Movimiento Cosecha GR kick’s off their Boycott Turkey Campaign
Last night, in front of the downtown branch of the Grand Rapids Library, the Grand Rapids chapter of Movimiento Cosecha kicked off its campaign to boycott Turkey and turkey products through the rest of the year.
The campaign began with Erica (pictured on the left above) talking about her experience working at Michigan Turkey, which has 2 poultry processing plants in the Greater Grand Rapids area. She said that after working on the processing line, where her job always involved pulling, she been to experience pain in her one hand.
The very next day, her supervisor notice that there was some discoloration in her hand and asked her what was wrong. Fearing that she would lose her job, she said it was nothing. The next day, she was asked to train someone to do what she did and then the supervisor asked her to sign a document saying she was quitting. She refused, but the supervisor said their was nothing he could do, so even though she did not sign, she was still fired.
After Erica shared her story, Gema Lowe with Movimiento Cosecha GR spoke about her own story as an immigrant working in Michigan. She stated:
My name is Gema and I immigrated to the Grand Rapids area more than 20 years ago. In all these years, I have worked in several jobs, almost all in factories where most of the workers were also immigrants. It was not until something drastic happened in my life and I suffered an accident at work that left me unable to work, and as a result I lost my home and most of the things that I was able to have with all my years of work. It was then that I understood the many abuses that immigrants suffer and how these companies take advantage of the fear that immigrants have of being deported so that they can pay low wages and not to provide the benefits and protections that workers have, such us workers compensation.
At this point Gema then talked about the power that immigrants have, considering the fact that if most immigrants, especially undocumented immigrants went on strike, the country would be deeply impacted. This is especially the case in the food industry, where most migrant labor is done by immigrants, as well as the slaughterhouse industry.
Gema then stated:
Right now in the poultry industry there is exploitation of immigrant hands where they are denied their most basic rights and needs such as going to the bathroom. The production line is constantly producing more than one bird per second and the workers are not replaced in their work stations so they have reached the point that they have to go to work wearing adult diapers because they are being exploited and violated on their rights.
Recognizing that all the food that is on our tables during these end of the year festivities has been cultivated, harvested and processed by immigrant hands, we invite you to make the sacrifice of not eating turkey to honor the work of immigrant workers and we invite, when you are together with your families at the Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas or New Year to remember that our immigrant brothers and sisters whose families may not be together because they have been separated and won’t be able to celebrate because their family members have been deported.
Movimiento Cosecha GR is call for a boycott of all turkey and turkey products to demonstrated their economic power until their demands are met. Those demands include – Respect, Dignity and the Permanent Protection of all Immigrants, regardless of their status.
The boycott campaign will include many other activities over the next few months, but for those who want to get involved, please contact Movimiento Cosecha GR by going to their Facebook page.
Below is a flyer they will be distributing in English and Spanish to inform people about the boycott and their movement for immigrant justice.
Yesterday, the Michigan Campaign Finance Network posted an article looking at the organizations and families contributing the most money (as of Oct 20, 2017) to the 2018 elections at the state level in Michigan.
The data compiled by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network looks specifically at the campaign contributions that are being funneled through the House Democratic Fund, the Senate Democratic Fund, the House Republican Campaign Committee and the Senate Republican Campaign Committee.
They list several of the members of the West MI Power Structure as major contributors and we decided to to the campaign contributions to date for the state level together, with images and a brief list of some of the other groups these people are involved with in West Michigan. The groups they are involved in not only influence state policy, they influence the economic and political realities in West Michigan.
In light of the passing of AIM activist Dennis Banks, we wanted to honor him with re-posting an interview we conducted with him in 2009.
In this 4 part interview, Dennis talks about his own experience of being taken from his community by force and put into a boarding school, his involvement with the American Indian Movement, the siege at Wounded Knee and the future of Indigenous resistance. Dennis said in the 4th interview, “the US is headed in the direction of creating another Wounded Knee” and that future attacks on Indigenous people’s will focus on water and water rights. The ongoing struggle at Standing Rock confirms those two points.
