Join us Sunday: Biggest meeting yet!

IMV Meeting This Sunday: Bring a Friend!

IMV's March 2025 Meeting
Sunday, March 23, 1:30-3:30 pm
Mohawk Valley Community College Utica Campus
1101 Sherman Drive, Utica
Alumni College Center Commons 
Parking behind the Academic Building (A1), or in the Jorgenson/ Payne Hall lot on Sherman Drive
Please register HERE to let us know you're coming

We have a lot of work to do!  We will have the physical space and setting to roll up our sleeves and get to work.  Start thinking now: What role will you take in the resistance? What are your interests and capacities?  Your strengths and skills?  What issues do you want to focus on?  We are going to have some great conversations about building the powerful local pro-democracy movement for the time we are in. 

Plus: we need to plan our local April 5th "Hands Off" Demonstration (SIGN UP TO ATTEND HERE).  Trump, Musk, and their billionaire cronies are gutting Social Security, slashing Medicaid, and looting our government to bankroll their latest tax scam—unless we stop them. On April 5th, we’re taking to the streets to say Hands Off! Our goal is to call an ever wider public majority to action and make sure everyone knows: we don’t have kings in America and we won’t let a handful of billionaires run our country into the ground.  Want to know more?  HERE is the national planning website with more information.

We can't wait to see you Sunday afternoon!
 

OneNYS Indivisible Call with Lt. Governor Delgado! 

We have a date for the Indivisible OneNYS call with Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado for Monday, March 24th from 6:30-7:30pm on Zoom. This call is a result of our statewide letter to Gov Hochul in February, but she didn't respond to accept our invitation.  Here's the registration link.  Sarah Reeske will manually approve people who list the name of their Indivisible group, so be sure to list your group as Indivisible Mohawk Valley. This meeting is not open to the public; the audience is Indivisibles in NY. It will NOT be on Mobilize.  Register for the call now HERE.

150 Community Members Voice Concerns at NY21 Empty Chair Town Hall

Thank you to all of you who spread the word and attended our Elise Stefanik Empty Chair Town Hall in Rome on Wednesday. More than 150 citizens, most of whom reside in NY21, gathered for a Town Hall to express their concerns over the effects that the recent sweeping changes coming down from the Trump administration and the Republican House and Senate will have on their families’ lives.

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who represents the district, was formally invited via a registered letter but failed to respond. In her absence, participants used the opportunity to ask questions they would have asked had she attended. Participants spoke candidly about specific concerns, such as the impact of mass government firings on that impact local jobs and the economy, threats to Medicaid and Social Security, effects of tariffs on costs to everyday citizens, cuts in services to veterans, discrimination against transgender and other marginalized communities, and the future of our children’s education. Beyond the specific services to our families, friends and neighbors, participants expressed deep worry that our very democracy is in jeopardy and dismay that we, as a country, have lost our compassion and our humanity.

Regarding local jobs, Angela Topi, a resident of Rome, said she would have liked to ask Representative Stefanik “what she plans on doing to secure DFAS and save jobs.” She went on to say, “There are thousands of jobs at risk of being cut.”  Branwen Drew, Rome, is a veteran and a retired government contractor. She said, “I’m on Social Security and Medicare. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to go on…As a veteran, I’m concerned about my friends who are veterans.”

Hunter Raphial, Rome, said, the “Republican promise is to make somebody else’s life worse.” He added, “My mom is a veteran and she is more worried every day. She served in Desert Storm, and she has health problems. We need to stand for veterans; we need to stand for the weakest among us.”  Mike, from Clinton, added, “Trump got out of the draft because of bone spurs. Then he eliminates transgender people from the military — people who want to give up their lives for their country!”

Jane, a resident of Rome, described her feelings as the wife of a Dominican immigrant. She said, “He’s been here 40 years, and this is the first time I’ve feared for his life.”  Betsy Williams Briggs, of Herkimer, spoke about her adopted daughter who is of Asian descent and who works as a government contractor. Betsy said, “She spent her weekend waiting for her pink slip while working on her computer, removing any reference to DEI language from the government website in order to keep her job.”

Kelly Samson of Barneveld used the opportunity to comment on the Congresswoman’s performance, stating, “Elise is supposed to stand for what is ethical and be there for all her constituents. She has turned away from so many things that would help our area and aligned herself with Donald Trump.” Bonnie, who drove in from Remsen added, “I want to take a page from Musk’s playbook. Elise, name five things you’ve done for your constituents lately.”

The event was covered in the Daily Sentinel.  And HERE is the coverage from WKTV. Great job to all those who helped organize this event and keep it calm, positive, and safe!  
 

Blake Gendebien for NY21

Did the Elise Stefanik Town Hall motivate you to elect a better representative to Congress from NY21?  Then you are ready to volunteer for Blake Gendebien's campaign! Elise has not resigned and so there's no date for a special elecion...yet.  However, that just means we have more time to introduce voters across the district to our awesome citizen-farmer candidate,Blake Gendebien.  

