Our state is in a special place, last year we made major gains in local government across the state. But, given the bills coming out of the North Carolina General Assembly right now, it is truly evident that we are stronger together.
This year is a gift and provides an opportunity for power building that we’ve never seen before. As we continue to build our North Carolina Chapter this year, our priorities are continuing to recruit progressive local elected officials across the state, continue to meet the needs of our residents in affordable housing, and organize collective action against harmful state preemptions.
We are back in session! Join us March 7th at 5:30pm EST for a virtual Legislative Briefing. We will gather partners and members to discuss key bills in the North Carolina General Assembly and organize for collective action.
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The North Carolina General Assembly began the 2023-2024 Long Session Wednesday, January 11th and the final deadline to file bills is April 25th. We are already witnessing several destructive bills to democracy pass the chambers of origin and must begin to organize our chapter accordingly with partners to protect our residents.
We believe thriving communities are built on the investment of marginalized, black, immigrant, LGBT+, disabled, and working class people. When we focus our efforts in investment we lift the entire community and enhance its wellbeing. The state of North Carolina has been the subject of abusive preemption for over a decade and we intend to change that by collaboratively passing local ordinances, organizing pressure on the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA), and proactively strategizing against the legislature to achieve our goals. We aim to invest in our communities by defending local democracy.
If you’d like to be added to the table and receive our notices for meetings and legislative resources please sign up here.
Our next networking event will be Friday, April 28th at 7:30pm in Charlotte, NC. We will send those registered to the location in the coming weeks. We’d love to connect in person with you and meet new members!
The NC American Rescue Plan (ARP) Cohort is a group of LPNC members that share best practices amongst the state network and receive reporting assistance from Local Progress staff. We are still accepting members interested in joining our ARP Cohort in partnership with the NC Budget and Tax Center, the NC Black Alliance and Stacey Abram’s Southern Economic Advancement Project (SEAP).
Local Progress organizes caucuses for members to do work together within shared identities. Caucuses are a safe space for community building, organizing, and collective healing.Â
We currently have two formalized caucuses: the Black Caucus and the Women’s Caucus
Caucuses meet regularly to set a shared agenda, organize community spaces and activities, and identify specific needs to support elected officials in their governing and leadership positions.
If you are interested in building a new caucus, please fill out our form here.
Last month, the Biden administration took a step that could potentially bolster the enforcement of labor standards in industries with undocumented workers who are often reluctant to raise their voices or organize against labor law violations for fear of retaliation based on immigration status. The announcement “comes after years of organizing by immigrant workers demanding protections when they seek to improve their workplaces, form unions, combat wage theft, defend civil rights, challenge harassment, and report unsafe working conditions.”
DHS released new instructions regarding how migrant workers can claim protection from deportation or other immigration enforcement if they are involved in labor disputes. Undocumented workers can now request immigration enforcement relief – known as deferred action– if they have been victims or are participating in an investigation involving violations of labor law. To streamline the process, DHS is creating a “single intake point for deferred action requests” handled by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), not US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Notably, the deferred action requests cannot be singlehandedly completed by the worker or their immigration lawyers; they will require a statement of interest from a federal, state, or local labor agency. This development underscores the importance of creating well-resourced local labor agencies to ensure migrant workers can avail their rights.
đź“ť RELEVANT RESOURCE: National Immigration Law Center: New DHS Guidance on Prosecutorial Discretion for Labor Disputes
The National Immigration Law Center (NILC) has released a FAQ with extensive guidance on how local authorities can best approach this development to support migrant workers. Please circulate, especially to any labor authorities, and do not hesitate to contact Senior Labor and Employment Policy Attorney Jessie Hahn at NILC for more information.
Shawn is the newly elected Mayor Pro Tem in East Spencer, NC. He is serving his first term in office after organizing to get several other progressive candidates elected to office.
 Rush is the treasurer of Great Women and Men United Inc., an outreach organizer for Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, and a volunteer at Rowan Meals on Wheels and Rowan Helping Ministries. As an entrepreneur he teaches at the East Rowan High School Design Lab youth entrepreneur program and serves as a board member with the Tiara N. Allison Scholarship Foundation in Statesville. In addition to the work he currently does in the community, Rush also serves as the Assistant Superintendent of Christian education at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Granite Quarry.
Share our network with your colleagues, we are excited to recruit new members across every region of the state! Recruitment Link
We also have letter templates for partners here! Be sure to make a copy of the document before you edit.
