The Case of the Missing Jobs Plan Defeats Even the Great Super Sleuth

Yesterday in Albany, Jobs with Justice affiliates from Long Island, New York City, and Buffalo, as well as labor unions and community groups from across the state converged in the capital to assist the great super sleuth himself in finding the missing jobs plan for the state. As the legislative session in Albany comes to an end, many people are left wondering the whereabouts of the economic development initiative that will create sustainable, permanent, living-wage jobs for more local New Yorkers. The Coalition of Economic Justice sent a delegation of 7 people to this event, which consisted of the skit, a formal press conference in a room in the Legislative Office Building, and visits to representatives in the state senate and assembly. The skit and the press conference were a crowd-pleasing success. Clad in a ridiculous outfit complete with a pipe and an oversized magnifying glass, Austin Guest of the Alliance for Greater New York (ALIGN) ran around the buildings in the capital complex asking if people have seen the missing jobs plan. The result was powerful: everyone he met, including staffers of legislators, tourists on the street, democrats, republicans, and interns, came to the general consensus that the jobs plan is not in fact in Albany. Instead, it is in our cities and towns, where labor and community leaders, environmental advocates, academics, local business owners and others work day in and day out to create an economy built on good jobs and shared prosperity.

In response to this economic crisis, and the fear that Governor Cuomo’s proposed regional economic development councils might make the same mistakes of old, ALIGN published a report entitled “ Seizing the Moment: How Regional Economic Development Councils Can Build a Good Jobs Economy,” which was distributed at the press conference and to the offices of legislators. In the report, three key points are stressed as imperative additions to the Regional Economic Development Council model. They are implementing performance standards, maintaining accountability, and operating with transparency. In essence, there needs to be mechanisms in place that will hold companies accountable so that subsidized projects actually achieve the goal of sustainable job creation. The whole process also needs to be open to the public, since taxpayers deserve to know exactly how their money is being spent. ALIGN, CEJ, and their allies support the idea of the regional economic development councils as a model with great potential. However, they need to redefine their role and judge “success” based on outcomes to achieve real economic development. That is the missing jobs plan.

Yesterday, the Buffalo delegation was able to deliver the report and talk to the staff of Assembly members Crystal Peoples-Stokes and Sam Hoyt, as well as Senators Tim Kennedy, Mark Grisanti, Mike Ranzenhofer, and Pat Gallivan. We hope that this action and these visits planted the seeds for future discussions in Albany on how to make the regional economic development councils work for the working people across the state.

On a related note, there have been rumors that the super sleuth himself may make a surprise appearance right here in Buffalo next week as he continues the search for the jobs plan. Stay tuned for more updates.

Here is the link to the funny video of the super sleuth in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0auXtdhe7b4

Citizen Action's "Justice Works" Conference-an Intern's Perspective

My name is David Huang and I am an intern this summer at CEJ as part of Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations’ “The High Road Runs through the City” fellowship program. A little bit about myself: I just finished my freshman year at Cornell. As a student in the Industrial and Labor Relations program, I am interested in arbitration and third party work, the labor movement, law, and social justice issues. This past year was also my first year living in New York, after going to high school in Northern California and growing up in Taiwan. Throughout the course of the summer, I will be blogging on here about my experiences working with CEJ in Buffalo. I am very excited for this opportunity to live in this city rich in culture and feel especially fortunate to be working alongside the capable and committed people at CEJ in promoting civic, political, and worker rights, preventing corporate and government corruption, and preserving the strong middle class that has defined the American economic landscape by advocating for better jobs in New York.

For my first post I will be writing about my experiences at Citizen Action of New York’s “Justice Works: A Conference for Progressive New York,” which I attended during the weekend of June 4th and 5th.

If I could summarize the Justice Works conference in two words, they would be “vision” and “passion.” In order to champion any cause, especially the progressive ideals of government, education, and the economy, both concepts are needed to complement each other. The speakers, organizers, leaders, and participants at the conference showed that they not only have the vision of a greater, progressive New York, but they also have the passion to bring about visible and tangible changes. This passion is evident in the participants’ strong commitment to working together. Karen Scharff, the Executive Director of Citizen Action of New York, says that “by fighting for justice, we build strong communities. By fighting for economic equality, we build a better life for everyone. By fighting against racism, we build a strong democracy. By working together, across barriers of race, ethnicity, class and geography, we build a strong movement.” What I saw this weekend convinced me that this strong movement will persist beyond the confines of the Crowne Plaza hotel during the conference. It is a model that can be and will be applied all over the state as passionate progressives fight for justice in our schools, workplaces, and communities.