• Mobilize Page  (These are campaign events like phone banks and canvassing that need volunteers!)

• Volunteer Sign Up Form

• Letters to the Editor: Peggy Wiltberger is going to be helping out with our Letters to the Editor program! If you want to write Letters to the Editor for a newspaper in your community to introduce Blake and get out the vote for him, contact at peggywilt@roadrunner.com and she will add you to her list and send you materials. 

 Democratic Rural Conference: Indivisibles Welcome

The Democratic Rural Conference is an organization of Democrats from the 47 counties in New York with populations under 250,000. This year's DRC spring conference will be April 25 and 26 in Albany. It's a great opportunity to meet our statewide Democratic officials, attend workshops on election-winning strategies, and network with Democrats from across the upstate region. The Saturday lunch speaker will be Blake Gendebien, our Congressional candidate in NY-21, which includes Rome, northern Oneida County, and all of Herkimer county. You can find the agenda HERE and register for the conference HERE, and get a discounted room (through March 26 only)  HERE.  Any Democrat or member of an allied group is welcome to attend.  Note: Oneida County Dem Chair of Towns and IMV member, Bill Thickstun, is running for state DRC chair on Saturday morning, and several IMV members are voting delegates!

Trans Right Rally in Utica

IMV is a co-host with Oneida County Pride Alliance of the local  2025 Trans Rights Rally,  Saturday, March 29th at noon at Oneida Square (Roundabout at Genesee and Oneida Streets in Utica).  Please join us for a fun and colorful celebration ahead of International Transgender Day of Visibility (March 31st).  Bring signs or flags in support!  Please remember if that any counter demonstrators show up, we do not engage with them. We smile. We wave.  We are committed to non-violence as a core principle. 
 

Climate Crisis Actions

Call and Urge the NYS Assembly to Include the NY HEAT Act in The Budget

This is the last week to get bills included in the budget. Any bill included in the budget is much more likely to be enacted than those that need to be passed separately. The NYS Senate has included the NY HEAT Act in their budget. Now we need tocall Assembly Speaker Heastie and urge him to include  NYS the NY HEAT Act in the Assembly budget. Please call two or three times this week if you can. Calls are counted each day.

Call Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie at 518-455-3791 and tell him to include the NY HEAT Act in the House budget for cleaner heat and lower bills! Tell him that climate action and energy affordability can't wait!

More info about the NY HEAT Act: It is a critical state-level bill that would fight climate change by transitioning our buildings from fossil fuels to clean heating and cooling technology like heat pumps. It would also end subsidies for new pipelines and lower our utility bills to 6% of our income - it's a win-win for people and planet! Let’s make those calls for positive climate progress in NYS!

Five IMV members attended the March 19th lobby day in Albany sponsored by Renewable Heat Now for the NY Heat Act. And Save the Date for the May 7th lobby day in Albany for the Plastics Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure bill!

Take Action: Support $350M for Latinos in NYS

Latinos account for 20% of New York State’s population, but have the worst outcomes for almost all indicators of success. The LUCHA (Latinos United for Change) Coalition was founded in order to help address the disparities that New York’s latinos are experiencing. The LUCHA Coalition consists of Latino-led and Latino-serving nonprofits across the state who are working each day to address these disparities.

IMV's longtime ally, MVLA (Mohawk Valley Latino Association) requests that we each add our voice to the petition asking state representatives to advocate for $350 million for the LUCHA Coalition in the state budget. This $350 million, which will go directly to nonprofits across New York State, will help further the impact of these organizations through targeted programming, including educational advancement, civic engagement, language access, and workforce development. It never hurts to call your state assemblymember and state senator with a request like this as well. 

Take Action Today!  Click to sign the petition to state legislators:  https://lucha.app.sparkinfluence.net/

Take Action TODAY on Trumps's Attempt to Eliminate the the Dept. of Education
 

You've heard the news. Now take action.  Trump can't do this alone. It has to go through Congress, and Members of Congress have to take into account their consitients, the people who decide whether they get to be reelected.  That's why we call them.  If you do it today, Friday, March 21, you are part of a mass action of Indivisibles and other like-minded groups across the country. Flood the zone!

1. Send an email and demand your Members of Congress oppose any legislation that helps Trump weaken or abolish the Department of Education. Republicans need the most pressure right now, but it’s also important for Democrats in Congress to know their constituents want them to fight.

   • If you have a Republican representative (Stefanik orTenney), send them a message now and let them know that we will hold them accountable for supporting Trump's assault on our public schools.

   • If you have a Democratic representative (and our Democratic Senators), click here to send your message and demand that they fight back.

2. Then call your Members of Congress and make sure they got your message. We need to light up the phone lines and ensure they can't ignore the public outcry to protect our schools. 

