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Welcome to
the e-Voices MONDAY MINUTE, your weekly email newsletter from New
Mexico Voices for Children. Please take a minute to add your voice
to the pressing issues of the day. Also, tell us what issues you'd like
to know more about so we can tailor the MONDAY MINUTE to your interests.
Thanks! September 11, 2006 As we observe the fifth anniversary of the terror attacks of 9/11, many of us have wondered how much, if any, progress we’ve made in the war on terror. It’s a complex question that deserves much scrutiny, but we found a succinct, if rather simple, answer courtesy of the Center for American Progress.
The Center’s report, “Five Years After Sept. 11: Metrics of Failure,” takes a unique approach to some of the central issues of homeland security. Six of the nine pages are dedicated to graphs that illustrate the flaws of our current course. Particularly telling is the graph that shows how the 2006 national security budget is divided (hint: we spend 1% on diplomacy, 9% on homeland security and 68% on defense and intelligence). It’s a quick and informative read.
Read the report here: http://images1.americanprogress.org/il80web20037/cap/metrics_of_failure.pdf
Where Do They Stand?
The impending election begs the question: where do your congressional representatives stand on the issues that are important to you?
The folks at Project Vote Smart asked every candidate in the November election, from the national- to state-level offices, to fill out their National Political Awareness Test (NPAT). Unfortunately, not one of our congressional incumbents took the time to do so. Most of their challengers, however, did.
Click on the link below to see what the candidates have to say about a whole host of issues, then follow the links to email those who did not take the NPAT and urge them to do so: http://www.vote-smart.org/election_congress_state.php?criteria=NM
A Labor of Love There was a time in this country when laborers could be forced to work long hours, often in unsafe conditions. They had few rights and even fewer opportunities to redress grievances. Those days gave birth to the labor unions, which came to represent the backbone of the American workforce during the 20th century. By winning rights for workers, labor unions supported working families.
In recent years, however, the strength of labor unions has eroded and membership has dropped. Workers are turning less and less to collective bargaining while the corporate world has become greedier and more profitable.
Starting up a union takes a lot of legwork and employers can significantly delay the process in an effort to squelch the movement entirely. To make union formation easier, Congress is considering the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which would, among other things, require employers to recognize a union after a majority of workers sign cards expressing their support for union representation.
Because unions support families, we support this bill.
What You Can Do:
Race Matters Task Force
Please join us on Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 2pm, to continue work on the policy recommendations that resulted from the Race Matters conference. Visit http://www.nmvoices.org/racematters.htm for more information and to register.
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