As someone with limited experience in the progressive movement and grassroots campaigns, I had a lot to learn at the conference. To me, there wasn’t any doubt in the validity and significance of many of the issues discussed, such as the right of workers to union representation, the need for better public schools and better, sustainable jobs, and the call to end racial discrimination in the workplace and in government programs, to name a few. However, the conference grounded these often idealistic goals in practicality, and taught me how to participate in a movement that doesn’t just talk about improving our community, but goes out and actually implements the changes we desire to see. However, as many of the speakers cautioned in their addresses, the progressive movement is often stymied by its shortsighted vision. Sure, we win battles on key issues and apply pressure on legislators to push through some important policy initiatives, but unlike some right-wing advocates, the progressives for the most part have not been successful in conveying to the American people the long-lasting images of compassion, justice, and equality. Therefore, progressives need to learn from their conservative counterparts in their boldness and persistence in pushing through their ideals. Many progressive issues are widely-accepted, even amongst republicans, since they are issues that deal with basic human rights. Only by advancing an uncompromising and unrelenting agenda can the movement instill these democratic principles in the minds of the general American population.

Surprisingly, as perhaps the youngest participant of the conference, the highlight of the weekend for me was not the dance party on Saturday night, but rather the speakers who provided insightful perspectives on progressive issues. Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry, the keynote speaker, was electrifying, combining her sense of humor with her extensive life and work experiences to deliver a provocative account of the struggle of African-Americans and women. Her presentation offered encouragement and new ideas in dealing with failure, which is inevitable in every movement. One of the workshops that I attended, entitled “Good Jobs for Everyone in America,” led by Richard Kirsch, gave me a more practical and applicable understanding of the job market in this recession. Kirsch believes that the root of the problem is that people are feeling hopeless about globalization and the rapid economic development, and the only way to combat this hopelessness is to create good jobs for everyone. In other words, America needs a bigger middle class in order to bring back the economic vitality of old. Eric Schneiderman, the recently-elected attorney general with strong progressive values, offered a rousing speech on Saturday night. He commended the work of the progressive groups present at the conference, and underscored the need for grassroots movements to back the work of politicians and policy makers. He believes that a politician is only as good as what his constituents ask of him, and he prodded everyone to hold their elected officials, himself included, accountable. While I could go on and on about my takeaways from the speeches and the conference experience as a whole, one thing sticks out in my mind—the speakers and the presentations all offered views that angled the progressive movement towards practical actions without losing sight of the big picture.

25 Years, 25 Stories: Dan Cross-Viola, former CEJ Staff Member and Student Leader with UB Students Against Sweatshops

In celebration of CEJ's 25th Anniversary, we are telling 25 stories through this blog, at our 25th Anniversary Awards Banquet, and with a newsletter coming out in June. CEJ has been blessed to work with so many incredible people throughout our years, and we hope to shed a light on some of their amazing stories in order to inspire us all in our continued fight for jobs with justice! This week's story comes from former CEJ staff member and student organizer with UB Students Against Sweatshops, Dan Cross-Viola who helped take CEJ's work with student coalition members to a new level! (To purchase tickets to our 25th Anniversary Awards Banquet, click here. Sponsors include: Platinum Level - WNY Area Labor Federation; 1199 SEIU; New York State United Teachers/ Silver Level - UFCW District One; IUOE Local 17; Lipsitz, Green, Scime, Cambria LLP; Fr. Joseph Bissonette Memorial Foundation, AFTRA)

"Although it was only a few months, I thoroughly enjoyed my time working as the Interim Executive Director at CEJ. As a student organizer with the UB Students Against Sweatshops, I had worked with a number of the Coaliton's partners before, but it was great to work with them in a new context, as well as meet new partners, working to deepen CEJ's relationship with them all in the process. CEJ's work around the Erie County budget crisis was a perfect example of this. In the face of extremely debilitating budget cuts, it was empowering to be a part of a strong corp of CBOs, faith organizations, unions, county officials, and local politicians, all of us united for fiscal, social, and economic responsibility. The collaborative production of Understanding the Erie County Budget Crisis and Moving Forward was an amazing experience, as was the panel discussion we organized at the Historical Society to mark the report's release. I remember standing in the back of the room during the event and feeling so proud of our ability to bring such a diverse panel together, all united around a vision for a better future. Memories like this one are what make me look back fondly on my time at CEJ. Western New York is lucky to have such a dedicated and diverse coalition consistently working with and on behalf of those our society often turns its back on. Happy 25th anniversary CEJ!"

