Former CEJ Director Joan Malone recounts story of Justice for Janitors

This year marks CEJ's 25th anniversary. To celebrate this remarkable milestone, we'll be telling 25 stories through this blog, and at our 25th Anniversary Awards Banquet on Friday, May 13th at 6:00PM. (To purchase tickets to the dinner, follow this link. Contact josh@buffalojwj.org for more banquet information.)

CEJ has been blessed to have fought side by side with so many special people in the struggle for jobs with justice over the years. It is this legacy of people coming together, transforming their own lives and the lives of others by living to answer the call for justice in their community and in the world. It is in this spirit that we would like to share with you these stories, to open windows into the rich history of CEJ and the stories of those who make up that history.

Our first story comes from CEJ's former Executive Director, Joan Malone, whose presence remains felt in the organization to this day. Here she recounts the story of how CEJ helped win a new contract for a group of janitors at the Marine Midland Bank (now HSBC) building at the foot of Main St.

“One of my favorite stories was from early in CEJ’s history, before people in the broader community knew who we were. There was a group of janitors at the Marine Midland (now HSBC) Bank’s building in downtown Buffalo, who were being treated awfully, and overworked. I remember talking to them and they would describe how they had to clean 20 floors a day. It was just a terrible situation, and we knew that we needed to do something about this.

It was also clear, and we knew that we were up against an enormous power. Back then, as it is now, there was a power structure that existed between the wealthy companies and the elected officials.

The building owner contracted with the janitors, who were SEUI members at the time. The bank was saying that since they were not the building owners, there was nothing they could do about the situation. And the owners would say the same thing. So they were playing off each other. But we knew that since the bank was the largest tenant – they occupied 80% of the building, they could address the situation if they wanted to.

We used a lot of different tactics to bother the bank. We would have “fax days” where we would jam up their fax machines by having people send faxes to them all day saying “Justice for Janitors” and things like that. We created an alternative annual report about all of their bad practices, and we would distribute these at the baseball games next door. We had them as the “Grinch of the Year” on the front page of the news at Christmas time.

But what really won it was an action that never happened. The bank had just built the new downtown arena, which they were naming after themselves, and they had planned a big opening event for all of their wealthy friends. It was going to be a very big ordeal and it was a highly publicized event. Our plan was to have people kneeling and praying for justice for these workers in front of the entrance on the night of the event. People would have to walk over them to go in and eat their caviar.

We had lots of people volunteer to do this, and were well prepared to carry out the action. That was when we got a call from the mayor begging us not to do this. At this point that Marine Midland finally gave in.

It’s not that they saw that it was the right thing to do. It was a business decision. Banks are community institutions and they need to have a good standing in the community and be seen as decent and respectable in order for them to be successful.

The main thing that stood out from this is that there is a clear moral right and wrong. And that it was just so clear and obvious that we were on the side of what is right, what is the right thing to do. Everyone understands and instantly can see right and wrong. This was why CEJ was able to have victories, to be effective- it was our ability to communicate that with the broader community.

From this, I learned about the power of story to win community support through clearly demonstrating a moral imperative. We would do lots of speaking engagements and the janitors would tell their story at churches or community groups. People, when they heard the story and met these workers would immediately see what the right thing to do was.

It also taught me to do your homework, to really understand an issue and see all of the sides involved. There is nothing like directly meeting with the people who are impacted by a situation – you can read all you want about it, but the best way to really know is to meet with people and you will understand what they are going through immediately and why it needs to change.”

-Joan Malone (March, 2011)

40 Hour Fast & Remembering the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

One hundred years ago this Friday (3/25), the fire that killed 146 workers at New York’s Triangle Shirtwaist Factory sparked one of the most spirited organizing drives in the nation’s history – producing a wave of unionization and new state labor laws that laid the foundation for many of the New Deal’s signature achievements.

This year, the New York State Labor Religion Coalition's 16th annual 40 hour fast will be commemorating the victims of the fire. From Wednesday, March 23rd at Midnight to Friday, March 25th at 4PM, the Labor-Religion Coalition's 40 hour fast asks you to take a moment to reflect, pray, and act for worker health and safety, and for ending sweatshops.

At a time when unions are under attack, it's important to remember why they are so valuable. Let's not go back 100 years.

We'd like to share the Labor Religion Coalition's prayer for the 40 hour fast. And don't forget to join CEJ and the WNY Area Labor Federation on Wednesday, March 29th at 4:00 at Lafayette Square to tell our elected officials "Not in NY State".

