A full slate of progressive thought and action for the next several weeks, including the Fight for Fifteen and other pro-people campaigns that won't please Trump & Co. at all

Welcome to the Progressive Maryland BlogSpace Weekly Memo

A full slate ahead of progressive action opportunities, both from Progressive Maryland and some of our allies:

Coming up Soonest: a vigil for a $15 minimum wage in MoCo:

NEWS for Immediate Release Nov. 28, 2016 -- Local officials and activists will gather tomorrow (Tues., Nov. 29) outside county government offices in Rockville to stand up for Montgomery County’s low-paid workers and push for a minimum wage increase to $15 an hour for all, including tipped, workers. RSVP HERE

The vigil, at 6:30 p.m., is part of a national day of action for low-paid workers on the fourth anniversary of the first worker strike for a minimum wage above the federal $7.25/hr. Progressive Maryland is spearheading the local Fight For Fifteen coalition’s efforts in Montgomery and throughout the state.

Sen. Richard Madaleno, Del. Jeff Waldstreicher and council members Mark Elrich, George Leventhal and Hans Reimer are confirmed to attend the vigil; faith leaders, workers, and other elected officials are among speakers.

After the election of Donald Trump,” said Progressive Maryland organizer Justin Vest, “it's even more important that we continue that fight right here in Montgomery County. 

“We are opposed to any efforts by the new administration to block wage increases, gut workers' rights, deport immigrants, or support racism or racist policies. And we're calling on local elected officials to take bold action to resist Trump's repressive policy agenda.

“On November 29th, we're holding a solidarity vigil to:

• Stand with working families and all oppressed people
• Call for swift action by county officials to pass a $15 minimum wage for all residents

We won't back down.”

The vigil is scheduled for 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 29 at the council office building, 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville 20850 RSVP HERE.

Contact Justin Vest at [email protected] or (240) 389-2905

A FOLLOWUP ON THE VIGIL: The MoCo Health and Human Services committee will meet at 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 7th to vote on the $15 minimum wage bill. Progressive Maryland will hold a press event beforehand and activists are urged to pack the hearing room. Watch the PM events calendar as the event draws closer and check for more details in next week’s Weekly Memo.

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And mark your calendars for Progressive Maryland Chapter meetings in Prince George’s and Montgomery in early December:

Montgomery: Tuesday, Dec. 6, 6:30-8 p.m. at Silver Spring United Methodist Church, 35 University Blvd. E. in Silver Spring (Four Corners). “…the election and how to move forward in a post-Trump world.” RSVP HERE

Prince George’s: Thursday, Dec. 8, 6:30-8 p.m. at UFCW Local 400, 8400 Corporate Dr. Landover (near the New Carrollton Metrorail/MARC station). The election, and “Prince George’s deserves better.” RSVP HERE

Progressive Maryland News We Can All Use:

Last Tuesday, Nov. 22, PM Executive Director Larry Stafford reports, “We had a successful post-election organizing conference call with over 100 people. We've also had over 200 people commit to volunteer to resist the Trump agenda with a populist progressive agenda.”

And coming up Dec. 15^th we’ll be having a Community Conversation in Seat Pleasant on food security issues and the increasing “food desert” scenario from the closing of the local Safeway. It’s at 6:30 p.m. at the Seat Pleasant Community Center, 5720 Addison Road, Seat Pleasant 20743. Along with the Capital Area Food Bank and the Prince George’s Food Security Council we’ll talk to folks about what they want from their community and their public officials. People can email [email protected] for details.

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UPDATES FROM OUR ALLIES:

 Wednesday Nov. 30, Prince George’s Peace and Justice Coalition: Greenbelters and their neighbors in nearby communities are invited to a panel discussion about actions of welcome to refugees, past and present, starting 7 p.m. at the Greenbelt Community Center,15 Crescent Road. Included: an author's talk about her recent book on the history of sanctuary movements, followed by presentations about how donors and volunteers are supporting current projects that serve refugees newly arriving in local communities --  feel uplifted by our panelists' accounts of ordinary citizens' quiet but persistent helpfulness to persecuted strangers.

Panelists will include:    Linda Rabben, human rights activist, associate research professor of anthropology at the University of Maryland, and author of Sanctuary and Asylum: A Social and Political History (University of Washington Press, 2016).
   Shruti Bhatnagar, coordinator of Takoma Park Welcoming Group for Syrian Families and a founding member of Maryland Welcomes Refugees. 
   Mira Mendick, Community Resource Coordinator for refugee and immigrant services in Maryland, Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area.
For more information contact Lucy Duff at 301-577-2350 or 202-549-5574..

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Urgent from the Maryland Sierra Club chapter: “We have until November 30 to encourage Governor Hogan and the Maryland Department of the Environment to send a powerful signal to the rest of the country by finalizing strong, bipartisan pollution limits and keeping the state on track to meet our climate commitments. Submit a message today to urge Governor Hogan to keep Maryland on track to meet its climate commitments through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative! “

So, progressives, don’t let Hogan and his corporate cronies slow-walk Maryland back out of its central role in the Northeastern regional climate compact and give away the store to the big power companies and their carbon-based, asthma-producing profiteering ways.
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Reading the Progressive Maryland BlogSpace: our blogs for the previous week are show below, but if you want a handy way to keep track – and never miss a blog post – you can sign up to get this Weekly Memo by email. Remember this is your blogspace and your participation is heartily invited. See something going on that you don’t like – or that you do like and hope to see more of? Send us your thoughts; submit to the moderator at [email protected].

 We recently published these blog posts:

Progressive Maryland and Allies Hold Vigil for Minimum Wage Increase in MoCo Tuesday

November 28, 2016 Progressive Maryland rallies activists Tuesday (Nov. 29) for finishing the job on raising Montgomery County's minimum wage to $15 per hour -- Fight for Fifteen!

THE WAY FORWARD FOR PROGRESSIVES IN TRUMP’S WAKE

November 25, 2016 BlogSpace regular Hal Ginsberg charts a path for progressives in a Trump presidency that takes advantage of his (potentially) progressive moves and pushes back on his threatening moves.

Renewables demand – and help create – a democratic energy system

November 23, 2016 Renewable energy for communities promotes a more democratic energy system -- especially community solar, which hits the sweet spot between household rooftop solar and remote industrial-scale solar installations. Find out why.

IN PRINCE GEORGE'S, OUR STUDENTS DID US PROUD. OUR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION LEAVES US ASHAMED

November 22, 2016 Students in Prince George's, concerned by the racist and repressive rhetoric of Trump supporters, engaged in peaceful protests late last week. The school administration made clumsy, ill-advised efforts to suppress their legitimate expression of opinion and should be called out for it.

Keeping up with the blogs is easier with the index. The blogs published in the PM BlogSpace since June 2015 are all available with descriptions and links here.