Our Revolution Massachusetts

March 2018
ORMA Newsletter

Inside This Issue

  • ORMA Invited to Washington D.C. FUNDRAISER
  • Raise up Mass Coalition
  • March For Our Lives
  • Gubernatorial Forum Dates
  • ORMA on the “Horse Race” podcast

Meet Abida Adnan

Meet Abida Adnan, newly elected co-chair of the Coordinating Committee of the Representative Council. You can read her interview here!

Council News

The date and location for our first General Assembly will be Sunday, May 6th in the Greater Worcester area. More details as they become available.

ORMA Invited to Washington

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee (BoldProgressives.org) and Our Revolution are hosting a four day National Candidate Training from Thursday, April 12th to Sunday, April 15th in Washington D.C.

We’re excited to announce twenty local progressives will represent Our Revolution Massachusetts (ORMA) and join 500 other participants from around the country for this cutting-edge training and networking opportunity.

While the training is free, the cost of transportation and housing is approximately $500/person. With your help, all our representatives will be able to attend this in-depth training. Please consider a generous contribution to our fundraising effort (read about the training program).

UPDATE on Raise Up Mass Coalition

Our Revolution partnered with the Raise Up campaign last fall and with your help collected the number of signatures needed for the $15 Minimum Wage and Paid Family Leave legislative campaigns. However, if the legislature does not act in May and vote into law the two initiatives, an additional 15,000 NEW signatures are required to get them on the ballot. With only a few minutes of your time, you can help see these two initiatives are passed into law.  

How you can help

  • In-Person Phone Bank Sign Up: Coordinate /co-host an in-person phone bank to make calls with other organizations and activists, please sign up!
  • Work from home! Use the new HubDialer Log In: The campaign has created a new HubDialer login to help track progress. Full instructions can be found on the login page.
  • Raise Up Postcards: “Dear Legislator” postcards are available for pick up at SEIU State Council, 145 Tremont St. or contact info@raiseupma.org for an office near you.
On February 26, 2018, tens of thousands of workers across the country joined together #WeRise for the good, union jobs our communities need. When We Rise We Win. See this video for highlights of the February 26th actions.

Safe Patient Limits Campaign
ORMA was the first organization to endorse this ballot campaign. What can ORMA members do at this point in the campaign? Sign the online petition on the website & follow the campaign on Social Media.

Reform the DNC
How you can help. The Unity Reform Committee submitted recommendations that you can help support by writing a letter to the Democratic party.   See sample letter and contact information here.  You may also want to reach out to your local town or city committee and ask for their support in passing a resolution in support of the recommendations. ORMA affiliate, Franklin County Continuing the Political Revolution, sent a letter in support of the report and it was signed by 8 town committees in Franklin County! Please contact Solomon Steen for more information:  415-818-3565 sols@gwmail.gwu.edu

March For Our Lives
Thousands of students across the Commonwealth joined the national walkout on March 14th in honor of the one month anniversary when seventeen people were killed in the Florida school shooting.  In the wake of endless school shootings, students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida have called for a nationwide day of action to protest the unending gun violence in our schools and in society.

Our Revolution Massachusetts (ORMA) fully supports and endorses the #MarchForOurLives (MFOL) initiative. Read the ORMA press release. Affiliates from across the Commonwealth on March 24th will participate and we hope you can join us.

PHENOM (Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts) is the fiscal sponsor of MFOL: Boston and funds are being raised to offset the cost of the event. Please support them by donating.

More than 60,000 people are expected to attend MFOLB and marshalls, medics, and legal observers are needed. Please volunteer to help keep marchers safe.

Join ORMA affiliates from east to west on March 24th. Let us know if your affiliate is participating and the location is not listed below by contacting newsletter@ourrevolutionma.com.

Resources and Transportation: MFOL Boston (website and Facebook page), Plymouth, MFOL Worcester, MFOL Greenfield, MFOL Springfield (where Senator Elizabeth Warren will be the keynote speaker), Pittsfield, MFOL Pioneer Valley Western Mass (OR UMASS Amherst is providing transportation to this march from campus). Buses to Boston from New Bedford, Fall River, and Brockton will run and include lunch. Send inquiries to:  uncaffeine@zoho.com

Candidate News

A central mission of Our Revolution Massachusetts is to empower and elect progressive leaders that will revitalize our democracy and reclaim it for working people.

