CGE members are making calls to voters across the state and the country to tell them that this tax bill is bad for all of us (except of course the 1%). If you cannot attend one of our phone banking sessions, you can still make calls from wherever you are at to participate in this week of action.
Below is a list of resources for your phone calls, including a list of voter numbers and a script you can use to help guide your conversations.
The vote is expected to go to the Senate on Dec. 18, so this is an important week to encourage voters in Republican districts to voice their opposition to this bill.
This is the link to access phone numbers of voters we’re trying to reach, please bear in mind that people at the top of the list will likely have already heard from one of our members so try to randomize where you begin your calls. Voter List for Rep. Walden
TAX PLAN PHONE BANK SCRIPT
Hi, my name is _____ and I’m a graduate [student worker] at Oregon State University calling to talk to you about the GOP’s tax bill and how it will affect Oregon residents like us. Do you have a minute to learn about the effects of the bill, and how you can help fight against it?
On Dec. 1, the Senate passed a draft of the tax bill, the Tax Cuts and Jobs act, which gives huge tax cuts to corporations and is predicted to raise health care premiums. The GOP has also threatened to tax tuition waivers for graduate students, which would make it unaffordable for me to continue [researching hazelnut blight / studying sustainable forestry / researching sustainable fisheries] and teaching [ intro biology / introductory forestry to future oregon foresters / crop and soil science to future oregon farmers. ]
Greg Walden voted for this bill in the house on Nov. 16. As one of his constituents, he’s duty-bound to represent you! Will you commit to calling his office to tell him that you strongly oppose the Tax Cuts and Jobs act?
You can contact his DC office at (202) 225-6730,
or text “TAX SCAM” {uppercase TAX space SCAM]} to 97779, enter your zip code, and you’ll be connected to his office. [This is a partisan bot app, so choose to share it with the person on the phone only if you feel it is appropriate as it may turn off some potential allies]
Tell Walden that this plan is bad for middle class families and bad for Oregon!
Resources: https://www.trumptaxscam.org/republican-call-script-to-stop-the-trump-tax-scam/
text TAX SCAM to 97779
How did senators vote?
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/01/us/politics/senate-tax-bill-vote.html
How did the house vote?
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/16/us/politics/house-vote-republican-tax-bill.html
Here’s a link to a list of Higher Education Unions for furthering Our Outreach:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VzUVKtXaTiuE5E9UX-vHWDdSTtWWlhwtJwz5PDbS6sg/edit?usp=sharing
If you have the time, the above is a list of higher education unions with their contact information that you can either call or email to ask what they are doing to oppose this bill and how we can help. Information received can then be forwarded to our organizer, Alex Riccio, at organizer@cge6069.org who will be helping to coordinate this information into an action plan for our union members.