At the urging of Austin Interfaith, Central Texas Bishops, Catholic Charities and immigration reform allies, Austin City Council unanimously passed an official denunciation of Travis County's "Secure Communities," directing the City Manager to explore alternative ways to book arrests. High achieving 13-year old Alan Gonzalez Otero, from Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church and Austin Interfaith, testified against Secure Communities, describing an occasion when he was 9 years old and thought he might never see his father again. Rev. Thomas VandeStadt of the Congregational Church of Austin reminded the Council that Central Texas Bishops opposed cooperation between law enforcement and immigration, and that "on principle" was opposed to Secure Communities.

City Hall Chambers, filled with 300 supporters of the resolution, erupted in cheers as the Mayor announced the 7-0 vote.

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COPS/Metro Alliance leaders & allies kicked off their Living Wage Campaign on Tuesday morning at the Bexar County Commissioners Court, asking elected officials to raise the county's minimum wage, currently set at the Federal Poverty Level. In response, Judge Wolff asked the County Manager to immediately begin a study of the wage scale and to meet with a COPS/Metro delegation within 7 days.

More photos here.

After 1,600 leaders from Nevadans for the Common Good Lead convened their 2nd convention on a Tuesday night at the Cashman Center, lead organizer Robert Hoo reminded them, "It wasn't a ballgame, it wasn't a musical concert. It was people coming together to talk about issues. The interest is there, and it's even grown." Read more below:

Nevadans for the Common Good Invite Participation in Public Life, Las Vegas Review Journal

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With the Del Rio Police Department currently operating at 63% (45 sworn officers out of the 71 for which the DRPD is funded), The Border Organization took the issue to the City Council. Leader Sandra Fuentes called for additional hiring of police officers, testifying that department efficiency must be balanced with the safety of local residents.

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Hundreds of Dallas Area Interfaith leaders poured into Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church to launch an immigration reform campaign to address local issues dealt with on a daily basis: wage theft, lack of water breaks and horrific apartment conditions.

Accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Most Reverend J. Douglas Deshotel of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, DAI clergy urged parishioners and lay leaders to focus their energy on what can be solved at the local level, given the lack of reform options at the federal level.

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Less than one month after Capital IDEA-Houston won a $500 thousand Texas Innovative Adult Career Education (ACE) grant to train hundreds more community college students for living wage careers, leaders of The Metropolitan Organization of Houston leveraged an additional $500 thousand in local money after testifying at City Hall.

The money will come from two source of funding: $250 thousand from Community Development Block Grants and another $250 thousand from a City of Houston budget line-item, marking the first time Capital IDEA-Houston has been included in the City budget.

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Labor caucus leaders of Austin Interfaith leveraged a historic living wage vote from AISD school board members in a close-to-midnight vote approving the use of federal Davis-Bacon wage standards for workers employed on school construction projects. After months of deliberation and negotiation, labor caucus members of Austin Interfaith testified at AISD board proceedings, backed by a crowd of supporters.

Catholic Bishop Joe Vasquez's letter exhorting the Board to support Davis-Bacon wages was followed by impassioned testimony from leaders representing LiUNA, Education Austin, IBEW, Painters Local 1779, Pipefitters, Workers Defense Projects, Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church and the Equal Justice Center. Plans are in the works for the school district to soon establish an accompanying living wage floor to raise the wages of the lowest paid workers.

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This weekend, the Congregation of Divine Providence (CDP) honored Sr. Christine Stephens and Sr. Pearl Caesar for 50 years of work as women religious.

Sr. Christine Stephens' accomplishments include establishing IAF organizations across Texas, guiding the development of new West / Southwest IAF organizations in Louisiana (and beyond) and mentoring organizers across the West / Southwest US. As co-chair of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), she strengthened the international network of more than 60 organizations.

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Undeterred by the Louisiana legislature's reluctance to pass payday lending reform this year, Together Louisiana leaders turned their attention to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, taking over a hearing on mobile banking and pointing out the need for intervention on payday lending.

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When Santa Cruz County threatened to cut a program that insures just under 1,000 unauthorized children, COPA leaders swung into action, organizing a public action with County Supervisors and testifying at budget hearings to secure $300K in funding, in collaboration with United Way, First 5 and Community Foundation. Leaders additionally secured commitments from Monterey County Supervisors to expand coverage for unauthorized residents and publicize expanded services in Spanish.

Plan to Save Santa Cruz County's Healthy Kids in Place, Santa Cruz Sentinel