Issue: Public Transportation

Strong investments in schools, housing and transit improve life for all Alabamians

By Carol Gundlach

Strong funding for public services like education and public health broadens opportunity for everyone, especially for Alabamians with low incomes. Alabama Arise members for decades have urged robust and secure state funding for these services. Arise members’ top budget priorities for 2026 include:

Public school funding

Lawmakers made important improvements to Alabama’s K-12 funding formula last year by passing the RAISE Act. The law provides additional funding for public schools that serve larger shares of students who are experiencing poverty or who have special needs. But because local property tax collections vary greatly, large resource gaps still remain in many districts.

The CHOOSE Act poses a major and growing threat to adequate funding for public schools. This law allows parents to receive up to $7,000 per child for private school and up to $2,000 for homeschooling each year. The law diverts $100 million of state money from public schools each year. But legislators could face intense pressure to increase that amount once the income limits for eligibility disappear starting in 2027.

Another key step to invest more in education would be to end or limit the state deduction for federal income tax (FIT) payments. Alabama is the only state that still allows this deduction, which is a tax break skewed heavily in favor of wealthy households.

Affordable housing

Alabama lacks more than 73,000 homes for households below the federal poverty line, leaving many residents without a safe, affordable place to live. Lawmakers created the Alabama Housing Trust Fund in 2012, but they have failed thus far to fund it. Arise will continue working to secure state funding for affordable housing and identify policy changes to strengthen housing support statewide.

Public transportation

Inadequate public transportation prevents thousands of Alabamians from meeting basic needs. Unreliable public transit can cause workers to be late for work, putting their jobs at risk. It can also force patients to miss critical medical treatments, worsening their health and adding to the state’s rural health crisis.

The Legislature created the Alabama Public Transportation Trust Fund in 2018 but has failed to fund it. A constitutional amendment also prevents gas tax money from being used for public transit. Arise will continue advocating for state funding for public transportation and will explore innovative solutions for both funding and service provision across Alabama.

Las prioridades legislativas de Alabama Arise para 2026

By Alabama Arise

Más de 150 grupos miembros de Alabama Arise y más de 1,500 miembros individuales eligen todos los años nuestras prioridades legislativas. Este proceso garantiza que los habitantes de Alabama más afectados por la pobreza participen de las decisiones. A continuación se enumeran las prioridades que nuestros miembros eligieron para 2025.

Para obtener una versión de este documento en PDF, haga clic aquí o en el botón de “Descargar” (Download) arriba.

Equidad en salud – Alabama debe salvar vidas, crear trabajo y proteger la salud rural cerrando la brecha de cobertura de Medicaid y mejorando el acceso a atención de maternidad de alta calidad.

Alivio del hambre – Alabama debe ayudar a las familias a prosperar al asegurar que todas las escuelas públicas puedan ofrecer comidas gratuitas para todos sus estudiantes y al proteger programas de nutrición vitales.

Presupuestos estatales adecuados – Los servicios públicos robustos amplían las oportunidades para todos. Alabama debe proteger la financiación para las escuelas públicas e invertir en vivienda asequible y transporte público.

Democracia inclusiva – Todos merecen tener su opinión en nuestra democracia. Alabama debe permitir el voto en ausencia sin excusas y eliminar barreras para la restauración de los derechos de voto para personas que no están involucradas.

Reforma de justicia – El sistema de justicia de Alabama debe enfocarse en rehabilitación, no en crueldad. Nuestro estado debe dejar de ejecutar a personas sentenciadas a muerte contra la recomendación de un jurado. Alabama también debe reformar la libertad condicional y las sentencias.

Reforma impositiva – Un sistema impositivo más equitativo puede ayudar a las personas en dificultades a llegar a fin de mes. Alabama debe quitar los impuestos a artículos básicos y asegurar financiamiento justo y sostenible para servicios vitales.

Poder trabajador – Alabama debe apoyar a la gente trabajadora quitando incentivos de impuestos a las empresas que violan las leyes de empleo de menores, extendiendo la licencia por paternidad/maternidad a más trabajadores y mejorando las salvaguardias para trabajadores temporarios.

Alabama Arise 2026 legislative priorities

By Alabama Arise

More than 150 Alabama Arise member groups and nearly 2,000 individual members choose our legislative priorities each year. This process ensures that Alabamians most impacted by poverty have a seat at the table. Below are the priorities that our members selected for 2026.

For a PDF version of this document, click here or click the “Download” button above.

Health equity –Alabama should save lives, create jobs and protect rural health care by closing the Medicaid coverage gap and improving access to high-quality maternity care.

Hunger relief – Alabama should help families thrive by ensuring all public schools can offer free school meals for all of their students and by protecting vital nutrition programs.

Adequate state budgets – Strong public services broaden opportunity for all. Alabama should protect funding for public schools and invest in affordable housing and public transportation.

Inclusive democracy – Everyone deserves a say in our democracy. Alabama should allow no-excuse absentee voting and lift barriers to voting rights restoration for disenfranchised people.

Justice reform – Alabama’s justice system should focus on rehabilitation, not cruelty. Our state should stop executing people sentenced to death against a jury’s recommendation. Alabama also needs to reform parole and sentencing.

