By Grassroots DC, on November 7th, 2013 
[re-posted from the Washington Peace Center’s weekly “Activist Alert” e-newsletter]:
Last week, more than 40 million people’s food stamps benefits were cut. As wealth continues to concentrate and poverty continues to grow, Congress has decided that it’s acceptable to reduce the monthly allotment for food stamps (or SNAP benefits) more than thirty dollars a month for low-income individuals and families.
Over and over again, we’re reminded that many, if not most, of our elected officials are more interested in getting reelected than empathy. More interested in maintaining tax shelters and keeping donors than the safety and well being of their constituents. Not to mention, the rhetoric that they’re putting out – about private charities making up for the gap – is misguided at best. The nation’s food banks are already struggle to meet the needs of their clients, and a reduction in food stamps is just going to make the problem worse.
Charitable organization’s can’t be expected to make up for the lack of resources that are aggravated by a broken financial system. It feels hopeless a lot of the time, but fortunately here in DC, there are folks working towards employment justice. Now’s the time to get involved with a local campaign that we have a good chance of winning. Then, we can show the feds how to do it!
Join the Paid Sick Days Rally on Friday to make our collective voice louder – folks deserve living wages, and to be able to take care of themselves — whether that means feeding their families of taking time off to get healthy.
In Solidarity,
Kat, Ryn, Candice, Sonia & Dany
By Grassroots DC, on October 22nd, 2013 
Reposted on behalf of Respect DC provided by Andrea Rosen
We remain disappointed and angry with Mayor Gray and Council Members Alexander, Bonds, Bowser, Catania, Cheh and Wells who made it clear that they are on the side of corporate greed and against the will of their constituents. Despite their inability to stand up to big, outside, corporations, we forced our elected officials to admit that $8.25 is not enough in DC. The rejection of the Large Retailer Accountability Act (LRAA) by a minority on the council and the Mayor was only the beginning of the fight for a living wage. We will not stop until all District workers are paid fairly.
“According to a Hart Research survey, 71 percent of DC residents were in favor of the LRAA. We have talked to thousands of District residents over the past several months, and the message we have heard is clear: We deserve better than the poverty wage jobs,” said Reverend Edwin Jones, Senior Pastor at Living Faith Baptist Church. ”Unfortunately, our Mayor and six of our Council Members disagree, and seem more interested in corporate money and attending ribbon cutting ceremonies, than in making sure DC residents have access to good jobs that will allow them to remain in an increasingly expensive city. DC residents know we are worth more and we will not stop until we get the wages we deserve.”
“Although the LRAA failed, we created an environment within the DC Council and the community in which the Mayor and three council members who voted with big business felt the need to attempt to cover up their abandonment of DC’s working families by introducing their own minimum wage proposals,” said Kimberly Mitchell, a lifelong Ward 7 resident and Macy’s employee. “Because of our work the living wage and minimum wage issues are at the forefront and our elected officials have finally been forced to pay attention to low wage workers. We will not let large corporations, working in conjunction with some of our elected officials, evict us from our city without a fight.”
“We will not allow the will of the people of the District to be manipulated by the same elected officials who just allowed large corporations like Walmart to bully them into submission,” said Reverend Graylan Hagler, Senior Pastor at Plymouth United Congregational Church of Christ. “This is one of the most expensive cities in America, and we need a minimum wage that reflects that reality. Because so many of our elected officials continue to fail on this issue, we will be developing a proposal that works for DC residents and we welcome all elected officials who stand with the people of this city to support us as we pass it into law.”
In addition, Respect DC has brought together a group of economic experts who are working to present options and arguments for the best possible minimum wage proposal for our city. Council Members Marc Elrich in Montgomery County and Andrea Harrison in Prince George’s County along with DC City Council Chair Phil Mendelson seem to be coming together to push for a regional minimum wage of $11.50 an hour by 2016 and indexed to inflation after that. Their proposed legislation does not appear to include any increase for tipped workers. CLICK HERE to view what Elrich is proposing here.
By Liane Scott, on September 25th, 2013 
A coalition of adult education providers and advocates claim that high rates of illiteracy among DCPS parents not only has a negative impact on the city’s education reform efforts but also on the city’s ability to produce a well-qualified workforce and to reduce poverty within the District of Columbia. The DC City Council would seem to agree, passing a resolution that recognizes September 23 – 29 as Adult Education and Family Literacy Week. The resolution points out that the most effective way to improve the academic success of a child is to improve the educational level of the involved parent.
