x-posted from The Bayne of Blog

Last night, I was privileged to attend a dinner honoring fifteen state legislators for standing with working families. The California Labor Federation and State Building and Construction Trades Council sponsored the dinner as part of their annual Joint Legislative Conference.

Honored for their 100% labor voting record were State Senators Ellen Corbett, Christine Kehoe, Carol Migden, Darrell Steinberg, and Patricial Wiggins. Also honored were Assemblymembers Julia Brownley, Mark DeSaulnier, Mike Eng, Ed Hernandez, Dave Jones, Mark Leno, Fiona Ma, Ira Ruskin, Lori Saldaña, and Sandré Swanson.

Among the votes for which they were honored were these.

They voted to crack down on the underground economy by strengthening labor compliance programs and by supporting real penalties for employers who intentionally misclassify workers as independent contractors.

They voted to improve childcare quality for working families by giving childcare providers a right to organize.

They voted to increase benefits for permanently disabled workers, after the Schwarzenegger Administration slashed benefits by 70%.

They voted against tribal gaming compacts that denied casino workers a real right to organize.

They voted against a repeal of the 8-hour work day and a takeaway of the guaranteed right to a lunch break.

They voted for a resolution calling on Congress to overturn the “Kentucky River” decision to protect the right of charge nurses – and all lead workers – to join a union.

They voted to protect our members’ health care, control health care cost, require the state to disclose which employers have their workers on publicly funded health care programs, and expand coverage through a statewide purchasing pool for health insurance.

The voted to promote worker safety by banning the dangerous butter flavoring chemical diacetyl and instituting an indoor heat standard.

OK, this will sound bizarre to all of you who believe in the stereotype of people in “The OC” speeding around in Hummers and Maseratis… But I often ride the bus here. That’s why I’m now worrying about
the bus workers’ strike that started at 12:00 AM today.

I don’t know what’s happening to the buses that usually glide down Bristol Street just outside my house. I don’t know if I can take the bus today to where I had been planning to go. I’m now wondering if my idea of being more eco-friendly by using mass transit was a stupid idea after all.

But more importantly, I’m worrying about all those hundreds of thousands of people who depend on the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to get around. How do they get to work and to school and to the grocery store now? What the heck will happen to all these people?

Follow me after the flip for more…

Right now, OCTA bus drivers are paid between $13 and $21 an hour. That may sound good, but consider how much it costs to make do in a place with such a high cost of living as Orange County. And consider that they haven’t had a pay increase in years. And consider that the wage and benefit package that’s being offered by OCTA won’t meet the projected living standards offered by the county. The only reason why the drivers are going on strike is because they can’t keep up with inflation and the rising cost of living.

So OCTA is starting to budge. Why couldn’t they budge sooner? And why can’t they just agree upon a fair deal with the drivers? Some 220,000 riders depend on these buses to get around every day. And now that the entire Orange County bus system is in limbo, how can these people get around?

Maybe a few of these people have their own cars. Maybe some of these people have friends who can give them rides. But what about all those folks who have no access to a car? Are they just screwed?

So this strike isn’t a good deal for any one. The drivers need a living wage that will help them get by in such an expensive place to live as OC. The riders need buses to get them to where they need to go. And the OC economy depends on these workers and consumers who use the bus to get around.

So what happens now? I guess I’ll have a hard time getting around today. Perhaps I can bum more rides off my dad. But what about all those folks who can’t bum a ride off my dad? How will they get down Bristol Street to the mall now? How will they get to work at that sushi place in Newport? How will they get to the grocery store off 17th Street?

I guess that’s the way the strike blows.

I just knew this was coming. I knew it was coming. Get ready for another strike at a Vons, Ralphs, and/or Albertsons near you. (From LA Times)

Southern California grocery workers voted Sunday to give their union the right to strike if negotiations for a new contract fail. Union officials said the measure passed by an overwhelming 95%.

Contract talks between the United Food and Commercial Workers [UFCW] union and Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons over a new agreement for 65,000 workers from Bakersfield to the Mexican border broke off late last week. Sunday’s strike authorization vote was set by the union after the grocery chains failed to meet a Thursday deadline for a formal offer.

