Matthew Brusky 
A politician is defined by promises to voters. In 2016, Wisconsin GOP Senator Ron Johnson made three pledges to state voters (Baraboo News Republic): Johnson said he would not run for a third term if reelected (since backpedaled); emphasized that he was running on “retirement security” and declared he would “move bipartisan bills”. The time has come.
Johnson has indicated sympathy for Wisconsin retirees covered by troubled multiemployer pension funds, including the Central States Pension Fund. “The situation has been brewing since the 2008 financial crisis, as investments plummeted, leaving many plans in the red. The slow economic recovery and recent stock market rally (2017-2018) have not been sufficient to reinvigorate the plans, which are jointly funded by labor unions and employers …” (New York Times).
The Washington Post reported: “There are more than 1 million Americans (includes 25,000 Wisconsinites) who participate in severely distressed multiemployer pensions and another 9 million who are in healthier programs that could be affected by changes”. Johnson has spoken with state retirees, tweeted, issued a letter and press release. He said: “I’ve met with and heard from many of my constituents who are deeply concerned about the dismal state of the multiemployer pension system… . They’re asking for a transparent process and a fair outcome”. A solution is now on the table.
A few weeks ago, the Democratic-led House passed the bipartisan Butch Lewis Act. All Wisconsin Democratic representatives voted for the bill, as did 29 GOP representatives, including Wisconsin firebrand Sean Duffy. The pension protection legislation is named in honor of Butch Lewis, a Vietnam War veteran and Ohio Teamster, who worked to save pension coverage for retirees before his untimely death. “The measure would help pension plans sponsored by several employers and managed by a collective bargaining agreement by giving (low-cost loans) to insolvent plans (to make investments that are not risky) so they can continue to distribute the promised retirement benefits” (Washington Post).
New York GOP Representative Peter King tweeted: “As lead Republican sponsor of the Butch Lewis Act (H.R.397) to protect multiemployer pension funds I was proud to speak in support of this legislation in support of working men and women … . Solid victory for America’s middle income families.” Unlike Duffy, the other Wisconsin GOP representatives voted no. Most perplexing: Green Bay GOP Representative Mike Gallagher’s supporting Trump’s buying Greenland, but declining to help Wisconsin retirees.
However, Wisconsin Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin is a lead sponsor, with 28 other senators, of S.2254 – Butch Lewis Act of 2019. Baldwin said: “Now that the Butch Lewis Act has cleared the House with bipartisan support, Mitch McConnell (GOP Senate Majority Leader) should immediately bring it up for a vote in the Senate so we can get the job done protecting the pensions that these workers and retirees have earned.” And, Kenny Stribling, Co-Chair, Milwaukee Committee to Protect Pensions, pleaded: “This is not a partisan issue. This is an issue of fairness… .”
Senator Johnson must stand-up for retirees and support the Butch Lewis Act.
– Kaplan wrote a guest column from Washington, D.C. for the Wisconsin State Journal from 1995 – 2009.
In a huge win for Citizen Action and our partner organizations in other states, the American Medical Association (AMA) has ended their relationship with the Partnership for America’s Future. If you aren’t familiar with the Partnership, they are a coalition of corporate healthcare organizations that support the for profit healthcare system. They oppose Medicare for All and also are against many of the provisions that were in the ACA like Medicaid Expansion.
You can read more about them
It was an exciting weekend, because Citizen Action of Wisconsin and the Chapters of the DPW (Democratic Party of Wisconsin) worked together in the NC region, to do issue based canvassing in Wausau (Marathon County) and Merrill (Lincoln County). It is great to see groups working together, and it will take this kind of unity if we want to be successful in 2020 and beyond.
Chair of the Steering Committee for the NC Organizing Co-op, Don Dunphy, and organizer Joel Lewis went as a team in Merrill. They had at least 2 people who typically vote Republican, but told them that in 2020 they are strongly considering voting for a Democrat. One of the people gave the reason that the cost of healthcare is out of control and the Republicans are offering no solutions to this problem. Other voters were not pleased with how the President speaks about minority groups or with how he acts. We look forward to doing more of these types of canvases throughout the year.
Co-op member, and all-around community leader, Hans Breitenmoser continues to fight tirelessly for Fair Maps. He believes that this is the top issue, because until this is changed to a more fair system, the politicians are picking the voters instead of the other way around.
Co-op members get chance to meet new State Chair of the DPW
The Healthcare for all Co-op is at Center Street Daze having conversations about Medicare for All and 2020 Election
“Face-to-face communication is the most effective way to connect with supporters. Canvassing is a key part of any campaign, however, it can also be extremely intimidating! Learn from Citizen Action how to have difficult conversations with our deep canvassing training and feel more empowered talking about difficult topics. Connect with your neighbors on the issues that matter to you and your community.
Over 68,000 Wisconsin Citizens are disenfranchised from voting due to laws that disproportionately affect communities of color and individuals of low-income. Thank you to EXPO and in particular, Carl Fields and Sarah Ferber, for their leadership and advocacy. Citizen Action is proud of our member, Representative Jodi Emerson, and her co-sponsorship of the Unlock Lock the Vote legislation.
