Center for Popular Democracy Network Reacts to Senate Stimulus Package
03.26.2020
WASHINGTON -- Yesterday, the Senate unanimously passed a $2.2 trillion...
03.26.2020
WASHINGTON -- Yesterday, the Senate unanimously passed a $2.2 trillion stimulus package to respond to the coronavirus crisis.
Ana Maria Archila, co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, reacted to the legislation and the needs still unmet with the following statement:
“In this time of crisis, the Senate has taken a needed step in responding to the biggest public health and economic emergency our country has faced in more than a generation. Senate Democrats led the change and proved their ability to act, amidst obfuscation from President Trump and Republicans who care more about corporate profits than human life. This bill is a start, but our communities need and deserve more. We are disappointed that corporations get $500 billion, while immigrants get cut out of health provisions or economic relief. We are disappointed that hospitals got bail outs, but hospital workers are left in the dark.
“In this bill, House Democrats need to fight for debt cancellation, a moratorium on evictions, foreclosures and shut offs. We need to ensure that everyone in our country, regardless of immigration status, gets financial relief for the duration of this crisis.
“The relief cannot stop here. In the next stimulus plan, we want to see funding for us, for the people. Not for corporations. We want to see a package that supports a dramatic reduction in the number of people detained in jails, prisons and immigration detention facilities, and financial resources to protect the health of those who remain incarcerated. We want to see healthcare, cash payments, and unemployment benefits that all people, regardless of immigration status, can benefit from. We want to see billions in additional funding for states to prepare for the 2020 elections to ensure safety, fairness, and inclusion. The next government intervention must focus on the vital resources that we all need to live -- paid sick and family leave, free treatment for anyone impacted by COVID-19, and election protection mechanisms so we can have access to our elections.
“We need a massive investment into a healthcare system that is not driven by profit. We need to enroll COVID-19 patients into Medicare. We need to create medicine at home at the NIH to protect us from the shortages that we are now facing.
“We need to center the voices of gig economy workers, of immigrants and people who are incarcerated, of domestic workers and small business owners in conversations about a just recovery. Our families are suffering. We will not allow Congress to sit idly by.”
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Media Contact: Lia Weintraub, lweintraub@populardemocracy.org, 202-618-2482
Youth Leaders and Allies React to NYPD’s Latest School Safety Data
Youth leaders have won significant reductions in arrests and summons in NYC schools, but Black...
Youth leaders have won significant reductions in arrests and summons in NYC schools, but Black and Latinx students continue to face the brunt of racially discriminatory school policing.
NEW YORK, NY -- Last week, the NYPD released their most recent data on school safety. The report, which is the first full quarter of school year data since the new school climate reforms were announced last year, shows that overall numbers of school arrests and summons have gone down significantly, but racial disparities in policing action remain high.
Key analysis of the data:
The overall number of arrests decreased by 54.4% and summons decreased by nearly 59% as compared to last year’s data at this time.
Black students represent 25.5% of district enrollment, yet were 54.8% of all students arrested. While this proportion is lower than corresponding data from 2018 (in which Black students were 60% of those arrested), it is still more than twice the representation of Black students in the district.
In addition to the racial disparities remaining high, the number of juvenile reports increased by 34% in the past year and by 82.3% in the past three years. In addition, 90.2% of students who received juvenile reports last quarter were Black or Latinx, a proportion which has not reduced since 2018.
The data validates calls by youth-led organizations and allies across the city for the Mayor to end arrests, summons, and juvenile reports in schools for non-criminal violations and misdemeanors.
In response to the data, representatives from Urban Youth Collaborative and the Center for Popular Democracy released the following statements:
“These decreases in arrests and summons are a direct result of years of organizing by Black and Latinx youth, including leaders of Urban Youth Collaborative, who have called for the city to end arrests and summons in schools and stop the mass criminalization of youth of color,” said Kesi Foster, Organizer, Make the Road New York & The Urban Youth Collaborative.
