SEC Quarterly Meeting
Friday September 14th
9:30 AM -1 PM
|  | At the
E. Bay Community Foundation
De Domenico Bldg.
200 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
Oakland, CA 94612
Breakfast & lunch served
| | Increase in East Bay Low Income Households
Over the Labor Day weekend, the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) released new government statistics showing a 10% increase in low-income households since 2001...read more CCII invests in Bay Area Urban Habitat continues to participate in the steering committee meetings of the Community Capital Investment Initiative (CCII), working towards the development of a Community Developers Fund. The fund would invest $20-$40 million into the region's low and moderate-income communities... read more Port Trucking Campaign Rolls On On July 17, 2007, truck drivers and community members confronted the Port Commission and handed Port officials a petition signed by 1,250 of the 1,500 drivers demanding to become employees and to join the Teamsters, so they can receive health care and a decent wage on which to raise a family.... read more
Richmond Endorses
Equitable Development At a July 26 event, REDI asked 250 participants to pledge support for a more just and healthy Richmond by signing on to a Declaration for Equitable Development. Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin, as well as Richmond Council Members Tony Thurmond and Tom Butt signed the declaration to show their support... read more | | Greetings,
Welcome to the SEC September e-newsletter! Many of us took a bit of summer vacation and are refreshed anew to struggle for social justice. Friday, September 14th, we'll transition that energy into our fall Quarterly Meeting. First on the Quarterly Meeting agenda: Immediately after the SEC's last gathering, a delegation of our members participated in the first-ever US Social Forum in Atlanta. That group included Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), Ma'at Youth Academy, Marin Grassroots Leadership Network, Somos Mayfair, Women's Initiative, and Urban Habitat. We'd like to invite you each to come share in the spirit of solidarity moving forward, starting with some delegation highlights on the SEC Social Forum Page. Second on the agenda: Also over the past few months, Urban Habitat has been grappling with the question: How can we, as facilitators of the SEC, most effectively incorporate lessons learned over the past 10 years into a clear and ambitious regional agenda for environmental, economic, & social justice in low-income communities and communities of color?
To answer this question, we engaged many of you in focus groups, interviews and surveys. Now the Institute for Social & Environmental Justice Education (ISEJE) will present the exciting findings from that research and release the full report - including a detailed history of the SEC's evolution featuring many of YOU that's never before been captured! Urban Habitat will also share our initial thinking and next steps on what this implies for the SEC, creating a space for feedback that will move us toward those transitions. I especially encourage those of you who participated in the research, or who have been trying to think through the SEC connect to your work, to come strategize with us next Friday. As always, prepare for fellowship and food with an RSVP to SEC[at]urbanhabitat[dot]org by Wednesday, September 12th. Warm regards,
Connie Galambos, SEC Coordinator
Juliet Ellis, Executive Director
Urban Habitat | | Woodfin Ordered to Pay Back Wages
 Over 200 people turned out on Monday, August 29, 2007 to protest Woodfin Hotel's refusal to pay back wages to some 50 workers. Around 11:15pm, after much chanting and role-playing by protesters, the Emeryville City Council unanimously voted to order the Woodfin Hotel to pay about $250,000 in back wages to workers by September 14, 2007 and a $45,500 fine for failing to turn over records to the City on time. Supporters filled the Emeryville City Hall to capacity, spilling into the overflow room, to listen to the proceedings. One highlight of the evening was the Woodfin attorney being escorted out of the building by Emeryville police, after repeatedly speaking out of turn (he was later allowed back in to present an argument, which the City attorney deemed "largely irrelevant".) EBASE has been working with workers of the Woodfin hotel over the past year to ensure the hotel's compliance with the City of Emeryville's Living Wage Ordinance. From marches in rain to hundreds of pickets to numerous visits to clients, the Woodfin campaign mounted a dynamic and vigorous fight. However, Woodfin's announcement that it will not accept the city's decision is an indication that the fight is far from over. EBASE and its supporters are determined to keep the pressure on the Woodfin until workers receive what is rightfully theirs. Another picket is planned for Saturday, September 8, 2007 from 7 - 11 am. For more information, including locations and directions, contact Brooke Anderson at brooke(at)workingeastbay(dot)org. | Laotian Organizing Project Visions Richmond
After months of workshops and training for LOP members, the Richmond Equitable Development Initiative (REDI)'s General Plan campaign heated up this summer with a community forum to unveil policies on land use, transportation, economic development, and housing that will benefit all residents of Richmond. Approximately 250 community members attended to show support for the campaign and asked the city council members present - Tom Butt, Tony Thurmond, and Mayor Gayle McLaughlin - to endorse the community's vision. The Laotian Organizing Project (LOP) led the housing presentation with an interactive skit about current housing conditions and our proposed policy recommendations. Here are some of the innovative housing policies that REDI and the LOP are fighting for in Richmond's General Plan: - Change the city's Inclusionary Housing Ordinance to ensure the construction of affordable housing.
- Establish a community land trust.
- Rehabilitate substandard rental housing without displacing residents or raising their rent.
- Ensure that environmental cleanup will be safe and benefit low-income communities.
To get involved in the LOP, contact APEN at (510) 834-8920. | | Social Justice & Smart Growth DVD Released
Earth House Center has placed 'Voices from the Community" - a Social Justice and Smart Growth DVD and the first Regional Equity video in the USA on the web! The DVD, co-produced with the Urban Habitat Social Equity Caucus in 2001, is now available on the Earth House Center's website at www.EarthHouseCenter.org. Special thanks to Urban Habitat and all in the SEC whose great work made this possible!
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