Citizen Action Weekend
Citizen Action Weekend ’24 Newsletter, Friday, October 4th

Citizen Action Weekend ’24 Newsletter, Friday, October 4th

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Citizen Action North Side Rising members testify before PSC in support a 2% of income utility rate cap.

Citizen Action North Side Rising members attended the Public Service Commission (who is responsible for regulating We Energies and other utilities) public hearing this Thursday in Milwaukee. Members attended a march and media event opposing the outrageous rate increases the utility is seeking and spoke in support of a ZERO rate increase until the PSC implements a 2% of Income Rate Cap on utilities.

Read media stories from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and WUWM.

Sign petition in support of 2% rate cap.
Learn more about our campaign.

Citizen Action members walk the walk and have direct conversations with voters that are needed to win elections!

Get off the sidelines, join them!

Volunteer to make calls from home for Kamala Harris and State Assembly candidate, Angelito Tenorio, on Tuesday, October 8th, 5pm – 7:30pm.

VOLUNTEER with Citizen Action to make phone calls from home for Kamala Harris and Citizen Action member, Angelito Tenorio, Assembly District 14. Angelito winning in November is critical for Democrats to win a majority in the State Assembly.

Volunteer to make calls from home for Kamala Harris, Rebecca Cooke, and State Assembly candidate, Christian Phelps, on Thursday, October 10th, 5pm – 7:30pm.

VOLUNTEER with Citizen Action to make phone calls from home for Kamala Harris, Rebecca Cooke, and Christian Phelps, Assembly District 93. This Eau Claire area Assembly District was a gerrymandered Republican seat before redistricting. Christian Phelps winning in November is critical for Democrats to win a majority in the State Assembly.

Attend Medical Debt Event in Milwaukee, Thursday, October 17th.

Attend a Medical Debt Symposium in Milwaukee, on Thursday, October 17, 2024, 8:30am – noon. Registration is required by Monday, October 7th, There is no fee to attend.

Medical debt is a public health crisis in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and across the country. A new report issued by ABC for Health, Inc. pushes hospitals in Milwaukee County to improve access to health coverage and care issues to justify extensive tax breaks and better serve patients affected by health disparities and medical debts.

Nationally, hospitals dedicated on average about 2.3% of revenues to charity care while Milwaukee hospitals struggle to even reach 1%.

“Milwaukee County hospitals spend below the national average on care for the poor, reaping far greater advantages from their tax-exempt status than they repay to the local community,” says Bobby Peterson, Public Interest Attorney and Executive Director of ABC for Health, Inc. “If these hospitals met the 2.3% national average, they could eliminate most of the annual medical debt in Milwaukee County.

Thursday, October 17, 2024, 8:30am – noon

Zoofari Center, 9715 W. Bluemound Rd. Milwaukee, WI
Registration is required. There is no fee to attend.

Please register by Monday, October 7.
See more details, including a link to a draft agenda and registration form

Learn more about Citizen Action endorsed candidate Angelito Tenorio, State Assembly District 14. Make calls for him Tuesday, October 8th, 5pm

Volunteer to make calls from home for Angelito Tenorio and Kamala Harris, Tuesday, October 8th, 5pm – 7:15pm. You will be well trained before making calls.

To knock doors for Angelito Tenorio with Citizen Action, contact: [email protected]

Citizen Action in the News

WUWM, Milwaukee’s NPR station, covered the push-back to We Energies massive right hikes at Public Service Commission. Citizen Action and our coalition partners are demanding a 2% cap on the percentage of income paid for utilities.

Read and Listen Here

Citizen Action’s Robert Kraig was on the Earl Ingram Show for his weekly hour to debrief the Vice Presidential debate. To get Robert’s take on Vance and Walz and the impact of the debate on the election.

Listen here.

Listen to Climate and Healthcare Hurricane Battleground Wisconsin Podcast

Hurricane Helene was worse than anyone thought. We discuss the damage in North Carolina and encourage support for their relief organizing in rural North Carolina devastated by the climate change fueled storm.

We talk about this week’s Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) hearings on We Energies’ outrageous rate hikes. We review their failure to make the green renewable energy transition and and their latest fossil fuel scheme to bilk ratepayers and the public at large. We urge freezing rates until the PSC imposed a 2% of income rate cap in the state for all utilities. Learn more about the 2% rate cap and sign our petition in support.

We discuss the latest MU Law Poll showing the presidential horserace unchanged. However, Tammy Baldwin’s U.S. Senate lead is growing, continuing her history of out performing the top of the ticket.

We review new research showing Wisconsin would gain $1.7 billion in federal funds if the Legislature accepted available federal funds that could be used to provide health insurance coverage to tens of thousands of families through Medicaid—and to improve reimbursement rates for hospitals, clinics, doctors, and other providers.

We welcome Tim Hennigan, a staff attorney at ABC For Health, to discuss an upcoming Medical Debt Symposium, the morning of Thursday, October 17th in Milwaukee. We discuss how medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy and how Wisconsin’s hospitals are destroying the financial lives of their own patients for profit.

Listen to the show.

Donate here to support Down Home North Carolina’s organizing on the ground in rural areas supporting local grassroots & mutual aid organizations doing this work.

Social media post of the week

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