Does it have to be bus driver union contracts vs the Transit Millage?: Organizing Movements for more than either or outcomes
A few weeks ago, we posted a brief article highlighting some of the tension between the ATU (bus drivers union) and the group Equity PAC.
The ATU has been working without a contract for 2 years and will likely advocate for people to not support the bus millage as long as they are working without a contract. Equity PAC disagrees with the ATU tactic and believes that the union should put riders, particularly those most marginalized, first on this issue.
Last Tuesday, over 50 people spoke during the Grand Rapids City Commission meeting and most of them were advocating for an Equal Services policy to be adopted by the city, which would make it so city employees (including police) NOT ask people about their immigration status. However, what was interesting about those who spoke, is that most of them were also advocating for the city to push for a fair contract resolution for the bus driver’s union.
This was a powerful display of solidarity, because immigrants, union members and allies came together to make the statement, “immigrant rights are workers rights!”
This relationship between the ATU and Movimiento Cosecha GR, did not come out of nowhere. Since the early part of 2017, bus drivers and their allies have been participating in marches, strikes and boycotts that Movimiento Cosehca GR has been organizing. This growing relationship was evident at the City Commission meeting on Tuesday night, especially for those who have been following each groups struggle in recent years.
The solidarity between these two groups demonstrated that they not only could work together, but they could walk together on the journey to justice and collective liberation.
Short Term and Long Term strategies for Movement Building
In terms of the Millage Vote, which will be determined on November 7, there may not be any short term solutions, since both the ATU and Equity PAC seem firm in their positions. However, what if both agreed to sit down and discuss some long term strategies about building a more powerful grassroots movement that can demand and win on issue after issue?
Of course, this not only applies to the ATU and Equity PAC, but to a whole host of groups that claim to be for social justice – racial, economic, gender, environmental, immigrant, LGBTQ and disability justice.
However, let’s keep the issue focused on the local transit system, in order to use a current dynamic with groups that are fighting for equity and justice.
According to The Rapid, their budget for 2017 was $87,899,101. Besides rider fees and grants, the transit system needs other sources of funding to maintain the current services. Having people vote on a transit millage every so many years on one level makes sense, but what if we used our political imagination and thought about funding in a much more expansive and radically just way.
The question isn’t whether or not there is enough funding available for efficient mass transit systems, it is a question of priorities. For instance, the US military budget annually is the largest in the world and contributes to a whole range of injustices – such as bombing people, the use of drone warfare, direct military intervention and maintaining nearly 1,000 US military bases across the globe. What if some of the military funding that left Grand Rapids (in the form of tax dollars) was used to fund the existing mass transit system and to expand it?
According to the National Priorities Project, $264.72 million in taxes leaves Grand Rapids every year to fund US militarism. This amount is roughly three times the amount of funding needed for The Rapid on an annual basis. However, The Rapid operates in several other communities outside of GR. Therefore, if we looked at the amount of tax money that goes to the Pentagon each year from Kent County, that total would be $958.16 million. This amount is 10 times what the annual budget of The Rapid.
So what would it take to get people organized to fight for this type of economic conversion?
First, we would need to get together labor groups, groups focused on equity, environmental groups, disability groups, groups calling for racial justice, immigrant justice, queer justice and climate justice. Second, a platform would need to be created that all the groups could agree upon, which would provide a framework for how to organize. This is what some of us call Points of Unity, which provides some vision and accountability for the work ahead.
So lets say that people recognize that US militarism contributes directly to white supremacy, gender violence, environmental destruction, climate change, refugees, etc. We would see that people experiencing poverty, which are disproportionately black and brown communities, are targeted by military recruiters. We would see that most of the fossil fuels that are being extracted in North America, which fuels the US military, is being extracted from Indigenous lands and/or the pipelines runs through Indigenous lands. This recognition would allow each of the groups involved to make it clear that it was in the best interest of their constituents to support such an effort, but more importantly it would facilitate the possibility that we reorient our struggles around fighting settler colonialism, colonialism and white supremacy.
