Friend,
Here are five things that caught my attention!:
Operation Gobble: Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday—good food, football and not all the stress of Christmas gifts! But I know there are many families that are experiencing a tough time during the holidays, especially this year. So this week, I took a lot of pride in carrying forward a tradition my wife started when she was a legislator with “Operation Gobble”. In partnership with the San Diego Food Bank and local labor partners, we gave away more than 1,000 thanksgiving turkeys plus all the sides, and connected families with resources to help them have healthier, happier holidays. I’m thankful for our partners that helped make this event possible.
UC Strike: This week, I was proud to stand with the 48,000 UAW academic workers that went on strike for fair wages and decent benefits. Teaching assistants, researchers and other employees across the University of California system are asking not to have to live in poverty and struggle to make ends meet while supporting a university system with one of the highest costs of living in the nation. The University of California system has many schools that have climbed the international rankings, led the world in research productivity, and benefited immensely off the backs of academic workers and graduate students who have gotten next to nothing in return. Our message to the UCs: Pay our academic workers fairly! End this strike!
Quote of the week: “Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.” Nelson Mandela
Homeless Veterans: Recently, my friend Mayor Todd Gloria and I got a chance to sit down with local veterans in our community for a discussion on how we are doing and what more we can do to ensure our former service members have access to the services they need and receive the support needed to stay off the street. I’m encouraged that we have cut the veteran homeless population in half, but even one homeless veteran is one too many so we are continuing to talk to veterans and community stakeholders to find new ways to provide more services, housing, job training and opportunities to serve those that have served our country.
Tweet of the Week (while Twitter is still a thing):
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Have a great Thanksgiving week!
Best,
Nathan
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