Three Doors, One Slack: CASS, the State Leaders Call, and the State Network
– 3 min read
Which California Indivisible statewide group does what, and how to find the right one.
If you've been on the CA Indivisible Slack for more than a week, you've seen all three names go by, and there's a decent chance you've assumed at least two of them were the same thing. They're not. They do different jobs, they have different front doors, and knowing which is which saves you from asking a question in a room that can't answer it.
Here's the short version.
California State Strong (CASS)
What it is: a compact between 60 or so local Indivisible groups to work on California legislation.
How it's organized: five working groups. Democracy Reform, Health Care, Environmental Justice, Economic Justice, and Climate Justice.
How you join: individuals apply directly to a working group. You don't need your group to sign you up, though the form asks which group you're with. Apply here.
Walk through this door if: you want to move state legislation. Bills, committee hearings, lobby days, testimony. CASS is the vehicle for that work and has been doing it for years.
The State Leaders Call
What it is: a call every two weeks for anyone doing some form of leadership in a local group.
Who runs it: Indivisible staff organizers Dennessa Atiles and Shea Burt take turns leading.
The part people don't know: the participants set the agenda. If there's something you want to talk through with other leaders, you add it to the agenda that morning. This is unusually open as governance models go, and it only works if people actually use it.
How you join: email Dennessa at Dennessa@indivisible.org to get added to the invite list.
Walk through this door if: you're carrying something in your local group and you want to think it through with people carrying the same thing.
Indivisible California State Network
What it is: this. Right here. The thing you're reading.
What we do: organize and support work groups and events. There are eight work groups running or forming right now, and they're open to every Indivisible member, not just group leaders. We publish this website and an email newsletter. We provide resources for local groups and work groups on our Google Workspace.
What we don't do: host our own meeting. At least not yet. Announcements go out on the State Leaders Call, on this website and in our newsletter.
Who we are: eight volunteer members of Indivisible from around the state, elected by the group members in the network, who make up the Management Team. Roles are Coordinator, Communications, Work Group Liaison, Data Manager, Events Manager, Website Manager, Treasurer, and Community Liaison.
Where we are: more than 140 local groups have opted in. We'd like all of them, at least 221 and counting. We're still getting formed and still figuring out how to be most useful to your group. That's a real invitation, not throat-clearing. If there's something you need that we're not doing, that's the kind of thing we want to hear.
Walk through this door if: you want to work on an issue alongside people from other chapters, or you want to start something that doesn't exist yet.
The cheat sheet
| You want to… | Go to |
|---|---|
| Move a bill in Sacramento | CASS |
| Talk shop with other group leaders | State Leaders Call |
| Join or start an issue working group | State Network |
All three live on the CA Indivisible Slack. If you're on that Slack, you're in the right place, though your sidebar is almost certainly hiding channels from you. Click "Channels" and then "Browse channels" to see everything you haven't joined. There may also be Google Groups.
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