Citizen Action Weekend ’26 Newsletter, Friday, January 9th
Donate/Join Citizen Action of Wisconsin to start 2026!
Citizen Action of Wisconsin and our national network People’s Action are organizing the power of working people to build a Bigger We and win the change we need.
At Citizen Action we understand that the threat to democracy is twofold: not only the assault on its basic mechanisms but also the democracy’s failure to deliver what everyday Americans need from their government.
In 2026, Citizen Action is building the grassroots power across the state to protect democracy from an authoritarian onslaught and to enact cutting-edge reforms on pressing issues like affordable health care, energy costs, the climate crisis, and raising wages for working people. To do this we are building the power to defeat entrenched corporate interests that dominate state government.
Help us meet the organizing challenges of this moment!
Join the organizing revival and donate/ become a member to start 2026.
Citizen Action attends Milwaukee vigil for a legal observer who was killed by ICE in Minneapolis.
Watch video of vigil marchers on Wednesday, January 7th.
#NoBloodForBillionaires: Stand Up to Trump’s Criminal War on Venezuela on Saturday, January 10th for National Day of Action.
May Day Strong and partners are calling for Saturday actions nationwide in response to the occupation of Venezuela and the murder by ICE agents in Minneapolis. We’re focusing on Citgo & Chevron stations, companies set to benefit most by the occupation.Don’t have a station near you? Host in a high visibility location to spread the word.
- Spotlight these companies and how they benefit.
- End the U.S. occupation in Venezuela.
- Get ICE out of our cities.
- Demand the federal government tackle the affordability crisis – not attack other countries and our cities for billionaires.
- Engage in conversations with our neighbors and bring them into our movement.
You can create your event on Mobilize now!
2026 State Legislative Session: An agenda to win elections and build a governing majority that fights for the health and prosperity of working people everywhere in Wisconsin.
2026 will be a critical time to defend and renew democracy. One of the greatest threats to democracy is the inability of our elected leaders to stand up to powerful corporate interests and enact the reforms needed to build a prosperous, sustainable, and equitable society.
Here are some of the bold progressive bills Citizen Action and our members are leading the fighting for in the current state legislature:
- BadgerCare Public Option
- Hospital Accountability Act
- Utility Rate Cap Bill
- Climate Accountability Act
- $20 Minimum Wage
Citizen Action members in Green Bay protest utility rate hikes & support new 2% Utility Rate Cap bill in the State Legislature.
Our home electricity and heating is controlled by monopoly utilities, like Wisconsin Public Service (WPS), which prioritizes profits over all else. Exploiting their lucrative government-mandated monopoly over necessities of modern life, big for-profit utilities like WPS are the leading force behind high prices for heating and lighting our homes and fossil fuel emissions that are driving the climate crisis. They are using their monopoly power to slow the transition to cheaper alternatives energy such as solar which is now reliable and costs substantially less than dirty fossil fuel plants. Families in the Green Bay and throughout Wisconsin are least able to afford it and pay the largest proportion of their income on utilities. Most cannot afford to pay more than 5% of their income for utilities and afford other basics.
Wisconsin utilities are using the data center boom to justify costly new fossil fuel infrastructure that will further jack up rates for residential customers.
WPS garners substantial free publicity by sponsoring the Garden of Lights display at the Green Bay Botanical Gardens. Citizen Action members picketed outside of the display in late December to call attention to the massive rate increases being imposed on local families struggling to afford the basics.
The protesters called for the passage of the Utility Rate Cap Bill which was announced in November at the State Capitol.
Learn more and take action in support of NEW Utility Rate Cap bill capping bills at 2% of income.
Join our organizing in support of the bill, contact: Kat.Klawes@citizenactionwi.org
Attend Main Street Alliance Day of Action at the State Capitol, January 20th
Citizen Action of Wisconsin is proud to co-sponsor Main Street Alliance’s Day of Action at the State Capitol, January 20th and we are inviting you to attend.
Main Street Cares: A Day of Action, bringing together 100+ small business owners and allies from across Wisconsin to stand up for policies that support both local businesses and working families.
Together, we’ll advocate for:
- Passing a BadgerCare Public Option and Expanding post-partum Medicaid coverage for new moms.
