POWER Makes History at First-Ever Workfare Worker Convention

On July 11, 1998, history was made. For the first time ever in San Francisco, Workfare Workers came together - as a union. In fact, over 225 Workfare Workers (which is over 10% of all the Workfare Workers in the City) were part of the convention, proving once again that the people who say that poor people can't organize don't have a clue what they're talking about.

We had three tasks at hand; first, we wanted to ratify the Workfare Workers' Bill of Rights, which was created by hundreds of Workfare Workers at over twenty worksite locals. Second, we wanted to elect site captains for those locals, and hold an official union swearing-in ceremony. Finally, we wanted to have everyone leave inspired, energized, and ready to fight!

We started off the day with some songs, led by our songmaster Tony Davidson. Once we were all pumped up, we got some words of wisdom from Gary Delgado, who led Workfare Workers' organizing in the 70's. Gary made sure we all knew that what we are doing is making history. He asked us all to remember that even though everyone we are up against is telling us that we are lazy, that we are weak, and that we can't win, that in our hearts and minds we know that we are right and we have POWER when we organize.

Then we got down to business. Khalil Abdus-Samad, our fearless organizer, led us through the Bill of Rights, and we voted on each Right, one by one. The Bill is based on the premise that Workfare workers "are workers right now, and we demand to be treated like any other worker should be treated." The Bill of Rights sets out the Right to Permanent Jobs with Living Wages and Benefits, the Right to Health and Safety, the Right to Representation and the Right to be treated with Respect. Then, amidst thunderous applause, songs and chants, the Convention delegates unanimously adopted the Bill of Rights, and pledged not to quit until Workfare Workers win each right, one by one.

At this point, people couldn't stop singing and chanting, we were so energized. But there was some time in between songs for Van Jones, Director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, to give us all some more words of wisdom. Van made a fiery speech reminding us that we are a force to be reckoned with in San Francisco. "We don't care about the Mayor, the police or the politicians," he said. "Because what we've got right here is women and men, workers of all races, religions, ethnicities and backgrounds, who are coming together to fight for our rights. And that scares this City. You all are making history."

With that said, we broke down into worksite caucuses, where over twenty site captains were elected by their co-workers. These brave leaders were sworn in as POWER site captains by POWER organizer Garth Ferguson. Site captains pledged to "defend to the best of their ability the principles of fairness and justice for all people; to work to improve the lives of workers at their worksites and in their communities; and to participate in the fight for rights, respect and dignity for all oppressed people."

We had successfully completed our business for the day, so with more songs, chants and loud applause, we dove into the giant POWER cake, celebrating our first birthday as a union. Most folks didn't have room for a lot of cake though, because we were so filled with inspiration, courage and POWER. The huge smiles on peoples' faces were not because of any cake.

For fifteen years, Workfare workers have been doing the city's work— sweeping the streets, cleaning the buses, and working at General Hospital and the parks. For fifteen years, San Francisco politicians have promised that if we work hard, then we'll get jobs. But we've worked hard, and instead of hiring us, San Francisco has continued to use us as a cheap source of labor. On July 11, Workfare workers said enough is enough. We joined together to put into action a plan to win full employment rights for all Workfare workers.

POWER organized the Convention because we realized that if we are going to fight together to win union jobs and equal pay for equal work, we needed to bring everyone together to see the faces of our comrades in the struggle. Workfare is designed to isolate us and teach us that we are on our own. The convention showed us that we are all in this together, that we are in solidarity with one another, and there are hundreds of people to "get our backs" in this fight.

"It was the most powerful experience to be in that room with so many people, all willing to organize and stand up for our rights, for equal pay and union jobs," said Bob Shirley. "It was so incredible that trying to describe the power of it is like trying to describe the beauty of a sunset..."

