ORGANIZING NOTES
September 1, 2026
|
There are so many compelling candidates facing so many corporate Democrats that it is worth the effort to get out the vote. This is true even if the leadership of the Massachusetts Democratic Party and the national Party leadership have been so weak in defending working class interests, so incapable of standing up to Neatanhayu and AIPAC, and so craven in their pandering to big donors.
Check out the endorsed candidate spreadsheet. 49 candidates were endorsed by one or more progressive organizations in the Commonwealth, and many were endorsed by at least three. Because having multiple elected progressives strengthens the resolve of each, it is important to get out the vote.
But elections, even successful ones, don’t signal the end of work. Once any of our candidates are in office, we need to provide them with the support and good advice that helps them to resist the temptation to cater to the leadership in order to get at least one good thing done.
|
IMC’s new No Mass Incarceration Action Team invites you to join the September Week of Action 9/12 – 18, to oppose a new women’s prison complex on the current site of the women’s state prison in Framingham. The IMC No Mass Incarceration Action Team, is part of a statewide coalition that is mobilizing for the following events. Sat. Sep. 12, 10:30 AM – 2 PM: Kickoff march and rally in the Greater Boston area. RSVP HERE for details. Wed. Sep. 16, 7 – 8 PM: “Why We Don’t Need a New Women’s Prison,” online presentation by Families for Justice As Healing. RSVP HERE. Thur. & Fri. Sep. 17 and 18: Email the governor and legislators to protest the prison. Check the IMC newsletter and Slack for email addresses, phone numbers and a script closer to the date. Use this email for more information NoMassIncarceration@indivisible-ma.org
|
The next No Kings event is planned for Saturday, October 17, and will focus on early voting. Voting early dilutes the impact of the regime’s threats to use Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a voter suppression tactic. This mass action is also intended to build the foundation necessary for protecting the vote in the event Donald Trump interferes with results. Sign up on the No Kings website to be the first to hear how you can get involved.
|
Tell Gov Healey to Protect SNAP Here in MA, the cuts and new administrative burdens from the Big Ugly Bill are only part of the picture. Understaffing at the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) is at a crisis point. As a result, more than 70% of calls to DTA go unanswered. Since July 2025, more than 175,000 people have lost access to SNAP–nearly a third of them children–primarily because they can’t get through to DTA. That’s not acceptable, and it’s something that Governor Healey and the Legislature could easily fix. You can write to Gov. Healey and your state legislators about addressing the DTA funding crisis HERE
|
Tell Your State Legislators: We Need A Strong Data Privacy Bill The formal legislative session for the MA State House ended on July 31, but legislators plan to negotiate final details for several major bills in the fall. One of those: critical new data privacy protections. Make sure legislators don’t forget their commitment to robust data privacy legislation! Data Privacy (S.2619) House bill (Passed 6/5/26) Senate bill (Passed 9/25/25) ASK: Please ask leadership to ensure that the final version of the bill completely bans the sale of sensitive data and location data, creates strong statutory limits on data collection and processing, and includes a private right of action to hold companies accountable. Write HERE
|
Tell Rep. Trahan: Support Workers and The Environment, Not Big Tech Profits
|
Congresswoman Lori Trahan recently introduced legislation that could override Lowell’s data center moratorium and prevent Massachusetts and other states from passing strong regulations on AI and data center expansion. Write to her to urge her to change course HERE
|
Local Visibilities Schedule
Watch for weather and wind chill cancellations here! But another good way to keep up with day to day and weekly changes is to join a Signal Group
|
Folks can sign up for De-ICE Hanscom’s contact list at this link.
|
The Next Dream: A Virtual Screening and Panel Discussion
|
The IMC Immigration Justice Action Team will host a virtual screening of “The Next Dream,” a powerful TPS documentary, on Wednesday, September 9, from 7 to 9 PM. Register HERE to reserve your spot and discover how you can take action.Following the 45-minute film, a panel featuring members of Comité TPS Massachusetts, the National TPS Alliance, and the Boston Experimental Theatre Company will share insights on current threats and what’s at stake for TPS holders in Massachusetts and nationwide.
|
US Cities Are Terminating Flock Camera Contract at Record Pace After Nationwide Pushback
|
In April, millions of readers came to GNN for the scoop on Maryland’s first-in-the-nation ban on “surveillance pricing” in retail grocery stores. Now, municipal governments around the country are ending their association with Flock Safety, a company that has cloaked the streets of the nation in surveillance cameras that automatically read license plates using AI. Ars Technica, reporting on the proliferation of Flock cameras and their alleged misuse, released a recent report citing data that shows how in August alone, 93 US jurisdictions ended their contracts with Flock. The data came via Secure Justice, an Oakland-based advocacy group, and shows that since 2021, 214 jurisdictions have installed, and then removed, Flock cameras. As public outcry grew against what a Berkeley law professor described as “yet another Silicon Valley product… threatening to change people’s lives [that no one asked for]” the rate of these removals has increased dramatically. Ars Techinca received a statement from Flock Safety which said that contract cancellations were outnumbered by new county and municipal partnerships by 10 to 1, and that further improvements to its privacy standards were underway. Read full article HERE
|
If you would like to work with ORMA Members on
- Climate Change
- Housing Justice
- Medicare for All
- Communications/InformationTechnology
|
ORMA depends on your support to continue Bernie’s Political Revolution to create a society, a politics, and an economy that works for everyone, not just billionaires, corporations and the political elite.
If you value Organizing Notes and its twice a month distribution schedule, please make a donation to ensure its continued existence.
Invest in Change Now!
|
Please send requests for action items, articles or upcoming events
for the next Organizing Notes to
beccobrien.orma@gmail.com by Saturday, August 29th.
We’d love to have you send us your favorite pictures of Bernie here in MA!
|
Campaigns End, Movements Endure
|
|