99% Spring in Buffalo: Community Leaders Confront Verizon and National Fuel Greed

In the spirit of the 99% Spring, CEJ joined PUSH Buffalo, Citizen Action, SEIU 1199, the National Fuel Accountability Coalition and more than 100 grassroots, and community and faith leaders for non-violent direct actions confronting two 1% corporations - Verizon and National Fuel.   

One-hundred plus people poured out of two school buses that we drove to the Verizon Wireless store on Walden and into the building, where we delivered a statement to CEO Lowell McAdam that we aren't going to stand for Verizon's corporate greed any longer.

Once inside the store, Ina Ferguson-Downing, speaking into a bullhorn, highlighted Verizon’s refusal to negotiate a fair contract with its union workforce and the company’s push to outsource jobs overseas, and cut employee healthcare, retirement, and disability benefits, despite making more than $19 billion in profits and paying its top executives $283 million over the past four years.

After clergy delivered a letter to CEO Lowell McAdam calling on him to end Verizon's practice of destroying good jobs, we boarded the bus for our next destination - National Fuel, where we were met by dozens of CWA leaders, who greeted us in solidarity against corporate greed.

During a demonstration at National Fuel’s headquarters in Williamsville, four area ministers joined with the twelve organizations that comprise the National Fuel Accountability Coalition to call for a community dialogue about the company’s practices that heighten the crisis of heating costs in neighborhoods across WNY by misallocating customer funded conservation monies.

“As people of faith and community leaders, we are troubled by the anti-community and anti-worker decisions of corporations like Verizon and National Fuel,” said Reverend Merle Showers, a minister at Niagara Frontier City Ministries.  “If these companies are to remain fixtures in our communities, they must be good corporate citizens and put people first instead of putting profits over people.”

For the past 5 years, National Fuel has charged all customers a fee to fund a $10 million a year Conservation Incentive Program, or CIP. Instead of investing in weatherization, National Fuel spent CIP funds on a bloated corporate advertising campaign.  Last year National Fuel ran over 2,000 commercials with public conservation monies.

“The National Fuel Accountability Coalition believes a community partnership is necessary to ensure that programs like CIP put people first, not corporate profits,” said Jen Mecozzi, PUSH Buffalo organizing director. 

  

  

Calling Out Verizon's Corporate Greed

On May 3, CEJ, Occupy Buffalo, and community and labor partners occupied and mic checked a Verizon Wireless store in Amherst, NY. As part of the growing movement to confront corporate power and greed, we engaged in a non-violent direct action against a very greedy corporation - Verizon.  

While Verizon was holding its shareholders’ meeting in Huntsville, Alabama, workers, people of faith, and community and labor leaders were there, and in cities across the country, including Buffalo, to tell CEO Lowell McAdam to end Verizon’s corporate greed and negotiate a fair contract with union workers. 

Verizon makes billions in profits every year, dodges paying federal income taxes, receiving nearly $1 billion back from the federal government from 2008-2010, and increased CEO Lowell McAdam’s pay from $7 million to over $23 million last year.  In less than a day, McAdam is paid more than the average union worker earns at Verizon in a year.  Despite making record profits and excessive compensation for its executives, when it comes to the 45,000 workers who make Verizon’s success possible, the company cries broke. 

While Verizon has tripled CEO McAdam’s pay to $23.1 million, the company has made excessive demands that would each cost each union worker $20,000 a year.  Verizon wants to cut healthcare benefits, eliminate or freeze pensions, and cut disability benefits for workers injured on the job.  In addition, Verizon wants to eliminate all job security protections and to continue to outsource jobs overseas. 

Call Verizon’s corporate greed out and tell McAdam to negotiate a fair contract with workers by calling 800-229-9460 to record a message that will be delivered directly to Verizon executives.  Tell them to end their corporate greed and treat workers, customers, and communities with respect – by negotiating a fair contract. 

To learn more, visit verigreedy.com

CEJ's Lifetime Achievement - Marcella Fugle

Marcella Fugle

The winner of this year's Lifetime Achievement Award at our "Cirque de 99%" Annual Awards Celebration, Marcella Fugle, is currently the Chair of the NYSUT Retirees of WNY Political Action Committee. We thought we would take a moment to bring you up so speed on some of her accomplishments over the years - so you would understand why we are so honored to present her with this award!

Marcella began teaching in the fall of 1964, teaching regents Biology at a Junior High School in Hamburg, where she taught for 20 years. An early member of NYSUT, she was involved in the first contract fight for the Hamburg Teachers’ Association in 1968.

