This Labor Day, our affiliates and advocates showed once again that grassroots power moves mountains!

Speaker -- David Orr

Thursday, September 11, 5pm PT, 6pm MT, 7pm CT, 8pm ET

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The lack of authentically democracy in the U.S. has permitted corporate entities to pursue their own economic and political interests virtually unchecked. This includes plundering the earth and poisoning land, water and air - resulting in the climate crises. What inadequate regulations existed before the Trump regime are now being systemically eliminated. 

The dual crises of democracy and climate change are not separate, but are one interrelated threat to the human future.

That’s the theme of Democracy in a Hotter Time, edited by David Orr, which calls for reforming democratic institutions as a prerequisite for avoiding climate chaos and adapting governance to how Earth works as a physical system.

To survive in the “long emergency” ahead, we must reform and strengthen democratic institutions, making them assets rather than liabilities. The collection of essays proposes a new political order that will not only help humanity survive but also enable us to thrive in the transition to a post–fossil fuel world.

Cultural Change for the We the People Amendment

[eighth in a series]

The United States. has been involved in 11 wars and 175 non colonial military conflicts (and counting) in its 249 year history since claiming independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776. Today, the U.S maintains roughly 750 military bases and installation in 80 countries worldwide. There are very few years in U.S. history when its military was not engaged in armed conflict somewhere in the world.

Perpetual state-sponsored violence from the colonial era to the present day has been responded with perpetual organized movements of people for peace and against wars and colonization. This history is too exhaustive to examine in detail. Thus, this examination will focus on cultural lessons learned from peace, anti-war and anti-nuclear weapons movements beginning in the early 20th century. 

This Labor Day, we invite you to step into the long tradition of courage, solidarity, and struggle that has shaped our workplaces, our communities, and our aspiring democracy.

Join organizers from Strike for Your Rights and the MTA Labor Caucus as we connect the victories of the past to the challenges of today — and prepare for bold action ahead.

📣 Billionaires have the megaphones. We have the people — but we need to be LOUDER.

Move to Amend has a bold mission: pass the We the People Amendment (HJR 54) to end corporate constitutional rights and the false doctrine that money equals speech. Right now, we need to break through to a much bigger audience.

Many issues will never be fully resolved until this one is. We’re fighting dozens of battles: climate collapse, authoritarianism, income inequality, safe food, preserving social and economic safety net programs, gun safety – but none of these can be fully won while corporations have constitutional rights and unlimited money buys political power.

On August 18, 1920, after 75 years of relentless struggle, the 19th Amendment was finally ratified. It boldly declared:

“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.”

It was a watershed moment — the fruit of organizing, sacrifice, and persistence across generations. But history teaches us: rights won are never rights guaranteed.

Today, more than a century later, women are still demanding to be fully recognized as equals under the law. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)—first introduced in 1923— is currently in a unique legal position. Although it has been ratified by three-fourths of U.S. states, it has not yet been formally codified in the Constitution as the 28th Amendment, leaving women vulnerable to rollbacks on hard-won rights. 

Even more disgusting, corporations have been granted sweeping constitutional rights—the rights of “persons” under the law. This distortion of democracy is why corporations can pour unlimited money into our elections, poison our communities, and put profits over people without accountability.

The contradiction is stark:

• Women fought 75 years for the vote.
• We’ve struggled for over 100 years for constitutional equality.
• Corporations have amassed more rights than people.

That’s why we’re building a movement for the We the People Amendment (currently HJR54) — to affirm that only human beings have constitutional rights and that money is not free speech. Our movement is about creating a genuine democracy free from corporate rule and finishing the work that generations before us began.

And we know this truth: change has always come from people coming together — refusing to be silent, refusing to be divided, and refusing to accept injustice as normal.

If you’ve lucky enough to have a 401k retirement plan offered by your employer, beware. Private equity and cryptocurrency interests want a big piece of it.

SUMMARY

What are we talking about?

Private equity (PE) refers to firms that make monetary investments from wealthy individuals, pension funds and university endowments in companies that are not publicly traded.

Cryptocurrencies are a form of digital currency (also called “digital assets”) that allows people to make payments directly to each other through an online system that is not controlled by any one person, organization or nation state.

What happened? 

Donald Trump signed an Executive Order on August 7 that would allow 401k workplace retirement funds totalling $12 trillion to invest in private equity firms and cryptos.

How did this happen?

Private equity corporations and cryptocurrency exchanges and their respective billionaire owners and investors donated massive sums in the 2024 political election - targeting Trump and pro-crypto Congressional candidates.

Why did this happen?

Private equity and cryptocurrencies pushed hard for these changes, to be sure, to increase their profits, but in the case of cryptos, to gain credibility. 

What can we do about it?.

If you have a 401k, communicate to your employer that you don’t want a nickel of your hard earned retirement fund invested in risky, opaque and expensive ventures.

Support enacting  HJR54, the We the People Amendment.

The We the People Amendment is the most fundamental and comprehensive solution to the deep, systemic crises we’re facing—not just the corrupting influence of money in politics, but the entire framework of corporate rule that has hijacked our democracy.

Right now, every front of justice is under assault: climate collapse, immigration, endless war, healthcare, workers' rights. And while those fires need to be fought—we also need to step back and name the arsonist.

Corporations, armed with constitutional rights they were never meant to have, are behind the curtain of every major injustice. 

Labor is the only organized group that has consistently stood for worker's rights over corporate rule. Scores of economic, social and political justices have been championed by individual workers and organized working people who are members of labor unions -- sometimes working alone and other times in coalition with other organizations representing those who have been historically oppressed.