Issue teams
What are issue teams?
Issue teams are sub-committee groups focused on a specific issue. Their purpose is to:
Uncover real information about the issue.
Identify the moving parts of the issue and its key players.
Pinpoint the most effective actions to bring about the desired result.
Update TRNI on actionable items and/or events to attend.
Magnify the actions/events through TRNI’s communication team.
Issue team topic ideas
Listed in alphabetical order not in order of importance.
Aliso Canyon gas storage facility
The Aliso Canyon gas leak is still affecting communities in its proximity. Governor Newsom promised to shut it down but he has failed us. We need to keep pressure on him and our state representatives until it is shut down for good.
Anti-racism
Racism is built into the fabric o our country denying BIPOC opportunity for success and wealth. It’s not enough to not be racist, we must be anti-racist and as white people we can tear down structural racism if we are willing to do the work to actively be anti-racist. Learn more at Social Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)
Biodiversity/climate change
Reduced biodiversity means millions of people face a future where food supplies are more vulnerable to pests and disease where fresh water is in short supply. (Source: WWF Global). This is one of the reasons we must address climate change in a real and meaningful way.
Black Lives Matter
It's far past the time we stand with our brothers and sisters; especially if you're white. Communities of color have been fighting for equity since slavery. Slavery is alive and well. It's just in different forms like mass incarceration. White people are (often) unknowingly privileged for the mere fact that they're white.
Campaign finance reform
Money in politics has been an ongoing problem. Until we get dark money/special interests, out of politics most of our representatives will answer to them and not to the people they were elected to represent. Over turning Citizen’s United is crucial.
Charter schools
Not all charter schools are bad, however, we do have some bad actors. It's important that we bring their unethical practices to light and ensure they are not elected to school boards, for example, to ensure that student needs are being properly met.
Countering disinformation
Disinformation is a huge problem and it spreads faster and deeper on social media platforms. The good news is - we can counter this and win not only the battles but the war. This is something that should never be overlooked even when you feel like all is well.
Criminal justice & prison reform
“. . . .We have less than 5 percent of the world’s population but nearly 25 percent of its prisoners. Mass incarceration has crushing consequences: racial, social, and economic. . . .And it is not necessary to keep our communities safe.” (Source: Brennan Center for Justice)
DACA
The Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) has done (and continues to do) great work advocating for DACA recipients. These kids are our teachers, doctors, firefighters and more. They need a clean dream act to get a pathway to citizenship.
Federal judicial nominees
Federal judges can impact generations positively or negatively. Far too often this doesn't get as much attention as it should. These positions can shape the next 50 plus years. Mitch McConnell denied Obama judges and pushed thru 100’s of Trump’s unqualified judges.
Federal legislator corruption
Identify impeachable offenses, significant lies, conflicts of interest, moral vacuousness and create simple actions to take like calling your representatives on a single topic. Other actions can include, rallies, protests, opeds, letters to the editor, and sit-ins.
Gun violence prevention
This one is self-explanatory. No child should be terrified to go to school. There are way too many politicians in the pocket of special interests because, to them, money is far more important than the life of your child. Ordinary citizens like us can change this.
Homelessness
To address homelessness, we need to address affordable housing, mental health and drug addiction. We can absolutely solve this with the right moral leadership. It should not be the responsibility of the police to move them. They need professionals like social service advocates.
Immigration
Yes, we need to make sure our borders are secure. Separating families who are legally seeking asylum is morally bankrupt, severely damaging and ineffective. Providing a pathway to citizenship for the hardworking people who don't have a criminal record and richly contribute to our communities is right.
Islamophobia
Muslim's have been wrongly targeted and accused as people who want to harm Americans. It's easier to single out a group of people different than you and instill fear to further ones self-interests than it is to embrace other cultures and religions. We must hold our reps accountable and fight back against hate.
LAUSD school board
Students have suffered enough. Parents, teachers and school staff are standing up for their students and are working together to turn the district's priorities back toward kids and the classroom. Putting pressure on the LAUSD board members can drive change. They think you're not paying attention. Show them that you are.
Join an issue team
LGBTQIA+
Love is love and everyone should live their authentic self without judgement or persecution. No one, let alone government, should dictate who you are and who you love. Ever. LGBTQIA+ rights are human rights and they should be able to fully live their truth without fear and with equality under the law.
Local legislator corruption
It's important that we hold our local elected officials accountable and call out corruption as it comes up, make sure we vote them out of office if they are not authentically and morally representing the communities they were elected to serve.
