In a 2018 summer house meeting campaign involving more then 500 families embedded in Des Moines schools, churches and nonprofits, AMOS leaders asked, "What matters enough to you, your family, and your community that you would raise your own taxes to see it happen?”

The stories heard in these meetings, and the leaders who emerged from them, formed an agenda AMOS took to the city manager and city council last Fall, asking them to include these items in an upcoming local option sales tax vote.  In December, AMOS celebrated when the city council passed a spending resolution for the tax measure that included five key AMOS priorities and agreed to endorse the measure and get out the vote.  For two months, AMOS leaders held civic academies, phone banked, signed up hundreds of people up to vote, and gave rides to the polls on Election Day.  

On March 5th, more than 70% of Des Moines voters voted YES on Measure A, the one-cent local option sales tax measure in the city of Des Moines.  Turnout for the election was 20% higher than a similar effort last year that did not include AMOS priorities, and the margin of support for the measure was 30% higher this year than in previous years.  AMOS worked with a diverse coalition of organizations who endorsed the measure, including AARP, the Central Iowa Taxpayers Association and the Firefighters Union.

The results are particularly impressive considering efforts by a Koch Brothers-funded group to torpedo the measure with negative campaigning.  

Because of AMOS:

• Libraries in Des Moines will expand the number of days they are open from 5 days per week to 6 days per week, while the Downtown and Franklin branches will open 7; 
• 4-6 new Rental Inspectors will be hired to improve rental housing conditions;
• 150 dilapidated and abandoned homes will be torn down or renovated each year across the city, a ten-fold increase over the 5-15 homes the city is able to address now.
• Des Moines will help fund the creation of mental health crisis services for children, with a commitment from the Mayor and other public officials to get these services up and running by June 30, 2020. 

The one-cent tax will also enable the city to maintain 13 firefighter positions, speed up the building of a new fire station on the northeast side of Des Moines, and make critical investments to improve streets, sidewalks, and sewers.

As if that were not enough, on February 25th, the city council approved funding to install lights on the basketball courts at Evelyn K Davis Park — another AMOS priority.

Vote YES for Measure and Des Moines' Future, Des Moines Register

Des Moines Metro Voters Weigh 1-cent Sales Tax, Promise of Lower Property Taxes, Des Moines Register

Des Moines voters should support the local-option sales tax on March 5, Des Moines Register

Group Pushes Des Moines to Use Sales Tax Money to Extend Library Hours, Des Moines Register

Des Moines will vote on sales tax increase in March, Des Moines Register

Local option sales tax planned for March 5 vote in Des Moines, Business Record

Des Moines Weighs in on March 5 Local Option Sales Tax Vote, WHO TV

One-cent sales tax increase could fund 'blitz on blight', KCCI TV

Five years after COPS/Metro's first wage win, the San Antonio Express-News is crediting the organization with the most recent wage floor hike at Alamo Colleges to $15 per hour. 

"The COPS/Metro Alliance, a community organizing coalition, has for years pushed local public entities to adopt a minimum 'living wage' of $15 hourly as part of a national movement. The Alamo Colleges had already raised its minimum wage, along with the City of San Antonio, Bexar County and some public school districts, with the stated intent of moving gradually toward the $15 goal. The city and county reached $15 last fall."

In photo top left, taken in 2014, over 300 COPS/Metro leaders publicly launched a "living wage and economic security" campaign to raise the living standards of public employees.  In 2014, in top photo at right, a St. Alphonsus Catholic parishioners tells a reporter that her daughter, a full-time Alamo Colleges employee, earned only $8.50 / hour without benefits or vacation.  In bottom photos, Alamo Colleges workers Jose Rodriguez and Jennifer Wilgen describe the impact of the wage raise.

The $15/hour minimum represents a 30% increase over the previous wage floor.  Alamo College representatives argue that raising the wage floor “supports the economic and social mobility of the families of the lowest paid members of the Alamo Colleges District workforce and the persistence of a growing body of students” employed part-time at the colleges. 

This position is consistent with what COPS/Metro leaders have argued for years. 

[Photo Credits: Top left and bottom photos by Bob Owen, San Antonio Express-News; top right photo by Rafael Paz Parra]

Alamo Colleges, Other San Antonio Employers, Embrace 'Living Wage', San Antonio Express-News [pdf]

Alamo College Trustees Raise Hourly Minimum Wage to $15, San Antonio Express-News [pdf]

2014 Report on COPS/Metro Launch of Living Wage Campaign 

One year after a 200-person assembly in which COPS/Metro parent and community leaders called for the demolition of a crumbling building that made the Beacon Hill Academy playground unsafe for its students, parents (and children) celebrated a victory.

The San Antonio City Council and Independent School District (SAISD) came to a negotiated agreement in which the building would be torn down in order to secure the playground and a new 'cultural heritage' curriculum developed for students.  

“It has been such a long process, and really our kids are even happier than us,” said Beacon Hill Academy parent and COPS/Metro  leader Jacklyn Landaverde. 

[Credit for Photo of Building: Bonnie Arbittier, Rivard Report]

City, SAISD Reach Deal to Allow Demolition of Historic Beacon Hill Building, Rivard Report

Responding to concerns raised by VOICE, the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office announced the establishment of a Citizens Advisory Board.  The need for the board rose to the leaders’ attention in 2016 through small group conversations hosted by institutions, in which leaders heard alarming stories about prison conditions and lack of transparency in the filing of complaints.  At a 2017 accountability session, the Sheriff publicly committed to establishing the committee, if elected.