The panel talks about Boss Vos’ stubborn unwillingness to accommodate State Rep. Jimmy Anderson, a legislator with a disability. We discuss the news that state leaders met with Foxconn officials this week in the wake of reports that taxpayers will pay $172,000 – $290,000 per job, if there are any. Governor Evers floats the idea of a special session on gun violence and pays a visit to the heart of right-wing political darkness, WMC. Clean Wisconsin and other environmental groups sue EPA over Trump’s retrograde coal power rule, and we discuss the presidential candidacy of Sen. Kamala Harris.
Trump has foolishly proclaimed: “Trade wars are good, and easy to win”. Wisconsin Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin cut to the chase: “Wisconsin farmers have been hit hard by Trump trade wars with China, Mexico, Canada and the European Union. More than 1,600 dairy farms have gone out of business since Trump took office”. Foreign retaliatory tariffs have been imposed on Wisconsin agricultural products: dairy, corn, cranberries, ginseng, kidney beans and soybeans, as well as beef and pork. “The trade war has hit farmers already beset by years of low commodity prices … . U.S. farm income dropped 16% last year … . U.S. agricultural exports to China dropped by more than half in 2018 after the trade war began …” (Time).
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 legislation is open for co-sponsorship. We are encouraging everyone to 
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.
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.
Health Care Co-Op at Center Street Days in Milwaukee
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 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!
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.
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.
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.
Julián Castro
Brian Wooldridge 
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been a huge success. 11.4 million, including 205,118 Wisconsinites, have gained private insurance coverage. Most receive federal financial assistance to pay insurance premiums and reduce out-of-pocket costs. Another 12 million now have health coverage through Medicaid expansion. But none in Wisconsin because of GOP intransigence. Moreover, the ACA provides strong consumer protections for 52 million, including 852,000 Wisconsinites, from being denied health coverage or charged higher rates for preexisting conditions. Finally, without the ACA, uncompensated health care would increase by $50.2 billion, including $412 million in Wisconsin (Urban Institute).
Two defeated run-of-the-mill Wisconsin GOP politicians, former Governor Scott Walker and Attorney General Brad Schimel, orchestrated a federal lawsuit to have the ACA declared unconstitutional. A ticking health care time bomb. After they lost reelection, a federal Texas judge struck down the ACA in December 2018. The Trump administration had declined to defend the ACA, while calling for the court to eliminate all ACA protections for preexisting health conditions.
In April 2019, Wisconsin Democratic Governor Tony Evers withdrew Wisconsin from the lawsuit. However, Trump and other GOP-led states have continued to support the lawsuit in the federal appeals court, while Democratic-led states and GOP Attorneys General Timothy Fox of Montana and David Yost of Ohio defended the ACA. Fox and Yost said: “Let justice be done, though the heavens may fall. But the District Court’s ruling is wrong, and its errors threaten harm to millions … .” Wisconsin congressional Democrats have denounced the GOP lawsuit, while Wisconsin congressional Republicans have refused to defend the ACA.
Today, August 5th state legislators who support accepting federal Medicaid money to expand BadgerCare will introduce new legislation to save the state money and cover tens of thousands more Wisconsinites with health coverage.
Thursday evening in Milwaukee at the beautiful Wisconsin Black Historical Society, over 50 Citizen Action members and allies joined together to celebrate a 3 year effort to create a City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County Green New Deal task force to create a long term plan for the area to meet international climate targets and addresses the horrendous level of racial economic inequality in Milwaukee.
Citizen Action members from the Southeast Wisconsin Organizing Co-op are playing a very active role in leading this campaign. This work is being coordinated by the Milwaukee Economic Climate Justice Coalition (MECJC), which includes Citizen Action, Sierra Club, 350.org, and other partners. The Milwaukee Area Labor Council endorsed the task force, and there will be members of organized labor on the panel.
Task Force sponsors, Milwaukee Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton and Milwaukee County Supervisor Supreme Moore Omokunde, attended and laid out the process and timeline for the task force to produce recommendations. Both leaders also answered questions from those in attendance.
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.
Four members of the North Central Organizing Co-op took part in the WI Leadership Development (WiLD) Training in Wausau this past weekend. At these trainings, people learn how to use their story and the stories of others to help push an issue. The Citizen Action team focused on continuing to use referendums for Fair Maps (an end to partisan gerrymandering). This is an intense, 2.5 day training.
Fair Maps Summer Kick-off for Northeast Co-op
As many of you know, Citizen Action WI has been holding a series of conversations around southwestern and western Wisconsin, the “Driftless” area, about how we might build a Rural & Urban Alliance that could seek to heal that which has caused so much strife in Wisconsin – the urban/rural divide.
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.
Wisconsin Fair Election Project Director Sachin Chheda joins us to discuss new state legislation for fair legislative maps and the possibility GOP leadership could attempt to dodge Gov. Evers to gerrymander Wisconsin again. We also talk about Speaker Vos refusing to make accommodations for Rep. Jimmy Anderson to participate in committee meetings and Gov. Evers looks to protect water from nitrates. We also review the latest Democratic presidential news and Robert takes a first look at Kamala Harris’ new healthcare plan released this week.
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