People's Action

06/13/2026

One person. One trillion dollars. Meanwhile, your rent went up, your student loans are still haunting you, and your government wants to cut Medicaid and Medicare. 🤔

The math isn't mathing. But the exploitation? That's crystal clear.

This is the result of policies built for billionaires (now TRILLIONAIRES) while the rest of us fund their lavish lifestyles.

Time to ask: what kind of world do we want to live in?

06/11/2026

Across the country, working families are struggling to afford the basics — rent, groceries, healthcare, utility bills, and childcare. This crisis didn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of decades of policy choices that concentrated wealth and power at the top while gutting the systems that support working people.

Today, Demōs and People’s Action are releasing “Solving the Affordability Crisis: A Plan for a People-Powered, Racially Just Economy” a report that acknowledges what the country is facing and how we fix it.

We dig into five core drivers of unaffordability — housing, energy, food, healthcare, and childcare — and offer solutions rooted in public investment, worker power, and racial equity. Read the full report here:https://peoplesactioninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Solving-the-Affordability-Crisis-Demos-and-PAI.pdf

06/10/2026

As summer heats up, all of us—from the center of sweltering cities to the fields of scorching rural counties—deserve the power we need to keep our A/C running without going broke.

But our families are being forced to choose between paying the light bill and putting food on the table. Meanwhile, utility CEOs are making tens of millions of dollars in 2025 alone.

This isn't an accident. It's a set of deliberate choices by corporate CEO’s to extract wealth from our communities and send it to their greedy shareholders. Black, Brown, and white families all face the same choice: medicine or electricity. AC or a full gas tank.

That’s why United Ratepayers gathered dozens of people from across the country to gather in Las Vegas last week… where utility CEOs and other energy industry bigwigs were meeting in the fancy Fontainebleau hotel.

In the middle of NV Energy CEO Brandon Barkhuff's speech, Tony Chavez stood up. “Please, I just want your attention for a minute. My name is Tony and I’m a Nevada ratepayer.” As security escorted Tony out of the room, he shared his story of his family facing shutoffs and having to pour water on himself just to survive in the heat.

A moment later, Octavia stood up across the room and addressed Calvin Butler, CEO of Exelon. “I’m from Baltimore. You know, the city you come through to get an award every now and then?” Again, as security pushed through the crowd to remove her, Octavia reminded Calvin of the elders in public housing whose utility rates are unaffordable and the young people coming out of school who can’t afford a fair start as young professionals.

A quiet fell over the crowd after she was removed, but moments later, dozens of people in business attire spread across the room stood and chanted, “Cancel! Cancel! The daily demand!” in protest of NV Energy’s incoming daily demand charge, designed to spike rates for average people across the state.

The words reverberated through the conference center, echoing in the hallways and throughout the hotel as ratepayers were escorted by police down the massive escalators and out onto the street. There, they met reporters and highlighted how utility greed hurts people in Nevada and beyond.

Join the movement: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/utility-ceos-make-millions-we-get-rate-hikes-and-shutoffs?source=pasocial

Photos by Hannah Bennet | Survival Media Agency

06/10/2026

🎉 THE PEOPLE OF MAINE HAVE SPOKEN! 🎉

Graham Platner is our Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate!

Last night, working people across Maine sent a powerful message: our movement cannot be bought, and our voices cannot be silenced.

An oyster farmer. A Marine veteran. A progressive fighter who's never been afraid to challenge the status quo. Graham's grassroots campaign proved that when we organize together, we win together.

77% of the vote. That's the power of the people.

📍 WHAT THIS MEANS
This isn't just about one primary. This is about:

✅ Medicare for All — healthcare as a human right
✅ Taxing billionaires — making the wealthy pay their fair share
✅ Ending forever wars — investing in communities, not conflict
✅ Working-class power — unions, living wages, and dignity for all

🔥 THE FIGHT AHEAD
Susan Collins has been in Washington for nearly 30 years. She serves corporate donors, not Maine families. But Graham? He serves us.

Over $150 million in ad spending is already flooding into this race. The establishment is scared. That's how we know we're winning.