The Citizens Advisory Board will be formed by a diverse group of citizens interested in participating in the conversation with the Sheriff’s office and will serve as a sounding board to the Sheriff in all aspects of the agency.  According to Sundra Flansburg, a leader with VOICE, the “CAB will be a great way for citizens to learn more about the jail and provide input on potential solutions for issues.”

At the same time, it offers citizens an opportunity to engage in the democratic process beyond the vote.

Voices heard: Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office is forming a citizens advisory board to better engage with the community and promote transparency, Oklahoma Gazette

Oklahoma County Sheriff Forming Citizens Advisory Board, The Oklahoman

Colorado IAF is standing with teachers as they negotiate with the Denver Public School District to improve teacher compensation and classroom conditions.  After a winter assembly, in which hundreds of Colorado IAF leaders challenged school board members to stand with teachers, many elected officials publicly declared their support, including a Colorado State Senator, Denver Public Schools Boardmember and local City Councilmember. 

When the Governor announced his intent to stay out of the fight, Colorado IAF leaders commended him for "respecting the right of educators in Denver to strike if necessary." 

Teachers propose that the district address turnover by eliminating the School Performance Framework rating system, decreasing one-time pay incentives and increasing salaries for all teachers.  As the school district has, so far, failed to concede, leaders and teachers continue to push back.

Becky Epstein, Executive Director of B’nai Havurah Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, a member of Colorado IAF said: “Our message to the Board and Superintendent is this: the people who best know how to retain teachers, how to support teachers, and what kind of incentives teachers need, are the teachers themselves. We trust them and you should too.”

[Photo Credit: Conor McCormick-Cavanagh, Westword]

Colorado IAF Letter to the Governor

Why Civil Rights Groups are Split Over Impending Denver Teachers Strike, Chalkbeat

Teachers Air Grievances at First School Board Meeting After Strike Vote, Westword

Building upon a three-year conversation campaign, Albuquerque Interfaith burst back onto the political scene with a clear cut strategy for the 2019 biennial New Mexico Legislative Session.

Through house meetings, civic academies, research actions and nonpartisan accountability assemblies, Albuquerque Interfaith leaders developed a legislative agenda to address four areas of concern: 1) Neighborhood Preservation, Community Safety and the Criminal Justice System; 2) Strengthening Schools and Public Education for All; 3) Immigrant Justice, Worker Protection and Workforce Development; and 4) Rebuilding our Behavioral Health System and Health Security for All.

Acting in teams, Albuquerque Interfaith leaders plan to track relevant legislation, gather political intelligence, testify, and advocate for their legislative agenda through collaboration with key legislators supporting bills that intersect with the ABQ Interfaith agenda. Sunday handoffs between institutional teams are already happening to ensure no political intelligence is lost.

Through public action in the Legislative Session, Albuquerque Interfaith leaders hope to restore the foundation of public investments in children and fulfill their vision of creating an “inclusive, multicultural community where children thrive and there is justice and well-being for all.”

After almost four years of political battle, leaders of Together Baton Rouge secured a momentous victory: the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board voted down Exxon Mobil’s request to receive a tax exemption through the Industrial Tax Exemption Program, resulting in $2.9 Million for public schools.  
 
The road to victory was paved by a multi-year organizing effort that engaged citizens across the state in conversations about the cost of exemptions to their schools, sheriffs and parish governments.  In 2016, at the urging of Together Baton Rouge, Governor John Bel Edwards signed an executive order reforming the Industrial Tax Exemption Program (IETP), to allow local tax authorities to participate in the approval process.  In 2017, the TBR-initiated 'Sunshine Provision' was put in place to allow local citizens to learn when exemptions are being considered by local bodies in time for the public to weigh in on the decision. 

Previously, Exxon Mobil received tax exemptions equal to more than 60% of taxable property through the 82-year old ITEP program which largely served as a rubber-stamping process for tax giveaways.  Now, Exxon Mobil will be required to pay an additional $2.9 Million in school property taxes over ten years.  Total reduced tax giveaways are estimated to be enough to raise the pay of East Baton Rouge teachers by thousands per year.
 
According to Dianne Hanley, Together Baton Rouge has been "working on this for three years, and what we have now is an open public process that the local entities are getting engaged in and the people are getting engaged in....that is democracy at work.”
 
Public school teachers became an integral part of the strategy to fight for school funding.  After the final vote was called, at close to midnight, Mary Trigg, an art teacher at Sherwood Middle Academic Magnet School exclaimed, “I am so happy. I hope this is the beginning of a new era of public funding and investing in my students.”

ITEP Critics defeat ExxonMobil Tax Break Requests at School Board, Here are Next Steps, The Advocate [pdf]

Why Louisiana Stays Poor, Together Baton Rouge [video]

Additional Background

Denouncing the proposed City of Austin budget for not going far enough to pay its part-time, temporary workers well and to provide essential services to low and middle income families, eighty Austin Interfaith leaders descended on City Hall to urge the Council to prioritize the concerns of residents. Five city council members (Garza, Casar, Pool, Kitchen and Tovo) participated in an afternoon press conference in support of Austin Interfaith's budget priorities.

Later that night, one dozen leaders spoke in support of specific priorities including a wage increase to $13.03 for all adult city employees, including part-time temporary workers; investment in Capital IDEA training; after-school programming; investments in branch libraries; improved park facilities and more.

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