"This data is only scratching the surface of what Black students and other students of color go through on the daily. Normal youthful behavior of Black and Brown students is still being criminalized. School is a place to learn and should be a place for all students to feel safe but we don’t feel safe with metal detectors and police. The city is trying to normalize police being involved in every part of our lives, but that’s not right, and it’s not what we need. We need to remove police and metal detectors and invest more funding in social, emotional, and mental health support and staff,” said Keneisha Buckley, a 15-year old youth leader at the Rockaway Youth Task Force.
"The reduction in the number of arrests and summonses in schools is a welcome change, driven by the work and vision of Black and Brown young people," said Kate Terenzi, Staff Attorney for Education Justice Campaigns, Center for Popular Democracy. "While arrests and summonses have gone down, we have seen a dramatic increase in juvenile reports and essentially no change in the racial disparities. The progress on arrests and summons that we see today must be followed by truly dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline which will mean creating police-free schools, and a complete end to arrests, summonses, and juvenile reports for misdemeanors and violations in schools."
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Media Contact: Trisa Taro, ttaro@populardemocracy.org
Photo via Brooklyn Ink
Before Humphrey-Hawkins Hearings, Fed Up Speaks Out for Full Employment, High Wages
02.11.2020
WASHINGTON -- Today, ahead of the Humphrey-Hawkins...
02.11.2020
WASHINGTON -- Today, ahead of the Humphrey-Hawkins Hearings on Capitol Hill, over a dozen activists with Fed Up spoke out for full employment and high wages. The activists, decked out in bright green shirts plastered with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s face, shared their stories of wage stagnation and income insecurity ahead of the House Financial Services committee hearing.
Photos from the event are available here.
During the speak out, Fed Up activists said the following:
Arthur Blair
“The Federal Reserve should represent all of the American people, not just the economic elite.”
Jessica Moreno
“I am the daughter of immigrants. My mom raised my sister and me on a low wage warehouse job. Her wages did not grow in over ten years, just like many members of my community. Many more cannot secure a full time job with a living wage.”
LaDon Love
“The federal reserve needs to focus on wage growth in their review. They need to take into account that wages are not going up. People are working multiple jobs and not making ends meet. To not focus on this problem is to do a disservice to our country.”
Antonia Reynolds
“I have a 44 year old son who lives at home because he can’t afford to live in the District of Columbia on his wages. The Federal Reserve must recognize that this is a reality for many Black and Brown communities.”
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Media Contact: Lia Weintraub, lweintraub@populardemocracy.org, 202-618-2482
Puerto Rico’s Earthquakes; This is About Austerity
01.13.2020
SAN JUAN...
01.13.2020
SAN JUAN, PR -- Following the recent series of earthquakes since the start of the new year in Puerto Rico, causing an island-wide blackout, leaving thousands homeless, and causing structural damage to hundreds of buildings, schools, and main roads, an estimated two thousand people have been housed in shelters, and thousands more have pitched tents in their backyards. The Center for Popular Democracy - a national network of community organizations - and the Maria Fund - created after the historic 2017 hurricane - made a call to funnel resources to community groups on the ground and address the real issue at hand.
“From the Hurricanes of 2017 to the earthquakes of this year, Puerto Rico continues to grasp for recovery under decades of political mismanagement and budget cuts that have crippled its infrastructure and driven hundreds of thousands out. In order to ensure that Puerto Ricans achieve a just recovery, we must address the root of the issue,” added Julio Lopez Varona, co-director of community dignity campaigns of the Center for Popular Democracy. “The debt is a burden to the recovery of the island and it must be canceled to put the needs of the people first, not Wall Street. Long-term investments in infrastructure, including building schools and shelters up to code, solidifying the power and water grids, securing hospitals and roads, protecting pensions, and providing safe housing alternatives for low-income families, are just a few of the basic needs that should be immediately championed. Anything less is placing a band-aid on an open wound, expecting it to just go away.”
