CLUE SB Helps Achieve “Fair Fares” at MTD Meeting

CLUE SB, COAST, SBCAN, AFSCME, Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee (SBWPC) and PUEBLO Education Fund worked together to come up with a proposal that with only a few tweaks was accepted by the MTD board at the public meeting on Sept. 8. Public testimony from the people whose lives will be most affected by fare increases played an essential role in persuading the board to reconsider its support for the proposal recommended by staff. CLUE SB got out the word to congregations in the Santa Barbara area and helped gather signatures in support of the coalition plan. This is a great example of the good work that can be done in Santa Barbara when congregations and community organizations work together to achieve a common goal.

Thanks to MTD board member Dave Davis of CEC who was proactive in making the motion to try this proposal. Thanks to the MTD staff and board for listening to the voices of community members and agreeing to a plan that addresses the needs of low income riders.

The final decision by the board was a creative compromise between the MTD’s proposal and the coalition’s proposal, and it also included a commitment from the board to work with community organizations to create a long-term plan to address concerns about the environmental and economic impact of diesel fuel dependency and the need to improve access to public transportation. This was a win-win solution in which all are willing to try in the next year to see just how costs and ridership play out, while also making strides in long range planning so we can indeed be fossil free by ‘33.<

MTD provides a needed service to the Santa Barbara community. We hope to continue to increase – rather than decrease! – MTD services in the years ahead as we all move away from dependence on our cars. In this respect, environmental justice and economic justice are one and the same.

Here’s some of the local media coverage from that event (with thanks to David Pritchett for compiling this list):

Noozhawk (by Rob Kuznia)

Daily Sound (by Eric Lindberg)

Independent (by Chris Meagher)

KEYT-TV3 (initial field report by Paula Lopez)

KCSB-FM91.9 (starts at timecode 1:55 min.)

-Nany Rowan, CLUE SB Board Member and Jennifer Bailey, CLUE SB Executive Director

Strike at UCSB!

AFSCME workers are ready to take action at UCSB. We’ve been following their struggle for some time, and we want people of faith to stand with these workers and help make their voices heard by the powerful people who are meeting at UCSB campus this summer.

Tuesday, July 15 there will be a rally from 12 noon to 1:30pm at the UCEN on UCSB campus. This will be taking place right outside of the meeting of University Chancellors, who may be discussing the livelihoods of UC workers without allowing those workers to be present for the conversation. Our own Board President, Anne Anderson, will be speaking at the rally. You are welcome to attend, and if you want a chance to speak, let us know so we can get you added to the speakers’ list.

Tuesday, July 15 there will be a candlelight vigil starting at 7:00pm at UCSB’s University House. All are welcome. Rev. Dr. Ken Collier will be helping to set the tone by giving an invocation. Organizers have shared with us how strengthened and refreshed workers often feel when they have a spiritual outlet to remind them of the values that support and sustain their actions. Here’s a chance to show a quieter type of support. We also welcome speakers, or even those with a relevant poem or song to share. Just let us know in advance if you’d like to be added to the list.

Wednesday, July 16 there is a public comments period starting at 8:00, at the beginning of the statewide Regents meeting at UCSB’s Corwin Pavillion. Representatives of CLUE will be speaking briefly at this session. If you would like to be added to the speakers’ list, contact us ASAP, as spots fill up quickly at these meetings.

All Week
Workers are striking from 2am until 10pm, Mon-Fri at the East Gate entrance to the campus. If you have some spare minutes in your day, come join the picket line. You don’t need to bring anything but your good will. You can make a tremendous difference for these workers just by showing up and letting them know that our faith communities care about them and their families!

Ongoing
The struggle does not end here! If you feel called to be involved in our efforts to support workers’ rights in our community, let us know. We all have talents to contribute.

For questions, or to be added to the speakers’ list for any of these events, contact Jennifer at jbailey@cluesb.org

Who is my Neighbor?

Our neighbors are struggling financially–members of our congregations and neighbors in our communities, whose voices are rarely heard, whose paychecks are among the lowest in the area. Who are these neighbors? Healthcare workers and custodians who work for UCSB, the largest employer in Santa Barbara.

Did you know?

• That custodians and healthcare workers at UCSB, members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME ), are paid less for the same work than other University of California campuses, the Community College and State University systems, and the City and County of Santa Barbara, despite the high cost of living on the South Coast?

• That decisions about their healthcare and pension coverage are often made without their negotiated input?

• That in order to support their families many of these workers commute long distances and work multiple jobs?

• That many of these employees have been working without a contract since 2007?