Start of something big- Workfare Workers from all over the City gathered on July 11 at the Workfare Workers' Convention.. CONVENTION REFLECTIONS by Yolanda Catzalco and Emma Harris July 11 marks a milestone in the struggle for Economic Human Rights for all, but especially for poor people. Over 200 people participated in the POWER Workfare Workers' convention. Despite years of hard work, Workfare Workers on General Assistance who received a measly salary of $345 a month were not able to voice their grievances, and were overlooked and not treated fairly. The July 11 convention was the high point of organizing efforts by Workfare Workers who know that GA Workfare Workers are a mighty force to be reckoned with. At the Convention, there were speakers, poets, site captains who were sworn in, and many Workfare Workers who knew we were making history. A Workfare Workers' Bill of Rights was voted on and approved. We had a victory cake. The Tenderloin will never be the same. POWER is leading the fight for Economic Human Rights. The convention has proven that we can accomplish what we set out to do. We now know concretely that we have a say in our future. We urge you to join POWER and be part of the team that is making history.

Get on the Bus

For seven years, Bob Shirley had to wake up at 3 am to make it to his street sweeping job by 6:30. If he was even ten minutes late, he would be considered AWOL and be either cut off of GA or forced to perform two to five days extra work to make up for being late.

For fifteen years, the City has forced us to get to our workfare worksites early in the morning, often miles from where we stay. The City has refused to provide us with transportation so that we could get to our jobs. $345 a month is not much, especially in San Francisco, the second most expensive City in the country. Most of us do not have the two dollars to spend to take the bus to and from work everyday, much less the money to take public transportation to get around the City to apply for other jobs, to get to our GA appointments, or just to get where we need to.

As workers for the City of San Francisco who do not get paid union wages, we realized that at the very least the City owed us transportation to our jobs. So, the POWER union decided to fight for Fast Passes. We showed up at City meetings, we chanted and sang our songs, and we showed the City that we wouldn't go away until they gave us what we wanted.

 Well, we won. Starting October of 1998, workfare workers receive free Fast Passes. All of us at POWER know that no one gave us the Fast Passes. The POWER union organized until the City had no other choice.

This victory proved that when we organize we can win. Now our job is to build off this momentum and increase the stakes to fight for union pay for union work!

You can get your Fast Passes at the GA office at the Distribution window (1235 Mission), or at the CalWorks office (170 Otis). You can pick up your pass before the actual month it's good for starting on the 25th, and you have until the 10th of the month that they're actually good for. So make sure to pick up your Fast Passes (and use them to come to the next POWER meeting). 

Editorial

In POWER's two years, we've heard a lot of folks say things like, "why don't we just file a lawsuit against for equal pay for equal work," or "if we just vote these fools out of office, then we can win." People have told us that what is going on right now is wrong, so it must be illegal.

One important thing we have learned in our fight for equal pay for equal work is that there is a big difference between what is legal and what is right. It is not right that many workfare workers who work hard and deserve a raise will get their checks cut down to $284 per month, but it's legal. Seven out of eleven SF Supervisors voted for this cut, and Mabel Teng used her vote to cut GA checks as part of her campaign platform for President of the Board.

Workfare, which uses poor people to provide free labor to perform vital City jobs isn't right, but it is part of City regulations. Slavery wasn't right either, but that didn't stop the United States of America from using slave labor as the foundation of its economy. Jim Crow laws made segregation and racism a legal part of American life.

Laws are created and enforced to protect the rights of property and money, not to do what's right. With very few exceptions, the people who make and enforce laws are put in the position to do that because they have proven they will continue to protect the rights of those who own and control the resources. The system which we live under is designed to protect a very few and exploit the rest of us. Does that seem right?

In fighting for social and economic justice, we need to use as many tools as possible. We have a long, uphill battle, and should use whatever means we have to fight. Lawsuits have their place in the struggle, but winning lawsuits is not going to change the system. Getting involved in electoral politics has its place, but changing the figure-head isn't going to change the system.

