Citizen Action Weekend ’26 Newsletter, Friday, September 18th
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Citizen Action Northeast Organizing Cooperative members talk with state Senator Jamie Wall in support of a BadgerCare Public Option.
This Thursday evening Citizen Action members met with State Senator Jamie Wall to discuss our support for a BadgerCare Public Option in next year’s state budget.
A big thank you to Citizen Action members Lyndin, Cassie, and Ellen who worked together to organize a great meeting with Green Bay State Senator Wall last night. Also, thank you to the indivisible members who joined us.
Senator Wall shared with us that he has also struggled to afford adequate healthcare until he was elected. He shared that he also has concerns about how to best get the most people healthcare and help small businesses retain their employees. He wants to find ways to hold those that are setting our astronomical hospital pricing accountable.
While there were some moments of levity as we discussed the absurd system that we are all forced to be in, serious strategy was also discussed. Zarya pointed out that it costs less to make sure people have access to healthcare early on for prevention than to wait until they are incredibly sick. Denise shared her story of accessing her medication for an autoimmune condition and how this has turned into days and weeks on the phone because there are 7 different profit-seeking entities in between her and her medication. She shared that her and her husband spend about $45,000 a year now on healthcare in their retirement and implored Senator Wall to sign on to BadgerCare Public Option.
A high quality BadgerCare Public Option health care plan would be available for purchase on the Affordable Care Act marketplace by all Wisconsinites, regardless of income level, with sliding scale premium subsidies based on income.
Small businesses and non-profits with 50 employees or less could for the first time afford to offer high quality employer-sponsored coverage for their employees at an affordable rate.
Free Eligibility includes:
- Families of 4 earning up to $64,300
- Individuals earning up to $31,300
To join our healthcare organizing, contact: Kristie.Tweed@citizenactiowi.org
Take Action to send email to your state legislators.
Wausau’s Lori Wallach joins the Battleground Wisconsin Podcast.
The brilliant Lori Wallach, the Director of Rethink Trade, joins us to discuss why the G20 is coming to Milwaukee September 30th.
Lori is the leading voice critiquing the global trade regime and articulating an alternative.
Lori educates us on how Wall Street and multinational corporations rigged the system to reconstruct our political economy to extract and funnel wealth upward.
We discuss the real opportunity ahead to create a new trade regime that centers our communities and our people.
Citizen Action attends Hands Off Our Votes Rally and Planning Meetings in Washington, D.C. this week.
Are you ready to defend democracy in Wisconsin this November? Join us for a Democracy Defenders Training September 30th, 6:00PM
This special training will start to equip Citizen Action members with organizing plans the confront possible scenarios the Trump regime might employ to disrupt the midterm election and how we are preparing to respond to ensure every vote is counted.
Citizen Action of Wisconsin talking to voters in our communities about the issues that matter to them.
We want to talk to you! Sign up for our Listening Survey to speak with a Citizen Action organizer.
Whether it’s the rising cost of healthcare, housing, utilities, groceries, childcare, or low wages, too many people are being forced to make impossible choices just to make ends meet. We believe the people most affected by these challenges should have the strongest voice in shaping the solutions.
We are gathering stories and feedback as part of our statewide listening campaign. The information we collect will help guide our legislative priorities as we advocate for policies that make healthcare more affordable, lower everyday costs, and build an economy that works for everyone.
Sign up to speak to an organizer
Attend Working Families vs. Oligarchs: The Stakes of the G20 Trade Summit In Milwaukee.
Join us Tuesday, September 29th, 6:00 pm, 175 Curtin Hall, 3243 N. Downer Ave., Milwaukee.
On the evening before the G20 trade ministers hold their summit in Milwaukee, join experts and activists speaking about the global trade regime and a real alternative.
Multinational corporations and Wall Street investors created the global trade regime, which has devastated workers, farmers, the environment, and democratic governance.
For the first time in decades, a new forward to an alternative ordering of global trade rules is possible. But only if working people name it and organize around it.
This teach-in will feature a panel discussion led by John Nichols, Washington editor of the Nation Magazine, associate editor of the Madison Capital Times, interviewing Wisconsin and international voices.
Please RSVP in advance.
Milwaukee G20 Rally: Fair Trade for Working Families, Wednesday, September 30th, 10:00am – 11:30am
As trade officials from around the world gather in Milwaukee for the G20 Trade Ministerial, join Wisconsin working families demanding fair trade policies that finally put the interests of people and communities ahead of greedy corporations.
Like many places, Milwaukee is still dealing with the devastating economic impacts of deindustrialization and the ongoing race-to-the-bottom caused by corporate-driven trade deals that offshore jobs and drive down wages. As policymakers continue to advance backroom deals and other schemes that enrich and empower billionaires and CEOs, our communities pay the price.
Please join Citizen Action, labor and civil society organizations outside the G20 meeting to call for a new trade model that creates good-paying jobs, raises wages, enforces worker rights, strengthens family farms, protects the environment, enables A.I. accountability and otherwise puts people over profits.
Rally Location: 941 E Wisconsin Ave
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.
Attend $20 Minimum Wage Town Hall in Eau Claire, Thursday, October 8th, 6pm!
Join Rep. Christian Phelps, the Wisconsin Living Wage Coalition, Citizen Action of Wisconsin, and other allies. 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!
Forage, 403 S Barstow St. Eau Claire.
Learn more about the legislation and take action, urging your state legislators to support the bill.
Citizen Action in the News
Citizen Action’s Robert Kraig was on the Jeff Santos radio show to discuss the latest on the pivotal midterm elections and the surprising role of data centers.
Watch and Listen here (@ 1 hour 35 minute mark of video).
The Boston-based Jeff Santos Show airs statewide in Wisconsin on the Civic Media radio network weekdays 2 to 5 PM.
Listen to “Working Families vs. Oligarchs: An Interview with Lori Wallach” Battleground Wisconsin Podcast
Following the latest Tick Report where the explosion of ticks and involuntary veganism rages into fall, we take a deep dive into the state of our economy.
First: We talk about the Fed’s raising of interest rates today as inflation gets worse in Trump’s economy, marking the central bank’s first rate hike since July 2023 and first in Trump’s second term.
Second: We are joined by Peter Rickman, president of the MASH union and special guest Lori Wallach, the Director of the Rethink Trade program, to discuss why the G20 is coming to Milwaukee later this month and how progressive forces are organizing in response. Lori Wallach will be a featured speaker at a teach-in the night before the G20 meeting starts. Lori educates us on the history of the neoliberal global trade economy, its failure to protect working people, and the opportunities to create a new trade regime that centers our communities and our people.
Listen to the show.
RSVP for “Workers vs. Oligarchs” Teach in, Tuesday, September 29th, 6pm at UW Milwaukee.
RSVP for G2o protest rally: “Fair trade for Wisconsin Workers,” Wednesday, September 30th, 10am