She became President of the Hamburg Teachers’ Association in 1974, serving in that capacity until 1990. Marcella also was active statewide for NYSUT, serving on the board of directors from 1976-2000 while participating on many of the committees. During this time, she also served on several committees for the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).

In 1985, she helped form the Southtown Teachers’ Center, where she worked from 1985 to 2000, when she finally retired from work. However, she would go on to become active in the NYSUT Retirees of WNY, where she is currently the Chair of the Political Action Committee. As such, her main objective is working to increase political engagement of teachers and move NYSUT members to political action. A recent success was their role in the election of Kathy Hochul to Congress. Marcella looks forward to the upcoming elections this fall – and whenever you see NYSUT members getting-out-the-vote – you will know that Marcella had her hands on this. She is also working hard to make sure school budgets are voted in as we celebrate tonight.

In addition, Marcella has been a long-time CEJ member. In 2000, she was asked to join CEJ’s board of directors, and has long worked to get teachers involved in organizations like the Coalition for Economic Justice.

New Annual Awards Celebration Announcements!

CEJ is 26 years old, and one month away from our Annual Awards Celebration!

the Cirque de 99%, Annual Awards Celebration is taking place on May 10th, 2012, from 6:00 to 9:00pm at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center.

We are excited to announce that our keynote speaker this year will be Steve Dubb from the Democracy Collaborative! Steve Dubb is the Research Director of The Democracy Collaborative and has worked for the Collaborative since 2004. Dubb is the principal author of Linking Colleges to Communities: Engaging the University for Community Development (2007) and Building Wealth: The New Asset-Based Approach to Solving Social and Economic Problems, which was published by The Aspen Institute in 2005. Previously, he was Executive Director of the North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO), a U.S. and Canadian nonprofit association that provides education and technical assistance to university and community-based housing and retail cooperatives.

The Democracy Collaborative has led the creation of Evergreen Cooperatives in Cleveland, OH. Steve Dubb will be presenting the forward thinking work of the collaborative on how to empower workers and build community wealth through worker-owned cooperatives. Check out this video on the Evergreen Cooperative to get inspired!

We are also proud to announce that we are giving our Lifetime Achievement Award to Marcella Fugle, Chair of the NYSUT Retirees of WNY Political Action Committee. A long-time CEJ member and labor leader, Marcella exemplifies the commitment to justice that CEJ seeks to uphold. We are honored to give her this outstanding award.

Additionally, we are honoring the following award recipients:

The Norm Harper Labor Award: James Wagner and John Mudie of CWA 1122
The Fight-of-the-Year: OPEIU Local 212 Workers at BlueCross BlueShield
The Future of Justice: John Washington of Occupy Buffalo

We hope to see you on May 10th! As always, you can purchase your tickets online through our secure server here!

Verizon, Don't Drop the Call on Your Workers

Yesterday, on March 20th, CEJ, Citizen Action, the Don’t Bypass Buffalo Coalition, CWA 1122, and other community partners rallied outside Verizon Communications on Elmwood Ave in Buffalo to call on the company to compensate their workers fairly and save 45,000 middle class jobs.

The event was planned in coordination with national actions taking place this week led by Jobs with Justice, CWA and IBEW workers, and thousands of others. Tomorrow, on March 22nd, in cities across the country, these groups will be holding a Verizon Day of Action.

At a time when we need good jobs more than ever, Verizon is seeking to decimate 45,000 middle class jobs even though they are making record profits and tripled Verizon CEO’s Lowell McAdam’s pay to $23.1 million last year.

Check out the video below of the singing telegram (to the tune of "Build Me Up, Buttercup" by the Foundations) we delivered to Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam yesterday.

(If your browser does not support his feature - click here to watch the video on youtube)

Call Lowell McAdam at 888-738-2990 and tell him that you stand with Verizon workers against corporate greed and for a fair contract. Let him know that you expect him to treat the workers right and negotiate a fair contract now.

To learn more and take action, visit StopVerizonGreed.org

Save the Date! Thursday - May 10th, 2012

Thursday, May 10th, 2012
6:00-9:00pm (program starts at 7:00)

CEJ's Annual Awards Celebration

"Cirque de 99%! Laughing off the past - getting serious about our future."
at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center

The Coalition for Economic Justice (CEJ) would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation and gratitude for your leadership in Western New York. We are gathering on Thursday, May 10th to celebrate our exciting year and the great achievements of our partners and allies!

Our Annual Awards Ceremony is a unique and special opportunity to appreciate the contributions we all have made in our fights together for jobs with justice in Buffalo and Western New York. The dinner program, held at the Buffalo-Niagara Convention Center, is a night of drinks, dining, and entertainment.

