The Lever - Success! Open Letter Update.

Friends:

Last week, many liberals defended President Joe Biden and progressive lawmakers who backed a strike-breaking deal that denied rail workers adequate paid sick leave. The Lever did exactly the opposite: We began a fundraising drive to help railroad workers and launched an open letter demanding Democrats use their power to fulfill their campaign promises and give those workers the sick days they deserve.

This open letter was immediately signed by thousands and thousands of people (you can still sign it here, if you haven’t already). And now there’s a breakthrough, thanks to that pressure:

More than a quarter of congressional Democrats just released a letter supporting executive action to protect rail workers.

Our original open letter came with risks for us. As a reader-supported news organization, we were virtually all alone in issuing this call to action, and we followed it up with deep-dive reporting that proved the Biden administration has the power to take action. Our goal? Shame politicians into action.

No doubt, Democratic lawmakers who cast their vote to impose an agreement on rail workers were interested in moving on from the conflict and not talking about it. But demands from workers and unions, amplified by our reporting and pressure, held them accountable and forced the issue.

This is why The Lever exists and what sets us apart from almost every other news organization.

We are not here to coddle people in power or valorize politicians who pretend to be progressive and then betray their promises. The Lever exists to hold those in power accountable — whether they like it or not.

Onward,

Sirota

P.S. Please continue posting our original open letter on your social media feeds, and please forward this email to as many people as you can to encourage them to sign as well.