A crowd of leaders gathered near a newly installed streetlight in the Olmito colonia as Father Hector Cruz of Our Heavenly Father Catholic Church sprinkled it with holy water. Valley Interfaith leaders gathered from across Cameron County to celebrate the installation, which resulted from their intervention. They were joined by three county commissioners. Said Fr. Hector Cruz, "The streetlights show that democracy is alive in Cameron County."

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Leaders of the Metro Vancouver Alliance celebrated the passage of a living wage ordinance, committing the city to paying $20.68 per hour (the rate includes benefits) for all City workers and contracted employees.

Last fall, at MVA's accountability session, candidates from four civic parties committed to taking the lead on the issue. Mayor George Robertson fulfilled his promise, putting forth the motion, which won by unanimous vote.

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Leaders of 'Better Together' successfully undermined a suburban incorporation effort (in the St. George area) by convincing voters who had signed onto the original petition to withdraw their signatures.

A small minority of St. George residents needed 17,859 signatures to call a vote for incorporation, an essential first step in separating the suburb from the City of Baton Rouge. After these residents turned in 18,000 signatures, 'Better Together' leaders painstakingly reviewed the list, contacting signatories to confirm they understood the significance of their signature . Over 1,100 original signatories were persuaded to submit petition withdrawal forms, thus ensuring that St. George remain part of the City.

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EPISO and allies, including the Paso del Norte Civil Rights Project, celebrated the passage of a wage theft ordinance created in collaboration with city council, El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce. Mayor Leeser declared that El Paso will be "only the second city to ever" enable the city to refuse to award contracts to employers who violated wage theft laws.

Over the next 60 days, EPISO and Border Interfaith leaders will work with the city to consider amendments potentially granting additional powers to refuse to grant, or revoke, permits and licenses to wage theft violators.

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According to lead organizer Deborah Littman, the key to success is conducting "listening campaigns."

The Vancouver Sun lauded Metro Vancouver Alliance for its work in building community and, most recently, for helping mostly Filipino nursing home staff get through a contentious contract dispute. Read article below for more.

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Over 100 leaders from across Central Arizona gathered to develop local summer and fall organizing plans in key legislative districts. After reflecting on the importance of organizing, the assembly reviewed the new Arizona State Budget and the 2015 legislative process. VIP leaders then broke out into groups by legislative district to develop plans for maximum impact on school district override and bond measures, prison reform, workforce development, and access to quality healthcare.

Following up on its $5 million win from the last legislative session in 2013, Texas IAF leaders succeeded in ensuring that the Adult Career Education (ACE) Grant program (and its $5 million in funding) stayed on the Texas budget. This means that Texas IAF workforce development programs (like Capital IDEA, Project ARRIBA, VIDA, Project QUEST, SkillsQuest and Capital IDEA-Houston) can apply for these funds, to expand the training they already offer.

When Austin Energy moved to more quickly cut off electricity from all families in arrears, including those who were not a part of the city's low-income Customer Assistance Program (CAP), Austin Interfaith stepped in to negotiate a better deal for those families making efforts to lower their debt.

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On the heels of COPS / Metro's recent disruption of business-as-usual at a public budget hearing, District 4 Councilmember Rey Saldana took up the cry for a higher minimum wage for City employees.

"Councilman Rey Saldaña said that while he supports giving relief to taxpayers, he also would support leaving the rate the same if the funding helps increase wages for the city's lowest-paid civilian employees. Communities Organized for Public Service and the Metro Alliance have been advocating for the increase, which has been backed by some council members."

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Austin Interfaith and Austin Independent School District (AISD) jointly announced the launch of a high school job training program targeted at students from three local high schools: Travis, Crockett and Lanier.

Modeled off the Summer Youth Employment program, created by Austin Interfaith 20 years ago in partnership with the City and County, this program will teach high schoolers leadership and soft skills like timeliness, and professional conduct. Another goal is to develop summer internships in 2016 for students who complete the leadership training. Senator Kirk Watson was in attendance at the announcement, as were AI leaders Rev. Robert Elford and Ms. Ofelia Zapata who spoke.

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