Here’s What Your Signatures Made Possible in 2023

By MoveOn. Tuesday, January 2 2024

Credit: MoveOn

Closing out the year amid so much heartbreak and global uncertainty is challenging. But what keeps us hopeful that a different world is not only possible but actively unfolding, is the actions that millions of MoveOn members like you take every day. In the face of oppressive forces working to isolate, disconnect, and immobilize us through despair and fear, we have chosen, time and time again, to come together, build power, and exercise disciplined hope in order to create a better future for all of us. 

With compounding crises and attacks against our communities, MoveOn’s free petition platform has been a catalyst for millions of MoveOn members and progressive partners from across the country. It has propelled us forward on issues that impact our lives—from police violence to student loan debt to LGBTQ+ rights to bodily autonomy and so much more. Whether at the forefront of a campaign or as an integral part of a larger strategy, MoveOn petitions have empowered local change-makers to make tangible differences at the local, state, and federal level. 

There are those in power who want to make our problems seem insurmountable and systems of oppression inevitable. We know they aren’t. People created these systems, and collectively, we have the ability to dismantle, reimagine, and reconstruct them. By signing or launching a petition (or many), you are a reminder that our collective actions matter and that each one of us plays a necessary role in creating the just society we deserve. 

Keep reading to check out some of our petition highlights from this year and set an intention to start your own petition in 2024.

2023 Snapshot

Credit: Youtube/CNBC

• We stopped the price gouging of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. Early in the year, Moderna considered quadrupling the price of its people-funded vaccine, despite the low cost of producing the vaccine. We partnered with Senator Bernie Sanders to launch a petition on the MoveOn platform to stop Moderna’s multi-billionaire CEO from driving this lifesaving vaccine out of reach for millions of uninsured Americans. Over 177,000 MoveOn members signed the petition, and in February, following the outcry, we had a major win when Moderna said it would not raise the price. MoveOn members continued to fight to hold Big Pharma accountable, most recently partnering with Demand Progress on a petition to stop Pfizer from hiking up the price of Paxlovid, the lifesaving COVID-19 treatment.

• We called out rainbow capitalism. One week before Pride Month, Target caved to a small but vocal group of bigots and pulled their LGBTQIA+ Pride merch. More than 123,000 MoveOn members signed the petition calling Target out for their “rainbow capitalism” and demanding that they reinstate their merch. Because of the backlash, Target saw a decrease in their sales for the first time in six years—with MoveOn members and the broader public showing power not only with our signatures but also with our wallets. MoveOn members also supported Starbucks Workers United, who hosted a petition demanding that the coffee chain respect LGBTQIA+ workers and customers by allowing them to decorate for Pride Month, after workers reported that Starbucks had refused to let dozens of stores across the country do so. Unionized workers at more than 150 stores launched a historic weeklong strike, even forcing some stores to close.

• MoveOn members amplified the voices of labor unions during the hot labor summer. This was a big year for building union power, and we worked with labor groups on petitions to amplify their efforts. Trader Joe’s United launched two petitions to fight union-busting—from a retaliatory firing to a bogus trademark lawsuit. This summer, they took their fight to Trader Joe’s headquarters, and they are continuing to push back against union busting and advocate for fair working conditions for all crew members.

Credit: Trader Joe’s United

• We advocated for worker protections amid rising heat. Working with Representative Greg Casar, we hosted a petition demanding federal protections amid record-breaking heat waves that took a physical and even deadly toll on outdoor workers. Rep. Casar participated in a water strike on the steps of Congress to pressure the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to pass immediate and permanent heat safety measures. The public pressure did result in the Department of Labor issuing the first ever hazard alert for heat, and in President Biden announcing a slate of investments—but champions in Congress are still fighting to codify federal protections.

• We pushed back against book bans. When the GOP and far right waged their war against books and the freedom to read, MoveOn members were ready to mobilize. More than 133,000 members signed a petition in support of history-making poet Amanda Gorman, after her book “The Hill We Climb” was restricted in a Florida school. And from national efforts to join with artists and writers like LeVar Burton for the Artists Against Book Bans petition to local, member-started petitions in Texas, Florida, Illinois, D.C., and Georgia—more than 477,000 members added their names to book ban-related petitions on the platform this year. And we used that member energy to launch powerful campaigns offline, too, including our Banned Bookmobile, which carried our petition to key cities on two multicity bus activations this year alone.

Credit: MoveOn

• MoveOn members mobilized to call for a ceasefire. After the heartbreaking Hamas attacks on October 7, the Israeli government began its brutal and incessant bombings targeting Palestinians, which have gone on for months—resulting in nearly 20,000 deaths in Gaza, the majority of them women and children. More than 486,000 members signed the petition calling on President Biden and members of Congress to use their political power to stop all loss of life in Israel and Palestine—signatures that were delivered to the White House. MoveOn members not only signed the petition but also made calls and sent messages to their elected officials calling for a ceasefire, participated in a ceasefire day of action, and joined actions in Washington, D.C., and their own communities.
  
  MoveOn will continue to listen to our members and mobilize our community so that the people of Palestine and Israel can live their lives without fear of violence and mass death. You can still sign and share the petition here.

Credit: MoveOn

MoveOn members did that—and so much more—together. Will you take five minutes to start your own petition on MoveOn’s free petition platform now?

Community Spotlights

MoveOn members and progressive partners launched thousands of petitions this year alone! Below, we spotlight some of the incredible grassroots petitions from 2023. 