Third, an educational campaign would need to be developed, along with strategies using direct action. However, we must not limit ourselves to electoral strategies, since they have proven to be rather ineffective. We need strategies that builds grassroots and autonomous power for the long term. The Movement for Black Lives provides an important model.
Fourth, those involved in such a movement would agree that we support each other’s struggles and recognize that it is the economic and political system, which are the real problem, not each other. One thing we need to do in movement building is spend way more energy on directing our rage at the systems of power and oppression than we do on other people with whom we probably have more in common with than we think.
Fifth, such a movement also facilitates that we do not operate in silos and are always thinking about how issues are connected. More importantly, it means that those involved in such movement building are spending more time together, which means we would be developing healthier long-term relationships with people doing the hard work of organizing. In the feminist relational organizing model, developing relationships is equally important to whatever work we are doing, since we ultimately need to trust and nurture each other over the long haul. 
These dynamics are counter to how we organize now, which is short-term, fighting for the same funding sources, in our silos focused on single issues and spending more time arguing with each other than fighting the systems of oppression, which are the real culprits.
There are lots of other ways to think about how we can organize for collective liberation and dismantle systems of oppression, but it is paramount that we think differently about how to achieve those goals and to operate outside of a business as usual model that so many progressive and grassroots groups tend to mimic.
Michigan Senate passes bill to allow Charter Schools to use money raised from property tax: DeVos money supported Senators who co-sponsored legislation
Last week, SB 0574 was passed by the Michigan Senate, which would allow Charter Schools to receive funding from property tax money raised in school districts. An analysis of the bill states:
One key to attracting families and businesses to Michigan is building strong school systems. Strengthening Michigan’s schools will bolster the State’s future workforce and help develop a strong talent pipeline within the State. Charter 
schools are a growing part of the educational system in Michigan and contribute to the strength of its communities by providing students with many unique educational opportunities that traditional public schools cannot reproduce.
Another section in the analysis looks specifically at the Kent Intermediate School District, and states:
In Kent Intermediate School District, for example, more than 14,000 students attend public school academies. A recent millage placed before the voters in that ISD will generate approximately $20.0 million over the next 10 years for schools there. If the bill had already been enacted, it could have allowed all students in Kent ISD, rather than just those who attend traditional public schools, to benefit from that money.
Senator Dave Hildenbrand, who introduced the bill was quoted in the Detroit News as saying,
“I introduced this bill because there’s over 14,000 public school students in Kent County that are not being treated fairly. They’re not receiving the same resources as other public school students in our county.”
The other Senator co-sponsors of this bill were Senator’s Phil Pavlov, Pat Colbeck, Mike Shirkey, Peter MacGregor and Mike Kowall. Together with Sen. Hildenbrand, they have been the recipients of money from West Michigan’s wealthiest families, including the DeVos Family, the Meijer Family and John Kennedy. (Source: Michigan Campaign Finance Network http://mcfn.org/donor-tracking)
So, on the day before that US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos appeared in Grand Rapids at the Acton Institute gala, the Michigan Senate passing legislation that fits in perfectly with what Betsy DeVos has been lobbying for over the past two decades, the use of public money for charter schools.
A powerful display of solidarity: Union workers and immigrants came out to support each other’s struggles at the GR City Commission meeting last night
Last night, at the Grand Rapids City Commission meeting, roughly 60 different people shared a simple message that was repeated throughout the public comment period, “Workers Rights are Immigrant Rights.”
There were some people who addressed issues around affordable housing and the AmplifyGR proposed development project, which are also urgent and impactful matters. However, what most people came to share last night focused on two intersecting issues.
First, the Grand Rapids branch of the Amalgamate Transit Union (ATU), which has been without a contract for some 2 years, came to push the city officials to get a fair contract signed. The ATU gathered outside of city hall prior to the event and held a small rally, which you can see in the video here.
