June 1, 2020

City Bus Drivers Are Driving Home a Message to Protesters: We’re With You

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In the wake of George Floyd’s death and in solidarity with protesters across the country, city bus drivers are taking a stand, banding together against police violence by refusing to transport arrested protesters to jail. “[We] do not work for the NYPD. We transport the working families of NYC,” tweeted a drivers union. “All [of our] operators should refuse to transport arrested protestors,” an affirmation echoed by a wave of drivers in Minneapolis who pledged, “We are willing to do what we can to ensure our labor is not used to help the Minneapolis Police Department shut down calls for justice.”

Another driver stepped off peacefully and refused to drive when NYPD commandeered his bus for transporting arrested protesters, to the cheers of the crowd.

If you see or hear of bus drivers going above and beyond with acts of kindness, generosity, decency, and safe, strong shows of support related (or not) to protests, drop a line to recharge@motherjones.com. And bookmark the blog at motherjones.com/recharge.

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From the desk of Mother Jones CEO, Monika Bauerlein...

Newsrooms can be funded in many ways. One of the most controversial (and volatile) ways is by a for-profit corporation or a billionaire owner. We see it across the headlines on a weekly basis: the claw backs in public media, the gutting of The Washington Post, the bending over backwards to appeal to Trump and his allies.

But not here.

When Mother Jones first started publishing 50 years ago, our founders made a critical decision: to be a reader-supported nonprofit. They knew that no corporate owner would be interested in a muckraking newsroom; they also knew that no muckraking newsroom would be interested in following the agenda of a corporate owner.

And so, we’ve been reader-funded for half a century. We rely on contributions from our readers—readers like you—whether it’s $50, or $15 a month, or whatever fits your budget. People give what they can, and every donation makes a difference for our newsroom, which has grown tremendously—in size and reach and renown—since its inception in 1976.

You may be wondering: What does it take to publish an investigation? And what does my donation actually fund? The answers are one and the same: It takes people, resources, and time. And that’s what your donation funds directly.

Every donation Mother Jones receives from readers fortifies our newsroom, whether we’re covering underreported scandals out of Washington, DC, or the most important news of the day. And right now, each donation will be doubled because of our $50,000 match. So when you make a donation—$5, $50, any amount—it’ll go twice as far.

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Thanks for reading.

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