The one sure thing is that organizing against what's wrong and for what's right can change things. Every time we march to City Hall and show up with lots of folks singing, chanting, and telling the truth, we can see the fear in the eyes of the politicians. We can see that they are afraid of us. (The proof comes in the fact that every time POWER shows up at City Hall, a lot of cops and security guards show up too).

The bottom line is, the only thing we can truly trust is ourselves. The only folks we know who will always fight for what's right without making compromises, without giving in, are the folks who are getting stepped on by the system. The truest power is the power of people standing together even though the system exists to divide us. So get with POWER to fight the power!

POWER is the first group that has come out to work with Workfare Workers. It is our organization.

Day in the Life of a POWER Organizer

by Ed Willard

I did my outreach at the Cable Car site this past Tuesday. To get up there I was able to use my Fast Pass, (courtesy of POWER, of course), to ride the cable car.

At the cable car barn, I spotted a lone guy sitting in one of the cars. I noticed he was wearing a gray official looking uniform and so I thought he was a city hired worker. I asked, "Hey, where are all the workfare workers?"

He blew out cigarette smoke and then answered, "I'm workfare".

I was confused about the uniform. "Oh, I thought................"

"Yeah, the uniform. I bought it myself"

I started to ask him what he knew about POWER. Well, he knew that it was through POWER that he had gotten his Fast Pass. He also knew that it was only through a lot of hard work and fighting with a very reluctant and ungenerous Department of Human Services (DHS) that POWER had gotten everyone on workfare a Fast Pass and that getting them had nothing at all to do with any sort of compassionate attitude on the part of DHS. "Well, that's great, I thought! The battle we won with the Fast Passes has put POWER on the map. This guy is a good possibility to show up for our upcoming actions with the JOBS commission."

We talked more and I found out that David really likes his job, (enough that he went out and bought a real uniform, in contrast to the paper suits the workfare folks have to wear). He has been there for a couple of years and his supervisor is a fair boss who values his job highly, and even leaves him in charge a lot of the time. In talking about job experience, David even said, "Yeah, if we land these jobs, my boss would put in a good word for me."

Well, it wasn't until I left Nob Hill and began that fourteen minute downward spiraling journey into the Tenderloin that I started to think clearly. I have been "all the way down" now since this past April when my business failed, and looking into the faces of the TL denizens was like looking in a mirror.

I was treated with no respect or dignity, when I applied for G.A. I was treated by the people at DHS like someone who was undeserving. When I finally got through the G. A. process, (it took me four tries, sometimes because I missed appointments for various reasons that all had to do with living on the street. Once because of a flagrant "trick" that was played on me by a worker on a power trip), I was grateful to be getting this money that I was made to feel like I didn't deserve. Over the course of the last months while working with POWER I have really begun to have more respect for myself, seeing how society in general and the City of San Francisco in particular keeps people down out of a profit motive. I realize now that it isn't really so much me that needs change but the system, and through POWER I am seeing some of the specific ways that this is possible. Really it just comes down to demanding my rights and demanding rights for workfare workers throughout the city, because I know now that the city isn't just going to give us anything. We have to fight for it.

WHAT'SUPAROUNDTHECITY?

San Francisco WorkfareWorksiteUp-dates

MUNI

Woods

While we won some victories at Woods through our organizing, conditions are still anything but fair at Woods. Workfare workers still can only use the bathrooms on the second floor. Also, women are forced to do certain jobs, whether they want to or not. All of the women have to clean graffiti off buses as well as the floors and windows, while the men wash buses and clean the yard.

All of the workfare workers who work at Woods want City jobs, but we aren't getting hired. Other members of POWER has been encouraging Woods workers to stand up for our rights, and to not stand for modern day slavery. We are becoming POWER members to help fight for social and economic change. All of us are excited about the Fast Pass accomplishment and we feel more comfortable with transportation from home to our work site.