So what exactly happened? Why couldn’t an agreement be reached? What’s at stake for the grocery companies? What’s at stake for the grocery workers? And what happens next? Follow me after the flip for more…

So why couldn’t an agreement be reached? The OC Register explains:

At issue are health benefits, pensions and adding a lower payment scale for employees, who say they haven’t had a raise since 2002. A representative for the grocery companies called the vote premature and said store officials remain hopeful that they will get back to the bargaining table this week.

Oh, so the vote is “premature”? And the stores are hopeful that they will “get back to the bargaining table this week”? Well, why couldn’t they just work out a fair agreement from the bargaining table to start with? They could avoided all the risk of another strike with a fair agreement.

Take a look at this fact sheet from the UFCW. Profits for the stores have been better than ever, yet the corporate executives at Ralphs (Kroger), Vons (Safeway), and Albertsons (Supervalu) refuse to share any with the workers. The store executives always whine about Wal-Mart and Costco eating away at their market share, yet Wal-Mart and Costco COMBINED only control about 8% of the Southern California market. THAT’S ACTUALLY LESS MARKET SHARE THAN WAL-MART AND COSTCO HAD IN 2003, when the grocery companies were claiming that they need to cut workers’ wages and benefits in order to remain competitive against Wal-Mart and Costco. Yet even though all the workers worked so hard after returning from the 2003-2004 strike to rehabilitate the supermarkets, the grocery companies not only refuse to give them any thanks, but they won’t even give the workers the fair wages and benefits that they should have been given in 2003.

No wonder why workers were so ready yesterday to approve the strike. (From OC Register)

Union workers, still feeling the effects of a five-month strike ending in March 2004, said they are willing to take the risk of a walkout. Debbie Johnson, a mother of four who has worked at the Vons in Huntington Beach for 27 years, said she’s ready to rely on her husband’s paycheck for a while.

“I’m tired of playing the game that goes back and forth,” Johnson said. “There are other jobs out there. I could go anywhere and not have to do all the (work) I do now.” […]

Eddie Davalos, a dairy department supervisor at an Albertsons in La Habra, said he decided to stay at the company for 15 years because of the good benefits. Under the proposed contract, the co-payments for his three kids’ medical visits would go from $25 to $50, he said.

“I feel like it’s a slap in the face,” Davalos said.

Yep, it really is a slap in the face. These workers are struggling just to keep their heads above water. They’re just trying to put some food on their family tables after helping us bring food to our family tables. However, the grocery company CEOs are enjoying record compensation as the companies are reaping in healthy profits. So why can’t the workers just get some decent wages and benefits?

Something needs to be done.

So what can we do about this? What can we do to support the workers as they demand a fair contract? Well, we can start by signing the pledge to take your business elsewhere as the companies are forcing this strike to happen. And since we’re not shopping at the stores that aren’t respecting their workers, we might as well use the store finder to locate nearby grocery stores that are respecting their workers. We can also share these flyers with our friends, family, and neighbors, letting them know what’s at stake for the workers.

Whether or not we ourselves are part of the UFCW, these workers are our friends. They are our brothers and sisters in solidarity. Let’s show them some.

“This bill needs to be simplified, it needs to be clarified, it needs to be rectified before I can support it,” said [Senator Barbara] Boxer, D-Calif. “I don’t think the bill is workable. I think it hurts American workers. The amendment process didn’t make it any stronger for me.’

That was Senator Boxer quoted in today’s Orange County Register story about how the Immigration Reform Bill has now been stalled in the US Senate. This piece of legislation was supposed to attract bipartisan support. But now, it’s getting bipartisan criticism. And today, we saw a bipartisan rejection to moving this bill to a final vote. 

So why are some Democrats now opposing this bill? Why the sudden progressive opposition to this “comprehensive” bill? Maybe it’s because this bill is really only a “comprehensive solution” to a select few that seek to exploit many. And maybe it’s because immigrant families and communities would suffer as a result.

Follow me after the flip for more…

So what’s wrong with this legislation? Take a look at
what the National Immigration Law Center has to say. They’re not too impressed with this bill. And frankly, I’m not surprised.

While many of the Democrats behind this bill might have good intentions, this legislation itself has none of that. It would shift the entire immigration system from family based to “merit based”.