Gubernatorial Forums

If you haven’t yet attended a forum, there are three upcoming opportunities to meet and hear from  Bob Massie, Jay Gonzalez and Setti Warren, the Democratic candidates for Massachusetts Governor.

  • Sunday, March 25th 4:00pm-6:15pm, Berkshire County Candidates Forum, American Legion 41 Wendell Avenue, Pittsfield, MA. Hosted by the Berkshire Democratic Brigades and the Berkshire Central Labor Council, this event is free but donations are encouraged to support Democratic candidates in the Berkshires.
  • Wednesday, March 28th 7:00pm-9:00pm, Democratic city and town committees Forum, Northampton High School 380 Elm Street Northampton, MA Co-sponsored by the Democratic city and town committees of Amherst, Easthampton, Holyoke, Northampton, South Hadley, and Southampton. Questions for the candidates will be from a panel of several local non-profit organizations. Questions may be submitted in advance. Send an email to: easilver123@gmail.com
  • Saturday, April 7th, 2018 at 9am – 2pm, Carpenters’ Training Center, 13 Holman Rd, Millbury, MA 01527: The Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts (PDM) are hosting this event with questions from PDM members and a straw poll of candidate preference. RSVP here.

 Governor’s Council Candidate

ORMA member from Our Revolution Greater Worcester, Paul DePalo is running for Governor’s Council in the 7th district. You can support Paul or volunteer for his campaign by visiting his website or see his upcoming campaign events on his Facebook page.

Massachusetts Democratic State Convention

REMINDER! The add-on delegate deadline is TOMORROW, FRIDAY, MARCH 23rd. Do you know anyone who falls into one of the four categories? Ask them to apply as an add-on delegate. If you’ve been elected as a delegate to the Massachusetts Democratic State Convention in June, let us know by completing this ORMA Delegate Form. We have responses from just under 200 members and we suspect there may be more!

Affiliates

Interested in joining Our Revolution Massachusetts? Find a group near you on the Affiliate page located on our website!

OR Medford and OR Somerville Collaborate on Campaign to Get Better PILOT Deal from Tufts

Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) are voluntary payments made to local governments from a nonprofit organization exempt from real estate taxes. PILOT agreements can be in-kind, special programs or cash. OR Medford and OR Somerville are launching a campaign to increase PILOT funds and services from Tufts. See the detailed flyer and join the discussion:
        Saturday March 24th 9:00 am -12:00 pm
        West Somerville Neighborhood School
        177 Powder House Blvd, Somerville, MA 02144

ORMA Community Engagement
To all members and the ORMA Community, we need your participation and engagement to help drive the direction of ORMA. Are you ready to become more involved? Let us know how! Our Revolution Massachusetts (ORMA) Committees – Members Interest Form

Are you creative and have time to share your talent once per month? The newsletter is looking for a graphic artist to develop the graphics used in the newsletter. Please send us an email:  newsletter@ourrevolutionma.com

ORMA Communications News
Welcome to Anosha Siripala who will assume the Communications role of ORMA Calendar Scheduler for both the public and internal calendars. A very BIG thank you to Alicia Fleming who maintained the ORMA calendar over the last several months and congratulations to Alicia on her new role as organizer for Western Mass Jobs with Justice.

Do you have an event to add to the ORMA calendar?  If it’s an event that’s open to the public, you can submit it using the form on this page. If it’s an internal event like a committee or caucus meeting, please use this request form. You can access the internal calendar through the ORMA intranet site or Slack #Calendar. Questions for Anosha? Send an email to calendar@ourrevolutionma.com

Our Revolution featured on a podcast episode of the Horse Race!

Nichole Mossalam, co-chair of the Our Revolution Massachusetts Coordinating Committee was a guest Thursday, March 22nd  on the “The Horse Race”; a podcast hosted by Politico reporter Lauren Dezenski and Steve Koczela of MassINC Polling Group. In the interview, Nichole reviews Our Revolution Massachusetts History, the future of our organization and the 2018 elections. Listen to the podcast here. 

Women’s History Month Events
In honor of Women’s History Month, Our Revolution held a special member call this week on intersectional feminism, gender, and gender politics. See this document for a shared understanding of the language.Also, there are many events around MA in honor of Women’s History Month. Below are a few that caught our eye, as well as a resource link to find more events:

We Want to Hear From You!