Citizen Action of Wisconsin

06/13/2026

Citizen Action of Wisconsin supports Hands Off Ohio.

From Hands Off Ohio:

“On June 11th, federal agents raided the offices of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OOC) and the homes of staff connected to their work.

The FBI raids on their offices and staff are a deliberate attack to intimidate us and keep us from voting — and to keep our votes from counting, in order to control the outcomes of our elections.

We've seen this playbook before: when self-serving politicians like Donald Trump, Jon Husted, Frank LaRose, and Vivek Ramaswamy are losing, they lie and lash out.

When voters reject them,they go after the organizations that make voting accessible.

But in Ohio, voters choose our leaders. Politicians do not get to choose which voters count.

We stand with every Ohioan working to protect the freedom to vote, because our future depends on the decisions we make together.

We’re saying to the ruling regime: Keep your hands off Ohio. Keep your hands off our vote.”

Federal agents raided offices connected to the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, a leading Ohio voting rights organization. Learn what happened, why it matters, and how you can stand up for democracy and the freedom to vote.

06/12/2026

"The federal government has issued new rules for Medicaid work requirements that have healthcare advocates expressing concern about Wisconsinites losing access to coverage....

Healthcare advocates worry this change could leave chronically ill people without coverage.

'They have a cancer diagnosis and they're working, right. They're getting chemo, they're working, everything is fine. But then things get worse, the chemo gets harder, they are unable to work. All of a sudden now they lose their coverage,' said Kristie Tweed, Health Care Action Coordinator for Citizen Action of Wisconsin.

States have six months to implement the new guidelines. The tight timeline has raised concerns about potential gaps in coverage for eligible Medicaid recipients.

'It's costly and almost impossible for states to implement in six months, which means people are just going to get kicked out,' said Tweed."
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Join our healthcare organizing, contact, [email protected]

LA CROSSE (WKBT) -- The federal government has issued new rules for Medicaid work requirements that have healthcare advocates expressing concern about Wisconsinites losing access to coverage.

06/12/2026

"Menomonie Resident Blaine Halverson. organized with Great Lakes Neighbors United and Grassroots Organizing Western Wisconsin (GROWW) to host "Uniting West Wisconsin: A Regional Response to Data Centers.

It will be at High Country in the Eau Claire Event District with a focus on empowerment and unity.

'What you're dealing with is what I would call a vertical playing field where you have the big tech companies and their teams of attorneys and the investor owned utilities, federal and state government all bearing down on these small communities,' Halverson said. 'We're neighbors and we help each other and if we want to work together to build those protections to give ourselves that leverage then that's the approach we're trying to take.'"

To help with the message, Wisconsin comedian Charlie Berens will be a featured speaker.

"We had a very rude introduction to this industry in Wisconsin," Berens explained.

https://www.wqow.com/news/chippewa-valley/western-wisconsin-to-come-together-for-data-center-awareness-event-with-charlie-berens/article_9399d027-6031-47bc-8332-674111365df9.html
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Despite widespread public outrage, the Legislature has passed nothing this year to protect our communities against the data center invasion they created.

Sign and send a message to your state legislators urging them to support legislation:

(1) Calling for a Data Center Pause &
(2) Capping Utility Rates at 2% of Income

https://tinyurl.com/PauseDataCentersWI

Data centers have been a controversial topic across the Badger State. Currently there are 12 proposed data centers in Wisconsin. This weekend a local group is raising awareness instead of

06/12/2026

Union Yes!

"Hundreds of nurses at SSM Health’s St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison voted to unionize Thursday, forcing their employer to bargain with them over issues including pay equity and staffing levels.

The SEIU's Wisconsin chapter, which will represent the nurses, said the vote was the largest private sector union election in 26 years.

With 89% of the election participants — more than 500 nurses — voting in favor, the union is certified and the hospital is legally required to negotiate a contract."

Nurses at SSM Health’s St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison won an election to certify their union Thursday.

06/11/2026

Following the Tick Report, Robert updates us on Trump’s pattern in Iran of threatening escalation and then pulling back.

