URGENT ACTION ALERT: PLEASE CALL, WRITE LETTERS TO AND ARRANGE MEETINGS WITH YOUR LEGISLATORS: Ask them to support the Senate Version of the Bill to Repeal the Driver’s License Suspension Law (Senate 2021)!

Dear Allies of EPOCA and the Jobs Not Jails Coalition,

An important bill that will help people charged with a drug offense obtain jobs passed the Senate last fall and the House on January 6. This bill would end the $500 fine from the RMV, back-door CORI and years of waiting to be able to drive that thousands of people convicted of drug offenses are suffering – even though their offenses had nothing to do with driving nor a vehicle.

However, the bill passed by the House included an amendment that would not apply these changes to those convicted of drug trafficking.

Drug trafficking charges can involve as little as 18 grams or 1.8% of a kilo. This affects people who have purchased drugs only for personal use, not just cartel members or drug king pins. While they constitute 31% of all convicted defendants, people of color represent over 75% of those convicted of “trafficking” offenses.

If people continue to be saddled with these fines, back-door CORIs and waiting times to get driver’s licenses back, they will not be able to find work, obtain most jobs, nor travel to them….this can only lead to recidivism where everybody loses….the individual, their families and the taxpayers.

ACTION IS NEEDED NOW:

Please read this fact sheet and organize calls, letters to and meetings with your state legislators.

For House members, the message is: Please ask Speaker DeLeo and conference committee members Representatives Fernandes, Straus and Hill to go with the Senate passed version of the RMV Sanctions bill for all people convicted of drug offenses. Excluding those charged for trafficking drug offenses will prevent many people from obtaining their driver’s licenses which are necessary for people to get jobs, drive to work and support their families. People will be less likely to recidivate if they are able to get back on their feet and support themselves and their families legally.

For Senate members, the message is: Please ask Senate President Rosenberg and Conference Committee members, Senators McGee, Chandler and Fattman to stand firm on the Senate passed bill that enables all people convicted of drug offenses to regain their driver’s license so they can get jobs, drive to work and support their families.

When people re-build their lives after a drug conviction, they face obstacles such as probation fees, court costs and the stigma of having a CORI. In addition, there is a special penalty just for them.

Under current law, a person convicted of any drug offense loses her or his driving privileges for up to 5 years, and must pay at least $500 to reinstate the license. This applies to any drug offense, even if it has nothing to do with an automobile or driving. This law also generates a “back-door CORI” that can never be sealed, which harms a person’s chances of finding employment and housing, for decades after the offense was committed.

It’s time to change this law. Approximately 7,000 people per year lose their driving privileges due to this law, mostly for offenses that do not involve vehicles in any way.

Download an RMV Collateral Sanctions Fact Sheet Here: http://nationinside.org/images/pdf/FACT_SHEET_III_Collateral_Sanctions_Components_1-5-16.pdf

For more info please contact:
Ex-prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement (EPOCA)
4 King Street
Worcester, MA 01610

After the Paris terrorist attacks, many feel that the world has entered a new and terrible “reign of terror”. The big dilemma is how we balance national security issues against our individual privacy concerns. Is it possible to track down terrorists, who use encryption to communicate and coordinate attacks, while also safeguarding our own personal data?

JOIN US FOR A LIVELY DISCUSSION AT FIRST PARISH CHURCH ON JANUARY 27 AT 7 PM 3 CHURCH STREET IN CAMBRIDGE.

GREG NOJEIM, director of the Freedom, Security, and Technology Project at the Center for Democracy & Technology in Washington. The project is dedicated to keeping the Internet free and open, and protecting privacy in the digital age against surveillance and government intrusion.

DANIEL ROSENTHAL recently left the White House, where he served as Director for Counterterrorism on the National Security Council. While at the NSC, he advised President Obama and senior Administration officials on a wide range of matters including emerging cyber threats and the expanded use of new encryption technologies. Rosenthal also teaches “National Security Dilemmas” at the University of Maryland.

Cambridge Forum
3 Church Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-495-2727
www.cambridgeforum.org

This year’s Left Forum conference theme is:

Rage, Rebellion, Revolution: Organizing our Power

This year’s Left Forum – May 20 – 22 – will offer something fundamentally different from conventional politics and from this year’s presidential election mainstream media hype. The Left Forum will gather and build on the growing consciousness that basic social problems are sharpening in ways that traditional politicians, journalists, and academics rarely admit and do not even begin to solve. The Left Forum will again engage the forces and movements making basic progressive social change the big issue that will no longer be kept out of the public discussion.

The left now generates an increasingly powerful and effective criticism of contemporary capitalism and the mushrooming social problems it worsens. Ever more people are becoming active: from Occupy Wall Street to Black Lives Matter and the Fight for $15; from escalating climate justice demands to the massive national support for Bernie not despite but because he wears the label socialist. Something profound is shaking.

From the streets and the offices, from campuses, factories, and stores, disgust with traditional society, politics, rules, and conventions is growing. The left starts there to build a program for change. We can do better than capitalism and its catastrophic wars. We reject the corporate dominance that corrupts our politics while delivering endless cycles of depressions, unemployment, and austerities. Our fellow citizens share our horror at the grotesque inequalities of today’s corporate system: its discriminations against and oppressions of vast populations and its destruction of our environment. There are far better alternatives. Join us to share, discuss, and debate those alternatives and how best to achieve them.

Please consider submitting a panel or workshop for the 2016 gathering.

First Night Against All the Wars Home and Abroad 2015-2016
Copley Square near the Old Library steps
Thurs. Dec. 31st 1 to 6 PM

https://www.facebook.com/events/793216350805415

Saturday, December 12, 1:00p.m. – 3:00p.m. Rally for Jobs, Justice, and Climate

Dear #WageAction Supporters,

On Saturday, December 12th, people will come together from every corner of New England to call for bold climate solutions that create secure union jobs, strengthen community power and help build a more resilient future. We are so excited that the #WageAction Coalition is supporting this mobilization. Join us!

What: Jobs, Justice and Climate: Defend New England’s Future
When: Saturday, Dec. 12, 1:00p.m. – 3:00p.m.
Where: Boston Common Bandstand (Followed by march in downtown Boston)

World leaders are meeting in Paris from November 29th – December 12th to negotiate a new global climate treaty. This is their 21st attempt, and we already know that even if they reach an agreement, it won’t be nearly as strong as we need it to be. 2015 is on track to be the hottest year on record, and unprecedented storms, floods and droughts are happening around the world. We are running out of time, and we must create an unstoppable grassroots movement for real solutions. We’ll lift up the voices of New England’s organized labor, immigrant rights, racial justice, and climate justice groups as we call for jobs, justice and climate action together. You won’t want to miss it!

See you there!

RSVP on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/events/1702720679961035.

#WageAction Coalition