Tax reform – A more equitable tax system can help struggling people make ends meet. Alabama should untax groceries and ensure fair, sustainable funding for vital services.

Worker power – Alabama should support working people by removing tax incentives from companies that violate child labor laws, extending paid parental leave to more workers and improving safeguards for temp workers.

Arise 2025: How we’re working to build a better Alabama

By Alabama Arise

Alabama Arise believes in dignity, equity and justice for all. We believe in an Alabama where everyone’s voice is heard and everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential. And we believe better public policies are the key to building a brighter future for our state.

Below, we’ll share some details of that vision with you before the Alabama Legislature’s regular session begins Feb. 4. We’ll focus on the crucial legislative priorities on our 2025 roadmap to change.

Graphic listing Alabama Arise's 2025 legislative priorities: Arise's roadmap to a better Alabama. The priorities are untaxing groceries, Medicaid expansion, voting rights, criminal justice reform, maternal and infant health, public transportation and death penalty reform.

It’s time to close Alabama’s health coverage gap

For more than a decade, Alabama has been outside looking in on a good deal. While hundreds of thousands of Alabamians continue to struggle without health insurance, state leaders have failed to expand Medicaid. A few loud voices have politicized an issue that never should have been political. And our state has paid the price in lost dollars, lost jobs and lost lives.

Alabama is one of 10 states that has yet to expand Medicaid. That inaction has left hundreds of thousands of Alabamians in a health coverage gap. We’re advocating to make this the year when our state closes that gap.

READ MORE – An Alabama solution: Closing the health coverage gap

Finish removing the state grocery tax

Alabama’s state sales tax on groceries is a cruel tax on survival, and Arise is committed to eliminating it. We were thrilled to see lawmakers pass legislation in 2023 to cut the state grocery tax in half after decades of persistent advocacy by our members. And we’ll continue advocating to remove the rest of the tax sustainably and responsibly. We’re grateful to serve on a state commission that is studying policy pathways to end the state grocery tax while protecting vital funding for public schools.

WATCH – The path forward in Alabama Arise’s work to untax groceries

Fund public transportation to improve life for all Alabamians

Alabama’s labor force participation rate is among the nation’s lowest. Only 58% of working-age adults reported they were actively working or looking for jobs as of November 2024. Our state also has nearly 100,000 more job openings than workers available to fill them. Yet 31% of Alabama job seekers cite transportation issues as the reason they are unemployed or underemployed, according to a study commissioned by the governor’s office.

Unfortunately, Alabama is one of only three states that has no state funding set aside to support public transportation. Alabama Arise will advocate for that to change during this legislative session.

READ MORE – Fund public transportation to improve life for all Alabamians

Expand voting rights to right past wrongs and safeguard democracy in Alabama

Voting rights are the foundation of our democracy, and we should do everything we can to protect them. However, since the U.S. Supreme Court stripped away federal preclearance of voting law changes in 2013, the Legislature has passed several harmful laws to create unnecessary barriers to voting rights in Alabama. This included 2024’s SB 1, which created a chilling effect for people trying in good faith to help Alabamians with absentee voting. Arise will advocate instead for positive steps to support voting rights, including passage of the Alabama Voting Rights Act, which would protect absentee voting and clarify voting procedures. Additionally, lawmakers will introduce bills to remove barriers to voting rights restoration for citizens released from incarceration.

READ MORE – Expand voting rights to right past wrongs and safeguard democracy in Alabama

It’s time for Alabama to prove we care about mothers and children

Healthy parents and healthy children mean a healthier future for Alabama. Comprehensive maternal and infant health care investments are crucial to ensure the health and safety of both infants and Alabamians of child-bearing age, especially postpartum mothers, pregnant women and future mothers. Lawmakers have numerous policy options to increase the number of health care providers and extend health coverage to more parents.

READ MORE – The Alabama Maternal Health Toolkit

School breakfast for all: What Alabama can do to help feed all of our kids

School breakfast for all would help reduce child hunger in Alabama, and it would go a long way toward the goal of guaranteeing a morning meal for every child in our state. School breakfast’s benefits are wide-ranging: It helps address chronic absenteeism, improves adolescent mental health, alleviates behavioral problems and improves test scores. Alabama Arise is pushing for a $16 million appropriation from the Education Trust Fund to ensure every district can pull down the maximum federal funding, and to give local schools the opportunity to offer no-cost breakfast for all Alabama children.

READ MORE – School breakfast for all: What Alabama can do to help feed all of our kids

Alabama’s death penalty practices remain unjust and unusually cruel

Americans increasingly oppose the death penalty. Gallup found that opposition to the death penalty more than doubled in the past 25 years. This may result from disturbingly high error rates in the system. For every 10 people executed since 1976, one innocent person on death row has been set free.

Alabama took an important step toward death penalty reform in 2017 by banning judicial overrides of juries’ sentencing decisions, and we will aim to work this session to make that ban retroactive. But the state’s death penalty scheme also remains broken in many other ways.

READ MORE – Alabama’s death penalty practices remain unjust and unusually cruel

Alabama’s parole system is still broken. How can we fix it?

