STATEMENT: Incoming aldermen stand with #RejecttheMegaTIFs Campaign

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 6, 2019

STATEMENT: Incoming progressive aldermen stand with #RejecttheMegaTIFs Campaign

Eight incoming aldermen call on Pat O'Connor to cancel Monday vote on Lincoln Yards TIF giveaway

CHICAGO--With City Council preparing to vote next week on over $2 billion in tax giveaways to Lincoln Yards and the 78, eight incoming aldermen-elect today released a statement calling on Finance Committee Chair Pat O'Connor to cancel the Monday committee vote required to advance the MegaTIFs.

The aldermen-elect releasing the statement today are: Daniel LaSpata (1), Jeanette Taylor (20), Michael D. Rodriguez (22), Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25), Rossana Rodriguez (33), Andre Vasquez (40), Matt Martin (47), and Maria Hadden (49).

"As an incoming bloc of aldermen-elect, we have spent the last year talking to Chicagoans from across the city. The message we've heard on the doors is crystal clear: it's time for a City Council that is fighting for the many, not the wealthiest few.

"This week, Rahm Emanuel and his lame duck allies are trying to push through a set of unpopular and unjust measures: $2.4 billion in taxpayer money for luxury developments at Lincoln Yards and the 78, and converting a south side high school into another cop academy. The money for the megaTIFs should be returned to the public with investments in neighborhood schools, clean drinking water, public libraries, and re-opening mental health clinics. 

"We were elected to serve the working families of Chicago--not luxury real-estate developers and private military contractors. Enough is enough. City Council should say NO to Mayor Emanuel's final efforts to enrich his donors at the expense of poor and working people, and cancel these votes until the new Mayor and City Council take office."

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STATEMENT: Chicago Belongs to the People

STATEMENT: Chicago Voters Reject Emanuel's Legacy and Chart a New Direction for City Council

United Working Families Slate Victories the Culmination of Years of People-Powered Organizing

CHICAGO- Following is the statement of Emma Tai, Executive Director of United Working Families (UWF), on tonight’s UWF victories:

"Chicago belongs to the people. Tonight, voters rejected Rahm Emanuel's legacy of crumbling schools, skyrocketing violence and gentrification, and crushing inequality. Years of work by the women of color at the helm of United Working Families made this sea change possible. We're building a progressive, multi-racial alternative to the Democratic machine. Tonight's victories are the biggest expression yet of our power, and we're just getting started."

Background

United Working Families is an independent political organization that recruits, trains, and elects progressive champions from the ranks of grassroots struggle. In 2015, UWF ran a slate of challengers that ousted machine incumbents on the City Council; the 2018 primary victories of UWF candidates Alma Anaya, Aaron Ortiz, Brandon Johnson, and Delia Ramirez further built a bench of campaigners and organizers of color who were ready for 2019.

This election cycle, UWF was the first citywide organization to endorse Jeanette Taylor in 20 and Rossana Rodriguez in 33 along with February victors Maria Hadden (49) and Mike Rodriguez (22). UWF staff and leadership managed Jeanette, Rossana, and Rafa Yanez's runoff campaigns, knocking on over 500,000 doors and sending over 230,000 texts to voters since September. Our video lifting up the voices of young Black activists from the struggle against police violence reached over 80,000 Chicagoans in the final weekend alone.

UWF CANDIDATES WINNING OR UP (AS OF 8:30 CST)

JEANETTE TAYLOR, 20

BYRON SIGCHO LOPEZ, 25

ROSSANA RODRIGUEZ, 33

ANDRE VASQUEZ, 40

MATT MARTIN, 47

Illinois State Legislative Update

We've got just two weeks until we elect an amazing slate of Chicago leaders who come from the rank and file of our movements. Read more about them here and sign up for our GOTV training here.

At the Illinois State Capitol, legislation is moving quickly and we want you to be a part of supporting some important bills:

Rent Control. UWF is a proud member of the Lift The Ban coalition, which is advancing two bills in the Illinois general assembly. One would lift the statewide ban on rent control and the other would make rent control the law of the land. With more and more working people priced out of housing, we need #RentControlNow. Click here to tell your lawmakers you support bringing rent control to Illinois.

