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Eileen

Our Revolution Members Speak Out against Student Debt

By Policy Fights

Our Revolution members are taking a stand against student debt. Nine of our activists spoke courageously at the recent Department of Education hearing, sharing their stories and demanding action. 

“My government is making money off of me,” Our Revolution member Lisa Rapaszky said at the hearing. Lisa owes more than $30,000 in student loan debt. “It’s just too much.” 

Student debt payments are set to restart at the end of next month – causing economic havoc in the midst of an affordability crisis – and our movement is ramping up the pressure. 

As Ro Khanna explained on our recent Debt Town Hall, President Biden can still use his executive authority to cancel debt, pause payments, and crack down on predatory lending practices – and 43 million of us and our families are counting on it. 

“The President should cancel student debt in the Higher Education Act. He should zero out the accounts,” Ro told us on Monday. “If the Supreme Court rules against us then let’s see if they’ll actually enforce the collection of debt that has already been canceled.” 

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Jalen McKee-Rodriguez for City Council

By Progressive Champions No Comments

Our Revolution is endorsing Jalen McKee-Rodriguez for re-election to San Antonio City Council (D-2).

Jalen is a former public school teacher, who is dedicated to housing as a human right and green building to meet the city’s climate goals.

Election Day is May 6th in Texas! We have to make sure that folks who are willing to stand up don’t lose their bid for re-election for standing against powerful interests.

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Teri Castillo for City Council in San Antonio

By Progressive Champions No Comments

Early voting has started in Texas, and we’re excited to back community organizer and San Antonio Council Member Teri Castillo for re-election in District 5!

Teri helped pass a $17.50 minimum wage in the city and worked with the community to secure permanent affordable housing measures that passed by one vote on the council.

“We’re bringing more people into the process for solutions on housing, workers’ rights, development, and more,” she said on our National Organizing Call on Monday. 

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Jordan Giger for City Council in South Bend

By Progressive Champions

Our Revolution Board Member and BLM South Bend Co-founder Jorden Giger is running for City Council in South Bend, Indiana!

Jorden’s community organizing work has helped secure millions in home repair for low-income communities, led the city’s first racial wealth divide study, and provided $400k in rental assistance

“For six years, we’ve been organizing in South Bend to hold our local government accountable to our low-income communities, raise wages, win housing, and rein in tax breaks to the wealthy and well-connected,” Jorden told us on our Live Call

“So we decided to run and now we’ve built this coalition of progressive champions endorsed by Our Revolution and putting forward a unifying agenda for the city,” he said.

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Local Progressive Wins

By Progressive Champions

“Our Revolution’s executive director, Joseph Geevarghese, said local progressive organizing, from mayor to school board, is more effective now than it has been in decades,” The Associated Press wrote. 

Thanks to our members and volunteers, our 400k voter contact operation helped propel Mayor Brandon Johnson to victory in Chicago and elect a progressive trifecta to lead St. Louis.

Local races are key to moving the progressive movement forward nationally, Our Revolution executive director Joseph Geevarghese told Billy Penn. “City and local governments are laboratories of policy experimentation,” he said.

Billy Penn highlighted our work to “turn out progressive super voters in Philadelphia,” where we’ll be mobilizing our 40k members and making 300k voter contacts over the next couple of weeks. 

“Our theory of change,” Joseph said, “is if we can get that slice of the electorate out, through multiple contacts, that can be a game changer.”

We’re also investing resources to elect a more progressive City Council to work with Helen, including Amanda McIllmurray — a working-class organizer who would be the first openly queer Council Member ever in the city.

In 2016, Amanda was working as a nanny, a law firm clerk, and a softball umpire when she got involved with the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign and later started organizing for local power.

“I’m running to win good jobs, affordable housing, worker’s rights, and universal family care,” Amanda said. As the daughter of union members, she knows “everyone deserves the chance to have just ONE job, a family-sustaining job.”

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Raise the Wage with US Rep. Schakowsky

By Policy Fights

As you know, Our Revolution and One Fair Wage are working hard to raise wages and end the subminimum wage in cities, counties, and states around the country. And, as wages go up, we don’t want to leave any group of workers behind! 

On Monday, US Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and OFW President Saru Jayaraman spoke to thousands of Our Revolution supporters on our National Organizing Call on the next steps in Illinois, Ohio, and beyond! 

Earlier that day, they joined our organizers and worker activists in the Chicago Loop to call out the National Restaurant Association — the leading opponent of higher pay for restaurant workers.

The NYT recently exposed the group’s #ServSafeScam by which it collects workers’ money through food handling certification and uses it to lobby to keep their wages low.

“The Restaurant Association should not be taking this money as a ‘not-for-profit’ then spending it as if it was their own and using it to lobby against fair wages,” Rep. Schakowsky said. “I think we should ask the IRS to investigate that.”

