Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group (MASSPIRG) is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

that is one of the largest of the state PIRG organizations. It works on a variety of political activities, including textbook trading on college campuses. They also provide

internship An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...

s and work study jobs for students on Massachusetts college campuses. Along with the Massachusetts Service Alliance, MASSPIRG helped to create Massachusetts Community Water Watch, an organization that works specifically on environmental politics. Student funding of MASSPIRG has been criticized at several schools where students wish to see MASSPIRG funding cut, citing that the mandatory fees do not effectively contribute directly to any cause on campus, and are a complication to students forced to pay "already tedious" tuition fees.

History

The Public Interest Research Groups emerged at the behest of

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American lawyer and political activist involved in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. He is a Perennial candidate, perennial presidential candidate. His 1965 book '' ...

who, during a college speaking tour, called on students to form political groups.

Criticism and rebuttal

The book '' Activism, Inc: How the Outsourcing of Grassroots Campaigns Is Strangling Progressive Politics in America'' by

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

sociologist Dana Fisher, is based on an ethnographic study she did in a stratified random sample of fund canvass offices during the summer of 2003. Fisher charges the corporatized fundraising model (of which the Fund is an example) with mistreating idealistic young people by using them as interchangeable parts and providing them with insufficient training. Fisher also states that the outsourcing of grassroots organizing by groups like the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...

and

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

to organizations like the Fund has led to the decay of grassroots infrastructure and opportunities for involvement on the left.Activism, Inc.: How the Outsourcing of Grassroots Campaigns Is Strangling Progressive Politics in America
/ref> The Fund has created a website, canvassingworks.org, to respond to a few of the criticisms raised by the book. The site includes testimony by former Fund staff who have moved into leading roles in other progressive organizations and other progressive leaders, including U.S. Representative

Jan Schakowsky Janice Schakowsky ( ; née Danoff; born May 26, 1944) is an American politician who has served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from since 1999, and she previously served as a member of the Illinois House of Re ...

(IL), Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope, Dr. Woody Holton (Associate Professor of American history at the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approxim ...

), and Randy Hayes of the Rainforest Action Network.

Notable members

* Joyce Elaine Roop

Affiliate organizations

* The Fund for Public Interest Research *Environment Massachusetts *

Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for L ...

References

{{authority control Public Interest Research Groups Government watchdog groups in the United States Political advocacy groups in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Massachusetts