Activate Opposition to Trump/Musk Cuts in CHS March 5

Activate Opposition to the Trump/Musk Cuts to Transit and Affordable Housing in Downtown Charleston Wed. Mar. 5

2 paid positions seeking applicants

Wed. March 5, 2025 from 8 am to 5:30 pm

Image, Right, Badge of the Corps of Conductors, the outreach force of Best Friends of Lowocountry Transit, modeled on the decoration on the piston caps of the Best Friend of Charleston

Wed. March 5 activists will do outreach across downtown, historic Charleston to launch a month long effort to block attempts by the Trump/Musk regime to destroy public transit and affordable housing in the SC Lowcountry and across the US.

Our effort will begin with a dutch treat breakfast at the CofC Cafeteria in the Joe E. Berry Jr. Residence Hall, at 80 St Philip St, Charleston, SC 29401.

Our base of operations for the day will be in Office 17  of officeevolution on the second floor of  460 King Street (Enter from Ann St.). We will train outreach workers, assemble and equip teams and send them out throughout the day. The phone number to reach the office is (843) 870-5299. 

Image, left, Our base of operations for the day will be in Office Evolution, 460 King St. Ste 200. Enter from the stairs on Ann St. 150 feet East of King.

Active operations will begin at 9:30 am. Our base of operations is one block north of the DASH bus stop on the South End of the Visitor’s Center on George St. and the Best Friend Museum.  We’ll be using the free DASH buses to get around town.

Our goal is to reach 4000 people downtown in one day with knowledge that they need to demand our elected representatives in Washington obtain protection for public transit and affordable housing in the Trump/Musk “Big Bill” now being rammed through congress. We’ll be reaching out to employees and management at restaurants, hotels and medical facilities with the message that without transit and affordable housing the workers they need to function can’t live in the Lowcountry by distributing postcards and getting people to sign an online petition on smartphones and tablets. You can see an example of our outreach card here.

The weather for Wednesday is a bit messy, so bring your rain gear. This is actually good for us since the restaurants and bars we need to reach will be far less busy and have more time to hear our message. We'll save our sunny weather for the return of our bus to the beach, if it survives these budget cuts. 

Volunteers are needed. Please signup to help on Eventbright

For detailed background read https://bfltransit.blogspot.com/2025/02/keepsclowcountrymobile.html

You can download a PDF of the postcards we'll be handing out as part of this effort.

Paid Canvassing Positions

Positions for two paid outreach workers have been funded at the rate of $10 per hour. Paid workers will receive breakfast, payment in cash at day’s end and a letter documenting their work. College aged people, in good physical health would be welcomed. They should wear rubber soled, close toes shoes. A shoulder bag, literature, a clip board and writing materials will be provided. They should bring a tablet or smart phone. Spanish speakers get a $1 per hour bonus. People with experience in F&B and Hospitality will be given first consideration. Interviews will be conducted by Zoom.

To apply for one of these paid positions, who will work under the supervision of an experienced F&B professional and focus on F&B workers and businesses, send your resume to wjhamilton29464@gmail.com

For more information contact

William J. Hamilton, III
Ex. Dir.
Best Friends of Lowocuntry Transit, Inc.
wjhamilton29464@gmail.com
(843) 870-5299
Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/wjhamilton29464.bsky.social

Neither the College for Charleston, the Best Friend Museum nor any other business or organization mentioned in this post are associated with this effort, the full costs of which are being paid by Best Friends of Lowcountry Transit, Inc. We have no idea what the positions of these organizations are regarding these issues. Officeevolution rented their space to us as an ordinary tenant and isn't associated with our effort or political postions. 

Lowcountry Fight for Transit Spring 2025

This placeholder will be replaced with a full blog post with relevant links shortly. 