The Maria Fund plans to move rapid response funding to the network of social justice initiatives and grassroots community organizing groups that are supporting the people most impacted by the recent earthquakes that have devastated areas of the south of Puerto Rico. Here is more detailed information of the immediate needs of the organizations located in these areas.
“The disastrous response of the local and federal governments are connected to an agenda that doesn’t center the lives of the people of Puerto Rico. This agenda has created a crippling debt, promoted budget cuts, poor maintenance of infrastructure, privatization, and displacement. The frontline groups who are stepping up at this moment know this, and the relief response they are organizing is part of a commitment to demanding structural changes for the long-term”, added Xiomara Caro, Executive Director of the María Fund.
These rapid response funds will also be made available to the network of 49 organizations, many of which have already decided to step up and organize needs assessments, delivery of emergency supplies, service brigades to refugee camps, legal education, emotional support, and demanding equitable and systemic changes to improve their immediate and long-term reality, among other strategies. See here this broader list of organizations.
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Media Contact: Inarú Melendez, imelendez@populardemocracy.org, 413-331-9530
Statement: It’s Time to Repeal Trump’s Corrupt Opportunity Zones
11.22.2019
WASHINGTON -- Today, Representative Rashida Tlaib introduced legislation...
11.22.2019
WASHINGTON -- Today, Representative Rashida Tlaib introduced legislation to repeal President Donald Trump’s controversial “Opportunity Zone” tax incentive provision. With Tlaib’s legislation, firms would no longer be able to collect capital gains tax breaks for projects in areas the Treasury Department designates as “opportunity zones.” The program has come under scrutiny for corruption. Though initially intended to be an economic development tool in low-income areas, news has broken about its application in wealthy communities as favors to developers and wealthy individuals. Estimates suggest that Tlaib’s legislation would save the federal government $1 billion in tax revenue over the next decade.
In response to the legislation, members of Data for Progress and the Center for Popular Democracy network released the following statements:
Dianne Enriquez, Co-Director of Community Dignity Campaigns, Center for Popular Democracy
“The farce is up: Trump’s ‘Opportunity Zones’ only create opportunity for luxury developers. While these firms receive millions of dollars in tax incentives, millions of people in this country are homeless or housing insecure. Representative Rashida Tlaib’s legislation is an important first step in unrigging the system so that we can work toward a future where we all have a home to thrive.”
Branden Snyder, Executive Director, Detroit Action
“The people who benefit most from President Trump’s Opportunity Zones provision are billionaires real estate developers.. Instead of building the affordable housing that our city -- and our country -- desperately need, the provision is worsening displacement and padding the pockets of billionaires. I applaud Representative Rashida Tlaib for introducing a repeal to the Opportunity Zone tax break so that we can get to work actually addressing the housing crisis in Detroit and nationwide.”
Maxwell Cabello, Senior Land Use and Policy Analyst, Churches United for Fair Housing
"Churches United for Fair Housing supports the necessary repeal of the federal Opportunity Zone legislation. The mechanics of this legislation allow for wealthy developers, investment funds, and other private parties to generate enormous profits from the exploitation of largely low-income communities of color while also being provided shelter from their existing tax obligations. The Opportunity Zone legislation provides no regulatory controls to guarantee investments benefit low-income residents who live or work in designated opportunity zones, and any future legislation must include strict parameters and strong enforcement to ensure investment benefits those truly in need rather than simply create yet another tax shelter for the wealthy."
Daniel Aldana Cohen, Fellow, Data for Progress
"Trump's so-called "Opportunity Zones" tax credit does nothing to help low-income communities, and especially communities of color, that have suffered decades of disinvestment. It does, however, help private investors with generous tax cuts. We endorse Rep. Tlaib's legislation to repeal this bad policy, and to instead invest directly in genuine affordable housing programs, and building wealth in the communities that need it most."
The following organizations from the Center for Popular Democracy network have endorsed the legislation: Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, Arkansas Community Organization, Churches United for Fair Housing, Detroit Action, Make the Road Nevada, Maryland Communities United, New York Communities for Change, and Organize Florida.
