Organizing in Baltimore

5 weeks in, my first blog post.
With 2 weeks remaining, although in the throes of the activity that remains, I find myself reflecting back on the experience in Baltimore this summer.
Things began shakily, when I discovered that I would be working essentially alone, with no office, coworkers, or supervision to speak of. I was asked to begin contacting clergy and asking them to be part of a coalition that had not yet formed, which would work to oppose a proposed Wal*Mart development in Baltimore city.
As the weeks rolled by, and I attempted to do the work with which I was charged, I began making my own routine and style of organizing, met with some modest successes, and with a great deal of learning.
Our coalition is growing rapidly, with a name--Baltimore CAN (Baltimore Community Action Network), a new website: www.baltimorecan.net, and about 30 member organizations. All in the last 4 weeks!
Although we have been working mostly on building our coalition, we have a few different goals we have been working towards:

1) The proposed Wal*Mart development has a PUD (Planned Unit Development) hearing before the City Council August 5, and we hope to pack the house and rally beforehand

2) We are working with the Community Law Center to draft principles of Community Standards in development into legal language, with the hope of incorporating it into the new Zoning Code, which is being revised by the City of Baltimore for the first time in 30 years.

3) Yesterday we had a big hearing for a proposed bill for a Living Wage in Retail. We helped set up a panel of testimonials by clergy, workers, and others. Unfortunately, the bill died. It was exciting to be part of it, though. It was controversial and covered heavily in the Baltimore press. Here is one article: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-living-wage-council-20100722,0,7730729.story

I am also working now on putting together a clergy breakfast to promote the goals of the coalition. There is a lot to do in very little time!

New Internship Site!

Hello All!

Just three short weeks (ish) until we are all reunited in Chicago! So hard to believe. This past week brought lots of adventures, starting with a site change to the Interfaith Council on Economic Justice out here in San Jose, CA. I'm grateful for the time I had in Portland, ME and all the wonderful people I met there, but the Workers Center out there was in a point of transition and it was not the best time for them to host an intern.

In San Jose I'm joining our fellow IWJ intern Becca! She has been wonderful introducing me to the area and the organization and I am excited to be working with her for the next few weeks. We will be helping to organize Labor in the Pulpits, a mass of support for those in need in Arizona due to SB1070 at the cathedral, a joint speaker event with the NAACP on economic justice and religion, and much more! We did sneak in some time for fun this past weekend though and ventured to San Francisco for the weekend. Enjoy the picture and we will see you all soon!

TAMFS is not participating in or affiliated with demonstration on GA floor

The civil disobedience disruption of the proceedings of the General Assembly plenary session is not endorsed by That All May Freely Serve or any other group representing LGBT persons within the PC(USA).

We join with Presbyterians around the country in our sadness that the church declined to take steps towards a more inclusive church by broadening the definition of marriage and rejoicing in the overwhelmingly positive steps taken towards ordination and benefits for same-sex domestic partners.

Arizona Interfaith Alliance for Worker Justice

Hey everyone,

This is my first post since getting here and it is long overdue. My first four weeks have gone well and have been challenging at times. The worker center here is on the smaller side. We are only 2 years old and still working to organize and create structure. Everyone at the office is so great it is like we are a family. Maria Alva who makes almost all of the calls and organizes the workers is a former worker that won her case with us against Food City a grocery company here in the Valley. Nic De la Fuente is a part time employee and a part time intern which makes him a full time employee. He works with intake and individual cases. Cristina Sanidad is here two days a week and has been with the center from the start. She also does intake and works on cases and has become an expert on recourse for wage theft. Trina Zelle is the director and stops in every week to meet with us and provide us with direction and any resources we need. This summer we are working on focusing and getting more organized. We have moved to working on group cases and we are focusing on wage theft. We are also trying to get faith communities and faith organizations involved with the worker center as well. That is where I come in.

