November DA | Poetry for Healing | Georgia | AFT 2121 is hiring

Posted on November 16, 2020 by AFT 2121

(11/17) Delegate Assembly

All AFT 2121 members are invited to participate in our November 17th Delegate Assembly from 3-5pm.

Our COPE meeting at 1:30 has been cancelled. Agenda and relevant documents:

To attend, follow this link from your computer or smartphone: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87563696693?pwd=UHllaFJHYWxCNFBNYndZbEpzbmVxdz09OR call 1-669-900-6833 then follow the prompts to enter the meeting ID #875 6369 6693 and password: 346656.

(11/18) Poetry For Healing

Join our own poet & educator, Tehmina Kahn, for a time of poetry reading and sharing for healing and love. Register here to receive the zoom link.

Push to defend democracy in Georgia

Now that November 3rd has passed, we have one more big push ahead of us to change the course of our country at the national level. We have received many inquiries about how members can support the runoff elections for U.S. Senate in Georgia on January 5, 2021. Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock are challenging incumbent Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, respectively. With Joe Biden claiming a historic victory in Georgia during this year’s Presidential election (he’s the first Democrat to win the state in 28 years), there is a real chance to flip these seats.

Voters have until December 7, 2020, to register to vote for this election, so efforts will focus on registration through that date and then shift to voter turnout once the registration deadline has passed. These runoff elections are critical because winning them would give Democrats and Republicans 50 votes each in the U.S. Senate. In the case of a tie, the tie breaking vote is cast by the Vice President, in this case our new VP Kamala Harris.

Volunteer Opportunities

AFT National is not planning travel to Georgia at this time due both to the COVID-19 pandemic and because it is important to let organizations and volunteers already on the ground take the lead in these elections. AFT is, however, asking us to sign up for phone banks and text banks to register voters, to encourage them to request mail ballots, and to remind them to vote. You can sign up for those phone and text banks here: https://www.aftvotes.org/volunteer-GA

Contributions to Candidates and Organizations

Individuals, of course, are welcome to contribute, and if you or your members are interested in making a personal contribution, You can do that through Act Blue. Any individual can contribute to both Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock through that platform. We recommend the following list of Georgia based organizations that are supporting voter registration work and fighting voter suppression in Georgia.

Fair Fight — Founded by former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacy Abrams in 2018, Fair Fight promotes fair elections in Georgia and around the country, encourages voter participation in elections, and educates voters about elections and their voting rights.
The New Georgia Project — The New Georgia Project is a nonpartisan effort to register and civically engage Georgians.
Georgia Equality — Georgia Equality’s mission is to advance fairness, safety and opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities and their allies throughout the state. To support their voter registration and education efforts, you should contribute to the “Equality Foundation of Georgia” arm of their organization, which you will find at the link above.
Georgia Shift — Georgia Shift gives marginalized young people a seat at the table through electoral action and hands-on education. They will be running a program focused on turning out and engaging young people of color.