Welcome to The Revolution Report — the weekly e-newsletter of our national grassroots organizing network!
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Don’t miss our next National Organize to Win Call on Monday, February 8 at 8:30pm ET, featuring U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, Denton, TX city council candidate Alison Maguire, and others!
RSVP HERE
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Our Revolution is kicking off our 2021 membership drive!
Our Revolution Board Chair Larry Cohen led our Monday Organize to Win Call by launching our 2021 membership drive. “The backbone of Our Revolution are people joining local groups and people supporting Our Revolution as a recurring member.”
We’re asking you to join as a sustaining member for $5 a month or more to support our work and help us fulfill our
Four-Point Plan to Win in 2021:
In his Inaugural address, Joe Biden said, “It’s time for boldness, for there is so much to do.” We couldn’t agree more. As an Our Revolution Movement Builder, your monthly contribution will help us hold President Biden and Congress accountable on delivering real change for working families, including taking bold action on student debt, climate change, and more.
From city councils to Congress, there are hundreds of state, local, and special elections this year. Your recurring donation will ensure that we can continue to elect progressive champions up and down the ballot.
Last year, our win rate on state and local ballot initiatives like Fight for $15 and paid family leave was an impressive 81% — and this year, we’re gearing up for more! Your membership will help us keep up the fight for progressive policies like criminal justice reform, affordable housing, and health care in communities across the USA.
Our Revolution’s unique mission is to achieve transformative change by working both outside and inside — and an important part of our inside strategy is building a progressive party. Your monthly gift will support our goal of electing progressives to party leadership positions - from precinct committee members to DNC chairs - in 2021.
Our Revolution doesn’t take corporate PAC money. We are entirely people-powered and rely on supporters like you. When you become an official member, you invest in building our grassroots groups and preparing us for the fights - and victories - to come.
Our Revolution Movement Builders will receive a membership card featuring original artwork by Lauren Rolwing, an Our Revolution Tennessee member and renowned graphic designer who designed the Bernie mittens sticker!
CLICK HERE TO BECOME A MEMBER!
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The Huffington Post interviewed Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese on how our movement’s long-term inside-outside organizing strategy pushed President Biden to take executive action on the Fight for $15.
As director of the labor rights group Good Jobs Nation, Joseph sat in on White House meetings to persuade the Obama-Biden administration to do more for workers through executive action.
Even though then-Vice President Biden led a “middle class task force” aimed at raising the living standards of working families, he resisted taking executive action. Good Jobs Nation then pivoted from an inside strategy to putting people in the streets. Striking janitorial and fast-food workers protested outside the White House, calling on the Obama-Biden administration to increase wages for federal contractors. Those demonstrations coincided with the Fight for $15’s nationwide strikes. At the time, very few Congressional Democrats were willing to publicly support a $15 minimum wage — except Sen. Bernie Sanders and then-Rep. Keith Ellison.
Joseph credits that early and sustained organizing with the evolution of Joe Biden, who said he will use executive orders to require federal contractors to pay at least $15 per hour, buy American, and ensure worker protections. “It’s a testament to the fact that there was tremendous grassroots pressure on the Democratic Party. The center of gravity in the party when it comes to labor has shifted dramatically.”
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While executive action is critical, so too is legislative action to raise the wage. Our Revolution is urging President Biden and Congress to pass the $15 minimum wage increase right now as part of the COVID relief package. When he launched the package, Biden said, “There should be a national minimum wage of $15 an hour. If you work for less than $15 an hour and work 40 hours a week, you’re living in poverty.” And this week, Democrats began the first step towards using reconciliation, which would allow them to bypass GOP opposition and pass the relief package with a simple majority in the Senate. But Biden and some in Congress are now considering stripping it from the package.
In McClatchy this week, Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese made clear that keeping $15 in the package was critical. “It would not be a good way for Joe Biden to start off his relationship with the progressive movement by giving up on a core priority that we’ve been driving and that we’ve moved the Democratic Party on.”
SIGN HERE - TELL DEMOCRATS TO FIGHT FOR $15!
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Our Revolution is working with the Coalition on Human Needs, the Economic Policy Institute and other groups to lobby Congress to pass the American Rescue Plan and act now to give a permanent stimulus to millions of low-wage workers by raising the minimum wage to $15, sending another round of one-time stimulus checks to working people, and ramp up vaccine production and distribution nationwide.
Sign on now to demand Congress passes the American Rescue Plan immediately to distribute $1,400 stimulus checks, expand unemployment benefits, raise the wage to $15, and deliver more desperately needed relief to working families→
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Our Revolution joined our progressive allies on behalf of millions of members in calling on Senate Democrats to fix the broken Senate and end the filibuster. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, we urged “speedy action” on changing the rules to end the gridlock and obstruction that is standing in the way of progress. The filibuster - also known as the “McConnell veto” - gives the GOP minority the power to block legislation supported by the majority of Senators and voters. Ending the filibuster will unrig the Senate and get it working again on the critical issues facing our nation.