We are excited to announce that this year we will be honoring: James Wagner and John Mudie from CWA 1122, members of OPEIU 212 at BlueCross BlueShield, and John Washington of Occupy Buffalo for their exceptional leadership in 2011.

The theme for this year is "Cirque de 99%" - which means that you should be ready for carnival themed games that poke fun at the 1%, while exposing the tax loopholes and other ways that corporations game the system to their advantage. We'll also be looking forward to getting serious about our future by celebrating the important victories and the leaders who are fighting for jobs with justice in our communities.

To purchase tickets to the event, call Josh at 892-5877 or email josh@buffalojwj.org.

Or, visit this secure donation site and purchase your tickets today!

Good Jobs, Not Giveaways

CEJ along with members of Metro Justice, the WNY Area Labor Federation and the Rochester and Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation, and Teamsters Joint Council 46 held a rally in Rochester prior to the County of Monroe IDA (COMIDA) board meeting on Tuesday February 21 to request that the board end its tax break agreement with VWR and look into getting back the nearly $1 million VWR has received.

We went to Rochester to follow the money IDAs in Erie and Monroe County have handed to VWR over the course of decades. VWR has collected tax incentives from the ECIDA since 2001. When their last deal ended in 2011, they closed their warehouse in Tonawanda and laid off 41 workers. Meanwhile, VWR got tax break deals from COMIDA in 2001 and 2008 to expand their warehouse in Henrietta and create 7 new jobs.

As Richard Lipsitz, political affairs coordinator for the Teamsters Joint Council 46 and WNY Area Labor Federation president, said at the rally: “VWR has been doing deals with the Erie County IDA to avoid paying their fair share of taxes since the 1970’s. What they’ve promised in return – JOBS. But, just as they’ve done in other parts of the country, the minute the tax break ran dry they shut down the jobs. They’ve likely had this plan for years, because they’ve been racking up tax breaks in Monroe County since 2001, expanding their warehouse there in preparation for the Tonawanda shutdown. It is time for COMIDA to end its agreement with VWR.”

VWR, which recorded $3.6 billion in sales in 2010, is an international distributor of scientific and laboratory supplies and chemicals and is owned by Chicago-based private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners.

VWR’s pattern of job shifting extends beyond New York. In Brisbane, CA, VWR plans to close its warehouse, putting over 60 long-time employees out of work and plans to build a new warehouse 300 miles away in Visalia, CA, where it is eligible for multiple incentives and tax credits. VWR’s move was subject to a Commission of Inquiry led by Congresswoman Jackie Speier and State Treasurer Bill Lockyer.

CEJ’s executive director Allison Duwe, WNY Area Labor Federation’s president Richard Lipsitz, and Metro Justice’s president Paula Hansen as well as a few Occupy Buffalo folks also spoke during the board meeting’s public comment period, calling on COMIDA to end its tax break deal with VWR.

Once the public comment period was over, however, the board rushed through the meeting to approve several project applications, with hardly any discussion about what the job creation would be or how much these jobs were paying. Representatives from each company were present in order to answer questions but there never seemed to be any areas of concern. Along with the new projects approved, there were several existing projects requesting more funding. These projects alone totaled over 2 million dollars. No questions asked, money granted.

Along with our statewide partners, we will keep the pressure on COMIDA to end its tax break deal with VWR and make sure that we get our money’s worth.

To see press coverage, please visit the links below.

YNN:

http://rochester.ynn.com/content/top_stories/574517/are-ida-tax-breaks-a-good-investment-/

The Democratic & Chronicle:

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20120221/BUSINESS/302200052/COMIDA-approves-6-projects-gets-earful-from-protesters?odyssey=tab%7Cmostpopular%7Ctext%7CBUSINESS

WNED:

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wned/news.newsmain/article/0/0/1906746/WNED-AM.970.NEWS/Protesters.Assail.IDA.Role.in.Local.Layoffs

Free Training: Confronting Corporate Power!

Fight for a Fair Economy

CONFRONTING CORPORATE POWER

Five Facts About New York State:
1. New York State isn't broke.
2. New York State gives out corporate handouts that add up to $8 billion a year.
3. These same corporate handouts are supposed to be creating quality jobs in our communities. Guess what? THEY AREN'T
4. It's time to end the free ride for corporations and change our broken economic development system.
5. TOGETHER: we can get New York back on the right track!