The state’s parole system is a failure in both its design and in application of its own rules. We need to increase parole board oversight and eliminate racial disparities in parole. People also deserve to be able to attend their own parole hearings.

Arise’s suggested changes would be an important step in the direction of a more just Alabama, and they would mitigate some of the problems plaguing our state’s prison system overall.

READ MORE – Alabama’s parole system is still broken. How can we fix it?

Paid parental leave improves life for Alabama workers

Like any employer, our state should ensure its workers have jobs that support their ability to care for their families. The teachers, social workers and many other state employees who help look after our children and who build up Alabama for all the families in the state should be able to create and grow their own families without scrambling to pay the bills.

Paid parental leave is a common-sense policy that helps workers care for their families while maintaining their careers and financial well-being. State officials often have said Alabama is pro-family. Ensuring that teachers and state employees have paid parental leave is an important step to prove it.

READ MORE – Paid parental leave improves life for Alabama workers

Fund public transportation to improve life for all Alabamians

By Dev Wakeley

Overview

Inadequate funding for public transportation keeps thousands of people across Alabama from meeting basic needs. Unreliable bus systems cause people to be late for work, risking the loss of their jobs. If parents have a car that breaks down in rural Alabama, their children may miss doctor’s appointments, school and other activities because public transit options are booked well ahead of time. Without reliable rides, people needing medical care miss check-ups and treatments, worsening Alabama’s rural health crisis.

Even when the transit system works, it falls far short of meeting public needs. No public transit system in Alabama operates past 11 p.m., even on weekends, and many rural lines operate by appointment only from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Alabama must do more to meet the challenge of connecting its people to jobs, services and education.

A 1952 amendment to Alabama’s constitution (Amendment 93) prevents using state gasoline tax revenues for purposes other than roads and bridges. As a result, the most logical source of state funding for public transit, a source all our neighboring states use, remains off limits in Alabama. Without dedicated state funding, Alabamians will continue to lack transit options that residents of other states enjoy. Building this modern public transit infrastructure would provide a job-creating boost for economic development.

The Alabama Public Transportation Trust Fund (PTTF) was created in 2018 to help fix our transit issues, but the Legislature has never funded it. The return on transit investment makes allocating money to the PTTF a wise use of public funds. Every million dollars invested in transit creates 50 full-time jobs, which are long-term jobs with good pay. A $50 million General Fund appropriation could enable federal matching up to $200 million for capital improvements and could double the investment for operations expenses.

Bottom line

Alabama’s public transit systems need state investment to provide the same services as our neighboring states. Now is the time to invest in public transportation to ensure all Alabamians can participate in our economy and get where they need to go.

Support legislation to fund public transit, increase workforce participation and improve lives

  • Alabama is late to the table on state funding for public transit, and it’s time to catch up. All four of our neighboring states fund public transportation.
  • Our state leaves millions in federal matching funds on the table every year. The federal matching rate for capital improvements is 4-to-1 – or up to 400% of state investment. For operations, federal grants can double state investment.
  • Every million dollars spent on operations creates 50 jobs. These jobs provide good benefits and an average operator’s salary of more than $70,000.
  • Alabama’s public transit options are limited because of lack of funds. No public transportation service in our state operates past 11 p.m., even on weekends.
  • Companies and workers identify transportation needs as one of the biggest current barriers to workforce participation.

What would SB 11 do if passed?

  • SB 11, sponsored by Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, would create a $5 vehicle tag fee to provide a dedicated funding source for public transit needs across Alabama. This would provide about $25 million in state funding each year to the Public Transportation Trust Fund (PTTF), which the state created in 2018 but has not yet funded.
  • With federal matching funds, this investment would fuel up to $125 million worth of transit projects every year. These investments would create stable, high-quality jobs and help build our state’s infrastructure to support Alabamians’ workforce participation.

The PTTF’s flexibility would empower the state to help stabilize struggling rural counties while also supporting infrastructure needs in fast-growing regions.

Las prioridades legislativas de Alabama Arise para 2025

By Alabama Arise

Más de 150 grupos miembros de Alabama Arise y más de 1,500 miembros individuales eligen todos los años nuestras prioridades legislativas. Este proceso garantiza que los habitantes de Alabama más afectados por la pobreza participen de las decisiones. A continuación se enumeran las prioridades que nuestros miembros eligieron para 2025.

Para obtener una versión de este documento en PDF, haga clic aquí o en el botón de “Descargar” (Download) arriba.

Reforma impositiva – Un sistema impositivo más equitativo puede ayudar a la gente con problemas a llegar a fin de mes. Alabama debería quitar el impuesto a los alimentos y asegurar financiación justa y sostenible para servicios esenciales. 

Presupuestos estatales adecuados – Los servicios públicos fuertes amplían las oportunidades para todos. Alabama debe ampliar Medicaid y proteger los fondos para las escuelas públicas. También debe reducir el hambre y las dificultades respaldando el desayuno gratuito universal en las escuelas públicas.

Derecho al voto – Todos merecen su voz en nuestra democracia. Alabama debe aprobar el voto temprano sin excusas y eliminar barreras para la restauración del derecho al voto para quienes no lo tienen. 

