August is Accountability Month for North Carolina Politicians
Silent majority must not be silent
Results of new, bipartisan national poll (
) out this week shows just how out of touch politicians in Raleigh, NC and Washington, DC are with the voting public they are chosen to represent. Research by The Mellman Group and Ayres, McHenry & Associates reveals that voters, by wide margins, want politicians to focus on creating jobs.
Key findings of the poll, conducted for the Alliance for American Manufacturing, include:
- When given an “either/or” choice, just 29% want Washington to focus on deficit reduction while 67% favor job creation.
- Even among Republican, GOP primary voters, and Tea Party supporters, a majority put jobs over the deficit
- 94% of voters say creating manufacturing jobs is either “one of the most important” things government can do or “very important.”
Now is the time to hold politicians accountable
Throughout the month of August, we are looking at every opportunity to hold members of Congress and the state legislature accountable for being on the wrong side of the American majority. Working with our allies and community partners, we will build our coalition, attend town halls and arrange constituency meetings, picket, protest, and crash party fundraisers, and press for fair media coverage of the jobs crisis, the need to defend our rights as workers, consumers, and voters against the failed ideology of austerity.
In Charlotte, August 2
U.S. Representative Sue Myrick will attend a local job fair at Central Piedmont Community College on August 2, but Myrick’s voting record in Congress shows the only job that concerns her is her own. When it comes to our jobs crisis, Rep. Sue Myrick is part of the problem, and we will be there to let her know it.
What: Picket of Rep. Sue Myrick’s appearance at local job fair
When: Tuesday, August 2, 2011 handbill at 8:00am and picket at 9:00am
Where: Outside Harris Conference Center, 3216 CPCC Harris Campus Dr, Charlotte, NC
Why: Rep. Sue Myrick is trolling for votes from jobless workers she votes against
Who: Action NC, NC State AFL-CIO, and anyone else who is fed up with Rep. Myrick’s cynical, self-interested politics
Park along the CPCC Harris Campus Dr where it dead ends. We'll assemble along the sidewalk by the entrance to the Harris Conference Center parking lot.
Contact Adam Orlovich, our Field Program Coordinator, at 919-833-6678 or [email protected] for more information.
In Durham, August 2
Working people have already been forced to pay since the economic crisis began in 2007--millions have lost their jobs or are underemployed, millions have been foreclosed on and kicked out of their homes, and billions of dollars have already been wiped out of state budgets and funding for education, healthcare, and state jobs. Now, the same banks are demanding even more. Enough is enough!
What: Emergency Demonstration Against Budget Cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, WIC,Veterans Benefits and More
When: Tuesday, August 2 at 7:00 pm
Where: Veterans Administration Medical Center, 508 Fulton Street, Durham, NC
Who: Bail Out the People Movement NC, Action NC, Raleigh Fight Imperialism Stand Together (FIST), Workers World Party Durham, and the NC Public Service Workers Union / UE Local 150
We Demand: Hands off Social Security! Money for jobs & schools, not war! Stop the foreclosures! A job or income is a right!
Contact Dante Strobino, UE150 Field Organizer, at 919-539-2051 or [email protected] for more information.
In Charlotte, August 9
Community ties in the City of Charlotte are only as strong as their weakest link. Now is the time to strengthen those bonds if our great city is to shine in the international media spotlight that will come around the Democratic National Convention next year. Charlotte is at a crossroads, and the people of Charlotte are coming together in the We Are One Charlotte to chart their own course toward shared future prosperity.
What: We Are One Charlotte community forum
When: Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at 6:30 pm
Where: Charlotte East, 5700 Executive Center Drive, Charlotte, NC 28212
Why: Charlotte needs to find a common voice to address the need for jobs and shared prosperity.
Who: AFL-CIO Union Summer, Action NC, Latin American Coalition, Urban League, NAACP, Q-Notes, Women’s Commission, UAW, and IBEW
Contact Stephanie Bibbs, Union Summer Site Coordinator at 980-253-5571 or [email protected] for more information.
In Dunn, August 10
Since entering the Congress, Rep. Renee Ellmers has done nothing to create jobs. Instead, Ellmers has offered her constituents a bevy of ideological nonsense - repealing health reform, undermining Wall Street reform, voting for the Ryan budget to end Medicare as we know it, and now hijacking the normally routine matter of making sure our nation pays its debts to force huge cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and unemployment benefits.
What: Rebuild the Dream picket
When: Wednesday, August 10, 2011 at 11:00 am
Where: Rep. Renee Ellmers District Office, 406 W. Broad Street Dunn, NC
Why: Rep. Ellmers is failing to address the #1 problem for people in the 2nd District - the jobs crisis.
Who: MoveOn.org, Action NC, NC State AFL-CIO
Across the country, people are telling Congress to rebuild the American dream. Learn more about this movement at http://rebuildthedream.com/.