The gesture is laudable but a resolution alone does nothing to help meet the needs of the 1 in 5 adult residents of the District who struggle to read and write, or their families who are inevitably impacted as well. The story of one such family is featured in the video below, which was taken from the panel discussion An Investment in Adult Education Is An Investment Children’s School Success.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_FyoO2MKQU
To hold the council to the principles of their resolution, a coalition of adult learners and adult education advocates is heading to the city council to ask that they support adult literacy and training programs in the city budget. If you want to do something about illiteracy in the District of Columbia, you can make a start by attending this event:
By Grassroots DC, on September 19th, 2013 
Cross-posted from the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region written by Benton Murphy
The District of Columbia is frequently cited as America’s “Smartest City,” based on our exceptionally high percentage of residents with a college degree. As of 2010, 46.8% of District residents held a bachelor’s degree—beating our closest competitor, Silicon Valley, by a healthy margin.
Yet, our knowledge-driven economy and high rates of post-secondary completion mask the realities of many residents. Read between the lines and you’ll see that the nation’s most educated city is also home to more than 64,000 adults who lack a high school diploma or its equivalent—that’s more than 10% of our residents. In a city where it is estimated that more than 70% of new jobs will require postsecondary training beyond high school, the number of career opportunities available to these individuals is rapidly declining.
The Community Foundation has a long history of investing the skills and credentials of the Metropolitan Washington region’s residents. Since 2007, our grants have helped 675 people increase their literacy levels and more than 700 earn a credential that will help to boost their employability in our competitive job market. Most recently, we’ve been working with a community of DC-based literacy providers like Academy of Hope, Southeast Ministry, and Literacy Volunteers and Advocates to bolster support for the critical programs that serve the District’s adult learners.
To raise broader awareness among both elected officials and community members, these partners have organized an Adult Education and Family Literacy Week – officially endorsed by a resolution of the DC Council – this September 23rd-29th. We’re pleased to announce two opportunities for Community Foundation donors to get involved:
The organizers will kick-off Literacy Week on Monday, September 23rd, with a special event, “An Investment in Adult Education is an Investment in Children’s Success,” from 8:30 to 11:00 am at the PNC Bank Building at 800 17th Street NW. Join us for an exciting panel of speakers featuring adult learners, policymakers, and nationally-recognized experts. Continental breakfast will be served. Please RSVP by September 20th if you wish to attend. Later that week, the entire community is invited to join the organizers for a Literacy Advocacy Day at the Wilson Building (1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW) from 9:30-11:00 am. Participants will visit the offices of our elected officials to discuss the needs of adult learners. Seasoned advocates as well concerned citizens who have never stepped foot in the Wilson Building are all welcome to join us. If you’re interested in participating, please contact Samantha Davis at sadavis@some.org to RSVP.
We hope that many of you will be able to join us. Unable to attend? Please contact Benton Murphy at bmurphy@cfncr.org for more information about some of the excellent local nonprofits that need your support to serve adult learners.
By Guest Contributor, on September 19th, 2013 
On the 17th of September, supporters of the Large Retailer Accountability Act gathered in front of the Wilson Building for an attempt to stiffen coucilmember’s backbones. Mayor Gray has chosen Wal-Mart over low income workers and good jobs by vetoing the bill, as this is written it is yet to be seen if the Council will have the backbone to override.
Many speakers warned that “their next mayor” supports the LRAA, meaning that the councilmembers who are running for Mayor lose their votes unless they vote to override the Mayor’s Wal-Mart ordered veto of the LRAA.
Some possible next steps:
1: A ballot initiative identical to the LRAA. Does not involve the city’s budget so it can be done by ballot initiative. Poll results for the LRAA indicate this would pass, and door to door work has already been done to collect some of the poll data
2: Recall campaigns could be mounted against Councilmembers who voted with the Mayor. Anita Bonds would be an obvious targets, but difficult as she is at-large.
Tommy Wells and Murial Bowser should forget about their campaigns for mayor, they may have just made themselves unelectable, effectively recalling themselves before they could ever be elected in the first place.
3: Allegations of financial ties between Mayor Gray and Wal-Mart should be pursued aggressively. The Mayor is already worried about the danger of indictment for soliciting illegal campaign contributions, and for failure to report “shadow campaign” income and expenses. If any illegal funds are traced to Wal-Mart, the Mayor’s career is over, regardless of whether or not any indictment is ever issued.
When if comes to dealing with Wal-Mart and the proliferation of jobs that don’t pay enough to stay off welfare, no option should be off the table, no punches should be pulled, no quarter asked or given.
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