Reforma de justicia penal – Nuestro sistema de justicia debe asegurar la justicia y la equidad para todos. Alabama debe mejorar el sistema de libertad condicional, reformar las leyes de sentencias punitivas y reducir la dependencia de multas y tarifas como fuente de ingresos. 

Atención médica maternoinfantil – La salud y seguridad de las familias es de suma importancia. Alabama debe mejorar el acceso a atención médica de alta calidad, asegurar que no se criminalice la atención vital durante el embarazo y extender la licencia prenatal para empleados y maestros en el estado.

Transporte público – La conexión comunitaria es esencial. Alabama debe financiar el Fondo Fiduciario de Transporte Público para que todos puedan llegar al trabajo, la escuela, la atención médica y más.

Reforma de pena de muerte – Todos en Alabama merecen la misma justicia según la ley. Un paso clave en esta dirección sería aplicar la prohibición de Alabama de anulación judicial de veredictos de jurado de manera retroactiva, para aplicarla a personas sentenciadas bajo esta política, ahora ilegal.

Alabama Arise 2025 legislative priorities

By Alabama Arise

More than 150 Alabama Arise member groups and more than 1,500 individual members choose our legislative priorities each year. This process ensures that Alabamians most impacted by poverty have a seat at the table. Below are the priorities that our members selected for 2025.

For a PDF version of this document, click here or click the “Download” button above.

Image of a flyer listing Alabama Arise's 2025 legislative priorities: Our policy roadmap to a better, more equitable Alabama. The priorities are tax reform, adequate state budgets, voting rights, criminal justice reform, maternal and infant health care, public transportation and death penalty reform.

Tax reform – A more equitable tax system can help struggling people make ends meet. Alabama should untax groceries and ensure fair, sustainable funding for vital services.

Adequate state budgets – Strong public services broaden opportunity for all. Alabama must expand Medicaid and protect funding for public schools. Our state also should reduce hunger and hardship by supporting universal free breakfast in public schools.

Voting rights – Everyone deserves a say in our democracy. Alabama should pass no-excuse early voting and lift barriers to voting rights restoration for disenfranchised people.

Criminal justice reform – Our justice system must ensure fairness and justice for all. Alabama should improve its parole system, reform punitive sentencing laws and reduce reliance on fines and fees as a revenue source.

Maternal and infant health – The health and safety of families is paramount. Alabama should improve access to high-quality health care, ensure life-saving pregnancy care is not criminalized and extend paid parental leave for state employees and teachers.

Public transportation – Community connection is vital. Alabama should fund the Public Transportation Trust Fund so everyone can get to work, school, medical care and more.

Death penalty reform – All Alabamians deserve equal justice under the law. A key step in this direction would be to apply Alabama’s ban on judicial overrides of jury sentencing verdicts retroactively to people sentenced under this now-illegal policy.

Alabama Arise unveils 2025 roadmap for change in Alabama

By Chris Sanders

Expanding Medicaid and ending the state sales tax on groceries will remain top goals on Alabama Arise’s 2025 legislative agenda. The organization also will advocate for state funds to help public schools provide free breakfast to every student.

More than 450 members voted in the last week to affirm Arise’s legislative priorities. The seven priorities chosen were:

  • Adequate budgets for human services, including expanding Medicaid to make health coverage affordable for all Alabamians, supporting universal free breakfast in public schools and ensuring equitable public education funding for all students.
  • Tax reform to build a more just and sustainable revenue system, including eliminating the rest of Alabama’s state sales tax on groceries and replacing the revenue equitably.
  • Voting rights, including no-excuse early voting, removal of barriers to voting rights restoration for disenfranchised Alabamians, and other policies to protect and expand multiracial democracy.
  • Criminal justice reform, including legislation to improve Alabama’s parole system and efforts to reduce overreliance on exorbitant fines and fees as a revenue source.
  • Maternal and infant health investments to advance the health and safety of Alabama families, including legislation to ensure paid parental leave for state employees and teachers.
  • Public transportation to empower Alabamians with low incomes to stay connected to work, school, health care and their communities.
  • Death penalty reform, including a law to apply Alabama’s ban on judicial overrides of jury sentencing verdicts retroactively to people sentenced to death row under this now-illegal policy.

“Alabama Arise believes in dignity, equity and justice for everyone,” Alabama Arise executive director Robyn Hyden said. “Our 2025 legislative priorities would empower Alabamians of every race, income and background to reach their full potential. And they reflect our members’ commitment to building a healthier, more just and more inclusive Alabama for all.”

Graphic listing Alabama Arise's 2025 legislative priorities: Arise's roadmap to a better Alabama. The priorities are untaxing groceries, Medicaid expansion, voting rights, criminal justice reform, maternal and infant health, public transportation and death penalty reform.

Alabama urgently needs to close the health coverage gap

An essential step toward a healthier future for Alabama is to ensure everyone can afford the health care they need. Arise members believe Medicaid expansion is a policy path to that destination, and research provides strong support for that position.

Expanding Medicaid to cover adults with low incomes would reduce racial health disparities and remove financial barriers to health care for nearly 200,000 Alabamians. It would support thousands of new jobs across the state. And most importantly, it would save hundreds of lives every year.

