Environment

Op-Ed:Struggle for Voting Rights Justice Goes On

Published

9 years ago

April 6, 2016

On April 4, we celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King even as we marked the 48th anniversary of his assassination. On April 5, voters will go to the polls in the Wisconsin primaries, but a new raft of voter suppression laws will insure that the results are skewed.One of Dr. King’s great legacies — the Voting Rights Act — is now under assault across the country.

In Wisconsin, voter suppression laws were passed by a conservative Republican legislature despite the fact that there was no evidence of voter fraud to justify them. The legislature seemed intent on passing the most restrictive laws.

They passed the whole passel of conservative model laws and invented a few more. The laws were challenged in court, but the Supreme Court refused to review a lower court decision leaving them in place.

The voter suppression laws include requiring a photo ID for voting, a measure that may impact an estimated 300,000 voters, disproportionately older, younger, poor and people of color.

They reduced early voting times from 30 days to 12 days and eliminated it on weekends and evenings, discriminating against workers who can’t get leave to go to the polls. They eliminated statewide certification of registrars, so registrars can only enroll voters the country where they are certified, making registration more difficult.

They eliminated faxing and emailing of absentee ballots — except to military and overseas voters — making absentee voting more difficult. They eliminated straight ticket voting, except for military and overseas voters, ensuring that waiting times and lines will be longer when people go to vote.

They made it harder to use student ID as proof of residence, even as they required proof of residence to vote.

The thrust of these laws is clear: They are designed to make it harder to vote, particularly for working people who can’t take time off, for students, for the elderly who may not have the right ID, for the poor and people of color.

No wonder Bernie Sanders denounced the suppression laws as “truly un-American.” Hillary Clinton’s legal counsel challenged them in court. Key constituents of both candidates will be impacted.

The Wisconsin primary results will be distorted — and that is the intent.

In the general election, these laws will be most destructive to the Democratic voting base, not the Republican base. And that is intentional also.

This is a disgrace. Forty-eight years after Dr. King’s death, we witness how much of his agenda remains unfinished, how much is being reversed.

He marched against inequality and poverty, but inequality is worse, and childhood poverty in the United States is the worst of any major country.

He marched for equal protection under the laws, but our system of racial injustice continues to discriminate, particularly against young black men. He marched for voting rights, and now across the country conservatives are systematically passing laws to making voting harder.

He protested against the endless war in Vietnam that robbed the funds needed for the war on poverty at home.

And now we seem stuck in endless wars without victory on the other side of the world, even as our own neighborhoods suffer from the lack of public investment in everything from clean water systems to public schools.

Dr. King will be remembered for helping to make America better. But he always taught us that justice can’t be inherited. Equal opportunity can’t be taken for granted. “Human progress,” he wrote, “is neither automatic nor inevitable…. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering and struggle, the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”

And as Wisconsin will show, the struggle must continue simply to guarantee every American the right to vote.

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Asm. McKinnor Pushes Bill to Protect California Workers from High Heat, Other Climate Hazards

“Extreme heat is on the rise, with year-over-year, record-breaking temperatures that threaten the health and safety of California workers, from warehouse workers who lack adequate cooling, to janitors cleaning buildings after the air conditioning has been turned off, to line chefs cooking in unventilated kitchens,” McKinnor said at the rally.

Published

11 hours ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Asm. Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood) stands with members of California Labor for Climate Justice (CLCJ) during a rally at the State Capitol, where she spoke about her bill, AB 694. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.

By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌, ‌California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

On May 6, employees from industries across the private and public sectors — including utility, domestic, janitorial, healthcare, oil and gas, and farm workers — joined educators and others in Sacramento to push lawmakers to strengthen the state’s health and safety enforcement systems.

The rally at the State Capitol was organized by a statewide coalition of 15 worker unions called California Labor for Climate Jobs (CLCJ).

Organizers say their campaign to pressure legislators and state officials to not abandon their responsibility to protect workers is urgent as climate hazards rise and federal government efforts to pull back on oversight and enforcement increase.

“Approximately 19 million workers in the state are here together to have a say in what happens next,” said Norman Rogers, vice president of United Steelworkers Local 675. “In seven of the last eight years, California has recorded record-high temperatures while workers from our state’s fields to our commercial kitchens, from our warehouses to our schools continue to work in dangerously high-heat conditions.”

Cal/OSHA provides protection and improves the health and safety of working men and women in the state. The agency also enforces public safety measures to protect passengers riding on elevators, amusement rides, tramways, and more.

According to a 2023 report by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), workplace hazards are responsible for killing approximately 140,000 workers each year, including 5,283 from traumatic injuries.

