We Will Not Win Unless We Fight
You Rocked #MayDayStrong
Thank you to everyone who came to our amazing #MayDayStrong Rally in Utica yesterday! We had a tremendous turnout, as did Syracuse, and cities and towns across the country! We estimated the crowd at Oneida Square in Utica at 450-500 attendees!
Thank you to everyone who took on special roles to make this event happen: safety marshals, media spokespeople, those who worked on the media advisory and press release, chant leaders, photographers and videographers, and many others. And we appreciate the partnership of Citizen Action in connecting our event with their community celebration of May Day at DeSales Center in Utica.
Here's our press release with some photos. If you want to see more about what happened around the country, check out @MayDayStrong and #MayDay2025 on social media. Onward in solidarity!
IMV Meeting last Sunday
We had about 280 people at out meeting on Sunday. Thanks to all who attended! We know it was a busy day with many other events going on. If you missed it, here was the slideshow, which included some really good photos of recent rallies.
We also collected a LOT of ideas and suggestions from the table conversations at the meeting. A small team of IMV leaders spent FOUR hours this week sorting through those ideas, and noted that in-person community building and connection was an overwhelming theme.
The IMV Steering Committee will be working on how to meet this real need as we build a strong community of resistance to authoritarianism and strengthen pro-democracy political activism in civil society. Thank you for contributing such thoughtful and creative suggestions!
VA Cuts are Wrong. What You Can Do.
We heard an inspiring message from Jon Lipe, who was Rep. Anthony Brindisi’s legislative staffer with a focus on the Veteran's Affairs Committee in Washington. (There are more than 37,000 veterans in NY22 and more than 47,000 in NY21.) Our country makes a promise to people when they put on a uniform and agree to go where they are sent, even at risk of their health and lives. Part of that promise is health care through the VA. The Trump administration has slashed funding for the VA.
Another part of the promise America makes to veterans is to help them get jobs when they return to civilian life after their service. That's why 30% of the federal workforce is made up of veterans. But the Musk-Trump administration has fired many of those veterans from their jobs indiscriminately. We're hearing headlines now about job losses at DFAS in Rome--100 positions that won't be filled--many of them by veterans. Ultimately, if America does not keep its promises to those who serve, people will no lo longer serve when we need them.
We ask everyone who can do so to talk to friends and family and let them know what is happening, and to talk specifically to and about the veterans in your own life.
Contact your local elected officials to make sure they are standing up for veterans--their benefits, their jobs, their healthcare. Here is a helpful resource
Write Letters to the Editor!
New: Poster Parties in Rome
Poster parties will be held at SuperOfficial Coffee Shop (near Capitol Theater) in Rome every Tuesday and Thursday from 2:30-4pm for the month of May. Supplies are provided. All signs are suited for lawn display after rallies. Thanks, Mary, for hosting!
Climate Crisis Working Group
For those who missed last Sunday’s IMV meeting: Here is what Maggie Reilly had to say with regards to Climate Change and the importance of real leaders: Climate Leaders
Two Actions We Can Take For Climate
1. May 7th: Albany Lobby Day: Plastics Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Bill RSVP here.
2. Lt. Governor Delgado & Bill McKibben: Affordability of Energy (Crisis and Solution)
Register here for this critical climate conversation from 7:00 - 7:30 pm on May 7th.
Blake Gendebien Town Hall
Last week Blake Gendebien held a town hall in Rome attended by about a hundred local residents. Blake is the awesome candidate positioned to run against Elise Stefanik in NY21. Trump was so scared of Blake, a second-generation dairy farmer, former school board member, and father of three, that he pulled Elise's nomination for UN Ambassador so the Republicans wouldn't lose a critical House seat in a special election this spring.
At his town hall, Blake listened to people and spoke passionately about the importance of making life affordable for families and supporting our local communities and institutions--schools, jobs, health care, and stopping the assault on farmers, veterans and immigrants who are helping our local economies. Blake continues to visit all 15 counties in the district regularly and raise funds for his 2026 congressional race.
