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Dear John,
Earlier this month, people from southern Texas all the way to northern Maine looked up at the sky together to glimpse a once-in-a-generation solar event. For a few hours, we collectively witnessed a force far outside of human control, so powerful that it literally stopped us in our tracks. These total solar eclipses are rare, the next one won’t appear in the US until 2044! It got me thinking about the world we will be living in 20 years from now. What does that future look like?
We’ve thought a lot about what we want to see: a future where our shared resources are governed by communities, where our systems are centered around everyday people and our planet, and where we all have what we need to thrive. This may feel abstract or distant, but this vision is happening now all across the country—from Philadelphia where residents are fighting for community control over their energy system [[link removed]] , to Minneapolis where rideshare drivers are undaunted by Uber’s threats and bullying [[link removed]] , to Kansas City where voters overwhelmingly rejected an exploitative development proposal [[link removed]] from the KC Royals. By showing what is possible when we take on corporations and put vital resources (like electricity, transportation, and even the land we live on) under community governance, we make our vision for the future tangible.
This requires something that I’ve mentioned before: building our shared “we” and showing up for each other with the knowledge that our needs and fates are intertwined. In this conversation I had with Cindy Wiesner [[link removed]] last month, she pointed to the importance of being in right relationship with ourselves, other people, and the planet. This understanding enables folks to see themselves as part of a broader community, to consider the interests of others, and to make decisions together that serve the common good. This is core to our feminist, multiracial vision of our democracy and the economy.
Twenty years from now, maybe I’ll remember to buy a pair of eclipse glasses ahead of time. Or maybe, like what happened this year, some generous stranger will share their glasses with me so that we can experience something amazing together.
When it’s time for us to look up at the stars again, we will be living in a new political, cultural, and climate reality. If we continue down the path dictated by greedy corporations and their political allies, that reality means deepened inequality, authoritarianism, worsened climate disasters, and widespread suffering. But an alternative is possible, and it’s evident in cities across the country where people are rising up, building power together, and setting the rules for their communities so that everyone can thrive.
Lauren Jacobs [[link removed]] In solidarity,
Lauren Jacobs
Executive Director
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New half-price fare for low-income MBTA riders
The Public Transit Public Good coalition, convened by Community Labor United [[link removed]] (CLU), won a long-standing fight for a reduced fare [[link removed]] for low-income people on the MBTA, which serves the Greater Boston area. This victory builds on the discounted youth fare which CLU’s Green Justice Coalition won several years ago, and will be funded with revenue from the Fair Share Amendment, which voters passed in November 2022 to increase income taxes on the ultra-wealthy. Thanks to recent pressure from CLU and community allies, the new fare structure includes paratransit services and will go into effect later this spring.
Safe, affordable, and accessible water for Pittsburgh residents
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, which is the state regulator for services like electricity and water, approved a legal settlement between Pittsburgh United [[link removed]] and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority. Through their Our Water Campaign, Pittsburgh United fought to reduce rate increases and strengthen customer assistance programs so that all ratepayers have access to water services in their homes and businesses. Thanks to the campaign, allies, and community members, the settlement includes low-income customer assistance programs, a moratorium on water shutoffs, and equitable upgrades to ensure that the city’s water infrastructure is safe, healthy, and disaster resilient.
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Missouri workers took on a billionaire sports team — and won!
Earlier this month, low-wage workers, tenants, and community allies came together to resoundingly reject [[link removed]] a ballot measure that would have funneled $1.7 billion in taxpayer subsidies to the Kansas City Royals for them to build a new ballpark and entertainment district. For over a year, low-wage workers with Missouri Workers Center [[link removed]] (MWC) and community allies fought for a strong community benefits agreement with the sports team, calling for living-wage union jobs and truly affordable housing. But when it came down to it, the Royals failed to meet demands, forcing MWC and its allies to urge voters [[link removed]] to reject the Royals’ proposal at the ballot box. Workers, tenants, and voters from across the city came together and proved that corporate CEOs and billionaires can't bamboozle taxpayers into footing the bill for a development project that confers nothing in the way of meaningful, transformative community benefits. Low-wage workers won't stop until they win everything they need for themselves, their families, and their communities to thrive.
