Posted on August 3, 2021
Poll results: How is President Biden doing so far?
Trump is gone, and Biden’s in. But how’s Joe been doing as President since Inauguration Day?
We recently polled our members on how they think Joe Biden has handled his first six months in office so far, along with other hot button issues of the day, like the pandemic, voting rights and climate change — and the results weren’t even close.
More than 10,000 people answered our poll questions — making it one of our most popular surveys ever!
Check out our new blog post with all of the results to see how your responses matched up with other CREDO members.
First, we asked members the big question: Do you approve of President Biden’s job as president so far?
The results weren’t even close: More than 85% of respondents approve of Biden’s job performance, with nearly 65% strongly approving. Interestingly, the strongest job approval came from those who are age 50 and older and those who identify as “liberal” or “moderate.”
Next, we wanted to gauge whether or not President Biden’s job performance exceeded or fell short of their expectations.
More than half of all respondents said that Biden has exceeded their expectations as President, with almost one-fifth saying it’s “much higher.”
When it comes to President Biden’s handling of the pandemic, nearly 90% of respondents approve, with over two-thirds who “strongly approve.” It is notable that this survey has been receiving responses since the highly transmissible Delta variant has taken hold in the United States and cases have risen across the country, suggesting that respondents continue to find his handling of the pandemic favorably.
Next, we asked whether our members agree with President Biden on the important issues facing our country. More than 85% of respondents agree with Biden on All or Many issues, with only around 7% disagreeing with almost all, and nearly half agreeing with “All, or nearly all.”
Finally, we wanted to know which single issue President Biden should spend more of his time working on. More than 42% of respondents believe Biden should focus more on “Voting rights and democracy” while another 28% want him to focus more on climate change, which was the most popular choice among young people.
Neither of these overwhelmingly popular choices are surprising: Republicans in state legislatures across the country are passing sweeping voter suppression laws that will only be fixed by bold reforms in Washington, which are currently stalled in Congress (and could use more pressure from the President). Likewise, the climate crisis is visibly getting worse by the day, and federal action, including by the executive branch, is critical to slowing this pending disaster.
If you or your loved ones want to join the movement to expand voting and civil rights and fund climate justice — just by changing your mobile phone service — consider joining CREDO Mobile. We’ve donated millions to progressive organizations that are working to stop voter suppression and protect our right to vote as well as groups fighting the climate crisis and holding Big Oil companies accountable. Visit CREDOMobile.com to learn more and see which phones and mobile plans are right for you.
Posted on August 2, 2021
Our July grantees thank you for your support
Each month, CREDO members vote on how we distribute funding to three incredible nonprofits. Those small actions add up – with one click, you can help fund groups working for voting rights, economic justice and civil rights. In July, over CREDO members voted to distribute our monthly donation to Brennan Center for Justice, The Fairness Project and National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum.
These donations are made possible by CREDO customers and the revenue they generate by using our services. The distribution depends entirely on the votes of CREDO members like you. And for that, our July grant recipients thank you.
Brennan Center for Justice
$58,719
“Thank you CREDO members for your support of the Brennan Center for Justice! We are deeply grateful for your partnership in the fight for democracy and justice reform, and for ensuring that every voice – and every vote – counts.” – Michael Waldman, President, Brennan Center for Justice
To learn more, visit https://brennancenter.org.
The Fairness Project
$50,796
“Thank you for partnering with The Fairness Project. Your support will go directly toward promoting equity in America and helping families across the country strengthen their economic security and live better and healthier lives.” – Jonathan Schleifer, Executive Director, The Fairness Project
To learn more, visit thefairnessproject.org.
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum
$40,486
“Thank you for supporting us! You are supporting NAPAWF in building the collective power of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women and girls to create a world where AAPI women and girls can thrive.” – Sung Yeon Choimorrow, Executive Director, NAPAWF
To learn more, visit https://www.napawf.org/.
Now check out the three groups we are funding in August, and cast your vote to help distribute our donations.
CREDO members who use our products are the reason why we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile, the carrier with a conscience.
Posted on July 28, 2021
7 ways to conserve energy and save money this summer
It’s hot out — and with climate change upon us, it’s bound to get even hotter.