• That dignitaries such as former President Bill Clinton, retired General Wesley Clark and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., refused to speak at graduation ceremonies at UC campuses this year until a new contract is agreed upon, to show their support for the 20,000 AFSCME workers employed by the UC system?

• That the University has been working hard to improve the wages of their lower paid employees despite this difficult budget year? In 2007, the University provided special increases for employees earning less than $40,000 per year. Yet this is not enough.

Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice-Santa Barbara (CLUE-SB) is committed to supporting these workers. Join us in helping to make God’s love visible. Talk to your neighbors. Hear their stories. Speak out. Let the UC Regents and Administration know of your concern.

It’s About Priorities

We are all aware that there are budget crises affecting our state, our university system, and our county. When cuts start happening, we do not want them to be targeted at our community’s least powerful, most vulnerable people. AFSCME local 3299 is currently struggling with the UC system to gain fair, market-level wages, a reasonable wage-step system, and adequate representation during negotiations about healthcare and pension. The budget crisis has become the number one reason cited by university officials (who acknowledge the wage gap and the need to address it) as a reason to delay making needed changes to improve the lives of the working poor. Yet their appointed neutral factfinder, Carol Vendrillo, reported that

“It is not the lack of state funding but the University’s priorities that leave the service workers’ wages at the bottom of the list.”

UC President Mark Yudof will receive a total compensation of $924,642 this year. Some service workers make as little as $10 an hour. What values do we express as a society when we accept such shocking economic disparities? When I hear these facts, it occurs to me that we aren’t just experiencing an economic crisis; we’re experiencing a crisis of conscience in which our deepest values are challenged by financial insecurities and the economic interests of the few rather than the many.

This isn’t just a problem in the UC system. SEIU 721 is facing county budget cuts that will significantly (and often with little warning or clarity) affect social service workers and the vulnerable members of our community who they serve.

County social service workers gather on July 2nd to remind Santa Barbara what our priorities should be.

This month, CLUE participated in an SEIU rally at the county courthouse in support of public service workers. Our board president, Anne Anderson, gave an invocation to start out the event:

Anne Anderson begins the rally with an invocation, reminding us of the abiding source of our deepest values.

We come together today celebrating the potential of the human spirit and a vision of a world where there is enough.

For those who see God, may we know that it is through service that God’s love is made visible.

For those called to right action, may we walk together in solidarity toward a world where the web of interdependence is netted with the threads of service.

Here’s some of what I had to say at the rally:

CLUE is here today to support these workers and to stand up for those vulnerable people in our community who need the vital social services that they provide. CLUE is an interfaith organization that believes all economic decisions are also moral choices. The way we prioritize the distribution of our shared economic resources reflects how well we are able to recognize and respond to the dignity, respect, and compassion that are basic rights of every member of our community.

During difficult budget years, when our leaders are making tough decisions about spending, we people of faith want to remind them how important it is to us that this process be as transparent, fair, and just as possible. We want a budget that prioritizes not just economic sense, but the moral sense of dignity, respect, and compassion for our community’s vulnerable and needy members, and for the hardworking individuals who spend their careers assisting them.

When I work with union members on these issues, I am guided by my faith to prioritize helping those in need and honoring those who labor. I am guided by my faith to desire equitable distribution of shared economic resources, rather than policies that favor the wealthy through special tax exemptions. It is at times of budget crises that our commitment to our deepest values becomes most apparent. These workers should be priorities during hard economic times, not the ones who bear the brunt of budget shortfalls.

Speaking Out on Immigration

CLUE SB is working with PUEBLO and other local organizations to begin a campaign to change the way our immigrant community is portrayed in local media. PUEBLO recently did an eight week study on media coverage in Santa Barbara County, and they found that – unlike other outlets like the LA Times and the Sacramento Bee – our newspapers had almost no reporting on immigration issues. What they did have was a lot of editorials, most of which were anti-immigrant and very hostile in tone. For example, this letter, which was printed last week in the Independent.

CLUE will be sending a letter in response. This represents the first in a series of letters we will be sending to local newspapers. We’ll also be working with PUEBLO and others to try to encourage our local media to do more balanced coverage on immigration issues in the future. Here’s the text of our first letter:

I am writing on behalf Santa Barbara’s Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE SB) in support of the California Dream Act (SB 1301). This bill will give young people with undocumented immigration status the opportunity to apply for financial aid at our public colleges and universities if they have graduated from a California high school after at least three years of attendance.

