Every month People’s Action shares the latest victories,
campaigns and events from our member groups
I love you, because you show up. You show up for each other, in the rain and in the dark of night, and for what is right.
“We need to make sure that we fight the bullies, because we are right – and right always wins,” said Althea Matthews, who leads the Homelessness Union for VOCAL-NY. Althea traveled to Washington, D.C. this week to join the People’s Action and People’s Action Institute members from all across the country and allies including VOCAL-US, Popular Democracy and Right to the City Alliance to demand our elected officials stop the nearly $1 trillion in cuts to health, food and housing Republicans want to fund tax breaks for the rich. The cuts will leave nearly 14 million people in this country without health care.
“If we don’t use our voices, we’re not going to get nothing, “Do you understand?” said Altheia, who came to D.C. to advocate for the hundreds of thousands of families in New York who will be harmed if the budget cuts go through. Altheia spoke on Capitol Hill alongside U.S. Representatives Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) and Summer Lee (D-Penn.).
Yes, Althea, we do understand. We hear you. We stand with you, and we stand together – no matter what.
Thank you to everyone who came to D.C. from Maine to Colorado and every place in between this week to share not only your own stories but also those of your friends, family and community members at home who can’t make the journey because they are too sick or just don’t have the means. You are their voices, too.
Over two days in D.C., you shared your stories with lawmakers and with the press. You showed up at your representatives’ offices, locked arms, laid down, sang and refused to leave, and even stood in vigil on Capitol Hill at 1 a.m. while Republicans tried to force their bill to a vote in the middle of the night. You didn’t take no for an answer.
But that’s just the beginning of what you’ve done. In your home districts, you continue to demand that lawmakers at least be honest about the harm these cuts will cause to the families they have sworn to represent. And on Tax Day and May Day, all across the country, you poured into the streets.
In Connecticut, you’ve demanded a boycott of Avelo Airlines, to stop their deportation flights of illegally detained immigrants for ICE.
And even in these times, we win. In Washington State, Firelands and OneAmerica celebrate as Gov. Bob Ferguson signed into law a statewide cap on rent increases. And in Illinois, ONE Northside celebrated as Chicago passed a Green Social Housing Ordinance, with permanent funding for city-run, non-profit developer to create permanently affordable housing. And in the new Chicago Teachers Union contract, there is a commitment to create new green jobs pathways, remove lead from water, and install solar panels at schools.
Each of these victories is hard-won, and the result of multiple years of organizing by your members. They are encouraging reminders that at the end of the day, organized people – our people – when we are right, can prevail, no matter the odds.
“The power of the people is always, and still, and yet, is greater than the people in power – but only if we are willing to use it,” Rep. Lee reminded us on Capitol Hill. “Because only when the people stand up will this stop. Our solidarity is our strongest weapon. Our solidarity is our protection and our coverage.”
We stand together.
In solidarity,
Sondra Youdelman
Lead Story
People’s Action Members Say “No!” to GOP’s Deep Cuts to Housing and Health Care
Over two days in Washington, D.C., People’s Action and People’s Action Institute members from across the country demanded lawmakers hear their voices about the deep harm the proposed cuts to health care, housing and food aid will have on their families. Read more
Organizing Stories
ONE Northside Celebrates Chicago’s new Green Social Housing Ordinance
ONE Northside in Chicago is celebrating two hard-won victories: the city just passed a Green Social Housing Ordinance, which will spur the construction of affordable and environmentally sustainable housing throughout the city – all governed by tenants. And with ONS’s help, the Chicago Teachers’ Union just scored a new contract with investments in clean energy. Read more
Firelands Workers United Celebrates Washington State Rent Control Victory
Firelands Workers United celebrates as Washington State imposed a statewide limit on how much landlords can raise rent, effective immediately! In a state where 40 percent of the population rents, this is a huge and hard-won victory for working people. Read more
People’s Action Member Groups Rally Against Cuts on Tax Day and May Day
“Whose side are you on?” This age-old question rang out in Chicago on Tax Day, when The People’s Lobby and ONE Northside rallied with elected officials and allies from the Illinois Revenue Alliance to demand an end to the Trump administration’s efforts to make devastating cuts to essential services and government agencies. Read more
CUFA Turns Up the Heat on Ohio’s MAGA Lawmakers
“What do Husted and Moreno have to hide? Why won’t they speak with their constituents?” That’s the simple, pointed question CUFA members like Chris Gillium, an associate minister at New Emmanuel Church, have asked their MAGA representatives over and over again about why they keep silent on deep cuts to health care and housing. Read more
Progressive Maryland Defends Health Care with Vigils, Reintroduction of Medicare for All
Progressive Maryland has been tireless in their efforts to defend health care from the billions in cuts proposed by the Trump administration, joining vigils in Washington, D.C. and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) to reintroduce Medicare for All as a cost-effective path for health care for everyone. Read more
Connecticut Citizen Action Group Boycotts Avelo Airlines to End Illegal ICE Flights
Connecticut Citizen Action Group has joined immigrant rights groups and the state’s Attorney General to demand Avelo Airlines, a low-cost carrier which flies out of New Haven’s Tweed Airport, end its deportation flights for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Read more
Recent Media
READ: “Starving the Poor to Feed the Rich”
Tania Whitfield, a mother from Lexington, Kentucky and member of VOCAL-KY, explains how the Trump administration’s plan to slash food assistance for 40 million families will harm families like hers, who work hard yet still rely on SNAP to put food on the table.
VEA EN ESPANOL: “Recortes de Medicaid y su impacto en la comunidad latina”
Selena Ruiz Gomez, miembra del Center for Health Progress (CHP) en Colorado, Vivian Serafín de LUCHA Arizona y otros miembros de organizaciones de People’s Action hablan con David Kass, director de Americans for Tax Fairness, sobre el impacto que los recortes a la salud y otras necesidades propuestas por la administración Trump tendrán sobre las familias latinas en Estados Unidos.
WATCH: Sulma Arias on Rural Organizing in the Heartland
People’s Action Institute executive director Sulma Arias joins Tope Folarin and Peter Certo from the Institute for Policy Studies for a conversation on how to engage the hearts and hopes of rural communities in this online training.
