Citizen Action Weekend ’26 Newsletter, Happy Labor Day Weekend
Happy Labor Day Weekend!
Attend an organized labor event near you this Labor Day Weekend.
Attend 2026 Election Meeting with Citizen Action of Wisconsin Members, Thursday, September 10th, 6pm
Join Citizen Action leaders from around Wisconsin for a Zoom meeting with Citizen Action Executive Director Robert Kraig for a strategic discussion of the 2026 Election. We will quickly debrief the primary and turn our focus to a discussion of what critical work remains ahead with the November 3rd general election and preparing for 2027 state budget fight.
Citizen Action announces new endorsements for November Election.
The following candidates have been endorsed by Citizen Action of Wisconsin! We thank them for applying for our endorsement, and thank our Action Teams for their work in the process!
REP. ROBYN VINING – SENATE DISTRICT 05
Robyn’s top priorities are public education, increasing access to mental healthcare, lowering the cost of childcare and regulating data centers. She’ll continue to protect reproductive freedom, strengthen public education, expand access to affordable health care, support working families, and build a cleaner, more equitable future.
SENATOR CHRIS LARSON – SENATE DISTRICT 07
Chris is focused on bringing new people into the political process who haven’t been involved before. He wants to eliminate the sales tax exemption that is attracting Big Tech to Wisconsin.
EMILY TSEFFOS – SENATE DISTRICT 19
Emily is an activist and an organizer who passionately meets the needs of her community. She is very clear that we need access to healthcare and to expand medicaid. She will work to raise the minimum wage and address the massive wealth gap and the affordability crisis.
JEFF FOSTER – SENATE DISTRICT 23
Jeff is a farmer from Dunn County who supports investments in rural Wisconsin, like clean energy, the BadgerCare Public Option, public education, and childcare support for families. He will build on the ongoing work to make rural Wisconsin an attractive place to live and raise a family.
REP. DARRIN MADISON – ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 10
Darrin will continue fighting to cap household utility costs at 2% of income, protect ratepayers from the costs of large data centers, fully fund public education, and advance public options like public grocery stores and a public bank.
REP. ANGELITO TENORIO – ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 14
Angelito will continue to prioritize affordability, including healthcare, child care, and utility costs. He will also continue fighting for public schools and higher special education reimbursement, as well as strengthen workers’ rights and create more good-paying union jobs.
STEPHEN TRYON – ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 15
Stephen is an enthusiastic supporter of public education and fixing funding. He supports measures to cut military spending to pay down the debt and fully fund healthcare, childcare, and education. He will fight to protect the environment, control carbon emissions, and subsidize renewable energy.
REP. MARGARET ARNEY – ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 18
Arney for Wisconsin – Assembly District 18
Margaret will work to create opportunities in health care, affordability, justice system reform, and more. Finally, she strives to provide free communication with family members and community support and enhanced opportunities for education, training, counseling and treatment for those who are incarcerated.
BILL OEMICHEN – ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 50
Bill brings decades of experience as a cooperative leader, attorney, and public education advocate. He has deep connections with community organizations and firsthand understanding of the property tax burden facing Wisconsin families.
GRACE ABITZ – ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 56
Grace is a small business owner that owns a 3rd space for LGBTQIA+ people in Hortonville. She will be a fighter for policy that makes lives better at the state level. She is excited about the 2% rate cap policy on utilities and the fairness funding package.
JOEY MARSCHALL – ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 57
Joey is passionate about a living wage for all people. His platform revolves around healthcare first and specifically states badgercare public option as the best path forward and rural revitalization.
REP. ANGELINA CRUZ – ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 62
Angelina Cruz for WI Assembly District 62
Angelina knows and demonstrates the importance of developing collaborative relationships and working collectively to realize a Wisconsin that is open, inclusive, and supports the ability of all people to thrive.
REP. ANGELA STROUD – ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 73
@stroudforwi
Angela Stroud for Assembly
Angela Stroud is a strong and energetic advocate for public education, childcare, the BadgerCare Public Option, and regulation of data centers. She is always accessible, engaging, thoughtful, and willing to work with Citizen Action to get things done.
RICO CAMACHO – ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 82
Rico sees himself as part of a broader movement to build political power for working families. His top priorities are making Wisconsin more affordable, fully funding public education, expanding access to healthcare and making sure every community has a voice.
REP. TARA JOHNSON – ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 96
A former union member from a union family, Tara Johnson brings a deep personal commitment to working families, affordable healthcare, and a Wisconsin where everyone can afford to live and raise a family.
JOCASTA ZAMARRIPA – SECRETARY OF STATE
JoCasta is running on a platform of affordable child care, housing relief, and fully funding public schools. She will also use the office to strongly support the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands.
