Greetings and Happy Saturday! Please scroll down for our weekly list of top and most urgent actions, including petitions on providing back pay for government contractors affected by the shutdown, urging Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase to cut ties with private prisons fueling the immigration crisis, and celebrating the importance of paid family and medical leave. Your voice is powerful, and we need your help to make as much noise as possible around these urgent campaigns.

And be sure to scroll to the end for an exciting photo of our Executive Director Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner and Executive Vice President Donna Norton with Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi at the State of the Union Address last Tuesday! 

THANK YOU for all you do, and here's the list! => 

1. TELL CONGRESS: Provide back pay for government contractors!

BACKGROUND: While our nation’s leaders have promised to provide back pay to all federal workers impacted by the shutdown, the same is not true for the thousands of government contractors who are not legally protected by being federal employees. This includes many low-wage contract workers. U.S. Senator Tina Smith (MN) and U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA) have introduced The Fair Compensation for Low-Wage Contractor Employees Act of 2019—which will provide back pay to government contractors, especially low and moderate-wage workers deeply impacted by the shutdown. ADD YOUR NAME to our letter to Congress calling on them to provide back pay to ALL government workers impacted by the #TrumpShutdown—including the thousands of low-wage contractors!

2. On Valentine’s Day Tell Wells & JPMorgan Chase: Break up with private prisons!

BACKGROUND: While professing a desire to respect human rights, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase continue to fund GEO Group and CoreCivic, the biggest operators of private prisons and immigrant detention centers. *Sign this petition to let Jamie Dimon (Chase) and Timothy Sloan (Wells Fargo) know that customers and potential customers are not afraid to align our money with our values. If Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase don’t take action, we will -- by pledging to, and/or encouraging others to, break up with Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase and switch to banks that actually respect our communities instead! #RealMoneyMoves. Sign on to urge the CEOs of Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase to Break Up with Private Prisons, or We'll Break Up With our Banks!

BONUS: Sign up here to deliver a letter to your local bank next week, too! 

3. Tell Congress: Paid Leave is our Jam

BACKGROUND: Like peanut butter and jelly, equal pay and paid leave aren’t fancy concepts, they’re not luxury items - they’re basics that stand alone, but are better together. That’s the message we’re taking to Congress in the next few weeks, and we need your help! Add your name to our letter urging every member of Congress to co-sponsor and support the FAMILY Act - the paid family and medical leave insurance act that will soon be reintroduced in Congress. The FAMILY Act is an insurance program that would provide workers — including those who are self-employed and/or work part-time — with much-needed income while they, or a family member, welcome the arrival of a new baby or deal with a serious health issue. This new, self-sustaining program would be funded through very small, shared costs to employees and employers. Let's make as much noise as possible - add your name now! 

4. Urge Congress: Pass universal background checks! 

BACKGROUND: In November 2018, dozens of candidates ran on gun safety and won, changing the balance of power in Washington, D.C., and promising that gun safety would be a top priority for the 116th Congress. Less than a week after being sworn into office, the new leadership delivered. Congress has just introduced bipartisan legislation to strengthen background checks on all gun sales. It’s now up to us to help push it forward. In the U.S. House of Representatives, five Democrats and five Republicans introduced the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 (H.R. 8) in honor of former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords on the 8th anniversary of the Tucson shooting that left 19 people dead or injured, including Giffords. In the U.S. Senate, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduced the companion legislation, The Background Check Expansion Act. Join us to tell Congress that moms and families want universal background checks NOW to keep our kids and communities safe!

5. Your Story Can Make a Difference in the Fight to Protect our Democracy

BACKGROUND: Parents are the most powerful voices we have to help cut through the political rhetoric and get down to what’s most important for our nation's democracy to thrive. And now is the exact right time to speak out! Everyone in our nation is directly or indirectly affected by our broken political system. Have you or a family member:

• Had problems registering to vote or voting, or found that your registration had been purged without your knowledge?
• Live in a state where partisan gerrymandering has tilted the political system away from the interests of the people?
• Been impacted or disappointed by the lack of progress on certain policy issues due to the influence of big money in politics?
• Have other thoughts about why implementing reforms to protect our democracy is important for your family?

Please share! We will use these stories to educate our leaders and the public about how critical protecting our democracy is at this moment in our nation's history.

INSPIRATION OF THE WEEK!

Our Executive Director Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner and Executive Vice President Donna Norton with Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi right before the State of the Union last Tuesday! MomsRising is honored to have been invited to the State of the Union as Speaker Pelosi's guest!  

Thank you for all you do!