After Our Women's March Rally--What's Next?

January 27, 2023 Alan Cole

Long Journey, Worth the Trip

Thanks to all those who joined IMV for our 7th annual women's march event: "Bigger than Roe." It was wonderful to see more than 50 of you lining the sidewalks again, and the energy level was high in spite of the cold weather. (We know that those of you who could not attend were there in spirit.) We got a nice length segment on WKTV showing our members and our signs. Jill was our spokesperson, and she communicated the message that we were standing up peacefully for the human rights that everyone deserves and that we were doing it together to build up community rather than divide or tear down. It was a positive message that resonated with that very first Women's March in 2017. Looking around at us in our pink hats on Sunday it was clear that it's been quite a political journey so far--and worth the trip.

Many people went straight to Celeste Friend's (Utica for All!) volunteer open house following the rally, modeling our long held commitment to matching public demonstrations with practical political activity in electoral politics. It's not too late to sign up to support Celeste's mayoral campaign. You can do it here. And we'll be introducing more candidates at our February monthly meeting on Zoom. (See the calendar.)

Also following the rally on Sunday, one of our members, Monica, went to Albany on Tuesday to lobby with Planned Parenthood, and others focused on fossil fuels activism. So we crushed it on issue activism this week as well! Hopefully, if you were not able to go to Albany on Tuesday, you were able to join Indivisible's national call last night for a deep dive into the new 2023 Indivisible Guide and you can be on the Zoom next Thursday night while we talk with the NYS Senate Majority Leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, about our demands for a fair and equitable budget that invests in the future of all New Yorkers.

Can you believe that we are now in our 7th year of political activism following the disastrous 2016 election? We've learned a lot and we're still learning and growing together. Let's keep making political activism bite-sized, local, and fun....starting with the NY22 Summit on Saturday, Feb, 4th. Our biggest electoral victory to date occurred when our organizing across the district led to flipping NY222 in 2018. Show up at the Summit so we can do it again!

Fired Up, Ready to Go to the NY22 Summit on Feb. 4

Are you sure you are registered for our in person NY22 Summit? We're up to more than 150 registrants. Everyone is welcome! Please register NOW for this critical event. We are inviting a wide range of progressive political groups and allies. It's going to be an amazing day! The event is scheduled in person for Saturday, Feb. 4th, 10am-4pm at the Hampton Inn in Cazenovia. The costs including lunch are covered by Indivisible organizing grants. Register HERE.

If you would like a ride and need to be connected to a carpool/someone driving from your area, please email Kathy Wojo: kwojcie1@twcny.rr.com.

Meet with Senator Stewart-Cousins on Zoom

The most critical time to advocate for justice priorities in the NYS budget is now. Be sure that you are registered for the Indivisible statewide call with Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins happening on Thursday, February 2nd on Zoom.

Last February we met with the Majority Leader about the Invest in Our New York budget priorities and everyone loved the conversation including the Senator. She included much of what we asked for in the One House budget, but we didn't get enough in the final outcome. This is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate our support from around the state for the IONY platform by joining this meeting on Zoom. Register here.

We're fighting to fund affordable housing, public education, childcare, workers & wages, climate action, and more in 2023. Join us and show your support so Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins sees us, hears us, and will fight alongside us for the investments that New York needs to make it a home where everyone can thrive. Register here.

Climate Crisis Workgroup Updates

For a second week in a row, IMV members (Maggie, Mona, Carol, Jennifer and Alan) rallied and lobbied in Albany for legislative support for climate bills that are needed to transition NY from fossil fuels to clean energy. The bills are part of a package called Kick Fossil Fuels Out of Buildings and include a bill requiring new buildings be all electric in the next few years (All Electric Buildings Act (S6843C|A8431B of 2022) and ending fossil fuel subsidies. Buildings are responsible for one-third of NY’s greenhouse emissions. Al Stirpe, AD 127 in Syracuse, met with us and a representative from Pam Hunter’s (AD128 Syracuse) office did as well. Like Rachel May, they are real climate champions, co-sponsoring many climate bills already and willing to co-sponsor others. We also met with staff from Senator Mannion’s (SD 50 North Syracuse, Oswego) and Assemblymember Magnarelli (AD 129 Syracuse). We hope that the information we provided will nudge them to co-sponsor and vote for climate bills. The best option would be for the Governor to include climate bills in the state budget; therefore, we will frequently ask you to call the Governor and ask her to do that. In addition, watch here for more opportunities for lobby visits to Albany.

Separately, Alan, with a Westchester delegation, met with his former county legislator, Senator Pete Harckham, now Chair of the Environmental Conservation Committee. He assured us that he enthusiastically supports the package and is hopeful that by June it will be a reality, either as part of the budget or separately as legislation.

