Workers & Civil Servants Need Protection
Jump to today’s actions:
Background
We voted for leaders who protect us from the pandemic no matter our ZIP code or skin color. McConnell and Trump want us to fend for ourselves.
We voted for an executive branch that decides policy based on evidence, not gain for the wealthy few. McConnell and Trump want to fire civil servants who stand up for evidence. Specifically, they want to:
Put up a shield protecting employers from lawsuits for unsafe work conditions during COVID.
Tear down a shield protecting civil servants from being fired at will.
Shielding employers checkmates workers. They can’t get unemployment if they refuse to work and they risk their health if working conditions are unsafe. Workers will be left counting on the kindness of employers, and history tells us how that strategy works.
Ending civil service protections for career servants who contribute to policy-making will unhinge policy from facts, science, and evidence. We take a giant step closer to the time when patronage was the only way to get and keep a government job.
Democrats refuse to include a liability shield in COVID relief and want civil service changes stopped in the 2021 budget. Call to back them up.
1. Call the Senate.
Script Oregon Senators
SEN. MERKLEY: Portland office: 503-326-3386 | D.C. office: 202-224-3753
My name is [--] and I'm a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
We desperately need COVID relief and a robust 2021 budget, but they can’t undercut hard-won worker protections. I agree that the COVID relief bill must be free of a liability shield to protect employers from lawsuits for failing to protect workers from COVID.
Also, I support you in working to overturn Trump’s executive order ending civil service protections for a swath of career servants who contribute to policy-making. Thank you.
SEN. WYDEN: Portland office: 503-326-7525 | D.C. office: 202-224-5244
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
We desperately need COVID relief and a robust 2021 budget, but they can’t undercut hard-won worker protections. I agree that the COVID relief bill must be free of a liability shield to protect employers from lawsuits for failing to protect workers from COVID.
Also, I support you in working to overturn Trump’s executive order ending civil service protections for a swath of career servants who contribute to policy-making. Thank you.
Script for Republican Senators
D.C switchboard: 202-224-3121
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], [state], [zip code].
We desperately need COVID relief and a robust 2021 budget, but they can’t undercut hard-won worker protections. I agree with Democrats that the COVID relief bill must be free of a liability shield to protect employers from lawsuits for failing to protect workers from COVID.
Also, I oppose Trump’s executive order ending civil service protections for a swath of careers servants who contribute to policy-making. Please support language in the 2021 budget that overturns Trump’s new order.
2. Call the House.
Script for Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01)
Oregon office: 503-469-6010 | DC office: 202-225-0855
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
We desperately need COVID relief and a robust 2021 budget, but they can’t undercut hard-won worker protections. I agree that the COVID relief bill must be free of a liability shield to protect employers from lawsuits for failing to protect workers from COVID.
Also, I support you in working to overturn Trump’s executive order ending civil service protections for a swath of career servants who contribute to policy-making. Thank you.
Script for Greg Walden (OR-02)
Medford office: 541-776-4646 | DC office: 202-225-6730
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
We desperately need COVID relief and a robust 2021 budget, but they can’t undercut hard-won worker protections. I agree with Democrats that the COVID relief bill must be free of a liability shield to protect employers from lawsuits for failing to protect workers from COVID.
Also, I oppose Trump’s executive order ending civil service protections for a swath of positions that contribute to policy-making. Please support language in the 2021 budget that overturns Trump’s new order.
Script for Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)
Oregon office: 503-231-2300 | DC office: 202-225-4811
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
We desperately need COVID relief and a robust 2021 budget, but they can’t undercut hard-won worker protections. I agree that the COVID relief bill must be free of a liability shield to protect employers from lawsuits for failing to protect workers from COVID.
Also, I support you in working to overturn Trump’s executive order ending civil service protections for a swath of career servants who contribute to policy-making. Thank you.
Script for Peter DeFazio (OR-04)
Eugene office: 541-465-6732 | DC office: 202-225-6416
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
We desperately need COVID relief and a robust 2021 budget, but they can’t undercut hard-won worker protections. I agree that the COVID relief bill must be free of a liability shield to protect employers from lawsuits for failing to protect workers from COVID.
Also, I support you in working to overturn Trump’s executive order ending civil service protections for a swath of career servants who contribute to policy-making. Thank you.
Script for Kurt Schrader (OR-05)
Salem office: 503-588-9100 | DC office: 202-225-5711
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
We desperately need COVID relief and a robust 2021 budget, but they can’t undercut hard-won worker protections. I agree that the COVID relief bill must be free of a liability shield to protect employers from lawsuits for failing to protect workers from COVID.
Also, I support you in working to overturn Trump’s executive order ending civil service protections for a swath of career servants who contribute to policy-making. Thank you.
3. Save the Senate: GA Run-Offs in January.
Georgia on your mind? We know you're excited to get to work on the upcoming Senate elections in Georgia.
Indivisible Oregon is partnering with Swing Left to write letters and with Reclaim Our Vote to make phone calls. (Reclaim Our Vote postcards are finished, but they are ow making crucial calls to Georgia voters in rural areas who are likely to have been disenfranchised.). Go to https://www.indivisibleor.org/events for information about how to join with us.
Also, those on the ground in Georgia need money. You can donate to:
GA SENATE CAMPAIGNS, which will distribute your contribution among the two Senate campaigns and Fair Fight: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/georgiasenate
RECLAIM OUR VOTE, which is reaching hard-to-reach voters in rural Georgia: https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/reclaim-our-vote-preparing-for-2020-fundraising-campaign/
RAPHAEL WARNOCK CAMPAIGN: https://warnockforgeorgia.com/
JON OSSOFF CAMPAIGN: https://electjon.com/
FAIR FIGHT GEORGIA SENATE https://GASenate.com
4. Sources
Liability Shield:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/us/politics/liability-shield-business-coronavirus.html
Executive Order:
