Hi all,
Lucy here. I’m a volunteer writing from my home district in northern California (CA-19) with some exciting news to share.
We just got word last week that we won our campaign calling on Rep. Zoe Lofgren to support Medicare for All! She has officially signed on as a cosponsor of the Medicare for All bill in the House, H.R. 1976.
Before I tell the story of how we won our campaign, will you help us celebrate this victory by sharing the news on social media?
It was deep-rooted community organizing that delivered this success.
This specific round of work began in 2019 when activists with the Santa Clara County Single Payer Healthcare Coalition joined with NNU and others to drive the effort to get Rep. Lofgren to sign on to Medicare for All. We were successful then, but we knew that with the bill set to be re-introduced this year, we had to make sure she signed back on once again.
And so before the bill was reintroduced this year, we lobbied for a meeting with Rep. Lofgren as early as January 2021. Many emails and phone calls were made to secure a 30-minute meeting with the Congresswoman in early March. At the last minute, we were told we could only meet with her staff. That put us on notice that she was not ready to support Medicare for All again.
But more back and forth emails secured a 20 minute meeting with our Congresswoman for early May. Persistence was key!
We worked with NNU to pull together nurses, doctors, community leaders, and activists to make the case for Medicare for All. We wrote concise talking points, planned a tight agenda, and rehearsed what we would say. We were well prepared to make our case in under ten minutes and give her eight minutes to respond.
During all of these months when we were pushing for the meeting we hit the ground running to demonstrate support for the bill. This included texting and calling nearly 60,000 voters, as well as a postcard writing campaign leading up to the meeting.
When the meeting finally came, Rep. Lofgren mentioned these efforts and finally agreed to sign on.
Organizing really does work and is a requirement for positive social change. Our most potent ingredients were persistence, just plain showing up, and doing the work with a passionate, determined let’s-get-the-job-done team. Team members helped shore each other up when the going was tough and things felt discouraging. And the team was there to celebrate successes and everything in between!
I am convinced that no effort is ever wasted, even when all evidence seems to say the opposite. Persistence and constant pressure pave the way for something to happen.
Our success in gaining the cosponsorship of Rep. Lofgren along with every new cosponsor this year is evidence that consistent pressure is key. NNU is supporting organizers in key districts across the country where we can make the most impact on Medicare for All.
Right now, we have 117 cosponsors on the bill (that’s over half of the Democratic Caucus) and with more active campaigns like ours, I know more victories are on the way.
I’m proud to be in this movement alongside all of you. Let us be persistent and do what must be done. This is how we win.
Lucy Geever-Conroy
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