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Parental leave approved unanimously for City of Houston employees

Huge Policy Wins for Texas Workers This Year

2022 has been a big year for Texas workers. From guaranteeing paid family leave and raising minimum wages for public employees to setting construction standards and supporting workplace organizing, localities across Texas have taken important steps to advance pro-worker policies.

October Federal Advocacy Roundup

August has been a busy time for the federal government! The big news, of course, is the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which passed last week on August 16.

We’re hiring a Membership Organizer

The Membership Organizer will be responsible for organizing in non-staffed states, particularly in rural and small localities, supporting caucus formation and preemption programming, and co-leading the planning and execution of the LP annual National Convening.

The Network Download: Migrant crisis response, HB1 update and more | Oct 2022

Here’s a look at some of what’s happening across the Local Progress network.

LP Members Discuss Innovative Policy Making at Route Fifty Future Cities Summit

As part of this year’s Route Fifty Future Cities Summit, two Local Progress members participated in panel discussions exploring what the future of cities could look like with innovative, equitable policy making.

Workers’ Rights Local Government Round Up | Sept 2022

We have partnered with the Harvard Labor & Worklife Program to pilot this approximately monthly newsletter to share and celebrate innovative local workers’ rights policies that have been proposed and/or enacted across the country—and have included links to those policies where possible.

Lawsuit against anti-riot bill’s ‘defund the police’ provision advances

Five of the eight cities that filed complaints were OK’d to make their case. A Tallahassee circuit judge is letting a lawsuit against the “defund the police” provision in Florida’s anti-riot law move forward.
HB 1 posters with blurred viewer looking at them

Localities Stand up for Local Control as HB 1 is Challenged in Court

Today, over a year of organizing and community support comes to fruition, as the case will be heard by a court for the first time. The eight city plaintiffs are: Gainesville, Lake Worth Beach, Lauderhill, Miramar, North Miami, North Miami Beach, Tallahassee, and Wilton Manors.
HB 1 poster image: Our Cities, Our Rights

The Network Download: Abortion rights, worker protections, and more. | Sept 2022

Here’s a look at some of what’s happening across the Local Progress network this month.
Members of the LP Women's Caucus and Black Caucus at a reception.

The best moments from our national convening in Denver! #LP2022

More than 360 local elected officials, partners, and allies in community. Sharing, healing, and learning together. Pushing each other. Empowering one another. Here’s a recap of some of our most powerful and exciting moments together.
Map of Texas cities that have passed decrim resolutions.

As Trigger Law Goes into Effect, Five Texas Localities Have Moved to Prevent the Criminalization of Abortion

Five localities – Denton, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso County, and Dallas – have already passed decriminalization resolutions that ensure local resources will not be used to enforce the states’ trigger law.

August Federal Advocacy Roundup : The Inflation Reduction Act

August has been a busy time for the federal government! The big news, of course, is the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which passed last week on August 16.

Have a Media Inquiry?

Local Progress is a movement of local elected officials advancing a racial and economic justice agenda through all levels of local government. We are elected leaders who build power with underrepresented communities and fight to reshape what is possible in our localities all across the country. 

Want to get in touch with us for a story? Reach us at press@localprogress.org.

In The News

At Local Progress, we seek to make the aspirational pragmatic by showing how government can be a tool to create just and equitable outcomes and reshaping peoples’ understanding of governing from an institution to a collective responsibility. Here are some highlights of our media coverage:

A graphic shows a large magnet pulling away money from a human's pockets (Getty Images | Retrieved from Minnesota Reformer)

Rigged: Corporate behemoths are using junk fees and technology to keep prices high

Algorithmic price fixing has played a significant role in double-digit rent increases across the country. These inflated rents are exacerbated by consolidation in local housing markets that leads to both higher rates of eviction and higher profits for landlords.
An artist's rendering of the planned residential development at The Heights, a mixed-use development slated to bring 1,000 living wage jobs,1,000 affordable housing units, and strong environmental benefits to Saint Paul's East Side. (Image by LHB Corp)

Minnesota’s New Green Bank Is Powering a Net-Zero, Mixed-Use Development With Affordable Housing

St. Paul is tapping Inflation Reduction Act funds and the state’s new green bank to turn an abandoned golf course into a large-scale mixed-use development. Plus, it all runs on geothermal energy.
A construction worker carrying a large piece of wood in the hot sun with their face and body mostly covered up. (Photo courtesy Ivette Carolina Agudelo-Lopez + Yerba Buena Engineering & Construction, Inc)

Cities Want To Give Worker’s Heat Breaks. States Are Stopping Them.

As the climate heats up, LP's LiJia Gong makes the case that abusive state preemption is prohibiting localities addressing climate change.
Small child receiving medical care reaching out from a bed (Photo by Dzulhaidy Abdul Rahim / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

I’m the Mayor of St. Paul. Here’s How Our City Is Erasing $100 Million in Medical Debt.

More and more local governments are using federal funds to relieve residents’ medical debt. Mayor of Saint Paul Melvin Carter explains why it's a simple, straightforward way to meet our communities’ needs.

press Releases

After Grants Pass: organizing to house all our neighbors

In response to the Supreme Court's cruel decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, we will continue to organize for housing for all.

Local Progress Condemns Cruel Supreme Court Decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson

In response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, Local Progress put out the following statement.

180+ State and Local Elected Officials Urge Congress to Reject the EATS Act

LP and the State Innovation Exchange (SiX) released letters calling on Congress to protect local and state governments ability to create policy that is responsive to the issues their own communities face in the agricultural industry. 

Local Leaders Denounce Senate Deal That Would Gut Asylum

In response to the Senate’s proposed border deal that would gut asylum in exchange for foreign military spending, Local Progress released this statement.

📬 LP Network Download | Traffic safety, ceasefire, history in Minnesota, & more! | January 2024

Here’s a look at some of what’s happening across the Local Progress network this month.