Last Week This Morning: It’s now or never on the filibuster
By TJ Hernandez
Preparing for a filibuster showdown. The US Senate will vote by January 17 on whether to change the Jim Crow filibuster, which is currently blocking progress on voting rights and many other issues. Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin remain the key swing votes.
Omicron hits Arizona. The Omicron variant now accounts for the vast majority of COVID-19 cases in Arizona. Although omicron does seem to lead to milder illness, compared to other variants, caseloads are spiking dramatically, and the state’s hospitals are facing intense strain. (If you haven’t yet, make sure you have gotten your booster, and do what you can to reduce the spread!)
Unionize Starbucks. Hear from workers in Mesa, AZ about why they are fighting to become one of the country’s first unionized Starbucks locations.
Demand remote testimony! Because of the pandemic, in 2021, the state legislature allowed remote testimony. Our state legislature starts Monday and for the 2022 session, they are backsliding and shutting the people out by eliminating the option to provide remote testimony. Our laws should be made openly, publicly, and with input from all of our communities. Write to your state legislator and demand that remote testimony be brought back permanently!
No celebration without legislation – join the Deliver for Voting Rights March! Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters King, and Yolanda Renee King, along with faith leaders, civil rights leaders, and voting rights advocates, are organizing actions in Arizona and DC over Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. weekend to demand the end of the filibuster and immediate action on voting rights. Join the march in Phoenix at 9 am on Saturday, January 15.