congress speak up, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will not slow down in his race to repeal net neutrality.

You live in an area that is represented by a Republican in either the House or the Senate. With only 2 days left until the FCC votes, your voice is urgently needed to save net neutrality and defend our democracy!

Will you call Congress today and ask them to tell the FCC to put the brakes on any net neutrality vote until we get to the bottom of who’s trying to pervert our democratic processes?

Yes, I'll call Congress and ask them to stand up for net neutrality!

At least 1.3 million anti-net neutrality comments were fake. They used fake email addresses and, more sinisterly, stolen identities. Nearly half a million of those comments may have come from Russian sources. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman believes that at least 50,000 New Yorkers may have had their identities used to oppose net neutrality without their permission, and has launched a criminal investigation.(4)

But according to FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, the Republican-controlled FCC is refusing to participate in the investigation -- and failing in its duty to protect the legitimacy of the public commenting process.

These fake comments are just the latest attack on our democratic institutions and practices -- and one of the most consequential since Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. Pai should be on high alert over this fraud -- instead he’s focused on pleasing his corporate overlords.

That’s why we’re going to ask more members of Congress to demand a delay on this week's net neutrality vote until we get to the bottom of the comment hacking. We only have two days to stop it -- will you call Congress now?

Yes, I’ll call Congress to help stop the net neutrality vote!

-the Courage team

Footnotes:
1. https://www.wired.com/story/fcc-net-neutrality-comment-analysis-fake-emails
2. https://gizmodo.com/fcc-commissioner-blasts-her-own-agency-for-withhold-evi-1821133018
3.https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/8xmaj4/senators-net-neutrality-vote-postponed
4. See reference 2

Call JP Morgan Chase today and tell them NO to KXL. 212-270-1111

Last week, Rainforest Action Network hand delivered the petition you signed with over 40,000 signatures to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, to say No to the Keystone XL pipeline.

JPMorgan Chase is the top US bankroller of extreme fossil fuels, tar sands, and tar sands pipelines. Today, it has the opportunity to do the right thing and stop funding climate chaos — but it will only do so if we call in and demand it.

Please call this number to speak with a JPMorgan Chase representative:

212-270-1111

Here’s a simple script you can use for calling JPMorgan Chase

“Hello, I’m (name) from (city, state, or country) and I’m calling to urge JPMorgan Chase stop profiting from climate change and to act responsibly. Right now, JPMorgan Chase is the top US funder of extreme fossil fuels, tar sands, and tar sands pipelines, including Keystone XL. JPMorgan Chase has a choice whether or not to renew the credit facility for TransCanada, the company behind the Keystone XL pipeline. I urge JPMorgan Chase to get on the right side of history by ending financing for TransCanada, the Keystone XL pipeline and defund tar sands projects.”

Thank you for for taking a few minutes out of your day to make a quick call. Your call joined by hundreds of others makes a huge impact! 

Note from Desktop Activist Tucson: I got a real person! 

Reject Kathleen Hartnett White, Trump's climate-denying pick to run the Council on Environmental Quality

The petition to the Senate reads: "Kathleen Hartnett White is a dangerous right-wing climate change denier who holds extreme, anti-science views. Block and resist her nomination to lead the Council on Environmental Quality." Add your name:

Kathleen Hartnett White isn't just your run-of-the-mill extreme right-wing climate-denier. She's a senior fellow at the Koch brothers and Exxon-funded Texas Public Policy Foundation, believes carbon dioxide is harmless "plant food," equates belief in climate change to "paganism," and calls solar and wind power "unreliable and parasitic."1,2If Donald Trump's long list of climate-denying nominees wasn't terrifying enough, his pick to lead the Council on Environmental Quality might be the most extreme and dangerous one yet. But her most egregious argument against climate change asserts that coal use in the 1800s actually ended slavery in the United States, saying "fossil fuels dissolved the economic justification for slavery."3 A person with such heinous, racist, climate-denying views has no business overseeing environmental policy in our country. We must speak out now to pressure the Senate to block and resist her confirmation before it comes up for a vote. Tell the Senate: Reject climate-denier Kathleen Hartnett White's nomination to run the Council on Environmental Quality. Click here to sign the petition. The little-known Council on Environmental Quality plays a big role in the White House in directing environmental policy across agencies and implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, which oversees environmental permit applications. An extreme climate-denier leading this council could have an oversized and dangerous influence over permit applications for fossil fuel infrastructure projects, like dirty oil pipelines or coal and fracked natural gas export terminals. Remember this embarrassing moment? In her recent Senate confirmation hearing, Hartnett White struggled to hide her anti-science views and long-time contempt for climate science. When asked if she believed the climate was changing, she first replied "I am uncertain," then fumbled to correct herself. Later in the hearing, when progressive champion Sen. Jeff Merkley asked Hartnett White if she believed carbon dioxide levels have increased dramatically, she replied with a sigh and said "no."4 Political pundits have said if Harnett White is confirmed it will be "a huge win for Steve Bannon," but activism resisting Trump's climate-denying nominees is working.5 After hundreds of thousands of progressives – including more than 170,000 CREDO members – took action, urging the Senate to reject Sam Clovis, Trump's racist, climate-denying pick to be the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientist, Clovis withdrew his nomination from consideration.6 We must speak out again in full force to block another dangerous nominee from setting foot in the Trump regime. Tell the Senate: Reject climate-denier Kathleen Hartnett White's nomination to run the Council on Environmental Quality. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/reject_hartnett_white?t=7&akid=26340%2E3130208%2E-dkBnk Josh Nelson, Deputy Political Director CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: Andrew Kaczynski, "Trump pick for top environmental post called belief in global warming a 'kind of paganism,'" CNN, Oct 18, 2017. Democracy Now!, "Climate Denier Kathleen Hartnett White Named White House Environmental Adviser," Oct. 16, 2017. Christopher Hooks, "Top TPPF Analyst: Coal Ended Slavery," Texas Observer, Sept. 30, 2014. Alexander C. Kaufman, "5 Times Trump’s Pick For Top Environmental Adviser Struggled To Defend Her Climate Denial," HuffPost, Nov. 8, 2017. Alexander C. Kaufman, "Trump’s Pick For White House Environmental Post Once Said Coal Helped End Slavery," HuffPost, Oct 13, 2017. Alexander C. Kaufman, "Trump’s USDA Pick With Ties To Russia Investigation Withdraws Nomination," HuffPost, Nov. 2, 2017.