I arrived here with the training for community organizing from IWJ so that immediately qualified me as the person with the most organizing training and experience. My job is to get faith communities on board and support our worker center. On thing that we are trying to do is move our worker rights trainings that we hold bi-weekly into the community. So I have been trying to get churches to hold worker trainings on site. The reason we are trying to do this is because we have recently seen a large decline in attendance to our worker trainings. This is mainly caused by the passage of SB1070. Our workers and the international community is scared to travel and only leave their home is if the have to. We feel that by holding trainings in churches people will feel safer and more willing to come to a church rather than our worker center. I started with a phone, the internet and a couple suggestions of communities that I could approach. I have really made an effort to reach out to the Catholic community because that is the community I was brought in and am most comfortable with. To date we have set up two trainings in Spanish speaking parishes sponsored by the parishes and 2 events for worker rights awareness in more affluent Anglo communities. Work is moving along and I plan to move into other faith backgrounds next in hopes to get some diversity in our religious support.

Besides faith outreach and worker cases SB1070 has been the other big topic and focus. We are part of a Latino service organization network called Somos America. Somos America is organizing most of the effort against SB1070 in Phoenix. They are trying to organize 30 days of action in June with different actions each day leading up to the 29th. The actions are of all types and sponsored by all different groups. We are currently working on a possible campaign against a contractor Solomon Diaz who has been known to not pay his workers and is very violent as well. We would like to kick off the campaign against him with an action in the week leading up to the implementation of SB1070 on the 29^th, as one of the days in the 30 days of action effort. It will have a joint purpose of fighting against SB1070 and what it means for our Latino brothers and sisters and an action to stand up for the injustice that Salomon is showing towards his workers. This action is just beginning to formulate and will take a lot of research and preparation to make sure that it is well organized and affective. We will also do everything that we can to promote the rally that will take place on June 29th against SB1070.

Being in Arizona right now is both frustrating and exciting. It is hard seeing the disregard my home state has for our Latino brothers and sisters but it is exciting to be here on the front lines of the fight. So far I have learned so much and will continue to learn every day that I am here. I look forward to the campaign that we are hoping to mount against Solomon and look forward to the June 29th rally against SB1070. We can use all the help we can get out here so if you would like to come out here we can always find something for you to do. The more voices that we have the louder we are. Hope that all of the other internships are going well. Sorry that the update is so delayed!

Paz,

Will Rutt

Summer Update

So apparently I've been lacking on the blog frontier, and decided it was time to contribute my two cents. Life in San Jose has been really interesting. I'm learning a lot, constantly surrounded by action, and really getting to try out all sorts of different ways to be involved in justice work.

A brief summary of what's been filling my days...
*Multiple San Jose City Council meetings on the city budget (like 4-5, over 2 hours every time), speaking for the lowest paid workers in San Jose, fighting for unions etc. Surprisingly, it's been really interesting. Ironic that the first time I've ever gone to city hall, and it's in a place that I'm not an actual resident in. But, never-the-less, I've gotten a real taste of the political power struggle, the problems of a bureaucracy, and a handful of politicians who despite it all, really do care about the vulnerable of society. Unfortunately, not enough to make majority, so the mayor's budget passed. Cutting 10%+ from all city workers' wages, closing down police and fire stations, and firing 75 city janitors- to have them outsourced for 1/2 the wages and no benefits. Life and politics can be cruel sometimes.

*Justice for Mercado Workers campaign. Just starting off trying to organize spanish mercado workers for better pay and benefits, to receive lunch breaks, overtime, the pay they deserve etc. There are a lot of really bad examples of wage theft going on. One store closed down, and didn't pay any of the workers for the full time they worked the last week. If they were lucky they got 25% of the wages they deserved.

*Hotel Worker Rising- as we already know, the Hyatt Hotel is a really bad corporate chain that abuses its workers all over the US, and San Jose is no exception. Here in San Jose, they've been working for 2 years trying to unionize. Many of the problems are similar to the ones we heard about in Chicago. My first week there was an action called "Banquet in the Streets" with a dinner, speakers, and then a delegation to the management. Next Monday I have a planning meeting for the National Day of action at the end of July. I’m giving a presentation on non-violence and civil disobedience to the Hyatt Hotel Workers committee (mostly faith leaders). In San Jose, the action will involve a sit-in and civil disobedience.