Another important aspect about the gathering outside, was that ATU members shared with the crowd that their local is in support of immigrant rights and what groups like Movimiento Cosecha were calling for with a policy that made it clear that no city employee, especially police officers, would ever ask people what their immigrant status was. The ATU posted this statement saying:
We also ask that briefly during your public comment that you say something like, “I support an official written, Equal Service Policy that will affirm the City’s commitment to not ask about immigration status to help protect members of our immigrant community in Grand Rapids.”
Most of the City Commission meeting lasted about 45 minutes, which was mostly a formality of adopting what the committee of the whole adopted in the morning. It was during the public comment, when people articulated their solidarity for immigrant rights and worker rights.
As soon as public comment began, dozens of people stood up to stand in line for a chance to address the commissioners. There were people from many walks of life that spoke. Several high school students addressed the commission. Riley Wilson stated that it was essential for the city to adopt a fair contract for the Rapid bus drivers and that the city needed to adopt a policy to make sure that immigrants were not being targeted by city employees, especially police officers.
An immigrant women named Angelica, who spoke through a translator, came to tears as she spoke about the immigrant families who come into her store and share their fears of being deported and not feeling safe.
Lorena, who is a Latina immigrant and has her masters degree, worries about being pulled over and asked about her immigration status. She works with students and said that some of the students are afraid and don’t come to class.
Johana works at Burton Elementary School. She said that parents and students are afraid to come to meetings. “When parents are scared the kids don’t come to school and they are not learning.”
A minister, who identified as Latino, said that many of his neighbors are immigrants who have expressed to him that they live in constant fear. “It is vitally important to have a policy where immigrants will not be asked about their status.”
Sergio, who came to the US as a boy with his parents, shared a bit of his story. He said that his parents came without documentation and were deported, leaving him there traumatized after having witnessed this forced separation. He said, “people did not stand up for me and my family, so I ask the commissioners to pass a policy that will guarantee that city employees will not ask people what their immigration status is.”
Each of these immigrants, or those in solidarity with immigrants, also stated their support for the ATU and for a fair contract to be signed as soon as possible.
There were people who are educators that spoke in favor of both the ATU contract and the Equal Service policy that would provide some protections for immigrants. University students who share the same message and several people who talked about coming from union families who showed solidarity for both the bus drivers contract and the Equal Service policy.
One man who runs a food pantry in the southeast part of the city said that he has seen a 10% increase in people needing food assistance. He said it seemed as if there was a race to the bottom for a lot of people. “I support the bus drivers union and their desire to get a fair contract and immigrants who should not have to live in fear when interacting with city employees. Get a policy signed and take a stand for a fair contract.”
For over two hours, people spoke passionately and implored city officials to make sure a fair contract was signed with the bus driver’s union and to adopt a policy of Equal Service so that immigrants do not have to be asked about their status. Those who spoke made it clear that such actions needed to take place NOW!
Wolverine World Wide is the site of a Crime Scene: Environmental contamination, disposable workers and influence peddling
Environmental contamination from corporate plants and factories are referred to as “externalities” by economists. Essentially, what they mean is that this is a real consequence and a real cost, but it is external to what corporations do. In fact, corporations most often do not factor in the cost or the need to be responsible for waste or contamination.
Look at the case of Wolverine World Wide. For decades they knew about the contamination of ground water from their tannery and the chemicals used in the process, but have never really been held accountable for the environmental disaster they have caused.
WOOD TV 8 did an investigative story recently and found that there was a complaint about contamination from Wolverine as early as 1959. MLive reporter Garret Ellison has produced several good stories in recent weeks that makes it clear that the company has knowingly been engaged in environmental contamination for decades.
In an interview with a Wolverine World Wide VP, the MLive reporter takes the bureaucrat to task over their lack of transparency and accountability.
Q: State records indicate tannery waste was dumped at the State Disposal Landfill (a Superfund site) on the East Beltline. When I asked, Wolverine said ‘we don’t have records of that.’ Does Wolverine not have complete waste disposal records?
