SWIM's newsletter is published monthly the third weekend of the month.
Check the SWIM website for more information on events in-between newsletters!
BREAKING NEWS: Indivisible National, with 91% support of over 1,100 group leaders on an emergency call today, is calling for Sen. Chuck Schumer to step down as Minority Leader after a disastrous Senate vote on the GOP Continuing Resolution. His rationale doesn't hold water according to government experts and litigators in the Trump court cases.
Call to THANK Senator Slotkin for her NO vote! And call Sen. Peters to express your feelings about his betrayal of his constituents.
Stay tuned for more news on this.
NATIONAL BOYCOTTS
Mark your calendars and plan ahead!
3/5/25-4/17/25 Boycott Target
(from Target Fast)
3/21/25 - 3/28/24 Boycott Nestle
4/4/25 - 4/14/25 Boycott Walmart
4/18/25 Economic Blackout 2: Buy Nothing Day!
4/21/25 - 4/28/25 Boycott General Mills
5/6/25 - 5/12/25 Boycott Amazon 2
5/20/25 - 5/26/25 Boycott Walmart 2
6/3/25 - 6/9/25 Boycott Target
6/24/25 - 6/30/25 Boycott McDonalds
7/4/25 Independence Day Boycott
Check out https://choosedemocracy.us/boycott-central/#active for lots of active boycotts!
Did we miss any? Post them to our social media pages - see below for direct links.
WHAT ARE OUR SENATORS DOING
Now more than ever we need to keep up with our senators. SWIM has organized regular meetings with their staffs so please plan to attend.
Meet with Elissa Slotkin's regional manager Terry Campbell:
March 20 at 6:00 PM. You can register here.
Meet with Gary Peter's regional manager Kevin Hrit:
March 27 at 4:00 PM. You can register here.
CALLS TO ACTION
ACTION IS WHAT WILL SAVE AMERICA!
ONE STOP SHOPPING FOR ACTIONS NEAR YOU!
The Resistance Summit Coalition is tracking ACTIONS around the state:
SWIM is one of the many partner organizations in the Resistance Summit Coalition! The RSC has created a way to track events around the state - click this link to see all of the actions submitted by our Indivisible Local Groups and Partner Organizations, from Tesla Townhalls to Bridge Takeovers and Pressers on Medicaid; from Metro Detroit to the Keweenaw Peninsula! Not seeing an event you know of? Submit them here!
HOT OFF THE PRESSES: HANDS OFF! Mass Mobilization!
Join Indivisible in this brand new Hands Off Coalition for Mass Mobilizations! They can't stop us, but we can stop them, together. This coalition includes Indivisible, 50501, DemCast, Common Cause, MoveOn, LCV, Third Act, Womon's March, SEIU, Volunteer Blue, Reproductive Freedom For All, and others! Gearing up for bigger and badder mass mobilizations - be there!
You can already register to attend protests in cities across the country, with more being added daily.
As protests gear up, be sure to assess your own risk, especially as a showdown gets closer between the Trump regime and protectors of the First Amendment surrounding the illegal abduction of Mahmoud Khalil by our own government.
VOTER SUPPRESSION LIVES -
Keep up the pressure
The SAVE Act ("Safeguard American Voter Eligibility" in typical GOP doublespeak) is an extreme voter suppression bill, prohibiting states from accepting a voter registration application without proof of citizenship. This means driver's licenses or other state ID are no longer a valid ID to cast a vote.
Birth certificates are not easy to obtain for many Americans. People who have changed their names -- such as many married women -- would not be able to rely on birth certificates alone as sufficient ID to vote. Over 2.2 million Michigan woman could be denied their right to vote!
In the last session, the Senate voted this down as unnecessary and burdensome, but the GOP-led House has quickly resurrected it. Click here to call now to demand our Senators and Congress members to oppose this bad bill!
Our own Michigan Legislature is trying to copy this abhorrent bill, known as House Joint Resolution B, or HJR-B in Lansing. Here's the details from Promote The Vote -- sign up with Promote The Vote to track this and other important voting safeguards in Michigan!
ACTION: Call your lawmaker and tell them no poll taxes in Michigan. Click here for talking points and to make a quick email, a call and report back to our partners at Progress Michigan.
Join Great Lakes Democracy Alliance Indivisible and others to rally in Lansing:
More Lansing outrage: MI House Republicans presented two budgets last week -- one to close the books for last year, and the other a $20 billion plan for 2025-2026, giving Dems ONE HOUR absorb the bill language.
The budget for next year cuts everything except essential services (prisons, police, veterans' homes, revenue sharing, and debt obligations) -- even though we have a surplus!
Per pupil spending is to increase to $10,025, BUT everything else for public schools is cut -- free lunches, rural transportation, pre-school programs, etc. -- resulting in a net cut of 25% to Michigan schools. This is devastating on top of the Department of Education destruction.
Here is a link to a document that outlines their cuts, percentages and impact. Stop them. Pressure them. Go to their town halls. Show up at their offices. They work for US! Got a Republican State Rep? CALL to demand an explanation and no vote!
SAND IN THE GEARS
Everybody FOIA! U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin is encouraging all U.S. citizens to join him this week in filing formal demands for access to their personal data obtained by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk. DOGE is court-ordered to comply with citizen requests under the Freedom of Information Act. Easy peasy - do it today!
Anti-Tesla: Check out the ways you can participate in Tesla Takedown:
Protests at dealerships are popping all over the country. This is seriously hurting Musk.
If you own a Tesla, dump it now if you can (while it still retains some value).
Make sure Tesla is not in your stock portfolio, if you have one!
Senate office drop in visits continue to happen - take photos and keep the pressure on! Consider reaching out to the press! Be well organized and video your speeches if you are denied access! Keep the pressure on! List your event for the Resistance Calendar here!
AMERICANS MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD!
Grassroots Actions Educating the Public!
Check out what Indivisibles across the Michigan are doing to take it to the streets! We are being heard and we are making a difference - keep the pressure on!
TAKE ACTION TUESDAYS and STAND UP SATURDAYS
The Resistance Summit Coalition and SWIM's Democracy Action Working Group are promoting TAKE ACTION TUESDAYS and STAND UP SATURDAYS for public protests statewide.
Several groups participated in successful press conferences to protest cuts to Medicaid and SNAP on March 11. Here's a sample from these great events - way to go, organizers!
Indivisible Huron Valley:
press coverage from WDIV, NPR, and The Free Press
Saugatuck Douglas Area Indivisible:
Indivisible Central Michigan:
Indivisible Traverse City and Indivisible Leelanau:
Western Wayne Indivisible Group:
Stand Up MI Indivisible, Indivisible Metro Detroit, North Oakland Indivisible, & Great Lakes Democracy Alliance Indivisible:
SWIM AND PARTNER UPDATES
Greater Grand Rapids Indivisible has asked SWIM to co-sponsor a member session on Michigan's Legislature and how bills become laws: it's complicated! As we focus on our legislature both in the state and at the federal level, we need to be clear-eyed about what is possible and how fast (read: slow) the process is.
Click the image to register today! Attendance is capped.
EARTH DAY IS COMING AND MOTHER NATURE IS PISSED!
As our beloved and critical Environmental Protection Agency gets stripped and regulations are widely rolled back, here's what's at stake!.
Check out Sierra Club's toolkit for social media climate protection demands and share widely to raise public awareness of what the Trump regime is doing to our future.
Here's another data-centered toolkit from The Nature Conservancy.
SAVE-THE-DATE on April 13th from 4pm to 5:30pm for a program from our friends at Grassroots Collaboration Project on active strategies being used to fight right wing propaganda and disinformation:
The Truth Bomb Project of Civic Sundays: Truth Bombs – a simple new, social-media-based weapon using memes to convey facts on the ground of the horrible impact of Republican policies.
Letters to the Editor (LTE) Toolkit of ReSisters: “With the tools in this kit, volunteers will have all the ammunition you need to write an effective LTE.”
(Pending) Story Bank Project of the Focus Action Network: detailed ideas for policy-oriented human interest news stories, featuring local community members, that may be used by local media outlets, including print, online, broadcast TV and radio.
HEY, NEW GROUP LEADERS! SWIM is delighted you've joined a tremendous group of Michigan grassroots activists! Make sure to check out these Indivisible National onboarding documents.
RESOURCES TO AMPLIFY YOUR MESSAGING
PARTNER TOOL KITS
CHECK OUT FIVE CALLS
This free app makes it incredibly easy to reach out to your legislators, giving you topics to chose for your calls. They provide background information as well as who to call for your area with their phone number and a script. This could not be easier. Sign up for their newsletter here.
