Story Updates
Gamers “raid” Electronic Arts HQ; Colorado Moms host gubernatorial town hall; Wisconsin seniors refuse to let up over nursing home fight
This week, we are checking back in on a few previous stories from around the country about working-class people and their organizing.
California:
Since last fall, we’ve been following a growing group of gamers organizing against the private equity buyout of Electronic Arts– one of the largest gaming companies that owns big-name franchises such as The Sims, Apex Legends, Battlefield, and Madden NFL. Even if you aren’t a gamer, you’ve probably heard of some of these. We first talked to Prizzo, a gamer out in Colorado, about what’s at stake with this buyout here.
The Players Alliance launched a petition against the buyout last fall, which, at the time of writing, has over 71,000 signatures. Gamers, including Charlie from Georgia, met with lawmakers in DC about problems with the buyout this past winter, and just last week, a contingent of gamers showed up at EA’s Headquarters in California to denounce the deal. Things seem to be getting hot, and the pressure is on.
Colorado:
The moms organizing for childcare in Colorado continue to do big stuff! Colorado ranks among the most expensive states in the nation for child care, with families spending about 14% to 18% of their household income on it—nearly double the 7% threshold the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services considers affordable. These moms have spent the last two years building up a large network of volunteers that support family-friendly policies at the local and state level. They do all kinds of work together, including phone banking and door-knocking to get the word out to other moms about legislation they want to pass.
Since we checked in with them in April, two major things have happened: One, they hosted a VERY successful gubernatorial town hall, where Colorado moms sat down with five gubernatorial candidates to share real, unfiltered stories about the childcare crisis and paid leave and ask direct questions about what each candidate would do to fix the situation. Two, yet ANOTHER policy the moms supported– this one extending a tax credit to people who donate to licensed childcare facilities– is headed to the governor’s desk.
Wisconsin:
This past winter, we met Judy Brey in Sauk County, Wisconsin. Judy and the Citizens for Sauk County Health Care Center have been stymying the sale of their beloved community-owned nursing home to a big corporate buyer at every turn. When we talked in March, Judy and the others were in the middle of door-knocking about the upcoming local elections. They had successfully made the nursing home’s sale a real ballot issue, and candidates had been pressed on their positions on the sale. As a result, in Sauk County and across rural Wisconsin, candidates who opposed the sales largely won their seats while those who supported the sales lost.
This week, the newly elected Sauk County Board of Supervisors had their first board meeting, and while the board now has more members in opposition to the sale than for it, Judy and the others turned out to make sure those in office know the voters remain serious about this issue and will hold them accountable to keeping the home in public hands.
ICYMI: From Iowa to North Carolina, working-class people are figuring out ways to connect with their neighbors and build movements from the ground up. In this story, we hear from three people doing this work and what they have learned so far: