Wal-Mart Update May 08, 2009

Dear Auntie Nanuuq,

Last week, I told you how 75 of my coworkers were going to Washington, D.C. to tell their elected officials about what it is really like to work at Wal-Mart. They didn't offer the warm and fuzzy images that Wal-Mart does when it lobbies Capitol Hill -- they told the truth.

It was a wonderful event. The workers held a press conference, they spoke with news crews, and they told their senators to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.

Watch a video of the event here:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/WashingtonDC

It's empowering to see Wal-Mart workers from all over the country finally starting to organize together -- and I'm proud of my coworkers for standing up and speaking out like I did a few weeks ago.

Now it is your turn. We all need to help make their message stronger.

Please take a minute and send a letter to your senators now, urging them to vote for the Employee Free Choice Act.

http://action.walmartwatch.com/WashingtonDC

Thank you for standing with us.

Sincerely,

Aubretia Edick
Wal-Mart Associate

P.S. Make sure to check back on the Wal-Mart Watch blog for more video clips of the event!

Save the Yellowstone Bison from Slaughter: May 7, 2009

Right now, newborn wild bison -- better known as buffalo -- are grazing under their mothers' watchful eyes on the lush Horse Butte peninsula near Yellowstone National Park in Montana.

But on May 15, this pastoral scene could turn ugly if the government begins hazing the buffalo back into the park with helicopters, horses and ATVs, as they did last year at this time.



If this operation proceeds, some buffalo could die, including young calves and pregnant cows.

Please speak out immediately to stop the government's annual hazing operation.

This wildlife tragedy replays almost every year on Horse Butte -- a birthing ground for the buffalo.



First, a helicopter invades the stillness, circling low to scare wild buffalo out of the woods, so that government agents on ATVs and horses can chase them back to Yellowstone.

With no time to rest or nurse during this relentless chase, some calves collapse and even die of exhaustion before ever reaching their grazing grounds deep within the park.

The saddest part? This senseless tragedy is unnecessary. The justification for hazing and killing buffalo is that they could spread the disease brucellosis to domestic cattle. That is why buffalo are generally not welcome outside Yellowstone Park in Montana -- and why thousands have been slaughtered or hazed back into the park in recent years.

But the fact is, there has never been a documented case of brucellosis transmission from buffalo to cattle in the wild.

More to the point, there are no cattle at all on Horse Butte, so there is absolutely no reason to haze and endanger Yellowstone's wild buffalo.



So please, help us give newborn buffalo a better chance at survival this spring.

Tell the Secretary of Agriculture to intervene right away and prevent the hazing of wild buffalo in the weeks ahead.

As living links to the great herds that once thundered across America's plains, Yellowstone's buffalo are a national treasure. Please join me in urging our government to protect them -- instead of subjecting them to needless suffering.

Sincerely,

Frances Beinecke
President
Natural Resources Defense Council

Support Wal-mart Workers: April 30, 2009

I'm Aubretia Edick, and I recently sent you a video I made about my experiences working at Wal-Mart. The video has already made life at Wal-Mart better for me, and it makes me smile knowing that supporters like you helped make it happen.

In response to my video, dozens of people like you sent photos showing your support for Wal-Mart workers. You've proven that we're not just speaking out for ourselves -- we're representing everyday people all across the country.

Tomorrow, April 30th, nearly 100 Wal-Mart workers like me are speaking out again. They'll be in Washington, D.C., to meet with their elected officials -- and they need your help.

Make their message even stronger by writing to your senators, urging them to listen to my coworkers' stories and support the Employee Free Choice Act. Click here to speak out:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/CapitolHill

It touched me and my coworkers to see so many of you send in signs that read "I Support CHANGE for Wal-Mart Workers."

From all of us, I want to thank you for supporting us.

But today we need you to stand with us again. Our elected officials need to know that it's time for things to CHANGE for Wal-Mart workers. We need them to hear what life is really like for Wal-Mart workers like us, so that they realize how important it is to pass the Employee Free Choice Act now.

I've been so impressed with how determined my coworkers are to pass the Employee Free Choice Act and get real change at Wal-Mart. With you supporting us, we can really make it happen.

Click here to see a slideshow of all the CHANGE photos and to contact your senators:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/CapitolHill

Thank you for continuing to support Wal-Mart workers -- it means so much to us to know that you are here for us.

Sincerely,

Aubretia Edick
Wal-Mart Associate

Defense Against Global Warming: April 28, 2009

Today's New York Times features a story that may not shock you,
but should concern us all:

As far back as 1995, scientists working for the oil, auto and
gas industries were telling their bosses that human-caused
global warming could not be refuted.

But, that hasn't stopped industry lobbyists from waging a
cynical campaign to undermine the science and cloud the debate.

Read the full story:

http://action.edf.org/ct/F7_dLn91341G/

Americans were outraged a decade ago when cigarette makers made
similar claims about the evidence linking smoking and lung
cancer. And then we discovered reams of damning research hidden
away in tobacco company vaults.

The only real difference between then and now is that global
warming stands to threaten more than just people -- millions of
species face extinction, entire ecosystems altered beyond
recognition, the natural world as we know it today irreparably
diminished.

-- The Next Two Weeks Are Critical --

These revelations come at a defining moment in the fight to stop
global warming.

Some time in the next two weeks, the House Subcommittee on
Energy and the Environment is expected to mark up and vote on
landmark global warming legislation. According to our political
experts this Subcommittee bill will set the tone for the entire
debate that follows in both Houses of Congress.

In short, whether or not an effective global warming bill lands
on President Obama's desk in 2009 may depend on the actions of
34 subcommittee members over the next week or two.

The opposition may be morally bankrupt, but their political
coffers are overflowing. Global warming deniers are spending
hundreds of millions on lobbying and advertising aimed at
confusing the public and scaring legislators.

More than 2,000 top corporate lobbyists are on Capitol Hill
doing whatever it takes to stop global warming action.

What do we have? The truth. And you.

If you haven't already, please send an email to your House
Representative today.

Then, please forward this action link to 5 friends to get them
to take action: http://action.edf.org/ct/Fd_dLn91341H/

For friends who still doubt the science of global warming, send
them to the New York Times article:
http://action.edf.org/ct/F7_dLn91341G/. Tell them that not
even the highly paid lobbyists opposed to global warming action
doubt the science.

You are our best hope to take on the industry denial machine.

Thanks for your activism and support,
Sam Parry
Director, Online Membership and Activism

P.S. What happens in the next two weeks will determine the
future of climate action this year. It has never been a more
critical time. Your support is urgently needed right now.