IN THIS ISSUE OF THE MEMO: Find out more about Progressive Maryland’s work during the pandemic... AND GET INVOLVED.
RESOURCE BANK: Get familiar with Marylanders United: a COVID-19 action center we created to serve our communities and help you take action during this crisis. Check it out to view a comprehensive list of useful resources and learn about what you can do to volunteer. https://marylandersunited.org
PARTICIPATE IN VIRTUAL ORGANIZING WITH US!
IN THIS ISSUE OF THE MEMO: Find out more about Progressive Maryland’s work during the pandemic... AND GET INVOLVED.
RESOURCE BANK: Get familiar with Marylanders United: a COVID-19 action center we created to serve our communities and help you take action during this crisis. Check it out to view a comprehensive list of useful resources and learn about what you can do to volunteer. https://marylandersunited.org
PARTICIPATE IN VIRTUAL ORGANIZING WITH US!
Marylanders United Virtual Organizing Meeting - Thursday, May 7 5:30-7:00PM
In past organizing meetings, we reached out to Baltimore City residents for wellness check calls and more recently took a deep dive into the impact of COVID on the Maryland elections, and later, voter education for our 2020 Elections Campaign where we met some of the progressive candidates we proudly endorsed! This week, the need for rent and mortgage relief is emerging as a critical issue across the state and country. To learn more about proposals and possible remedies to stabilize the housing situation, sign up to join us this Thursday for our COVID-19 Virtual Organizing Meeting. Delegate Jheanelle Wilkins (D-20) will join us on Thursday to share updates about this issue.
Progressive Maryland COVID-19 Response
Unfortunately the number of COVID-cases and fatalities continues to climb in our state; we’ve reached more than 26,000 reported cases and close to 1,300 deaths. Please continue to follow all the stay-at-home directives and the precautions that local and state governments have put in place. Social distancing and washing our hands are two of the best weapons we have against the spread of this pandemic. We remain very grateful to all who are serving on the front lines to deliver health care and to maintain vital services.
The COVID-19 crisis is revealing many immediate and urgent needs and laying bare the inequities in our economy and politics. That's why we are supporting mutual aid efforts for folks who need it, and are fighting even harder for a more just society and a better democracy. Here’s how you can help:
Get involved today. If you haven’t already joined our campaign as a volunteer, click this link to get involved.
- Sign up for our weekly memo. You can also submit a blog post for the memo by contacting Woody at [email protected]. We are very interested in collecting stories about the impact of COVID-19 on individuals, workers and families. Get our weekly updates here.
Find COVID-19 resources at our Marylanders United Action Center
COVID-19 Legislative Update
Along with our allies we’re monitoring the response to the emergency on the county, state and federal level. We’re pushing for health and economic measures and action that will directly aid families, workers, renters, low wealth and vulnerable residents.
On the local level, our meetings with County officials and Baltimore city officials have allowed us to raise urgent problems especially as they relate to testing and treatment, housing and food, worker protections, and the safety and treatment of the incarcerated. Some jurisdictions have adopted and/or are considering emergency policies and additional funding streams. Go to your County government website’s COVID-19 page to learn more about local government programs in your area.
The need for rent and mortgage relief is emerging as a critical issue across the state and country. To learn more about proposals and possible remedies to stabilize the housing situation sign up to join us this Thursday for our COVID-19 Virtual Organizing Meeting.
Delegate Jheanelle Wilkins (D-20) will join us on Thursday to share updates about this issue.
On the state level, our coalition is working to set up times with the Governor’s staff, the Senate President and Speaker of the House to discuss the comprehensive set of state policy recommendations we’ve submitted.
On the federal level the most recent relief package (known as version 3.5) included some valuable hospital funding and opened up more ways for minority-owned, women-owned and rural financial institutions to participate. But we still need big and bold action to address this health care and economic crisis! A new package, CARES 2, is being developed by Speaker Pelosi and could authorize $1.1 trillion to fund new rounds of aid to state and local governments, unemployment compensation, direct cash payments; and money to support broadband access. This week Progressive Maryland and our allies will continue to meet with members of our Congressional Delegation to talk about the scope and timing of CARES 2 and the importance of including ALL Maryland residents, especially the most vulnerable, in the emergency measures.
June 2 Primary Election:
We need to turn out the vote! Preserving our democracy and the integrity of the 2020 election is another Progressive Maryland priority. The state is moving to a vote by mail system for the June 2 primary (with some limited number of in person voting locations.) Learn more about the process here https://www.lwvmd.org/covid_19_and_the_upcoming_elections
Progressive Maryland is running phone banks every week to reach voters and inform them about the new system and about important local races on the ballot. You can join us-- it’s fun, rewarding and makes a difference!
If you’d like to learn more about Progressive Maryland’s COVID-19 mutual aid and organizing work please email Patty Snee at [email protected]
FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE NATIONALLY AND LOCALLY:
In the middle of a pandemic and an economic depression, it’s time to fight for somebody you don’t know.
TELL CONGRESS – WE NEED A “PEOPLE’S BAILOUT” IN THIS CRISIS Progressive Maryland, our allies and our national affiliate People’s Action are endorsers and facilitators of the campaign for a People’s Bailout.
