Scores of Southern California ACCE Members Hold First-Ever Regional Membership Congress

Starting early in the morning at Ward AME Church in South LA, ACCE members met for almost four hours to discuss policy priorities and plan out the growth of local chapters in five major cities throughout the region. Participants - who included working-class homeowners fighting to save their homes from foreclosure, public school parents interested in improving their kids' educational opportunities, and families working to eliminate environmental pollution from their neighborhoods - rallied behind ACCE's first two statewide policy campaigns: state budget reform, and a plan to compel major banks to work more closely with homeowners struggling to avoid foreclosure. ACCE members, who launched the organization just five months ago, were encouraged to keep organizing by special guests Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Maria Elena Durazo, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. Everyone left the event feeling energized and ready to help build a movement across the state to level the playing field for low-income and working families!