User talk:Malbrain

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I have indefinitely blocked this account. Tom Harrison ^Talk 17:28, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

After reviewing this, I'm going to unblock Malbrain. Please let me know of any specific problems with this user. Banno 00:10, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Malbrain, your recent additions to Talk:National Labor Federation appear to be nonsense, and your actions might be considered vandalism. You should ensure that talk page discussion focuses on ways in which to improve the article. I have removed some of your material[1]. Banno 23:12, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

Your continued remarks on Talk:National Labor Federation are incoherent and disruptive, and your contributions to the article make no sense. Please stop, or it will be necessary to suspend your editing privileges. Tom Harrison ^Talk 19:31, 6 October 2007 (UTC)

Indeed. See your Wannabe Kate profile[2]. Your talk edits far outweigh your mainspace edits. But moreover, they appear to have little relation to the article. It is as if you are having an argument with an imagined opponent. Can you try to focus on improving the article, rather than these incoherent rants? Banno 01:11, 7 October 2007 (UTC)

I took both of your suggestions and am refocused on actual editing, rather than just talking about editing. Thank you. karl m {{User electrical engineer}} 17:22, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

Contents 1 Welcome 2 Your request 3 external links to be avoided 4 From the wikipedia article on verifiability 5 statement by Lynn Harter and Carol Rogers of EFWA 6 EFWA organizes volunteers 7 Testimony of Jackson County Fuel Committee 8 Redding Western Service Workers Association WBC testifies 9 Boston ESWA WBC testifies 10 Rochester ESWA WBC testifies 11 Jackson County Fuel Committee explains benefit program 12 ESWA Rochester members speak 13 Western Farm Workers Association Victory 14 Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals 15 WMLA Official speaks on behalf of members 16 WFWA Yuba City 17 WSWA Sacramento operations manager opposes AB651 18 WSWA volunteers 19 Jerry Brown shares WSWA analysis on Enterprise Zones 20 Domestic workers organize -- California Homemakers Association 21 EFWA Lyons NY Court Case 22 CHA 1974 negotiations position 23 LULAC resolution in support of WFWA 24 NEJA intervenes in Philadelphia 25 CCLP organization expands into the Los Angeles area 26 FSSW, CCMP and NSWA testify against assisted suicide under the Oregon health plan 27 WSWA Santa Ana membership event flyer 28 Carol Hogan, lobbyist for the bishops' California Catholic Conference 29 Yehuda Hausman volunteers with San Diego WSWA disaster relief 30 Miltant article on rights violations 31 CCLP volunteer marches in San Francisco rally 32 Petition against Assisted Suicide 33 Editor's note from CCLP verdict article on outsourcing 34 Bay Area Alternative Press 35 Calendar artists build NATLFED 36 CCMP works with coalition to defeat AB1592 in 1999 37 Results of Assisted Suicide coalition in 2005 38 Enterprise Zones 39 Boston ESWA presents membership position at Boston University 40 ESWA Rochester speaks to Dentists 41 WFWA knocks on doors to refund money 42 NSWA organizing drive in Medford, OR 43 NSWA spokesperson quoted in NYT article on Oregon Health Plan 44 NSWA provides data and analysis to Jackson County comprehensive plan 45 WFWA reports on progress of refunds 46 WSWA San Diego Newsletter editorial 47 Bay Area CCMP Vital Signs article 48 Long Island CCMP speaks out on medical rights for prisoners 49 WSWA Position on Assisted Suicide 50 NSWA denounces county union busting 51 NYT article on oregon health plan 52 FSSW testifies against oregon health plan 53 Midwest Workers Association Newspaper 54 ESWA members tell their story 55 WFWA members win illegal rent increase refunds

[edit] Welcome

Welcome!