VOTE NO ON THE FOLLOWING AMENDMENTS
VETO POWERS
Prohibit the governor from using the partial veto to create or increase any tax or fee
DEI SPENDING
Prohibit the government from discriminating or granting preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin
FREEDOM TO GATHER
Prohibits the government from closing gatherings at places of worship during declared emergencies
Read the full language and get additional information.
Citizen Action North Side Rising members attend PSC public hearing & media event speaking out against outrageous We Energies rate increases.
Citizen Action North Side Rising members joined Walnut Way Conservation Corp. and the Wisconsin Ecojustice Base Builders (WEBB) coalition for a rally outside We Energies headquarters in Milwaukee this Tuesday morning, and then testified at the Public Service Commission (PSC) hearing at Marquette University’s Alumni Memorial Union.
Watch a video of Tina Logan, a Citizen Action North Side Rising member, who spoke at the We Energies rate hike protest before PSC public hearing. Tina is worried about how the rate hikes will hurt her cousin and the rest of the community. She urges the PSC to reject the rate hike.
A video of Antonio Butts, the executive director at Walnut Way Conservation Corp (who organized the media event) tells us why fighting the We Energies rate increases are so important to Walnut Way and Milwaukee. Antonio reminds us that we pay for everything that We Energies does.
Watch video of Citizen Action North Side Rising organizer Keviea Guiden speaking at the media event at Ziedler Park before the PSC public hearing.
If approved, a typical residential customer would pay about $22 more each month by 2028, roughly $260 more every year, on top of increases already absorbed in recent years. That is the total of the utility’s own two-step request: about $13 more per month in 2027 and another $8 to $9 per month in 2028. It would be the sixth increase since 2020.
Anyone can file a written comment with the PSC. Comments become part of the file the Commissioners read before they decide.
File your comments to the PSC here.
Attend an organized labor event near you this Labor Day Weekend
See full Wisconsin State AFL-CIO list.
Madison Laborfest
Monday, September 7
Noon to 5:30 pm
Madison Labor Temple, 1602 S. Park Street Madison
Cover bands. Solidarity. Kids activities. Labor-Fest is free and open to the public. Food and beverages available for purchase.
Milwaukee Labor Day Parade and Laborfest
Monday, September 7
11:00 am to 4:00 pm
Parade will kick off from Zeidler Union Square Park (301 W Michigan) at 11:00am and end at Henry Maier Park, Summerfest Grounds for the Laborfest celebration
Kenosha and Racine Laborfest
Monday, September 7
11:00 am to 4:00 pm
Pennoyer Park Bandshell
3601 7th Avenue
Fond du Lac Labor Day Parade
Monday, September 7
Parade begins at 11:00 am on the corner of Rees and Main streets and travels south on Main Street to Western Avenue. Lineup for parade begins at 10:00 am
Green Bay Labor Day Picnic
Monday, September 7
11:00 am to 4:00pm
Bay Beach Amusement Park, Shelter #1 and #2
1313 Bay Beach Rd, Green Bay
Oshkosh Labor Day Picnic and Car Show
Monday, September 7
11:00 am to 5:00 pm
South Park, 1300 Georgia St
Fox Valley Laborfest and Parade
Parade at 10:00 am from Menasha Curtis Reed Square through to downtown Neenah
Picnic 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Neenah Labor Temple, 157 S. Green Bay Road, Neenah
Wausau Labor Day Parade
Monday, September 7
3 pm parade line up, Marathon Park
Parade at 4 PM
Parade will travel down Stewart Avenue, ending at the Wausau Labor Temple
Eau Claire Laborfest
Monday, September 7
10:30am: Solidarity Walk
11:00am: Labor Rally
Noon: Picnic
Phoenix Park, 330 Riverfront Terrace
La Crosse LaborFest
Monday, September 7
10:00am: Parade begins at the intersection of Gillette Street and Kane Street, ending near Copeland Park.
11:00am: Festivities including food/beverages for sale and games at the Copeland Park Ballpark (Please note new location from previous years)
Copeland Park Ballpark, 800 Copeland Park Drive
Duluth Labor Day Picnic
Monday, September 7
12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Bayfront Festival Park, 350 Harbor Drive.
Citizen Action Statewide Healthcare Action Update: The Fight for a BadgerCare Public Option Continues
Our fight for affordable, accessible health care in Wisconsin is far from over. Over the past year, we have built tremendous momentum around the BadgerCare Public Option—a proposal that would allow more Wisconsinites to buy into BadgerCare and give working families, farmers, small businesses, and people caught between jobs and coverage an affordable choice.