Safe Nurse to Patient Ratios. UWF affiliate Illinois Nurses Association is fighting for the Safe Patient Limits Act, which will ensure that acute care nurses have a workload that they can safely care for and deter hospitals from providing their staff with unsafe patient ratios. Click here to tell your lawmaker you support the Safe Patient Limits Act.

Fight for $15. SB1 will raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2025, and UWF State Representatives Celina Villanueva and Delia Ramirez spoke powerfully in support of the bill--an important reminder of why electing movement candidates matters. Watch Celina's remarks here.

Why we need a new Chicago City Council

Today, over 30 Chicago aldermen voted to put hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars towards luxury real estate developments on the north side and a militarized police force on the west side.

These are the same public officials who have,implicitly or explicitly, supported Mayor Rahm Emanuel's repeated claims that there was no money in Chicago to keep Black schools open, provide child care to thousands of working families, or invest in public jobs and mental health services to reduce violence.

Read our full statement on Lincoln Yards and No Cop Academy here.

Today's mobilization was led by Black and Latinx youth activists from No Cop Academy. They are leading the way. ➡️ Click here to support their work.

In 2019, UWF endorsed three incumbents who today stood up to Rahm Emanuel and voted against the Wall Street financiers, luxury real estate developers, and military contractors who are driving working-class people of color out of our city: Sue Sadlowski Garza, Carlos Ramirez Rosa, and John Arena.

In April, we will grow their ranks with candidates like Rossana Rodriguez, Jeanette Taylor, Byron Sigcho Lopez, and Rafa Yanez, who showed up at City Hall today to show  their support.

But we need your help! Register today for our first-ever Get Out the Vote member training, where you'll learn how to make the most of GOTV weekend and schedule your volunteer shift to help elect our slate.

The scene today at City Hall--hundreds of Black and Latinx activists locked out of council chambers so that Rahm Emanuel and his rubber-stamp aldermen could do the bidding of the corporate elites who want to remake our city--shows more than ever why we need to wrest governing power from their hands, and return it to the people. That's what we're here to do.

We will remember the names of those who voted yes today, and we will be back in 2023.

Announcing our runoff endorsements!

I'm so proud to announce that the United Working Families Party Committee has made two additional endorsements for the April 2 runoff election: Byron Sigcho-Lopez for 25th Ward Alderman and Andre Vasquez for 40th Ward Alderman.

Byron Sigcho-Lopez is a founding member of UWF affiliate 25th Ward Independent Political Organization and the former director of Pilsen Alliance, where he has led Black and Latinx coalitions in fights against school closings and gentrification. Andre Vasquez, a lifelong Chicagoan and the son of immigrants, is challenging a 35-year incumbent who was part of the racist white voting bloc on City Council that fought Harold Washington, Chicago's first Black mayor.

Byron and Andre join the UWF slate of progressive challengers who are ready to fight for a Chicago #ForTheMany, not the wealthiest few:

• Rafael Yañez (15th Ward), a southwest side community leader who has provided violence prevention services to thousands of young people and a vocal opponent of the proposed police academy.

• Jeanette Taylor (20th Ward), who led the month-long hunger strike to save Dyett high school and who was recruited to run by the organizers fighting for a Community Benefits Agreement for the Obama Center coming to Woodlawn.

• Rossana Rodríguez (33rd Ward), an arts educator and affordable housing activist who was recruited to run by UWF affiliate 33rd Ward Working Families, which formed after the 2015 elections.

• Matt Martin (47th Ward), a civil rights attorney who worked on police reform and fought against Trump’s immigration policies at the Attorney General's office.

Our member organizing and fundraising committees are busy mobilizing to make sure our slate has the people power they need to win on April 2. Join us! Sign up to volunteeror make a donation here.

STATEMENT: We're fighting #ForTheMany, and we are winning.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 26, 2019

STATEMENT: Tonight’s Results will Remake Chicago, City Hall for Generations

CHICAGO- Following is the statement of Emma Tai, Executive Director of United Working Families (UWF), on tonight’s UWF victories:

“Today, voters came out in force for the United Working Families slate of progressive activists running to win a Chicago for the many, and not just the wealthiest few. With 80% of precincts reporting, seven out of eight early-endorsed UWF candidates won or advanced to a runoff tonight.