Hello, Malbrain, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful:

• The five pillars of Wikipedia
• Tutorial
• How to edit a page
• How to write a great article
• Manual of Style

I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes ~~~~; this will insert your username and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Questions, ask me on my talk page, or ask your question and then place {{helpme}} before the question on your talk page. Again, welcome! My apologies for this begin somewhat belated. Banno 21:28, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Your request

Karl, thanks for bringing your request to me. I have no background or interest in NATLFED, but I've had a look at the Revision history of National Labor Federation, and I can't see much of a problem with user:Cberlet's contributions. He has difficulty with your presenting quite rigid definitions. Such definitions would be unusual in a Wiki article. That is, he seems not to have a problem with what you write so much as with how you write it. At the least, you need to set out clearly what you see as the problem on the page. I think it has been made clear to you that others find your writing somewhat obscure and difficult.

I thought I had made this clear -- the page lacks any position from the organization itself. I'm considering stepping up my participation as SPOKESMAN. karl m {{User electrical engineer}} 17:11, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

I had wondered if you have some formal relation to NATLFED. If so, you ought to state it openly, and should consider not editing the page at all. See Wikipedia:Conflict of interest Banno 20:22, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

"Merely participating in or having professional expertise in a subject is not, by itself, a conflict of interest." karl m {{User electrical engineer}} 20:25, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

I have been a volunteer participant since 1977. THere is no "conflict of interest" because I have no FINANCIAL INTEREST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER!! karl m {{User electrical engineer}} 20:26, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for clearing that up. Given that you have a connection, you should take special care to ensure that your edits are both neutral and verifiable. Banno 20:39, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

Reverting and editing the work of other writers is part of Wiki life - it happens to everyone, because it is how the encyclopaedia works. The Wiki works by consensus. But there are processes for dealing with grievances. You might read Wikipedia:Dispute resolution. You might consider a Wikipedia:Third opinion or Wikipedia:Requests for comment, but proceed with caution, since your own posts, especially on the talk page, are quite difficult for other readers to digest, and any action you take may have repercussions for yourself as well as for Cberlet. Banno 22:10, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

I'm outnumbered 2 to 1 as an editor. Both "whoisasking" and "cberlet" do minimal/no edits, but repeatedly revert my contributions. karl m {{User electrical engineer}} 16:42, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

Yes, they do. Their doing so is both frustrating and aggravating. It is also completely normal, acceptable behaviour on the Wikipedia. This process is how the Wiki controls the quality of its articles. Because anyone can edit, anyone can also undo your edits; the result is that the material that stays is material that is acceptable to a consensus of editors. There is not way to force others to accept your version. All you can do is to continue to argue the case for your edits. Banno 20:30, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

I've tried making an argument for each and every change on the Talk Page. All I get is criticism for not making enough main edits and filling the bandwidth with the explanations. What else can you suggest? karl m {{User electrical engineer}} 20:59, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

Take a break, come back to it in a week or two, and try again. Banno 22:44, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

Oh, right! Does this do nothing but let the gang of two run rampant over my earlier work? karl m {{User electrical engineer}} 23:00, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] external links to be avoided

Links to social networking sites (such as MySpace or Fan sites), discussion forums/groups (such as Yahoo! Groups), USENET newsgroups or e-mail lists. Links to blogs and personal web pages, except those written by a recognized authority karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 19:02, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] From the wikipedia article on verifiability

Anyone can create a website or pay to have a book published, then claim to be an expert in a certain field. For that reason, self-published books, newsletters, personal websites, open wikis, blogs, forum postings, and similar sources are largely not acceptable.[5]

Self-published and questionable sources may be used as sources in articles about themselves, so long as:

the material used is relevant to their notability; it is not contentious; it is not unduly self-serving; it does not involve claims about third parties; it does not involve claims about events not directly related to the subject; there is no reasonable doubt as to who authored it; the article is not based primarily on such sources.

The NATLFED page suffers from violations of these guidlines.karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 19:09, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] statement by Lynn Harter and Carol Rogers of EFWA

The spirit of it is self-help in terms of what EFWA does. Members are asked to help out as much as they are able to. Members see members helping members. It helps build the benefits program, and also builds strength in the organization because members oversee the benefits program through the Benefits Council.

EFWA has a method of systemic organizing which is their patented method of organizing, the hall mark of what they do. It is reproducible. It’s a “see one – do one - teach one” method, so anybody can learn. Anyone can learn to help them build.

