Dr. JC Richardson, Pastor of Wesley UMC and Together Baton Rouge/Together LA leader, speaks at press conference before the defeat of four proposed constitutional amendments, including Amendment 3 which would have tried more children as adults.

After Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry's failed attempt to rewrite the constitution to change state tax and budget laws in 2024, the legislature voted to put his four proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot.  Reports indicated that an election in March was chosen to take advantage of projected low turnout (only 12%).  Together Louisiana leaders opposed all four measures but focused their efforts on Amendment 3 which, if passed, would give legislators the power to expand the number of crimes for which children younger than 17 could be tried as adults.  When legislators were pressed on what those crimes would be, their response was "just trust us"! 

Defying expectations, more than 21% of the electorate turned out to vote, soundly rejecting all four measures.  In areas Together Louisiana focused their outreach, both rural and urban, Amendment 3 overwhelmingly failed.

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It is with great sadness that we learned the news this Easter Monday morning about the death of Pope Francis.

Over the past three years, we, as representatives of the Industrial Areas Foundation, were privileged to meet him three times in his Santa Marta residence at the Vatican, each an encounter of 90 minutes or more. 

On March 20, 2025 the San Antonio City Council unanimously approved renaming the San Antonio Natatorium to Atanacio Garcia Natatorium, recognizing the determined COPS/Metro leader of Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine Catholic Church who organized his community to create the city’s first Olympic-sized public pool on the West Side.

On March 3, the Colorado State Legislature proposed a bill that would have cut base wages for tipped workers. Coloradans for the Common Good (CCG) fought back! In collaboration with CWA 7777 and the Colorado AFL-CIO, CCG organized a press conference and successfully blocked efforts to mandate that Denver, Boulder, and Edgewater reduce the local minimum wage for thousands of tipped workers. CCG also pushed for legislation to expand the right to collective bargaining as a part of their larger strategy to support workers in Colorado.

In a press statement, they assert: “Hardworking Coloradans deserve the opportunity to earn a good wage, especially as the cost of living continues to rise…The amended version of the bill importantly avoids an immediate wage cut for tipped employees and preserves some local control. However, the bill only gives local control to local governments if they want to vote to keep their tipped minimum wage low, but will not allow them to vote to end the subminimum wage for tipped workers. We will continue to work for fair and livable wages with tips on top for Coloradans at the state and local level.” 

Last week, CCG was back at the Capitol to support the Worker Protection Act and again the next day to stand with educators against cuts to education. CCG's work at the Capitol continues as the legislature considers the Worker Protection Act, the state budget, and other issues important to members.

(Photo Credit: Denver7)

By Barbara Paulsen, Boulder City UMC, Nevadans for the Common Good

In 1974 an organization, grounded in community organizing principles developed by Saul Alinsky in the 1940s, was founded in San Antonio Texas. Communities Organizing for Public Service (COPS) became the first organization of the "modern" IAF and the initial member of what is now known as the West/Southwest IAF (WSWIAF). Today the WSWIAF includes 33 local broad-based institutional members located across 11 states.

In recognition of this 50-year organizing history, a symposium was held in San Antonio on December 8, 2024, to honor WSWIAF's past and to build for its future. The symposium included segments on IAF and WSWIAF history, habits and practices of  organizing as well as presentations by key leaders in education, history, and philosophy who shared their experiences working with WSWIAF and how this interaction impacted them. Ernesto Cortes, Jr. and Sr. Christine Stephens were recognized as the key founders of COPS and WSWIAF. The best part of the symposium, as with all IAF gatherings, was the opportunity to interact and share with leaders and organizers across the network.

[Excerpt]

This may look like an ordinary stop sign.

However, for residents of Southeast Fresno, it represents a hard-fought victory in making their community safer.

Before this week, the intersection along South Avenue—a busy road cutting through city and rural farmland—was only a two-way stop. It was a dangerous crossing, and last summer, Alex Burgos, a young parishioner from St. Anthony Mary Claret Catholic church, learned that firsthand when his car was T-boned by another vehicle.

“At first, I thought it was just bad luck,” Burgos said. “Then I started talking to other people in my church, and I realized I wasn’t the only one....”

In 2023, leaders from COPA congregations, schools, and nonprofits spoke with over 400 families, hearing dozens of stories about families that had paid thousands of dollars in unnecessary application fees just to apply to live in an apartment. Sometimes, families learned later that the apartments they had applied for didn’t even exist.

In response, COPA leaders reached out to member institutions, building a powerful constituency across Central California. Leaders at Holy Cross engaged leaders at Temple Beth El and Mujeres en Acción, who in turn reached out to other institutions as the team grew. All in all, 13 institutions joined the process and, together, built a relationship with Assemblywoman Gail Pellerin.

COPA leaders:

• researched the issue with state policy experts and attorneys - worked with Assemblywoman Pellerin to craft new legislation, 
• testified in both the Assembly and State Senate (in 3 different languages!) and 
• overcame vested opposition by crafting a compromise with power groups.

Over the last two years, faith, labor and civic institutions across Louisiana have built the largest network of solar-powered resilience hubs in the world, in partnership with the Industrial Areas Foundation.  With a fresh investment of $500,000, they launched their 17th community lighthouse. 

[Excerpts]

Two more Shreveport churches now have the financial support needed to transform themselves into solar-powered disaster shelters after a Caddo Parish Commission vote. 

The Commission at its Thursday meeting approved using $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding to make Galilee Baptist Church and Willow Chute Baptist Church into "Community Lighthouses," doubling the number of solar-powered neighborhood hubs set to be operating in Shreveport in the coming year...

[Excerpts]

Omaha Together One Community (OTOC) leaders conducted more than 100 meetings over the past three years with Nebraska agricultural, health-care, labor, education, hospitality, philanthropic, faith, construction, immigrant, legal, banking, and community leaders to learn more about our workforce needs.

We learned [for example] that an owner of a dairy farm had been awake for almost 48 hours milking his cows because his short-term immigrant staff had to leave Nebraska when their work visas expired. We heard of immigrants with work visas who can come to the U.S. with their families, but their spouses and working-age children are not allowed to work....

According to a recent study funded by the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce Foundation, 'There is universal and widespread business support for immigration reform as a means to address the workforce gap in Nebraska....'

As result of these meetings, a statewide non-partisan alliance has formed. The Nebraska Alliance for Thriving Communities includes leaders from across the state. This 70-member Alliance agrees on a common-sense set of immigration priorities to enrich our communities and address Nebraska’s workforce shortage.

After Together West Michigan demanded transparency and public benefits from a proposed public investment in the Fulton Market Three Towers project, developers dedicated an additional $20 million toward hiring women, minority, and micro-local contractors, almost double the original commitment.

Over 160 people overflowed from chambers for the Three Towers vote, with Third Ward Commissioner Perdue standing with Together West Michigan.

"I want to acknowledge that [this]... was only possible because of the advocacy that you all provided," said Commissioner Perdue. "There's much, much more work to do...I'm committed to keep fighting with you and look forward to what's next."

Because of the spotlight Together West Michigan put on this development, public scrutiny was introduced into a process that's often been a rubber stamp.

TWM introduced many voices that wouldn't otherwise have been heard and more attention to this development than any previous one in Grand Rapids in recent memory.  Leaders plan to continue the push for more transparency and public benefit to the new City Commission in 2025.

How Would $565 Million in Taxes Help Pay for the "Three Towers" in Grand Rapids?, FOX 17 [pdf]

GR Commission OK's Project That Would Create Downtown's Tallest Building, Channel 8 News [pdf]

GR Commission Advances Three Towers Project, WZZM 13 [pdf]