Progressive Maryland

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Sept. 20 Town Hall to Take Back the Budget:
Rep. Edwards; Sens. Manno, Raskin; Experts
Silver Spring Civic Center, Ellsworth & Veterans Pl.

Speakers include (left to right): US Rep. Donna Edwards, MD State Senators Roger Manno and Jamie Raskin, Center for American Progress Senior Economist Heather Boushey, and Institute for Policy Studies Fellow Karen Dolan. Moderated by PM President Elbridge James (NAACP).

• CAP: President's Plan for Dealing with the Deficit Balanced, Most Americans Embrace
• CAP: Tax Fairness No Obstacle to Economic Growth
• AFL-CIO: Tell Congress: It's time to get moving on jobs
• Robert Reich: 2 Cheers, 1 Jeer for American Jobs Act
• CAF's Robt. Borosage:
  Jobs Action Now
• TruthDig: With $300 billion, unemployment could be zero
• Economics Policy Institute:
  Policies to create jobs, grow
  
• Video clip: Democracy Now
• John Nichols, NationOfChange: Now Obama Must Go Win It
• Inst. for Public Accuracy: Can Obama be FDR? or is he Hoover?
• Witness for Peace: More Jobs OR Free Trade?
• Take Back the American Dream Conference, DC Oct. 3-5

According to the AFL-CIO's brief history, the first Labor Day was in New York City in 1893 (see photo) and soon spread to other states as workers fought heroically for better conditions and wages at a time when they had little power.

American workers made great gains in the decades following: safer working conditions, higher pay and benefits; the eight-hour day, 40-hour week and weekend; abolition of child labor; and much more – gains benefiting all Americans that we've long taken for granted. But more and more these are being eroded... Read More or Donate Now!

• A brief history of Labor Day, videos, events and actions
• Bush Tax Cuts for Wealthy Resulted in Loss of a Million Jobs
• Transportation Infrastructure Bill Boosts Jobs and Planet
• COBRA Health Subsidy Expires: Fewer Americans Covered
• Corporate Elites Still Doing Job on Workers by Jim Hightower
• Labor Rights Week: Agreement on Immigrant Workers' Rights
• CEO Pay Exceeds Company Tax Bills by Chuck Collins, IPS
• Alliance for Retired Americans hold 70 actions in two dozen states

Find more actions, events and resources in the right column.

Urging President Obama to veto construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline are Maryland Senators Paul Pinsky (D-22) and Jamie Raskin (D-20) and Montgomery County Councilmember George Leventhal.  Below: PM staffmember Herb Ettel (center), Pinsky (at his left) and the Native Americans in front of them, were among 1,250 protesters arrested during two weeks of sit-ins at the White House. See Tarsandsaction.org

 

Marylanders for Marriage Equality Wins O'Malley Support

See video above, PM blog, clips: Wash. Post, Wash. Blade, AP, more
 

• Tell Sens. 'Sponsor Supreme Court ethics'
• Stop Offshoring US Jobs--un-free trade deals
• "CASA de Maryland, CARECEN, Familias Unidas, Presente, Progressive Maryland, and five other organizations... protested at the White House..." -Obama leaves Hispanic activists unsatisfied; Wash. Post July 26
• "Progressive Maryland will rally to remember 1 million deportees ..." -Wash. Times July 26
• Good Jobs Better Baltimore fights Constellation Energy-Exelon deal Hear/Read WYPR's Piece 6/29;Baltimore Sun story and Op-ed opposing the merger June 27

Raise Maryland Site, Online Petition Launched

Fight with us to raise Maryland's minimum wage of $7.25/hour, the lowest possible in the U.S., to a more livable $10/hour. Not only will Maryland's 300,000 minimum wage workers benefit, but everyone gains by putting more money into the hands of those who need it most and will pay it right back into the local economy, boosting spending and creating jobs over time. See 60 Md. Businesses say 'Raise Minimum Wage.'

• Please sign the RAISE MARYLAND petition now!
• Then please forward this to ten people you know
• Find more info, resources and actions at RaiseMaryland.org

"People need to realize these are kids they've probably known their entire lives ... these kids add to our community and to our schools. We should be expanding opportunities for everybody and not limiting opportunities for some." -Charly Carter, a working families advocate for Progressive Maryland; Lawsuit challenges ruling on immigrant tuition referendum; Frederick News Post; Also hear Carter on Fredericks News Radio.

Find a video and latest coverage of all our work by 20 mainstream media and major blogs at our "PM In the News" page.

Speakout to "End the Bush Tax Cuts"
PM organizers Scott Roberts (left) and Larry Stafford coordinated Maryland's event marking the Tenth Anniversary June 7 at the Social Security Administration office, Woodlawn -- one of 20 nationwide with PM's partner USAction. WYPR report; photos; read more.

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"Tax cuts for the rich have made us poorer: Republicans' insistence on maintaining Bush-era cuts makes deficit reduction impossible..."
Read Rion Dennis' op-ed in June 6 Baltimore Sun

"Rion Dennis, executive director of Progressive Maryland will face some tough tasks in the next few years trying to protect the working class from cuts in services. His group is one of the loudest voices trying to keep a liberal agenda on track..."
-Maryland Influencers; Campaigns & Elections May

Rion Dennis, executive director of Progressive Maryland, said the things the study [Flip It To Fix It] says Maryland is doing wrong have actually done very well for the people of the state. “You can list any number of things and say what freedom is, but here in Maryland we enjoy prosperity from all those rules and regulations that were put in place.”
-Study says Maryland one of “least free” states, but ranks well on taxes, spending; Md. Reporter and CityBizList June 8 (Also see Study: Rich Don't Flee States Raising Taxes)

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In 2-min. MoveOn Video, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich tells...

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• More new videos: "People of Walmart" will crack you up (6 min.);
  Global Day of Action on Military Spending (3 min.; demilitarize.org)
• Congress Risks US Credit, Medicare, Social Security, Future
• HCAN Groups, VT Lead Battle to Save Health Reform, Medicare
• Labor News, Actions and Resources
• PM's Analysis of the 2011 General Assembly
  
• Progressive Caucus Offers 'People's Budget'
• Supreme Court favors corporations over consumers
• On the way to a surplus, a $12 trillion U.S. detour
• GOP's debt-ceiling silliness; EJ Dionne, Wash. Post

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State office: 8720 Georgia Ave., Suite 500, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Baltimore office: 7 W. Mulberry St., 4th Fl., Baltimore, MD 21201