NEWS & VIEWS from the SLOCDP
A Message from a Volunteer
By Whitney
Since the election, many people have been calling or dropping by our headquarters saying “I feel awful. I need to do something, but I don't know what.” One of our responses has been to offer a time to get together, talk, and write postcards (or letters) to elected officials. (See Coming Events below for more things you can do.)
Now, SLOCDP hosts a Postcard Party every Tuesday from 5:30-7:00 p.m. We write to elected officials offering praise for good action and rebukes for poor action. And we've have had a positive response from the community. Generally, we have have 4-6 people each time, though we've had as many as 10, all writing to Congress or SCOTUS regarding the policies of this disastrous regime. I can confidently say we've mailed 700-800 postcards...so far.
I've been politically active and writing to those who run our country for years and I've learned how to craft a succinct, impactful message. I'm so pleased to be able to share this with others. Right now, we're working on a couple of major projects. One is aimed at the more moderate CA congressional Republicans, reminding them that they are complicit in this nightmare. The other is aimed at both Democrats and Republicans, encouraging/demanding that they grow a spine and stop the various disasters wrought upon us by this regime. I have personally had several replies from Salud Carbajal about his position and plans. As things progress, we will be sending cards to our local public servants as well.
We ask people to bring their own cards and stamps if they can; for those who can't, we've had some donations of postcards and postage as well. Everyone is welcome, and I truly believe this project can help in preventing a slide deeper into fascism. It certainly has a positive impact on those of who are writing, because we are doing something. We'll continue as long as our postcard and stamp supplies allow.
Coming Events
Stay Connected and Engaged!
Tuesday, May 6, 2025 -- Lucia Mar School Board Meeting
7:00 - 9:00 p.m. at the District Office, 602-G Orchard St, Arroyo Grande
Urgent Support Needed!! Right wing religious zealots are swarming our school board meetings to demand discrimination against trans kids. They want to impose there extreme religious views on the rest of us. Please attend this meeting wearing an inclusive shirt or pin. You are welcome to give public comment, but just your presence is enough to help our trans kids feel supported.
Wednesday, May 7 - Democratic Support Group
5:30 - 6:30 p.m. at the SLOCDP HQ
This is a time to meet with fellow Democrats, share our joys and frustrations, and process our feelings about the current political climate. We’ll talk about how we can take care of ourselves and our community despite the issues we are facing.
Thursday, May 15 - SLOCDP Book Club
5:30 - 7:00 p.m. at the SLOCDP HQ
For our first discussion at the SLOCDP book club, folks from all over the county came together to discuss Timothy Synder's On Tyranny and his 20 recommendations on how to combat the rise of tyranny, based on historical evidence and events. The author's first rule is "don't comply in advance!" -- timely words for our current times.
Our next selection is Autocracy, Inc. by Anne Applebaum. You can see our full reading list on the Events page of our SLOCDP calendar. There's no need to join an email list, just come join us anytime. See you at the next meet up!
More Activities for you!
Tuesday Night Postcard Party
5:30 - 7:00 p.m. at the SLOCDP Headquarters
Join our resident postcard guru on Tuesday evenings to send postcards to your government representatives. We will have addresses and contact info as well as writing samples you can copy. Please bring postcards and postage. Local postcards are preferred, so support a local business!
Action Saturdays
9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at the SLOCDP Headquarters
Drop in to the SLOCDP HQ to make signs and join various pop-up protests going on that day. Call the HQ for details at 805-546-8499.
Labor Notes: What is May Day?
Unions are Organizing for a General Strike
By Barry Price
May Day has its roots right here in the United States. In 1886, in the streets of Chicago, workers were organizing and fighting for the 8-hour workday. This demand was met with brutal resistance by employers, who used both vicious mercenaries and the police to violently suppress mass protests led by unions. On May 4, 1886, a bomb exploded in Chicago’s Haymarket Square during a clash between workers and police killing several police officers and others.
The result was a sham trial, and seven labor leaders were sentenced to death.
The cause of those Haymarket Martyrs became the cause of the working class around the world, and May 1 became an international holiday commemorating the fight of workers everywhere to reclaim their time and the value of their labor. Now, 139 years later, May Day is celebrated as an official holiday in countries from Argentina to South Africa to Sweden to Hong Kong, just about everywhere — except its country of origin.
That’s not a coincidence. The billionaire class and their political lackeys have done everything they can to erase the true history of the working class in our country. But now, after decades of decline, unionism is on the rise and public support is growing. People of all stripes are realizing that every workplace protection we have, every benefit we earn with our labor, has been won through the hard work and sacrifice of union workers. Now more than ever, we need to organize to protect and expand those protections and benefits.
As United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain said, "If working people are truly going to win on a massive scale — truly win healthcare as a human right, win pensions so everyone can retire with dignity, win an improved standard of living and more time off the clock so we can spend more of our time with our family and friends — then unions have to start thinking bigger." That's why Fain and other union leaders are strategizing for a massive strike of all workers, unionized or not, on May 1, 2028. Unions across the country are aligning their contracts to expire simultaneously on that day. Labor leaders see this as a time to bring together workers from coast to coast to thwart a new Gilded Age and protect health care and retirement benefits. Read more about it here.
El Salvador: Your new home?
By Ben Gildea
By now many of us have heard the story of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. An immigrant with legal protected status abducted by ICE and sent to a prison in El Salvador in violation of court orders and all human ethics and decency. We talk about his story in the context of immigration, but it might not stay in that realm for long. Migrants aren’t the only people the Trump regime is after. It should come as no surprise that Trump wants to imprison those who are “American-grown” in El Salvador as well.
CECOT is the prison where Trump sent Abrego Garcia; it is where he wants to send American citizens too. It is one of the largest prisons in the world. Prisons in El Salvador are renowned for their systemized torture. Salvadoran President Bukele bragged to Trump that nobody leaves there alive. Our government has sent at least 271 people to CECOT. That’s right — our tax dollars are being used to send people to a “black hole” torture site.
The illegality and immorality are irrelevant. Trump doesn’t care. He doesn’t care about court orders now, and he won't care when courts tell him he can’t send American citizens to CECOT. A criminal to us isn’t the same as a criminal to Trump.
All of us who have gone to a rally or spoken out against the Trump regime are at risk of being branded criminals, not by judge or jury, but instead by executive fiat. We cannot be silent and sit around, waiting for Trump to pick us off one by one. We must stand strong with our immigrant neighbors today, or share their fate tomorrow.
See the articles below for more information:
https://thehill.com/opinion/5251941-trump-administration-exporting-americans/
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/18/world/americas/bukele-abrego-garcia-elsalvador-prison.html
Our Party Headquarters has become a huge resource for the community in these trying times. THANK YOU to all the volunteers who've been welcoming visitors, answering phone calls, responding to questions, supporting our programming, and so much more.
Our goal is to keep the HQ open from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday thru Friday and Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. No experience is needed--if you are a new volunteer we will pair you with an experienced person. .
Help us keep it going. For details or to volunteer, click here or call 805-546-8499.