This summer’s surge in heat may also mean big and unexpected surges to your monthly energy bills. According to Energy Star, heating and cooling accounts for half of a home’s yearly energy bill — nearly $900!
Luckily, there are some ways to keep cool this summer while saving money and protecting the planet. Here are a couple easy tips and tricks to try right now.
Adjust your thermostat
- Keep the temperature in your home to a level that is warm but comfortable and provides some humidity control, but not so cold that you use excessive energy.
- Increase the temperature when you leave so that you’re not using extra energy to cool your home when no one is there.
- Consider purchasing a programmable or smart thermostat, which can help keep your home comfortable and adjust the temperature at night or when you leave. For models that are connected to WiFi, you can even adjust the temperature from your smartphone away from home.
- The U.S. Dept. of Energy suggests consumers can save up to 10% a year on their energy bills by turning your thermostat back 7° to 10°F for 8 hours a day from its normal setting.
Install window coverings
- The sun can really heat up a room so consider shutting your curtains or blinds to keep out the heat during the day or installing window coverings to keep heat at bay.
- Here’s some great energy saving information about choosing the right energy efficient window attachments.
Use a ceiling fan
- Traditional air conditioning uses a lot of power. Ceiling fans are more energy efficient. Running AC can cost 43 cents an hour compared to 1 cent an hour to run a ceiling fan.
- However, fans don’t lower air temperature; they merely run moving air across your skin to make you feel cooler, helping to evaporate sweat.
- Make sure to turn off the fan when you leave the room to save more energy.
Weatherize
- If you’re a homeowner, consider improving the weatherization of your home to keep heat out and the cool in, by insulating your attic or crawl spaces, and sealing around your doors, windows, outlets and switches, and other areas that may be prone to outside weather.
- Schedule a home energy audit with a professional.
Turn down your hot water heater
- According to the Dept. of Energy, heating water accounts for roughly 12% of your home’s energy bill.
- If your hot water heater is set too high, you may be wasting “$36 to $61 annually in standby heat losses and more than $400 in demand losses.”
- By reducing your hot water heater’s temperature from 140 degrees to 120 degrees, you could save anywhere from 2% to 22% in your energy bill annually.
Install energy efficient lighting
- The average household spends around 11% of its annual energy bill on lighting.
- If you’re still primarily using inefficient incandescent lighting, consider purchasing LED lights and/or fixtures. These lights may have a slightly higher upfront cost, but they are more efficient and last much longer.
- By upgrading your home’s lighting, you could save between 50% to 75% on your household’s lighting energy use.
Bonus tip: Join CREDO Energy
- Consider joining CREDO Energy, our amazing energy program in partnership with Energy Rewards to enable you to power your home with 100 percent renewable wind energy while powering the progressive causes you care about.
- Learn more at CREDO Energy, check availability in your area and sign up to be notified when it’s coming to your state.
Posted on July 26, 2021
7 Shocking Climate Change Facts from 2021 (and what you can do to help)
We won’t mince words: We are in a climate emergency. Our planet is experiencing more frequent and intense wildfires, rising sea temperatures, melting sea ice, ocean acidification, habitat loss, drought, extreme flooding and natural disasters.
Just this year, we’ve seen extreme climate-related disasters and record-breaking temperatures that we could have never thought possible just a few years ago.
Today, we wanted to share a few of these shocking climate facts from 2021 — and offer a few ways you can help combat climate change, because we have a real opportunity to act now to help slow this crisis, before it’s too late.
Extreme heat could become the new normal
No matter where you live, it’s hot outside, and it sure feels hotter than it has in years past. Experts believe these heat waves will essentially become a “new normal” and a fact of life in the coming years and decades.
Here are just a few headlines from this year:
- AP: Heat wave grips US West amid fear of a new, hotter normal
- Yahoo: “The climate scientists have said this is coming.” Extreme heat new normal as 110-degree temperatures blanket region
- Washington Post: Climate change has gotten deadly. It will get worse.
- CBS News: NOAA’s “new normal” climate report is anything but normal
- MSNBC: Extreme Weather Is ‘New Normal’ Thanks To Decades Of Climate Inaction
While these headlines may sound alarmist, some climate scientists believe the heat waves of today will become the normal summer temperatures in just a few years, making this summer actually feel cool.
