Citizen Action Weekly

Citizen Action Weekly; Friday, August 21st

Citizen Action member tells her healthcare story at Democratic National Convention

Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention Wisconsin’s Julie Harling Buckholt told a national prime time audience her powerful healthcare story and how the ACA saved her life.

We have an immoral profit crazed healthcare system in this county and it was worse before the ACA. If you have an unjust healthcare story, we need you to tell it, just like Julie did. We can work with you to synthesize your story.

Please contact [email protected] to tell your story.

North Side Rising celebrates PSC extending utilities cut off moratorium until Oct. 1, 2020

North Side Rising won a huge victory with a 2:1 vote by the PSC to extend the utilities moratorium until Oct. 1, 2020. Citing health reasons due to the pandemic, the Commission will review positive COVID case numbers and other factors, September 17 to decide whether to extend the moratorium until April 2021.

Tactics like “Shed Some Light” panel discussions, Phone Zaps to the PSC Consumer Help Desk and a Banner Drop on the Lincoln Memorial Pedestrian Bridge on Milwaukee’s North Side were monumental in this victory that eased the minds of over 71,000 power and 17,500 water utilities customers in Wisconsin!

Thanks to all the affiliates, allies and Organizers of NSR! This was truly a collaborative effort and win!

Read more.

Save the Post Office Rallies in Wisconsin this Saturday, August 22nd

This Saturday is a national day of action to Save the Post Office.

The US Postal Service is under attack!  Mail boxes are disappearing; sorting machines are being removed from major cities. The mail is being slowed down intentionally. Americans are already seeing delays in receiving vital medications, checks and bills. All Americans, regardless of political persuasions, rely on the USPS. This kind of attack on the USPS would be disgusting during normal times. It is absolutely outrageous during a pandemic and an election year in which millions of American will be voting by mail.

There are events scheduled in multiple areas of Wisconsin.

LaCrosse

Citizen Action Southwestern WI Co-op is taking a stand this Saturday, August 22, 11am, along with Coulee Progressives and MoveOn.org.  We will be taking part in a social distanced protest at the La Crosse post office from 11:00 AM and 12:00 PM to let our leaders know that we need to save the USPS!

Please use this link to RSVP for this important event.  Please bring a mask and homemade signs.  We need as many people on site as possible to make our voice heard.

Milwaukee
Saturday, 8/22, 11am, at the downtown USPS facility, 345 W St Paul, Milwaukee.

Green Bay
Friday, August 21st at 4pm, Save the Post Office Green Bay, corner of N Monroe St. & E Walnut St

Appleton
Saturday, August 22nd at 11AM, Save the Post Office rally, 410 W Franklin St, Appleton

Click here to find an event near you.

Attend webinar with Congresswoman Gwen Moore, Friday, August 28, Noon 

North Side Rising invites you to join Wisconsin Congresswoman Gwen Moore and Citizen Action of Wisconsin Executive Director Dr. Robert Kraig and many Citizen Action members and supporters as we go over some of the most critical issues of the day, and hear a on-the-ground report of what is happening with Congress and the next stimulus!

Congresswoman Moore will answer our questions on where Congress is on action to help struggling Americans and getting the pandemic under control. From COVID-19 response, to eviction & foreclosure protections, to unemployment support and job creation, don’t miss this live Zoom discussion!

RSVP for this event!

Help flip Wisconsin’s 14th State Senate district by writing postcards from home.

Citizen Action of Wisconsin member Joni Anderson is running a tight race for the state senate in district 14.  Joni is a former union vice president.  She will stand up to expand healthcare to every Wisconsinite and fight climate change across the state.  Joni is running for an open seat and we need to do everything we can to make sure that she wins!

Joni’s campaign is launching a major postcard campaign.  You can help Joni win by signing up to send postcards from your house.  Not only would you be helping to turn SD 14 blue, you would also be supporting the USPS in it’s time of need.  If you are interested in joining in this postcard effort please contact Joni directly at [email protected].

Driftless Co-op Anniversary Meeting, Saturday August 29th

On August 29th the Citizen Action of Wisconsin Driftless Co-op will have its one year anniversary of organizing in the area. In honor of the big day we will be hosting a virtual meeting for all our members, friends and allies.

This will be a chance to hear about all the work we have done to expand healthcare, protect voting rights, fight climate change and elect progressive candidates.  We will also be laying out our plans for the rest of the year.  Several members will be presenting on projects they have been working on with Citizen Action.

We encourage everyone to come out for this very special virtual meeting.  Please use the link below to RSVP.  Space is limited so RSVP today!  Details on how to join this Zoom meeting will be sent once you RSVP.

Meet and Greet with State Assembly candidate Kim Butler, September 3, 6:30pm

Join us on September 3rd from 6:30pm – 8:00pm as we host a meet and greet with endorsed state legislative candidate, Kim Butler. Kim is a co-op member and is running in Assembly District 28.

Please have questions prepared ahead of time.

Register for our Meet and Greet: 

SAVE THE DATE: No Lockdown on Activism

The Southeastern Wisconsin Co-op’s Virtual Summer Assembly

Saturday, September 12, 2020, at 10:00 AM

Learn about all the work we’ve been doing to expand healthcare, fight the climate crisis and elect progressive candidates – despite the Trump pandemic! And hear our plans for the rest of the year. We’ ve invited some amazing local activists as guest speakers, so be sure to join us for this very special virtual meeting.

