Upcoming Events, Protests and CTAs

Happy Friday, Activists! 

Today we have lot for you to do and calls to make.  First, we have more on the cuts to SEPTA in the current budget negotiations.  We wrote to you before about it here and below are some more actions you can take.  You can tell your neighbors and friends who use SEPTA to make the calls and go to the hearings if they can. 

You can see our other Calls to Action in Tuesday's newsletter here.  

MONDAY -- RALLY AND HEARING TO USE YOUR VOICE

WHY IS THIS A BIG DEAL?

According to the Inquirer, "SEPTA is the sixth largest mass transit system in the United States and runs 800,000 trips across its services each day" and that severe cuts "will go into effect Aug. 24, followed by a fare increase in September" if the state legislature does not provide sufficient funding. There are more cuts including Regional Rail coming later. 

As this report lays out:  "SEPTA carries 77 percent of statewide transit riders and receives 62 percent of statewide transit operating funding in return."

-- And in total, "27 percent of state transportation dollars are invested in southeastern Pennsylvania, compared to the region’s 32 percent share of population and 40 percent share of economic output."  That's a whopping $3.21 billion in economic output across the Commonwealth every year.  SEPTA also:

"- Supports nearly 26,000 jobs across the Commonwealth;

- Supports $1.45 billion in worker earnings – $56,389 per job supported; and

- Generates $62.5 million in tax revenues for the Commonwealth."

Check out our Bluesky post for more.

CALLS TO ACTION

RALLY ON MONDAY AT 10:00 AT 10:00, 1234 MARKET ST.

HEARING AT 11:00 

Call your PA State legislator and find them here.  Tell them to stay strong and fight for good SEPTA funding, no holding back. 

AND call PA Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (717) 787-8724 and tell him that we are the economic engine of this state, we contribute more funding for the rest of the state than any other region, and that we deserve a healthy SEPTA to stay the thriving region that we are.

OUR NEXT EXCITING MEETING!

MEET CONGRESSMAN JAMIE RASKIN - BRING YOUR QUESTIONS

We are excited to announce that we will have a virtual Town Hall on May 28th at 5:30 pm.  Our special guest will be Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin!  He'll give us his thoughts on where we are now, what we must do next, and he'll answer your questions.

We'll meet on Zoom at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, May 28th. 

Sign up here.

As we said last week, June 14th is Flag Day.  It's also the day Trump has announced a big military parade for his birthday.  And it's the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army. 

It makes no sense for activists to be in D.C. that day because it would only help make the president's day a success.  As a result, Philadelphia has been selected as the NATIONAL ANCHOR EVENT FOR JUNE 14TH!  We're very excited about this!

This location has changed because of permitting issues.  We will start at Love Park, 15th and JFK Boulevard, at Noon.  Then we'll march to the Art Museum, which is where we'll have our rally.  Sign up here.  And after you sign up, tell your friends to sign up too!  This needs to be big!

Once you sign up we can update you on any more details as we know them. 

MORE RALLIES

1.  Every Friday at 4:00 pm., starting at Independence Mall and marching to Senator Fetterman's office.

Come out and show that you'll stand up against the Trump/Musk regime.  Bring your signs, your voices, your energy!

When:  TODAY, 4:00 pm

Where:  5th and Market Streets, Philadelphia and march to 2nd and Chestnut (0.4 mile walk)

Sign up here.

3.  Every Friday -- 11:15 am - Join Fridays@Fetterman's for the weekly Friday vigil for peace in Gaza/Palestine outside of Senator John Fetterman's office at 200 Chestnut Street from 11:15 am to 12:15 pm. Register here

4.  Every Friday, 5:00 - 6:00 pm -- Protest at Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick's office at One Summit Square, Langhorne, PA. Bring signs about whatever you want. There's a lot to complain about!

5.  Tesla Protests:

NEW:  TOMORROW  Upper Merion Indivisible is leading a nonviolent rally to let the community know supporting Tesla is bad for democracy and won't be tolerated.

This is a peaceful action. We will not enter the business, nor stop people from entering or exiting the property.

When:  Saturday, May 17, 1:00 -3:00 pm. 

Where:  499 S Henderson Rd, King of Prussia, Outside the Upper Merion/King of Prussia Tesla Collision/Repair building.

Sign up here.

6.  Every Monday at Noon  Join our friends at Peace, Justice, Sustainability NOW for Monday's at McCormick's, in front of Senator McCormick's office at 20th and Market Streets.

Are you outside the Philadelphia area?  You can see all the protests planned by Indivisibles in your area at this link. 

 SINGING FOR SANITY

You can join this independent group holding a weekly Resistance Rally in Mt. Airy, #WeThePeopleWednesdays - Singing For Sanity, Wednesdays at 4:00 at the Richard Allen Lane train station, at Cresheim and Allen Lane.

The event features a musician leading protest songs, a rousing speaker, a moment of hope, listing all the ways our resistance is making a difference, and an action.

More information is here. 

BE A NEIGHBORHOOD LEADER!

You can sign up and help save democracy!   Join our 35 Doors Project and canvass to some doors right in your neighborhood. We give you everything you need for success - training, clipboards, handouts, door hangers, talking points and the address list!  Reply to this newsletter to learn more. 

It's the very most effective and important work you can do to get voters to the polls.  And we have fun!  Please go to this link to get started and we'll be in touch.

You can find more information about how this works in our earlier newsletter at this link.  

And One More Thing:

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