Actions That You Can Take at Home:

Action 1 - Call the Governor

Please call the Governor (518) 474-8390 and ask her to include Senator Rachel May’s Bigger, Better Bottle Bill (S.237) and the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Act (S.1064) in her executive budget, but also to NOT support a weaker version of the extended producer responsibility act. Governor Hochul 518 474-8390

Plastic pollution and over packaging is a major problem. The packaging industry knows that lawmakers are increasingly concerned, so they have mobilized in state legislatures around the country to advance very weak Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) bills that are ineffective and do little to reduce packaging. Today, that fight has come to New York. The Bigger, Better, Bottle Bill is an update to NY’s 40 year old successful bottle bill.

As all of you know, we always have to fight against false solutions. In this case, we need to make sure that Governor Hochul does not include a weak EPR (extended producer responsibility) proposal in her budget. And we do want her to include legislation to expand the state’s successful bottle bill. Also ask her to include the All Electric Buildings Act (S6843C|A8431B of 2022) in the Executive Budget as well. We must get off fossil-fuels. The Governor will be releasing her Executive Budget by February 1st.

Action 2 - One click email

Two weeks ago, Governor Hochul announced a Cap and Invest program that could ultimately raise billions of dollars for climate. So this week, please use this one-click tool to tell Democratic legislators about our climate justice spending plan, from NY Renews which could direct funds generated by the Governor’s proposal.

Although the proposed Cap and Invest program could help raise funds for climate, it needs to be written in a way that centers justice to have a real impact. As part of their package, NY Renews is advocating that the state establish a fund known as the Climate and Community Protection Fund (CCPF). Under this fund, any money raised through Cap and Invest would be directed towards community-led climate justice solutions.

Action 3 - Save the Date: NY Renews Mass Call

NY Renews’ first Lobby Day, January 18, Lobby Day was a success!

This has given us the momentum that we need and it's key that we keep it up. That’s why we’re hoping you can attend and help promote our upcoming strategic mass call next Thursday, Feb. 2nd, at 6 pm.

The Governor will have released her executive budget by then, so we will dive into it and discuss its implications for our campaign. These mass calls are an excellent opportunity to inform our membership and get more involved with the movement for climate justice.

In Person Action

Action 4 - NY Renews Bi-Weekly Lobby Day in Albany

Join us for NY Renews Climate Jobs & Justice Package Tuesdays.

NY Renews is returning to regular in-person lobbying every other week at the NYS Capitol, maintaining a constant presence was a piece of the momentum building when we passed the CLCPA.

Your advocacy and support is needed now more than ever at such a crucial time. Again, thank you so much. bi-weekly lobby days up in Albany.

How it All Started: Stories We Shared

As the IMV Steering Committee debriefed the Women's March Rally in Utica on Sunday, we started reminiscing about where we were during the first Women's March on Jan. 21, 2017, and the role that global event played in our political activism (or re-activism) journey in 2017 and beyond. We shared some amazing stories --our own and those of others we know who got involved in what would quickly become Indivisible Mohawk Valley a few months later. Remember the Huddles? Remember the start of the Tenney picket?

By the time I (your friendly IMV newsletter editor, Jen DeWeerth) was participating in events in Utica on Jan. 21, 2017, I was already writing a weekly email to over a hundred people locally with commentary and a calendar of events pulled from a variety of progressive, social justice, and Democratic political groups. People were hungry to find ways to get involved after the 2016 election. Earlier this week a long post from a few days after that first Women's March popped up in my Facebook memories:

"To those who are confused or surprised about why millions of people showed up to march and rally on Saturday (Jan. 21, 2017):

Women are marching because our children deserve a secretary of education that cares about education.
Women are marching because our family and friends deserve healthcare. Did you know that before the ACA, newborns in the NICU would hit their lifetime caps on health insurance coverage? That's right. Babies who had never felt the sun on their skin could no longer get health insurance.
Women are marching because domestic violence crisis centers and after school programs deserve funding. My local YWCA offers safe houses, transitional housing, and support for sexual and domestic violence survivors--all at risk now.
Women are marching because we deserve clean air, clean water, and national parks.
Women are marching because we believe the children protected by the DREAM act deserve to be here and they deserve to live with their parents, not in orphanages and foster homes.
Women are marching because our brown and black children belong in school, not in stop and frisk situations; they belong in college not in prison.
Women are marching because the earth will be the home of our children and grandchildren and their grandchildren. We must act now to protect it from the worst effects of climate change.
And most of all, women are marching because we have the right to. The right to protest and speak out against our government is the first amendment, one of our most fundamental American rights.

Saying that we're whining, throwing temper tantrums, that we're immature, or that we need to get over it, will not stop us. It will not stop us from fighting for you. And we are fighting for you because you deserve these rights too.

We're not marching because Trump won.
We're marching because he wants to take away the civil rights that we hold dear.
And we're not giving up easily.
Anyone who thinks we're marching because we lost simply isn't listening. We're marching because we refuse to lose more.
At our sister march on Saturday at Mohawk Valley Community College, one of our many young veteran students read her sign at the microphone. It said: 'When injustice becomes law then resistance becomes DUTY.'
That's why we're organizing after we march."

And we've been doing it ever since.
Democracy is not a spectator sport. See you at the Summit tomorrow, dear IMV friends!