Pacific Northwest US: Record temperatures higher than Florida or Texas
During the so-called “heat dome” that settled over parts of the Pacific Northwest, blanketing Oregon, Washington and parts of western Canada in extreme heat, temperatures hit once-in-a-millenium record highs.
For example, Seattle hit a steamy 108 degrees F, nearly 10 degrees hotter than the all-time record in Tampa, Florida. In Portland, Oregon, the recent 116 degree heat dome record was 3 degrees higher than the hottest Dallas, Texas has ever been.
How could this have happened? According to experts, “An exceptional weather pattern and climate change have cooked up a heat wave unmatched in regional intensity.”
Canada: Small British Columbia town hits record 121 degrees
Western Canada wasn’t spared from the worst of June’s heat dome. In the small village of Lytton, roughly 60 miles northeast of Vancouver, the temperature hit a scorching 121 degrees.
According to the Washington Post, this heat record — which left scientists speechless — is hotter than any recorded temperature in Europe, South America, or in the contiguous 48 US states outside the Desert Southwest, and the highest temperature observed above 45 degrees latitude.
Arctic sea ice hits record low for July
Earlier this July, existing Arctic sea ice fell to a record low for this time of year, since satellite records have been kept starting in 1979. New studies found “sea ice in coastal areas may be thinning at up to twice the pace previously thought,” that “Arctic ice may be in worse trouble than thought,” and that climate change is playing a role in the record melt.
Germany & Belgium: More than 150 missing, 200 killed from climate-induced flooding
Parts of western Germany and Belgium were left in ruins earlier this month when massive rain and flooding destroyed entire villages and left others looking like a “battlefield.” At least 180 in Germany were killed, and another 31 in Belgium. With upcoming elections in Germany, climate change will become a front-and-center issue in the campaign season.
Largest US wildfire in 2021 has burned 400,000+ acres already
Experts continue to warn that wildfires, especially on the West Coast and also across the country, will continue to worsen as climate change progresses. The Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon is no exception. It has burned over 400,000 acres, and as of this writing, the fire is less than 50% contained. Warm weather and dry conditions are making things difficult for fire crews to get the wildfire under control.
Across the United States, wildfires have burned roughly 1.5 million acres this year so far.
China: One year’s worth of rain in 72 hours
As of July 26, nearly 70 people have been reported killed due to flooding and extreme weather-related events in Zhengzhou, China and central Henan province after one year’s worth of rain fell during a 72-hour period. The massive rain and flooding opened sinkholes in the ground, forced people to abandon their cars, and left people trapped in their flooded homes and in subway and highway tunnels.
While one isolated weather event can’t necessarily be attributed to climate change, this event reflects a “global trend of extreme weather” across the planet.
How you can help combat climate change
We’ll be honest, these statistics can seem pretty frightening, but experts believe we still have time to slow these devastating effects before it’s too late. Here are some ways you can help:
- For starters, get involved with the work of our climate justice partners and grantees, including Sunrise Movement, 350.org, League of Conservation Voters, Earthjustice, and InsideClimate News. You can see our full list of climate partners at CREDODonations.com.
- If you’re not already a member, consider joining CREDO Mobile. Just by using our mobile service, you will help us fund climate justice philanthropy to all of our amazing climate grantees. Since 1985, we’ve donated more than $19 million to organizations fighting for climate justice and the environment.
- Join CREDO Energy, which gives you simple, straightforward access to 100% clean electricity for your home. By joining, you will help us donate each month to the progressive organizations you care about and make sustainable change possible. Check availability in your area and join today!
Posted on July 21, 2021
AT&T donates to Texas Republicans as they push racially motivated voter suppression bills
Just when you thought AT&T’s support of right-wing causes couldn’t get any more inexcusable, it got even worse.
As Texas Republicans try to ram through legislation to restrict voting, a stunning new analysis by government watchdog Accountable.US found that AT&T’s corporate PAC gave a $100,000 donation to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s reelection campaign on June 22 — days after the governor vetoed funding for the legislature to punish brave lawmakers who shutdown a vote on racially motivated voter suppression bills.
This massive donation comes after AT&T’s CEO said earlier this year that he “believed the right to vote is sacred” but “election laws are…ultimately the responsibility of elected officials.”
In this case, however, AT&T has made clear which side they’re on — and it’s not on the side of defending our fundamental right to vote.
