Actions

Members of Congress

  • Sen. Patty Murray
    (202) 224-2621 | Email

  • Sen. Maria Cantwell
    (202) 224-3441 | Email

  • Rep. Suzan DelBene (1st)
    (202) 225-6311 | Email

  • Rep. Kim Schrier (8th)
    (202) 225-7761 | Email

  • Rep. Adam Smith (9th)
    (202) 225-8901 | Email
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    For the Week of April 7, 2025

    🎙️April 7, 2025_Weekly Actions Audio

    🔷 Are you horrified with how this administration is treating our Canadian neighbors with tariffs and overall disrespect? While everything seems to spin out of control at warp speed, one thing we can control is where we spend our money. Choosing to support Canadian business and Canadian-made products means supporting our neighbors and showing them some love. Our friends in Be The Change 509 (Spokane) and Indivisible Bellingham have developed a list of Canadian businesses so that you can send some business their way and let them know that we appreciate them. Support #Elbows Up and Shop Canadian!

    🔷 Have you heard about Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s Resistance Lab trainings? These are in-depth grassroots trainings led by the Representative and thought leaders from across the movement. The first one was attended by hundreds of people in Seattle and the follow up was watched by thousands from across the country – you can watch it HERE. Sign up at her website to join upcoming trainings and learn about how to continue to fight back against the growing authoritarianism.

    🔷 The City of Bellevue has several openings on its boards and commissions. These groups meet regularly to advise the council and engage the public and are an excellent way to be deeply involved in how the city is run. Current openings are on the Environmental Services Commission, Transportation Commission, and the Parks & Community Services Board. Residents interested in shaping Bellevue’s future are encouraged to apply online by 5 pm on Monday, April 14.

    🔷 Save the Date – Sun Apr 27, 3-4:30 pm – Indivisible Eastside Group Meeting on Zoom. New Member Orientation at 2:30. Registration link coming soon.

    📣 Protests and Rallies Resources

    🎉 We are so proud of the thousands and thousands of people who showed up at the hundreds of protests all over the country this weekend, especially the close to 1000 people who attended the Hands Off Rally at Redmond, organized so well by our fantastic new Rally and Protest Group.

    The energy of the crowd was wonderful and the interaction with passing drivers was overwhelmingly positive. Thank you to our great speakers for lifting up the crowd. We appreciated hearing from elected officials Osman Salahuddin (Representative, 48th LD), Patty Kuderer (WA Insurance Commissioner), Suzan DelBene (US Representative WA-1) and Claudia Balducci (King County Councilmember) about how the administration’s policies are already affecting Washington residents and how we need to support our city and state governments who will bear the brunt of the cuts as programs are cut. We are grateful too for the inspiring words of speakers James Webster (Pride Across the Bridge) and veteran Ted B. who fired up the crowd – thank you all!

    Thanks also to the many people who attended protests in other locations across our region. What an inspiring day!

    Don’t forget that protests are ongoing and being added constantly and we are collecting local ones in Eastside and Seattle Protests 2025 for easy access. Please continue to support the hard work of rally organizers.

    Here are your 2 actions and Bright Spots.

    ✊ Action 1 – Support union recognition for agricultural workers in the Yakima Valley

    Workers with the United Farm Workers (UFW) labor union are in a dispute with the owners of a company in Yakima that sells mushrooms to Western Washington grocery stores. They claim that work conditions and practices at the farm are unfair and are trying to unionize and get a fair contract in place. The company, Windmill Farms, was subject to a lawsuit in 2023 by workers for retaliating against employees who were trying to organize. Under their previous owner, Ostrom Farms, they were also sued by then-Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson for discrimination against female and domestic workers and retaliation against workers who asserted their rights. Ostrom denied the allegations but agreed to pay workers $3.4 million in a settlement.

    Despite these efforts, employees say that problems at the farm have continued under the new owner, and the UFW lawsuit against the company has yet to yield results. Last December the UFW asked for a boycott of the company. Last week, on Cesar Chavez Day, they brought their protest west of the Cascades and held a rally outside a Safeway store in Tacoma. The union wants shoppers to stop buying Windmill mushrooms at Safeway supermarkets and other grocery stores. Some of them are labeled with the Windmill brand, while others are sold under generic store brands. Windmill is the Pacific Northwest’s regional supplier of mushrooms, and shoppers can assume that store-brand mushrooms with labels that mention Sunnyside are Windmill mushrooms, according to the UFW.

