Organizing for A Working Family Agenda

What is the Working Family Agenda? The Working Family Agenda is a coalition of progressive organizations, a state legislative agenda and a grassroots organizing strategy. The legislative agenda is a collection of bills, chosen for each legislative session, that address the question: "What does a working family need to make it economically in Massachusetts?" Agendas have or will included bills for: Jobs and Job Training, Child Care, Health Care, Education, Fair Taxes, an Adequate Safety Net and Affordable Housing. As legislation, the Working Family Agenda is designed to focus attention on the real needs of working and low income families, but be pragmatic enough that real gains can be made in this legislative session.

The grassroots organizing component consists of a strategy, gradually being implemented around the state, to build a constituency for progressive politics and progressive candidates by focusing on grassroots economic issues-and talking face to face with the people to whom these issues really count: the working and low income women and men of Massachusetts!

Who supports the Working Family Agenda? The Working Family Agenda coalition is a loose one - any organization that endorses at least one of the Agenda's bills, and doesn't repudiate any of them, is welcome to come to coalition meetings and participate in planning. Organizations that have participated in the Working Family Agenda campaigns include statewide activist organizations such as United for a Fair Economy, ACORN, Neighbor to Neighbor, Tax Equity Alliance of Massachusetts, the American Friends Service Committee, Democratic Socialists of America, the Family Economic Initiative, Mass. Human Services Coalition and Families United for Child Care, locally based groups such as Lynn Voter Action and the Coalition Against Poverty, and labor-based organizations such as the Mass. AFL-CIO, the Worcester Central Labor Council, the North Shore Labor Council, the Mass. Teachers Association, Mass. Senior Action Council, and Mass. Jobs with Justice. Legislative support for the campaign includes State Reps. Jim Marzilli, Ellen Story, Jay Kaufman and Pat Jehlen. More than 30 legislators have cosponsored at least one of Working Family Agenda bill.

Need more information? For more information on the Working Family Agenda, or to get involved in the campaign, contact:

Harris Gruman, Neighbor to Neighbor (617) 723-6866
David Knuttunen, Democratic Socialists of America (617) 558-5853
Representative Jim Marzilli (617) 722-2460