JOIN OUR CAMPAIGN TO FIX THE SENATE!
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Our Revolution Kern County helped lead a “Hold The GOP Treason Caucus Accountable” protest on Thursday. The march through downtown Bakersfield ended at the district office of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, where Our Revolution members and allies delivered 400,000 signatures calling on McCarthy to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee assignments. Neel Sannappa, an OR Kern County organizer, was interviewed in local media: “We want Greene to be removed because those kinds of conspiracies don't belong in our democracy."
REMOVE MAJORIE TAYLOR GREEN FROM CONGRESS -CLICK HERE TO ADD YOUR NAME!
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Our Revolution is leading the effort to elect progressive champions at every level of government. Our very own Nina Turner, former Our Revolution Board Member who is running for Congress in Ohio’s 11th District, was a special guest on our Monday Organize to Win Call where she spoke about the importance of our electoral organizing. “Our Revolution is fueled by grassroots donations from people like you, and we’ve got to put a downpayment on our mission of pushing and prodding and not letting anyone off the hook. And we can’t let ourselves off the hook, either.”
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Because of your support, Our Revolution Ohio is organizing a massive volunteer effort to elect Nina Turner to Congress! Local organizer Kyndall Sutton reported on our Monday Organize to Win Call that over 100 phone bankers have made over 24,000 calls and recruited over 350 new volunteers as they work towards their goal of contacting every voter in the district. Our Revolution Ohio also hosted a Stand Your Vote fundraiser last weekend and plans to launch a Neighbors for Nina precinct organizing program this month. “We’re hard at work in Ohio getting everybody energized for Nina’s campaign.”
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Our Revolution North Texas (Dallas/Fort Worth) held its 2021 Organize to Win Kickoff by announcing local endorsements for candidates in city council races.
Alison Maguire, an Our Revolution Texas member, is running for a seat on the Denton City Council because she was inspired by Bernie to continue the fight after his 2020 presidential bid. Her progressive priorities include stopping fracking in her community and increasing affordable housing. “In my community, a median wage earner can’t afford a median-priced house.”
Our Revolution Texas member Diana Saleh, the granddaughter of Muslim Palestinian refugees, ran to be a Bernie Sanders state delegate in 2016 and is now running for Arlington City Council. Her priorities include increasing police accountability and advocating for a living wage. “City councils are the right opportunity, right now, for progressive change. It’s important to bring progressive values at every level of elected office.”
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HELP US ELECT PROGRESSIVE CHAMPIONS IN 2021- BECOME A MEMBER OF OUR REVOLUTION!
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Student loan debt is now the second highest consumer debt category - behind only mortgage debt. Our Revolution believes it’s time to stop punishing young people for wanting to go to college. That’s why we are joining progressive leaders in Congress like Rep. Ilhan Omar in calling for President Biden to take executive action to cancel up to $50,000 of student loans for federal student loan borrowers. Our Revolution New Jersey member Gabriella Ambroise is a young college student with more than $100,000 in student debt. “Students like me should not have to suffer for the rest of their lives for wanting to pursue education that is almost a requirement for most jobs.” We applaud President Biden for taking executive action to pause student debt payments during the pandemic. But he needs to go further and eliminate that debt once and for all.
Hear Rep. Omar speak on the student debt crisis on our next
National Organize to Win Call
on Monday, February 8 at 8:30pm ET!
RSVP HERE
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Our Revolution Massachusetts had a successful general assembly, where over 100 local leaders collaborated on setting their 2021 issue agenda, which includes fighting for racial justice, Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and other progressive issues at both the local and national levels. In addition, Rep. Ayanna Pressley briefed members about Trump’s upcoming Senate trial and the importance of holding him accountable for the insurrection at the Capitol. “We cannot just turn the page” with a call for unity, she said. Trump must be “impeached” and those responsible must “atone.”
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When we organize, we win! Akron City Councilmember and Our Revolution leader Tara Samples, along with members of Our Revolution Akron, were instrumental in halting a deal that would have green-lighted fracking at the LaDue Reservoir, potentially affecting the drinking water in communities around Akron and the Cuyahoga RIver. The decision to withdraw the bill came after a letter-writing and calling campaign by Our Revolution Akron and allies that resulted in over 248 letters sent to councilmembers. Our Revolution Ohio leader Diane Morgan said, “Anyone who is familiar with fracking in Ohio knows it’s rare to get elected officials to side with the public against fracking companies. This is a HUGE victory!” Councilmember Samples called the decision to abandon the deal a "win" for the people. "You can't take back poisoning people's water. That lasts a lifetime."
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Our Revolution Maryland’s Organize to Win 2021 Kickoff featured four Maryland state delegates, including Our Revolution Baltimore Co-Chair Sheila Ruth. Delegate Ruth called out the injustices in our for-profit healthcare system and urged support of her bill, which would create a commission charged with developing a plan to transition to universal single-payer healthcare in Maryland by 2024. “This pandemic has shown more clearly than ever the need for universal healthcare, and I believe Maryland can do this.”