Wisconsin unveiled its new procedures for dealing with BadgerCare work requirements in the Big Ugly Bill. But the Trump/Kennedy HHS’s last minute changes to the final rule makes it much worse than the language of the bill, risking coverage for people with serious conditions such as life threatening cancer. With health care at risk for hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites, including people too frail to work, is Wisconsin prepared? We revisit the last minute budget gimmick engineered by the big hospital lobby, Evers, and Vos but disallowed by the Trump Regime.

Listen now >> https://soundcloud.com/citizen-action-of-wi/bg744

We dive into a new Brookings Report finding 45.5% of U.S. households did not earn enough to make ends meet. The report concludes that moving the needle on affordability requires action on both sides of the equation: lowering costs of living and dramatically increasing household incomes. We preview 4 newly scheduled $20 Wage Town Halls in Fond du Lac, Madison, and two in the Milwaukee area

We close with an in-depth interview with Bryan Rogers, the environmental justice director at Milwaukee’s Walnut Way. Bryan, who is a regular podcast listener, tells us more about Walnut Way and discusses why they are co-hosting a governor candidate forum on Saturday, June 27th, 10am at North Division High School. Bryan explains why their members are so deeply involved in fighting climate change and higher utility costs that fall disproportionately on predominantly Black neighborhoods in Milwaukee.

Listen to the show >> https://soundcloud.com/citizen-action-of-wi/bg744

06/11/2026

Governor candidates on housing.

The Democratic and Republican candidates to succeed Gov. Tony Evers share how they’d build more houses, help homebuyers, protect renters and change zoning.

06/11/2026

Attend a $20 Minimum Wage Town Hall.

FOND DU LAC: Monday, June 22 at 6pm - Fond du Lac Labor Temple, 50 E Bank Street.

MADISON : Thursday, July 2 at 6pm - Madison Labor Temple, 1621 S Park Street.

MILWAUKEE : Monday, July 13 at 6pm - Turner Hall, 1040 N. Vel R. Phillips, Milwaukee.

ST. FRANCIS: Thursday, September 10 at 6pm - La Finca Coffeehouse, 3558 E. Sivyer Ave, St. Francis.

More Town Hall dates to be announced soon.

06/11/2026

"Some of the biggest recipients of health insurance industry cash in Congress are party leaders, who control the voting calendar. They can bottle up reforms, even when they have majority support, for years. “When they enter leadership they get a huge rise in donations,” report co-author Rachel Madley said, citing House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who received just two PAC contributions from the industry prior to winning his leadership election in 2023, and $150,000 in PAC money since then. The same dynamic is apparent for the new House Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY; $88,000 from industry PACs) and Katherine Clark (D-MA; over $100,000).

These leaders have been able to hold off reforms of such impediments to treatment as prior authorization, which has been used excessively in Medicare Advantage and other insurance policies to block access to care. Currently, a prior authorization reform bill, the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act, has a supermajority of co-sponsors in both chambers, yet cannot get a vote.

The report tracks a spike in spending on state politics, particularly in states that haven’t expanded Medicaid, including Texas, Wisconsin, and Florida."

The industry is hugely lucrative, with endless sums of cash to influence lawmakers. A new report tracks 25 years of health insurance industry donations.

06/11/2026

If you live in the Milwaukee area, join our partner WISDOM Wisconsin for a governor candidate forum, Monday, June 22nd, 6pm.

⏰ 5:00–6:00 PM – Social Hour
⏰ 6:00–8:00 PM – Forum

📍Waukesha County Technical College, Building S, 800 Main Street Pewaukee

RSVP >> https://wisdomwisconsin.org/forum

Watch Citizen Action's governor candidate forum from April >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rtFDNEB5_Y

06/11/2026

"Yes. Federal legislation known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” included an estimated $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid spending over the next decade.

Passed in 2025, the bill included tax cuts and increased spending on immigration enforcement and the military, offset by nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, according to the Congressional Budget Office."

Federal legislation known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” included an estimated $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid spending over the next decade.