Help wanted: $24,000 to stop Glenn Beck, 'tea-baggers'
Chelsea Schilling
Help-wanted ads are appearing on Craigslist that offer to pay citizens $24,000 a year, plus health insurance, to "counter the hysteria and lies of Glenn Beck and other talking heads" and "stop the tea-baggers!"
The ads are being posted by Grassroots Campaigns, a for-profit canvassing group that has performed services for the Democratic National Committee and MoveOn.org. Its postings can be found among Craiglist listings in Chicago, Ill.; San Francisco, Calif.; Boston, Mass.; Philadelphia, Penn. and Austin, Texas.
"Whose agenda will win in 2010?" the ad asks. "You decide."
Craiglist posting offers salary to 'stop the tea-baggers.' |
It continues, "Change takes work. After the 2008 election, we know what's possible when millions of people commit themselves to creating the world they want to see – but we also know that one election is only the beginning. Across the country, the struggle for human rights, marriage equality, and reproductive rights continues. To counter the hysteria and lies of Glenn Beck and other talking heads, progressives need to get organized and get activated – and we don't have a moment to lose!!"
Grassroots Campaigns explains that it is seeking to immediately hire directors to run 32 canvass offices across the nation in the following locations: California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and Washington, D.C.
A message to Grassroots Campaigns inquiring about its positions was not returned.
According to the postings, qualified candidates must expect to work 80 to 100 hours a week, meaning they would make less than the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Grassroots Campaigns was criticized in 2006 because canvassers said they were paid less than state minimum wages and told to go door-to-door advocating for a minimum-wage increase.
"I worked 37 hours one week and got paid around $130 [after taxes]," recalled one canvasser who quit after two weeks.
Yet another worker reported working for 45 hours at Grassroots Campaigns for five days and receiving just $56.
Workers for the advertised position are expected to recruit and build teams of 15-50 canvassers within local communities. They must be:
- Committed to and motivated by progressive politics and social change.
- Leaders, with the ability to think strategically and motivate a team.
- Goal-oriented, excellent communicators, team players.
"Get on the frontlines of some of the most crucial campaigns of our time!" the ad urges. "Work on the ground bringing progressive change to America!"
As WND reported, this is not the first time Craigslist has been used to lobby for Democratic Party goals. Help-wanted ads appeared in August 2009 offering to pay citizens between $9 and $16 an hour to lobby for the passage of Obama's health care.
Several of those ads declared, "Help pass Obama's health care reform! Earn $325-$550 per week!"
WND also reported when Organizing for America, the movement some call "Obama 2.0," recruited college students and offered to provide credits toward degree plans in exchange for their advocacy skills.
The group has also descended upon college campuses, knocking on dorm doors to recruit students and slam lawmakers with phone calls pushing health-care "reform."
Jan. 26, 2010