• In March, a 22-year-old Indigenous woman, Mika Josephine Westwolf, was killed walking along Highway 93 in Montana. A friend of Mika’s family, Erica Shelby, started a petition to demand the Department of Justice investigate the death of Mika Westwolf and dedicate additional resources to missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) cases. In October, after months of urging local and federal investigations to take Mika’s death seriously, an arrest was made and a trial set for May of next year. Mika’s mother, Carissa Heavy Runner, told a local reporter: “To me, Mika was part of the bigger picture. The bigger issue she is bringing attention to this epidemic, which is very much needed. Hopefully this will help set the wheels in motion towards justice, where it will be a change for other families and within this court within the legal system.”
• The GOP continued their attacks on abortion and reproductive rights in 2023. Our platform partner UltraViolet Action launched a petition to urge U.S. pharmacies to protect customers’ right to abortion medication. And with the recent news that the Supreme Court will take up the abortion pill case in 2024, we need every signature we can get to build momentum to protect and expand abortion access in the coming year.

• Accountable Tech also launched a petition on the MoveOn petition platform, calling out Google for continuing to collect and retain location history and search queries for abortion clinics. The petition, which has collected more than 41,000 signatures, is working to expose Big Tech’s role in anti-abortion attacks, demanding Google stop aiding abortion prosecutors. And in December, Google announced that it was rolling out more protections for its location data, an encouraging step in the right direction, according to Accountable Tech.

• 2023 marked the fourth year in a row that record-breaking anti-trans bills were introduced on the state and federal level—and terrifyingly, over 75 of these unconstitutional and harmful bills have become law. MoveOn member Destinee Dickson launched a petition to fight back against one of these bills, H.R.734—a nationwide ban of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex youth participation in school sports on teams that match their gender identity. The bill passed the U.S. House but failed to pass the Senate.

• When disgraced Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene went on FOX News to brag about circumventing the confidentiality of a secure congressional review of materials, she thought nobody was watching. But our partners at Common Cause were, and so were we. More than 74,000 members signed a petition calling for an official investigation. We’re still waiting for an investigation into this and other unethical behaviors from Rep. Greene—but in the meantime we made it clear that the public is paying attention and wants accountability from elected officials.
• We continued to work with our partners at the Student Debt Crisis Center to urge the Biden administration to use whatever tools are necessary to cancel student debt. With President Biden’s student loan relief blocked by the Supreme Court earlier this year, payments resumed in August. MoveOn and SDCC launched a petition that now has more than 74,000 signatures, urging President Biden to use his authority to provide debt cancellation for borrowers and create a new relief program through the Department of Education. And the continued public pressure is working, with the Education Department currently working on a new proposal. 
• This summer, MoveOn member Karen Feridun sounded the alarm about a U.S. Forest Service proposal that would pave the way for national forests to become carbon waste dumps. The petition has already gained more than 18,000 signatures to protect the more than 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands that the Forest Service manages.

• Partners also fought to protect abortion care against local attacks. The Peace Pentagon and Virginia Reproductive Equity Alliance created a petition to reject an anti-abortion ordinance that was up for vote by the end of the year. With just over 1,000 signatures in addition to on-the-ground organizing, they successfully defeated the ordinance on December 14!

• Economic Security Project Action launched a petition demanding that there be no pay raise for Congress after they blocked the expanded child tax credit. More than 58,000 MoveOn members signed the petition to expose the GOP hypocrisy and demand better for families. With budget negotiations still taking place, the child tax credit and champions in Congress are still fighting to include it in the final appropriations package.

• This year the GOP sank to a new low when they introduced a new proposal that would eliminate the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) from the National School Lunch Program—a change that would impact 20 million children. Parents Together Action launched a petition that has garnered more than 50,000 signatures! Not only did the proposal not pass, but this fall the Department of Agriculture lowered the threshold for eligibility for schools, and now millions more students can receive breakfast and lunch at school at no cost.

• Horrifyingly, this summer there were reports that Governor Greg Abbott directed Texas troopers to deny migrants drinking water and push migrants—including small children and babies—back into the Rio Grande. Nestor Ruiz launched a petition to demand President Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas investigate the claims and stop human rights violations at the border. The state internal investigation found “no systemic wrongdoing” in December—making the case for a federal investigation even more urgent.

• In August, the Seattle Police Department released audio of a police officer making jokes and cruelly discussing the killing of 23-year-old Indian student Jaahnavi Kandula, a pedestrian hit and killed by an SPD officer earlier in the year. In the audio, Detective Daniel Auderer heartlessly states that her life had “limited value.” MoveOn member Dr. Glory Janes created a petition that quickly gained over 225,000 signatures, with new signatures being added every day. There is an independent investigation currently underway, and local organizations and groups are continuing to fight for justice for Jaahnavi.

• At the beginning of the year, U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland protected federal land around Minnesota’s Boundary Waters from destructive mining for 20 years. But Representative Pete Stauber introduced a bill to roll back these vital protections. More than 20,000 MoveOn members signed a petition to save the Boundary Waters.

• Reality television is having a reckoning, with cast members coming forward to detail unethical behavior, exploitation, abuse, and intimidation—all so producers and streaming companies can profit. The Unscripted Cast Advocacy Network—founded by former cast members of “Love Is Blind”—launched a petition on MoveOn’s platform calling on Netflix and other reality television giants to add a disclaimer to all unscripted television. They were just featured in an “Impact x Nightline” episode on Hulu as their campaign for greater transparency and accountability continues. 

It’s our people power that makes MoveOn petitions successful, and we’re grateful for every click you made this year. We’re taking a week off to get rested and restored before 2024 so we can hit the ground running. We can’t wait to see what petitions you start in the coming year. Click here to start your petition on MoveOn’s free petition platform now.

As always, thanks for all you do.