MPAOC (Massachusetts Progressive Action Organizing Committee) Overview

Mission: The Massachusetts Progressive Action Organizing Committee, (MPAOC), is an alliance of MA State-wide Political and Community organizations, formed to increase progressive political power.  We aim to support progressive candidates and progressive legislation and increase the unity and clarity of the progressive movement.

History: MPAOC was organized in December 2020 following a Massachusetts Peace Action initiated virtual political conference at which groups decided to explore the possibilities of greater collaboration and unification of activities. The first year and a half included monthly dialogues and presentations as we got to know each other’s organizational structure and priorities and heard from dozens of community organizations and political action organizing groups in the state*.  MPAOC organized a second conference in December of 2021, that focused on strategies to build progressive political power.

MPAOC formally established itself in August 2022 as an alliance of progressive organizations that provides mutual support for elections, legislation, and grassroots organizing that increases progressive political power.

Issues:  While we recognize that each member organization has its own organizing strategy, ideology, and priority issues, we agree that:

• To build power, we must forge coalitions of movements and groups composed of different racial, ethnic, class, and gender constituencies.
• We must seek to dismantle white supremacy and understand what it means to be an ally.
• We believe that to begin the process of building a political agenda we must include frequently under-represented BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities. 

 The issues that we currently focus on include, but are not limited to:

• Universal Single Payer Healthcare which includes reproductive health, transgender care,  vision, dental, hearing and long term care
• Cutting the military budget and a peaceful foreign policy
• Support for unions and union-organizing …
• Confronting the environmental crisis  
• The right to adequate and dignified housing
• Criminal Legal and Community Safety Reform
• Significantly reducing income inequality

Membership: There are two levels of membership in MPAOC. Organizations which send representatives who regularly attend meetings are full members with one vote per organization. To be eligible to vote, a member organization needs to have attended at least the two prior meetings.  Missing more than four meetings in a row without a legitimate reason will result in an organization losing its voting membership.

Other organizations which attend occasionally and/or choose to continue to be part of the contact group without regular attendance will be consulting, non-voting members. Before the voting members take a vote, non-voting members will be briefed about the issue or candidate and asked to provide any information they think is pertinent to help guide the decision making. 

Organizations wishing to become a member of MPAOC need to apply and be nominated by a current voting or non-voting member.  A unanimous vote of the current voting membership is required. In general, MPAOC tries to be welcoming and inclusive.

Current Members:

The founding full members are Massachusetts Peace Action, North American Indian Center of Boston, Our Revolution Massachusetts, Progressive Democrats of America, Progressive Massachusetts, and Incorruptible Mass.  Act on Mass has also joined as a full member.  Initial consulting members include Democratic Socialists of America/Boston, Democratic Socialists of America/Cape Cod, Liberation Road, Massachusetts Poor People’s Campaign, and Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts.  Additional consulting members were Franklin County Continuing the Political Revolution-now a full member, Mass Alliance of HUD Tenants, Indivisible Mass. Coalition, and Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment.

Working Groups of MPAOC:

Membership: tasked with developing and facilitating groups onboarding process, developing tiers of membership, and recruitment.  

Communications: develop a communications plan  [or options] as a coalition or group of groups and bring back to the larger group :

Legislative and Electoral: Maintain ongoing activities in MPAOC. 

Strategy, Development, and Implementation (SDI) Group will meet quarterly to review and assess progress within MPAOC. 

Continued Education and Training: Create a select group tasked to research, develop, and implement training opportunities for MPAOC members, 

Maintain an Annual MPAOC Conference organized by a “Conference Planning Sub-Committee” 

Past and On-going Work of MPAOC

1. We have convened annual conferences to unify the progressive movement in Massachusetts
2. Presentations by various leaders/experts who help inform the members on issues 
3. A Slack hot line has been established for state legislators to use to disseminate information quickly to member organizations.
4. On-going reports of what member organizations are working on and discussion about how organizations may collaborate on various initiatives.
5. Educational forums are being planned on housing that will help to highlight the issues and possible solutions.
6. Reports by committees of their work

Approved by MPAOC general meeting 8/18/23