“From Maria Hadden, the queer Black activist who defeated Rahm Emanuel lackey Joe Moore in Rogers Park, to Jeanette B. Taylor, the Dyett hunger striker who just ended a corrupt party boss's career, tonight’s results are a rejection of Chicago politics as usual.

“These victories were years in the making, and will remake Chicago for years to come. They were seeded by the risks we took in 2015, when UWF forced the most powerful mayor in the country into a runoff and challenged entrenched incumbents across the city. And they were powered by the independent political organizations that grew out of those efforts—organizations like 33rd Ward Working Families, the UWF affiliate that forced the Mell family dynasty into a runoff tonight.

“The most powerful Democratic fundraiser in the country, Rahm Emanuel, will not be mayor again. The Cook County gang database has been shut down. Candidates are rejecting campaign contributions from luxury real-estate developers and calling for free child care and college for all. 2020 Presidential hopefuls, take note: we are remaking the political landscape of our city and country. We are fighting for a city and a country for the many—not the wealthiest few. And we are winning.”

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United Working Families is an independent political organization by and for the 99%. UWF affiliate members include: Action Now, Chicago Teachers Union, Cook County College Teachers Union, Grassroots Illinois Action, SEIU Healthcare Illinois Indiana, Warehouse Workers Organizing Committee, People United for Action, Workers United CMRJB, 22nd Ward IPO, 25th Ward IPO, and 33rd Ward Working Families.

As of this writing, UWF candidates who were positioned to win and/or make the runoff are as follows.

Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza, 10th Ward (victory)

Rafael Yanez, 15th Ward (runoff)

Jeanette B. Taylor, 20th Ward (runoff)

Michael D. Rodriguez, 22nd Ward (victory)

Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, 33rd Ward (runoff)

Ald. Carlos Ramirez Rosa, 35th Ward (victory)

Matt Martin, 47th Ward (runoff)

Maria Hadden, 49th Ward (victory)

Watch the video of our early-endorsed slate here.

Guest Post from Alma Anaya and Brandon Johnson: We just shut down the gang database.

This week, Cook County became the first county in the nation to shut down its gang database--a tool that has long been used to criminalize low-income communities of color.

Working with bold organizations like Organized Communities Against Deportation (OCAD) and the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council from the Erase the Database campaign, we led the charge to not only take the database offline but to set up guidelines for the destruction of its contents. Cook County will be first county in the country to hold public hearings on the long-term impact of the database: how people were placed on it, how law enforcement used it, and how to ensure that Cook County data is not used by other agencies in the future.

As part of the United Working Families Elected Official Chapter, we'll be sharing our experiences with our sisters and brothers on City Council and in the state legislature to advance a united front in the fight against policies that starve Black and Latinx communities of the opportunity to thrive.

Please join us in sharing the press coverage of this victory on Facebook and Twitter, and in thanking the fierce organizations whose leadership made this possible:

Action Now, AFSC Chicago, Arab American Action Network, Asian Americans Advancing Justice Chicago, Autonomous Tenants Union, Black Lives Matter: Chicago, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, Chicago Community and Workers' Rights, Chicago Community Bond Fund, Chicago Teachers Union, Enlace Chicago, Grassroots Collaborative, HANA Center, Health & Medicine Policy Research Group, ICIRR, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, Latino Union of Chicago, National Immigrant Justice Center, OCAD, PASO, SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Indiana, and SOUL.

In Solidarity,

Cook County Commissioner Alma Anaya (Chief Sponsor, Cook County Ordinance #19-0687)

Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson

Commissioner Alma Anaya speaking at a press conference to #ErasetheDatabase. Commissioner Anaya introduced the ordinance to stop the gang database in her first month in office. Picture from the Chicago Sun-Times.

P.S. As elected officials who come from the rank-and-file of organizations like OCAD and the Chicago Teachers Union, we're committed to building the bench of candidates, campaigners, and organizers who come from social movements. Join us! Consider making a $10, $25, or $50 donation to sponsor a UWF Movement Leader Fellow in the 2019 elections.

Guest Post from Emma Tai: Honoring Dr. King

"Human progress 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." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This week, I had a conversation with a UWF member named Anna Green. Anna is a member of SEIU Healthcare and an early childhood educator at a child care center on the north side of Chicago. She has been working as an early childhood educator for over twenty years, but still makes just $12 an hour.