Community needs at the center of Nashville’s soccer stadium deal
In 2018, Stand Up Nashville [[link removed]] (SUN) won a historic community benefits agreement (CBA) — the first of its kind in Tennessee and considered one of the strongest in the country — with Nashville Soccer Holdings (NSH) over the development of a new MLS stadium in the city. Now, as the project moves forward, SUN is working to ensure that accountability, community governance, and long-term enforcement are prioritized. This has taken shape through community meetings with developers, listening and information sessions, and job fairs. SUN has organized and encouraged residents to be more engaged in the CBA enforcement process and in holding NSH accountable to the agreement’s priorities of working-class families being prioritized in housing, minority-owned small businesses having first choice of micro-units, construction workers and foremen being OSHA certified, and more. The commitments made in this CBA will ensure that the communities most impacted by the stadium development will be the same ones who benefit from it.
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Harvesting Dignity: The Case for a Living Wage for Farmworkers
California has the largest state agricultural production in the entire US; in fact, most of the country’s strawberries come from the Central Coast region. This industry is essential not only to the state’s economy, but to sustaining families and communities across the country. And it all relies on farmworkers. Yet, agricultural laborers have historically been among the lowest paid occupations, their wages have failed to keep pace with inflation, and they disproportionately confront challenges related to food insecurity, healthcare, and housing. In a new report [[link removed]] , CAUSE [[link removed]] and MICOP document the historical and current context of farm labor, the state of the agricultural industry, and the necessity of a farmworker living wage. Their research shows that the industry can afford to pay farmworkers a living wage, and that doing so is necessary to sustain communities, the region, the state’s economy, and the country writ large. In order to achieve our vision of a just, sustainable, and equitable economy, we need to do right by the people who literally feed us.
California workers know the dangers of extreme heat, and they have a solution
With summer on the horizon, people across California are bracing for the reality of working amid scorching temperatures, in unsafe conditions, and with few to no protections on the job. While heat standards exist for people who work outdoors, folks who work indoors in places like warehouses, restaurants, and manufacturing facilities remain unprotected. For nearly 10 years, Warehouse Worker Resource Center [[link removed]] (WWRC) has been fighting alongside workers, partners, and allies for indoor heat protections [[link removed]] . Now that Cal/OSHA has approved an indoor heat rule, WWRC is joining more than 50 organizations, leaders, and workers [[link removed]] in demanding that adequate protections be implemented before the summer arrives. By providing basic necessities on the job — access to drinking water, time and space to cool down — and holding employers accountable for the wellbeing of their employees, this standard takes a step toward a future where workers’ health, safety, and lives are prioritized over profits.
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Disrupting Democracy: How app corporations buy, bully, and bamboozle to hold back workers and communities [[link removed]]
Uber is throwing a fit over paying drivers fairly in Minneapolis, using tactics that we’ve been tracking and studying for years. Now, with new research produced with the National Labor Employment Project, we’ve found that Uber’s behavior is part of a larger, more threatening pattern.
[link removed] [[link removed]] In our latest report [[link removed]] , we reveal three big tactics that corporations like Uber have used time and again to exploit communities across the country and undermine our democracy:
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BUY:
pouring
money
into
legislation,
campaigns,
and
lobbyists
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BULLY:
using
threats,
outsized
power,
pressure,
and
influence
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BAMBOOZLE:
spreading
misleading
narratives
and
sowing
division
Read the full report here [[link removed]]
Housing Lessons from Vienna & Berlin
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Last week we brought together US housing organizers and elected leaders on a trip to Vienna and Berlin to learn about community-controlled housing! We met with city officials in Vienna, toured notable social housing projects, connected with campaign organizers in Berlin, and learned so much about housing models that center people, community needs, and the planet.
Check out some of the lessons and highlights here [[link removed]] and watch our video recaps on Instagram [[link removed]] and TikTok [[link removed]] !
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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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Research
Director
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Development
Director
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Our affiliates are hiring! Check out open positions across our network [[link removed]] . Did someone forward you this email? Sign up to receive updates directly to your inbox [[link removed]] .
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PowerSwitch Action
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Oakland, CA 94612
United States
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