Actions speak louder than words.
This weekend we watched in horror as white supremacists marched in Charlottesville, Virginia, waving nazi symbols, chanting hateful nazi slogans, and committing violent acts of terrorism. Their hatred and their violence should be condemned, and has no place in our country. But those words aren’t enough.
(more…)
Local and national organizations released the Iowa LGBTQ Media Guide today, to provide accurate information and encourage appropriate representation of the LGBTQ community in the media. One Iowa, Progress Iowa, and Interfaith Alliance of Iowa jointly released the guide, which can be viewed by clicking here.
(more…)
President Trump cancelled his visit to Cedar Rapids after his “strenuous” trip abroad. Such stamina and fitness, right?
(He actually rode a golf cart while other world leaders walked the 700 yards for a group photo.)
Congressman David Young is holding a series of ‘office hour’ events over the next few days. Will you be there to ask him questions and hold him accountable?
Congressman Young has voted with President Trump 100% of the time, according to an analysis by FiveThirtyEight (click here for the list of votes). Iowans expect their Member of Congress to stand up for them, not just act as a rubber stamp for the President’s agenda.
(more…)
As Governor Terry Branstad officially begins the process of becoming the next U.S. Ambassador to China today with a hearing in the Senate, it’s important to remember the disaster he is leaving behind in Iowa. From a budget left in shambles to underfunded schools and dirty drinking water, he and Lt. Gov. Reynolds have done their best to lift up corporate interests and attack working families.
(more…)
Iowans have been speaking out, attending forums, town halls, and the capitol in record numbers this year. The legislative session has ended, but the fight to return Iowa to its progressive roots is just beginning. Bookmark this page > below are seven ways to stay involved for the remainder of 2017, and we will make updates as often as possible. If you have a tip for what should be included, click here to email us. Thank you!
(more…)
The figures on equal pay are daunting. Women make just 80 cents for every dollar a man makes, according to data released by the United States Census Bureau. African American and Hispanic women are even further behind, making just 63 and 54 cents, respectively. And unfortunately, Iowa lags behind even those disappointing numbers. Women in our state make less than 77 cents on the dollar for what a man earns. Women and our families are being shortchanged thousands of dollars a year and hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of a lifetime.
(more…)
Speaker of the Iowa House Linda Upmeyer attended a legislative forum last week in Clear Lake, and answered a constituent’s question about who was involved with creating the legislation that stripped away collective bargaining rights earlier this legislative session. Upmeyer specifically referenced that AFSCME Council 61 had a seat at the table.
(more…)
Extreme 16 Bracket by ProgressIowa on Scribd
As a result of an open records request, Progress Iowa has learned that the Office of Governor Branstad and Lt. Governor Reynolds kept no record of any invitation for the signing of HF291, the legislation that stripped away collective bargaining rights for more than 180,000 public employees in Iowa. A lobbyist for Americans for Prosperity Iowa (AFP), an organization funded by the Koch brothers, attended the signing despite there being no record of any invitation sent to anyone by the Branstad/Reynolds administration.
(more…)
Progress Iowa today called on Representative Rob Taylor to recuse himself from any involvement in the ongoing complaint against the state director of Americans for Prosperity Iowa (AFP). The formal complaint against AFP was filed several weeks ago by the Iowa Federation of Labor, alleging that their state director failed to properly to register as a lobbyist until over a month into the legislative session. The AFP state director was very clearly lobbying legislators on behalf of the Koch Brothers-funded AFP, most notably on the collective bargaining bill, even attending the closed-door bill signing and posing for a photo with Governor Terry Branstad.
(more…)