Anna told me that she planned to volunteer for Jeanette Taylor in the 20th ward. Jeanette went on a 34-day hunger strike to save her neighborhood high school, and now Anna is using her hard-earned vacation days to volunteer for a candidate who knows and understands our struggle.

Dr. King taught us that every step towards the goal of justice requires sacrifice. Jeanette and Anna are inspiring examples of that tireless exertion and passionate concern. Can you join us? Read more about our thirteen Movement Leaders running for Chicago City Council, and then sign up to knock doors, make phone calls, or raise money for them.

Thanks for everything you do. Look forward to seeing you in the streets soon.

UWF Elected Officials Chapter holds housing briefing with community organizers

Today, the new UWF Elected Official Chapter held its first-ever issue briefing on housing!

Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, Cook County Commissioner Alma Anaya, State Representative Delia Ramirez, State Representative Aaron Ortiz, and State Representative Celina Villanueva met with organizers and activists from:

• Chicago Housing Initiative

• ONE Northside

• Access Living

• Just Housing Initiative

• Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance

• Logan Square Neighborhood Association

• Pilsen Alliance

• Lift The Ban Coalition

• SEIU Healthcare IL & IN

• Chicago Teachers Union

• Chicago Coalition for the Homeless

Along with researchers Janet Smith of the UIC Voorhees Center and Stephanie Farmer of Roosevelt University, we held a powerful and historic conversation on how we win #HousingForAll through policy changes and political leadership at the city, county, and state level.

Guest Post from Stacy Davis Gates: Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from all of us at United Working Families!

We had a powerful 2018, and 2019 is already underway in exciting and transformative ways. Here are some of the highlights of last year's work to win the political power we need to govern in unapologetically redistributive ways.

• We are winning. In the March 2018 primary elections, we elected a slate of Black and Latinx candidates from the rank and file of our movements: Brandon Johnson, Delia Ramirez, Alma Anaya, and Aaron Ortiz. These victories were a direct result of our efforts to build and win on a set of aspirational politics as far back as 2014.

• We are growing. We continue to add new affiliated organizations and at-large delegates to our Party Committee! We saw this growth firsthand at our largest-ever convention, in September.

• We are building. This year, we launched two programs that have deepened and broadened our bench of organizers, candidates, and campaigners of color: the Movement Leader Fellowship and the Black Worker Organizing Institute. The new class of fellows have been placed on campaigns for the Chicago city elections, where they are learning important organizing and fundraising skills.

• We are fighting. We staked out bold positions on the issues that matter most, whether it was sending elected officials to the US-Mexico border to protest family separation or organizing an 800-person mayoral forum on Black displacement in Chicago.

It’s been a powerful year for us—and it’s made possible only by the support of members like you. If you're looking forward to winning, growing, building, and fighting with us in 2019, please consider making a one-time donation of $25 or $50 today.

United Working Families is an Illinois-based, independent political organization by and for the many, not the few. Our members--Action Now, Chicago Teachers Union, Cook County College Teachers Union, Grassroots Illinois Action, SEIU Healthcare Illinois Indiana, People United for Action, Warehouse Workers Organizing Committee, United Electrical Workers Western Region, Illinois Nurses Association, 22nd Ward IPO, 25th Ward IPO, and 33rd Ward Working Families--represent over 100,000 people across Illinois.

Highlights from last year, clockwise from top left: Movement Leader Camp, SEIU HCII President Greg Kelley speaking at our mayoral forum on Black Displacement, newly elected officials Alma Anaya and Delia Ramirez with Alderman Carlos Ramirez Rosa at the US boarder, members of the Black Worker Organizing Institute, canvassing for Brandon Johnson for Cook County Commissioner.

RELEASE: United Working Families 2019 Second-Round Endorsements

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 2, 2019

United Working Families Announces Second Round of 2019 Endorsements

Progressive Candidates Ready to Win a Chicago for the Many, not the Few

CHICAGO - United Working Families (UWF), an independent political organization formed by progressive labor and community organizations, today announced five additional endorsements for City Council.

“We forced Rahm Emanuel into early retirement. Now, we’re building a City Hall that will fight back against those who have profited from from skyrocketing violence, displacement, and unemployment,” said Emma Tai, executive director of UWF. “Black and Latinx working families bore the brunt of Emanuel’s racist, pro-corporate economic agenda. Now is the time to win a different future.”

