Category Archives: Progressive Activism

Events, Issues, Link-Up, Progressive Activism

June Link-Up: Labor in Politics, Past and Future

At our June Link-Up, sponsored by the local Jobs with Justice chapter and DFMC, join us to meet Hoosier hero Chuck Jones and Chuck Deppert. Many will remember that last year, United Technologies made $5 billion in profits, while also announcing hundreds of layoffs at its Carrier plants in Indiana. As president of United Steelworkers Local 1999, Chuck Jones fought for the jobs of his fellow union members. When Trump and Pence gave millions of dollars in subsidies to Carrier, Chuck Jones pointed out that Trump’s promises to save workers’ jobs did not add up. Trumps promise to save 1100 or more of those jobs turned out to be only 800, of the 1400 jobs slated to be moved. He suspected the then-president-elect was including in his count design and engineering jobs that were never going to leave. Trump responded on Twitter by saying Jones had done a “terrible job” as union president. Sadly, Chuck Jones is being proven right, with over 600 layoffs at Carrier in Indiana coming this year, including many right before Christmas. His local 1999 United Steelworkers Local also made waves by endorsing the presidential candidacy of Senator Bernie Sanders, breaking with much of the labor movement.

Chuck Jones will be joined by Chuck Deppert, former president of the Indiana AFL-CIO, who led the state’s fight against NAFTA in the early 1990s, securing the votes of 8 out of 10 Indiana members of Congress against the disastrous, job-killing agreement.

The two Chucks will provide us with some important insights on taking the Democratic party back to its roots in labor, important given how poorly Democrats fared among the working class both in Indiana and nationwide in last year’s election. Please join us and enjoy a night with Bloomington’s most exciting progressives and lets learn something together.

Let us know you’re coming! Facebook Event Link: Labor In Politics, Past and Present

LOCATION: ***** Runnin Crab, 2038 N. Walnut ******
DATE: 8 June 2017
TIME: 6:00 to 8:00 PM

Runnin Crab is a new restaurant in town serving Cajun Fusion.  While it is mainly seafood, they have vegetable soup and a very good salad bar for vegetarians.  And they serve beer and wine, yahoo yahoo.  Runnin Crab is on the east side of Walnut just south of 24th Street (the bypass).  It is the next restaurant north of La Charreada restaurant.

Share
Events, Issues, Link-Up, Progressive Activism

May Link-Up: Saving Our Public Schools

Cathy Fuentes Rohwer, Chair
Indiana Coalition for Public Education, Monroe County

Cathy will talk about the important place of Public Schools in the history of our society and providing the sense of community.  She will also talk about the impact of vouchers and charter schools on our public schools as well as the demonstrable impact on our society.   Finally, she will also discuss the rationale and nature of the Federal lawsuit ICPE-MC filed against Indiana and Seven Oaks Classical School.  Go to http://www.icpe-monroecounty.org to see the press release and the lawsuit as well as a Q&A sheet.

LOCATION: ***** Runnin Crab, 2038 N. Walnut  ******
DATE:         11 May 2017
TIME:          6:00 to 8:00 PM
Runnin Crab is a new restaurant in town serving Cajun Fusion.  While it is mainly seafood, they have vegetable soup and a very good salad bar for vegetarians.  And they serve beer and wine, yahoo yahoo.  Runnin Crab is on the east side of Walnut just south of 24th Street (the bypass).  It is the next restaurant north of La Charreada restaurant.

Share
Events, Gerrymandering, Issues, Progressive Activism

Gerrymandering, The Movie

Julia Vaughn, Common Cause, talked to us two months ago about both the importance and the difficulty of getting the legislature to pass a law establishing an independent redistricting panel. Join us in watching this 75 minute documentary that hammers home just why politicians – those in the majority — want to control the drawing of legislative districts. It is a 4 star movie described as:

“Right now, across the country, our two major political parties are gearing up for a once-a-decade war whose winner will control Congress for the next ten years, and possibly more. There will be battles in every state, and each will be kept carefully hidden from the prying eyes of average voters who only become more disenchanted with their government with each meaningless election. Democrats and Republicans collude to keep these skirmishes private so that they can maintain total control over the ultimate political weapon: the ability to directly determine the outcome of elections. Why bother stuffing ballots when they can just draw districts? For the first time, GERRYMANDERING exposes the most effective form of manipulating elections short of outright fraud.

