Hundreds of Texans rally for all working class Texans at the Capitol
Press conference uplifted different attacks on working-class Texans and how we can support each other in our fight to protect and defend communities
Austin, Tex.—Hundreds of Texans and over a dozen advocacy and community organizations across Texas—spanning labor, criminal justice, harm reduction, immigration, voting rights, reproductive rights, faith, and more—gathered outside the Capitol for a press conference, emphasizing the interconnected struggles for dignity, safety, and liberation for working-class Texans.
“Since Abbott has been governor, we’ve underfunded public education by at least $15 billion. That’s how much this state would need to invest in our kids now to meet current inflation. Across state government, Texans are begging our governor to do what works best for us and our families. Tactics like Operation Lone Star are designed to distract us from all the ways our state leaders are failing us. We must see through that distraction.” Jaime Puente, Director of Economic Opportunity, Every Texan
Some of the specific priorities for this legislative session include the following: ending the multibillion dollar funding for Operation Lone Star, ending solitary confinement, codifying abortion access into state law, ending the criminalization of gender-affirming care, increasing the minimum wage, worker protections, controls to limit rent increases, investment to Texas infrastructure, access to K-12 education for immigrant children, and strengthening disability rights protections. This wide range of priorities highlights the real solutions Texans deserve rather than the attacks our state government is proposing this legislative session.
The last legislative session left devastating impacts on our communities—threats of mass deportations, attacks on our children, and more harmful and wasteful laws that undermine our families, education, and well-being. This session, we are coming back stronger and together. The stakes have never been higher, and now is the time to be more united than ever. Our collective livelihoods depend on it.
"People of faith say 'No! not in our name!' to the attacks on immigrants, workers, women, queer and trans Texans. We call on our legislators of all political parties to work together to pass policies of dignity, safety, and liberation for working-class Texans." - Rev. Erin Walter, executive director of the Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry
“The criminalization, arrest, detention and deportation of our communities isn’t just a moral failure—it’s an economic disaster in the making. Texas thrives because of immigrants. Immigrants build our homes, harvest our crops, care for our families, and fuel the innovation that keeps our state globally competitive.” Kristin Etter from Texas Immigration Law Council (TXILC)
“If you want to know what a Texas prison cell feels like in the hot Texas summer…just imagine returning to your car in some shopping center parking lot in mid August. This isn’t just a policy issue. It's a moral issue. People in prison are human beings, and no one deserves to be locked in a boiling hot cage or isolated in a cell for 22 hours a day with no meaningful human contact. We cannot let Texas continue this cycle of cruelty. We need an end to long-term solitary confinement, mandatory climate control in all prison units, and an end to these inhumane policies and fight for a system that values human dignity.” Marci Simmons from Lioness Justice Impacted Women’s Alliance
“This is the space we’ve created to come together, learn from each other, and take action. We reject the bootstraps mentality that isolates and divides us; our strength and success come from collectivity. Together, we demand our dignity. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. We refuse the systems that criminalize, cage, and disappear our people. Safety doesn’t come from punishment—it comes from care, solidarity, and meeting each other’s needs. We are building a future where no one is disposable, where harm is addressed through accountability, not violence, and where our communities have the resources to thrive. Liberation is not a dream; it’s a practice we build together.” - Annette Price, Executive Director, Grassroots Leadership
“This legislative session, Workers Defense, along with more than a dozen of our partners and allies, are fighting for a better Texas for all who call it home and to end Texas' standing as the most dangerous state for workers. Texas is the only state that doesn't require workers' compensation and we are seeking to change that. We are advocating for protecting workers, especially construction workers, from the grueling heat by passing mandatory rest and water breaks. We are fighting against any policies that will harm and further criminalize the immigrant community. It is time we treat the migrant working community with the dignity and respect it deserves and that begins in the halls of the Texas Capitol.” - Daniela Hernandez, State Policy Coordinator, Workers Defense Action Fund
“In light of the upcoming Trump administration, lawmakers and corporations alike are poised to lay the foundation for a Texas that prioritizes profit over fair wages, corporate subsidies over community infrastructure, political silencing over free discourse, personal agenda over general welfare, and oligarchy over democracy. These objectives undermine the lawmaking process every single time and will no doubt play a role in this upcoming session. At LUPE, we are committed to resisting the harmful policies and systemic injustices imposed by the Texas legislative process which has proven time and time again to further disenfranchise our border community and bring harm to the working-class residents of South Texas. - Michael Mireles, Director of Civic Engagement at La Union del Pueblo Entero (LUPE)
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