Dear John,
As 2023 comes to an end, we’re reflecting back on a year of grief and joy, struggles and victories. While many of us have felt the weight and toll of this year, there have been many moments of solidarity, of collective action, of fighting and demanding better together. These are the moments from which we draw hope and forge the people power we need to shape a future worthy of our communities.
The stakes are high. Corporations are extracting from our communities at every turn: hiking the costs of rent and food, paying low wages, meddling in our government, fueling climate destruction, and enabling authoritarianism. These threats are what drove us to develop our long term agenda for multiracial feminist democracy.
We know where we’re going, and we know what we need to get there. We must choose fights that both address immediate needs and grow the infrastructure that sustains people, communities, and movements for long term fights. We need to draw on our strengths, experiment and adapt to the current moment, and expand our movements to win the future we all need. PowerSwitch Action has grown with this vision in mind: we’ve welcomed a new affiliate, hired new team members, scaled up our resources to support campaigns, and woven powerful coalitions across the country. This increased strength has let our network level up our work this year: -
We’ve been testing out new strategies and taking on new fights with an eye to how they can open the door to even bigger wins — from connecting together Uber and Lyft drivers organizing across the country, to introducing laws in Missouri that reveal how corporation-driven state bans block community freedoms.
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We’ve been crafting stories that change the terrain on which we campaign, like turning a video game into a play to connect the legacies of redlining and racism to fights for housing justice in Detroit today.
- We’ve been developing the leadership of Black, Brown, and gender-oppressed community champions, and establishing movement homes — such as tenant and neighborhood unions — that sustain organizing.
As we look forward to 2024 and beyond, the threats and challenges ahead are daunting. But we’re in this fight for the long haul, because that’s how we win. When we work from a long term vision, each campaign we wage, each leader we train, and each narrative we shift brings us one step closer to a multiracial, democratic, feminist future. We’re ending this year filled with energy and hope for what we can accomplish together. |
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| In solidarity, Lauren Jacobs Executive Director of PowerSwitch Action Kyra R Greene, PhD Board Chair of PowerSwitch Action |
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Our network has grown in both strength and numbers, giving us the power to kick open new doors, reshape the terrain on which we fight, and develop leaders and institutions that are paving the way towards a future where we all thrive. |
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This year, we: -
welcomed Missouri Workers Center, our newest affiliate that’s building a worker-led movement across the state;
- grew our staff, adding over two dozen new folks to our affiliate and national teams; and
- scaled up our resources, increasing our network’s total annual budget by over $6 million.
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Our network has been launching new fights and strategies to build power and open doors for even bigger wins down the road: |
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- Linking together app-based drivers organizing around the country to confront Uber’s health and safety crisis.
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Introducing legislation in Missouri that reveals the harms of corporate-backed bans on communities.
- Winning groundbreaking housing and public safety measures in Chicago.
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Our network has been crafting stories and narratives that expose corporate greed, show what we can win together, and expand our view of what's possible: |
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Transforming a video game about housing insecurity in Detroit into a live play.
- Supporting Amazon workers who put on an opera about unsafe working conditions.
- Crafting public education toolkits illustrating the potential for energy democracy and tenant protections.
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Staging a spoof award show for corporate landlords driving harmful state bans in Colorado.
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Our network is growing institutions where people can connect with others, build power together, and have a collective voice in all aspects of their lives: |
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Engaging workers and tenants through outreach and education programs.
- Bringing folks together through tenant and neighborhood unions, community schools, and dedicated movement spaces.
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We’re building a leaderful movement, equipping people who have been excluded from decision-making to lead in the streets, in the halls of power, and in our organizations. This year, we: |
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Supported working-class folks, women, and people of color through organizing academies.
- Expanded our programs that train community champions to lead with values in elected and appointed office.
- Deepened the skills and resilience of our network’s staff through leadership development and campaign trainings.
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Next year, we’ll need even more organized and engaged people, bigger and stronger organizations, and resources that can sustain our movements for the long haul.
Can you support us with a donation so that we can continue to experiment and innovate, support our leaders and organizers, and level up our fights in 2024 and beyond? |
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We are seeking experienced individuals to join our team! If you know anyone who would be a great fit, please send them our way. The ideal candidates will have a deep commitment to social, racial, gender, economic and environmental justice. |
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PowerSwitch Action
1305 Franklin St.
Suite 501
Oakland, CA 94612
United States |
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