The need to close Alabama’s coverage gap is growing by the day. Thomasville Regional Medical Center in Clarke County last month became the state’s most recent rural hospital to close. About two dozen other rural hospitals in Alabama are at immediate risk of closure, and four labor and delivery units have shut down in the last year. These closures have reduced care options in a state that already has one of the nation’s worst maternal mortality rates.

Alabama is one of only 10 states yet to expand Medicaid. Medicaid expansion would ensure health coverage for nearly 200,000 Alabamians caught in a coverage gap. Most of these residents earn too much to qualify for the state’s bare-bones Medicaid program but too little to afford private plans.

“Medicaid expansion would boost our economy, protect rural hospitals and improve life for people across Alabama,” Hyden said. “Closing the coverage gap also would improve access to mental health treatment and life-saving health care for mothers and babies. Our policymakers need to step up and to make this life-saving and job-creating investment in the people of our state.”

Universal school breakfast would help Alabama children learn and thrive

Another key step toward a healthier Alabama is to ensure every public school can offer free breakfast to every student. Hundreds of Alabama schools are providing free meals to all of their students through the Community Eligibility Provision, but some schools cannot participate in the program.

Arise will advocate for a state appropriation that local districts can use to match federal funds to offer free breakfasts. This funding would position Alabama to build on the success of Summer EBT, which will provide $40 in food benefits per summer month for more than 500,000 children starting in 2025. Legislators approved the necessary administrative funding for Summer EBT this year after determined advocacy by Arise members and partners.

Children and communities across Alabama would enjoy both immediate and long-term benefits from universal free breakfast in public schools. Universal school breakfast would reduce child hunger in a state where nearly 1 in 4 children face food insecurity. Extending the reach of school breakfast programs would help reduce behavioral problems and improve attendance and test scores. Reducing food insecurity for children also can help improve their mental health and overall health as teenagers and adults.

“It’s hard for children to focus in school when they’re hungry,” Hyden said. “Lawmakers can help ensure that every student across Alabama can start the day with a good meal and be ready to succeed both in the classroom and throughout their lives.”

Finish the job: Alabama needs to remove the rest of the state grocery tax

Arise members also renewed their decades-long commitment to another policy to reduce hunger: ending Alabama’s state grocery tax. That advocacy got results last year when legislators reduced the state sales tax on groceries by half. The law reduced the tax from 4 cents to 3 cents in 2023, but another 1-cent reduction did not happen this year because education revenues grew by less than 3.5%. That reduction will occur in the next year when revenues increase by that amount.

Ending the state grocery tax remains a core Arise priority because the tax makes it harder for people with low incomes to make ends meet. The tax adds hundreds of dollars a year to the cost of a basic necessity for families. And most states have abandoned it: Alabama is one of only 12 states that still tax groceries.

Lawmakers have options to remove the other half of the state grocery tax while protecting funding for public schools. Arise will continue to support legislation to untax groceries and replace the revenue by capping or eliminating the state income tax deduction for federal income taxes. This deduction is a tax break that overwhelmingly benefits the richest households. Arise also will support efforts to give local governments increased flexibility to decrease local grocery taxes if they determine it is feasible.

“Reducing the state grocery tax was an important step toward repairing Alabama’s upside-down tax system,” Hyden said. “By untaxing groceries and limiting the federal income tax deduction, legislators can help families keep food on the table while protecting funding for our children’s public schools. Alabama lawmakers should embrace this path to end the state grocery tax forever.”

Here’s what Alabama Arise heard in 2024!

By Presdelane Harris

Alabama Arise listens because we deeply value the input we get from members, partners and most importantly, those directly affected by the work we do together. We depend on what we hear to help guide our issue work and our strategies.

We held two virtual statewide Town Hall Tuesdays this summer, and each featured three to four listening session breakouts. Arise staff either facilitated or were part of 20 additional listening sessions, both online and in person around the state. We engaged more than 500 people in a total of 27 listening opportunities.

Following are direct notes from the town halls and highlights from the other sessions. These notes and highlights are listed under the names of the Arise organizers who heard them.

Town Hall Tuesdays

A better Alabama is possible, July 16

We had four breakout rooms during this session. We asked folks in each group to discuss their thoughts on current issues and to share other priorities they had. Here’s what our organizers heard from participants:

Pres Harris:

  • Death penalty reform. We need to consider the impact that potential new appointees to the U.S. Supreme Court might have on this issue at the state level.
  • Concern about new school choice laws that divert funding from public education. There is special concern in rural areas where there are either no or very limited options to public education for children. Many participants said this is a way to take more money from funding public education. Several participants agreed with the education concern.
  • A sight-impaired participant lifted up education, voting rights and public transportation as key issues impacting people living with disabilities. There is a disparity in education among low-vision students. The disabilities community has been advocating for electronic voting so that sight-impaired people can vote with privacy. And lack of public transportation is a barrier to voting and other quality-of-life activities.
  • Concern about the maternal health crisis and subsequent infant health care needs. We need to improve access to maternal care and health care overall. We need to expand Medicaid.
  • One participant raised the need for people to have legal representation in civil issues like family issues, bankruptcy, school issues, etc. Another participant said the Alabama State Bar might be an ally in advancing such an issue.
  • Public transportation was highlighted again as a need and a quality-of-life issue.
  • In the main session, a participant raised the need to address a variety of veterans’ issues, with emphasis on veteran housing availability.