- Guaranteed paid family and medical leave
- Fully funded childcare that works for families and employers
- A fairer system that makes it easier to start and run a small business
The day starts at Garver Feed Mill, an MSA member business, with opening remarks from Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski, a champion of care economy investments.Then we’ll head to the Capitol to meet directly with lawmakers and statewide officials—bringing real Main Street stories straight to the people in power.
This Day of Action is powered by an incredible coalition, including Family Friendly Wisconsin, 9 to 5, WECAN, WPEN, Citizen Action of Wisconsin, Mother Forward, Motherhood for Good, and the Wisconsin Hemp Farmers and Manufacturers Association.
Volunteer Carpool(s) to attend the event is being organized in Eau Claire. For more information contact: Jeremy.Gragert@citizenactionwi.org
RSVP to event
Attend Milwaukee Area $20 Wage Action Team, Monday, Jan. 19th, 6pm
Live in the Milwaukee area and want to get involved in our organizing support for a new $20 Wage bill in the State Legislature?
Also Join us on Monday, January 19th, 6pm at our office to get involved with our Milwaukee organizing.
We will be planning a big Milwaukee Town Hall event at the meeting in addition to providing updates on the bill’s drafting and political support.
For more information, contact: Maletha.Jones@citizenactionwi.org
Follow our new $20 Wage Milwaukee Action Team facebook page!
If you live outside the Milwaukee area but are interested in organizing support for the bill in your area of Wisconsin, contact: Matt.Brusky@citizenactionwi.org
🌟 Citizen Action Southeast Organizing Co-op Weekly Update
🏥 Health Care Team
Our Health Care Team meets this Tuesday at 6:00 PM at our office. We’re continuing to build power around access, affordability, and dignity in health care.
📣 Save the date: Health Care Town Hall is January 31 at 11:00 AM at the MLK Library, 2901 N. Martin Luther King Jr. This will be a key moment to bring community voices together in the fight for healthcare for all—join us in helping make it a strong event.
🌿 Climate Team
The Climate Team meets January 26 as we continue organizing around climate, utilities, and transportation. New members are welcome and encouraged to jump in.
✊ Movement Politics Team
We are actively looking for people to help build our Movement Politics Team—focused on growing long-term people power and shaping the future of our movement. If you’re interested in strategy, elections, and organizing beyond a single issue, this is for you.
If you are interested in getting involved or have questions? 📞 Ruben Aquino – 414-377-2995; ruben.aquino@citizenactionwi.org
Citizen Action in the News
Citizen Action’s Robert Kraig was on the Jeff Santos Show to discuss ICE violence in Minneapolis and how it relates to the broader resistance movement.
Listen here. (interview at the 2 hour 9 minute mark of the podcast)
Listen to “Venezuela, ICE shooting and taxing the rich to fund schools and public goods” Battleground Wisconsin Podcast
We lead off with Trump’s gun boat diplomacy in Venezuela and the shocking bloodshed perpetrated by ICE in Minneapolis. What does it mean and how is the resistance to authoritarianism responding so far?
We welcome State Representative Ryan Clancy to discuss three game changing progressive tax bills that would transform how Wisconsin funds K-12 schools, local governments, and other public services. If enacted, Wisconsin would become the first state to fund K-12 schools primarily through a progressive income tax, leading to a 44% reduction in the median Wisconsin property tax bill. The two other bills restore Wisconsin’s estate tax for those valued higher than $15M, and create a new local option income tax on the ultra wealthy.
We review new analysis by Wisconsin Watch that 46% of State’s private school students get public-financed vouchers and 96% are in religious schools.
We close with the U.S. House revolt against Trump and Speaker Johnson on the expiring ACA affordability subsidies. Nine Republicans defied Trump and Johnson, forcing the vote, all from swing districts, but not Derrick Van Ordin. Does it have a chance in the U.S. Senate? At the state level, some legislative Republicans are advancing a bill requiring transparent hospital pricing for “shoppable services” that has split the big corporate business interests from the hospitals. Is there an opening among Republicans and corporate interests to rein in Wisconsin’s astronomical hospital prices, which are the highest in the Midwest and the 5th highest in the country? Robert also asks why Senator Chris Larson is the only Democrat co-sponsoring the legislation?
Listen to the show.