A: “I think we’re aware of what has been said, what has been printed. I think we continue to do research. We’re back-checking against what our own records are. And again, our focus right now, the time that we’ve devoted to this, and our attention right now is really working to resolve the House Street issue. And in finding a short-term solution for the residents there. And then obviously, working towards a longer-term solution. We are looking at our own internal records on what our disposal practices were over the past five decades.”
In another article published on Saturday, the MLive reporter also investigates the fact that the Bolder Creek Golf Club sits on top of 12 acres of toxic waste that Wolverine World Wide is responsible for.
For decades the EPA knew about these dynamics. In 2012, the EPA held meetings with residents of Rockford to discuss the contamination, but stated that they needed to do more studies before they could make a serious conclusions. This meeting was held only because residents had filed a formal complaint, according to an article in the Rockford Squire.
At this point it is important for all of us to ask ourselves, will any executives from Wolverine World Wide go to jail? If any one of us knowingly polluted a river or lake and were caught for it, we would likely go to jail or to prison. However, a succession of Wolverine executives have knowingly polluted large areas of Rockford and possibly the Grand River and it is likely that none of them will ever spend a day in prison. If justice was actually unbiased, the headquarters of Wolverine World Wide should be labeled as a crime scene.
Disposable Workers
The environmental contamination that Wolverine World Wide has perpetrated is not the only criminal behavior they have engaged in. Hundreds of workers have been disposed of, much like the toxic waste that the company has tossed about the landscape of Rockford.
During the years after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed, the company disposed of several hundred workers, according to data from the Department of Labor.
In more recent years, Wolverine World Wide disposed of workers when they close plants. In 2009, 450 workers were disposed of when the company shut down one of its tanneries. In 2013, another 90 workers were disposed of as part of the company’s restructuring. On Saturday, the company announced – in the midst of their environmental crimes – that they would be moving their Rockford-based distribution facility to California, thus disposing of another 50 workers.
Influence Peddling and CEO Salaries
Wolverine World Wide is no stranger to influencing public policy at the local, state and federal level. According to OpenSecrets.org, the company has spent on average over $100,000 lobbying Congress to get favorable policies around trade and corporate accountability.
The CEO of Wolverine World Wide, Blake Krueger, is also a significant contributor to political candidates, as a means of buying influence at the state level, particularly with the GOP. In the 2011-2012 election cycle, the Wolverine CEO contributed $49,500 to the GOP. Krueger has continued to contribute big money to the GOP since 2012 and specifically has contributed directly to Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s campaigns.
Then there is the issue of Blake Krueger’s salary and total compensation package, which in 2016, was valued just under $7.8 million a year.
If Wolverine was a crime scene
Let us put on our political imagination hats for a moment and think about what would happen to Wolverine World Wide if we lived in a world where justice was served.
- Wolverine World Wide would have to pay for all the testing of water for residents and businesses in the area.
- Wolverine World Wide would have to pay for any water and soil contamination clean up costs.
- Wolverine World Wide would have to pay for any medical or health costs for residents in the area, because of the environmental contamination they have caused.
- Wolverine World Wide should pay reparations to the residents impacted from the environmental contamination and the workers they have disposed of over the years.
- Wolverine Executives and major shareholders should be tried for corporate crimes and serve time for the harm they have caused to countless people in the Rockford community.
- What is left of the company should be turned over to workers and allow them to run it, equally sharing the profits from their labor.
Now, I know that these suggestions are considered by some to be unachievable. However, if we never exercise our political imaginations, we will never create a vision for the world we want to live in and then make that vision a reality.
How to Fight the Anti-Hunger Industrial Complex: An Interview with author Andy Fisher
This interview was conducted online with Andy Fisher, author of the recent book, Big Hunger: The Unholy Alliance Between Corporate America and Anti-Hunger Groups. We have been thinking about some of the analysis from his book over the years, especially as it relates to food justice.
In recent months we have written articles that have offered a critique of both Feeding American West Michigan and the group Kids Food Basket, which are fairly consistent with the analysis that Fisher provides in his book.
On Tuesday, October 25, there is a public lecture by Any Fisher at the Diocese of Grand Rapids 360 S. Division Ave from 7 – 8:30pm. You can find more details at this link.
