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Catalyst is, by design, a politically active group. We
tackle issues that affect people around the world, including (but not
limited to) civil, LGBTQ, workers’ rights. However, Catalyst maintains its
stance towards non-partisanship, instead emphasizing broader issues of
social justice.
Catalyst is comprised of a diverse array
of individuals, from varying schools of political thought. However, we are
brought together by our shared sense of obligation to take a stand towards
creating a more just society.
Catalyst strives to maintain a welcoming and supportive atmosphere for
any and all who share in this commitment.
Outlined below (albeit briefly) are
the issues Catalyst has worked on past and present. If you are interested in any of these
issues, or the organization in general, please feel free to contact us for
more information.
Civil Rights
We are appalled by the government’s intrusion on our civil rights.
According to the Christian
Science Monitor, the Bush Administration is currently attempting to
“get an exemption from the 1974 Privacy Act that
would allow government officials to spy on Americans without their
knowledge.” The FBI has been using intimidation tactics to scare people
out of protesting at the Republican
National Convention, according to the New
York Times. Our civil rights, including the right to dissent, are
upheld by the Constitution, and we deplore the Bush Administration’s
attempt to circumvent it.
LGBTQ Rights
Many, if not all of us believe marriage is a human right. No government
should try to limit the definition of marriage to being strictly a union of
one man and one woman. We are disgusted by President Bush’s disguised hatred of the LGBTQ
community, thinking that they are somehow second-class citizens because
they do not fit the “status quo” of heterosexuality. The
proposed Federal
Marriage Amendment (FMA) reeks of hatred and discrimination. While
Presidential hopeful John Kerry has a more
humanistic view on the FMA, his solution of civil unions does not go
far enough. We seek full equality for the LGBTQ community. Same-sex couples
should have the same health
benefits, the
same right to adopt, and the same right to marry as heterosexual
couples.
Workers’ Rights
We support the right for workers to
unionize. We have fought tooth and nail to win better wages and
benefits for our cafeteria workers through our Seven Points of Labor
Transformation program (available on this site soon, once we get it scanned
in). Our efforts paid off last year when they received a wage increase to
$8.25. We also seek to raise awareness of the widespread
use of sweatshop labor. Many sweatshops have horrid working conditions,
low wages, and no benefits. We seek to alert people to the despicable
tactics some companies
will use to keep costs low. The national Killer Coke campaign has exposed the Coca-Cola Company using such
tactics, with them hiring paramilitaries to ruthlessly murder trade
unionists. We are disturbed by the ever-burgeoning
problem of globalization. Outsourcing has robbed millions of Americans
of their jobs. Outsourcing
has decimated cities such as Flint,
Michigan. It seems as if many corporations will stop or nothing to make
a profit. We must tackle
the problem of corporate
greed, and it must be stopped.
Racism
Ever since 9/11 and the introduction of the unconstitutional
PATRIOT Act,
the government has unjustifiably
been rounding up Muslim immigrants, holding
many without charges, with others wrongfully being accused for
conspiring against the government. The new
US-VISIT program specifically targets people from Arab
nations. For more information about the roundups of Muslims, visit the Blue Triangle Network.
More information on the issues
we're concerned with will appear soon on this page. Last
updated 8/21/04.
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