06/09/2026

While utility CEOs collect massive paychecks, families across the country are being forced to make impossible choices: medicine or electricity, air conditioning or a full tank of gas.

Last week, members of United Ratepayers traveled to Las Vegas to confront utility executives directly and demand relief for working people facing rising energy costs.

The fight against utility greed is growing, and there are ways you can get involved.

✊ Take the pledge to protect working families from paying for corporate profits.
📧 Sign up for our weekly What You Can Do email: ppls.ac/whatyoucando

Because when people organize, we can hold powerful interests accountable.

06/09/2026

We disrupted a speech by NV Energy's CEO at the Edison Electric Institute conference in Las Vegas, demanding action on skyrocketing electricity bills and the cancellation of a new daily demand charge set to take effect in 2027.

The confrontation highlights the growing anger over energy costs that are forcing families to choose between cooling their homes and paying rent. In Las Vegas, one of the fastest-warming cities in the country, electricity isn't a luxury. It's a matter of life and death.

"We're not just asking for lower rates. We're asking for survival," said Leslie Vega, protest organizer and climate equity policy fellow at the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, who lost loved ones to heatstroke.

The United Ratepayers coalition is demanding:
✅ Cancellation of the daily demand charge
✅ Lower rates for low-income communities
✅ Increased investment in solar and clean energy
✅ An end to fossil fuel dependence

This is what people power looks like. When utilities prioritize profits over people, we organize. When regulators ignore their own experts, we show up. And when our communities are fighting to survive, we fight alongside them.

Read the full Utility Dive coverage: https://www.utilitydive.com/news/protesters-target-nv-energy-electric-utility-conference-anger-over-affordability-electric-rates/821995/

“In Las Vegas, one of the fastest warming cities in the country, you cannot live without electricity,” said protest organizer Leslie Vega, who said she’s lost loved ones to heatstroke.

06/08/2026

Leaders from across the country gathered in Las Vegas with United Ratepayers to challenge the priorities of powerful utility corporations.

Cara Cooper of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth reminded us that everyone deserves affordable, clean, reliable energy, regardless of where they live or the color of their skin.

As utility CEOs discussed expanding fossil fuel infrastructure and increasing profits for shareholders, advocates, organizers, and ratepayers came together to fight for an energy future centered on people, not corporate profits.

When we organize across states and communities, we have the power to take back control and build a cleaner, more affordable future for everyone.

06/08/2026

Last week in Nevada, advocates from across the country came together at the United Ratepayers conference to challenge utility corporations that are failing the people they serve.

Erik McCleary of Clean Water Action spoke about the need for clean, reliable, renewable power and the importance of ensuring that elected officials are accountable to the public—not powerful utility companies.

Across the country, communities are demanding affordable energy, reliable service, and a clean energy future that works for everyone.

When utilities put profits first, people pay the price. That's why we're organizing for accountability and change.

06/06/2026

Earlier this week, United Ratepayers joined community members and organizations from across Nevada and the country outside the Edison Electric Institute conference in Las Vegas.

Together, we called on utility companies and policymakers to put people first by lowering costs, protecting consumers, and investing in affordable clean energy.

Families shouldn't have to choose between paying their utility bills and meeting other basic needs. That's why we're building a movement for energy justice and accountability.

Thank you to everyone who showed up, spoke out, and took action.

⚡ Affordable energy for all.
✊ People over profits.

Pics 1-5, Photo By Hannah Benet | Survival Media Agency
Pics 6-10, Bryan Steffy/Getty Images

06/05/2026

"We believe real solutions come from listening to people who are directly affected by housing instability, poverty, substance use issues, and systemic inequities." — Shameka Parrish-Wright, VOCAL Kentucky

Housing advocates from across the country disrupted the Cicero Institute's homelessness conference to challenge policies rooted in punishment and incarceration.

The Cicero Institute, founded by tech billionaire and Trump advisor Joe Lonsdale, promotes policies that criminalize homelessness rather than addressing its root causes.

People deserve housing, dignity, healthcare, and support—not arrest, detention, or forced labor.

That's why we're standing together for people-centered solutions and people-centered budgets.

🏠 Housing Not Handcuffs.