Across the state of Maryland, community members are rising up to resist policies that divide and dehumanize us and to advance an agenda that puts people and planet first. They are leading and organizing their communities by knocking on doors, making calls, building relationships, leading issue campaigns, and running for office.

Help us support these leaders as they invest in their development this spring and summer!

STATEWIDE ACTION: Leadership Development

 Across the state of Maryland, community members are rising up to resist policies that divide and dehumanize us and to advance an agenda that puts people and planet first. They are leading and organizing their communities by knocking on doors, making calls, building relationships, leading issue campaigns, and running for office.

Help us support these leaders as they invest in their development this spring and summer!

We are preparing to have 25 statewide member leaders and staff attend the People's Action Transformational Leadership Training, a week of intensive leadership development for organizers across the country. About twenty leaders will be attending the first session of this training right here in Silver Spring, MD this April 15th-21st. An additional group will be attending the training July 15th-21st in Chicago, IL.

The total cost for each attendee is $900-$1200, including room/board, materials and travel. We're inviting you to invest in our leaders, so they can come back and transform Maryland.  There are two ways you can donate:

  • Contribute to the general fund that is helping to support all our training attendees by clicking the links on this page.
  • Click on an individual team member's page (see the list of fundraisers above) to donate directly to a specific organizer.

Join us in fighting for racial, economic, workplace, gender and sexuality, and environmental justice to make it possible for everyone in our state to live in the world as it should be, and to move from protest to power.

Commit to building progressive power with us in Maryland - make a donation today!

 

CANVASS! We’ll be knocking on our neighbors’ doors March 31st in a mass canvass event. People can sign up to host or attend 2018ProtestToPowerCanvassesbanner.jpga canvass. More events will be posted.

http://www.progressivemaryland.org/march2018canvass

People interested in getting involved can sign up to join our Movement Politics Team:

http://www.progressivemaryland.org/movementpoliticsteam

 

OUR CHAPTERS AROUND THE STATE:

 

PMD Montgomery:

Upcoming Events:

WED March 21--  Monthly Silver Spring/Takoma Park Happy Hour 6 p.m. at Republic in Takoma Park  RSVP now. 

Issues:

Progressive Prince George’s

Listening Sessions to End Mass Incarceration in PG County

Join us for listening sessions in March and April. The purpose is to come up with a People's Agenda in PG County and craft community solutions that we can work on together! 

Thursday, March 22 | Greater Beulah Baptist Church in Capitol Heights | 7-10 p.m. |  (RSVP here) 

Saturday, April 14 | Location TBD |  | 9 AM - 12 PM | Planned and ran by PGCPS students with a student-led panel on the school to prison pipeline and mental health (RSVP here)  

 

Join Us For Door Knocking in PG County on Saturday, March 31st! 

Berwyn Heights | 12-3 PM | RSVP here

Seat Pleasant | 10 AM - 1 PM | RSVP here

Southern Upper Marlboro/ Brandywine | 10 AM - 1 PM | RSVP here

Frederick County Progressives

Sunday, March 18  FCP Candidate Forum at 1 p.m. Thurmont Regional Library.
Frederick County Progressives will be hosting a candidate forum with State and County candidates who will be running in 2018 primary elections. More information, including additional candidates, will be posted soon.

Candidates:

Kai Hagen - Candidate for Frederick County Council, At Large
Josh Cramer - Candidate for Frederick Democratic Central Committee
Jay Smathers - Candidate for Frederick Democratic Central Committee
Antonio Bowens - Candidate for Frederick Democratic Central Committee

 RSVP

 

Take Action Anne Arundel County 

 

Tuesday March 13 at 1pm -  In the House - Hearing for HB1461 - Immigration  - Support All Families Everywhere (SAFE Act)  

  • Purpose of the bill is to maintain community trust with Maryland law enforcement and governmental operations by clarifying participation in federal immigration efforts.
  • This bill states that law enforcement can't ask about immigration or citizenship status during a stop, search or arrest and can't detail or transfer an individual without a judicial warrant 
  • Join Take Action Anne Arundel County and advocate for supporting this bill. 

