Family Farm Alliance. Monthly Briefing. June 2020

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June 2020 "Monthly Briefing" Now Available Western Water Infrastructure Bills Move in Congress  Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) hold a news conference to discuss the House Democrats' new infrastructure bill, "The Moving Forward Act". Photo courtesy of Drew Angerer/Getty Images Several legislative vehicles are emerging to carry a series of Western water infrastructure bills introduced in the 116th Congress, including a $1.5 trillion infrastructure and stimulus bill that will be debated on the floor of the House of Representative before the July 4 recess.  Click here to read more about these matters and other issues of importance to Western irrigated agriculture:    ·       Interior Transfers Two Utah Irrigation Projects Out of Federal Ownership ·       Reclamation Launches WaterSMART Efficiency Grant Funding Opportunity ·       Trump Administration Takes New Steps to Curb Wildfire Risks ·       Federal Government COVID Response Remains a Top Priority ·       Supreme Court Declines Review in “Takings Case” ·       Job Security? Consider Working in the Clean Water Act Litigation Industry       Please email dan@familyfarmalliance.org if you have problems downloading the “Monthly Briefing”.

A Source to Receive Reallocation\Defunding: Hip Hop Architecture (Global) as Design Justices Winners. Congratulations. June 2020

I also would like to thank everyone who participated in the competition! We received over 100 submissions from across the globe and here are the Top 10 Winners. 

Each of the Top 3 winners will join The Hip Hop Architect (@TheHipHopArchitect) for an Instagram Live discussion on Monday, followed by discussions throughout the week with the Top 10 winners. 

Please tune in and follow @HipHopArchitecture on Instagram for your first glimpse of the winning entries. 

$500

William Reynolds (1st place)

$300

Douglas Balder (2nd place tie)

Nick Gamero (2nd place tie)

$200

Kelsey Jensen (3rd place tie)

Omar Aboulezz (3rd place tie )

Submissions Part of Top Ten, in no particular order:

Austin Couch

Coleman Jordan

Hala Barakat

Judy Sanchez

Uthra Verghese 

Karrisa B

Zachery Terry

Thank you,

Michael Ford 

Meatpacking Workers Safety Still A Priority. June 2020

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LULAC Says Meatpacking Workers Safety Still A Priority Nation’s Oldest and Largest Latino Civil Rights Organization Continues to Seek Progress Through Direct Dialogue with Companies Washington, DC - The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) today announced that it has seen progress in working environments for the nation’s meatpacking workers amid COVID-19 and intends to continue seeking constructive engagement with food producers as the path forward. “LULAC is not giving up its right to speak out on many important issues facing our community,” says Domingo Garcia, National President. “However, our single focus here and now is worker safety for the tens of thousands of Latinos who are still going into meatpacking plants every day. To get that, we are meeting with the CEO’s of these companies and going into the plants to see for ourselves the changes they’re making to fight the coronavirus. The virus is the enemy,” he added. LULAC is presenting food producers with a five-point set of principles for progress that includes: monthly testing of all workers for COVID-19, complete personal protection equipment, line speed to labor adjustment, compensation for infected workers undergoing care and assistance to families who have lost loved ones to coronavirus. So far, LULAC has met with JBS in Greeley Colorado and Tyson Foods in Springdale, Arkansas. Both have made significant strides. Discussions are also underway with Cargill in Minnetonka, Minnesota to begin a similar review. “There is still more that can and must be done which we will achieve by working together with companies that are making necessary changes and we can’t get sidetracked by other agendas that distract us from worker safety,” says Garcia. “Ultimately, we need new legislation and federal funding to assist meat producers and workers in making vital design and operational changes that benefit our nation’s food supply plants and workers. It’s an ambitious goal but in the end, America will be a better nourished nation for it and equally important, the workers will have a safer work place. LULAC will continue to monitor all progress and continue to dialogue with workers” he added. # # # About LULAC The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 1,000 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC’s programs, services and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit www.LULAC.org.

Water and Adaptation to Climate Change. June 2020

Water and Adaptation to Climate Change
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COVID-19 in prisons. June 2020

The Copenhagen Centre for Disaster Research and the School of Global Health at the University of Copenhagen are pleased to invite you to an online discussion on the impact of COVID-19 in prisons and on people living in prisons.

The CONVERGE Working Group on Prisons and Prisoners in COVID-19 aims to assess the impacts of COVID-19 in prisons and explore associated responses from governments, prison administrations, people in prison and associated stakeholders. Documenting and understanding the diversity and scope of such impacts and initiatives in different cultural, economic and political settings, and within the scope of existing disaster risk reduction, public health and detention policies, is essential to meaningfully inform approaches to improve the health and wellbeing of prisoners and ultimately uphold their human rights.

