Preparing for Authoritarian Threats in 2026

Project 2025, ALEC model legislation, and expanding executive overreach pose serious threats to democratic governance at both the federal and state levels. These efforts aim to consolidate power, weaken accountability, and sideline communities from decision-making.

On January 15th at 3:00 PM ET / 12:00 PM PT, SiX will convene legislators and national experts for a briefing focused on understanding these threats and preparing effective responses. The goal is not just awareness, but readiness—so state leaders are equipped to defend democracy and advance policies rooted in shared power and accountability.

This briefing is reserved for legislators and legislative staff.

Private Briefing with Former Labor Secretary Julie Su

On January 23rd, at 1:00 PM ET / 10:00 AM PT, SiX will host a private briefing with former U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su focused on how state leaders can champion workers at a moment of federal retreat. As national protections weaken, states have a critical opportunity, and responsibility, to lead!

This conversation will equip legislators with research, policy strategies, and real-world examples from Julie Su’s latest work on how states can strengthen worker power and economic equity. It’s a chance to learn what’s possible and how to move it forward in your state.

This briefing is reserved for legislators and legislative staff.

Legislators Stand with Starbucks Baristas

This month, SiX and Local Progress helped mobilize more than 180 state and local elected officials in signing a national letter in solidarity with Starbucks United, urging Starbucks’ CEO to stop union-busting and return to the bargaining table in good faith. The letter makes clear that Starbucks baristas are not alone, and that SiX legislators are standing in solidarity with workers in state capitols and on the picket line.

As Starbucks United workers continue their strike, this show of solidarity helps apply public pressure when it matters most. Easily share the letter on social media with the same copy below and amplify the call for fair bargaining and worker dignity.

Sample copy:

Proud to stand with Starbucks baristas fighting for respect, dignity, and a fair first contract. I join fellow electeds urging Starbucks to stop union-busting and bargain in good faith! Baristas deserve better. #NoContractNoCoffee

Share to:

#Listen2Workers: Building Policy by Listening

At SiX, we believe democracy works best when workers and lawmakers govern together. The #Listen2Workers campaign lifts up that shared commitment by creating space for state legislators and working people to learn from one another and shape policy side by side, grounded in real-life experience and mutual respect.

Through pledges, interviews, and shared stories, the campaign is building stronger relationships between lawmakers and the people they represent—caregivers, cashiers, cooks, farmworkers, and more. It’s about shared power, trust, and policies that reflect what working families actually need!

Resources State Lawmakers Keep Coming Back To

This year, state legislators across the country returned again and again to SiX resources designed for moments of real pressure, when sessions move fast, federal attacks land hard, and communities need action. Three of our most-used tools reflect where lawmakers are asking the biggest questions and looking for practical, values-driven guidance:

• State Debt Collection Against the Federal Government

  A deep dive into innovative strategies states can use to protect budgets and essential programs in the face of federal cuts, including tools many lawmakers don’t realize are already available to them.

• Special Session Toolkit: Responding to the Federal Tax Bill

  Built for fast-moving legislative moments, this toolkit helps lawmakers understand what federal tax changes mean for their states, and how to respond with progressive revenue and budget strategies that protect working people.

• Protecting Immigrants: A Toolkit for State Action

  A clear, actionable guide for lawmakers working to protect immigrant communities, from limiting collaboration with ICE to safeguarding access to services and defending due process at the state level.

These resources are used, reused, and shared because they’re built for governing in real time, and because supporters like you make it possible for SiX to deliver timely, trusted tools when lawmakers need them most.

Because of You: A Year of Wins

This year tested our democracy, and because of you, we met the moment.

With your support, SiX worked alongside legislators, organizers, and communities in all 50 states to deliver real, durable wins. Nearly 700 state lawmakers came together through our Reproductive Freedom Leadership Council, introducing more than 150 bills to protect abortion access and bodily autonomy. States strengthened shield laws protecting providers and patients. Lawmakers took on corporate power, banning rent-collusion software, expanding worker protections, and securing universal child care. Rural legislators organized with farmers to defeat pesticide immunity bills and advance sustainable food systems. And beyond our borders, SiX helped bring state leaders into global conversations about democracy and reproductive freedom, learning alongside movements in Latin America and elevating state-level leadership on the world stage.

None of this happened by accident. These wins happened because people like you chose to invest in a different way of governing, one rooted in shared power, long-term relationships, and trust in communities to lead. As we close out the year and look ahead to 2026, we invite you to help carry this work forward. If you’re able, make a year-end gift to SiX today and help sustain the pro-democracy, pro-justice work you made possible.

State legislators, if you’d like to go deeper into SiX’s issue areas, join our legislator cohorts: the Economic Power Project, the Cohort for Rural Opportunity and Prosperity, and the Reproductive Freedom Leadership Council!