THE DC CHAPTER OF THE NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD IS HOLDING ELECTIONS FOR THE 2021 – 2023 EXECUTIVE BOARD

All members of the DC NLG chapter should receive notification within the next 48 hours confirming that they are on the membership roll and will be receiving a ballot. If you do not receive this confirmation message, after checking any spam filter you should contact Lisa Drapkin, NLG Membership Director, at membership@nlg.org to verify your membership status, and renew your membership if it has lapsed.

Members must be in good standing by the close of voting to be eligible to vote. Nominations may be submitted by any member; self-nominations are allowed. You can submit a nomination through this form. Nominations must be submitted no later than 11:59pm EST on April 16, 2021. Nominees must be members in good standing to be eligible to run.

Once nominations are complete, candidates will have an opportunity to share statements with all members prior to the close of voting. Ballots will be distributed via email no later than April 18. The primary method of voting will be via a secure online system, but members will also have the option to print and return a paper ballot. Voting will remain open through 11:59pm EST on May 2, 2021.

The Board consists of at least 7 and no more than 15 members. Each member may vote for up to 15 candidates, and the 15 people receiving the most votes will be elected to a two-year term commencing May 3, 2021.

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Welcome to the new monthly newsletter of the D.C. Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. We think it is the right time to begin this e-newsletter. We hope to help all chapter members stay connected through sharing news with their fellow Guild members. We are excited to get started.

This newsletter will be sent to you on the first day of each month. Please get any items or announcements you want printed to any of the three of us a few days before the end of the month. We hope all members contribute to this newsletter.

DC Jobs with Justice has compiled some of the best and most accessible information needed by working folks to survive during this crisis period.  The NLG- DC Chapter is an active member of the Jobs with Justice coalition in D.C.

Please help share the word: 

• evictions are illegal, but that doesn't mean that individual landlords won't try to evict or threaten to evict. 
• Call Office of the Tenant Advocate for help:  (202) 719-6560
• knowing that utilities will not be cut off allows residents to plan their expenses, which is critical with so many out of work
• Please take a moment to think about who might need this information and text, email, or reach out to let them know. 

More comprehensive resources are available on our site:
https://www.dcjwj.org/covid/ 
https://www.dcjwj.org/ covidespanol/

“5 Demands for Emergency COVID-19 Survival” by organizers with the Richmond Tenants Union who organized this petition: A Pandemic Platform for the People of Richmond.

The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is committed to building collective power and solidarity during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the spirit of our mission of valuing human rights and the rights of ecosystems over property interests: “We must lift coercive economic sanctions, prioritize mutual aid, ensure access to quality health care for all, and secure protections for houseless people, disabled people, prisoners, immigrants in detention, and low wage workers,” says NLG president Elena Cohen.

The NLG National Office staff is taking necessary steps to keep ourselves and our communities safe, including working from home. We recognize this and the ability to “self-isolate” are tremendous privileges, and we remain dedicated to using those privileges to further our mandate of using the law for the people.

In times of global crisis, the interconnectedness of our struggles is laid bare. We urge our members to remain engaged to the extent possible with their NLG chapters’ and committees’ email lists and other forums as we build strategies and tactics to support each other during this time. However, without access to our physical office, we must temporarily suspend our postal mailing operations, impeding our ability to communicate with our incarcerated jailhouse lawyer members who mostly rely on postal mail for connection with the outside world. That’s why efforts like that of Baltimore IWOC to establish a nationwide hotline for prisoners who may be experiencing COVID-19 symptoms are so important.

Knowing the myriad harms of our governments and the capitalist system, it is heartening to see so many people acting in solidarity with their neighbors near and far during the crisis. Mutual aid networks are emerging across the world, and this comprehensive list by the Anarchist Agency and activist and author Cindy Milstein details efforts in the US.