These kids should not be held responsible for our country’s broken immigration system. They were brought here as children, often when they were too young to even know what was happening, and many of them have been members of our community for most of their lives. Most of them will live out their adult lives here with us. These are not “aliens”—these are the kids our children grow up with in school, the men and women who stand in line with us at the grocery store. These are our neighbors.

It is in our own best interest to help talented young people pursue better lives for themselves and their communities. If we want them to thrive, we have to assist them when they make positive choices and seek ways to use their talents to give back to their neighborhoods. We can’t pull the rug out from under them when it comes to financing higher education.

When addressing the needs of individuals with undocumented immigration status, it is understandable that many of us worry about losing out on opportunities for ourselves and our loved ones. However, as people of faith, our organization believes that we must approach these issues from a perspective of compassion and fairness for all people, rather than fear or alarm. Helping kids pursue positive goals is a good idea for our state, for our communities, and for our families. Being fair to our neighbors is also the right thing to do.

Would you like to help? We need people who are willing to speak out once in a while by writing short letters to the editor of our local papers. Let’s let our community know that we support our immigrant neighbors and desire fair and just immigration reform!

Regent Hopkinson Replies to CLUE SB’s Letter of Concern

Last month, we sent a letter of concern to Regent Judith Hopkinson in which we discussed what we’ve been hearing from the costudial and patient-care workers at UCSB who are represented by AFSCME. Here is some of what we said to her in our letter:

Recently, we have been in contact with members of AFSCME Local 3299. They explained to us the issues that most concern them, including the disparity between their wages and the wages of workers doing comparable labor at other University of California campuses, Santa Barbara City College, the California State University system, and the City and County of Santa Barbara. We also discussed their concerns about the current system for wage increases, as well as their desire to have a more active role in negotiating pension and health insurance benefits.

Several workers shared with us the effects that these issues have on their lives and the lives of their families. Some commute long distances to work multiple jobs. Their frustration and exhaustion was palpable to us as we listened to their stories. These comparatively low wages are of special concern to us in Santa Barbara, as the cost of living in our community (including housing and transportation) is so high compared to other parts of the state.

Individuals also shared with us that, as a direct consequence of their low wages and their struggle to support themselves and their families, they cannot spend essential time with their children. We believe that this is an example of the ways in which such issues can have ripple effects far beyond the individual workers, causing hardships for families and entire communities.

We would like to meet with you and listen to your perspective on these issues, as we recognize that there is always more than one side to any story. We would also like to invite you to meet with workers from the Santa Barbara area to hear about their experiences.

While Regent Hopkinson declined our request for a meeting, this month we received a response from her in letter form. In her letter, Regent Hopkinson states that:

The University has been working hard to improve the wages of our lower paid employees despite the difficult budget year that is before us. In 2007, the University provided special increases for employees earning less than $40,000 per year. The AFSCME Service unit received these special increases in addition to the 4.5% accros-the-board increase provided in October 2007 under the now expired collective bargaining agreement.

It is good to hear that Regent Hopkinson is aware of the need to improve the wages of UC employees. I will have to check with my contacts at AFSCME to find out what, specifically, the special increases she mentions entailed. Frustrated workers have spoken to us of raises so slight they were “insulting,” and of increases in healthcare and transportation costs (including parking fees) that have been keeping pace with – and essentially canceling out – any wage increases they have received. It would be helpful to have more specific data on this issue.

Regent Hopkinson’s point about the difficult budget year for the UC also raises a larger moral issue. Most of us are aware that this is a very difficult economic year for the state as a whole, and the fact that this labor dispute is happening at a time of such increased budget strain must make negotiations especially difficult. At times like this, an institution’s priorities become more important than ever. We are seeing that on the statewide level, as funding for services to some of our most vulnerable populations is being targeted. Are we also seeing a problem in priorities within the UC system?

To answer that question, I think we need to know how helpful the university was in addressing the wage disparities during years when the budget was not as tight. We also need to know if the university’s other expenditure choices during this difficult budget year have been in keeping with Regent Hopkinson’s recognition that wage disparities for UC workers are a concern that the University needs to address even during a difficult budget year. Regent Hopkinson states that:

The University looks forward to working toward the mutual goal of agreements which appropriately balance the needs of UC, its communities served, and those employees represented by AFSCME.

But what is an appropriate balance in this case, and how do we define the three groups whose interests must be weighted in this calculation? Are they separate interests necessarily in conflict, or are they in fact overlapping categories in which each group is interpenetrated by and interdependent upon members of every other group. Put more simply, we should be careful about taking for granted the idea that what is good for the workers is not also good for the UC and the communities it serves. I don’t believe that this is an assumption Regent Hopkinson is necessarily making here, but I think it’s worth pointing out that we can easily become entrenched in an understanding of the workers as a group that is entirely separate from rather than a vital part of the UC, and we might too easily forget that they and their families are a substantial constituency in the community that the UC is charged to serve.