Hazardous working conditions have caused an estimated 135,000 deaths from occupational diseases. That’s about 385 workers dying each day, according to the report.

Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood) spoke at the rally to discuss legislation she authored, Assembly Bill (AB) 694, which proposes a pathway to jobs for Cal/OSHA to ensure stronger public safety enforcement.

According to CLCJ, Cal/OSHA is experiencing an understaffing crisis that is evident in the agency’s 43% vacancy rate.

McKinnor, a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), said the bill aims to fully staff the state agency with enforcement agents who have expertise in working in California’s most dangerous work environments.

The Assembly Committee on Higher Education voted 9-0 to advance AB 694 on April 29. It is now headed to the Committee on Appropriations for consideration.

McKinnor continued, “We must urgently shore up our health and safety systems, so we can enforce California heat standards and safeguard worker health.”

CLCJ released the California Worker Climate Bill of Rights last fall, urging state legislators to propose policy solutions to protect workers from climate hazards such as extreme heat, fires, smoke, and floods.

Norman Rogers, Second Vice President of United Steelworkers Local 675 in Carson, said oil refinery operations around the state pose “the most hazards.

“AB 694 seeks to recreate Cal/OSHA to hire union oil and gas workers leveraging the knowledge, health and safety training, and process safety training used daily to ensure safe, compliant refinery operations,” Rogers added.

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Gov. Newsom Approves $170 Million to Fast Track Wildfire Resilience

AB 100 approves major investments in regional conservancies across the state, including over $30 million each for the Sierra Nevada, Santa Monica Mountains, State Coastal, and San Gabriel/Lower LA Rivers and Mountains conservancies. An additional $10 million will support wildfire response and resilience efforts.

Published

3 weeks ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Courtesy of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Facebook page.

By Bo Tefu
California Black Media

With wildfire season approaching, last week Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 100, unlocking $170 million to fast-track wildfire prevention and forest management projects — many of which directly protect communities of color, who are often hardest hit by climate-driven disasters.

“With this latest round of funding, we’re continuing to increase the speed and size of forest and vegetation management essential to protecting communities,” said Newsom when he announced the funding on April 14.

“We are leaving no stone unturned — including cutting red tape — in our mission to ensure our neighborhoods are protected from destructive wildfires,” he said.

Newsom also signed an executive order suspending certain regulations to allow urgent work to move forward faster.

This funding builds on California’s broader Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, a $2.7 billion effort to reduce fuel loads, increase prescribed burning, and harden communities. The state has also launched new dashboards to keep the public informed and hold agencies accountable.

California has also committed to continue investing $200 million annually through 2028 to expand this effort, ensuring long-term resilience, particularly in vulnerable communities.

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Newsom Fights Back as AmeriCorps Shutdown Threatens Vital Services in Black Communities

“When wildfires devastated L.A. earlier this year, it was AmeriCorps members out there helping families recover,” Gov. Newsom said when he announced the lawsuit on April 17. “And now the federal government wants to pull the plug? We’re not having it.”

Published

3 weeks ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

California for All College Corps.

By Bo Tefu
California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom is suing the federal government over its decision to dismantle AmeriCorps, a move that puts essential frontline services in Black and Brown communities across California at risk, the Governor’s office said.

From tutoring students and mentoring foster youth to disaster recovery and community rebuilding, AmeriCorps has been a backbone of support for many communities across California.

“When wildfires devastated L.A. earlier this year, it was AmeriCorps members out there helping families recover,” Newsom said when he announced the lawsuit on April 17. “And now the federal government wants to pull the plug? We’re not having it.”

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump administration is behind the rollback, which Newsom calls “a middle finger to volunteers.”

Meanwhile, Newsom’s office announced that the state is expanding the California Service Corps, the nation’s largest state-run service program.

AmeriCorps has provided pathways for thousands of young people to gain job experience, give back, and uplift underserved neighborhoods. Last year alone, over 6,000 members across the state logged 4.4 million hours, tutoring more than 73,000 students, planting trees, supporting foster youth, and helping fire-impacted families.

The California Service Corps includes four paid branches: the #CaliforniansForAll College Corps, Youth Service Corps, California Climate Action Corps, and AmeriCorps California. Together, they’re larger than the Peace Corps and are working on everything from academic recovery to climate justice.

“DOGE’s actions aren’t about making government work better. They are about making communities weaker,” said GO-Serve Director Josh Fryday.

“These actions will dismantle vital lifelines in communities across California. AmeriCorps members are out in the field teaching children to read, supporting seniors and helping families recover after disasters. AmeriCorps is not bureaucracy; it’s boots on the ground,” he said.