Stan Johnson:

  • More funding for education programs for children ages 0-3. For a better Alabama, we need to focus on early education. Alabama has a home visitation program called First Teachers, designed to support families at risk for poor developmental outcomes. They use a variety of models, including Parents as Teachers and First Family Partnership. They go and visit families with children 0-3 years of age. Alabama is not putting additional money into 0-3 education. A participant noted that the state budget has included such funding in the past, and he wants to ensure it stays there. We have appropriated a couple million dollars, but Alabama receives more from the federal government than what the state puts in for this service. Minnesota puts 10 times as much money into their program as Alabama. Missouri has universal access to 0-3 education.
  • Kids need to master their social and emotional milestones, and the ability to have a two-way productive interpersonal relationship. They need the ability to modulate their emotions appropriately in a group setting, to have a sense of curiosity and to have a sense of who they are. If they do not get the basic scaffolding in the first three years of life, then all the remediation in the world will not help them get through high school. Efficacy-based programs exist and have proved effective. Alabama is not doing enough about it.
  • A participant said she is a retired teacher and could tell the difference between kids who were read to, loved and cuddled. The first three years make a world of difference. She said this does not need to be a named Arise priority, but it should be addressed.
  • We have picked up momentum with Medicaid, but not nearly enough. Many participants said this needs to continue to be the No. 1 issue. Adequate health care is important for a better Alabama.
  • Participants said they want to help with Medicaid expansion. They understand all it would take is for the governor to sign it and it would be a done deal. They do not understand why people would say they do not want money from the feds. For every dollar we send, we get back $2.17.
  • Participants opposed turning back federal infrastructure money and ARPA money. The argument has no logic.
  • Rural hospitals and departments closed this year, including in Thomasville, Monroe County and Union Springs. What are the governor’s plans to help those areas? Some voters in those areas do not realize that state policies have caused them to lose their health care. We have been saying for years that lack of Medicaid expansion would cause hospitals to close.
  • Some women are now having to drive as far as 90 minutes away to get to an OB-GYN. We can see the harm that elected officials are causing to their constituents.
  • Unfortunately, people do not realize when they vote that they sometimes are voting for representatives who do not seem to have their best interest in mind. We have already lost $7 billion in funding by not expanding Medicaid.
  • One participant said the new teacher certification test is an issue for young or new teachers. What are some alternate ways toward certificates?
  • A participant said Congress should have passed a Medicaid expansion bill, the Save Rural Hospitals Act. This would have helped rural areas to reopen hospitals. The state chose to enhance the port in Mobile instead of providing funding to rural hospitals. The hospitals would have provided jobs and training for RNs, LPNs, CANs and other hospital staff, as well as other jobs once the hospitals opened.
  • We have to educate our decision-makers about looking at cost holistically and not just as a one-time investment. We are losing people due to not investing and not expanding Medicaid.

Adam Keller:

  • It’s hard to begin, because all of the issues are so interrelated and important.
  • Public transportation is so important to access to food and work. Several participants weighed in on public transportation.
  • One participant said crime is out of control and expressed concern about gun safety. They are concerned about gun violence and how Gov. Kay Ivey and lawmakers have loosened restrictions. They emphasized the need for citizen participation.
  • There are false narratives around crime. We need more community-based public safety.
  • A participant brought up the lack of Medicaid expansion, closing of rural hospitals and lack of OB-GYNs. She had a medical incident and only survived because she had immediate attention.
  • A participant said the secretary of state’s salary should be tied to voter registration. They also brought up bicycles as a help for transportation, as well as university bike share programs and bike grants. They said the state needs to grant more paroles and shouldn’t require people to pay a bunch of fees before voting rights are restored.

Formeeca Tripp:

  • It’s important to know the history of Alabama so we can understand the past and where we are going.
  • A longtime Alabama Arise member is eager to keep learning more. He believes the issues proposed are good, and we need to keep focusing on them.
  • One big supporter of Medicaid expansion believes it needs to keep being addressed in the legislative sessions. He also supports the end to the state grocery tax but is lost on “what else can we do?” He also has concerns with gun violence, along with other participants.
  • Another longtime member is a big supporter of Medicaid expansion and believes we need to keep working on the current list of priorities for the next legislative session.
  • Another participant believes payday and predatory lending should be addressed and a priority issue. Transportation, specifically for disabled veterans, is important and needs to be addressed, not just grouped under the general transportation umbrella. She also would like to see gun violence reduction as a priority issue and has a movement called “SWAG – Safer Without A Gun,” to buy back real and toy guns as well as educate on gun safety, conflict resolution and problem-solving skills, especially in underserved communities.
  • Medicaid expansion, transportation and gun violence were the dominant topics in our breakout room.

