POWER UP AMERICA CAMPAIGN KICK OFF

Watch the campaign video at:

http://vimeo.com/3851939

Link to Jersey Journal article:
http://www.nj.com/hobokennow/index.ssf/2009/03/moveonorg_recruiting_green_act.html

PLEASE READ BELOW AND JOIN US - YOU CAN CONTACT US AT: jc.h.council@gmail.com

WHY THIS CAMPAIGN:

WE NEED A MASSIVE EFFORT TO SHIFT AMERICA TO A NEW, CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY- WITH MILLIONS OF CLEAN ENERGY NEW JOBS.
"Power Up America is a massive grass-root campaign for a new energy economy. OUR GOAL IS TO CREATE 5 MILLION NEW GREEN JOBS and to get congress to commit to re-power America with 100% clean electricity within 10 years.
This time of economic stress calls for drastic and innovative measures, it is the right time to create new jobs that will change the way America is powered, giving hope for a better future to millions who have been laid off and to our future generations.
This is very simple: for our economy to recover we need to create jobs. Where are these jobs going to come from? Not from the auto industry as we know it or any other industry that is still stuck using technology that has no future. We have no hope of competing against the developing countries for those jobs. We need innovation and to create new jobs that require new skills. These jobs will be created by a whole new energy industry, and by companies who will retrofit old buildings to accommodate the new clean and cost saving technology.
All this sounds too good an opportunity to pass up, and we haven't even touch on the fact that this will help to clean up our planet!


WHY THIS MATTERS IN OUR COMMUNITY:

To see how the economic slowdown is already affecting our communities just ask yourself:

How many people do you know who have lost their job or had their hours cut back in the last year.
Do you know someone who is afraid they'll lose their job—or who is afraid they won't be able to find one (such as students)?
Do you know someone who has seen their savings or retirement account take a big hit due to the stock market?

This shows why this campaign is so important. We must get our economy back on track.

WORKING IN OUR COMMUNITY:
We need to start planning to bring this campaign to our community. President Obama's vision for a new-energy economy is facing tough opposition from the oil and coal lobbies, who have a lot of friends in Congress. So it's up to us to show Senator Lautenberg or Menendez and our Congressmen that we want bold leadership for green jobs and clean energy.
And we've already got our first fight: President Obama has proposed investing $150 billion in his budget to move America to a new energy economy. But Big Oil and Coal are already fighting back. So when Congress is home for their spring recess next week, we've got to send a strong message to the Senators in support of Obama's proposed investment -- and additional legislation that takes that money and begins the transition to a new energy economy. We'll organize a public media event and other activities to amplify our message.
So we have formed 4 committees to work on four different aspects of this campaign. We are going to describe here the four topics these groups are working on. Everyone who attended our March 29th meeting joined the group they were most interested in. If you did not have a chance to attend our meeting but would still like to work with one of these four committees just let me know and I'll bring you up to date and put you in touch with the head of the committee you are interested in.

Here are the groups you should choose from.

Small Business Campaign
"This group is thinking about how we can organize small businesses in our community to join the campaign for a new clean energy economy, because we know how important their perspectives are in the public debate over how to fix the economy. They will identify local businesses that they can reach out to."

This group is now working to try to answer the following questions: Which small businesses do we know are already "green"? What small businesses aren't explicitly green, but might be sympathetic? Do we know any small businesses that recently laid people off, or expanded?

During the meeting this committee identified some small businesses they will be contacting. They will welcome any new input from people interested in working on this issue or who might know of any business that have been affected by the economy and are looking to or already are working for a "green" economy.


Outreach
"To make our campaign effective, we need to bring diverse folks from across our community together. The first step is to identify people who could speak at, or participate in, our public media event next month. This group will identify groups and individuals in the community who are passionate about fixing the economy, creating green jobs, and shifting to clean energy."

This group is now working to try to answer the following questions: Are there any local experts on the economy or green jobs? Are there any businesses in the area that might be interested in the campaign? Who has a unique perspective on the economic situation in our community, or might have influence with our member of Congress? Who has been directly affected by the economic crisis in our community?

During the meeting this committee identified some groups that might be interested in joining our campaign and will attempt to contact them and share information. More groups will be contacted as suggestions will coming in. They will welcome any new input from people interested in working on this issue or who might know of other groups or organizations with similar goals.

Grassroots Media

"One way to keep the pressure on our Senators is to communicate our message through letters to the editor, talk radio, blogs, and other opinion media. The group identified media outlets where we can get our message out, is reviewing some quick tips, and is planning our next steps."

This group is now working to answer the following questions: What papers can we get letters published in? Which radio stations and talk shows can we target? What local blogs cover politics in our community? What are the most important points for us to get across? How can we talk about the potential benefits of a new energy economy for our area?

During the meeting this committee identified some of the media contacts they would like to have and how to approach them. More will be considered as suggestions will come in. The committee welcomes any new member who has constructive suggestions or ideas about this topic.

Local Research

"Although we’re advocating for national legislation, influencing our Senators is a local project – so we’ll need to know a lot about them and about the unique economic situation of our community. The group reviewed some important research strategies, then they some of knowledge they already had, and finally they developed a plan to gather all other information we need."

This group is now working to answer the following questions: What people or groups of people in our area might have influence with the Senators? Who do they seem to align themselves with, or reference often? What do we know about our their position on green jobs and energy issues? How is the recession affecting our community? Who are knowledgeable local allies who can supplement the research we do online and help us answer these questions?

This committee is hard at work to prepare a detailed report on all the information they will be gathering.

NEXT STEPS
THE POWERUP CAMPAIGN IS LAUCHED!

Coming out of the kick off events, two important things need to happen in the next few weeks: - Every council will have a "next steps" meeting to talk about the campaign overall.

Our council will hold a conference call on: TBA

- We're also encouraging the small business group to meet again to start getting to work.
- Some Working Groups have set up meetings to follow up on their break outs.

Here's more info on who, what, and how it should work:

1. Next Steps - Council MeetingReview of ideas from launch. Discussion and planning of the next steps for the PowerUp campaign. Leaders and workers set for each effort.

Coordinating process set up with CC/Core members.
Who: Anyone who wants to get involved with the council core and the Power Up campaign!
Date: TBA
2. Small Business Action MeetingDevelop the ActionPlan for the Small Business Outreach and Petition CampaignWho: Folks who want to be involved with that work - whether or not they went to that break-out at the kick-off event.
National Call: Monday, April 6
details: TBA