RSVP and get the Zoom details. Space is limited, so do it today!
For more information, email me [email protected]

Protect our Care

Citizen Action Healthcare Co-Op members met for a socially distant coffee on the patio of Blum’s coffee garden in Greenfield.  The Affordable Care Act is being challenged at the Supreme Court level and they are asking via a postcard campaign for the state elected to enshrine in state law some of the most popular provisions. Specifically, protections for pre-existing conditions and free preventative care screenings.  The co-op meets every Monday morning at 9:30 AM in good weather only as they only sit outside and wear masks.

Join them if you can.

Citizen Action Members Join Women’s March Focused on Celebrating the Suffragist Movement

On Saturday, August 15th, people gathered in Downtown Wausau, to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of a “white” woman’s right to vote. If you are black, you did not get that right until 1965. The last Native Americans who won the right to vote were from Colorado; the year was 1970. It took the 1975 extension of the voting rights act to allow other minorities to fully engage in the voting process.

This event was organized by the AAUW (American Association of University Women) – Wausau Branch and was supported by the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point – Wausau Extension, the Marathon County Historical Society, the Citizen Action of WI North Central Organizing Co-op, Women for Women – Wausau, NAOMI/WISDOM, Building Unity Project with ZOOM program at 6:00 PM, Wausau United to Amend,  Black Lives Matter – Wausau and the Central WI Chapter of Our Wisconsin Revolution.

You can see coverage of the event at Wausau Pilot & Review, WSAW, and WAOW.

Organizing Co-ops are working with people across the state to cut carbon emissions, save on energy bills, and help to create good jobs

Citizen Action of Wisconsin has helped convince multiple banks through a public campaign to offer green home upgrades, where the bank provides resources to help cut a home’s carbon emissions and utility bills that pay for themselves right away. This campaign began years ago in the North Central region. Since that time, we’ve helped homeowners access solar panels, cut their mortgage interest through a “green refinance”, and hire pro-climate contractors that treat their workers well. All while saving more immediately than they were before with nothing extra down.

Now, we have launched a project to help homeowners personally divest their money away from banks and utilities, back into the pockets of working people and towards the causes that matter. We can even show you how you can further live your values by showing you how you can reinvest in institutions that are specifically working to invest in the Black community, and that create good living wage jobs right here.

Fill out the “Green Home” fellowship application. Tell us more about your home, and after signing you’ll receive a link to schedule a 1-1 meeting to go over the math of whether or not this program can cut your utility bills, mortgage payments and significantly roll back your carbon emissions! Fill out the application here.

You will only be chosen if we are confident we can reduce costs and cut carbon emissions, with extra consideration for Citizen Action members and/or those from historically under-invested areas (especially rural and communities of color) and/or union members. You do not need to be a Citizen Action member for consideration. (Questions? Email [email protected] and/or [email protected]).

People who participate will be automatically signed up as a Citizen Action Organizing Co-op member at $20-per-month if we can show savings well in excess of $20-per-month after costs (effectively no cost). This allows us to continue working on issues that matter to you and our other members, while continuing to work on proactive campaigns, such as this one.

WI Working Families Party State Convening 

Our friends at the Wisconsin Working Families Party are having their annual state convening Saturday, August 29th, 11am. The convening will be virtual.

They will be talking about their People’s Charter (similar to the South African Freedom Chart or El Plan de Aztlán, that will ultimately lead to the WFP Platform), fall endorsements, and ongoing opportunities to act, fund, and learn.

Learn more about the event. 

Citizen Action in the News 

Citizen Action’s Robert Kraig was quoted in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story comparing the 2018 election in Wisconsin to the 2020 presidential race. Read the story here.

Citizen Action’s Robert Kraig was on the Jeff Santos radio show to preview Joe Biden’s convention acceptance speech, arguing he needed to do what FDR did: inspire confidence. Listen to the interview here. The program, which originates from Boston, is replayed on the leading commercial progressive radio stations in the Madison and Milwaukee media markets. Citizen Action’s Battleground Wisconsin podcast/radio show is also featured on these stations every Saturday and Monday.

Citizen Action of Wisconsin landed as the #3 spending group in state legislative primaries, trailing only two dark money right-wing groups. The difference, of course, is that Citizen Action generated grassroots voter contact, not reams of paid media propaganda. It is important to make a distinction between dirty money expenditures, and authentic grassroots campaigns. Read the report from our friends at the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign here.

“Milwaukee’s Digital National Convention” Battleground Wisconsin Podcast

We discuss this week’s all digital DNC Convention – what worked and what didn’t? We break news about a legal effort by Legislative Republicans to remove Attorney General Josh Kaul from an important voting rights lawsuit involving Citizen Action. Again the Republican Legislature thinks it is the only true governing body in Wisconsin! Next we discuss the importance of the 100th year anniversary of the 19th Amendment. We close with Citizen Action Northeast WI co-op member Emily Tseffos, who joins us to talk about the effort to organize #SaveUSPS events across Wisconsin this Friday and Saturday. This is a critical fight both for this election and for the future health of American democracy.

Request your absentee ballot today!
Attend #SaveUSPS Day of Action near you in Wisconsin.

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