*I’m also organizing Labor in the Pulpits, which is an event where over Labor Day weekend 165+ services in San Jose will have speakers come and talk about labor and the connection with faith. It’s a really cool idea, and lots of leg work to organize 165+ services and speakers etc. It's too bad that I won't be around in September to actually see the fruits of my labor (no pun intended).

*I've been making lots of phone calls. I’m an expert on ‘cold calls’ now. I could practically be a telemarketer. Except I would die if I was a telemarketer.

The most challenging aspect has probably been my social life. I knew what relocating meant, but I don’t think I really registered how hard it would be. I don’t really have any friends. I think adjusting to that has also been the weirdest part. By now I’ve gather a few people who are more of acquaintances, but I’ve kinda forced myself upon them. Almost everyone I meet is out of college and quite a few years older than me, which is also different. So, that’s been hard. I really miss everyone from school. But, it's getting better with time. And my host family is really nice.

Most unexpected is how political my work is. The fact that I’ve spent so much time at city council, and the office does phone banking for elections, and endorses political candidates, and I’ve met quite a few of the local politicians. That was a surprise. But an interesting one for sure. We are located in an office building with a) the Interfaith Council on Economics and Justice, b) Working Partnerships USA ( a collaboration of different non-profits working on social policy issues and community organizing (which includes the interfaith council) and c) the Labor Council-- not a non-profit, but rather part of the AFL-CIO working for the unions, which means it can be more political-- endorsing political campaigns, etc.

Well, that's all for now!

Paz,
Becca

p.s. I have no idea why this is in different fonts...sorry!

End of Week Three

This week was interesting. I did a lot of research, which I am actually enjoying. We are gearing up for a clergy meeting in the middle of July. I am very excited about that. I think it will be a good way for me to learn. Also, I spent some time at the IWJ this week. I got to speak with my liason. I will say that IWJ has been very supportive throughout the experience.

I have dug even deeper into the bus drivers and to be honest I am a little conflicted. I definitely think and feel that these drivers need a voice and better wages. 100%. But part of me feels that it is more of a bad boss than a union. We ran into a worker this week who had been a part of union before and wanted no part of a new one. She wouldn't even let my co-driver out of the car. Why would she be so anti-union? If we are trying to help, why tell us to get back in our car?

I am really trying hard to understand why people are pro-union, especially those who are hardcore and vice versa. Is there no middle ground? Are the companies really helping themselves by not agreeing to better conditions for their workers? Why are the organizer so passionate?

I hope in the next few weeks I can answer some of these. To be honest I am smack in the middle. Maybe I just want everyone to be happy with their job, life, and situation. Maybe I want people to understand themselves better.

More questions. Less answers. Another Shabbat.

Jeremy Fine

Second Week Coming to an End

As the second week has come to an end I am beginning to really feel the passion for this job. I am not talking about my own passion, I am talking about the passion of the real organizers. My week was spent doing some research on the local clergy who might help us with our campaign and two days knocking on doors trying to get a feel for the actual bus drivers.

After knocking on about 12 doors all around the Chicagoland area and not one employee being at that address, we finally found one. This employee shared some stories with Audrey and I about favoritism, but mostly about how the managers/owners make everyone scared. You could feel this employees desire for change but nerves about losing his job if the company found out the employee spoke to the Teamster. It was a bit of a reality check for me. It has me thinking about really serious issue of how we treat others and what that means for my future rabbinate and life.

About me summer long question (Why do these organizers do what they do) I got a chance to sit down with Shawn and Jim. We had a long talk and I think I really pushed them (as they pushed back) to why this stuff was so unethical or was some of it just unfair/brutal business. Eventually, I asked Jim why he became an organizer. Jim told me he was a 4th generation Teamster. He worked for a company/union for almost 25 years and then joined the Teamsters so others would be able to put away for their families like he has done. Clearly, he feels a connection because he was a worker and so were the generations before him. Jim seem to be a bright guy who could be doing a lot of different things in this world. But he has chosen to just help others. That is what the guy wants to do. Help. I respected that a lot. 

My goal, as stated before, is to talk to non-former-workers who organize. Unfortunately, there aren't any really at the Teamsters office I work at, but I will keep exploring. Until next time.