FIGHT FOR A FAIR ECONOMY will be holding a training, that will teach individuals and organizations how to help develop, implement and change policies and practices that will result in an economy that will work for everyone! Working together we can bring an end to corporate giveaways and start investing our money in the things that really matter - our schools, healthcare, infrastructure, quality of life services and good jobs.

Who should come? Activists, leaders, and rand-and-file members of labor, community, and faith organizations who want to build their skills and strengthen the growing movement to confront corporate power and build an economy that works for everyone.

WHEN: Saturday, February 18th, 2012. 8:30am-12:00pm
WHERE: 1199 SEIU Office. 2421 Main Street. Buffalo, New York 14214

Light breakfast will be served.
To save your spot in this training, or questions please contact CEJ at 892-5877

(Fight for a Fair Economy is a coalition of people who care about the future of our community. We want to see FAIR policies and FAIR practices from our elected officials and corporation that create an environment where ALL of our community can prosper, not just the rich and powerful!)

Wow NFTA Public Hearing!

Last night, CEJ attended a public hearing on the proposed NFTA route cuts, held at the Erie County Public Library. The rousing hearing began at 6:00pm and lasted well into the night, as one by one, impassioned individuals who were affected by the cuts made their needs and concerns heard by standing up for themselves and demanding an alternative to cuts, while chastising NFTA board members - calling them out for their disregard for their needs.

Mothers and fathers talked about how they would not be able to get to their jobs any more if the routes were cut. (Did you know that 71% of all riders rely upon public transit as their only means of transportation?) They made it clear that even with the current transit system, they often had to get up an extra three hours early just to make it to work on time. Stories of buses not showing up, being left stranded for hours, and having to make long transfer walks clearly demonstrated that an increase in service was called for, not cuts.

Particularly impressive was the turnout among the ability impaired community of riders. Their courageous and inspiring testimonies were a call to the conscious and the heart of all in the audience - especially the board members. They made it clear that public transportation was the key to their independence, and absolutely essential to their lives.

CEJ member Elise Blasingame, a student at UB, provided testimony on behalf of our organization and members. Thank you to Elise, and everyone who spoke out last night! We would strongly encourage all those who have not gone to one the these public hearings to attend one! Even if you know nothing about the proposed cuts or have never used a bus in your life - trust us, you'll be glad you went!

Here is the transcript of Elise Blasingame's public comment:

"My name is Elise Blasingame, and I am a student at UB, and a proud member of The Coalition for Economic Justice. CEJ is a coalition of labor, faith-based, and community organizations that collectively fight for workers’ rights, equitable and accountable economic development, and quality jobs in order to strengthen working families and promote a thriving, just economy that allows for equal opportunity for all.

We believe that public money should be used to better the public good, and that far too often, we squander our public resources and do not effectively promote what is in the best interest of our communities. For example, when the Erie County Industrial Development Agency provides huge tax breaks to a warehouse in Tonawanda, which then shuts down and lays off 41 workers – as actually happened a week ago – our public resources are effectively wasted on a project that did not create a lasting positive impact on our community. Then, having lost substantial revenue, residents of Erie County find ourselves faced with cuts to public services like quality education, access to reliable health care – and in this case –public transportation that residents of Erie County need and rely upon.

The Coalition for Economic Justice, and the hundreds of organizations and individuals who are members of CEJ – including myself – feel that not only is this unfair – this is un-just.

To give you a scope of the problem, last year alone over $8 billion dollars in cash subsidies and tax breaks were handed out by the various economic development agencies in New York State. Our organization and our partners monitored where this money was spent, and found that more often than not, tax subsidies were going to corporations that failed to live up to their promises on job creation – and many times actually cut jobs. In other words – we continuously subsidize profits for the 1% at the expense of working families and the services communities need.

The lesson learned? The money is there.

This means that we do in fact have the revenue and resources to support and even expand public transit, and that not to do so reflects a choice and makes clear a set of priorities – priorities which do not include building an equitable and efficient transportation system and working towards a more sustainable community.

An additional layer to the problem with our broken system of economic development bears heavily on our current situation. Our Industrial Development Agencies continue to subsidize projects which promote sprawl, rather than invest in our urban core. These projects often include retail or corporate office parks that do not create new economic activity, instead they shift the location of economic activity out of the city and into the suburbs. This means that more and more jobs are moving out to the suburbs. As need increases for economically viable public transportation options to create access to these jobs, you would think that public transportation services would exist to meet that need. Instead, the proposed cuts to public transportation would create barriers in access to these jobs by those who need them most – low-income residents, who are increasingly concentrated within the urban areas of Buffalo.