    Please check the source of the mushrooms that you buy. If in doubt, ask the store, or avoid buying mushrooms altogether if you can’t ascertain whether they come from Windmill Farms. UFC organizers say that Monterey Mushrooms are an alternative to look for in stores — those are produced by unionized workers.

    If you are wondering about the effectiveness of boycotts, this article mentions Target and Costco and sheds some light on how recent boycotts have been working.

    Please do what you can to support our important agricultural workforce in their attempt to bring the company to the table and secure a fair contract by boycotting Windmill Farms mushrooms.

    ✊ Action 2 – Thank Senator Maria Cantwell for standing up to the new tariff policy

    Within a short time of the announcement of the catastrophic tariff policy by this administration, Sen. Cantwell announced a bi–partisan bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) which would require that all new tariffs would expire in 60 days unless they are approved by Congress. When enacting a new tariff, the president would have to notify Congress within 48 hours and include the reasoning behind imposing the tariff. You can watch an interview with her about it HERE. This announcement came the day after four Republicans broke with the GOP and voted with Democrats to revoke new tariffs on Canada, which meant that the measure passed the Senate 51-48.

    The introduction of the tariffs seems to have spurred Senators into action in a way that other measures haven’t. The bar to pass any of these measures is very high, given the make-up and extremism of Congress, but we should thank Sen. Cantwell for taking a stand and perhaps opening up a channel for more Republicans to begin to push back against this disastrous economic policy.

    Please call or email the Senator and thank her for co-sponsoring this bill. We need to see more of our elected officials taking concrete steps to fight back.

    ☎ Sample Script:

    Hello, my name is [NAME] and I am a constituent from [CITY], WA. I would like to thank you for co-sponsoring the Trade Review Act of 2025, to re-assert Congress’ authority over setting and approving trade policy. The tariff policy of this administration will be devastating not only to our state and national economy but to worldwide trade. Please continue to do everything that you can to push back on this dangerous move by the administration.

    Thank you,

    [NAME]

    [IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied]

    ⛅ Bright Spots

    Thank goodness for some good news this week! Amongst other things, let’s celebrate:

    • Senator Corey Booker gave a deeply inspiring marathon speech on the Senate floor.
    • Judge Susan Crawford won victory in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race by double digits.
    • In Florida, while Democrats didn’t flip either of the two deeply red seats, they overperformed by 16 and 23 points respectively.
    • Senator Adam Schiff announced he will place a hold on the nomination of Ed Martin for D.C. U.S. Attorney, which could delay his appointment to the post.
    • New DNC Chair Ken Martin has announced the formation of a People’s Cabinet (similar to a Shadow Cabinet in many other countries), which will “feature subject matter experts on policy, elevating national and local leaders, and community voices on issues impacting working families.”
    • Check out Chop Wood Carry Water for more great actions and Bright Spots.

    Calendar of Events

    Save the Date

    • ​​Thurs May 1, 7-8 pm – IE Open Steering Meeting – Join Indivisible Eastside Steering online, hear what we’re working on, share what you’re working on.
    • Sat May 10, 12-4 pm – Downtown Redmond Station Opening Celebration: Trails 2 Transit. Hosted by Move Redmond, with Sound Transit, Eastrail Partners, Africans on the Eastside, and others. Walk, bike or roll between Redmond light rail station and Redmond Central Connector to celebrate the opening of light rail with vendors, live entertainment, delicious food, and family friendly activities.

    Recorded events to check out:

    … and More:

    More Resources for Your Activism:

    • Indivisible.org has specific actions you can take by zip code or topic area search. Sign up to receive emails from them HERE and donate HERE.
    • 5calls.org 5 Calls list calls to make to your congresspeople, organized by topic, including script and phone numbers, and a way to log/track your 5 Calls actions if you choose.
    • Chop Wood, Carry Water is a daily political activism newsletter that comes out 6 days a week. Free or paid subscriptions HERE.
    • Suzi and Eric LeVine are local activists. Their newsletter gives actions and insight that can inspire and keep you motivated. Subscribe to their newsletter HERE.
    • Mobilize – Actions in the Seattle area – use filters to narrow the type of activity you’re interested in.

    Resources:

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