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  • Abortion & Reproductive Rights, Economic Justice, Federal Response and Advocacy, Immigrant Justice

Federal Advocacy Roundup | September 2023

The September 2023 Local Progress Federal Advocacy Roundup breaks down recent Biden administration decisions around TPS and Medicare as well as the upcoming impacts of Supreme Court decisions on student loan debt and abortion.
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  • Public Safety

Local Electeds Praise Portland Street Response As National Model, Urge Continued Investment

Local elected officials representing nearly a dozen localities across the country have joined the chorus of Portlanders calling for renewed support for the Portland Street Response program.
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LPNY State Download 🍂 | Organizing committee meeting, housing, immigration work & more! | September 2023

This edition of the Local Progress New York newsletter covers our recent NY Organizing Committee meeting, the fight for immigrant justice in NY state, and movement on housing justice in Kingston!
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Members of the North Carolina Public Service Workers Union rally.
  • Economic Justice

Workers in the South Aren’t Letting Anti-Labor Laws Stop Them From Organizing

From a recent work action in Durham, North Carolina to union drives at REI and at academic institutions, workers are taking important steps to organize the South.
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A delivery worker rides his bicycle along a path on the West Side Highway in New York City.
  • Economic Justice

States and cities eye stronger protections for gig economy workers

In the past five years, lawmakers in at least 10 jurisdictions — including cities such as Chicago and Seattle — have proposed new protections for ride-share drivers and food delivery workers. LP's LiJia Gong weighs in on the importance of local gig economy legislation.
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Two people wearing hats who look like farmers shaking hands in a field as the sun sets behind them.
  • Economic Justice

Here’s What Rural Leaders Say Their Communities Need

The 2023 Rural Policy Action Report finds that rural Americans need policies that invest in rural communities, help small farmers compete with big agri-businesses, and hold corporations accountable.
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The Best Moments from our National Convening in St. Louis! #LP2023

This was our largest and most exciting national convening to date – with more than 44 different strategy meetings, workshops, and site visits, covering everything from workers’ rights and rent stabilization to reproductive justice, federal implementation, and navigating the challenges and opportunities in elected office.
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Megan Green, president of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, is sworn into office during her inauguration ceremony in the rotunda at St. Louis City Hall on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. Photo by David Carson
  • Home Rule

St. Louis board president to announce bills challenging state laws

St. Louis Aldermanic President Megan Green is expected to announce eight new bills on Saturday aimed at fighting back against abusive state preemption and advancing local democracy.
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  • Economic Justice

📬 The Network Download | Labor Day edition | September 2023

Check out the work our network is doing to advance workers' rights!
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Republican Gov. Greg Abbott speaks Texas State Capitol in Austin on May 18, 2020.
  • Home Rule

‘A Huge Win’: Texas Judge Finds Law Limiting Local Rule Is Unconstitutional

"When local policymaking is stifled, community voices are silenced," said Local Progress Texas, Texas AFL-CIO, Workers Defense Project, the ACLU of Texas, and Every Texan.
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Henry Gomez uses a blower to dry his clothes after working with a crew to remove a tree during a heatwave in Houston, Texas, on 24 August. Photograph: Adrees Latif/Reuters
  • Home Rule

Texas judge blocks bill that would allow state to override local water breaks rules

Local Progress Texas, Every Texan, Texas AFL-CIO, ACLU Texas, and Workers Defense Project explain what this win means.
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Members of the Fe Y Justice Worker Center hold signs to protest House Bill 2127, dubbed the "Death Star bill," during a press conference at Houston’s City Hall on July 14. Credit: Douglas Sweet Jr. for The Texas Tribune
  • Home Rule

Judge blocks new Texas law that would erode cities’ power to enact local rules

The Death Star Law was scheduled to go into effect on Friday. Today, a Travis County judge declared it unconstitutional. Local Progress Texas members and partners weigh in.
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Have a Media Inquiry?

Local Progress is a movement of local elected officials advancing a racial and economic justice agenda through all levels of local government. We are elected leaders who build power with underrepresented communities and fight to reshape what is possible in our localities all across the country. 

Want to get in touch with us for a story? Reach us at press@localprogress.org.

In The News

At Local Progress, we seek to make the aspirational pragmatic by showing how government can be a tool to create just and equitable outcomes and reshaping peoples’ understanding of governing from an institution to a collective responsibility. Here are some highlights of our media coverage:

Image of brownstonehomes. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
  • Housing

Cities lead bans on algorithmic rent hikes as states lag behind

Minneapolis on Thursday has become the fourth U.S. city to ban algorithmic rental price-fixing software, joining San Francisco, Philadelphia and Berkeley, California, in a growing wave of legislation aimed to protect renters from rental price-gouging.
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Portland City Council member Angelita Morillo is championing a local ban on the use of algorithms to set rents, following a U.S. Justice Department antitrust lawsuit.Beth Nakamura
  • Housing

Portland City Council weighs ban on using algorithms to set rents

Portland, Oregon could soon be the next city to ban rental price fixing!
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East Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, DC, against blue sky and clouds. Photo: Tada Images via Shutterstock
  • Immigrant Justice

Hundreds of State Officials Oppose Anti-Sanctuary City Act

Nearly 400 state and local electeds nationwide sent a letter to Congress today urging them to vote NO on HR 32 – a dangerous bill that would strip our communities of essential funding simply for undertaking reasonable policies that make all of us safer.
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Photograph of the San Fransisco skyline. Photograph Source: Raydann
  • Housing

Social Housing Emerging in Cities Needs Local Govt Support

Local Progress founding board chair Nick Licata makes the case for local governments to support social housing.
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press Releases

A large group standing around while one person speaks at a podium.
  • Housing

Road To Good Cause Campaign Scores 11 Victories Across Upstate New York

The coordinated campaign of local officials expand critical renter protections to thousands of tenants, setting their sights on Rochester next.
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  • Economic Justice

NEW REPORT: How Local Government Can Stand Up for Workers When States Try to Stand in Their Way

This new report for Labor Day 2024 highlights ways local elected officials can advance workers rights even when facing both hostile state preemption and federal labor law preemption.
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  • Public Safety

How Localities Use Community Responder Programs to Keep People Safe

This new video from Local Progress and Local Progress Impact Lab focuses on three specific localities: Durham, Oakland, and Albuquerque to explain what community responder programs are, how they work, and why hundreds of localities are starting to adopt them.
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  • Housing

After Grants Pass: organizing to house all our neighbors

In response to the Supreme Court's cruel decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, we will continue to organize for housing for all.
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  • Housing

Local Progress Condemns Cruel Supreme Court Decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson

In response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, Local Progress put out the following statement.
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