We’ve taken this message across the state through town halls, listening sessions, press events, lobby visits, and community actions, reaching people both in rural and urban communities and hearing directly from Wisconsinites whose lives have been impacted by the high cost of health care. We’ve also built a statewide healthcare team and four working groups focused on research and policy, story collection, coalition building, and outreach.
Now we are in the next phase of the campaign: Building Our Collective Power to Win. We are continuing to grow our base, collect stories, engage legislators and candidates, strengthen our coalition partners, and listen to communities across Wisconsin about what they need from our health care system.
The challenges are enormous. Federal Medicaid and ACA cuts, rising insurance premiums, continued consolidation and high cost of health care are putting even more pressure on Wisconsin families. But those challenges make our work all that more important.
The BadgerCare Public Option and our companion bills (Hospital Accountability and BagderCare Direct) remain our top health care priority. We know that real change will not come simply from asking elected officials to do the right thing. It will come from building enough organized people power that they have to listen.
The next phase is about doing exactly that. We’re building the movement, engaging in a mass listening campaign, gathering stories, and growing our power.
The fight for affordable health care continues! You can take action today:
- Email your state legislators and urge them to co-sponsor the BadgerCare Public Option bill
- Attend your local Co-Op Healthcare team meeting
- Ask your local Co-Op organizer or Kristie Tweed, Healthcare Action Coordinator for petitions you can take to events
- Use this simple form to share your healthcare story – stories about rising cost of your healthcare, medical debt, importance of medicaid in your life all help us in our work. We won’t share your story without reaching out to you first!
For more information or to get involved, contact: Kristie Tweed, Healthcare Action Coordinator; 608-317-1331, ✉️ kristie.tweed@citizenactionwi.org
Attend $20 Minimum Wage Town Hall in St. Francis, Thursday, September 10th
Join the Wisconsin Living Wage Coalition, Citizen Action of Wisconsin, and other allies for an upcoming $20 Minimum Wage Town Hall in St. Francis, Thursday, September 10th, 6pm.
Hear from local residents about their daily struggle to make ends meet at less than $20/hour. Learn more about the current state legislation and find out how you can get involved and help make $20 a reality in 2027!
La Finca Coffeehouse, 3558 E. Sivyer Ave, St. Francis
Attend $20 Minimum Wage Town Hall in Eau Claire, Thursday, October 8th, 6pm
Milwaukee G20 Rally: Fair Trade for Working Families, Wednesday, September 30th, Noon
RSVP here to receive rally location when scheduled.
Can’t make it? You can still make a difference by signing the petition to G20 Trade Ministers calling for Fair Trade for Working Families, and by sharing this information to others.
Citizen Action of Wisconsin and Data You Can Use explore new Milwaukee Housing StoryMap
Citizen Action of Wisconsin and Data You Can Use recently brought community organizations and local leaders together to explore a new Milwaukee Housing StoryMap. The map layers data on historic redlining, homeownership, housing conditions, utility burdens, economic hardship, and neighborhood disinvestment to show where these challenges overlap across Milwaukee.
It makes visible how decisions made decades ago are still reflected in who owns homes, who pays more for energy, and which neighborhoods face the greatest barriers today.
The StoryMap gives us a powerful tool to connect history to present-day conditions and strengthen our work for housing justice, lower utility costs, equitable investment, and stronger neighborhoods. Share the map, start conversations about the systemic forces behind these disparities, and help more people see how past policy decisions continue to shape Milwaukee neighborhoods today.
Citizen Action in the News
Citizen Action’s Robert Kraig was on the Jeff Santos Show to discuss what Democratic Trifecta in Wisconsin must deliver on to restore faith in the democratic process and address the pressing needs of working and middle class Wisconsinites.
Watch and Listen Here (@ 1 hour 37 minute mark of the video).
The Boston-based Jeff Santos Show airs 2 to 5 PM weekdays in Wisconsin on the Civic Media radio network.
Listen to “Labor Day” Battleground Wisconsin Podcast
We open with the tick report, including MAGA conspiracy theories about the supposed nefarious actors behind tick-bourne diseases that conveniently deflect attention from big oil and the fossil fuel utilities’ responsibility in accelerating climate change.
We discuss the We Energies rate hike media event and Public Service Commission (PSC) hearings this week in Milwaukee and how reining in the big for profit utilities is central to the fight against catastrophic climate change.
We announce the latest round of Citizen Action endorsements for State Senate, State Assembly, and statewide office.
It’s Labor Day Weekend and we encourage our listeners to attend a Labor Day Weekend event with organized labor, as more progressive Labor unions get behind David Crowley ahead of Labor Day.
Listen to the show.