We will have cookies and water to sustain you for the hour — as well as good fellowship and discussion.
See you there

Gerrymandering, the movie
DATE:         4 May 2017
TIME:          7:00 PM
Location:    Library (Kirkwood), Room 1B
Sponsors:  Democracy for Monroe County, Reverse Citizens United, and League of Women Voters Bloomington and Monroe County

Share
Events, Fundraiser, Progressive Activism, Spring

DFMC: Having Fun, Raising Funds…The Concert Experience


Please join Democracy for Monroe County at the Players Pub on Sunday, April 30th for a concert fundraiser! Doors open at 3, and the first band will start at 3:30. There is a $10 cover and we will have a silent auction during the show to raise money for DFMC. This money will help us continue to hold our educational linkups, host special events, and promote progressive policies and the candidates that support them. Recent events have included a discussion and book signing with Thomas Frank and linkups on independent redistricting, the Bloomington Food Policy Council, and the Affordable Care Act.

The musical lineup is:

Wonderhills, 3:30-4:15, acoustic folk
Franknfuker, 4:30-5, electric glam rock
Thee Aquaholics, 5:15-6, instrumental surf rock

Share
Candidates, Events, Issues, Media, Progressive Activism

DFMC’s own Tom Duffy Speaks to Trey Hollingsworth

Notes from the Trenches
Tom Duffy, Chair DFMC

Cindy and I went to protest Trey last night and it was a very interesting experience. We started holding the signs a little after 5:00. By 5:45 we had about 75 people all with signs and a megaphone or two to lead chants. And we had a photographer and reporter from the H-T as well as WTIU. People attending the fund raiser started arriving around 5:30. Most acted as if we did not exist – but there were some good natured waves. I kept asking people if they would come and talk with us since Trey won’t meet. No takers.

About 6:00 Cindy and I went into the fundraiser with Mike Molenda and Janet Stavropoulos. We owe a HUGE thank you to Katherine Devich for offering tickets to attend. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Overall there were about a dozen dems at the affair – most of whom had been outside protesting. Before going on to the details of the affair, I would like to thank William Ellis, the chair of the Monroe County Republican Party and the MC for the event. He was gracious and friendly in welcoming us and, as Trey was distracted as he visited tables, William made sure Trey made his way back to our table.

I did have a brief conversation with Trey, but before that let me provide a few notes on what was said at the affair:

• Luke Messer is running for Joe Donnelly’s seat in the
Senate.

• Donald Trump Jr is going to be at their State meeting
(apparently this is hot off the press)

• Trey told us that he really wants to hear from the people. He
hesitated on voting for Trump care because he wanted to
read it, think about it, and ask citizens what they thought.

• Trey also told us that he really wants to know what his
constituents think so every week they make 300 to 500
random phone calls to constituents to learn what is on their
(our) minds. That is a large number of calls – so those of you
were there let me know if I got it wrong – but that is what
at least two of us heard. If they are randomly selected
constituents, I would expect some of us got one of those
calls????

In talking to someone in the drink line we were asking how Trey won the primary. I was told that he did little meeting with people but rather flooded the district with mail, phone calls, and push-pull polls. But he spent very little time with people. Remember this is just the opinion of one person I was talking to.

Trey visited all the tables before he talked. When he came to our table I told him I was chair of DFMC and told him about William Ellis (chair, MCRP) and Robert Hall (Grass Roots Conservatives) coming to one of our meetings and receiving a spontaneous round of applause. And that most importantly we found common ground on redistricting and money in politics. I told Trey I would like him to be part of a DFMC meeting and have a conversation with us. He said yes, he said “yes” several times – emphasizing that we are all “Americans first.” He had his PR person give me his phone number to find a date. Cindy recorded the conversation just so there is no missing the commitment he made. You can listen to it here.

So, while I suspect this is going to take some persistence, I am hopeful we will be able to host a very interesting meeting.

Share