The online event will present preliminary themes emerging from an ongoing working group study with a particular focus on Peru, Russia and the United States of America.

Speakers

• JC Gaillard, Professor, The University of Auckland
• Ksenia Chmutina, Senior Lecturer, Loughborough University
• Loic Le De, Senior Lecturer, Auckland University of Technology
• Stacie Merken, Assistant Professor, Indiana University South Bend
• Carlee Purdam, Research Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University

Moderator: Emmanuel Raju, Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen

Register and join the webinar on Zoom here.

Virtual Conferencing Platform Security. June 2020

Vol. 15 / Issue 6 / June 2020 With the recent move for many to working from home, there are a lot of questions around virtual conferencing platforms. Much of the attention has focused on the security of some platforms compared to others. However, the majority of the security issues actually have a lot to do with the users' familiarity with these platforms and their proper usage.. continue reading →

Suicide Hangings, Botched Investigations. From CDC Physician staffer in Georgia, Suicide Hangings in California, Missing Soldiers In Texas. Why?

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LULAC Questions Why Fort Hood Investigators “Didn’t Care” About Missing Latino Soldier Found Dead This Week Nation’s Oldest and Largest Latino Civil Rights Organization Says Claims of Inaction In Disappearance of Private Gregory Wedel-Morales Are Similar to Those of Vanessa Guillen’s Case Washington, DC - The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) said Thursday that claims by the family of a Latino soldier whose remains were found Sunday ten months after he disappeared are the same as charges raised by the mother of Vanessa Guillen and demonstrate a pattern of indifference by Army officials. “Private Morales was just two weeks away from completing six years of service in the Army yet Fort Hood investigators ignored his family’s pleas for help for months and classified him as a deserter instead of doing their job. His brother said military investigators didn’t care.” stated Domingo Garcia, National President. “It doesn’t make sense that a young man who was just days away from getting an honorable discharge and his military benefits would all of a sudden just disappear without a trace. Yet, that’s exact;y what the Army used as the excuse to do nothing for months, the same as they did in Vanessa’s case,” he added. Morales’ remains were found Sunday night in a wooded field less than five miles from the base. Investigators received a tip after a reward of up to $25,000 was offered for any information leading to his whereabouts. An autopsy has been ordered into what caused Morales’ death and military officials now say the soldier was a victim of foul play. On Monday, Army investigators for the first time acknowledged foul play was also behind the disappearance of Pvt. Vanessa Guillen, more than two months after her family reported her missing and asked for the Army to help them locate her. “LULAC is demanding that the Army at the highest levels make Vanessa’s case a priority and stop making excuses for their inaction the past two months,” says Analuisa Carrillo-Tapia, Director of Texas LULAC District 17. “We’re not going to allow what happened in soldier Morales’ case to happen here. Vanessa deserves to be found and the person or persons responsible need to be arrested before they do this to someone else. LULAC is going to stay on this case no matter what until we get results. Then, we want a Congressional hearing into what is going on at Fort Hood and other Army installations where female soldiers have told us they too are being sexually harassed, just like Vanessa reported just before she went missing,” said Tapia. # # # About LULAC The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 1,000 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC’s programs, services and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit www.LULAC.org.

Ford Foundation. "... hopelessness and cynicism that undermines our shared ideals and institutions ..." June 2020

LATEST NEWS | JUNE 25, 2020 View this email in your browser

Nina Westervelt for The New York Times I have lived on both sides of American inequality. I began life in the bottom 1 percent but found my way to the top. And I know, all too personally, that the distance between the two never has been greater. Even before the coronavirus, before the lockdowns, and before the murder of George Floyd—during the longest sustained economic expansion in American history—income inequality in America had reached staggering levels. This contributes to a ", pits us against one another, and drives communities further apart. That’s why I am worried about our democracy, deeply and for the first time in my life. I still believe in the American idea and in the values to which we have always aspired. If we are to keep the American dream alive, our democratic values flourishing, and our market system strong, then we must redesign and rebuild the engine that drives them. The old playbook—giving back through philanthropy as a way of ameliorating the effects of inequality—cannot heal what ails our nation. Instead, those of us with power and privilege must grapple with a more profound question: What are we willing to give up? I pose this question in my new op-ed in The New York Times, but I invite all of you to become part of this conversation, to ask yourselves how you contribute to the problem, and consider what you are willing to give up to move us closer to a world of equality and justice. Join the conversation

Workers on the Move: Addressing Global Workforce Challenges Through Labor Mobility Partnerships. June 2020

Workers on the Move: Addressing Global Workforce Challenges Through Labor Mobility Partnerships