The five candidates who received the UWF endorsement this week are:

• 9th Ward – Cleopatra Watson, a south side community organizer, youth advocate, and UWF Movement Leader Fellow from the 2018 primary elections.

• 14th Ward – Tanya Patiño, a daughter of Mexican immigrants and longtime youth mentor who is challenging besieged machine incumbent Ed Burke.

• 37th Ward – Tara Stamps, a Chicago Public Schools teacher, activist with the Chicago Teachers Union, and No Cop Academy supporter.

• 45th Ward – Ald. John Arena, a leader in the fight for a $15-per-hour minimum wage, earned sick leave, and fair scheduling for Chicago families.

•  47th Ward – Matt Martin, a civil rights attorney who worked on police reform and fought against Trump’s immigration policies at the Attorney General's office.

These five endorsed candidates join UWF’s early-endorsed slate—Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza (10), Rafael Yañez (15), Jeanette Taylor (20), Michael D. Rodríguez (22), Rossana Rodríguez Sanchez (33), Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35), Erika Wozniak Francis, and Maria Hadden (49)—in fighting to win a city for the many, not the wealthy few. Watch the video on the UWF early endorsements here: bit.ly/UWF2019

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United Working Families is an independent political organization by and for the 99%. UWF affiliate members include: Action Now, Chicago Teachers Union, Cook County College Teachers Union, Grassroots Illinois Action, SEIU Healthcare Illinois Indiana, Warehouse Workers Organizing Committee, Workers United CMRJB, United Electrical Workers Western Region, Illinois Nurses Association, People United for Action, 22nd Ward IPO, 25th Ward IPO, and 33rd Ward Working Families.

UWF Policy School

Today we held our first-ever Policy School for endorsed candidates, featuring presentations by:

• Action Center on Race and the Economy

• Cook County College Teachers Union

• Grassroots Illinois Action

• Organized Communities Against Deportations and Mijente

• Roosevelt University faculty

Presenters covered topics like the city budget, affordable housing, pensions, and the gang database. Would you be interested in coming to another Policy School for all members? Let us know in the comments!

Policy School attendees included candidates Mike Rodriguez, Jeanette Taylor, Rafa Yanez, and Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez.

Saqib Bhatti of Action Center on Race and the Economy.

STATEMENT: Garry McCarthy is not invited to our Mayoral forum, and not welcome in Chicago.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

STATEMENT: Garry McCarthy is not invited to our Mayoral forum, and not welcome in Chicago.

CHICAGO- Following is the statement of Emma Tai, Executive Director of United Working Families (UWF), on the decision to not invite former Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy to tonight's mayoral forum on Black displacement despite the cries of his paid protestors: 

"Based on polling done by Change Research and a vote by our membership, we invited Toni Preckwinkle, Susana Mendoza, Amara Enyia, Paul Vallas, and Lori Lightfoot to tonight's forum. We have limited participation to five candidates in order to encourage a substantive and meaningful conversation on the defining issue of the 2019 elections--whether Chicago will be a city where working-class communities of color can thrive.

”Garry McCarthy is not invited to this forum in the strongest possible terms. We refuse to give air time to the man who covered up the police murder of LaQuan McDonald.

”From covering up the murder of an innocent Black teenager to doctoring crime statistics to accepting campaign contributions from Trump supporters, McCarthy has repeatedly demonstrated his callous disregard for Black and Latinx people.

”Garry McCarthy is a national disgrace. He is unwelcome at our forum, and unwelcome in Chicago."

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United Working Families is an independent political organization by and for the 99%. UWF affiliate members include: Action Now, Chicago Teachers Union, Cook County College Teachers Union, Grassroots Illinois Action, SEIU Healthcare Illinois Indiana, Warehouse Workers Organizing Committee, People United for Action, Workers United CMRJB, 22nd Ward IPO, 25th Ward IPO, and 33rd Ward Working Families, United Electrical Workers Western Region, and Illinois Nurses Association.