Building toward a better Alabama, Aug. 6

We had three breakout rooms during this session. We asked folks in each group to discuss what motivates them to act on issues and how Arise supports their actions. And we asked them to indicate their priority issues. Here’s what our organizers heard from participants:

Pres Harris:

  • Participants shared consensus about the need to expand Medicaid to address several health care concerns. These included rural hospital closures, maternal mortality rates in Alabama and support for mental health care needs.
  • Concern for the survival of our democracy with attacks on voting rights was expressed. Public education, affordable housing and public transportation also were highlighted. Several said it is hard to prioritize the current Arise issues, as they are all critical.
  • Participants shared what motivates them to action: hearing the stories of those directly impacted, knowing they are coming together with others to advocate, and the feeling of confidence they get because Arise has helped equip them with information and tools to act.

Stan Johnson:

  • We heard consensus that all the issues are important, and it is difficult to pinpoint which is a priority over another.
  • Jobs to Move America supports everything Arise does and wants to see a clawback of incentives to companies that violate child labor laws (e.g., Hyundai’s supply chain). We want to raise that up for consideration. These kids come from impoverished backgrounds in Mexico/Central America, and they send money back to their families. Sen. Merika Coleman and Rep. Neil Rafferty had a bill last year, and it passed in the Senate and House committee unanimously; we just ran out of time. We need to send these car manufacturers a message. They are working on a strategic direction proposal to submit.
  • We need to continue to grow the communication network throughout the state.
  • Alabama Arise is the most respected organization in the State House.
  • We need to make serious reforms to the state budgets and appropriations so we can take care of the people of Alabama, instead of Mercedes, etc. We do not have money to fund social programs, but corporations are receiving gigantic tax breaks. These are billions of dollars that could have helped the citizens of Alabama.
  • One organization is working on criminal legal reform in Alabama, especially looking at the death penalty.
  • A participant was very upset that Alabama does not participate in programs, and then the same government comes and says we do not have any money.
  • Several participants said transportation needs to improve in Alabama, which also helps people have access to jobs. Transportation is a big topic for people with disabilities. One participant said some of her clients are not able to get to appointments at UAB because of a lack of public transportation. Some transportation directors, on the other hand, do not see the need and want to make further cuts because of low ridership on the buses. Her clients are losing their jobs because of unreliable transportation. Decatur has Ride on Demand, where you must call in to request a ride. It can be a two-hour wait time. There are bus stops on busy roads, so it is dangerous for individuals in wheelchairs as well as able-bodied individuals. These are some of the reasons people do not use Decatur’s transportation system.
  • Another participant from Mobile said she has been working on Medicaid expansion and is glad we were able to get an extension on the coverage for postpartum maternity care. She is pushing health care as the main issue, along with the social determinants associated with health.

Adam Keller:

  • We need more mental health services, which will help reduce prison overcrowding and crime.
  • Alabama needs prison reform, including addressing the prison labor situation.
  • We heard affirmation of our current agenda, including specifically voting rights and Medicaid expansion.
  • We heard discussion of burnout and the importance of persistence (with the grocery tax as an example).
  • Some members shared that they wouldn’t be involved if it wasn’t for our help and said Arise gives them more hope for the state.

Additional listening sessions

This section highlights participants’ input from the 19 additional sessions recorded by the Arise organizing team. In general, all participants strongly affirmed Arise’s work on current legislative priorities. Many thought that Arise should continue to build on momentum it has around some of the current issues. Many also said we need to see more change in the existing priorities. Members seemed to affirm these sentiments, as no new issues were proposed for 2025. These notes lift up the other issues of concern that participants highlighted as we listened.

Pres Harris – Baldwin, Elmore and Mobile counties

Participants in these meetings affirmed the current Arise priorities, acknowledging that our issues are long-haul issues.

Other issues raised:

  • The need to address gun violence.
  • The need for parole reform was proposed by a group of women from the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women who are sponsored by Arise member group Greater Birmingham Ministries. GBM submitted the issue as a strategic approach under the existing criminal justice reform issue.

Stan Johnson – Birmingham/Jefferson County and Tuscaloosa/West Alabama

Most of the participants in these meetings focused on the existing legislative priorities and discussed ways to continue the work toward progress.

A member group planned to submit a proposal for a strategic approach to getting more funding for the 988 mental health crisis hotline that connects folks to needed resources. This is not a new issue, but it would be part of Arise’s permanent priority of adequate state budgets.

Other issues raised: More needs to be done about payday loans, energy/solar power incentives and veterans in crisis.

Whit Sides, Arise’s Cover Alabama storyteller, participated in a session with disability advocates that involved listening to and sharing stories related to intellectual disabilities and neurodivergence/autism. Participants were interested in developing their stories for advocacy with policy and lawmakers.

Adam Keller – Northeast/Madison and Morgan counties

Most of the participants in these meetings strongly affirmed the current Arise priorities.

During further discussion, participants highlighted issues related to public education, child nutrition, paid parental leave and parole/probation reform.

Several conversations centered on how the work of Arise connected with labor and worker power.

Formeeca Tripp – Houston, Lee, Montgomery and Tallapoosa counties

Many participants in these meetings expressed appreciation for Arise’s work around our current issues, especially voting rights, health care and other safety net issues.

Other issues raised:

  • The lack of affordable housing that contributes to issues of homelessness.
  • Legislation that impacted the Black population historically and current laws and policies that lawmakers have passed.
  • Issues that negatively impact racial equity and inclusion.
  • The need to address gun violence and have programs for youth.