The analysis by Accountable.US also found that AT&T gave multiple donations to Texas state lawmakers after they publicly supported or voted for these racist voter suppression bills in the state legislature, which have been billed as “largest step back since Jim Crow” and “the worst anti-voting bills in the country.”
Some of the donations to Republican Texas lawmakers include:
- $20,000 to Texas State Sen. Kelly Hancock
- $5,000 to Texas State Sen. Robert Lee Nichols
- $5,000 to Texas State Rep. Phil King
- $2,500 to Texas State Rep. Trent Ashby
These donations are in addition to the contributions AT&T has made to state lawmakers behind some of the worst voter suppression bills in the country. As we previously highlighted, AT&T tops the list of corporate voter suppression contributors, giving $811,000 to state lawmakers supporting these bills, and, as of March of this year, AT&T donated $574,500 to the backers of Texas voter suppression bills since 2018.
As Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US, put it, “Money talks, and as states like Texas actively attempt to suppress the freedom to vote, corporations need to pick a side and fight back against racist attacks on our democracy. Unfortunately, it appears AT&T is more invested in being on the wrong side of history.”
Here at CREDO, we’ve picked our side of history in the fight to protect voting rights — ever since we were founded more than 35 years ago. While AT&T claims publicly to support voting rights, then uses their revenue to donate to politicians preventing people of color from casting ballots, we’re funding progressive organizations who are working to make it easier to vote.
In fact, since 1985, our members who use our products and services every day have helped us donate over $10 million to voting rights groups like Black Voters Matter, Fair Fight Action, Vote.org and the Brennan Center for Justice (a July grantee you can vote for right now).
If you or your loved ones are considering making the switch from AT&T, join the only carrier empowering climate justice, economic justice, civil rights and voting rights by connecting our members to great mobile service to make this world a better place. Visit CREDOMobile.com to learn more.
Posted on July 14, 2021
Start using two-factor authentication right now to protect yourself from hackers
Here at CREDO, protecting your privacy is a core value of our company. Your personal data isn’t for sale, and we work to protect your data from government intrusion.
But your personal data is at risk in other ways. Hackers and scammers are always looking for new ways to access email, social media, bank and investment accounts and other sensitive data. In fact, reports of hacking rose substantially during the pandemic — up to 4,000 cyber attacks per day! — and last year, the Federal Trade Commission received 1.4 million reports of identity theft, twice as many as 2019.
One of the best ways to secure your most important accounts is by turning on two-factor authentication. It’s one extra, yet quick and easy step to ensure your accounts remain a little bit safer amidst the skyrocketing number of hacking attempts. Here’s how to set it up.
We should begin by emphasizing that while two-factor authentication is one of the best ways to secure your accounts, it’s not the only step you should take to protect your data from intrusion.
In addition to keeping your computer, phone and other devices updated with the latest patches and system software, it’s extremely important to pick unique and complex passwords for your important accounts, like your primary email account, financial accounts, social media, data storage and the like.
You should also consider using a password manager to securely store and retrieve your passwords. We’ve written a detailed blog post on how to get started with password managers.
We’ve also previously written a tip on how to protect yourself from common online and phone scams that may be worth checking out, too.
What is two-factor authentication?
Also known as two-step verification or multi-factor authentication, two-factor authentication is a way of accessing your accounts using two separate steps to verify your identity. The first step is the one you’re most familiar with: A username and password combination. The second step requires a separate identifier, like your phone, an app, a physical key, or even a biometric, like a fingerprint.
For example, to log into your email account with two-factor authentication turned on, you would first log in with your username and password. Then, depending on the method you’ve chosen, you may receive a text message, a pin number sent a secondary email account, or be required to enter a pin from a special app on your phone. Having this second step makes it much harder for hackers to access your personal information.
How to two-factor your accounts
Today, many common online services, like Google, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, as well as most financial institutions, have the option to turn on two-factor authentication. It’s possible that some of your online accounts, including accounts associated with your workplace or school, require it. It’s a good idea, if the service has the option, to turn it on. Using two-factor is usually a very quick and simple extra step, and many times, the app or website will remember the device you logged in from, so you will only have to perform the two-factor once per device login.
