Three Wins Today: Sept 5, 2025

Yesterday I got a very important clarification about the DNC. I have been getting something wrong. Every time I defend the DNC, I explain that they’re leadership is elected, and a new leadership was elected in February, so this is the totally different group of people doing things a totally different way.

And that’s half right and half wrong.

The DNC leadership is elected by their members, with a caveat: only when the President is a Republican. When the White House is under Dem control, it is an arm of the White House. Biden chose Jaime Harrison and the rest of the DNC leadership back in 2021. So they weren’t their own entity.

That also means that Harrison got blamed for a lot of things not under his control. As I hope you are seeing now, if Harrison had had free reign, like Ken Martin does, we would have been looking at a very different DNC.

Now, that’s a valid criticism. If you want to argue that the DNC should not be an arm of the White House when we have control, I would repost the shit out of that.

But, when I say Ken Martin’s DNC has nothing to do with Jaime Harrison’s DNC, that is even more true than I thought. And Chair Martin has been working with the DNC forever. He knows the ins and outs better than pretty much anyone, so he’s able to create change in a way someone less at home with the inner workings of the organization might not have as much success with or be able to do as quickly.

So I agree, Harrison didn’t have the ability to change a whole not, but that’s not on him.

Where I don’t agree is that the Chair Martin DNC isn’t doing everything they can to change the organization for the better. Not all of it is public yet, and there’s a lot of kinks to work out, but the team of Chair Martin, and Co-vice-chairs Shasti Conrad and Malcolm Kenyatta are kicking ass, and organizing everywhere so we can win anywhere.

Now, onto today’s wins!

California

Fri, Aug 29 - If California ride share drivers unionized that would increase union participation by about 500,000. And, that might just be becoming a reality. After years of back and forth, SEIU, Uber and Lyft have reached an agreement in the form of two bills. AB 1340 would allow ride share drivers to form a union, with some caveats I’ll get to below, while SB 371 would decrease the minimum amount of insurance coverage a company like Uber or Lyft must provide. This is a compromise, and still a major win.

Uber and Lyft won’t budge on their drivers being independent contractors, which means, as a union, they won’t be able to strike, but they will have bargaining power.

Harold Myerson, who broke down the bill for The American Prospect explained it as:

A kind of halfway house to full worker rights, but a considerable gain over no rights at all.

There is also another piece of this, Trump hates Unions, and this might just end up being a net positive while he’s in office:

Both the companies and the union agreed to the terms of a bill that would keep the drivers classified as independent contractors (and therefore not under the jurisdiction of the soon-to-be Trumpified and hence anti-union National Labor Relations Board) but would recognize their right to bargain collectively with those two companies.

Because they are staying independent contractors and can’t strike, it also is a loophole in Trump’s anti-union tirade.

State Senator and President Pro-Tem, calls it a “big damn deal”:

For almost a decade, thousands of drivers have fought for a better life. A way forward to the middle class. This agreement represents one of the largest in American history - 800,000 Californians who work behind the wheel will now have a path to higher wages, health benefits, and workplace rights. This a big damn deal, uplifting workers and the Golden State’s economy.

Though this is all pretty much a done deal, there’s still a few t’s to cross and i’s to dot, but given that it’s supported by the companies, SEIU, both Dem controlled legislative bodies, and the governor, we’re in pretty good shape.

Colorado

Wed, Sept 3 - Executive Director of Public Health and Environment, Jill Hunsaker Ryan issued a public health order listing the actions the state will take to protect vaccine access.

declare, based upon the above facts and circumstances concerning the recent actions by the FDA to limit access to the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as the clear evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine…taking actions to expand access to COVID-19 vaccines is necessary to reduce confusion and uncertainty, and to enhance the protection of public health.

Part of these actions includes a standing order from Ned Calogne, Colorado’s chief medical officer, directing pharmacists to follow the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynocologists, etc, rather than the CDC and requiring them to vaccinate anyone with or without a prescription.

Standing orders enable authorized health care professionals (HCP) to assess and vaccinate people who meet the criteria in the "Procedure" section below without the need for clinician examination or direct order from the attending provider at the time of the interaction.

Both orders will stay in effect till Sept 4, 2026.

These orders are coming in from Blue states across the country, so this is by no means an unique win.

But I do want to acknowledge that the credit always goes to the governor, not that this wasn’t his directive or anything, it aboslutely was, but the real winners are Hunsaker Ryan and Calogne. I mean, Pete Buttigeig was US Secretary of Transportion, but we focused on his accomplishments as his. We should do that more. When we celebrate those who are just quietly doing the good work, it’s easier to realize how many fighters we truly have.

Kenya

A declaration is hereby made that the petitioner is to be notably recognized as a transgender individual, having affirmed her right to self-identity and gender, in order to guarantee and protect her rights in the context of the "third gender." Consequently, the right of transgender persons to determine their self-identified gender is upheld, and the state is directed to grant legal recognition of such gender identity within the framework of our legal system.

AND that the legislature should create a Transgender Protection Rights Act:

That it is proposed the State consider undertaking appropriate legislative measures to address the rights and protections of individuals within its borders…In this regard, the enactment of a Transgender Protection Rights Act is recommended as a potential mechanism to ensure equal protection and recognition for transgender persons.

The case centers around a trans woman who goes by SC. She was arrested for impersonating a woman and physically violated by law enforcement to prove as such back in 2019 and she sued. Six years later, she won. And changed the conversation around the trans identity in Kenya and beyond.

Here is a quote from a Ugandan queer publication, Kuchu Times:

Kenya’s ruling speaks powerfully into that silence. It shows that the law can be more than a weapon; it can be reclaimed as a tool of justice. It demonstrates that courts, even within East Africa, can side with dignity, humanity, and fairness. From Kampala, many queer Ugandans cannot help but feel a spark of validation. While our own state sees us as criminals, Kenya has shown that it is possible to be seen in the eyes of the law as a human being deserving of protection.

This brings a level of hope to queer people across all of Africa that they haven’t had since the US started filling the governments heads with homophobic propaganda decades ago.

I know this is very quote heavy, but bare with me, I have one more. This is from Lolyne Onger, at Jinsiangu, Kenya’s leading organization for the Intersex, Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming community:

This is the first time a Kenyan court has explicitly ordered the State to create legislation on transgender rights, and a first in the African Continent. If implemented, it could address decades of legal invisibility and discrimination faced by transgender persons by establishing clear legal recognition of gender identity, protections against discrimination in employment, housing, healthcare, and education, and access to public services without bias or harassment.

This win may be almost a month old, but it is my favorite win I’ve seen all week.

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I hope these wins were inspiring today!

Comment with your favorite win of the day!

Our voices are our superpower, but only when we use them!