 

Thursday March 15 at 7 p.m., Take Action Anne Arundel County Monthly Chapter Meeting: Personal Storytelling for Legislative Change at Edgewater Community Library  

  • Do you have a personal story that you are willing to share to help make change happen? We need your voice!
  • Join Take Action Anne Arundel County in a discussion about stories that matter. 

Our chapter is supporting six bills that will impact people's lives in this county including a $15 minimum wage, healthcare for all Marylanders, keeping immigrants safe in Maryland, clean energy jobs in Maryland, expanded legal definition of hate crime against groups, and a conversion therapy ban for minors.  Learn key talking points about these bills and add your personal story to persuade your legislator to vote yes! 

Hear Randye Williams’s personal story about the health and environmental risks of cell towers and the two cross-filed bills in the state legislature that could bring mini-cell towers to your front yard (SB1188/HB1767)

Organize public response to Bill 11-18 Ordinance for exempting small cell system leases from requiring approval by ordinance of the County Council. Hearing on Monday March 19 at Anne Arundel County Council

 

Monday, March 19 at  7 p.m.,  Anne Arundel County Council Meeting  at 44 Calvert St, Annapolis, MD 21401

  • Bill 11-18 Ordinance for the purpose of exempting leases with terms of three years or more for small cell systems from the requirement of approval by ordinance of the County Council
  • Join Take Action Anne Arundel County and contact your county councilman to oppose this ordinance. Don't know who your council member is? Click here

 

Tuesday, March 20 at 1 p.m. - in the Senate - SB 1188 Wireless Facilities - Permitting and Siting

  • Bill will allow mini cell towers in front of our homes, remove public notice and public hearings, preempt our local zoning ordinances AND cap the rates that governments can charge.
  • Learn more at Maryland Coalition To Oppose Cell Towers in Neighborhoods
  • Join Take Action Anne Arundel County and testify about your opposition to this bill that removes public notice and hearings for placement of these mini cell towers

Progressive HoCo

 

Talbot Rising

 

Lower Shore Progressive Caucus

EVENTS FROM OUR ALLIES

 

Thursday April 5 – Save the Date for Progressive Cheverly’s, County Council Candidates forum. Details to be announced. 7-9 p.m. Hoyer Education Center (cafeteria)

Baltimore comrades, Check in on Max Obuszewski’s highly useful calendar and tip sheet at http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

To keep up with progressive events in and around DC consult the invaluable calendar at the Washington Peace Center, http://washingtonpeacecenter.org/alerts

It all happens for free… right? Not exactly. Organizing for change in our society and our high-maintenance politics requires both people and money. Keep change moving with a quick, secure impulse-buy contribution here. You know you meant to do it last week and now here you are again...

Reading the Progressive Maryland BlogSpace: our blogs for the previous week are shown 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]

March 09, 2018 WV Teachers Tell Us Why Public Schools And Unions Matter

 “Without a doubt, union organizing was instrumental in generating the West Virginia teachers’ successful action. But the strike may illustrate the changing nature of union power in the progressive movement," Jeff Bryant explains here. " …. In the meantime, the strike’s results, and the organizing and communications effort that brought the results about, seem to be galvanizing a movement for progressive change that could carry into November elections.” As Bryant points out here, the public at large needs to fight alongside the teachers as regressive legislators try to sneak through offsetting cuts in social services to meet revenue needs.

March 06, 2018 Fight for $15

Senator Rich Madaleno recently proposed a $15 minimum wage bill for Maryland, SB543.  A companion bill was proposed by Delegate Shelly Hettleman, HB664. These bills propose a gradual increase in the state minimum wage from its current level of $9.25 to $15 in 2023.  After that, the minimum wage will be increased annually based on the consumer price index. Dave Bazell of Progressive HoCo notes “My daughter and step-son are both struggling to survive in Columbia on part-time minimum wage jobs.  For them, even $0.50 more an hour makes a noticeable difference.”

 Keeping up with the blogs is easier with the index. The blogs published in the PM BlogSpace from June 2015 through December 2016 are all available with descriptions and links here. You can follow blogs for 2017-18 starting from here

woody woodruff

About

M.A. and Ph.d. from University of Maryland Merrill College of Journalism, would-be radical, sci-fi fan... retired to a life of keyboard radicalism...