Have a wonderful Sabbath. Rest up.
And Let Us Say...Amen.
-Jeremy Fine

Hi All,

I hope the first week went well. I just wanted to share a short review of a film (9500 Liberty) that I went to see with one of my colleagues at Georgetown's Labor Initiative after work one day. Here is the link to the youtube trailer, review below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjHUb9PqysI

I was privileged to attend Annabel Park and Eric Byler’s 9500 Liberty—a vivid, representational portrait of immigration issues in northern Virginia—on June 16th 2010.

Park and Byler’s ability to depict the nature of small town politics in Manassas, Virginia reveals the rivalries, coalitions, and infighting that result from locally divisive issues. Testimonial accounts captured my attention and drove me to think more critically about how local groups can have an impact on the nature of the legal process. Together, these accounts illustrated the resounding need for political action and attentiveness, rather than apathy.

While my appreciation of the film stems from the filmmakers’ passion for the subject, I offer a critique on the question of objectivity. The filmmakers become involved in the story as it unfolds in a manner reminiscent of (though much less reckless than) “Gonzo journalism”. Perhaps, it is unfair to pigeon hole them into the role of objective documentarian. However, the film left in me a contrarian desire to better understand the motivations behind anti-immigration policies. By the conclusion of the film, it seemed difficult to comprehend how the filmmakers could acquire an honest interview from their opposition as they publicly associated themselves with one side.

Regardless, this academic complaint should not take away from the films resounding success in depicting the convergence of activism, technology, and politics on the issue of immigration. It is an inspirational job well done.

Workers Memorial Luncheon

My first week back from training was dominated by preparations for our Workers' Memorial Luncheon. (Workers' Memorial Day is actually observed all over the world on April 28, but that was only a few weeks before our primaries here in Arkansas and people were swamped with that, so AICWJ decided to reschedule our event for well after the election.) The facts are pretty stunning: an average of 14 workers die on the job every day in this country. In 2008, 5,071 workers lost their lives on the job, and another 50,000 died from occupational diseases.
About 50 of us gathered in the basement of First Presbyterian Church in Little Rock to commemorate these workers, particularly those Arkansans who lost their lives on the job. After sharing a meal together, we participated in a short ceremony to remember and honor all those who died on the job in the past year. State Senator Joyce Elliott held a large candle from which we lit individual candles and each said the name of an Arkansan worker. Once all the candles were lit, a prayer was said and Taps was played.
After a week of stress, I'd begun to resent the luncheon a little bit. But after experiencing it, my mind was changed. I was struck by the way all sorts of people - labor folks, religious leaders, community members, local politicians - came out to honor our workers as one community.
I hope everyone else had as great a week as I did. I start clergy visits next week - send me good vibes!

PS - If you'd like to see more photos from the event, they're available on our page on Facebook!

Week One is Completed - Jeremy Fine

Its been a nice week so far. I know way more about Chicago buses then I ever dreamed. To be honest its really interesting and I am learning a lot.

I undertook my first task this week which was to compile stories and facts about the bus company that we are trying to unionize. Once I compiled everything I outlined ethical and religious issue, using reason and the Bible. I tried to also see things from the bus company's point of view. I think that we need to really understand what they do well to fully understand where we can make change.

It was a good project and a good week. On my personal journey I am still trying to understand why people do what they do. I spent some time at the IWJ office (and will continue to), which I think will help me better understand the passion of organizing.

Shabbat Shalom to everyone.
And Let Us Say...Amen.
-Jeremy Fine

Chicago Internship Training

Topsy-turvy in New York City

Over a plate of pierogies at a perfectly-preserved "old boys" sort of D.C. bar last week, a friend mused on "how strange it is to be in the world after a year at seminary." Indeed, everything feels topsy-turvy while at the same time topsy-turvy seems the right and proper order of things.

I, along with a couple of our colleagues, was in D.C. rather than Chicago because we've fallen backward into an AFL-CIO summer internship program that has us working with a handful of other students (largely undergraduates) in cities across the country. Last week, instead of building my pastoral voice, learning about interfaith work, and meeting you fabulous people, I learned labor's official position on the future of the movement. There was talk of "winning" the "fight," but little sense of common cause with the poor, the undocumented, our local farmers.

