Partners: TakeAction Minnesota, Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition, environmental, labor, education, community and civil rights groups
In 2005, community leaders who were committed to social, racial, and economic justice recognized they could not make the sort of change Minnesota needed without building a powerful statewide movement. TakeAction Minnesota was born. Since then, it has become an organizing powerhouse of 27 institutional and 14,000 individual members. As a grassroots community mobilizing group, TakeAction seeks to break down barriers and create leadership that can move the economy forward, increase access to health care and reform the criminal justice system. It is active in both electoral and legislative efforts. Doug Williams, an IUE-CWA staff representative, was a founding board member. IUE-CWA Local 1140 and other CWA Locals participate regularly in coalition activities, and more than 500 CWAers are TakeAction Minnesota members.
During the 2012 election, the CWA-TakeAction partnership grew even stronger. A meeting of 400 activists talked through the barriers to democracy and set a plan to fight back against three harmful state ballot measures. Activists won on all three fronts: First, they helped Minnesota become the first state to vote down a voter ID referendum, dealing a crushing blow to the voter suppression tactic. Second, a “right-to-work” amendment never made it onto the November ballot. Third, voters rejected a Constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
Recently, hundreds of labor, fair trade, environmental and community activists united to march through downtown Minneapolis to protest the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a massive trade deal that could jeopardize American jobs, wages, consumer safety, health care and environmental standards.
Minnesota State Council President Mona Meyer said that the coalition efforts with TakeAction are bolstered by a shared value of protecting what matters most: Families. Sharing ideas and coordinating resources with TakeAction allows both member education and strong political advocacy to grow.