America In Solidarity is a Tacoma-based non-profit that serves working families in the political arena and works on issues such as affordable health care, living wages, fair trade and workers’ rights. We are seeking interns who are looking for experience in the political arena, community organizing and elections and share a passion for our issues.

Responsibilities will include:

·         Communicate with elected officials and lobby on behalf of America In Solidarity on issues we care about

America In Solidarity volunteers participated in our "Lobby Day" where we engaged with pledge signers and other elected officials during the current session of the Washington State Legislature. We lobbied on issues like affordable health care, public financing of elections and worker's rights. Volunteers met with State Representatives, Tami Green, Troy Kelley, Dawn Morrell, Dennis Flannigan, Mark  Miloscia and Larry Seaquist and State Senator Derek Kilmer and dropped off our concerns letter to dozens more. Participating in the day were Mike Jagielski, David Johnson, Gail Ross, Todd Iverson, Jeff and Brianna Richardson and Mike and Cathy Collier.

President Bush released his FY 2009 budget that totaled over $3.1 trillion, $400 billion of that will be borrowed from the future. Within its details are the makings of a disaster for working families:

• His budget would make his tax cuts permanent -- at the cost of $2.4 trillion over the next 10 years, with millionaires pocketing tax breaks of about $150,000 a year.
• Removes 200,000 low income children from child care support, and does nothing to bring college within reach of working families.
• Freeze payments to doctors and hospitals under Medicare, and stunningly, cut support for the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, even as a global economy puts us at greater risk of importing global pandemics.
• Continues to cut domestic investment across the board, even reducing federal support for "first responders" -- police, fire and public health officials by 45% percent.
• Slashes housing vouchers, eliminating rental support for an estimated 100,000 low income families.
• And perhaps worse of all, when universal health care is in the conversation, the budget proposal cuts Medicare by $178 Billion (yes with a "b") over the next five years.

It's time for radical change in Washington. Bush's final budget is merely the punctuation mark.

As part of America In Solidarity's NW Progressive Convention on November 10^th in Tacoma WA, all the attendees participated in a Presidential Straw Poll. Congressman Dennis Kucinich pulled a decisive victory winning with 51% of the votes cast, John Edwards and Barack Obama tied for second with 18% of the vote, and Al Gore captured 8% of the vote as a write-in candidate. Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton failed to garner one vote in the straw poll of the convention that had nearly 150 attendees.

The vote totals were:

1. Kucinich 51%

t2. Edwards 18% 

t2. Obama 18%

4. Gore 8%

5. Paul 3% 

6. Richardson 1%

No other candidates received any votes.

The straw poll was part of a day that included speeches from Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, Congressman Adam Smith and retired General Paul Eaton. The day also included a series of workshops and panels on issues such as immigration, health care, civil liberties and trade. "The attendees sent a clear message all day that they want a new direction in Iraq," said Todd Iverson, President of America In Solidarity. "It was reflected throughout the day with their intense questioning of our speakers to the straw poll that there is a lack of progress in the Middle East. I think they see Kucinich as the only candidate that is bold enough to say America has had enough."
 

For the fourth straight year, America In Solidarity held a booth at Tacoma's Ethnic Fest. AIS volunteers gave away free balloons, registered voters, talked about working families and the political conditions facing them. We collected hundreds of signatures asking Pierce County and local cities to send a resolution to the legislature and Congress demanding affordable health care.

Thanks to AIS volunteers Mary Retallick (who sat behind the table almost the whole weekend), Marilyn Kimmerling, Kayla Saville, Suzette Widdison, Patricia George, Anders Ibsen, Jeff Richardson and Todd Iverson for helping out.

Thanks to Bill Alford of Moral Politics TV, video of Congressman Dennis Kucinich's AIS-sponsored Town Hall is available online. Follow the link to watch the video as the presidential candidate addresses issues like Iraq, working families and impeachment.

Three University of Washington students are working with America In Solidarity for the winter quarter. Jabian Kelly (sociology major), Katie Burns (political science major) and Michael Gottlieb are working on recruiting new pledge signers from across the country, monitoring new legislations and helping with general duties. Jabian and Katie are in the picture with AIS pledge signee Calvin Goings at our latest event in Tacoma.

Every month, one lucky America In Solidarity volunteer (not a volunteer yet, join here) will win one of our t-shirts through our "Write To Make A Difference" program.. Simply send us a copy (forward an email, webpage link or snailmail a copy to our office) of either a letter to the editor that you had published in your local newspaper or the response you had from your local politician. The topics can be either about one of our 2007 key issues (War profiteering and support for the veterans, including adequate health care for them and their families, Health care reform, Fair trade policies, Living Wages, Campaign finance reform or Checking corporate greed) or concerning one of the articles on our website about an issue or piece of legislation that affects working families. 

"We want our volunteers to start being more active trhough e-activism and encourage them to be more vocal about legislation and issues that matter to the working families of America," said Todd Iverson, president of America In Solidarity. "People don't realize how important those five minutes spent thanking or encouraging your legislator about a particular bill can be. Or that adding your voice in a letter to the editor helps shape the conversation."

Can you spare $20.07 to make a difference this year? Your contribution will allow America In Solidarity to fight for working families and accomplish our goals this year including the following key objectives of:

• War profiteering and support for the veterans, including adequate health care for them and their families.
• Health care reform
• Fair trade policies
• Living Wages
• Campaign finance reform (clean elections, paper trails at the polls, instant runoff voting)
• Checking corporate greed

Rose Ehart, an AIS volunteer, accepted the University Place (WA) City Proclamation of Martin Luther King Jr. Month. Here is her speech:

For those of you who I invited, that were able to come, I thank you, especially in light of the last minute time change.

I would also like to say thank you to the University Place city council, for having this annual ceremony, and for inviting me to be here this night. Because I am honored and thrilled to accept this proclamation, on this, the day that we commemorate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In remembering Dr. King’s life and the great lessons he taught. I keep returning to three things he said and the lessons I have learned from them. The first is this: Faith! He said:

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

Everything that is good, all progress, all accomplishments, come about because someone is willing to take the chance, that the course of action taken will result in a net good.
We cannot predict the future, we can only work in the present to make that future as bright as we can. Dr. King, could not have known when he said this, that the world would look the way it does today, where a nation that once reviled him now proudly celebrates his life.