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Media Contact: Lia Weintraub, lweintraub@populardemocracy.org, 202-618-2482
Statement: Solving our Affordable Housing Crisis will take Significant Investment
11.20.2019
WASHINGTON -- Today, Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) introduced...
11.20.2019
WASHINGTON -- Today, Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) introduced legislation in the United States House of Representatives that would supply 12 million units of affordable housing, including 8.5 million units of public housing, over the next 10 years. The $1 trillion investment would create public housing and private, permanently affordable rental units, virtually ending our current affordable housing crisis. Representative Omar’s legislation also prohibits discrimination against residents based on sexual orientation, gender, criminal history or immigration status, and invests in services for those experiencing homelessness, like employment or education assistance, childcare and financial literacy classes. Lastly, the legislation would create a Community Control and Anti-Displacement Fund within the Department of Housing and Urban Development to protect families from the worst effects of gentrification and displacement.
The Center for Popular Democracy and members of our network endorsed the legislation and released the following statements:
Dianne Enriquez, co-director of community dignity campaigns, Center for Popular Democracy
“Representative Omar’s bill proves that it is possible for every person in the United States to have a stable, affordable place to call home. Not only does the legislation create 12 million units of affordable housing, it also makes sure that all future funding needs are fully met so that public units do not fall into disrepair. This provision, plus wrap-around services for people experiencing homelessness, would help to end our housing crisis. We are already paying the costs for the affordable housing crisis through skyrocketing rents and a growing homeless population. Instead of allowing our crisis to worsen, let’s invest in the affordable housing we need. I am proud to endorse the Homes for All Act because we need a broad reimagining of our affordable housing system.”
Elianne Farhat, Executive Director, Take Action Minnesota
"Every person has dignity and deserves a place to call home. The Homes for All Act that Rep. Omar introduced today and is an important step forward in providing enough housing for everyone to thrive. Homelessness and affordable housing shortages affect every urban and rural area in our country. It requires large scale investments and bold action from Congress. We are proud to endorse this bill.”
Other organizations within the Center for Popular Democracy network who endorsed the legislation include: Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha, Take Action Minnesota.
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Media Contact: Lia Weintraub, lweintraub@populardemocracy.org, 202-618-2482
Center for Popular Democracy Celebrates Green New Deal for Public Housing Act
11.14.2019
WASHINGTON -- Today, Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria...
11.14.2019
WASHINGTON -- Today, Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced the Green New Deal for Public Housing Act, the first legislation related to the Green New Deal, in their respective chambers. The move is significant in bringing public housing to the center of the conversation about sustainability, quality jobs and community development.
The Center for Popular Democracy endorses the legislation as a meaningful step toward a future of economic, climate and housing justice. Dianne Enriquez, co-director of community dignity campaigns at the Center for Popular Democracy, released the following reaction to the legislation.
"Our homes are the foundations for our lives. With the Public Housing Green New Deal, they will become the foundation for our country's future economic security and environmental sustainability. This landmark legislation will at once offer job training for public housing residents, create family-sustaining jobs, and revitalize public housing units with green technology. Not only does it provide a pathway toward financial independence for public housing residents, but it also generates opportunities for meaningful participation in the oversight of their housing community. The Public Housing Green New Deal sets our country on a path of compassionate governance and will help to build a future for our country that includes us all."
Organizations within the Center for Popular Democracy network also endorsed the bill, including: Action NC, Action Now!, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, Arkansas Community Organization, CASA, Detroit Action, Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization, Make the Road Nevada, Make the Road New York, New Florida Majority, New York Communities for Change, One Pennsylvania, Rights and Democracy Vermont, Rights and Democracy New Hampshire, River Valley Organizing, UnHarm Ohio and West Virginia Healthy Kids and Families Coalition.
Pat McCoy, executive director of Action NC, said: “For far too long public housing residents have been ignored when decisions are made that impact their communities. By requiring input from the community and local residents as well as any grant proposal requiring the approval of the resident council ensures that resident voices are heard and matter. Furthermore, the Family Self-Sufficiency Program allows for greater support for residents working towards financial independence. Action NC's mission is to confront and reduce the root causes of poverty and economic inequality. This bill hits at the heart of these issues for residents of public housing and is why we support the Green New Deal for Public Housing.”