Five Principles for Just COVID-19 Relief and Stimulus
Health is the top priority, for all people, with no exceptions
Economic relief must be provided directly to the people
Rescue workers and communities, not corporate executives
Make a down payment on a regenerative economy while preventing future crises
Protect our democratic process while protecting each other
The interrelated crises of wealth inequality, racism, and ecological decline in place long before COVID-19 now risk being intensified. This is a time to be decisive in saving lives, and bold in charting a path to a genuinely healthier and more equitable future through a just recovery.
See the detailed explanation of how these five principles will get us to a better future here https://thepeoplesbailout.org/ And watch the livestream of the May Day People’s Bailout.
PROGRESSIVE MARYLAND – OUR CHAPTERS AROUND THE STATE
Progressive Prince George’s Here is the Prince George’s County COVID-19 dashboard. And you may have seen this: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/prince-georges-maryland-coronavirus-health-disparities/2020/04/26/0f120788-82f9-11ea-ae26-989cfce1c7c7_story.html
Join us for a PG County Phone Bank tomorrow evening (Tuesday, May 5)!
Progressive Maryland is proud to be a sponsor on the Prince George's County 2020 Census Campaign. We have spent the past month doing outreach to residents in PG County, which historically has one of the lowest response rates of the Maryland counties, encouraging folks to complete the 2020 Census. The Census determines critical funding to local communities for needs such as hospitals and school lunch programs. Census information also helps predict the spread of diseases through communities, which is incredibly relevant at this time as face impacts due to COVID. Join us tomorrow, Tuesday, May 5th, 2020 for a Census Outreach Phone Bank from 6:00-7:30PM. Click here to RSVP.
PMD Montgomery -- MOCO Update
Progressive Maryland is supporting mutual aid efforts for folks and communities in need. We continue to do outreach and organizing using on-line tools, phone calls, and social media.
PM’s MoCo organizers hope for big participation in a phone bank tonight, 6-7 PM. We will be calling Montgomery County residents to check in on them and see how COVID is impacting them as well as reminding them to vote in the June 2nd primary. Here is the link to RSVP
Along with our allies we’re monitoring the County’s response as well as the state and national response to the emergency; we’re pushing for health and economic measures and action that will directly aid families, workers, renters, and low wealth residents.
Local Update and Action Needed:
--Progressive Maryland supports the Montgomery County Education Association’s call to the School District and the County Council and Executive to fully fund our public schools. Read House Speaker Adrienne Jones’s emphatic call for this statewide, today.
In our view the public school system should be considered central to any and all economic recovery efforts.
Thank you for taking action on these issues even during these challenging times. Contact Josh Raznick at [email protected] or Patty Snee at [email protected] if you want to learn more and get involved in the MOCO Chapter’s education, election, or other issue work.
Take Action Anne Arundel County
Lower Shore Progressive Caucus
Our next meeting is on Thursday, May 7. Due to concerns about COVID-19, we will be meeting via Zoom instead of face-to-face. Click here for info.
>>Baltimore progressives, Check in on the wide-ranging Baltimore Activist Alert calendar and tip sheet at http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
Reading the Progressive Maryland BlogSpace: our recent blogs 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]
We recently published these blog posts:
May 01, 2020 Wars and military spending harm the people
Among our allies in the effort to humanize our system and put resources where people need them is Prevent Nuclear War Maryland and its campaign to move "Back from the Brink" of nuclear exchange risks. Three activists outline the campaign and the huge costs of militarism that drain public resources from people's needs.
April 29, 2020 Turning danger into an avenue for change -- a People's Action video
The health emergency we are in, and the economic collapse it has brought, have left many of us in disarray. That makes this time doubly dangerous, because those well off enough to be in less disarray may be ready to take advantage. This video, in plain language, shows how to fight back.
April 27, 2020 Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Monday, April 27, 2020
IN THIS ISSUE OF THE MEMO: Find out more about Progressive Maryland’s work during the pandemic... AND GET INVOLVED.
RESOURCE BANK: Get familiar with Marylanders United: a COVID-19 action center we created to serve our communities and help you take action during this crisis. Check it out to view a comprehensive list of useful resources and learn about what you can do to volunteer. https://marylandersunited.org
April 14, 2020 Progressive Maryland joins 40-plus allies to demand more support for workers in Covid-19 crisis
Progressive Maryland has joined more than 40 nonprofit groups demanding the state’s “government must implement every possible measure to protect” frontline state workers “as well as the millions of Marylanders confronting extreme financial hardship.”
Maryland Matters has the story and a link to the original letter, sent Monday, April 13.
April 09, 2020 Join Progressive Maryland and allies in organizing to meet this crisis
Progressive Maryland, along with our allies, are hosting a virtual organizing meeting Thursday, April 16 to share positive news about the steps we've taken, some new resources, and ways you can get involved in responding to the pandemic.
April 01, 2020 It’s Time to Think About What Comes After the Apocalypse
Despite the obvious strains on resources a crisis can bring about, this crisis reveals that our society has long had plenty of the material resources to meet people’s basic needs. If ‘normal’ means a return to an inadequate health care system and widening economic disparities, we must not return to normal. Our executive director Larry Stafford Jr. walks us through it.
>REMEMBER – these blog posts are frequently expressions of political opinion from our wide-ranging membership and circle of allies. They are not expressions of opinion by Progressive Maryland. Don’t be surprised if they sometimes vary in their political content. You might even disagree with them – a good reason to contribute a blog of your own. Send it to the moderator, Woody Woodruff, at [email protected].
>>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
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