Suddenly I feel a sense of loss when one justice cause uprooted from the broader ethic that feeds it, suddenly I find myself offering the theological perspective to a group. For me, the world has been turned upside down a bit, and I sense how different this assignment is from what most of you will be doing. But there's an opportunity here to play chaplain to a community that might not know they need one, and to learn from a different way of going about justice work. Maybe, like Paul's people, I ought to keep turning things over – off we go.

paz,

Steve

Starting up at the SMWC

Howdy Everyone! I hope you all safely arrived at your destinations! I made it to Portland around midnight on Friday, but unfortunately my suitcase of clothing did not. I have since become good friends with Patty from delayed baggage claims and will hopefully have it returned tomorrow.

The Southern Maine Workers' Center here is definitely in a period of transition. After a partner with their Restaurant Opportunities Center pulled out a few months ago, they have been working to reestablish their goals and strategize as to where to focus next. I will mostly be working with my supervisor, Paul, on reaching out to the faith community to build a foundation of support for the new center through one-on-ones and social mapping.

Thursday I will be attending the Maine Initiatives dinner, where the organization will be highlighting places they support, like the workers’ center. Then Friday and Saturday I will be helping with the union's COPE convention, talking about interfaith worker support in the area. All of this should be quite interesting and a great opportunity to meet fascinating people in the area.

Until next time, peace and love from Maine!

Cheers,
-Kari and Balou (the office dog and my new best bud)

Bus Drivers Campaign Days 1 & 2

I was pretty nervous walking into the office on the first day.  Besides knowing little about what I am doing, I also needed to ask not to have to work out of Brookfield. Luckily, James and Kim were great about it. Nerves gone and ready to organize and help the world =)

I got to know the office and how dedicated/passionate people in the Teamsters are about what they do. They fly back and forth from Nashville or DC. Jim Glimco puts his reputation on the line every day fighting for what he believes in.

After learning all about the bus drivers campaign and informing people about what the day to day life is like in Jerusalem, I got my first task.

That is what I have been doing today (day 2). I am research and compiling a cheat sheet of stories and information for the office. Good work and learning a lot.

Something personal that I really want to explore is why people are doing what they are doing? What drives someone to organize? I have a feeling it isn't the money or the friendly hours. Clearly, there are workers who didn't like their conditions while they were laborers. Those people aside, the people right out of college or that gave up their corporate jobs for the life of an organizer, why did those people choose to do what they do?

Tomorrow I get to see Kristin, Meg, and the IWJ gang.

And Let Us Say...Amen. (If this reference is weird to you check out my blog www.TheGreatRabbino.com or a prayer book =))

-Jeremy Fine

The First Day

Julie Gorman - Tompkins County Workers' Center - Ithaca, NY



Today I walked to the Workers' Center, incredibly nervous about whether I really had enough to contribute to such an important organization. Having arrived early, I sat outside and waited for Pete, my supervisor, to get here. When he arrived, we stood outside and talked for a bit. He asked me how I was and about training. Then he asked me how I felt today and about starting this. I told him I was a bit overwhelmed, and he told me he thought I could handle it well.

I've spent the past few hours working on archiving newspaper articles about the center - the first of many projects I will see over the summer. Twenty minutes ago, Pete and another worker named Linda told me they had a meeting to go to, handed me the phone, gave me the intimidating news that I would be in charge for an hour or so, and told me they believed I would be just fine. So here I am on my lunch break, taking workers' phone calls and blogging. The more I speak to people on the phone or when the come in, the less nervous I am.

I think we all went into this being afraid of not being able to contribute enough or in the right way when we are working with people who have been at this for years. But when the director told me he believed I could do it, I knew I needed to believe him or I wasn't going to be able to be as productive as I should. I hope the other interns have similar experiences in the first couple days. It's nice to feel like you are doing something right, and we all definitely have the potential.

Just remember - this country needs a revolution, and we have the power to bring it.

Peace,
Jul