In terms of two-factor methods, a code sent by text or SMS message is the most common, but probably the least secure, since the messages are unlikely to be encrypted. Some services allow you to receive a code to your primary email address on file. Authenticator apps, which are more secure, are apps that you install on your smartphone and pair with your service by scanning a QR code (see our tip on scanning QR codes), that provide you with a disappearing pin number to use to verify your identity. Here’s more about authenticator apps and a list of the most popular ones.
One quick note: The drawback to using two factor authentication is that you must be in possession of your secondary method of verification, whether that’s your phone, tablet, app, or email address. If your account or service allows you to use a backup method to authenticate your identity (say, text message and email), turn more than one method on just in case you lose access to your primary devices.
How to turn on two-factor authentication for popular accounts and services
Here’s a quick reference guide with links to instructions for some common accounts and services so you can begin turning on two-factor authentication right now and protecting your accounts from hackers and other criminal activity. In addition to the services below, make sure to check with your financial institutions on turning on two-factor authentication for these important accounts, too.
- Amazon: Two-Step Verification (2SV) Settings (you may need to log in to change these settings)
- AOL: Add two-step verification for extra security
- Apple: Two-factor authentication for Apple ID
- Facebook: What is two-factor authentication and how does it work on Facebook?
- Google: Protect your account with 2-Step Verification
- Instagram: What’s two-factor authentication and how does it work on Instagram?
- Microsoft: How to use two-step verification with your Microsoft account
- Twitter: How to use two-factor authentication
- Yahoo: Add two-step verification for extra security
Posted on July 13, 2021
Breaking Through At The Ballot Box with The Fairness Project
When politicians fail, The Fairness Project helps grassroots organizations run ballot initiatives to support working families. In just five years, we have raised wages, expanded health care, and brought paid leave to over 17.7 million people.
Since 2016, The Fairness Project has broken new ground and won Medicaid expansion at the ballot box in red and purple states when politicians have refused to act. Our work to expand Medicaid in Maine, Utah, Idaho and Nebraska paved the way for us to deliver health care to an additional 430,000 people in Missouri and Oklahoma last summer.
The Fairness Project ー along with local state partners, hundreds of Oklahoman advocates, and volunteers ー worked tirelessly to pass Question 802, an initiative to expand Medicaid. We collected a historic number of signatures to certify the ballot language and on June 30, 2020, Oklahomans voted to deliver health care to 200,000 of their community members, help keep rural hospitals open and bring tax dollars back into the state from Washington, D.C. Along with the expanded health care, the state is expected to gain over $1 billion annually in federal dollars and create over 20,000 new jobs. 
After helping to lock in this victory, we’re thrilled that on June 1, 2021, Oklahomans were finally able to begin enrolling in Medicaid to access the life-saving care that they voted for. Oklahoma voters put Medicaid expansion on the ballot and demanded change. On July 1, 2021, benefits went into effect for over 125,000 people who’ve qualified so far.
Now, we’re working to expand Medicaid in South Dakota so that nearly 50,000 parents, farmers, and retirees can access life-saving care. Our nonpartisan coalition to expand Medicaid is one of the broadest coalitions to ever launch a ballot measure in South Dakota because it’s common sense — thousands of hardworking, low-income communities should not have to go without necessary health care coverage.
By going directly to voters with our campaigns, we’ve been able to change millions of lives — but we’re just getting started. Funding from CREDO will help empower voters through ballot initiatives to win progressive policy change for economic, racial, and gender justice by raising wages, expanding Medicaid, guaranteeing paid sick leave, curbing predatory lending, and more.
Posted on July 12, 2021
For 25 years, the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum fights for AAPI women and girls
Founded in 1996, the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum builds power with Asian Americans and Pacific Islander women and girls to influence critical decisions that affect our lives, our families and our communities. Using a reproductive justice framework, the organization elevates AAPI women and girls to impact policy and drive systemic change in the United States.
This year, NAPAWF is celebrating its 25th anniversary, which speaks volumes to the two and a half decades of sustained work fighting for AAPI women to be seen and heard, but at the same time, we’re seeing one of the most significant surges in harassment and violence against AAPI communities in 25 years.
Yet, NAPAWF continues to fight the specific, intersectional challenges AAPI women and girls face: the sexual violence, sexism, and racism that are intertwined for AAPI women.
