2024 Achievements
At Maine People’s Alliance, we believe in a world where everyone has what they need and contributes what they can, and no one is left behind.
In 2024, we made some exciting leaps toward this vision. This year, MPA members worked to win so many things: a rent relief pilot program, a bill prohibiting medical debt collectors from charging interest, a municipal mobile home rent cap in Old Orchard Beach, funding for recovery services, and more. We also continued our work to uplift leaders in the frontline climate movement, advance immigrant rights and protections, and reform childcare.
Climate Action, Green Energy Workforce Equity, and Polluter Accountability
Throughout 2024, MPA worked to develop new leaders for Maine’s climate movement from communities experiencing the impacts of the climate crisis first hand (BIPOC, low-income people, youth, etc.). With the Maine Frontline Climate Formation, we organized career fairs to recruit BIPOC (and other marginalized workers) into pipelines for union green energy jobs. We also worked with allies to organize a worker caucus for BIPOC, female, and queer workers in the trades.
During the legislative session, we helped pass a bill in support of the development of wind power on the coast of Maine, and we ran a deep canvass in the mid-coast that involved knocking on over 12,000 doors and talked at length with 1,000 residents about the urgency of expanding green energy.
Healthcare Access, Insurer Accountability and Medical Debt
We organized in support of LD2115, a bill sponsored by MPA/MPRC Research Director and State Senator Mike Tipping. The bill, successfully passed into law, prohibits medical debt collectors from charging any interest or fees or filing lawsuits against Mainers over their medical debt. We also worked with People’s Action through their Care over Cost campaign to challenge insurance companies' bad practices and appeal the denied claims of several Mainers. And we organized a health care justice cohort of volunteer leaders with direct experiences with a lack of health care.
Immigrant Rights
We continued to work in partnership with immigrant-led organizations to advance a host of priority policies for Maine’s immigrant communities in 2024. We worked with allies in the “All Means ALL” coalition to plan for the next phase of our campaign to restore health coverage to more immigrants in Maine. Also, MPA Community Organizer Mohamed Ibrahim led a coalition effort to pressure Maine’s congressional delegation to support federal action on immigration reform through the Registry Act.
Affordable Housing & Tenants’ Rights
We organized hundreds of MPA members and tenants around affordable housing in 2024, working to advance state housing legislation, elevate the issue for Maine’s Congressional Delegation and support local initiatives to curb rent increases. Working with allies like Maine Equal Justice, we won funding for emergency shelters and rental relief in the state budget. We also supported local residents in winning sweeping passage (over 70%!) of a municipal mobile home rent cap in Old Orchard Beach.
Affordable, Universal Childcare
Throughout 2024, we focused on implementing a reform passed in 2023 to limit childcare costs for families. We organized MPA members and childcare providers, trained parents on sharing their stories, and worked with allies on crafting a vision for universal affordable childcare by 2030 and a plan to get there. MPA members also worked to elevate the issue for members of our Congressional Delegation.
Tax Fairness
With a $139 million surplus—smaller than in recent years—MPA members successfully advocated for securing ongoing funding, and investing in Maine communities. By pushing back on scarcity narratives, we celebrated key investments, including $18 million for a rental relief pilot program and increased funding for substance use disorder treatment. Our members also worked hard to press Congress to expand the Child Tax Credit.
Worker Rights
After the successful campaign to pass a Paid Family and Medical Leave bill in 2023, we focused in 2024 on ensuring robust implementation of the new law in the face of attempts by business interests to water it down. We generated hundreds of comments from Maine workers, and their voices served as a powerful counter to the business lobby.
Drug Policy Reform
MPA members continued a multi-year effort to build legislative support for decriminalizing personal drug use and taking a public health approach to the overdose crisis. We organized lobby days at the legislature, worked with the bill sponsor to demonstrate broad support for LD 1975 at a public hearing, and trained MPA members impacted by addiction to tell their stories. We celebrated when funding recovery services was included in the budget that passed this spring!
2024 Elections
and Building Progressive Power
MPA worked to educate voters about legislators’ stances on a host of issues during the 2024 legislative session through our Legislative Scorecard and civic engagement programs. We reached tens of thousands of rural voters in northern and western areas of Maine, engaged over 8,000 young voters through Maine Student Action, and supported immigrant leaders in educating immigrant voters, translating voting materials, and offering rides to the polls.
Community Organizing, Training and Leadership Development
We continued to build our base of active volunteers in rural communities across Maine in 2024, through door-knocking and robust training programs for rural volunteer leaders. We expanded our organizing of people of faith in 2024 with faith leaders mobilizing their congregations to sign petitions and testify at public hearings. We also held a training and discussion series about strategies to combat the rise of Christian Nationalism.
At two training summits in June and December, we trained over 250 volunteers in running for office, planning campaigns, civil disobedience, speaking to the media, deep canvassing, understanding power, relational organizing skills, and more.
MaineBeacon.com – Progressive News, Framing the Issues
MPA and MPRC’s news website, MaineBeacon.com, continued to reach tens of thousands of engaged readers with online news and opinion pieces. Through its reporting, Beacon seeks to advance a progressive worldview, amplify work of allies and elevate diverse voices, inform policy and educate Mainers, hold government and corporations accountable, and model news coverage that focuses on centering the voices of those most impacted by systemic societal issues and proposed solutions.
Beacon content generated over 500,000 visits to the Beacon website in 2024, and stories posted on social media reached over 200,000 engaged readers. In addition to daily reporting, the Beacon produces a weekly podcast that is rebroadcasted on five local radio stations.
Can you help us keep winning in 2025 by making a contribution today?
We count on grassroots donations to power our work each year. In addition to paying our staff and resourcing our campaigns, we are counting on members like you to help us raise the money for important things, like:
- Knocking doors in over 100 Maine towns to educate people about important issues, like the urgency of taking climate action;
- Advocating for bills in the Maine legislature;
- Hiring organizers in more Maine counties so we can continue reaching people in rural areas of the state;
- Fighting the worst of Trump's agenda;
- Educating the public though regular reporting on our MaineBeacon.com news website; and
- Running a training program for members of MPA and allied organizations (in Maine and nationally) to learn the skills necessary to keep building a strong movement for change.
Want to join the MPA Seed Fund?
Our monthly giving program is all about planting hope, growing power, and harvesting change by supporting MPA's community organizing and training programs. You should join because...
- We are an organization of thousands of everyday people fighting for justice. We don’t want to be funded by a handful of wealthy donors—we want to be funded by members like you;
- Monthly donations by thousands of members add up fast (100 more people giving just $10/month means $12,000 for MPA’s work next year); and
- Giving monthly using your bank account (instead of a credit card) means NO money going into the pockets of greedy credit card companies and more money going straight to work for progressive social change.