-Dan Cross-Viola

Abrahan McKinney, CEJ Board Member and Seasonal Sanitation Worker shares his CEJ story

In celebration of CEJ's 25th Anniversary, we are telling 25 stories through this blog, at our 25th Anniversary Awards Banquet, and with a newsletter coming out in June. CEJ has been blessed to work with so many incredible people throughout our years, and we hope to shed a light on some of their amazing stories in order to inspire us all in our continued fight for jobs with justice! This week's story comes from CEJ Board Member and seasonal sanitation worker Abraham McKinney, who has fought with CEJ to win living wages for himself and other "seasonal" sanitation workers. (To purchase tickets to our 25th Anniversary Awards Banquet, click here. Sponsors include: Platinum Level - WNY Area Labor Federation; 1199 SEIU; New York State United Teachers/ Silver Level - UFCW District One; IUOE Local 17; Lipsitz, Green, Scime, Cambria LLP; Fr. Joseph Bissonette Memorial Foundation, AFTRA)

"When I think about my time with CEJ, one thing that had a big impact on me was our decision to file a lawsuit with the city. I was amazed by how quickly the city changed its tune about paying us a living wage once there was a lawsuit against them. We had been fighting for a while, had stories in the paper and events that we carried out, but they didn't want to do it. We had meetings with people including with the comptroller who said that there was nothing they could do about making the city pay us a living wage.

Then we learned CEJ could help us bring a lawsuit against the city since it was a law on the books that we should get a living wage. If they were violating the law, their own law even, then we could sue them. So three guys who I worked with -Tim, Howie, one other man, and myself decided that, "ok," we would step up and do this, we would sign on to the lawsuit. As soon as we had the lawsuit going the city immediately changed the way they were acting towards us. It was now "oh, of course we can give you the living wage", and the back pay, too. But they only gave us 5-6 months of back pay, thinking they could give us a little something and we would be quiet. But they owe us years of back pay, and we're not going to leave it alone.

For me this really showed me a lot about how they operate. If they don't think you are serious or they think you'll just go away they'll just continue to ignore you and not deal with you. You have to show them you are not playing around, like we did with the lawsuit. And then they might just give you a little something and hope that you'll just say "well I got mine" and leave it alone. But if you come together and you let them know that you're not going away then eventually they'll give you what you want."

Long Time CEJ Activist, Member, and UAW Member Ron Bassham Shares His Story

In celebration of CEJ's 25th Anniversary, we are telling 25 stories through this blog, at our 25th Anniversary Awards Banquet, and with a newsletter coming out in June. CEJ has been blessed to work with so many incredible people throughout our years, and we hope to shed a light on some of their amazing stories in order to inspire us all in our continued fight for jobs with justice! This week's story comes from our friend Ron Bassham. (To purchase tickets to our 25th Anniversary Awards Banquet, click here.)

Following the devastating blow of Hurricane Mitch in 1998, Ron Bassham, long time CEJ activist and member and a UAW member decided to respond to the disaster. The Coalition for Economic Justice and the UAW had built relationships with the residents along the border, following TriCo’s decision to move operations to Mexico. As CEJ was just coming together around the fight to save thousands of jobs at TriCo in the mid-late 1980's, CEJ's founding members visited communities where the new plan was coming on-line. They found that the workers who earned next to nothing in the factories were living in shacks side by side with the factory and the streams of waste coming from the plant. The owners of the plant gave them the empty plastic jugs that stored toxic chemicals to use for collecting rain water. Workers in Buffalo and Mexico suffered from this re-location.

In the wake of Hurricane Mitch, Ron decided to collect clothing and other donations in coordination with his local UAW Local 686 and the Coalition for Economic Justice. Ron decided to drive the van down to the border towns and personally deliver the donations. Driven by his understanding of the exploitation of industry, and the personal relationships he developed while on a fact finding mission the year before, Ron felt it was the only option he had. Not taking action was not an option. The conditions he found on arrival, Ron explained, were deplorable. The workers had very little to begin with, and the effects of the storm left them even more deprived.

Rather than stay home and watch, Ron and the Coalition for Economic Justice helped collect 8.5 tons of clothing, medicine and toys for the working brothers and sisters in northern Mexico. For Ron, this story shows the values of the Coalition for Economic Justice, and what solidarity with fellow workers is all about.