Statewide Prayer for the 40 Hour FAST, March 23-25, 2011 on the 100th Anniversary of the Triangle factory fire:

Refrain: IN THE PRESENCE OF OUR CREATOR GOD, LET US HUNGER:

For a 40-hour week of humane work that pays living wages to garment makers in Bangladesh, iphone workers in China, Indonesian television assemblers and farmworkers in New York state;

For New York State to set the highest standard for purchase of sweatshop-free garments and uniforms as it participates in the Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium;

For thousands of new conscientious consumers who buy only Fair Trade coffee, tea and chocolate;

For more businesses like Alta Gracia in the Dominican Republic, where the owner has chosen blessing over curse for his workers, paying three times the DR’s poverty-minimum wage;

For a movement of women and men that follows the call of the prophet to “act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with God;”

For the spirit of Clara Lemlich and Rose Schneiderman, leaders of the 1909-1910 “Uprising of the 20,000,” to bless courageous women like Kalpona Akter, a former garment worker who is now Director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity;

For the Hershey Company to “Raise the Bar” by ending its use of child labor and slave labor in the production of its chocolate, as others companies have already done;

For renewed commitment to the seventh commandment so that the country’s wage theft crisis gives way to sufficient bread and affirming roses for all;

For collective bargaining rights and freedom of association for all workers;

For a triangle of faith, hope and love to rise up from the ashes of the Triangle fire.

AMEN.

Open Letter to Erie County Legislators

(We recently sent this letter to our Erie County Legislators, as well as Al Culliton, Chief Operating Officer, Erie County Industrial Development Agency, Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Erie County Executive Chris Collins.)

Dear legislators:

As leaders in the local community we are writing to express our support for ensuring quality job provisions on economic development assistance provided by the Erie County Industrial Land Development Corporation (ILDC), a subsidiary of the Erie County Industrial Development Agency (IDA).

We are deeply disturbed by the fact that County Executive Collins is accusing your honorable body of killing jobs and is spreading this false narrative with the media. We are writing to provide a few facts and to re-center the discussion on the need for comprehensive reform of local and state development programs to ensure that public financing (whether through interest free bonding or tax breaks) results in the creation of quality jobs for local residents.

On January 31, 2008, the provisions of the New York State General Municipal Law that permit

IDAs in New York State to provide tax-exempt revenue bond financing for civic facility/non-profit projects expired and have not been renewed. The elimination of the ability of IDAs to provide such financing was due to the longstanding failure of IDAs across the state to provide a strong return on the public’s investment.

With IDAs unable to grant assistance to important civic facility projects, subsidiaries much like the Erie County ILDC began to take on this function in many areas across the state. In fact, since January 2008, over 20 new agencies have been created, and several existing agencies have resumed their financing activity. Most of these new agencies are shadows of their sponsoring IDAs; they have the exact same staff and board as the IDA and operate out of the same buildings. Consequently, the shadow agencies are susceptible to the same flaws of IDAs, and should be subject to reform measures similar to the ones being proposed for IDAs – increased transparency and accountability as well as high road labor and environmental standards.

The Erie County Legislature is to be commended for incorporating key reform provisions into the resolution it passed in July of 2009 regarding ILDC financing. Of particular note is the Legislature’s inclusion of a prevailing wage provision for construction as well as requirements regarding ILDC Board representation.

Rather than stripping the ILDC of any of these reforms, we would recommend that you expand upon provisions guiding the ILDC’s public financing to ensure that the ILDC uses its powers to even more aptly support job development and general prosperity, by including increased disclosure provisions for example.

That said, we do also want to explicitly express our support for the quality job provision that your body did include in its 2009 resolution authorizing the ILDC to do civic facility financing.

Mr. Culliton and others from the IDA have told you that the inclusion of prevailing wage will increase project costs by over 25%, citing a Center for Government Study report commissioned by the state’s IDAs.

This and other studies have been widely criticized for their flaws in approach. Studies have found that prevailing wage laws can enhance state tax revenues, industry income, and non-wage benefits for workers; lower future maintenance and repair costs; reduce occupational injuries and fatalities; and increase the pool of skilled construction workers—to the benefit of both the public and the construction industry. Productivity among construction workers paid prevailing rate is 20% higher than that of lower paid construction workers. And, most importantly, payment of prevailing rate protects the residents of Erie County from hidden taxpayer costs associated with low wages.

In conclusion, it is important for the legislature to put measures in place that will ensure that the ILDC lives up to its mission to create jobs and further general prosperity.

We support the Erie County Legislature’s 2009 resolution. We urge you to make it stronger, not weaken it.