Roslyn M. Ogburn, housing organizer at Detroit Action, said: “Detroit Action endorses the Green New Deal for Public Housing Act, which promotes a way to empower low and very low-income housing residents with the essential benefits needed to ensure jobs, economic growth, better quality of life, energy-efficient options and access to stable and long term housing.”
Andrea Mercado, executive director of The New Florida Majority, said: “The Green New Deal is a big step in the right direction to address equity as it relates to climate change. We support this legislation and will continue to fight for a just transition that is rooted in dignified work and clean energy for black and brown communities.”
Jonathan Westin, executive director of New York Communities for Change, said: “We are proud to stand with Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Sanders to introduce a Green New Deal for Public Housing. For decades the federal government has neglected public housing residents, cut services and forced funding shortages from city to city. Families are in desperate need of relief and protection from devastating climate disasters. We need to ensure quality public housing for all families across the country.”
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Media Contact: Lia Weintraub, lweintraub@populardemocracy.org, 202-618-2482
Center For Popular Democracy Supports New Deal for New Americans Act
October.30.2019
WASHINGTON, DC -- In response to the introduction of the New Deal for New Americans Act by U.S. Reps....
October.30.2019
WASHINGTON, DC -- In response to the introduction of the New Deal for New Americans Act by U.S. Reps. Grace Meng (D-NY), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), and Jesús “Chuy” García (D-IL), the Center for Popular Democracy released the following statement from Natalia Aristizabal, Director of Immigrant Justice:
“We’re excited for legislation that would make it easier for residents to secure citizenship. This is a step forward to ensure we are moving past the inhumane and cruel policies implemented by the Trump administration. Our fight is for a country that protects and nurtures every immigrant’s right to move, to stay, to create a future where our loved ones are free to thrive.”
The bill aims to implement a federal office to lead inclusion and integration strategies for refugees and immigrants, cut down financial barriers for citizenship application, expand economic prosperity programs centered on workforce development and English language programs, and increase access to due process and legal services.
Read more on the New Deal for New Americans act here.
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Media Contact: Inarú Meléndez, 413-331-9530, imelendez@populardemocracy.org
Addressing an image problem?: American Investment Council highlights positives of private equity in Ohio and the rest of the U.S.
Addressing an image problem?: American Investment Council highlights positives of private equity in Ohio and the rest of the U.S.
According to a ...
According to a new report from the American Investment Council (AIC) that clearly addresses private equity's image problem, the PE industry supports more than 958,000 Ohio jobs and provides state and local taxes of nearly $2.2 billion.
Ohio ranks seventh in the country in terms the number of PE-supported jobs, according to the report. (The top three, in order, are California, Texas and New York.) The job numbers represent direct employment at PE firms and PE-backed companies, as well as related supplier jobs. By the same metrics, PE supports more than 26.3 million jobs nationwide.
Read the full article here.
Following New Findings on the Effects of Unstable Schedules, Congress to Pursue Fair Scheduling Legislation
10.17.2019
WASHINGTON -- In a roundtable discussion today with retail workers,...
10.17.2019
WASHINGTON -- In a roundtable discussion today with retail workers, sociologists and policy advocates, Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) announced her intention to introduce the Schedules that Work Act to provide predictable work hours for hourly employees in low-wage industries. Representative DeLauro and Senator Elizabeth Warren will jointly reintroduce the bill in the coming weeks.
"The biggest economic challenge of our time is that people are working in jobs that do not pay them enough to keep up with the rising costs of healthcare, child care, housing, and education,” said Congresswoman DeLauro. “That problem is compounded when working people do not have a voice in their schedules, which not only impacts them, but also their families. That is why I will be reintroducing the Schedules That Work Act with Senator Warren. Working people deserve to have dignity in their work and the ability to plan their lives, and our legislation will ensure that they do."
