Monday, July 1, 5:30-8pm: Phone Bank CA for Bernie w/BerniePDX!

In this exciting 2020 race, where we are going to elect Bernie as President, California is extremely important! California has moved up their primary to Super Tuesday. This means we have a shorter period of time to turn undecided voters into Bernie supports in the largest Democratic state in the country. With your help we are going to do it!

DETAILS: If you are new to phone banking, no worries, people will be there to teach you how to make a call. You will need to bring a laptop or tablet as well as a cell phone. Making these calls is fun and doing it together is a great way to meet like minded people, so please join us!

No worries if you can’t get there from work by 5:30, we will be glad to see you when you can get there.

Location: Tea Chai Te, 616 E Burnside St.

BerniePDX Statement on Oregon Legislature’s Attack on Working People (PERS vote)

BerniePDX and the Portland Democratic Socialists of America condemn the Oregon Democratic supermajority’s recent vote to cut public employee retirement benefits for tens of thousands of Oregon workers. Such a cowardly capitulation to Oregon’s millionaire class is reprehensible, especially against the backdrop of a booming economy where the wealthy few expand their riches at the expense of the many.

For many Oregonians, a secure retirement is a pipe dream. But for thousands of Oregon’s teachers, public health workers, and other government employees, the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) offers some hope of dignity in old age.

PERS is deferred compensation, which was negotiated under contract. Oregon’s public workers did their part by providing years of service to Oregonians, often at the expense of lucrative careers in the private sector. It is beyond belief that so many Democrats backed by labor would stab public employees in the back.

Oregonians don’t need Democrats keen to pass special tax breaks for Nike, while raiding public employee retirement. Oregon Democrats should not merely fight tooth and nail to protect the PERS’ promise, but reach beyond—toward a secure and guaranteed retirement for all Oregonians.

We call on Governor Kate Brown to immediately veto this attack on the working class. There are many options to address the purposely-underfunded PERS liability: Increasing the amortization period, ending the runaway management fees siphoned off by Wall Street, and taxing the wealthy.

Lastly, we recognise the leadership of the Portland Association of Teachers, who compiled the helpful graphic below, which shows the Portland-area Democrats who voted to betray public workers. We encourage everyone to contact your representatives and demand accountability.

BerniePDX and Portland DSA will continue to build a movement with our allies fighting for working people. Join us!

Infographic created by Portland Association of Teachers (PAT)

Saturday, June 1, 11am-1:30pm: Bernie 2020 PSU Farmers Market Canvass

Come together with other Bernie supporters at the Portland State campus to listen, educate and engage new supporters for Bernie. Together, we will have the conversations that matter for what will be the most important election in our lifetime. In the process, we’ll have fun and make new friends. Please join us! See you there!

Location: PSU Farmer’s Market, 1825 SW Broadway

Saturday, May 11, 2-5pm: Canvass for Michelle DePass for PPS w/BerniePDX

Join BerniePDX to canvass for Michelle DePass for Portland Public School Board! Come out to support Michelle before Election Day on May 21!

About Michelle:

“I am from 4 generations of Black teachers in Portland Public Schools, a PPS grad and the mom of PPS kids. But I’m qualified to lead because my passion and love for black and brown kids runs deep. The findings from the recent audit are disturbing; I couldn’t not run. The experiences that have led me here professionally also inform my desire to lead. I didn’t wake up and think to myself that I would be awesome at this job. Rather I had a serious dialogue with myself about what it would take to address the historic, persistent and systemic failing of black kids in PPS, and a good, thoughtful leader that had the capacity at this time would step up.

I’m a single mom of two kids; I volunteered in PPS classroom before I had kids, reading to primary kids, teaching a Junior Achievement curriculum to 5th and 8th graders. Once I had kids I volunteered to teach formerly incarcerated youth algebra to help them pass the electrician’s apprenticeship test, and volunteered in my kids’ classrooms. Two weeks ago I was asked to present a housing focused curse; I presented at Madison HS, three classes to 85 kids on Housing: Race and Place about the history of racial residential policy, and how it plays out today.”

Learn more at www.depassforpps.com

Read BerniePDX’s endorsement statement at www.BerniePDX.us/2019-endorsements

Location: NE 24th Ave. and NE Klickitat

Sunday, May 5, 1-4pm: Bernie 2020 Community Canvass

RSVP & Share on Facebook!

A brief training will be followed by a couple of hours canvassing in the nearby neighborhoods. For newbies, this will give us a chance to practice so you can gain the skills to venture into your own neighborhoods. For veterans of political organizing, this will get our campaign legs (or wheels) under us again! Come together with your friends, family, and neighbors to join our historic campaign to defeat Trump and transform America! Together, we will talk to our neighbors and have the conversations that matter in an election that is as important as this one.

RSVP here: https://act.berniesanders.com/event/community-canvass_attend/6626

Location: Meet at Safeway, 1100 NE Broadway, Portland