So what’s so bad about that, one might ask. Actually, there’s plenty. I live in a community that’s full of immigrant families here in Santa Ana. Under the proposed legislation, these families here in Central Orange County, and elsewhere, would be torn apart.

Current undocumented immigrants that receive the new “Z visas” can only stay for eight years, so long as they keep a job, and then they must return to their nation of origin to apply for reentry into the nation. What happens if these immigrants now have children here? What happens if they have become a part of the community? Should they be ripped away from their lives just to go through a reentry process? Not only does this sound inhumane, but it also sounds impractical.

But wait, it gets worse. This bill would also create a new underclass of immigrant workers. Under the new guest worker program, immigrant workers can only stay here temporarily, and then just return home. Meanwhile under this new “merit based” system of immigration, people would be admitted into this nation based on how “economically valuable” they would be. This really only serves the American corporations that want continued cheap labor. Under the new law, they can get their “disposable labor force” that can be discarded and replaced every few years.

  And yet, this bill would reduce the number of family members that can be admitted. This would create a permanent underclass in places like Santa Ana. They’d have no family, and no community. They’d have no ties to anyone.

That’s why this is so troubling.

I just got this in my email inbox from Frank Barbaro, Chairman of the Democratic Party of Orange County:

Wal-Mart’s destructive impact on communities is well- documented. Local competition is driven out, noise and traffic increases, and local governments and taxpayers get a raw deal.

Wal-Mart is planning to open a 170,000-sq. ft. supercenter at Chapman Avenue and Brookhurst Street in Garden Grove and the only thing standing in their way is the City Council.

Come help to keep a Wal-Mart Supercenter out of Garden Grove. We will be walking door to door to educate residents and build support for the Main Street Coalition. We hope to see you there!

So how can YOU support what’s best for local small businesses and healthy communities in Southern California? Well, follow me after the flip for all the details…

OK, so we know that Wal-Mart isn’t good for workers. We know that Wal-Mart doesn’t provide its workers adequate health care… So they just dump the workers into taxpayer-funded Medicaid programs. We know that Wal-Mart’s “low prices” don’t do anything to alleviate poverty. And yes, we know that Wal-Mart loves to bleed taxpayers dry with all those subsidies… But they don’t even have the decency to pay their taxes!

So why the heck would Garden Grove want all this trouble in their city? We need to educate people in the community about why Wal-Mart doesn’t really save us money. We need to let folks know just how much money Wal-mart costs us every year! We need to get out and talk to our friends and neighbors in Garden Grove, and the OC Democrats are ready to team up with the Main Street Coalition to do just that!

Date: Saturday, May 12
Time: 10:00am-2:00pm
13252 Garden Grove Blvd.
Garden Grove, CA 92843
Meet in the Courtyard

Residents will be able to sign support cards, join the coalition, and receive more information about the campaign.

As we build in numbers in the community, the stronger our voice becomes to before the council. It is imperative the community become aware and involved in this campaign so that we can keep Wal-Mart out!

Yes, let’s keep Wal-Mart out! And let’s keep good jobs and good living in Garden Grove! Wal-Mart may be big and powerful, but we won’t let them take away what we like about our community. : )

“It’s too early to decide… I dare not express any opinions until after I see the environmental impact report on that project.”

(From OC Register)

So what is newly appointed Garden Grove City Council Member Steven Jones talking about, and why is everyone paying such close attention to it? And why is everyone looking at Garden Grove as if what happens in this town may change everything for working people in Orange County? Follow me after the flip for the answers, and much, much more…

So what’s the big news? Wal-Mart’s coming to town… And they want it “Super-sized”!
Here’s what was said in The LA Times about Wal-Mart’s proposed Supercenter back in December (via Topix):

While other Southern California cities pass laws to prevent Wal-Mart Supercenters from opening, Garden Grove appears to be all but holding open the front door for the big-box retailer.

Pressed for money and looking for a way to revive a tired commercial district in central Garden Grove, city officials see a Supercenter as a potential savior. ‘This is going to enhance the quality of life of our residents, and it will be an anchor to a blighted area,’ said Councilwoman Janet Nguyen. Twenty-one Supercenters, which combine a regular Wal-Mart with a discount supermarket, have opened in the state, most in north Los Angeles County and outlying areas of the Inland Empire.