The discussion, hosted by the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, the Center for Popular Democracy, United for Respect and the National Women’s Law Center, addressed a new report from University of California researchers Daniel Schneider and Kristen Harknett documenting how widespread unstable work hours are in the service sector, and the severe impact of this instability on U.S. workers and their families. In their survey, of 30,000 retail and food service workers at 120 of the largest U.S. retail and food service companies, they found significant negative impacts of unpredictable schedules across a worker’s life and family. The survey was first reported in The New York Times.
According to the report, having an unpredictable work schedule:
Raises the likelihood that workers will experience material hardship, including food and housing insecurity;
Destabilizes children’s routines and care arrangements, heightening children’s anxiety and behavioral challenges and forcing parents to rely on inconsistent and low-quality child care;
Increases the likelihood a worker will quit their job; and
Perpetuates racial inequality: workers of color, particularly women of color, experience more unstable work hours than their white coworkers at the same employer.
In the course of the roundtable conversation, workers shared how their experiences with unstable schedules impacted their families and other areas of their lives.
“At Big Lots, my work schedule wasn’t made available to me until the day before our workweek began. It made it so stressful and difficult to plan ahead for the week, because I’m the sole provider for my children and my mom,” said Brandy Powell, United for Respect leader and mother who works retail in California. “I deserve a say in when I work, and I deserve advance notice when I’m expected to work. When I told Big Lots I wouldn’t be available because my kids had doctor’s visits, they ignored my shift requests and called me into work. I was forced to quit my job after 11 months because it was too much stress for me and my family.”
The workers were joined by representatives from the National Women’s Law Center, the Washington Center for Equitable Growth and One Pennsylvania.
“When so many women don’t have enough notice of their schedules to plan their lives and care for their kids, when they don’t have enough hours to pay for rent and groceries and child care, it’s no wonder that we’re still seeing gender wage gaps—gaps that are especially wide for women of color and women who are moms, and for moms who are women of color most of all,” said Fatima Goss Graves, President and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center. “That’s why we need the Schedules That Work Act and the Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights.”
The Schedules that Work Act would require employers in the retail, food service, cleaning, hospitality and warehouse sectors to provide two weeks’ advance notice of work schedules and compensate workers for employer-initiated shift changes. The bill would also protect workers’ right to input into work schedules and at least eleven hours of nightly rest between work shifts. The forthcoming Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights, to be introduced by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09), will allow part-time hourly workers to pick up additional hours before the employer can hire new staff, along with other protections for part-time workers--who typically experience lower pay and access to benefits, as well as greater scheduling instability, than their full-time counterparts.
States and cities are also moving forward with introducing legislation to guarantee a fair workweek. Last year, Philadelphia and Chicago became the latest cities to pass fair scheduling legislation. Similar measures are already law in Oregon, Seattle, WA; Emeryville, CA; San Francisco, CA; and New York, NY.
Los Angeles, Washington state, and New Jersey are considering similar bills during their upcoming legislative sessions.
“Workers from New York to Oregon and Los Angeles to Chicago have been standing up to demand a Fair Workweek so that they and their families can thrive,” said Rachel Deutsch with the Center for Popular Democracy’s Fair Workweek Initiative. “We hope members of Congress will pass the Schedules That Work Act and Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights to ensure that millions of workers can rely on predictable and stable hours.”
In June, the Los Angeles City Council directed the City Attorney to draft a fair workweek ordinance, and workers with UFCW local 770, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, and other community groups urged the council to act quickly during a hearing on October 15. In Washington, a coalition led by UFCW Local 21 and Working Washington is backing policy championed by state senator Rebecca Saldaña and representative Nicole Macri. On October 16, New Jersey Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg announced her intention to introduce fair workweek legislation at a press conference with Make the Road New Jersey, United for Respect, Unite Here, SEIU, NJ Citizen Action, and other allies.
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Media Contact: Lia Weintraub, lweintraub@populardemocracy.org, 202-618-2482
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