Justice on the March
News From Around the Country

LAANE Joins Fight to Improve Conditions for
Security Officers

Even as tens of billions of dollars have been spent since the tragedy of September 11, one of the first lines of defense in Los Angeles remains vulnerable. Thousands of security officers in Los Angeles face poverty wages and poor benefits. Training is woefully inadequate, while turnover is high for the largely African-American workforce, which is charged with the responsibilities of first responders in the event of natural disasters, terrorist attacks and other emergencies.

LAANE has joined with community leaders and SEIU Local 1877 in a high-stakes campaign to change these conditions. Over the coming months, LAANE will help mobilize community support for these men and women, whose compensation and training lag far behind that of security officers in other major cities, many of whom are employed by the same businesses. Achieving parity could add as much as $100 million annually to the economy of South L.A. , while pending city legislation would greatly improve training and workplace standards. For more information on this campaign, go to www.seiu1877.org.

Inglewood Keeps the Heat on Wal-Mart

Following last year’s historic victory over Wal-Mart, community leaders have continued to advance their vision of positive economic development. In April, a delegation of Inglewood leaders took their message directly to Bentonville, Arkansas, where they held a press conference demanding that Wal-Mart negotiate a comprehensive community benefits agreement as a condition for building a store in Inglewood. More

Now the Coalition for a Better Inglewood is mobilizing support for a Superstore Ordinance. Modeled on a similar law passed by the Los Angeles City Council last year, the ordinance would require Wal-Mart and other big box developers to assess the economic impacts of their projects before seeking permits from the city. The law would give community members a much greater voice in decisions over large-scale developments and encourage a public debate over issues such as job quality, small business and the environment.

For more information on this campaign, please contact Elliott Petty at 213-977-9400 ext. 133.

Major Study Finds Significant Pay Raises, Minimal Employment Loss Under Living Wage

In June, a groundbreaking study by University of California economists and LAANE researchers found that the Los Angeles living wage ordinance has raised pay for nearly 10,000 jobs -- with minimal employment loss.

Examining the Evidence: The Impact of the Los Angeles Living Wage Ordinance on Workers and Businesses offers the most definitive analysis of any living wage policy in the country. According to the study, which was funded in part by the Ford Foundation. nearly 70 percent of workers affected by the law are low-income and only 4 percent are teenagers.

"This study offers compelling evidence that living wage laws can improve the quality of life for low-income workers," said David Fairris , a Professor of Economics at the University of California Riverside and a co-author of the study. For more information on the study, please see losangeleslivingwagestudy.org.

San Diego Adopts Historic Community
Benefits Agreement

The San Diego City Council last month approved a groundbreaking Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) for a 3.2 million square foot development project. The agreement requires the developers of the project—the largest development in the city’s history—to increase their commitment to affordable housing, implement a hiring process and job training programs for San Diego residents, and abide by some of the highest environmental standards for residential high-rise development in the country. Adoption of the CBA adds further momentum to the growing community benefits movement, which is reshaping economic development policy to ensure that large-scale projects meet the real needs of communities. For more information on the San Diego CBA, please see www.onlinecpi.org.

New Labor Federation Vows to Put Organizing First

Change to Win, a new coalition representing six million American workers, held its founding convention in late September and vowed to change the face of the nation’s labor movement. Leaders of Change to Win said that increasing unionization would be their first priority, and promised to put 75 percent or more of the group’s resources into organizing. “May the history books record that on the 27th day of September in St. Louis, delegates gathered and chose to change not just their unions, but their country,” said Anna Burger, Chair of Change to Win. Member unions include the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA), UNITE HERE, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, and United Farm Workers. More

Big Apple Takes Bite Out of Workers’ Health Care Cost

In August, New York City passed the groundbreaking Health Care Security Act, which requires medium to large grocers to provide health care to their workers. The law is designed to level the playing field so that companies such as Wal-Mart, which do not provide affordable health insurance to their employees, cannot drive out employers that do offer health coverage. While Mayor Michael Bloomberg vetoed the bill, the City Council easily overturned the veto last month. As with the living wage battles of years past, the passage of this bill and the efforts that made it possible may be the beginning of a trend that will spread across the nation. More

Meanwhile, legislation was enacted in Suffolk County, N.Y., requiring large retailers like Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart to contribute to their employees' health insurance. Democratic County Executive Steve Levy, who has to sign the bill into law, has not declared his final opinion, but said he was "leaning towards supporting it." The bill, called the Fair Share for Health Care Act, requires large retailers to contribute at least $3 for each hour an employee works toward the employee's health coverage, with no corresponding wage deduction. The act is the first of its kind to be passed by a Republican-controlled legislature. The new law was supported by major employers in the grocery industry, and enacted through a campaign led by the Long Island Federation of Labor, the United Food and Commercial Workers, the Working Families Party and Long Island Jobs with Justice.

Working Families Group Launches National Program

A California-based coalition, co-founded by LAANE, that has helped improve labor and community standards on economic development projects has launched a national effort. The Partnership for Working Families will work with groups in key metropolitan regions around the country, helping them advocate for community benefits agreements. These legally binding agreements have secured living wage jobs, affordable housing and other benefits in exchange for community support of major development projects in Los Angeles and other cities. More

Living Wage Marches On

Several municipalities in recent months have joined the nearly 130 around the country in passing living wage ordinances, including Los Angeles’ neighbor to the south, San Diego, which after an organizing effort of nearly three years successfully passed a citywide living wage ordinance in April. Other cities around the country that have passed similar legislation include Bloomington, IN in March; Philadelphia, Syracuse, NY and Brookline, MA in May; and Albany, NY in September.

Ongoing living wage campaigns are underway in Memphis, TN; Birmingham, AL; Ithaca, NY; Little Rock, AR; and several universities, including the University of Miami in Florida and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

Minimum Wage Rising

Campaigns to increase the state minimum wage are underway throughout the country, including Michigan, Arizona and Ohio. In Albuquerque, New Mexico, an initiative to raise the city's minimum wage to $7.50/hr. has qualified for the October ballot. Senator John Edwards, in conjunction with ACORN, has spoken in each of the states in support of increasing the minimum wage.