For immediate assistance see Best Friends of Lowcountry Transit, William Hamilton, Executive Director at (843) 870-5299 or wjhamilton29464@gmail.com or on Blue Sky at https://bsky.app/profile/wjhamilton29464.bsky.social

 

Make a Stand for Transit Wed. Feb. 19

 

Wednesday, Feb. 19 Make a Stand for Transit

North Charleston, SC - Join us at the CARTA Board Meeting to declare a community commitment to the protection of Public Transit and construction of the Lowcountry Rapid Transit System at 1 pm on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at the BCD COG Building/ 5790 Casper Padgett Way, North Charleston, SC 29406. The meeting will last an hour. 

Image, above, Louise Brown, veteran of the 1969 hospital strike and "Mother of the Movement" doing public outreach about the LCRT in 2019. 

The board is composed of representatives of over a dozen local governments, including several Mayors. Trump's and Musk's proposed budget ends federal funding for public transit, which accounts for a third of CARTAs funding. Trump is currently attempting to interrupt already scheduled grant funding for CARTA's current operations, which could cause service cancellations and cuts in the next few months. Their plans call for ending capital construction funding for projects like the planned Lowcountry Rapid Transit system and the associated plans for affordable housing. 

Sign up to participate on Facebook

Please wear green (stands for Go). We will have buttons. You can sign up as you come in to make a two minute public comment. Numbers matter this time. Politicians will be counting noses and not only those officials who are in the room. We have to have numbers. We can't wait any longer to do this. We have to move this week. 

Background on our other plans to protect local transit. 

Continuing to support transit is a huge risk for these board members, who may be targeted by MAGA once Trump fully activates his attempt to rob millions of people of their mobility. They need to know we will stand behind them, fight for transit and build the Lowcountry Rapid Transit System and the affordable housing along it which will enable a better future for our community. 

1 pm, Wednesday, Feb. 19
BCD Council of Governments Bld.
 5790 Casper Padgett Way,
North Charleston, SC 29406
Phone: 843.529.0400

Fight for the Freedom to Move

The right and ability to move is the foundation of personal freedom. If 10s of million of Americans are robbed of their transit they will have little or no power of where they can work, shop or live. They won't be able to vote or be citizens. It's a core strategy for disenfranchiding the American urban working class and crippling the cities whcih shelter the opposition to Trump.

More Information-

If you have questions, please feel free to contact Best Friends of Lowcoontry Transit Executive Director, William Hamilton at wjhamilton29464@gmail.com or call (843) 870-5299.

Keep the Lowcountry Working, Protect Public Transit and Affordable Housing

Save Lowcountry Transit & Affordable housing, Contact Your Representatives

Charleston, SC, USA- Starting in February 4, (the Birthday of Rosa Parks, Feb. 4) we will  mobilize workers and employers in the region to motivate our representatives in the US House and Senate to protect local public transit service and future plans like the LCRT and associated Transit Oriented Development efforts to build transit serviced affordable housing within our urban core. This effort is essential to the long term survival of the Lowcountry's Tourism, Hospitality, F&B, Educational and Medical Care (including elder care) economic sectors.

Image, Right, Remount Road & Rivers Station on the planned LCRT

In January Donald Trump and Elon Musk attempted to cut the federal grant funding which keeps CARTA, LINK and Tel-A-Ride operating.

Please call your federal representatives today and demand that Lowcountry Public Transit be funded and protected in Trump and Musk's "big bill."

Rep. Nancy Mace (202) 225-3176 Mace website contact page

Rep. James Clyburn (202) 225-3315 Clyburn website contact page

Sen. Lindsey Graham (202) 224-5972 Graham website contact page

Sen. Tim Scott Phone (202) 224-6121 Scott website contact page

You can join our mailing list to receive future updates on Lowcountry Transit Issues.

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Mobility, Housing and Prosperity for a Future Lowcountry

Map of Planned Lowcountry Rapid Transit System

Image, left - Current route plan for the Lowcountry Rapid Transit System (LCRT) See  a video on the LCRT

Trumps same cuts would end plans for the Lowcountry Rapid Transit System and affordable housing efforts. The courts temporarily ordered Trump not to shut down funding previously approved by Congress. Trump and Musk are determined to implement these cuts, called for in the project 2025 document. Given the chaotic nature of breakneck national politics, we'll have to refer you to the news for what is happening today. 

