Local Progress, the national municipal policy network founded by CPD, an amazing group of progressive municipal elected officials, SEIU and the Public Leadership Institute in November, is growing rapidly. It now has 215 members from 142 municipalities and counties in 36 states and the District of Columbia. These elected officials are committed to values of broadly-shared prosperity for all, equal justice under law, sustainable and livable cities, and good government that serves the public interest.

Recent months have seen a string of high-profile victories for Local Progress members. In Portland, Local Progress member Steve Novick joined his colleagues in passing a robust Paid Sick Leave law that will improve public health and the quality of jobs in the city by protecting all workers in Portland from being fired for taking a day off when they are sick or when they need to stay home to take care of a family member and giving five days of paid sick time to workers at businesses with six or more employees.

In Philadelphia, the City Council passed an expansion of the living wage ordinance authored by Local Progress Board Member Wilson Goode, Jr. The bill will improve the quality of jobs for working-class Philadelphians by mandating that more employers who are recipients of City leases, concessions, and franchises, as well as their subcontractors, pay their workers at least 150 percent of the minimum wage and provide them with health benefits and paid sick leave.