Accountable Development Project

LAANE Participates in National Strategy Meeting on Wal-Mart
In the months since the resounding victory over Wal-Mart in the Inglewood special election, LAANE has been inundated with calls from labor, community and environmental activists around the country. Wal-Mart has made a lot of enemies with its aggressive expansion, and more and more communities are starting to fight back.

Sensing that the time is right, a number of national labor unions have decided to make Wal-Mart a top priority. In May, a meeting was held in Washington, D.C. to discuss a long-term strategy to reverse the Wal-Martization of America.

The meeting, which was reported in the New York Times and other media outlets, included representatives of several unions, academics, political consultants and a number of advocacy group leaders, including LAANE executive director Madeline Janis-Aparicio. Madeline described LAANE's success in the Inglewood campaign, and its broader work on accountable development campaigns in Los Angeles.

No specific plans have been announced, but the labor movement and its allies are clearly ready to mount a serious offensive against Wal-Mart.

Meanwhile, the Coalition for a Better Inglewood--which together with LAANE and its allies waged the election campaign against Wal-Mart-is continuing its work to ensure that the community has a voice in major development projects. A primary focus is the site where Wal-Mart had hoped to build a supercenter without any public review or oversight. That site was recently purchased by Wal-Mart, potentially setting the stage for another battle with community and political leaders.

Read press coverage of this campaign:
Some Critics Of Wal-Mart Joining Forces To Change It
_________________________________________________________________

LAANE Joins With Allies to Push for Adoption of Big Box Legislation
After months of public debate, the Los Angeles City Council is expected to vote August 10 on an ordinance that would regulate the building of superstores, or big box developments.

LAANE has worked closely with local lawmakers on the legislation, which would require developers to show that a superstore would produce more good than harm for the affected community. The impact of a proposed big box development on economic blight, housing and other businesses would be considered before a project could move forward.

Numerous studies have shown that superstores can lead to a host of serious problems. These include the replacement of good-paying jobs with poverty-wage jobs, the loss of affordable housing and the destruction of local businesses.

Citing these impacts, some cities have enacted laws banning the construction of superstores. Such ordinances, however, have been successfully challenged in court.

The Los Angeles legislation takes a different approach, allowing the Council and the community to consider the merits of each proposed superstore. If approved, the law would give community members a much greater voice in the development process while still allowing good projects to move forward.

Read press coverage of this campaign:
Officials Propose New Tactics in Restrictions on Superstores
_________________________________________________________________

LAX Project

Coalition Negotiating Far-Reaching Community Benefits Agreement for LAX
A coalition of community, environmental, education and labor groups brought together by LAANE is seeking a far-reaching agreement that would provide a landmark benefits package to those living near Los Angeles International Airport.

The LAX Coalition for Economic, Environmental & Educational Justice is asking city officials to include a Community Benefits Agreement in the mayor's proposed airport modernization plan. If approved, the modernization plan will serve as the blueprint for one of the largest public works projects in the country.

The scope of the modernization project lends national significance to the effort to secure a Community Benefits Agreement, which would establish an important precedent that would likely be emulated by cities around the country.

The agreement would cover a range of issues that affect the working-class, largely minority communities adjacent to LAX, which historically have suffered the impacts of airport development but have had no voice in the decision-making process. LAX Coalition members are seeking a comprehensive benefits package that would include everything from job training and local hiring to environmental mitigation to educational improvements.

Read press coverage of this campaign:
Coalition Seeks Deal on LAX Fallout
LAX Agency Negotiating Pact to Help Neighbors
_________________________________________________________________

Progress Made on Increasing Job Protections for Airport Workers
In 2000, LAANE led a successful effort to win adoption of a Contractor Responsibility Ordinance. This ordinance, one of the first of its kind in the country, requires city contractors, lessees and financial assistance recipients to comply with labor laws. The goal is to ensure that companies that do business with the city are good employers that treat their workers with respect and dignity.

Now LAANE is heading an effort to strengthen the ordinance in response to continuing abuse of workers at LAX. After months of documenting cases of abuse, filing worker claims, and organizing workers and elected officials. LAANE coordinated the testimony of workers at a City Council committee hearing in May. In response, the committee recommended amending the ordinance to protect workers that speak out against working conditions and employer retaliation.

The full City Council is expected to consider the proposed amendment this summer.
_________________________________________________________________

Santa Monica Living Wage Project

City Council Gives Initial Approval to SMART-Backed Living Wage Law
Last month, the Santa Monica City Council voted in principle to support a living wage law for city employees and employees of city contractors. The law, first proposed by SMART in January, would establish a living wage of $11.50 for covered workers.

