Citizen Action Weekly: Friday, August 23rd
Friday, August 23rd
Fond Farewell to Northeastern Wisconsin Co-op Organizer Jolie Lizotte and Welcome Home Noah Reif!
This week we say a fond farewell to Northeastern Wisconsin Co-op Organizer Joile Lizotte. While we will miss Jolie very much, we are really excited about her new role with our partner and ally SEIU! Jolie and Northeastern Wisconsin Co-op members accomplished some amazing things over the past 2 years, including stopping expansion of the Winnebago County Jail, their work on a Fair Maps Resolution, and the exciting new work on housing in the Oshkosh area. In addition, Oshkosh elected a new progressive mayor with Jolie’s support.
Jolie was a constant leader among the staff, coordinating 
weekly organizer calls and taking over statewide liaison for our Fair Maps work across the state earlier this year. Congrats and best wishes to Jolie on her new adventure!
We are excited to announce that Noah Reif, Fox Cities native, (who has been filling the role of our Northwestern Wisconsin Co-op Organizer) will be moving home to take over the Northeastern Wisconsin Co-op Organizer role sometime in October of this year. We will be hiring a new Northwestern Wisconsin Co-op Organizer in the weeks to come, and Noah will help transition the new organizer before heading home to organize in the Fox Cities.
Citizen Action joins Congressman Gwen Moore and State Senator LaTonya Johnson to fight for Lower Prescription Drug Costs
While families are struggling to afford their prescriptions, Big Pharma is raking in record profits and increasing prices. This Tuesday in Milwaukee, Citizen Action joined Congresswoman Gwen S. Moore, State Sen. LaTonya Johnson, Marlene Ott of Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans, and other allies to demand lower drug prices now and put #PeopleOverProfits.
Contact [email protected] to get involved in fighting Rx prices.
Leaders Build Campaign for Driftless Organizing Co-op: Good Jobs, Green Homes & Lower Bills
Continuing a series of events to jump start a new Driftless Organizing Co-op in Western/Southern Wisconsin, 15 labor leaders, county officials, energy experts, farmers, doctors and concerned citizens gathered in Onalaska to talk about how we could upgrade 1,000+ homes to be more energy efficient. Showing that doing so reduces carbon emissions more dollar for dollar than just about anything else, we looked at urging utility companies to access federal USDA funds to create residential upgrade programs at scale. Furthermore, we could create good jobs, lower utility bills and ensure healthier homes.
Supporters are gathering in counties through Western/Southern Wisconsin to say it is time for green homes, fewer emissions, more jobs, lower utility bills and to negotiate directly with utility companies to do it.
For more information contact: [email protected]
Citizen Action co-op members named to 34 most powerful Wisconsin Latinos list
Congratulations to Citizen Action Co-op members Lori Palmeri and Catherine Emmanuelle on being named to the 34 most powerful Latinos in Wisconsin. Read more about these and other amazing Latino leaders.
Deep Canvassing in Black River Falls & Menomonie
A huge thank you to all of the volunteers and partners who attended our Citizen Action Deep Canvass Training and Action! Our deep canvassing training and script makes having those hard conversations on doors easier and lays the groundwork for our issue campaigns in 2020 and beyond. If you would like to see a deep canvass training in your community, reach out to your co-op organizer to schedule one today!
Attend the Vigil for Victims of Gun Violence in Eau Claire, Wednesday, August 28th
Join Citizen Action on August 28th in a vigil to commemorate all victims of gun violence. There have been more mass shootings in 2019 than days in 2019. Thanks to the leadership of our Governor there is a renewed call for Universal Background Checks. We will gather to remember the victims, support survivors, and take action. The vigil will begin with speakers at 730PM, followed by a moment of silence at 8 PM. The venue is the Phoenix Park Amphitheatre in Eau Claire.
Citizen Action co-op member Tricia Zunker is helping lead growing statewide campaign to retire Native mascots in Wisconsin schools.
A growing number of school boards across Wisconsin that already have – or will consider – supporting a proposal to retire Native American mascots thanks in part to an amazing organizing effort of North Central Co-op member, Tricia Zunker. The proposal that is rapidly spreading across the state, was drafted by Zunker and originally passed at the Wausau School Board this month.
The proposal, calls for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards to recommend legislation that would retire Native American mascots and imagery in Wisconsin schools. Currently, 31 of the state’s 421 public school districts still use Native imagery.
Since the Wausau school board unanimously approved the resolution last week and called upon other school boards have signed on. Other school districts that have approved similar proposals, or are slated to do so in the next few weeks, include: Shawano, Appleton, La Crosse, Eau Claire, Madison, Milwaukee, Prescott, Shorewood, and Sun Prairie.
The effort to retire the imagery gained momentum following a January 2017 Antigo Daily Journal that featured a horrifying headline referencing scalping Indians. Unfortunately, the Mosinee School District retained the nickname “Indians” following a community petition to change the mascot was dismissed by the school board.
Tricia Zunker will appear on next week’s Battleground Wisconsin Podcast to discuss the campaign in detail.
Congratulations to our partner, Citizen for a Clean Wausau, on new grant to fight environmental injustice
This week Citizens for a Clean Wausau (CCW) was selected from a nation-wide application process as a grant recipient from the Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ). CCW is a grassroots volunteer group that monitors the activities and impacts of significant current and past polluters, in order to define the nature and extent of local contamination so that it will be remediated. Many of the members of the group are also founding members and current leaders of the Citizen Action North Central Organizing Co-op.
“We are truly honored and excited to have been selected for this CHEJ grant,” CCW Spokesperson, Tom Kilian, stated. “It will facilitate the group’s strategic plan, structuring and expansion, while affording us invaluable training. Our efforts to date supporting Environmental Justice and the community are just the beginning.”
Brew Fest, Thursday, September 19th
We are one month away from our 2019 Brew Fest fundraiser on Thursday, September 19th in MKE. Please become a co-sponsor of the event by committing to donate $50.00 or more!
“We are the caring majority” Battleground Wisconsin Podcast
Guest panelists Claire Zautke, Citizen Action’s healthcare director, tells us about this week’s national day of action to lower prescription drug costs. We also discuss Gov. Tony Evers’ creation of a new office to help achieve his goal of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050, as well as new data showing Wisconsin’s life expectancy is plummeting, especially for African Americans. We welcome Susannah Dyen from Caring Across Generations to discuss building a national movement to make caregiving a respected profession that it is properly compensated.
Listen Now – Episode #405
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