TONIGHT: Mayoral forum with Preckwinkle, Mendoza, others on African-American Displacement

Leading Mayoral Candidates to Speak on Staggering Black Displacement from Chicago

New poll shows Preckwinkle and Mendoza tied for lead; both will attend tonight's forum hosted by progressive labor and community organizations
 

WHAT:           A new poll from Change Research finds Toni Preckwinkle and Susana Mendoza tied for the lead in the Chicago mayoral race. Both candidates are confirmed to attend tonight's mayoral forum on Black displacement alongside Amara Enyia, Lori Lightfoot, and Paul Vallas.

Progressive community and labor organizations will tonight host a mayoral forum focused directly on how disinvestment is pushing hundreds of thousands of African-Americans out of Chicago and squeezing working-class Latinx and white communities even tighter.

To encourage meaningful debate and responses on this critical issue, only five candidates were invited. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza tied for the lead in a poll of likely voters conducted by Change Research for United Working Families between November 7-9, 2018. Amara Enyia and Lori Lightfoot led in the grassroots activist vote conducted by text between November 10-13, 2018. Paul Vallas placed fourth in the grassroots activist vote behind Troy LaRaviere, who has since withdrawn from the race.

WHO:             Confirmed: Toni Preckwinkle, Susana Mendoza, Amara Enyia, Lori Lightfoot, Paul Vallas

Moderator: Evan Moore (Chicago Sun-Times)

Sponsoring Organizations: Action Now, ATU Local 308, Chicago Teachers Union, Cook County College Teachers Union, Grassroots Illinois Action, National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 11, SEIU Healthcare Illinois Indiana, UE Western Region, United Working Families. 

WHERE:         Chicago Teachers Union, 1901 W Carroll

WHEN:           Monday, November 19

                        6:00-8:30 pm

Attending tomorrow's forum? Here's what you need to know.

All five invited candidates are confirmed to attend.

Toni Preckwinkle, Susana Mendoza, Amara Enyia, Lori Lightfoot, and Paul Vallas will be there on Monday. We have limited participation to five candidates in order to have a more meaningful and substantive debate. Candidates were invited based on viability (determined by polling) and enthusiasm (determined by a vote by text of members and activists).

There will be a free bus leaving from and returning to the south side.

Where: National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 11 - 3850 S. Wabash Ave, Chicago

When: Meet at 5 p.m. You do not need to RSVP for the bus. Seats are first come, first served.

The forum will be moderated by Evan Moore of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Read Evan's powerful recent piece on policing and public safety here.

Audience members will be able to submit questions.

Questions may be submitted to all candidates or to one candidate in particular. Time is limited and we won't be able to get to all questions, but organizers will prioritize questions that cover a range of topics related to African-American displacement.

Child care and Spanish-language interpretation will be available.

Doors open at 5:45 pm.

A message from our ED: The work ahead.

If the past two years in Trump’s America have taught us anything, it’s that the corporate elite and political ruling class won't save working people and people of color from violent white supremacists. In fact, they often collude with them to pass tax cuts for the rich and slash public spending on schools and healthcare.

Nowhere was this clearer than Chicago and Illinois, where both Governor Bruce Rauner and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel repeatedly chose to enrich the wealthy few on the backs of poor and working class people of color. During their tenure, thousands of young Black and brown people were shot and killed. Domestic violence shelters, health clinics, and home child care providers were forced to turn away the women who came to them in need. Predominantly Black schools and colleges were closed, upending the lives of students and teachers alike.

The elections of 2018 and 2019 were and will be a critical opportunity to fight back. But on their own, they're also insufficient.

That’s why United Working Families is building a new generation of Black and Latinx candidates, campaigners, and organizers who are winning governing power for the movement. We focus on what lasts after the consultants leave town: The organizing conversations that win large numbers of people to the idea that political change is possible and collective action is necessary. The training and development programs that reduce our reliance on paid operatives. The bold, populist, bright line demands that direct working class anger up, not down—things like universal child care, a jobs guarantee, and housing as a human right.

Yes! I'm ready to chip in $15, $25, or $50 today to fund the work ahead.

We congratulate the UWF members and endorsed candidates who won their elections on Tuesday. To name just a few: Brandon Johnson, the Black teacher and union organizer who will now govern the second-largest county in the US; Delia Ramirez, the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants who will continue fighting gentrification from the statehouse; Aaron Ammons, the formerly incarcerated community activist who will work to expand the franchise as Champaign County Clerk.

