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join/renew membership
| annual dues | why join? | mission
| principles of membership
How to
become a POWER
member
or renew your annual membership:
POWER is
open to people from ALL WALKS OF LIFE &
ALL INCOME LEVELS who care about ending poverty & want to do
something about it. By becoming a member of POWER, you're becoming a
part of a growing local movement to end poverty led by poor
& low-income people!
Membership in POWER is
open to all those who:
Help us build
a local movement to end poverty:
BECOME A POWER MEMBER TODAY!
( TOP )
P.O.W.E.R.'s Mission &
Principles of
Membership
|
Mission
Statement |
| Portland Organizing to Win
Economic Rights [P.O.W.E.R.] is a grass-roots anti-poverty
action group led by poor & low-income people.
United with all those who align themselves with this mission, together
we’re building a local movement to win economic rights for
all, end economic oppression, & abolish poverty. |
( TOP )
| Principles
of
Membership |
- I declare that I fully &
truly support POWER’s mission of low-income leadership,
winning economic rights, ending economic oppression, &
abolishing poverty.
- I agree that all people are entitled
to a decent, dignified standard of living sufficient to ensure their
health & well-being, including:
- The right to adequate food &
nutrition;
- The right adequate housing that is safe,
decent, & accessible;
- The right to quality healthcare that is free,
universal,& accessible;
- The right to living wage jobs with good
benefits & the freedom to unionize
- The right to adequate government benefits for
all who lack income;
- The right to accessible quality education at
all levels;
- The right to communicate, including
interpreting & translation;
- I pledge solidarity with POWER
& all fellow members,regardless of race, ethnicity,
religion, class, gender, age, (dis)ability, sexual
orientation, receipt of government benefits, national origin,
political affiliation, or immigration status.
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| I understand that since membership in POWER is
renewed on an annual basis, in order to remain a POWER member in good
standing I need to renew my membership & dues
annually. |
| I
understand that POWER's annual dues are suggested according to income;
and while no one is ever denied membership because of an inability to
pay suggested member dues, I understand that I am expected to
contribute what dues I honestly & truly feel I can
afford. |
| I understand that while
membership is open to all regardless of income level, in keeping with
POWER's mission of low-income leadership, the rights to cast deciding
votes & hold positions on POWER's Leadership Council are
respectfully reserved for self-declared low-income
POWER members. |
| I
understand that in joining POWER I am declaring that I support POWER's
mission, goals, & values, and the organization as a
whole, and that I intend to support, uphold, & adhere to
POWER's mission & Principles of Membership honestly and
in good faith for the duration of my membership. I also understand that
any failure to do so may result the loss of my membership and/or being
barred from POWER meetings & activities.* |
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Annual
Member Dues
P.O.W.E.R.'s annual
member dues are suggested according to income level. Please
contribute what dues you feel you can afford.
|
How to pay member dues:
- Personal
checks or money orders:
Please make
your check or money order payable to
POWER & send by mail to POWER, Po box 4281, Portland, Maine
04101
- Cash:
if possible,
please contact
us
to let us know before you send cash, and/or hand deliver it if
possible.
- PayPal
/ credit card payments:
To pay your membership dues securely
on-line using a credit card, debit card, or PayPal
account, please click on the "Donate" button below:
|
| Income
Level |
Suggested
Annual Dues |
I am VERY
LOW-INCOME / POOR:
My yearly income* is $0 - $11,000
($0 - $916 per month). |
$0 - $10
|
I am
LOW-INCOME:
My yearly
income* is $11,000 - $22,000
($917 - $1,833 per month). |
$10 - $35 |
I
am NOT LOW-INCOME:**
My yearly
income* is $22,000 -$75,000
($1,834 - $6,250 per month). |
$35
- $100 |
I am
UPPER-INCOME:**
My
yearly income* is higher than $75,000.
($6,251 or more per month) |
$100 - $200
or more |
ORGANIZATIONAL
MEMBER***
Dues are based on organization's
budget - for details see POWER's organizational
membership form. |
Dues
are $50-$500 |
*Annual
income for a 1-person household. Add
$3,740 per additional family member.
**Please note: While membership
is open to all regardless of income level, in
keeping with POWER's mission of low-income leadership, the rights to
cast deciding votes & hold positions on POWER's Leadership
Council are respectfully reserved for self-declared low-income POWER
members.
***Unlike individual member dues, dues for organizational
members are based on the organization's budget and are NOT
suggested (call us for exceptions). |
| ( TOP ) |
Why Join P.O.W.E.R.?
Are you someone who
believes in winning
economic rights, ending economic oppression, and abolishing poverty? Do
you believe that access to health care is a basic human right? Does it
bother you that 52% of the bankruptcies in this country are the direct
result of health costs? Are you sick and tired of hearing about how
great the economy is doing while your family, or the family of someone
you care about, is struggling more than ever before just to put bread
on the table? Does it disgust you that - here in the wealthiest nation
in all of human history - millions of American families are forced to
suffer in poverty, while the richest of the rich get billions in tax
cuts? These are just a few of the reasons that you should consider
joining POWER.
