Hogan budget cuts will leave Maryland still worse off; feds need help understanding that health care bills are critical; Re-entry meeting this week and meetings of chapters in Montgomery, Baltimore City, Frederick and Lower Shore coming up this week or soon. Plus events from our allies and a reprise of our most recent blog posts. It's all in the Memo.

As a racial, social, economic and environmental justice organization, Progressive Maryland has always and will continue to center Black and Brown working families in our organizing work. As we stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter protests, we are ramping up our work with the Movement for Black Lives. 

"In a long-expected move, Governor Larry Hogan has submitted a long list of state budget cuts to the Board of Public Works. Cuts to state employee salaries and positions are getting a lot of attention. So is a proposed $200 million trim in state aid to public schools, although that needs the consent of the General Assembly to pass. What is less discussed is Hogan’s resumption of a time-honored practice used by higher level governments to dump their problems on lower level governments: the shift and shaft."

This post from Seventh State, a blog on Maryland government, by Adam Pagnucco has withering detail about what could happen at today's (July 1) meeting of the Board of Public Works, one of the features of Maryland's strong-executive constitution that gives governors power not only to set the budget but to mess with it every time the BPW meets.

A petition to get a Regional Transit Authority for Baltimore on the November ballot is gaining traction. If you are a Baltimore voter, sign the petition NOW -- the deadline is July 27 -- and help take control of local transit management and funding for Baltimoreans. Find out more in this article by Jaime Sigaran, a transit activist.

We had another set of action packed days of organizing, outreach and training at Progressive Maryland last week. Our Health Care Task Force launched on Thursday and more than a hundred members across the state attended an organizer training session on Saturday. Stay tuned for more opportunities to participate in critical issue and power building campaigns during this momentous time in our country’s history.

Last week we also witnessed a progressive tide of election victories in states like New York and Kentucky.  We need to bring that tide to Maryland in 2022. If you have thought about running for office or getting involved in a grassroots election campaign please check out our People’s Leadership Institute. The application and more information about the program can be found here. It’s a great opportunity to gain more political acumen and stronger political skills.  We’re selecting our cohort now and into early next week--there’s still time to apply!

A Hogan mouthpiece said revenue shortfalls will require “painful choices” but he didn’t say whose pain was involved. Workers can guess – and state workers won’t be the only ones penalized because Hogan will soften the blow to business interests at their expense.

One legislator told Maryland Matters, below, the state workers he has spoken with are "under no delusion that something needs to be done in the face of the deficit, but that they want a seat at the table in the negotiation process."

The Covid-19 pandemic clearly shows why the U.S. needs a health care system that gives every resident access to health care at every stage of life.  A system that relies primarily on employer-provided medical insurance is inadequate.  Even unemployed people need affordable health care.  This nation needs a system that offers health care for all, all the time.

Have your say about this Thursday evening June 25 at 5:30 in our statewide call to create a Health Care Task Force. Please join us for a timely conversation about health and racial justice.   RSVP for the virtual meeting here.  

Federal protection against evictions ends July 25 and Maryland judges say they will processs evictions after that. The governor is being pushed to strengthen protections for low-income renters and mortgage-holders, and municipalities have the power to control rental policy, as this report in Maryland Matters details. Will renters work together to get relief? Watch our statewide call on the pandemic's impact on the long-term housing crisis in Maryland, with testimony for advocates and activists.

Progressive Maryland continues its work to humanize the state response and demand that working families don’t get sacrificed to the needs of the ownership class—or to “justice” gone bad.

We are fighting for transformational change in policing, for decarceration, for better state government response to the needs of the state’s over 20 percent unemployed, and for relief for the many who can’t afford to meet rent or mortgage payments to the few. Plus complete details on our huge Justice Task Force launch call last Thursday, reports from our increasingly active chapters around the state, and our recent blog posts. And see late-breaking updates on preserving our victory in the Fight for $15 and our Health Care Task Force meeting Thursday, June 25. Read on in the Memo.

Last Thursday's amazing turnout for the launch of our Justice Task Force (see it all here) brought 400-plus participants on virtual media to engage with justice activists including Gabe Acevero, a member of the House of Delegates, and Maurice Mitchell of the Movement for Black Lives and the Working Families Party outline the paths to racial justice and policing for the people. And it was a conversation. See what the participants had to say on the chat panel in the virtual event -- it was anything but a passive audience. Check it all out here.