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Our Revolution and the New York Progressive Action Network were joined by New York state Assemblyman Phil Steck at a recent meeting to discuss the Stock Transfer Act. Phil, who was first elected to the New York state legislature in 2012, has been a steadfast advocate for bringing back the stock transfer tax as a way to raise revenue to close the state’s massive budget deficit. “The way this bill works is that for two years all of the money goes to the general fund to stave off cuts to education and health care because of the COVID crisis. After that, it all goes for infrastructure, including green infrastructure.”
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Our Revolution Florida leaders Amina Pruitt and Corrine Daly joined the family of 16-year-old Taylor Bracey – and civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump — at a recent press conference to demand action from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office and the Osceola School Board after Bracey was body slammed and handcuffed while knocked out limp on the floor by a student resource officer. Pruitt and Daly also attended a recent Osceola County School Board meeting to demand the firing of the officer. “We must protect our children and stand up for our Black girls who, far too often, are forced into the school-to-prison pipeline, convicted as adults, and ultimately assaulted and abused by police, ” Daly said.
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HELP US FIGHT FOR PROGRESSIVE POLICIES ACROSS THE USA - BECOME A MEMBER OF OUR REVOLUTION!
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Our Revolution Arizona member Brianna Westbrook joined our Monday Organize to Win Call to make the case that progressives are the future of the Democratic party. She highlighted recent polling that found a majority of voters and Democratic party members support the progressive agenda. Her own Arizona Democratic Party recently saw a progressive takeover when a slate of new officers was elected, including Brianna as Educational Coordinator. “The truth is, progressives are not the fringe of the Democratic party. We are the now, and we are the future.”
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On our Monday Organize to Win Call, Our Revolution Maine leader Megan Smith spoke about her group’s successes in building a progressive party in Maine. The group recruited former Bernie 2020 state delegates to run for party positions, and two Our Revolution Maine leaders - Leah Knightly and Megan herself - were just elected to the Maine Democratic Party’s Executive Committee! In addition, Our Revolution Maine members are working with progressives in the state legislature to advance progressive policies. “We are already seeing progressive legislation on the housing crisis, healthcare, climate change, public transportation, and criminal justice.”
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Joe Marchica, leader of Our Revolution Trenton Mercer, NJ and candidate for Mercer County Democratic Party Committee, has joined a coalition of progressive organizations and candidates in filing a landmark lawsuit to reform the party’s practice of designating “party line” candidates on primary ballots. “I am incredibly excited to be a part of this effort to address one of the foundational issues in New Jersey democracy.” New Jersey is the only state in the country that allows local party bosses to dictate how a primary ballot is laid out — giving an unfair advantage to candidates listed first.
READ MORE
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Our Revolution is calling on President Biden to support progressives for open leadership positions inside the DNC, such as at-large seats and committee, caucus, and council chairs.
Sign here to tell Joe Biden to nominate progressives to the DNC! You can see the list of champions we support and nominate a champion you know!
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SUPPORT OUR WORK TO TRANSFORM THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY!
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Hello Somebody! We have an incredible opportunity to send our very own Nina Turner to Congress this year!
SIGN UP HERE TO PHONEBANK!
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Our Revolution has joined Stacey Abrams in endorsing Louisiana State Sen. Karen Carter Peterson in her race to represent Louisiana’s 2nd district in Congress. Karen’s election is on March 20 — SIGN UP to VOLUNTEER!
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Our Illinois Revolution is gearing up to win some tough mayoral and city elections this spring. We’ll hear from progressive candidates as well as from Sen. Robert Peters, who helped pass legislation to make Illinois the first state to end cash bail.
JOIN US!
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Our Revolution Maine’s 2021 Kickoff Meeting will cover this year’s state legislative session, with a focus on bills sponsored by Our Revolution Maine organizer and State Rep. Grayson Lookner, including housing relief to renters, public power, Maine AllCare, and more.
JOIN US!
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Our Revolution Connecticut is kicking off 2021 with grassroots activism! Organizers will discuss efforts to pass a Right to Counsel bill to protect renters facing eviction, and to stop the creation of a gas power plant.
RSVP HERE!
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Our Revolution South Carolina is honoring Black History Month and the essential contributions of African Americans to our nation with Sen. Nina Turner!
SIGN-UP HERE!
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Our Revolution Texas and a coalition of grassroots organizations are holding a press conference to call on Texas state legislators to make criminal justice reform a top priority!
RSVP HERE!
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TRUMP'S TRIAL STARTS NEXT WEEK - SIGN HERE TO CALL ON THE SENATE TO CONVICT TRUMP!
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THE POLITICAL REVOLUTION NEEDS YOU - BECOME A SUSTAINING MEMBER TODAY!