NAPAWF has been front and center as hatred and violence against AAPI women has risen. Here’s some of the critical work they’ve accomplished recently:
- The organization has been in the media, making clear that the horrific Atlanta spa shootings were not an isolated incident, but an extreme manifestation of the racist, sexist violence that AAPI women experience regularly.
- They’ve collected and shared research demonstrating with data what the group has been saying for years: that AAPI women and girls are too often not seen and heard for the human beings we are, but are rather stereotyped, fetishized, and portrayed as the perpetual foreigner.
- NAPAWF has been working toward a more just future, where AAPI women are not just free from the threat of violence but truly liberated and living full, autonomous lives.
- And they’ve been busy with several partner organizations setting an agenda for their movement and laying out for officials the top priorities for AAPI women.
Last month, NAPAWF celebrated the reintroduction in both houses of Congress of the HEAL for Immigrant Families Act, which addresses economic security and healthcare access, two of the issues cited most frequently by those polled by NAPAWF. NAPAWF members nationwide have been mobilizing their communities and engaging their representatives on this bill, which would remedy economic injustice and inequities in healthcare access for immigrants.
This month, you can vote to help CREDO distribute a portion of our monthly grant to NAPAWF and help them further invest in the AAPI women leaders of tomorrow. Visit CREDODonations.com this July to cast your vote.
Posted on July 12, 2021
CREDO + Consumer Power = Victories for People and the Planet!
In December 2020, CREDO members voted to donate $60,183 to Green America to advance our mission to create a more socially just and environmentally sustainable society – and advance our mission we have! Since receiving the award, we have leveraged consumer power to achieve major victories in ending child labor, increasing corporations’ use of renewable energy, and popularizing regenerative agriculture though Climate Victory Gardening.
Like CREDO members, Green America recognizes that human wellbeing and ecological health are deeply intertwined. In our nearly 40 years as the nation’s leading green economy organization, Green America has observed that the same corporations that have subpar environmental regulations are often lagging in their labor and human rights policies as well.
This correlation is especially evident in the chocolate industry, where large companies profit off cocoa while West African cocoa farmers live off less than one dollar per day amidst rampant deforestation. Pressure from Green America and international allies is getting chocolate companies to take action. In the Chocolate Scorecard Green America compiled with our allies for the End Child Labor in Cocoa campaign, it is clear which major chocolate companies are improving the social and environmental impacts of their supply chains – and that the leading small chocolate companies are way ahead of their larger counterparts!
Green America believes in a world where our favorite sweet treats do not rely on exploitation or deforestation – and our audience is making this world possible. Thanks to pressure from nearly 40,000 individuals who took Green America’s latest End Child Labor in Cocoa action, Godiva issued a public policy on responsible cocoa in spring 2021. With this new policy, Godiva committed to taking steps to scale child labor monitoring, limiting deforestation in its supply chain, and more. CREDO members can help encourage additional progress by signing Green America’s new petition urging ten major chocolate brands to put an end to child labor and deforestation in their supply chains.
Since receiving our generous donation from CREDO, we have leveraged pressure from tens of thousands of consumers to persuade Amazon to commit to powering 100% of its operations using renewable energy by 2025. This new commitment, which is five years earlier than the company’s initial target transition date, encompasses Amazon’s corporate offices, fulfillment centers, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers. Though Green America continues to push Amazon to improve treatment of warehouse workers and garment workers in its supply chain, we are also celebrating the company’s acceleration of its clean energy goals as more corporate renewable energy purchasing translates to increases in our country’s overall renewable energy capacity.
CREDO’s donation is not only supporting Green America’s digital actions, but also our on-the-ground efforts to counter climate change. A portion of CREDO’s award was used to support the growth of our nonprofit’s Climate Victory Gardens campaign, which is enlisting thousands of Americans to use regenerative gardening practices (such as composting, not disturbing the soil, and eliminating the use of pesticides) in their own communities. This month, Green America reached 9,306 registered Climate Victory Gardens! Using estimates from Project Drawdown, these gardens have the potential to collectively sequester 4,557 tons of carbon each year – the equivalent of eliminating emissions from driving 38,093,225 miles – while also supporting pollinator health, reducing stormwater run-off, and producing organic food! Visit our website to register your own Climate Victory Garden or learn how to start one.