Local legislator watchdogs
Like state and federal but more localized. Being a watchdog for our school board, city council, sheriff, neighborhood councils, etc. Locally elected officials are often overlooked, and they shouldn't be. All elections are local. Local affects global.
Neighborhood Council
The council's purpose is to improve the quality of life and business climate for residents and workers within the local community. For a list of Neighborhood Councils in Los Angeles, check here.
Net Neutrality
Having a free and open internet is important for people to have access to the information they need. Big business should not be able to charge anyone to access a preferred webpage or be able to promote their own sites while slowing down their competitors pages. Our reps are consistently pressured by lobbyists and we must remain vigilant.
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood offers affordable quality reproductive healthcare to all people. They are also a respected leader in educating Americans about reproductive and sexual health empowering people to make informed choices to lead healthy lives. The government should definitely not be dictating what a woman does with her own body to maintain her health.
Police brutality
Communities of color of been unjustly terrorized by the police for centuries. Excessive use of force has killed an insurmountable number of unarmed black men and those officers are never really held to account the way that they should be. The police is over militarized unnecessarily. We must defund the police and reallocate that money to invest in communities.
Public banking
Public banking is banking in the public interest by law. It means that they must support a real, wealth producing economy and profits they make and returned back to the community. Private banks currently work for private interests and profit at our expense. We can change this by moving us to banks that we own.
Public lands
We own about 600 million acres of public land and water in America. Too often presidents and politicians line their own pockets by selling off public lands to special interests for drilling. These spaces need to be preserved not sold off to the highest bidder.
Public school funding
Funds are continually cut from public schools putting teachers into a position to reach into their own pocket to buy necessary items they need for their classroom. We need our tax dollars to be put into the public school system so all children have access to a great public education.
Racial justice
America’s promise is that all men are created equal but it was built on the backs of slaves to protect rich white men. In order to for all people to be equal, we must tear down structural racism. Learn more about structural racism Showing Up For Racial Justice.
SCOTUS
Trump and Mitch McConnell have severely reshaped the Supreme Court for generations to come. We must expand the court and ensure that we have qualified justices on the court who will protect human rights and uphold separation of church and state.
Single payer/Medicare for All
Everyone should have access to quality and affordable healthcare. Making a profit off people's health is morally reprehensible. No human being should suffer and/or die because they don’t have access to quality healthcare. The greed at the expense of Americans is astounding - ‘If it’s painful, it’s profitable.” This needs to stop.
Social safety nets
Republicans in Congress consistently increase the deficit then they try to go after what they call entitlements (meaning social security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, SNAP, pandemic relief) to reduce the deficit they caused by giving the top 1% a huge tax cut. This is always at risk as long as Republicans are in office.
State and federal MOC watchdogs
For years our representatives haven't been held to account. We've been asleep at the wheel. Since the 2016 election, most of us woke up and started to hold our reps accountable and have learned to effectively pressure them to pursue a more progressive agenda by applying the Indivisible Guide tactics.
Student debt cancellation
Student debt is crushing and keeps them on a never-ending wheel of that weight making it difficult to have a family, buy a home, car etc. As of 2020, Americans owe more than $1.6 trillion in student debt. (Source: Student Debt Crisis) Next, community colleges should be 100% free with an increased focus on vocational training.
Unions
In June of 2018, SCTOUS reversed itself by overturning a 40-year old ruling that allows public employee unions to collect 'fair share' fees from workers to cover their share of the cost of collective bargaining over their wages, benefits, and working conditions (Source: utla.net) We must keep unions healthy and strong because when they are strong, America is strong.
Veteran care
Veterans are not getting the care they deserve. We need to advocate on their behalf to ensure that they have a roof over their head and excellent healthcare. Period. Republicans consistent efforts to privatize Veteran healthcare for a profit is immoral. If we respect our troops and military, veterans we must ensure they have quality housing and healthcare.
Voter suppression
Republicans have an unprecedented track record for making it difficult to vote in areas where BIPOC live but either removing access to voting locations, limiting voting days and hours, putting out disinformation of when and where to vote and tossing out votes that don’t exactly match signatures and more. We can advocate to make it easier to vote, not harder.
Women’s rights
While women have made strides in equal rights, we still have work to do. As it stands right now, we are in jeopardy of severely reversing everything we've accomplished from our reproductive health to sexual violence, rape and much more. Women’s rights are human rights and we should be moving forward to empower more women anywhere decisions are being made that affect them.
Would you like to launch an issue team on any topic(s)?
If you have a fervor for an issue and would like to launch an issue team, please contact us and let us know!