GRIID – What would you say are the main points you make in your book, Big Hunger: The Unholy Alliance Between Corporate America and Anti-Hunger Groups?
Andy – The way we address hunger in the US is ineffective and has generated collateral damage to the dignity and health of the poor.
At the heart of this ineffectiveness are the relationships between corporate America and anti-hunger groups. These relationships have been instrumental to solving hunger today, but sell us short in solving hunger for tomorrow, or at a systemic level.
This a time of great change in the anti-hunger community, of groups working toward new goals in different ways. This change needs to be accelerated and institutionalized.
The path forward for the anti-hunger community lies in a new vision grounded in principles of economic justice, health and local economies.
There is a great potential for connecting the anti-hunger community to public health, labor and other sectors to build a much stronger force for progressive politics.
GRIID – In your book you state: In both allying themselves with corporate America and not pursuing labor-related issues, anti-hunger advocates tacitly exonerated businesses from their role in fostering income inequality and, in various cases, of engaging in practices that perpetuated hunger among their own workers or subcontractors. Can you talk a bit more specifically about how anti-hunger groups exonerate businesses around income inequality?
Andy – Various leading non-profits accept donations from corporations that exploit their workers. These non-profit groups themselves do not engage in substantive advocacy – or in many cases any advocacy on reducing income inequality through policies that impact the bottom line of their corporate donors. For example, Share our Strength works to end childhood hunger. It is in partnership with numerous restaurant chains and trade associations that are well known for treating their workers poorly and actively fight against raising the tipped minimum wage form $2.13/hour. By taking their funding and promoting them as a partner, SOS essentially gives them their seal of approval that these companies are good corporate citizens when in reality their practices are antithetical to fighting hunger.
GRIID – Would it be fair to say that we have an Anti-Hunger Industrial Complex in this Country? and if so, why?
Andy – Yes, we do. This complex is made up of anti-hunger groups, USDA and the food industry. Its purpose is to manage hunger rather than eliminate it. Perpetuating the hunger problem allows companies to continue profiting from it through tens of billions of dollars of subsidies in the form of federal government programs, and through appearing to be good corporate citizens – as well as tax breaks and reduced tipping fees. With the support of these companies, non-profits are able to maintain programs that have been inadequate to solve the hunger problem, as well as ensure their own existence and in some cases professional-grade salaries.
GRIID – In West MI, we have Feeding America and Kids Food Basket that have both aligned themselves with corporate America, yet they are often seen as champions in the fight against hunger. Could you talk a bit about why much of the public still sees groups like these as exemplary?
Andy – Because these groups have communicated loudly and insistently that the way to solve hunger is through a charity approach. It has been a core message for almost four decades. Sure, we talk about SNAP and other nutrition programs, but the bulk of the communications is really about charity. This message resonates with the public. It fits into a Right-wing message about shrinking the role of the government, and with liberals as it helps the impoverished. Charity is rooted in the Judeo Christian traditions as well. Changes to tax policy, wages, labor policy and other issues are more challenging politically. Charitable food makes people feel good, that they can do something to help their community without wading into controversial issues.
GRIID – If you were able to sit down with groups like Kids Food Basket and Feeding America, what would you encourage them to do that does not require them to align with corporate America?
Andy – I don’t know Kids Food Basket. I would encourage Feeding America to do four basic things:
Encourage food banks to create a strategic plan to fundamentally transform the way they do business such that in 20 years we are no longer distributing massive amounts of free food to people. Instead food banks are providing food to community-based institutions such as domestic violence and homeless shelters, or using free food as a tool to bring people in to policy and community organizing.
Push for a change in the tax code such that food companies do not receive an incentive for giving away unhealthy foods,such as soda and candy.
Tell their retail and processing partners that they will no longer accept unhealthy foods, such as candy, cakes, sugar sweetened beverages and chips. Encourage and help individual food banks to reject such foods.
Start advocating for a raise in the minimum wage, employee-friendly scheduling, progressive tax policy, and universal health care.