Earlier this year, Green America also joined 200+ allies in the launch of the Pay Your Workers email campaign. This campaign demands that apparel brands pay garment workers their normal wages throughout the duration of the pandemic, protect workers’ rights to organize, and sign on to a severance guarantee fund. CREDO members can support this new campaign by taking action here to become part of the collective consumer voice pushing corporations to adopt practices better for people and the planet.
Posted on July 12, 2021
How CREDO members helped Free Speech For People fight for our democracy and our elections
Free Speech For People is a national nonpartisan legal advocacy and public education organization at the forefront of the movement to reclaim our democracy for we, the people. We work to ensure all people have an equal voice and an equal vote in our democracy. We advance our mission by challenging big money in politics, fighting for free and fair elections, ending corporate abuse of power, and confronting corruption in government.
Thanks to the votes of CREDO members in December 2020, Free Speech For People was honored to receive a grant totaling $41,925. Your support helped us to achieve critical victories for voters, our elections, and our democracy.
Fighting Back Against the Influence of Foreign Corporate Money in Elections
Following the 2010 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United v. FEC, multinational corporations with significant foreign investment became able to donate unlimited funds to wield influence in our elections and overwhelm the voices and votes of everyday people. To challenge these corporations seeking to overtake our democracy, Free Speech For People developed the first legislation in the country to end foreign-corporate spending in elections.
On June 3, 2021, the New York State Senate passed, with bipartisan support, our model bill, the New York Democracy Preservation Act. The legislation would bar corporations with partial foreign ownership from spending to influence the outcome of New York State elections. A companion bill, A7458, has been introduced in the State Assembly by Assembly member Latrice Walker of Brooklyn. We are also helping to advance similar legislation in Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Oregon.
Protecting the Right to Vote and Our Elections through Legal Action
Free Speech For People works to challenge voter suppression, the use of unreliable and insecure voting systems, and unequal voting conditions. This year we achieved a major victory for democracy with a case in Minnesota. In October 2020, we filed a federal lawsuit against a private mercenary contractor, Atlas Aegis, and its chairman for voter intimidation in Minnesota. The company planned to hire and deploy armed ex-soldiers to polling sites in the state for the November 2020 general election. In response to our complaint, we were granted a motion for a preliminary injunction prohibiting Atlas Aegis from moving forward with their illegal voter intimidation plans.
In February 2021, the court approved a consent decree and a landmark settlement, active through January 1, 2025, which directs that Atlas Aegis and its chairman are prohibited from engaging in voter intimidation activities, including attempts to threaten and coerce voters and election workers, in the state. We are using this case as a model to introduce and move forward legislation across the country to challenge voter intimidation efforts, which primarily target underrepresented communities.
Challenging Corruption at the Highest Levels of Government:
Free Speech For People co-founded the national movement calling for the impeachment of former President Donald Trump, due to repeated and ongoing abuses of power, while in office. We continue to serve as a leading force in the effort to hold former President Donald Trump accountable to the law. We led in issuing, with a coalition of national organizations, a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland urging him to create an independent task force in the Department of Justice to investigate potential crimes committed by Trump and his associates.
In support of this effort, we launched the new coalition, Hold Trump Accountable, with national organizational partners. Over 200,000 people across the country have joined our call on the Department of Justice to establish this task force to investigate Trump and his associates and to ensure that they are held accountable for any and all violations of federal law.
Holding Social Media Giants Accountable
Since our founding in 2010, we have helped to lead the challenge against unchecked corporate power and the threat it poses to our democracy. Now, we are leading a bold new fight to challenge the dangerous impact of disinformation and the amplification of violence on social media platforms.
The insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 was preceded by the spread of false information and threats of violence online, including the oft-repeated lie, by former President Trump and others, that the election was stolen. This lie was subsequently amplified by social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and 4chan. This has created a grave threat to our democracy and our people. In the face of this threat, our elected officials have failed to take any meaningful action.
Free Speech For People has introduced and is advancing the Digital Accountability Act, our model bill which would hold social media companies accountable for amplifying disinformation and violence via their online platforms.
Thank you to CREDO members for your support, which has made this work possible. To join the movement to reclaim our democracy, please visit our website, www.freespeechforpeople.org.
