Boston activists demand JOBS, NOT JAILS!

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$15 Now activists meet in Seattle BOSTON—Long overdue, the unfinished civil rights movement of the last century is being reborn. Unlike the earlier focus on voting and Southern segregation, the nascent movement is taking to the streets to protest the “new” Jim Crow of mass incarceration and police miscon­ duct expressed in the “Stop and Frisk” laws and the “War on Drugs.”

As we witness the dismantling of many of the gains of the old civil rights movement—like af­ firmative action, voting protections, desegre­ gation of schools, and social safety nets—Mi­ chelle Alexander’s book, “The New Jim Crow,”

has been a galvanizing factor in exposing the mass incarceration of Black and Latino youth as a systemic racist phenomenon of the past 40 years, and not due to individual failure.

Well over 1000 people from all over Mas­ sachusetts rallied on a rainy and cold day on Boston Common on Saturday, April 26, calling for “Jobs Not Jails.” The rally was organized by the new grassroots Coalition for Jobs Not Jails of over 100 organizations, including prison re­ form groups, unions, youth organizations, faith groups, and peace and justice groups. The co­ alition was initiated by EPOCA (Ex-Prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Ad­ vancement), along with Families for Justice as Healing and the Boston Workers Alliance.

The trends and demographics in Massa­ chusetts are in keeping with nationwide statistics.

The prison population has risen three-fold since the 1980s. While almost 84% of the population is white, whites make up only 44% of prisoners. The state’s SEATTLE—On April 26, over 500 activists met here for the first $15 Now national conference. Fifteen states were represented, but the majority of activists were from the Seattle area. Everyone saw Seattle as ground zero for the movement to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. A victory in Seattle would create waves of momentum for activists in the rest of the country.

The conference was taking place as corporate inter­ ests are gearing up to derail the $15 Now movement by exerting political pressure through the formation of “One Seattle,” which calls for a 21-year phase-in, train­ ing wages, and tip and health-care credit.

Democratic Party Mayor Ed Murray has appointed a Minimum Wage Advisory Committee, which clearly re­ flects the pressure being exerted by One Seattle. Mayor Murray chose the international workers’ holiday, May 1, to announce his proposals, which he said had gained the support of 21 of the Advisory Committee’s 24 mem­ bers. There would be a three-year phase-in for many workers at large businesses (over 500 employees), but 4 SOCIALIST ACTION MAY 2014 prisons are well over capacity, primarily because of strict mandatory sentencing laws for nonviolent drug offenders. Once out of prison, which offers very little in treatment and rehabilitation programs, it is almost impossible to find decent paying jobs. Their criminal Gary Bills / Socialist Action workers who receive health benefits would have to wait four years to receive $15/hour. Small businesses would have seven years to bring their workers up to $15, and during the first five years, tips and health ben­ efits would be factored into the compensation package.

Advisory Committee Co-chair and SEIU 775 President David Rolf was upbeat about the mayor’s proposal. But Kshama Sawant, the Socialist Alternative member who sits on Seattle’s city council, criticized it strongly, stat­ ing, “There is no reason to make workers live in pov­ erty for a single day more.”

Mayor Murray has made it clear he is hoping that his proposal will forestall the movement to place a mea­ sure on the ballot for $15 an hour. The centerpiece of the $15 Now conference was the ballot measure, which is actually called a charter amendment since it would change Seattle’s constitution. Copies of the ballot mea­ sure were readily available, and any attendee could discuss, propose amendments, and vote. However, no changes were made.

The basic demand of the ballot measure could be glimpsed in the huge sign that greeted attendees to the records negatively impact and follow ex-prisoners for life, contributing to a high recidivism rate of 70%.

Massachusetts spent 1.28 billion on prisons, proba­ tion, and parole in fiscal year 2013 (greater than the amount spent on higher education). With plans for 10,000 new prison units by 2023, at the cost of $2 billion, reform and justice organizations decided that only joint actions by all would give them the power needed to turn this around.

Under tents and umbrellas, rally attendees listened to moving stories from ex-prisoners and recovering substance abusers and their families describing their hardships and a system that “is set up for failure.” “It’s all about money,” said a member of Friends and Rela­ tions of Prisoners, as she listed the many things that victims of the “criminal justice” system are forced to pay for that keep them in poverty. Known as “collat­ eral sanctions,” there are expensive charges for phone calls from prison, and fees for probation, parole, and court costs.

Former City Councilor and ex-prisoner Chuck Turner spoke of the growth of the criminal prison-industrial complex as an immensely profitable product of capi­ talism. “If we want peace, justice, and equity,” he said, “we have to stand up and take action.”

The coalition is urging an end to prison expansion and instead using the billions saved to create jobs that pay living wages and programs to educate, treat, and rehabilitate offenders, 80% of whom are nonviolent substance abusers and/or mentally ill. They also ad­ vocate for repeal of punitive and unjust treatment of current and ex-prisoners, and a raise in the minimum wage for all.

When the state budget and bills related to criminal justice are debated, on April 30, Jobs Not Jails sup­ porters are urged to converge on the Massachusetts Statehouse to wrap it with banners filled with over 30,000 petition signatures to demonstrate communi­ ty support for real justice, not business as usual. The organizers assured people that this action was only the beginning of a movement for change.

Pastor Paul Robeson Ford from the Union Baptist Church in Cambridge, said, “This is the defining moral issue of our time.” He questioned why criminals ex­ ist when people are not born that way and concluded that “a broken society makes broken people.” He sum­ marized the sentiments of the crowd with a fitting chant, “Lift them up; don’t lock them up!” n (Left) Part of the crowd at the $15 Now conference.

conference, “$15 Plus Tips.” The charter amendment calls for: (a) Large Corporations to immediately pay a $15 minimum wage on Jan. 1, 2015. (b) No tip credit, no total compensation, no teenage or training wages. (c) A three-year phase-in for small business and non-profits, which would start paying a minimum wage of $11 on Jan. 1, 2015, and scale up to $15 by Jan. 1, 2018—at which point all workers would receive $15 plus a COLA. (d) The minimum wage would include a yearly cost of living adjustment (COLA). (e) Hotel and Confer­ ence Center workers could agree to opt out through their collective bargaining process if their health-care plan of at least $700 per month, adjusted for inflation, is guaranteed for full-time and part-time workers.

The conference approved a strategic and organiza­ tional plan for 15 Now. They will start collecting sig­ natures for the ballot measure, and in June there will be another conference to decide whether or not to turn in the signatures to trigger a November vote. The plan is to gather 50,000 signatures, as protection from legal challenges.

There are currently 15 Now Action Groups through­ out Seattle—based in neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces—and they work independently based on the general guidelines of the organization. In addition, Organizing Councils can be formed citywide or region­ ally to help coordinate the work of the action groups. It was proposed that a 15 Now Steering Committee be formed of elected representatives of the Organizing Councils, and they will coordinate overall actions and policies. The National Conference will decide the size and proportion of the Steering Committee based on the number of active groups around the country.

There were also 11 workshops dealing with issues such as race and income inequality (featuring Glen Ford of Black Agenda Report), May Day activities, col­ lective bargaining, tipped workers, and the basics of signature gathering.

The conference ended on an upbeat note with a rally featuring Glen Ford and socialist Seattle city-council member Kshama Sawant. While much of the emphasis was on Seattle, activists from around the country at­ tended who are just starting to organize. They hope the momentum from Seattle will help them address lowincome jobs in their local areas. The effectiveness of the struggle in Seattle will be demonstrated in how it helps these towns and cities to catch fire in a nation­ wide campaign for $15 Now. n