This report from Transportation for America has a map showing possible cuts by state and congressional district with over 146 million dollars in cuts expected in SC. https://t4america.org/2025/02/05/unflooding-the-zone-what-do-the-trump-administrations-latest-actions-signal-for-transportation/

All these sectors have and will continue to need large numbers of service workers who struggle with a rising cost of living here, bottomed on skyrocketing prices for housing within our urban core. Downtown Charleston, Mount Pleasant and North Charleston once housed many of these workers within walking distance or a very short bus ride from their jobs. Gentrification is rapidly consuming the affordable housing left within walking distance of our centers of employment. The most affordable areas to live in the Lowcountry are currently Ladson and Goose Creek, currently two hours or more from the downtown tourism district and medical center by Transit. Parking in our employment centers is still disappearing, while demand increases. 

When CARTA almost completely shut down due to a funding failure 22 years ago for two years, the impact was drastic. Employers and workers struggled, but that was a region where downtown, North Charleston and Mount Pleasant still houses many of our service workers. Hardships during that shutdown destroyed lives and even resulted in deaths as workers were killed walking or biking to work along inadequate infrastructure and at least one suicide when a worker found their bicycle stolen, lost his job and was abandoned by his family. 

This time the impact of losing our transit and failing to address our rising lack of affordable workforce housing will be much worse. We have a vastly larger tourism sector now. We also have an aging population and a falling local birthrate. Most of the people moving to the Lowcountry are coming to retire, not to work.  Many will move into nursing homes and assisted living as they age. They need services. These elderly residents won't be producing them. Flush with wealth accumulated in areas with more robust economies, these seniors are prepared to outbid our hotels, restaurants and hospitals for service labor. 

Image, Right, Best Friends of Lowcoutry Transit members fought for 7 years to successful return public transit to Charleston's Beaches, with service returning to the Isle of Palms in August 2020. 2018, Memorial Weekend, Folly Beach

Compounding this problem is the effort to deport undocumented immigrant labor, which composes a significant part of the workers in these sectors now, as well as local agriculture and construction. As immigrants are forced out of the area, the pressure on the local service labor market will increase. The costs of employment will rise. The struggle to staff existing business will grow more challenging. 

These are known problems. Local governments and organizations like the Chamber of Commerce have known about this looming problem for over a decade. However, a long standing determination to maintain plantation derived social power structures inhibits them from engaging the workers they depend on. Anything which might inform workers that they are valuable parts of the community, increases labor power and exposes the vulnerability of those in control. 

Image, Right - Best Friends of Lowcountry Transit's Transit Complete the Penny Campaign delivered the margin of victory to obtain local funding for construction of the LCRT in 2016. 

The Lowcountry can't indulge its delusions any longer. We already have commercial spaces sitting empty downtown because business operators can't find the staff to open. If businesses can't operate profitably, the value of the real estate they lease can't be maintained. The effort to staff tourism connected businesses this Spring will be exceptionally challenging. Other cities have been actively recruiting prime service labor here for years, offering better transit, a lower cost of living and superior schools to young, healthy capable workers. 

We can continue to operate and improve our transit and build affordable housing in the Lowcountry. We should be doing a better job. However without federal funding, these efforts will end.

 You must call your Federal Representatives today, or better yet visit their local offices and let them know you can't hire people, earn income, pay rent or pay taxes without workers. 

For More Information 

about Best Friends and our 15 year effort to build, fund and protect better public transit in the SC Lowcountry

• Call Executive Director William Hamilton at (843) 870-5299 or email him at wjhamilton29464@gmail.com
• Follow us on Blue Sky at https://bsky.app/profile/wjhamilton29464.bsky.social
• Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BFLowcountryTransit