Sincerely,

Allison Duwe, Executive Director - Coalition for Economic Justice

Sam Magavern, Co-Director - Partnership for the Public Good

Lou Jean Fleron, Director - Workforce, Industry, and Economic Development - Cornell University, ILR

Aaron Bartley, Executive Director - PUSH Buffalo

L. Nathan Hare, President/CEO - Community Action Organization of Erie County, Inc.

Rev. Mark Blue - Second Baptist Church

Dorian Gaskin, Vice President - Outsource Center

Rev. Dan Schifeling - Church of the Nativity

Rev. Eugene Pierce - WNY Outreach Ministries

Bruce Fisher, Director - Center for Economic and Policy Studies

Rabbi Alexander Lazarus-Klein, Temple Sinai

Karima Amin, Director - Prisoners are People Too

Susan M. Davis, Associate Professor - Department of Economics and Finance, Buffalo State College

Bryon McIntyre, Board President - Citizen Action of Western New York

Jim Anderson, Board President - Western New York Peace Center
Rev. M. Bruce McKay, Pilgrim-St. Luke’s UCC

Rev. Jeff Carter, Ephesus Ministries

(Organization for identification purposes only)

Faith in Action Week Concludes

We make New Years resolutions for many different reasons. Some of us need the structure of goals to keep us on track, while some of us set our sights high to give ourselves something to work towards. At the core of most new years resolutions, however, is the principle that we can do better. It's the idea that we are better, and that if we set our hearts to it, we can be better than we have been in years past.

It has been in that spirit that faith leaders from across Buffalo took their struggle for justice to City Hall this week, encouraging Common Council members to sign a New Years resolution pledge to remain committed to a Community Benefits Agreement in 2011. In an exciting 5-day period, over 20 faith leaders and congregation members visited with members of the Common Council, engaging them in discussion on the continued need for a CBA to be a foundation for the Canal Side development project.

In March of 2010, the Buffalo Common Council passed a unanimous resolution to withhold transfer of city-owned land at Canal Side to the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation until the ECHDC negotiated a Community Benefits Agreement with the Canal Side Community Alliance. They stood up for Buffalo and Erie County residents, and with a 9-0 vote they made a bold statement that development in Buffalo does not have follow the same tired and failed process. They said that we can and must do better this time.

Since then, we've seen the movement for community engagement in creating a waterfront we can all be proud of grow continue to unfold. We've been able to have a few initial meetings with ECHDC leaders, we've delivered over 1,000 postcards in support of a CBA, and our Canal Side Community Alliance has grown to over 50 members and with a strong list of terms and demands. We've also seen a movement for community involvement in the design process around concepts of "lighter, quicker, and cheaper" grow into a strong force. Together, we've won an amended Modified General Project Plan which has shifted the focus to public infrastructure development and created 3 sub-committees led by community members to study historical, cultural, and environmental concerns.

While the ECHDC remains reluctant to negotiate a Community Benefits Agreement, we know that the Buffalo Common Council is going to need to remain strong in 2011. Some Councilmembers were willing to sign the New Years resolution pledge. However, most echoed the sentiment of new Councilmember Darius Pridgen, who said that we, the community, are going to need to continue making the case for a CBA in order to keep the pressure on them to uphold their 2010 resolution.

It is in this spirit that the Faith in Action week was a great success. We've demonstrated that our commitment to a CBA in 2011 remains strong. Like all New Year's resolutions, however, the easy part is often in making them. The challenging part is then doing the work necessary to fulfill them. Yet within that challenge lies excitement, joy, and empowerment. So here's to the road ahead, and to remaining more committed than ever to winning a Community Benefits Agreement in 2011!

Day 4: Faith in Action Week

The visits continued this Thursday as a total of 8 people made visits to councilmembers. Rev. Dan Schifeling of the Church of the Nativity went with Rev. Faith McCausland from Kenilworth United Church of Christ, Ruth Snyder, co-pastor at Church of the Nativity, and four congregants of Church of the Nativity. And later in the day, Rabbi Alex Lazarus-Klein of Temple Sinai made the rounds at City Hall.

The first group of 7 talked with Ellicott Councilmember Darius Pridgen, Delaware's Michael LoCurto, and Masten's Demone Smith. Like the previous day, Darius Pridgen maintained that re was supportive of the CBA. Michael LoCurto, a strong proponent of the CBA, said that he would remain committed to the CBA. And Demone Smith stated that he was in favor of it.

Rabbi Lazarus-Klein visited with David Rivera, who had signed the pledge the previous day and who showed clear support for the CBA. All councilmembers who were not in received letters from both parties.