Bruce Fisher, economics professor at Buff State College wrote an article in last week’s Artvoice magazine and summed this problem up well, stating: 'Clearly, state agencies that spend taxpayer money are not communicating with each other, on transportation or economic development. Even state agencies that are in the same business are not communicating with one another. And there is nobody telling them to do so except the NFTA bus riders who fear that they soon will be unable to get to their jobs.'

Myself, the Coalition for Economic Justice, and the hundreds of labor, faith, and community organizations that form our coalition are demanding that the agencies responsible for spending our money coordinate much more effectively, consolidating where possible, and that we rein in our wasteful system of corporate subsidies. We cannot continue to fund these repeated failures on the backs of those who cannot afford to give any more.

Residents of Erie County are struggling. If these cuts take place or if efforts to offset the cuts involve further rate hikes – we will not forget where the priorities of our policy makers lay – and who they are not concerned with."

Accepting Nominations for 2012 Awardees

What was the most awesome thing that happened in 2011? Who took their work to the next level? Who had a major victory to advance the cause of economic justice?

These are the questions we you to keep in mind as you tell us who you think should be honored at CEJ's Annual Awards Dinner (May 10th, 2012.)

We are accepting nominations for awards currently, and there are 4 categories for candidates. To nominate someone, send an email with your name and the name of the person you think should win to josh@buffalojwj.org or call us at 716-892-5877!

THE NORMAN W. HARPER LABOR AWARD

Purpose: To honor a person who has followed in the footsteps of the late Norman W. Harper, former President of UAW Local 2100 and Co-Founder of the Coalition for Economic Justice, by contributing greatly to the health of the labor movement in Western New York and to improving the conditions of economic justice in our community. Such a person will have demonstrated:

1. A deep commitment to the labor movement and the cause of economic justice.
2. Significant leadership in one or more labor organizations resulting in victories for workers that advance such things as: their right to be organized; fair compensation; safety on the job; and/or dignity at work.
3. An ability to develop relationships with other community leaders and with the media so that the public perception of the need for economic justice is improved.

THE FUTURE OF JUSTICE AWARD

Purpose: The Future of Justice Award is given to young person who has shown dedication and leadership in the fight for economic justice in Western New York. This individual has demonstrated a commitment to action on behalf of WNY’s workers and has distinguished his or herself as a future leader in the fight for jobs with justice. Such a person will have demonstrated:

1. A deep sense of commitment to the labor movement and the cause of economic justice.
2. Able to demonstrate leadership skills by organizing students in support of labor movements.
3. Ability to develop relationships with other community leaders and with the media so that the public perception of the need for economic justice is improved.

THE REV. ROBERT BECK FAITH AND JUSTICE AWARD

Purpose: To honor a person who has followed in the footsteps of the late Rev. Robert Beck, former Pastor of St. Paul’s and St. Mark’s United Church of Christ and Co-Founder of the Coalition for Economic Justice, by contributing greatly to the development of mutual understanding and support between the religious and labor communities. Such a person will have demonstrated:

1. A deep religious faith
2. A deep commitment to the labor movement and the cause of economic justice
3. Work that has brought members of the religious community and the labor community together to create:
a) improved understanding of their shard values and goals; and
b) significant advances in the conditions of economic justice in Western New York.

THE JOAN MALONE AWARD

Purpose: To honor a woman who has followed in the footsteps of Joan Malone, a founder, the first director, and active member of the Coalition for Economic Justice. Joan has worked tirelessly to fulfill the mission of CEJ and unite labor, faith, community, and academic allies in the fight for social and economic justice. Such a person will have demonstrated

1. A deep commitment to coalition building
2. A deep commitment to the labor movement and faith based institutions
3. A dedication to at risk and vulnerable communities

Sign the Petition!

The ghost of Bass Pro still haunts the minds of Buffalo residents. After banishing the beast over a year ago, CEJ and the Canal Side Community Alliance are still fighting to make sure the ghost doesn't come back in a re-incarnated form. Yet many WNY politicians and developers still see big-box development as an answer to the economic woes of the city and the vacant waterfront site.

The Canal Side Community Alliance has grown to over 60 organizations, fighting to make sure public money spent in the name of economic development creates equitable development and public good.

We have been fighting for two years to win a Community Benefits Agreement for the project and are now engaged in an effort to make Local Business the Anchor Tenant at Canal Side!

Sign the petition and help us reach our goal of 500!

Thank you! With your help we can make sure the ghost of Bass Pro stays away from our waterfront for good. Local business means real economic development where the community benefits.