Community members and workers testified in support of the law at several public hearings, telling the Council that Santa Monica had a responsibility to ensure decent wages for those working for the city or for city contractors. More than 120 living wage laws have been enacted around the country since 1994.

The Council, which earmarked $300,000 to implement for the ordinance, is expected to schedule a final vote later this summer.

Read press coverage of this campaign:
Night of the Living Wage
Council Gives Nod to Municipal Living Wage
_________________________________________________________________

Lawmakers to Consider Election Reforms Advanced by Living Wage Truth Commission Report
The Santa Monica City Council will weigh the adoption of a series of election reforms recommended by a blue-ribbon commission, which last year issued a scathing report on electoral abuse by living wage opponents in the November 2002 election. Voters narrowly overturned Santa Monica's landmark living wage law in that election following a $1.5 million campaign by the hotel industry and other business interests.

The commission, which held a public hearing organized by SMART in February 2003 to explore allegations of widespread deception by living wage foes, was composed of leading election law experts, academics and clergy. Commissioners included former state Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso, constitutional law professor Erwin Chemerinsky, and National League of Women Voters board member Xandra Kayden, among others.

In its report, released in June 2003, the commission found that living wage opponents misled the public through the use of three blatantly dishonest slate mailers which falsely suggested that the Democratic Party, pro-choice leaders and educators opposed the living wage. The report also documented other deceptive tactics used over a two-and-a-half-year period, including the creation by the hotel industry of a phony community group to support an anti-living wage initiative and misleading signature-gathering drives by living wage opponents. The commission found that the tactics used in Santa Monica are part of a larger pattern of deception in California initiative and referendum politics.

The City Council first addressed election reforms last July after hearing testimony from commission members. The package of reforms calls for tighter disclosure requirements to ensure that the public has timely and accurate information about ballot initiatives and campaign financing.

Read press coverage of this campaign:
Council Explores Local Election Reforms
_________________________________________________________________

Living Wage Project

LAANE Joins With Janitors in Call for Higher Living Wage
In 1999, LAANE and the Services Employees International Union (SEIU) led the successful campaign to enact a living wage ordinance for the County of Los Angeles.The law has raised wages for thousands of low-wage service workers employed by county contractors.

Unlike many living wage ordinances, however, the County law does not include an annual cost-of-living adjustment. The result has been that workers have steadily lost ground, leaving many eligible for anti-poverty programs paid for by the county itself.

In May, LAANE joined with SEIU Local 1877 to demand an increase in the living wage rate. Dozens of county-contracted janitors demonstrated outside the Board of Supervisors, where a press conference was held featuring representatives from LAANE, the University of California Labor Center and SEIU. In early June, the Board of Supervisors indicated that it would likely approve an increase in the living wage later this summer.

Read press coverage of this campaign:
County Janitors Threaten Strike on Living Wage
________________________________________________________________

Events and Announcements

LAANE Holds First "Women for a New Los Angeles" Luncheon
On March 19, nearly 100 women supporters of LAANE attended the first annual "Women for a New Los Angeles" Luncheon at the historic Union Station.

The event featured Rev. Altagracia Perez, a key figure in the city's economic justice movement, who addressed the challenges faced by women activists. Attendees also participated in informal discussion groups, where they were encouraged to share their own experiences.

While the luncheon raised several thousand dollars, the main goal was to bring together a diverse group of women leaders committed to improving the lives of working families.

View photographs from the event:
http://www.laane.org/events/women4newla_2004.html
________________________________________________________________

LAANE to Honor John Wilhelm at "City of Justice Awards Dinner"
LAANE's 2004 "City of Justice Awards Dinner" will honor the visionary labor leader John Wilhelm, international president of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union.

Wilhelm pioneered the successful hotel organizing drive in Las Vegas, which has lifted thousands of families into the middle class. He has championed strategic relationships within the labor movement, and has been a strong advocate for recognizing the power and importance of new immigrant workers.

The dinner, to be held Wednesday, December 1, at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, will also honor a number of community and political leaders who have played a key role in the city's economic justice movement. A special video presentation on the successful campaign to stop Wal-Mart's Inglewood ballot initiative will be premiered at the dinner.

For more information about the dinner, please contact Stella Maloyan at 213-486-9880 ext. 110 or smaloyan@laane.org.
________________________________________________________________

LAANE Establishes Honorary Board
LAANE has established an honorary board that will assist the organization in fundraising, event planning and communications. Members include prominent philanthropists, activists and academics. The Board is currently working with LAANE staff on this year's upcoming "City of Justice Awards Dinner."

To view the list of board members, go to http://www.laane.org/supporters.html.