Our victories were seeded by the work we did together in the 2015 city elections and powered by the independent political organizations that grew out of those efforts. Our impact will be measured by our ability to govern for the many and not the few. Beginning next month, our UWF Elected Official Chapter—made up of endorsed and elected UWF members—meets to build and strategize together across the three legislative bodies they represent.

If you're feeling inspired and ready to fight for what we need and deserve, I hope you'll consider making a donation today. We'll never have as much money as our opponents, but we have the power of the people--and that's more than enough to win.

In Solidarity,

Emma

Join the 2019 Class of Movement Leader Fellows!

Last winter, we had an amazing class of Movement Leader Fellows, who learned the ropes of campaigning through training and hands-on experience. Today, four of them are running for office, two are helping run campaigns, and two have joined the UWF Party Committee.

We're relaunching this fellowship just in time for the 2019 elections and applications are now open! This year, we're running two tracks - one for organizers who want to build lasting power in their community and one for grassroots fundraising.

Applications are due Friday, November 17th and the fellowship starts Saturday, December 1st.

Apply today!

Our responsibility

Few are guilty, but all are responsible.

- Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Civil Rights leader and Holocaust survivor

In these frightening and sorrowful times, Rabbi Heschel's words remind me of my own responsibility to lead with love, courage, and solidarity.

The Republican Party targets journalists, welcomes neo-Nazis, and promotes the sale of the guns used to slaughter schoolchildren. Democrats rightfully condemn these appalling and hateful tactics, but still willingly accept campaign contributions from the same billionaires who fund the GOP.

The truth is that the corporate elite and political ruling class won't save us from violent white supremacists. We must save ourselves, by struggling together for a vision of the world that is wholly different from the one we're in now. Here are some ways you can help:

1. Donate. You can give directly to the families of those killed and injured last week in Pittsburgh and Kentucky, or to HIAS, the humanitarian organization vilified by the Pittsburgh shooter. More information here.

2. Organize. The November 6 election is an important opportunity to reject the politicians who parrot Donald Trump's racist rhetoric. This weekend, we're knocking doors for Abdelnasser Rashid as he faces Trumpian dog-whistle attacks from his opponent for Cook County Board. Abdelnasser is the son of Palestinian immigrants and a powerful leader for immigrants, refugees, and working families. RSVP here and help us spread the word on Facebook.

As the words of Rabbi Heschel remind us, we all have a responsibility to fight hate and to do the work of building a better world. I hope you'll join us.

In love and solidarity,

Emma Tai

Executive Director, United Working Families

STATEMENT: Van Dyke verdict just the tip of the iceberg.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UNITED WORKING FAMILIES STATEMENT:

Van Dyke verdict is just the tip of the iceberg

CHICAGO- Following is the statement of Emma Tai, Executive Director of United Working Families (UWF), on today’s conviction of Jason Van Dyke for the second degree murder and aggravated battery of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald:

“Today’s verdict is just the tip of the iceberg. From the day he was born to the night he was killed, Laquan McDonald was set up for tragedy by the architects of Chicago’s rigged and racist economy.

“Laquan grew up in a Chicago neighborhood where nearly half of all young black men are out of school and out of work. Without sufficient funding for counselors and special education aides, the public education system resorted to suspensions and expulsions that pushed him out of school and onto the streets.

“These conditions are not inevitable. They are the result of conscious decisions by the political ruling class to systematically starve Black people of the public services and infrastructure we all need to live safe and healthy lives.

“Jason Van Dyke murdered Laquan McDonald, and the jury was right to convict him of murder and aggravated battery today. But only wholesale political change--including voting out the City Council members who colluded with Mayor Rahm Emanuel to cover up the shooting--will change the tragic conditions that resulted in his death."

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United Working Families is an independent political organization by and for the 99%. UWF affiliate members include: Action Now, Chicago Teachers Union, Cook County College Teachers Union, Grassroots Illinois Action, SEIU Healthcare Illinois Indiana, Warehouse Workers Organizing Committee, United Electrical Workers Western Region, Illinois Nurses Association, People United for Action, Workers United CMRJB, 22nd Ward IPO, 25th Ward IPO, and 33rd Ward Working Families.

Join UWF in supporting the #ChicagoHotelStrike!

United Working Families proudly supports the 6,000 hotel workers who have been on strike since September 7. Join us! Let us know how you can support and we'll follow up with more information.