U.S. Labor Secretary calls Alabama Arise ‘truly incredible’ during visit to Birmingham

By Chris Sanders
Nine people stand for a posed photo.
Alabama Arise staff and members participated in a listening session with the U.S. Department of Labor and the City of Birmingham on June 11, 2024. From left: Arise board member Kenneth Tyrone King, Arise’s Cover Alabama storyteller Whit Sides, former Arise board member Helen Rivas, health coverage gap storyteller Diana Isom, acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su, Arise worker policy advocate Dev Wakeley, Arise communications director Chris Sanders, Arise member Marva Douglas and Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin. (Photo courtesy of Chris Sanders)

Alabamians need quality jobs that provide economic security and an opportunity to get ahead. That was the message Alabama Arise staff and members were excited to share with acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su during her visit to Birmingham last week.

Numerous Arise supporters participated in a worker listening session with the Department of Labor (DOL) on June 11. And worker policy advocate Dev Wakeley represented Arise at a June 12 roundtable meeting on good jobs.

Nine people stand for a posed photo.
Alabama Arise worker policy advocate Dev Wakeley (third from right) participated in a June 12, 2024, roundtable on job quality with acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su (center) and local business and civic leaders. (Photo by Shawn T. Moore, Department of Labor)

The DOL’s initiative to enhance job quality aligns well with Arise’s advocacy to improve life for Alabamians who are marginalized by poverty, Wakeley said. He also praised Su’s willingness to visit Alabama to hear workers’ concerns personally.

“We saw the closest thing you could imagine to unity of purpose,” Wakeley told AL.com after the visit. “When the Department of Labor comes in and talks about wanting to build good jobs that really allow for human beings to thrive and advance and to provide for their families, we are grateful for their presence, and we love to hear that.”

‘Alabama’s workers should not have to settle’

Su expressed her appreciation for Arise’s work as well. She praised both Arise and Jobs to Move America (an Arise member group and partner in the Alabama Coalition for Community Benefits) during a June 12 news conference at the North Birmingham Library.

“I did want to thank the union leaders for showing up here and every single day, to Jobs to Move America and Alabama Arise, who have helped make this trip so rich and meaningful for me,” Su said. “You are all truly incredible.”

Su came to Alabama on the second stop of the DOL’s Good Jobs Summer Tour. The tour aims to promote and build support for the department’s Good Jobs Principles, a shared framework for job quality for workers, businesses, unions, advocates and other interested parties. The principles include equitable pay and benefits, safe and healthy workplaces, and an organizational culture that values every worker’s contributions. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin announced Birmingham’s commitment to the principles during the news conference.

Arise proudly supports and endorses the Good Jobs Principles. Learn more about them here.

Watch the video above to hear acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su’s full remarks about good jobs during her June 12, 2024, news conference in Birmingham.
 

“We are being intentional about connecting all of Alabama’s residents and all of Birmingham’s workers to good jobs,” Su said. “Because Alabama’s workers should not have to settle. Because no one should have to work full time year-round and still live in poverty. No one should have to work two or three jobs and still barely be able to put together a life. That is not the American promise. That is not the American dream.”

Workers’ rights, public transportation uplifted during listening session

Su’s remarks reflected many of the concerns that Birmingham-area workers shared during a listening session with Su and Woodfin. More than 70 people attended the June 11 session, and many discussed their personal experiences with workplace challenges or lack of essential work supports.

Four people stand for a posed photo.
Alabama Arise organizer Adam Keller (right) attended a June 11, 2024, listening session with the U.S. Department of Labor and the City of Birmingham. Attending alongside him were (from left) Matt Holmes, Seth Cain and Wesley Verzwyvelt. All four men are members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). (Photo by Whit Sides)

Several workers underscored the necessity of protecting employees’ right to form and join unions if they choose. Others highlighted the need for higher pay and more robust benefits like child care and health insurance. The final attendee to speak was longtime Arise member Marva Douglas, who emphasized the importance of securing state funding for public transportation so every Alabamian can get to work, school or anywhere else they need to go.

Two women are pictured speaking to each other.
Midfield resident Marva Douglas (left), a longtime Alabama Arise member, speaks with acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su after a June 11, 2024, listening session in Birmingham. (Photo by Whit Sides)

An opportunity infrastructure

Su said the DOL stands with workers in advancing racial justice and breaking down other systemic barriers to job quality. Good jobs, she said, are about more than just making ends meet today. They are about the promise of a better tomorrow.

“A good job … means a job with security,” Su said. “A job where you know that you can not just get by, but get ahead. Where you have leave and benefits, so if you or your children need to go to a doctor, you can. Where you have a retirement plan so that you know that at the end of a career, you can retire with dignity.”

Making this vision of job quality a reality will require the creation of “opportunity infrastructure” in communities across the country, Su said. That means bringing workers, businesses, policymakers, advocates and educational institutions together to build an inclusive economy for everyone, she said.

“We have more bridges to build,” Su said. “The bridge from poverty to prosperity. The bridge from racial exclusion to real equity. So let’s roll up our sleeves, and let’s build together.”