Regent Hopkinson also offers us some insight into current negotiations:

It is my understanding that, in the current bargaining process, the University of California has offered increases for various titles in the service unit at UC Santa Barbara ranging from 2% to 13.5%. This proposal would provide approximately $406,000 in increases to our AFSCME service employees at UCSB. The University based these market increases in part on an analysis of local competitors in the Santa Barbara area … I understand that the campus believes that they lag the market for many of the service unit titles and have offered these increases as a way to address some of these lags.

It would be helpful to know what proportion of the pay increases are concentrated at the minimum and what at the maximum percentage. It would also be helpful to know how that $406,000 is to be distributed amongst the workers. More importantly, however, is the acknowledgment here that there is a disparity between UC wages and market rates, and that this proposed solution only addresses some – not all – of the disparity.

Unfortunately, we have not received a response directly addressing workers’ concerns about the current system for individual wage increases or the ability of the union to participate in a timely fashion in negotiations about healthcare and pensions that fall outside of the normal bargaining process.

Despite lingering questions, we are very thankful that Regent Hopkinson took the time to communicate with us about this issue. We look forward to continuing this dialog between AFSCME workers, our membership, and Regent Hopkinson.

AFSCME Rally, June 4th

CLUE SB sent Eric Bailey to represent us at the AFSCME workers’ rally at UCSB on June 4th. CLUE has been supporting UC custodial and patient-care workers in their efforts to obtain wages on par with market rates for similar work, improve their system for raises and promotions, and create more timely channels for union involvement in negotiation when the UC system makes changes to healthcare and pension plans. After negotiations stalled over these issues, the union planned a two-day strike, but the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) blocked the strike, and the university came back to the table with new offers. Nevertheless, UC workers all over the state marched and rallied on June 4th, supported by students and other community members.

Here is the text of the message we shared with several hundred workers and their supporters gathered at UCSB that day:

We are an interfaith organization that supports your right to a fair wage, a good quality of life, an opportunity to advance through consistent performance rather than favoritism, and a voice in every stage of the decision-making processes that determine your compensation and benefits. We believe that, just as your work contributes to the life of this community, this community should do everything in its power to provide you with the highest possible quality of life. Just as you come here every day and do your best for us, we should be providing you with the best we can offer, not the least we can get away with. For all of us – those who work here, those who study here, and those who live in this community – this is our state, this is our university system. That means this is also our struggle.

And because we respect you and the work that you do, we want to see you treated with respect. We want you to get paid wages that respect the value of your labor on the market. We want your time respected by having your years on the job rewarded with advances in pay. We want your health respected, and the health and vitality of your families as well, by seeing to it that if you work for our university system, you don’t have to take two or three jobs to make ends meet. We want your voices to be respected, and we hope – we believe – that today our city, our university system, and our state are listening.

Last month, we sent a letter to Regent Judith Hopkinson requesting a chance to meet and share these concerns with her. We haven’t been granted a meeting yet. We hope that will change. Even if it doesn’t, know that we are here to support you in this struggle. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to stand with you and speak today.

Eric shared what it felt like to participate in this action for social justice:

I have never delivered a public speech. In fact, since being in a theater production in high school, I’ve never had to talk to more than three or four people at a time. This afternoon I felt compelled to take the chance to represent CLUE, though I was nervous about speaking in front of so many people. Nevertheless, I felt drawn to participate at this gathering.

When crowds began to form, tables were laid out with food, and all interested in the cause were invited to take and eat. Energy and momentum swirled around the crowd as it coalesced by the Arbor, where a system had been set up for public addresses. The voices began over the loudspeaker and cheers soon followed. Signs in the air boasted an enthusiastic embrace of equality and justice for all workers. Then the MC turned to me and said: Now, here’s Eric and he has something to say.

I represented CLUE, reading our message of support for the workers, and though I didn’t write the words, the conviction with which I spoke them came from inside of me. Though I shook with nervous energy and was hard pressed to look up from my paper for fear of losing my place, I let the sound come out of me. I heard cheers and applause. I felt the strength and the drive of the people gathered around me. I told them that I believed in them and was proud to stand in support of their cause.

When I finished speaking, I had a good feeling that I had helped; that I had added something to the motion of the crowd, the spirit of the message. I felt compelled to stay. I was drawn into a sense of caring and desire to see justice done. I hope my best was enough to help push along the wave that swept across campus today.