rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/letter/letter-to-senator-manchin?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-letter-area-letter-to-senator-manchin' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> A Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival https://actionnetwork.org/groups/the-poor-peoples-campaign-a-national-call-for-moral-revival https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/share_options/facebook_images/000/308/567/original/FBEvent_MM_April26th_1200x628px.png We know that Senator Manchin’s position on the filibuster is constitutionally inconsistent, historically inaccurate, morally indefensible, economically insane, and politically unacceptable. This position is hurting all West Virginians of all races, genders, and religions, and especially the 710,000 poor and low-income people in West Virginia (40% of people living in our state). We are tired of Senator Manchin abandoning us! West Virginians need a full restoration of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and expanded protections for our democracy, beginning with the right to vote for everybody. His call for “bipartisanship” goes against the interests of poor and low-income West Virginians, who desperately need living wages of at least $15 / hour, guaranteed health care, housing and an infrastructure plan that meets all of our needs. We are at a time in our country’s history when we must take a stand. We need all people of moral conscience to join West Virginia in asking Senator Manchin: Which side are you on? Take action with the West Virginia Poor People's Campaign by sending Senator Manchin the letter below using the tool on this page. Dear Senator Manchin, We are at a time in our country’s history when we must take a stand. Too many people have been pushed to the margins in a country that has enough to provide for all. We write as moral and religious leaders across the country representing a broad spectrum of faith traditions. The filibuster continues to block the very things our faith traditions proclaim to be just and right. It stands in the way of the nation being able to carry out policies that truly provide everyone an opportunity for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Too many people are suffering because of unjust policies. We cannot wait another day to do what is morally right. Matthew 23 proclaims, “You have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.” The filibuster is leaving undone the most important matters in our public life. We need living wages. We need a full restoration of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and we need federal protection of our voting rights, especially to combat the racist voter suppression efforts seen in dozens of states across the nation since the 2020 election. We need the resolve to eradicate poverty. We know that you have the ability to do tremendous good not only for people in West Virginia but also for the entire country. As a public servant who professes a faith guided by love, justice, and mercy and who has sworn a public oath to support and defend the Constitution, your public statements about the filibuster are a moral contradiction. The filibuster as it is currently being used is not just bad policy. It is sinful. In West Virginia 42 percent of people are poor or low-income—a total of 757,000 residents. This includes 48 percent of children (183 thousand), 43 percent of women (399 thousand), 49 percent of people of color (65 thousand), and 41 percent of White people (692 thousand). Too many are unhoused, hungry, and working for poverty wages in West Virginia. Working at the state minimum wage in 2017, it took 66 hours of work per week to afford a 2-bedroom apartment. 352,000 West Virginia workers make under 15 dollars an hour—50% of West Virginia’s workforce. We cannot address this crisis as long as legislators continue to use the filibuster to block progress on moral policies. Too many people are being robbed of their dignity. We need a country that is united through the care it provides for all people, not just the wealthy few. A delegation from the Poor People’s Campaign met with you this past February to detail these concerns. Since that time, you have reiterated your commitment to preserve the institutions of the Senate that the Republican minority is using to subvert democracy. We urge you to use your power to care for the least of these by opening up a new path for justice by ending the use of the filibuster and passing just and moral policies that address the rights, liberties, and pursuit of happiness for West Virginians and all those living in this country. As a public expression of our commitment to support you in that work, we pledge to pray for you in the coming days. This coming Monday, June 14th, we will also support your constituents in West Virginia who plan to march on your office there and demand an end to the filibuster’s obstruction. And if vital legislation is not able to move forward in the Senate, we will further support a march on your Capitol Hill office the following week. The filibuster has long been used to obstruct the expansion of democracy in this nation, but the power of nonviolent direct action has also changed our public priorities at pivotal moments and made change possible. As coal miners in West Virginia taught the labor movement to sing, now is the moment for you to decide, Senator Manchin: “Which side are you on? / Which side are you on?” We hope to stand with you on the people’s side soon, https://actionnetwork.org/letters/letter-to-senator-manchin