CARD CAMPAIGN FOR DEMOCRACY makes it easy for even the shyest activist to get their voice heard. Here is a downloadable postcard protesting Donald Trump and "his rape of our democracy and country." Sign up for their emails here and pick up the 2025 Card campaigns.
USE THE POWER OF YOUR SPENDING!
Check out Goods Unite Us (link here; there is also an app) for verifying who the merchant may be supporting before you purchase!
GROUP TOOLS
An amazing partner for activism tools is The Democracy Labs! Check out one of their great tools that SWIM uses, as written about on their blog here (and SWIM is given a big shoutout, thank you, Deepak!)
LOOKING TO BE CLIMATE & DEMOCRACY CONSCIOUS?
Jessica Craven (Chop Wood, Carry Water) recommends changing the internet browser on your devices to Ecosia (100% of profits go to tree planting and climate impact projects) or Karma (100% of ad revenue to protect biodiversity & animal welfare)
--courtesy Indivisible Metro Detroit
WANT MORE? Check out more toolkits on our website here!
INDIVISIBLE NATIONAL NEWS:
The Plan: Pressure. Disrupt. Expose.
Daily actions needed! Our Congress members are back home until March 23 and need to hear from us directly in their districts! Let them know how mad you are! Check out the newest Indivisible guides for resources on how to visibly protest "Musk or Us".
Not sure what to focus on? Sign up for Thursday calls with Leah and Ezra! "What's the Plan" Q&A sessions are extremely helpful and inspiring for cutting through the noise. We find clarity in what Ezra and Leah have to say, and it helps us focus on the most important actions that National outlines! Find the "What's the Plan" registration and send them a question here.
Strategies to reach overwhelmed senate/congressional staff: Senate demands toolkit from National here.
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Group Leaders Unite! Leaders, don't forget our indispensable Indivisible Regional Organizer, Scott Ickes, has his monthly Michigan Group Leader calls on the fourth Tuesday of every month! These calls are for Group Leaders only please! If you've been part of these sessions last year, you know their value. Come share time and strategies with other leaders!
SWIM WEBPAGE AND SOCIAL MEDIA Bookmark our Website: www.statewideindivisiblemi.com. New events from SWIM and our partners are posted regularly! The website is a repository of resources and network partners amassed since 2017. Members: Send us your announcements, events, photos or writings to our email at info@statewideindivisiblemi.com! We need to share our successes - we're better together!
SOCIAL MEDIA BlueSky: @mi-swim.bsky.social  Facebook: SWIM (StateWide Indivisible Michigan) Members  Instagram: statewideindivisiblemichigan  For the time being, we maintain our Facebook & Instagram accounts, but foresee a time in the not-distant future when we will leave these platforms like we (and many others) did X. Join us on BlueSky!
USING THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO AMPLIFY GOOD NEWS Use these terrific resources to pick up memes to spiff up your messages, use great gifs in your newsletters and social media posts, and gather talking points for your discussions:
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STAY IN CONTACT WITH OUR ELECTEDS
Contact Michigan House of Representatives: https://www.house.mi.gov/AllRepresentatives Contact Michigan State Senate: https://senate.michigan.gov/FindYOurSenator/ Contact the Governor: MI Portal: https://somgovweb.state.mi.us/GovRelations/ContactGovernor.aspx Phone: 517-335-7858 Mail: PO Box 30013; Lansing, MI 48909 Contact the Attorney General: MI Portal: https://www.michigan.gov/ag Email: miag@michigan.gov Phone: 517-335-7622 Mail:525 W. Ottawa St., PO Box 30212, Lansing MI 48909 Contact Members of Congress: Phone: 202-224-3121 Senators: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm Representatives: https://www.house.gov/representatives Using Fax Zero (a free faxing service): Senators: https://faxzero.com/fax_senate.php Representatives: https://faxzero.com/fax_congress.php Contact White House or Other Federal Agencies: usa.gov/federal-agencies |
GET INVOLVED!
GOT IDEAS, GOOD NEWS OR QUESTIONS?
Send us your thoughts to us at info@statewideindivisiblemi.com!
FIRED UP?? JOIN US!