Friday, June 26, 11:30 am-12:30 pm Eastern Time Watch online at https://www.cgdev.org/event/workers-move-addressing-global-workforce-challenges-through-labor-mobility-partnerships PRESENTERS Lant Pritchett, Co-founder, Labor Mobility Partnerships Rebekah Smith, Co-founder, Labor Mobility Partnerships PANELISTS Gonzalo Fanjul, Co-founder and Head of Research, PorCausa Ratna Omidvar, Independent Senator for Ontario, Senate of Canada Julia Onslow-Cole, Global Government Strategies and Compliance Partner, Fragomen MODERATOR Michael Clemens, Director of Migration, Displacement, and Humanitarian Policy and Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development ABOUT THE EVENT Between 2050 and 2080, OECD countries will need at least 400 million new workers to maintain current pension and health schemes, resulting from a shrinking working-age population and a growing elderly population. Meanwhile, working-age populations in developing countries are growing faster than job creation, meaning large numbers will need to find jobs elsewhere. This creates an opportunity; workers who find jobs in richer countries can expect to increase their income by 6 to 15 times, making mobility a powerful tool for alleviating poverty. However, the question looms of how labor market needs of this scale can be met. The current migrant population in OECD countries is at 119 million – far short of the estimated 400+ million needed in the not-distant future. All stakeholders would benefit from a system through which actors cooperate to better facilitate labor mobility, but face risks and constraints from cooperation which prevent this. In this event, we will discuss these constraints to coordinated action on labor mobility, and how external support could help address these constraints. In response to existing gaps in this support, we will discuss the design of a new organization, Labor Mobility Partnerships (LaMP) which will work with governments, the private sector and employers, ‘mobility industry,’ financiers, and civil society to increase rights-respecting labor mobility, ensuring workers can access employment opportunities abroad.  If you have questions for our panelists, please submit them to events@cgdev.org, tweet @CGDev #CGDTalks, or submit your comments via YouTube. Register This event will be streamed live. Register above to receive a reminder about the webcast before the event. The video will stream and remain available at https://www.cgdev.org/event/workers-move-addressing-global-workforce-challenges-through-labor-mobility-partnerships. Close-captioned-enabled video will be posted following the conclusion of the event. Share this event #CGDTalks

Family Disaster Plan. June 2020

https://www.redcross.org/content/dam/redcross/atg/PDF_s/Preparedness___Disaster_Recovery/General_Preparedness___Recovery/Home/ARC_Family_Disaster_Plan_Template_r083012.pdf

American Red Cross Family Disaster Plan

You and your members and staff are encouraged to start developing a family disaster plan. Using the link above, download and fill out the attached template from the American Red Cross to develop the plan of action and to identify responsibilities for each household member. Once the plan is developed, family members should practice as many elements as possible to ensure readiness when severe weather hits.  You can also use the Red Cross Emergency App to keep your family safe during severe weather and other emergencies.  The apps can be found at: https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/mobile-apps.html

Please share this information with your network and post as appropriate.

Thank you,

________________________________________________________________

Earl R. Brown | National Partner Relations & Agreements| National Disaster Partnerships

How To Move From Non-Racist to Anti-Racist. June 2020

If corporations want to move beyond lip service on diversity initiatives, they need to make real and tangible commitments to anti-racism. Here's how.

How To Move From Non-Racist to Anti-Racist by Alexandria Love As a result of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other black Americans at the hands of white supremacists and law enforcement, America is experiencing a revolution. The resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement into the mainstream has started a conversation in which we can deconstruct many of the systems that oppress black Americans. White Americans are facing their privilege, talking about ways they have benefited from black suffering, and expressing hope that things will change. But, as my father often says, "Hope and a buck twenty-five'll get you a candy bar." The conversation about racial oppression and white privilege is the first step in a long journey to create a world that works for all. The next step is to make sure that those conversations are honest. Read more >>>

Farmers Still Need Relief. June 2020

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Small Businesses and Farmers Still Need Relief

As small business owners and their employees across the country continue to struggle with COVID-19 recovery, the need for flexibility and certainty is greater than ever. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jeff Merkley (D-ORE), and Chris Murphy (D-CONN) have introduced the Rebuilding Main Street Act, allowing employers to share payroll costs with the federal government and receive grants to help cover other fixed costs for safe reopening. The American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) is urging the House to pass this bill immediately so that small businesses can have the means required to effectively respond to the crisis. SUPPORT THE REBUILDING MAIN STREET AND THE SMALL FARMERS ACTS! Additionally, to address disruptions caused by the pandemic in the food supply chain between farms and food banks, ASBC strongly recommends passage of the Small Farmers Act, legislation introduced by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). This is a critical step to ensure the well-deserved debt relief for the farmers who continue to feed us and bolster our local economies during the current pandemic, and must be included in the next federal COVID relief package. Please help ASBC advocate for the Small Farmers Act to preserve integrity in America’s food supply. SUPPORT THE REBUILDING MAIN STREET AND THE SMALL FARMERS ACTS!