Citizen Action Weekly: Friday, August 9th
Friday, August 9th
TAKE ACTION: State legislation introduced this week to accept federal Medicaid money.
This week state legislators who support accepting federal Medicaid money to expand BadgerCare introduced new legislation to save the state money and cover tens of thousands more Wisconsinites with health coverage.
The media announcement event in Wauwatosa featuring the Governor, Lt. Governor and state legislators was attended by a dozen Citizen Action members.
The legislation is open for co-sponsorship. We are encouraging everyone to contact their state legislators and tell them to co-sponsor. You can call your legislators at: 1-800-362-9472.
Encourage your family and friends to call their representatives.
Accepting the federal money remains extremely popular with the public and a common sense thing to do. We need to keep pressure on state legislators and will continue to work to make accepting the Medicaid money a reality, even if it requires another election to succeed.
Do you have a healthcare access story?
We want to hear from you. Contact: [email protected]
Northwestern Wisconsin Co-op responds to farm crisis in state
Citizen Action organizer Noah Reif and former organizer and current state senator Jeff Smith attended a community forum on the deepening farm crisis facing Wisconsin’s small family farms. Issues ranging from milk prices, healthcare costs and Trump’s trade war were discussed.
“We believe healthcare is a human right and that’s another part of mental health. If you get hurt on the farm and can’t go get it taken care of. It just compounds, gets worse, and ultimately we want to make sure people are being able to go in and take care of these needs when they happen rather than 10, 15 years down the line when it’s too late,” said Citizen Action organizer, Noah Reif.
Read media from the event.
Issue Canvassing Workshop: Black River Falls, Saturday, 10am
Learn how to have those scary political conversations on the doors, or at the dinner table with that difficult family member! The training will last roughly an hour; afterwards we will put our new skills to the test and canvass the community together.
Saturday, August 10, 10 AM – 2 PM
Revolution Coffee, 38 Main St., Black River Falls
RSVP via Facebook event.
If you have any questions or concerns, please email the organizer at [email protected].
Health Care Co-Op at Center Street Days in Milwaukee
Citizen Action will be at Center Street Days to talk to people about the organizing co-op and Medicare for All. Stop by and say hello if you attend and vote in our Presidential straw poll.
North Central Organizing Co-op members meet with Sen. Tammy Baldwin & attend a Student Loan Debt Task Force Roundtable, and more!
The North Central Organizing Co-op has had one of those weeks that feels like an entire month worth of events and activities. On Sunday, the Steering Committee had their bi-weekly meeting. In case you’re not familiar, the Steering Committee is made up of 13-15 people, democratically elected by the membership every two years. They are what makes this a member organization as they approve or disapprove of the work that the Co-op Organizer does.
On Monday, North Central Organizing Co-op members, and all around community leaders, John and Mary Robinson held a meet and greet for US Sen. Tammy Baldwin. Healthcare was a top issue of discussion. Sen. Baldwin made a statement about the various health care bills being touted by the Democratic Presidential candidates. She said rather than arguing over which shade of blue is better, just pick blue! A healthy reminder that we need to stay united rather than divided.
On Tuesday, August 6th, Gov. Evers’ Student Loan Debt Task Force held a roundtable discussion in Wausau. This task force is led by the WI State Treasurer, Sarah Godlewski. Members of the North Central Organizing Co-op helped to find citizens to speak in this discussion and helped to promote the event. It was surprising to hear how many people are saddled with student loan debt. A couple of the people even exclaimed that they may not have their student loans paid off before they die!
Lastly, this Saturday, August 10th, Members of the Citizen Action of WI NC Organizing Co-op will be teaming up with members of the Marathon County and Lincoln County Democratic Parties to do issue-based canvassing. We really need to understand the issues that people are most affected by or worried about in our region, and it’s great to have the opportunity to work with other groups on this. If you would like to join, people are meeting up at 10 am.
Lincoln County: Meet at the home of Melissa Schroeder, 510 N Genesee St. Merrill, WI
Marathon County: Meet at the Marathon County Dem Office, 218 Sherman St. Wausau, WI
Call NC Organizer Joel Lewis at 715-551-2525 if you would like to be involved.
Save the Date: Brew Fest Fundraiser, Thursday, September 19th
Citizen Action’s annual BrewFest social and fundraiser is scheduled for Thursday, September 19th at 5pm in Milwaukee. Join us for a fun evening of camaraderie and celebrating the hard social justice work that we’re all passionate about. We’ll have a wide selection of union and locally sourced beer to sample, appetizers, and the ever popular silent auction.
The event is sponsored by the UAW! Current co-sponsors include: Mark Thomsen, Tanya Atkinson, State Senator Chris Larson, Rebecca Lynch, Scott Spector, Martha Pincus, Bruce Colburn, Kathleen Mulligan-Hansel, State Rep. David Crowley, Marina & Eduardo Dimitrejevic, Marcus White, Emily Siegrist, Peter Rickman, State Rep. Jonathan Brostoff, Chris Rockwood, Cain Oulahan, Gary Goyke, Guy Costello.
If you would like to co-sponsor the Brew Fest for a donation of $50.00 or more contact [email protected]
“White Supremacist terrorism” Battleground Wisconsin Podcast
We discuss the growing death toll of white supremacist terrorism, last week’s mass shootings, and the tepid response from Wisconsin GOP leaders. State Senator Jon Erpenbach joins us to talk about this week’s introduction of legislation to expand BadgerCare. A new study says Foxconn jobs will cost state us $172,000 – $290,000 per job, or an astounding 6 to 10 times the national average. Finally, Citizen Action co-op organizer Noah Reif tells us about door canvassing this Saturday at 10 am in Black River Falls and next Saturday in Menominee.
Listen Now – Episode #403
Download MP3
Working Families Party Presidential Endorsement Interviews
Elizabeth Warren
Tuesday, August 13th at 4:30pm (interview at 5:00pm)
RSVP and join us for watch parties at Puddlers Hall here or Art*Bar here
Julián Castro
Thursday, August 15th at 6:30pm (interview at 7:00pm)
RSVP to join us at the WFP downtown HQ here or in Washington Heights here
Bernie Sanders
Saturday, August 17th at 6:00pm (interview at 6:30pm)
RSVP to join us for watch parties at Bounce Milwaukee here or Art*Bar here
Facebook post of the week
