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Yahoo!The spate of reform initiatives undertaken by the Administration and both houses of Congress can be attributed directly to grassroots advocacy, according to a comprehensive study due out this month.
Protests organized by Witness Against Torture helped pave the way for the close of the Guantánamo facility. (KC IVY/The New York Times)
“In education and health care, most notably, but also in housing, banking, and the environment, we have documented unprecedented responsiveness on the part of political leaders,” said Dr. Joyce Wellmon, director of the Plains Institute for Policy Analysis, a New York-based think tank. “Our data show a direct correlation between the level of activity of particular coalitions, on the one hand, and specific legislative action, on the other. It’s popular pressure that is responsible for the swiftness and scope of legislation emerging from the White House and Congress.”
The institute’s report shows a three-fold increase in the incidence of letters, phone calls, faxes, and email received by congressional offices, 88 percent of which were from people who identified themselves as new members of particular activist organizations. The report includes extensive interviews with House and Senate staff, who speak of “unimaginable change,” a “dramatic policy shift,” and “a new era of accountability” since the elections.
“Not since the Great Depression has the interaction between popular movements and public leaders been so robust,” said Jorge Lazaro, head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Lazaro cited, in particular, the Wagner Act, also known as the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, which recognized the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively with their employers.
“Roosevelt showed no interest in the Wagner Act until it became clear the unions were going to force it through regardless,” Mr. Lazaro noted. “At that point he jumped on it and helped push it into law.”
Mr. Lazaro also pointed to the Depression-era organizing of the Farmers’ Holiday Association, when farmers refused to sell or bid on crops, blockaded roads, and even once used a torpedo to halt a train carrying livestock into Iowa. Such direct actions helped push courts and legislatures to adopt measures that granted relief from debt caused by low crop prices.
“The similarities between the two periods are remarkable, and the lesson that emerges is simple: if you want change, keep our feet to the fire.”
Dr. Wellmon agrees. “The only reason the current President and Congress have been able to implement all these changes, was because of pressure from popular movements that made them have to.”
The Plains report, due out next month, cites the work of groups associated with United for Peace and Justice, an umbrella for anti-war groups, for galvanizing public support for ending the war, and for pushing the Administration to resist the oil lobby and other interest groups. It also cites the work of groups such as Healthcare-NOW, United Students Against Sweatshops, Housing Works, the A.C.L.U., and others for helping advance progressive causes such as universal health care, worker rights, civil liberties, and economic justice.
“There’s no question that in all areas, mass movements made the difference. Without them we wouldn’t be close to a national health program, a wind and solar bill, a plan to guarantee fair and equal funding for public education, or the banking oversight bill, expected to pass next month in both houses.”
“I never anticipated the rapid advances made in the past six months,” Dr. Wellmon said, “but the public has shown a fierce desire for change. It’s a virtuous cycle: with the breaking of market manacles, human and financial resources are becoming available to support even more real changes in all areas of American life.”
Thank you for this important article and nod to the countless of people that have collectively harnessed their energy, creativity and skills to advance justice. Looking forward to more articles like this, chris
Comment on November 12, 2008 05:09 pm