Committees
MANAGING BOARDS (see "Organizational Information" for more information)
Steering Committee: The Steering Committee is the managing board of directors for Peace Action Wisconsin, Inc.
PEP Board: The PEP Board is the managing board of directors for Peace Education Project of Peace Action Wisconsin, Inc.
ISSUE COMMITTEES (Shared by both Peace Action and Peace Education Project)
End the Wars Committee: This is one of Peace Action’s primary issue committees. This committee helps develop and enact Peace Action Wisconsin’s program calling for an end to the US wars and interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Libya, and also preventing possible war on Iran. This body focuses on building our local “Move the Money” Campaign. Finally, the End the Wars committee also acts as Peace Action’s contingent in the Milwaukee Coalition for a Just Peace, a coalition developed in response to the 9/11 attacks to call for justice not vengeance.
Currently, End the Wars meets at 7PM on the fourth Tuesday of every month.
Disarmament Committee: This committee is dedicated to stopping missile defense, the militarization of space, and new “usable” nuclear weapons. They also focus on cutting military spending to fund human needs and halting the international arms trade. The Disarmament Committee has also been working in coalition with the Carbon-Free, Nuclear-Free campaign in Wisconsin to stop the development of new nuclear power plants in Wisconsin.
Truth In Recruitment: This committee focuses on addressing the misleading promises of military recruiters, alternatives to the military, the possibility of a Draft, and how to declare oneself a Conscientious Objector to war. They are currently planning an education drive aimed at the local high schools to counter military recruitment.
School of the Americas Watch: Part of the national movement to close the US Army training school for Latin American soldiers. The local group organizes each year a large group to go down to Ft. Benning, Georgia to demonstrate in front of the military base that contains the School of the Americas.
ORGANIZATION COMMITTEES (Shared by both Peace Action and Peace Education Project)
Finance: The Finance Committee is in charge of reviewing the financial statements each month and reporting summaries and possible areas of concern with regards to the budget to the Steering Committee. The Finance Committee is also charged with the management of financial assets and developing a budget for both Peace Action and Peace Education Project.
Fundraising: The Fundraising Committee focuses on organizing fundraising events, major donor drives, and researching grant opportunities for general operations and for specific projects.
Membership: The Membership Committee works to increase our membership and retain current members. The committee also organizes roundtable events to engage members in the current issues. The membership committee meets Monday evenings at the Peace Action office to retain members and recruit new ones.
Personnel: The Personnel Committee is dedicated to supporting the paid staff at Peace Action and being the liason with any disputes between the staff and the managing boards. The committee is also responsible for hiring new staff when necessary. This committee operates as needed.
Library Action:[Contact: Rick Kissell] The late Frank P. Zeidler often remarked that his local public library was his "university" as he grew up during the Depression. His reading led him to a life of public service focused on human need instead of corporate greed, culminating in 12 years as Milwaukee's third Socialist mayor (1948-1960). Indeed, many of the generation of Americans who came of age in the 1930s used their local public libraries to understand capitalism's collapse, and to search for alternatives.
The current economic crisis could well have a similar impact – if those searching for alternatives are able to find materials in their local public libraries that truly challenge the assumptions of the status quo. Many public libraries, especially in smaller, rural communities, have very few materials (like Howard Zinn's magnificent People's History of the United States) that could really open eyes.
Peace Action - Wisconsin has decided to systematically work to change that. While the decision over what goes on the shelves of public libraries is controlled by librarians, residents of the public library's district have the right to ask their libraries to purchase specific materials. Materials not often found in smaller towns' libraries include Michael Moore's films, books by authors like Amy Goodman, Cornel West, Howard Zinn, Naomi Klein, and Noam Chomsky, yearly compilations like those published by Project Censored, or periodicals like In These Times, Mother Jones, or The Progressive. Image how the life of a high school student researching for a school assignment could be changed by coming across materials that fundamentally challenge the prevailing "wisdom."
Join our efforts to provide progressive materials in public libraries.
• Join a new Peace Action Library Action Committee to plan and implement a strategy. Call us at 414-964-5158
• If you live in a smaller community, contact us for ideas or let us know what actions you are taking. (
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• Give your local library a subscription to a magazine such as The Progressive, In These Times, Z Magazine, or Mother Jones. It can be a holiday present to your community.