Flynn Muni

POWER forced the Department of Human Resources (who is responsible for hiring in the City) showed up to see who actually does the work out here. It becomes an inside joke for a couple of weeks because our supervisors thought that the DHR representative was here for a safety inspection. Then, there was a flurry of activity, and for the first time the heavy, yellow bunny suits with the feet and hoods replaced the lightweight white paper suits. Two of my coworkers were severely chastised for cutting off the feet of their suits.

I marked this new development with hope as it is the first time in my seven years of workfare that someone (besides another POWER member) actually came out to verify that all the work is being done exclusively by workfare workers.

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS

Turk and Mason

Workfare workers here sweep the streets and load tools onto the truck. We want City jobs because the pay is better and we would enjoy the full time work. Workfare workers get treated well at this site, so we don't want to see any changes at the site. POWER organizers come by dropping off literature and giving info on next meetings and actions. Everyone is excited about Fast Passes.

Waller and Stanyan

The crew here is keeping busy sweeping the streets and preparing tools. Basically, it's fair work, but no fair pay. At this site, the supervisors are cool, and are willing to listen to what we have to say. Now that workfare workers have Fast Passes, things are easier. But we wish we could eat lunch during work. Some people like to eat at Hamilton Church, but we don't have time to get there and then back to work. Even though we want to get lunch, we are really hungry for a City job. Workers at Waller and Stanyan are demanding to become city employees. We feel that POWER is an up and coming organization that is fighting for change.

FOOD BANK

Workfare workers are very fortunate to work at the Food Bank because of the groceries we receive at the end of the work day. But we "put in a full days work" for those groceries. People at the Food Bank think that rotational workfare will be a terrible thing, because workers need stability, and we are worried that if people don't get involved in POWER, we might all be rotated soon. Workers see POWER as an organization designed to uplift workfare workers. POWER demonstrates through the Fast Pass victory that POWER's not just an organization that's all talk— with POWER, we can win. Folks also enjoyed reading the Worksite Updates in the last POWERpress— it's really good to know about the treatment of workfare workers at other sites, and what other workers are going through.

SAN FRANCISCO GENERAL HOSPITAL

Several workfare workers have complained about the way they are treated by some City workers. One worker, turned down the radio of another worker in the laundry room and them was again reassigned to a new job. Another worker was yelled at by a City worker for not doing his work, and was called lazy. Even his supervisor told him this was wrong, and that he is a good worker.

General was just hiring 8 porters. Even though many workfare workers have been at the hospital for years, many of us were told not to bother applying, or even worse, handed in applications only to have them tossed back at us with the words, "You can't apply - you're a GA worker." Folks are also angry about rotational workfare. People say that if an individual is rotated he or she would have even less opportunity to get hired at the hospital.

RECREATION & PARKS

Workers for this department understand that the work can be strenuous and bad weather is not an excuse. We keep trails and pathways clear and free of obstacles, pick up litter, use manual tools to prepare areas for planting, do plantings and weeding.

John Bergman

John Bergman has worked as a San Francisco Workfare Worker for the past six years. For the past six months, John has worked at General Hospital. While at the Hospital, he has performed many tasks.

John was selected as the Workfare Worker of the Issue because of his heroic work in the fight to win union jobs. With other members of POWER, John put pressure on the Civil Service Commission to count his work as a Workfare Worker as legitimate job experience.

John is a fighter, and POWER is lucky to count him as a member. But you can get a better sense of John by hearing directly from himself: "Workers must join together to fight for changes that improve our lives. There's no going back."

John Bergman has worked as a San Francisco Workfare Worker for the past six years. For the past six months, John has worked at General Hospital. While at the Hospital, he has performed many tasks.

John was selected as the Workfare Worker of the Issue because of his heroic work in the fight to win union jobs. With other members of POWER, John put pressure on the Civil Service Commission to count his work as a Workfare Worker as legitimate job experience.

John is a fighter, and POWER is lucky to count him as a member. But you can get a better sense of John by hearing directly from himself: "Workers must join together to fight for changes that improve our lives. There's no going back."