St. Paul, MN – As the politicians gather for the Minnesota special session, members of the Welfare Rights Committee confronted them with “Shame” signs. Despite indications earlier in the legislative session that welfare grants, known here as the Minnesota Family Investment Plan (MFIP), might be upped for the first time since 1986, anti-poor politicians from both political parties blocked the proposed increase. Members of the Welfare Rights Committee are vowing to continue the fight.
Madison, WI – Last month, the Republican-dominated State Assembly continued their attempts to shame the 856,000 Wisconsin people using the food stamp program (called FoodShare), passing measures that would restrict what food could be purchased and requiring drug testing. The senate has yet to take up the measures. Governor Scott Walker has been advocating for the changes.
St. Paul, MN – The Welfare Rights Committee’s bill to double the welfare grants for poor families in Minnesota cleared a key senate committee March 25. Senators entering the hearing room in the state capitol passed through a crowd of low-income people. Members of the Welfare Rights Committee (WRC) held signs reading, “The rich got bailed out, we got sold out. Raise the MFIP grants,” and “Past due, pass SF432! 29 years is too long to wait.”
St. Paul, MN – Welfare Rights Committee (WRC) members gathered at the Minnesota State Capitol Feb. 26 to demand that legislators pass bills to double the welfare grants and give aid to all in need. After a rally outside single-degree temperatures, the women proceeded to the offices of every single lawmaker in the State Office Building. They held signs and, in a tag team chain, gave out Past Due notices and information sheets to the desks of the politicians.
St. Paul, MN – Kurt Daudt, a politician who has made a specialty out of bashing low-income people, was elected speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives, Jan.6, by the incoming Republican majority. Outside the House chambers, where the election took place, members of the Welfare Rights Committee loudly demanded that welfare grants be doubled and that aid should be extended to all in need.
St. Paul, MN – The chant “What do we want? Raise the grants! When do we want it? Now!” boomed throughout the Minnesota State Capitol building, Jan. 6, as low-income people marched in demanding that the legislature double welfare grants and pass a law that will provide immediate assistance to all in need. The protest, organized by the Welfare Rights Committee, coincided with opening day of the 2015 legislative session.
St. Paul, MN – On Jan. 6, at 11:30 a.m., members of the Welfare Rights Committee will gather outside the capitol as legislators file into the building for the opening day of the legislative session.
Protesters will form a line outdoors, on the corner of Martin Luther King Blvd. across from the State Office Building. After that, they will visit legislators’ offices and hand-deliver “Past Due” notices.
Minneapolis, MN – About 40 members and supporters of the Twin Cities-based Welfare Rights Committee (WRC) came together here, Aug. 9, to celebrate the two-year battle to raise welfare grants. Speaking to the crowd, members of the WRC talked about some of the key protests and actions from the past year and expressed determination to continue the struggle.
Washington, DC – Conservative pundits are praising Republican lawmakers for blocking legislation in Congress to restore Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC). More than 3 million workers have lost benefits since Congress allowed benefits to lapse in late December. Many of the unemployed are facing home foreclosures, have had their car repossessed and have lost their health coverage.
St Paul, MN – On April 30, members of the Welfare Rights Committee (WRC) gathered outside the House Chambers of the Minnesota state capitol to protest Governor Mark Dayton’s State of the State address. “It’s been 28 years without a grant increase and Governor Dayton refuses to help children and their families,” said the WRC’s Darnella Wade.