GRIID – Lastly, can you give us some examples of places that are practicing what you advocate for in your book and maybe principles that are necessary for us to move from food charity to food justice?
Andy – Just Harvest in Pittsburgh does a yeoman’s job of connecting anti-hunger work to economic justice, and is very active in supporting labor issues.
Foodlink in Rochester NY has developed successful economic development initiatives, using the food bank’s infrastructure to support local farmers and provide jobs and job training.
Community Food Centers of Canada is creating a network of a dozen centers that incorporate advocacy. Community building, gardening, food access with free food distribution.
The Oregon Food Bank is training its employees in anti-racism practices, to reduce the oppression inherent in the emergency food system. It is advocating on wages, affordable housing as well as helping rural communities develop their own solutions to food problems.
How Media Reports on the death of Billionaires: Helen DeVos
One can learn a great deal by paying attention to how the commercial news media reports on those who are part of the power structure, whether they are national or local.
In 2011, we wrote a critique of the news media’s coverage of the death of Fred Meijer, saying essentially that the news media in West Michigan had canonized the billionaire. We also pointed out that from 2007, when the world was in an economic free fall, through 2010, Fred Meijer had increased his wealth by 150%, totally $5 billion by 2010.
Despite Fred Meijer’s otherworldly wealth, the West Michigan news media chose to focus on his philanthropic activities. This tells us that the local news media do not question:
- How people acquire their wealth.
- The role and function of foundations or philanthropy.
- What impact philanthropy has on systemic change.
- And they generally ignore or keep separate the influence that philanthropists have on public policy.
On Wednesday, Helen DeVos, the wife of Amway co-founder Rich DeVos, passed away. On Thursday, the West Michigan news media began to eulogize Helen DeVos, much in the same manner as they did Fred Meijer of Jay Van Andel in recent years. One MLive article provided a platform for those who are part of the power structure to voice their thoughts on the death of Helen DeVos, including Gov. Snyder, Rep. Justin Amash, some local CEOs, grandson Rick DeVos and Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalyn Bliss. This article also included a tribute video to Helen DeVos created by MLive staffers.
Wood TV 8, WZZM 13 and WXMI 17 all had variations on the same kind of reporting, with nothing but glowing remarks about her generosity.
In the primary article from MLive, the reporter provides an overview of the life of Helen DeVos, with a list of awards she won, her relationship to her family and the charitable causes she was involved in. One comment from her youngest son, Doug DeVos, is particularly telling.
“She saw the money as a tool to support causes close to her heart. The DeVos family has given away more than $1.2 billion over the years, a majority of the donations coming from the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation.”
Doug DeVos’ comment is instructive for two main reasons. First, he tries to minimize the vast amount of wealth that Rich and Helen had amassed over the years and get us to believe that it did really have any impact on her. Second, Doug points on the amount of money his mom and dad’s foundation has contributed over the years. Let’s take a look at that for a moment.
While most of the eulogizing focuses on the funding that Helen DeVos gave to the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, it ignores so many other entities that were the recipients of funding from the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation.
The Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation has contributed money to organizations that are blatantly anti-LGBTQ, such as the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church and Focus on the Family. While doing research for the Grand Rapids LGBTQ People’s History Project, we discovered that their foundation threatened to withhold funding if the University was going to move forward with providing domestic partner benefits to faculty and staff. GVSU decided to take the money and then wait another 13 years before they agreed to provide domestic partner benefits.
The Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation has also provided millions of dollars to organizations that are deeply committed to waging class war and standing on the side of those who are already wealthy. The couple’s foundation has given millions to each of the following politically right think tanks:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy
However, their foundation funding pales in comparison to the political contributions that Richard and Helen DeVos have made over the years. The Michigan Campaign Finance Network reported earlier this year that the DeVos Family has contributed $82 million since 1999. A great deal of that has come from Rich and Helen, which have been making large donations to candidates and the GOP for over 40 years.
If you spend time searching the database at the Center for Responsive Politics, you can see the vast amounts of money Helen and Rich DeVos have spent to buy political influence. Search the 49503 zip code and you see that most of the names that come up are Rich and Helen DeVos. The image below is just a sampling from the 2016 Election Cycle.
At the state level, you can look at a previous posting we did, which looked at how the DeVos Family had contributed to candidates who introduce policies that have become law. For instance, in 2015, DeVos money helped to pass HB 4052, a law that takes away local control. Why is this relevant, because powerful entities like the DeVos family do not want local communities adopting policies like a living wage, regulations against wage theft or adopting anti-discrimination ordinances that would include or add anti-discrimination protections for the LGBT community.
A second example signed into law in 2015 was HB 4188. This legislation, often framed as a religious freedom bill, would allow adoption agencies in Michigan the ability to deny LGBT couples/partners/families from adopting.
All of this is to say that Helen DeVos, like all the other members of the family, do significant harm through their wealth, both in the form of foundation given and political contributions. In more honest days, people did not mourn the deaths of local oligarchies or the robber barons in their community, they celebrated their deaths.
Gauntlet of Shame greeted Acton Institute event attendees and Betsy DeVos supporters in Grand Rapids last night
As we reported on last month, Betsy DeVos was the keynote speaker at the Acton Institute’s 27th annual gala event, held at the DeVos Convention last night.
The protest outside was designed to make it uncomfortable for those attending the event, which were largely members of the capitalist class. The Acton Institute set up valet parking right along Monroe St. in front of the Convention Center, but some people chose to park in the ramp across the street under the city/county building. Either way, people who were attending the Acton Institute event had to pass through a gauntlet of protestors who greeted them with whistles, signs and chants of “Shame” as they entered the building.
The idea behind the Gauntlet of Shame was to communicate clearly to the Capitalist Class that what they do and what they support causes actual harm to people, especially to those most marginalized. We know that what the Acton Institute stands for, which is primarily about the neoliberal capitalism – profits over people, the privatization of public services, attacks against public education, dismantling unions – that these policies cause tremendous harm to working class people and especially to communities of color.
Another aspect about last night’s protest was that people were not there to engage in a dialogue. The Capitalist Class isn’t going to change, because they benefit from the systems that are in place. We were there to make people feel uncomfortable, because of all the harm they cause in the world. Here is the text of a handout that someone made, which sums up well the reasons why people were confronting those attending the Acton Institute Gala event.
Cops and War Criminals
The police presence was minimal when the demonstration began last night, with some cops in cars and others on bikes to keep an eye on those protesting. However, once it became clear that the protest was not the usual sign holding affair and that people were being made to feel uncomfortable, the police numbers grew.
The protest was concentrated at the main convention center entrance off of Monroe, so the police presence was heavy there, with 6 cops standing in front of the doors (along with 
convention center security) and then several other cops around the perimeter of that entrance, since people were coming from the north and south side of Monroe to enter the building. The police were even escorting members of the Capitalist Class from the valet area to the building.
At one point, just before he entered the building, people recognized the brother of Betsy DeVos, Erik Prince, who was attending the Acton Institute event. Immediately, people began shouting War Criminal at Prince and walking towards him. The police stood in front of those attempting to get closer to Prince, and just before he entered the building he blew a kiss to those protesting. This gesture was nothing more than a big “Fuck You” to everyone outside. Erik Prince can arrogantly make these gestures because he knows that the current political and economic system will protect people like him, despite the fact that the mercenary corporation he used to own, Blackwater, was responsible for the murder of innocent Iraqi civilians. Prince himself lived in the United Arab Emirates for several years to avoid extradition for his role in those murders. The Capitalist Class gets to live in this world, causing tremendous harm, and then they do not have to suffer the consequences of their actions.
The protest against the Acton Institute and Betsy DeVos began at 5:30pm and ended just after 7pm, since the dinner/keynote address was scheduled for 7pm. People left feeling energized, especially since this was an action that was focused on directly confronting those who attended the Acton Institute and those who support the current Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos.
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 