If
you answered yes to any of these questions, and you feel it's time to
do something about all this, your future fellow POWER members are ready
and waiting for you to join us.
POWER
membership is open to ALL those who align
themselves with our mission and principles of membership. Maybe you're
someone without a whole lot of extra time (extra time? what's that?) -
you can still show your solidarity and support by becoming a member and
contributing much needed dues to help support the work of your fellow
members. Or, maybe you're looking for a way to get more active and
confront these challenges along side fellow members of your community -
in which case, the sky is the limit and we can't wait to hear from
you!
Together we CAN end poverty!
Together we WILL end poverty!
WHEN WE UNITE TO CLAIM OUR RIGHTS TOGETHER WE HAVE
POWER!
( TOP )
Members
in good
standing: All those
who’ve
filled out
& signed this
year’s annual POWER member card
& suggested dues* are considered POWER members in good
standing. In addition,
members in good standing have duly upheld their
member card pledges in good faith. Anyone
who hasn’t done this yet can become a
member or update their membership anytime (see above). * Annual
dues are suggested according to income. While no one is ever
turned away for lack of dues, members are highly encouraged to
contribute what they truly feel they can afford.
Low-Income
Leadership: While
membership is open to ALL
regardless of income-level, in keeping with POWER's mission of
low-income leadership, positions on POWER's Leadership Council are
reserved for self-declared low-income members. Also, deciding votes at
general monthly meetings are
reserved for low-income members. For more information, please refer to
our Levels of
Involvement page.
What
does 'low-income' mean? "Low-income"
refers to anyone
with income
that is twice the Federal Poverty Level or less. In 2009, an individual
is considered low-income
if their income is at or below $21,660 a year ($1,805 a month). For
larger households, add $7,480 in
annual income ($624 a month) per additional family member. Remember:
these figures are for TWICE the poverty level (which is utterly
&
unrealistically low!).
Click here to see the current 2009 federal poverty guidelines.
Since the government's measurement of poverty is woefully (and
intentionally) inadequate, we'll make exceptions to allow those
struggling to meet basic economic needs, despite having somewhat of a
higher income level (within reason!), to self-declare as low-income.
For example, a mom with one child makes $35,000, but
because
of her student loan payments she is
still struggling to pay for basic housing, childcare childcare, and
transportation, etc.
( TOP )
Economic Human Rights
Conditions of poverty
represent violations of our economic human rights. As part of the
struggle to end poverty, we're working to document these violations
wherever they occur. Economic human rights are guaranteed to all human
beings; they are outlined in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed by the
United States & all other UN member nations
in 1948. Some examples of economic human rights include:
Article 23
Right to LIVING WAGE JOBS,
to safe working conditions, and to form and join unions.
- Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of
employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection
against unemployment.
- Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right
to equal pay for equal work.
- Everyone who works has the right to just and
favorable remuneration ensuring for him/herself and his/her family an
existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by
other means of social protection.
- Everyone has the right to form and to join trade
unions for the protection of his/her interests.
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Article 25
Right to well-being of a person and their family, including: HOUSING,
HEALTHCARE, & FOOD, CHILDCARE, & SECURITY for all those
who are unemployed, unable to work, &/or working at home
raising children &/or care-taking.
- Everyone has the right to a standard of living
adequate for the health and well-being of him/herself and of
his/her family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and
necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of
unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of
livelihood in circumstances beyond his/her control.
- Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care
and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall
enjoy the same social protection.
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Article 26
Right to EDUCATION, including higher education & training.
- Everyone has the right to education. Education shall
be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary
education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional
education shall be made generally available and higher education
shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
- Education shall be directed to the full development
of the human personality and to the strengthening of
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall
promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations,
racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the
United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
- Parents have a prior right to choose the kind
of education that shall be given to their children.
( TOP )
For
the full text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights CLICK
HERE!
*Disclaimer:
Let it be known that POWER reserves the right to revoke or deny
membership at its own
discretion, including the membership of any person believed to have
violated any of POWER's Principles of Membership, misrepresented
themselves or their intentions, or acted (and/or intended to act) in
such a way as to undermine, disrupt, interfere with, or
otherwise cause
harm to the organization, and/or any of its members, and/or any of its
activities in any way. In addition, POWER reserves the right to
prohibit such individuals from participating in any of the
organization's meetings and/or activities, at its sole discretion.
( TOP )
Portland
Organizing to Win Economic Rights = POWER!
Contact POWER
Winning
our economic rights;
Putting poverty on trial;
Building a Maine that truly is the way life should be - for ALL of us!!!
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