However, this proposed project would mean the very first Wal-Mart Supercenter in Orange County. Now, many local officials and business people are quite excited about this. They are excited about the prospect of increased tax revenue from Wal-Mart. They are thrilled about all the new customers flooding into Garden Grove to do business. Basically, they can hardly wait to see Wal-Mart revive this under served and largely ignored part of town.

But wait! Is everyone all that excited about the new Wal-Mart Supercenter? And does everyone really think that Wal-Mart will be a great boon for Garden Grove?

Wal-Mart critics argue that the retail giant would depress wages, especially compared to the pay of unionized workers at grocery stores that would be the Supercenter’s main competition. Ismail Majoo, who owns a discount variety store in neighboring Santa Ana, is a member of the Main Street Coalition, a small group of clergy, labor leaders and small-business owners concerned about a Supercenter’s impact on small business. ‘The Supercenter will wipe out the small-business owner because of the store’s aggressive pricing policy,’ Majoo said. ‘I’m not really worried about my business, but I do worry about the whole neighborhood.’ The Rev. Wilfredo Benitez, rector at St. Anselm Episcopal Church in Garden Grove, has been the religious leader most outspoken against the Supercenter, attending two anti Wal-Mart rallies and raising the issue three times in recent Sunday sermons. ‘It’s a bit frustrating,’ Benitez said. ‘It’s territory a lot of pastors won’t go into on Sunday morning. But we all have the moral imperative to stand on the side of the poor and those who would be exploited.’ ‘We don’t want that Supercenter here,’ he added.

Actually now that they mention it, Wal-Mart does have a nasty record of hurting the community that it comes into. They’ve been known to rely upon taxpayer-funded corporate welfare to artificially “lower prices” and cut down their honest playing competition. They don’t exactly have the best record of keeping bigotry and discrimination out of their business. Well basically, Wal-Mart isn’t the type of company that cares about the diverse, working-class community in Garden Grove.

So what can you do about it now? Well, why not sign the Courage Campaign’s petition asking Garden Grove City Council Member Steven Jones not to allow Wal-Mart to hurt the small businesses in Central Orange County. He may be the key deciding vote in determining whether or not Wal-Mart is allowed to come in and change the entire dynamics of doing business in Garden Grove and Central Orange County. The future of our small businesses and our working-class communities is on the line, so we need to let Council Member Jones know how we really feel about what may potentially be a VERY RAW DEAL for the people of Garden Grove.

I just got something in my email box from the Democratic Party of Orange County. And I guess since this is such a special event, I should share it with you. There will be a special screening of the eye-opening documentary, “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price”…
And Co-producer Rick Jacobs, who also happens to chair the Courage Campaign, will be here to talk to us after the film about how Wal-Mart is affecting Orange County’s economy and communities, as well as the entire rest of the nation.

Follow me after the flip for more on this special event…

OK, here’s the email:

The Democratic Party of Orange County and Orange County Central Labor Council are proud to present a special OC screening of “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price.”

The screening will be on Tuesday, April 10, 2007, at 7:00 pm, and will take place at the IBEW Local 441, 309 N. Rampart, Suite M, Orange, CA 92868. Immediately following, there will be a group discussion about the effect Wal-Mart is having on Orange County, and the entire nation.

Joining us will be Rick Jacobs, co-founder and chair of Brave New Films as well as Chair of the Courage Campaign, an independent political committee on progressive issues in California. He chaired the presidential campaign of Howard Dean in California and serves as Senior Advisor to Democracy for America. He is a featured contributor to Arianna Huffington’s huffingtonpost.com.

“Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price” takes the viewer on a deeply personal journey into the every day lives of families struggling to fight against a goliath. The film is based on individual human beings, all over the world, at all levels of society, telling their story in very personal terms.

The event is open to the public and media. Please RSVP to attend.

You can RSVP by clicking here: http://walmart.brave…

See you there!

Sincerely,

Mike Levin
Democratic Party of Orange County

So would you like to join us on April 10, and find out how Wal-Mart is REALLY affecting our community? If so, please RSVP for the event…
And join us at IBEW Local 441 in Orange for the movie!