Standing together on ONE DAY, with ONE MESSAGE, as ONE WILPF

By Marybeth Gardam
Women, Money, & Democracy Committee

February 2022

Twenty-one Branches and sixteen members of WILPF US voted in support of two different Solidarity Actions to take together in 2022. The votes were collected through a google ballot form attached to an eAlert that went out to all members and over the branches listserv.

There were originally three Solidarity Actions proposed, based on the support generated during the November and December ONE WILPF Zoom Calls (which occur the second Thursday of every month) at 7 p.m. eastern. But the third option received much less support, so was jettisoned, though branches and members are encouraged to pursue it on their own.

First choice: Twelve branches and seven individuals chose VOTING RIGHTS actions as their first choice. The decision was to advocate for voting rights legislation and against voter suppression laws in early 2022, then plan WILPF-branded Get Out The Vote efforts for the Fall of 2022. A working group to plan the action(s) will begin meeting on Monday, January 24, and roll out plans in the next several weeks.  

The twelve branches included: Fresno CA, Pittsburgh PA, Peninsula/Palo Alto CA, Triangle NC, East Bay CA, Cape Cod MA, Des Moines IA, Monterey CA, Tucson AZ, San Francisco CA, and Burlington VT.  

Second choice: Eight branches and three individuals chose the Poor Peoples Campaign June March On Washington DC as their second choice. A working group led by Emily Keel (NC) and Rowan Fairgrove (San Jose, CA) will develop an urgent mobilization plan to appeal to all branches to get folks to Washington DC or their state capitals on June 18. The WILPF PPC contingent supports our strategic partner, the Poor Peoples Campaign. Folks who wish to help organize this working group should contact Emily Keel at ekkeel2me@gmail.com.

The eight branches included (though Greater Phoenix said their vote was miscounted): Greater Phoenix, Madison WI, Triad (NC), San Francisco (CA), East Bay (CA), and the Jane Addams Branch of At-Large Members.

The third choice, which was not supported as a WILPF US-wide Solidarity Action, was the Mayors for Peace Anti-Nuclear Project. Many branches reported that their cities are already Mayors for Peace cities, which may have affected the choice. Members and branches who wish to pursue this excellent project are invited to access the wonderful Mayors For Peace Toolkit assembled by Jackie Cabasso of the Western States Legal Foundation.  

We reported on progress and planned the details of each Solidarity Action strategy in our ONE WILPF Call on Thursday, February 10. The guest speaker was an expert on the tenuous election politics under the Philippines authoritarian dictatorship of President Dutarte. It resonates with our Voting Rights Solidarity Actions this year.