You can help send him to Congress! Check out his web page, make a donation, and sign up to volunteer for his campaign.
Tenant Rights with Citizen Action
Join Citizen Action next Thursday, May 8th at 6pm, for a Tenant Rights Workshop at Utica Public Library! Learn about your rights as a tenant, how to protect yourself from predatory landlords, and what we need to win stronger housing protections in Utica. This is a great chance to get informed and get organized.
Indivisible OneNYS Zoom with Sarah Reeske
Everyone is invited to join the Indivisible statewide call on Wednesday, May 7th at 7-8pm (registration link). We'll be hearing about a Capital Region's successful recruitment tactic that your group might want to replicate! Sarah Reeske, our statewide organizer, and one of IMV's founders, will also be discussing some ideas and plans for New York groups in coming months. Register for the Zoom now.
Actions to Take This Week
Demand Our NYS Attorney General fight hard against ICE overreach. Contact AG Tish James and urge her to take action against illegal ICE abductions and the crackdown on political dissent using these resources.
If you are "represented by Elise Stefanik (NY21), call her and get her on the record about efforts to defund SNAP and Medicaid. Republicans in Congress don’t want us talking about Trump’s tax scam (aka reconciliation plan) because they know it screws working people by taking trillions from Medicaid, SNAP, and more to pay for billionaires’ tax breaks. We need to get them on the record and hold them accountable.
Updates & Motivation
Did you know? Longtime Oneida County Democratic Committee leader (currently Chair of Towns) and IMV member, Bill Thickstun, was elected Chair of the Democratic Rural Conference (DRC) of New York State this past weekend! The DRC advocates for the Democratic policy priorities of our state's rural counties—specifically, the 47 out of 62 counties with populations under 250,000 (including Oneida and Herkimer Counties)—and the equitable representation necessary for these communities' voices to be heard. Congratulations to Bill Thickston!
Are all Indivisibles Democrats? NO! "We are not all Democrats, but we are all on the same side now." We are seeing people at our meetings and rallies who have been registered Republicans for much of their lives, but can no longer tolerate the actions of Trump and MAGA Republicans. We have people who are unaffiliated ("independent") voters who have not been involved in politics but are now joining others to stand up to creeping authoritarianism. We have people who are committed to the Working Families Party in New York, but ally with Democrats to support candidates and win elections--and are active in IMV. Friends, it's gonna have to be a big tent if we want to be effective in this fight. If you love democracy and believe that no one is above the law; if you believe this country belongs to the people who work and live here, and not just the billionaires looting our public resources and our government, then Indivisible is the place for you.
What we loved this week: Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker's speech in New Hampshire, which Heath Cox Richardson wrote about in her Substack "Letters from an American" (You can subscribe to receive in your inbox every day, or listen to the audio version.). Here's a link to her essay, quoting major sections of the speech. Here's just a bit of the speech:
“These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace. They have to understand that we will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and microphone that we have. We must castigate them on the soap box, and then punish them at the ballot box. They must feel in their bones that when we survive this shameful episode of American history with our democracy intact—because we have no alternative but to do just that—that we will relegate their portraits to the museum halls reserved for tyrants and traitors."
"Cowardice can be contagious,” Pritzker said, “But so too can courage…. Just as the hope that we hold onto in the darkness, shines with its own...special light...Tonight, I’m telling you what I’m willing to do...is fight—for our democracy, for our liberty, for the opportunity for all our people to live lives that are meaningful and free. And I see around me tonight a roomful of people who are ready to do the same...So I have one question for all of you,” Pritzker said. “Are you ready for the fight?”
Friends, you have already shown that you are ready for the fight. You are in it. Thank you for everything you are doing. We will not give up while our democracy is still under threat. We will stick together and hold the line. Indivisible was made for this moment. Check out the calendar for opportunities to get connected. Many more events and actions are coming soon.
Democracy is not a spectator sport.
"No one let go of anyone's hand."
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