And now, Saru told us, new info is coming out about the lobby’s push to weaken child labor laws in order to fill gaps left by thousands of restaurant workers refusing to work for poverty wages post-pandemic.

“We’re hearing stories of 11- and 12-year-olds working,” Saru told us Monday. “And now, we saw the Iowa Senate bill for minors to handle alcohol — wholly from the Restaurant Association driving this.”

“As horrible as it is, it’s a sign they’re losing and workers are winning,” she explained. “They’re resorting to this because adults are refusing to work for $2 and $3 for the first time since Emancipation when this wage structure was created.”

We’re on the winning side! Thanks to your support and activism, our bills are advancing at the city, county, and state levels across the country. 

New Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson – who we helped elect last month! – has come out in a big way to support our Raise the Wage campaign in the city. And, US Rep. Schakowsky said the Illinois state legislation looks promising given the Democrats’ supermajority.

Our organizing work in Maryland is also paying off:  “It looks like we’ll have the votes to end the subminimum wage in Prince George’s County,” Saru said.

In Chicago this week, IL Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid and Chicago Aldermen and Cook County Democratic Vice Chair Mike Rodriguez joined us in addressing the city council to push a city-wide tipped minimum wage ordinance. 

And, Our Revolution Field Director Mike Oles and our crew activated our Raise the Wage Ohio Team at the State House in Columbus on Monday to launch a new petition for a higher state minimum wage and an end to subminimum wages.

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Sara Innamorato Beats Back Big Money

By Progressive Champions No Comments

Last week, Our Revolution-backed Sara Innamorato beat back big money to become the next Allegheny County Executive – creating a progressive trifecta in Pittsburgh!

We backed Sara in her successful run for PA House back in 2018 alongside now-US Rep. Summer Lee, and now we’re proud to see her take the helm of the second-largest county in Pennsylvania!

As County Exec, she’ll have the power to directly affect people’s lives — from county-wide housing to addressing human rights violations in the county jail to protecting abortion care.

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Endorsement: Jovanka Beckles for CA State Senate

By Progressive Champions

Jovanka Beckles has kicked off her run for California State Senate with the backing of Our Revolution East Bay and Richmond Progressives! She’s the strongest progressive in the race and would be the second black woman in the state’s 40-seat legislature. 

Jovanka got a rare local endorsement from Bernie Sanders in her run for Richmond City Council in 2014, when she was embattled with Chevron. She won her race and helped get $100M from the corporation to invest in the people of the city.

An activist, Jovanka is featured in the Smithsonian for her work with BLM and the Oakland Museum, which describes her as a ‘community member facing down goliath, who became a member of Richmond City Council as Chevron waged a multi-million dollar campaign against her, went on to raise the corporations’ taxes, lower crime by 33 percent and pass California’s first rent-control ordinance in 30 years.’ 

“Siblings, this is just to say that I have a track record of standing up and defending the community,” she told us on our live call.

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Endorsement: Aaron Regunberg for Congress

By Progressive Champions

Our Revolution is backing Aaron Regunberg for Congress in a special election to replace outgoing US Rep. David Cicilline in RI-1.

Electing Aaron means building on Cicilline’s work and making sure this seat stays progressive. It means keeping a yes vote for Medicare For All, canceling medical debt, and universal childcare. We cannot give up any ground.

Aaron started as a community organizer and became a State Rep, building coalitions to pass laws for paid sick days, higher wages, and renewable energy. And, as a new lawyer, he’s supported court cases to hold Big Oil companies accountable for their environmental crimes.

“There are so many issues that we can win real change on,” Aaron told us in this clip. “The cool thing about this race is that we have a really good shot to win this thing. If we do the work, if we organize our communities with the help of OR and your amazing members, we can win.”

We must protect this seat and keep up the work of taking on corporate power and fighting for regular people. Plug in with our team of organizers to help elect Aaron Regunberg on Election Day September 6th!

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The Fight for Medicare for All and Freedom from Medical Debt

By Policy Fights

This week, Our Revolution joined Bernie Sanders and US Rep. Pramila Jayapal for a town hall and rally to reintroduce Medicare for All in Congress! And, we’re organizing people with medical debt to speak up and fight for health care justice. 

Join our growing team organizing to build pressure on Congress and the President to cancel medical debt, end price-gouging, guarantee free care, and stop predatory collection tactics.

After the Medicare for All rally on Capitol Hill, Our Revolution Howard County MD leader Jake Burdett was physically attacked by US Rep. Clay Higgins for asking questions at a MAGA press conference. 

“Higgins seemed to forget he had to resign from being a cop for excessive force years ago,” Jake told us on our live call. “It was scary, he put his hands on me, and I knew I had no choice but to let it happen.”

The crowd yelled at Higgins to stop, but afterward Capitol police detained Jake instead of the Congressman for 30 minutes. “I still don’t know if it’s over,” Jake said.

SEE THE VIRAL VIDEO HERE!

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