   • Do you have a Republican representative? Call them and demand they pick a side.

   • How about a Democratic representative? Make your call and ask them to use every tool at their disposal to fight back.

   • Then call Sen. Gillibrand and Sen. Schumer.  They need to hear from you as well -- call them and urge them to take immediate action against Trump's education cuts.

Indivisible Groups Call for Sen. Schumer to Step Down as Leader

Last week, in a surprise move that disoriented the House and Senate Democratic caucuses rallying to fight the terrible, partisan GOP funding bill, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer decided to cave. Instead of using a rare point of actual leverage, he announced his decision to surrender without a fight, voting for cloture and providing a pass for other Senate Democrats to fold. By the time of the vote on Friday afternoon, 10 Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to invoke cloture and allow the bill to sail through to final passage and Trump’s desk. 

This was a massive betrayal of the Democratic party, of Indivisibles and activists organizing against this bill, and of our democracy. Because of Schumer’s failure, the bill included zero safeguards against Musk’s illegal and unconstitutional behavior. By refusing to hold the line, Senator Schumer went against the vast majority of his party to fully capitulate to Trump. 

Indivisibles drove calls and organized events for weeks to try and stop this bill, and the outage from our network on Schumer’s surrender was immediate. Last Saturday, IMV's Steering Committee participated in emergency calls with NYS Indivisible group leaders and then Indivisible group leaders across the country to decide how we should respond. After intense discussion, we took a vote on how to proceed, and the results were overwhelming: 

• 82% of New York Indivisible group leaders voted to demand that Schumer resign as Minority Leader.  

• 91% of Indivisible group leaders nationwide agreed. 

The message was clear: If Chuck Schumer is unwilling to lead the opposition, he must make way for someone who will. Accordingly, Indivisible National issued an official statement calling for his resignation.  Indivisible Mohawk Valley, along with Indivisible groups from across the state, signed on to a letter asking Sen. Schumer to step down from his position as Minority Leader. 

This is not a decision we take lightly. For years, we fought alongside Senator Schumer to push for progressive policies and hold the line against Republican extremism. But his capitulation on the Republican funding bill was not just a failure of strategy -- it was a failure of leadership. And if he will not fight in this defining moment, then we must demand someone who will. Indivisibles deserve a Democratic party, and leadership of that party, who is committed to fighting as hard as we are.

A minority leader who is unwilling to fight back against fascism is a weakness our democracy cannot afford. We need Indivisibles across the state to speak out and join us in calling for new leadership that is prepared to lead a unified opposition to Trump and Musk.  Call Sen. Schumer's office and ask him to step down from leadership. Call Sen. Gillbrand's office and her to put the pressure on so that Democrats in Congress can unite around a leader willing to fight.  
 

April 5th Hands Off: Utica Fights Back! Rally

They’re dismantling our country. They’re looting our government. And they think we’ll just watch.

On Saturday, April 5th, we rise up with one demand: Hands Off!  This is a nationwide mobilization to stop the most brazen power grab in modern history. Trump, Musk, and their billionaire cronies are orchestrating an all-out assault on our government, our economy, and our basic rights—enabled by Congress every step of the way.

They want to strip America for parts—shuttering Social Security offices, firing essential workers, eliminating consumer protections, and gutting Medicaid—all to bankroll their billionaire tax scam. They’re handing over our tax dollars, our public services, and our democracy to the ultra-rich.  If we don’t fight now, there won’t be anything left to save.

This is going to be a huge rally in Utica.  We will need people to help with social media and publicity. We will need folks on the safety team, perhaps someone to host a sign party in advance and help make sure we have lots of good visuals, signs, and banners.  If you want to be on the planning team and are ready to dive in to the resources now, HERE is the planing website with more information.  We'll do some more organization at our meeting on Sunday.  For now, be sure that you are signed up and you save the date!
 

Wrap Up

1. See you Sunday for our IMV meeting. We're in a long fight; let's make it a strong fight by coming together to organize.
2. Sign up for the Zoom with Lt. Gov. Delgado on Monday evening HERE. 
3. Save the dates:  Sat. March 29 for the Trans Right Rally in Utica and Sat. April 5 for th Hands Off! Utica Fights Back Rally.  Both at noon at Oneida Square.  Remember we do not engage with counter protesters and we are 100% committed to non-violence in our demonstrations. 
4. Make your calls (climate, Latino funding, Dept. of Education) and check out the calendar.  
5. Keep showing up!

Democracy is not a spectator sport.
"Breathe, then PUSH"
"No one let go of anyone's hand."  

 Follow us on Bluesky: @Indivisiblemv.bsky.social, on Instagram's Threads.net/@indivisiblemohawkvalley, on X (Twitter) using @indivisiblemv and of course on our Facebook page and IMV Activism Group.