Carol Rogers is the Administrative Assistant at EFWA. She is originally from Western Massachusetts, and was met on a door-to-door membership canvass in 1998 by volunteers with Western Massachusetts Labor Action, a sister effort of EFWA. In 1999 Carol became a full-time volunteer with Western Massachusetts Labor Action. In 2004 she came to Syracuse to work with EFWA. She told her story recounting, “I was met on a canvass, people going door to door and explaining the condition farm workers are living in. I learned that I could donate my time and really help people. They seemed different from other organizations. The cost for joining the organization was $.62 per month. I became a part-time volunteer even though I did not have transportation. A young man came every morning. I got trained. I learned how to type. I learned how to work on a computer. Then they asked me if I wanted to be a full- time volunteer, and I asked what is that? They said 24/7. I said okay because I was bored at home. I knew with this organization I would never be bored. We are always doing something, going places, have speaking engagements, we are always busy.” (http://www.wtb.org/events/may07.doc) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 21:57, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

This publication is a newsletter of a group called Women Transcending Boundaries which includes summaries of the autobiographical statements from several cadre from ESWA Rochester.Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] EFWA organizes volunteers

Community outreach — Lynn Harter (left) of the Eastern Farm Workers Association talks with Daniel Tan, a freshman adolescence education major, at the recent Human Services and Volunteer Fair in the Hewitt Union main lounge. The EFWA employs volunteers to manage migrant-worker benefits programs in four Central New York counties. (http://dspace.sunyconnect.suny.edu/bitstream/1951/36876/1/update%2010-4-06.pdf) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 22:40, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Testimony of Jackson County Fuel Committee

The Jackson County Workers Benefit Council is abody of delegates that represent the interest of various grouping oflow income and seasonal workers in Jackson County The JCWBC was formed in 1976 One ofthe responsibilities ofthe WBC is to oversee the delivery of resources through Northwest Seasonal Worker s Association s self help 11 point benefit program In 1978 the Workers Benefit Council authorized the formation of Jackson County Fuel Committee as many NSWA members then as now were faced with the choice ofheating their homes or feeding their families NSWA initially provided firewood through asupplemental benefit but the need became too great and required the building of aseparate organization Thus Jackson County Fuel Committee came into being through NSWA members joining with other concerned community residents that would work year round to fight for peoples right to heat versus aprivilege JCFC eVtmtually expanded its benefit program to include utility advocacy for families facing an electrical or natural gas shutoff as well as home weatherization projects.

The Workers Benefit Council meets every week to discuss the common issues we face as workers who are traditionally not covered or recognized by the labor laws We discuss real solutions to the problems all workers face in our valley Our coundl is comprised of many different people from various social religious and ethnic backgrounds however we share one thing in common we all face economic hardships dm to low paying jobs Jobs that only provide aminimum wage not a living wage with fc wor no benefits at all For thirty years our council has been fighting alongside like minded individuals to help working people not only have avoice in the community but to also gain access to real and necessary resources like emergency food clothing legal assistance and medical attention through organizations like the Northwest Seasonal Workers Association who have been alife line to thousands in our community including NSWA s members that now number upwards of thirty thousand in our county alone Thirty thousand that have supported and been part ofworking for solutions to the many problems we face and that knowing individually our power and resources are limited but together our ability to survive and organize the resources we need to survive are attainable

(http://www.ashland.or.us/Files/2006-0221_PublicForum.pdf) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 22:52, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

This is a statement submitted to the Ashland, OR city council asking the utility company for leniency. I take this as evidence that the Ashland entity lobbies utilities.Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

The intent is to illustrate how members operate the benefit programs through the Councils. karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 23:40, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Redding Western Service Workers Association WBC testifies

Helen Coykendall, representing Shasta County Workers Benefit Council, James Gray, and Viola Mills expressed opposition to eminent domain citing the hardship on low-income families being displaced from hotel/motel living situations into a high rent market. Mr. Gray also did not see the need for the proposed Redevelopment Project amendment relative to eminent domain as there are no specific projects contemplated at this time. (http://www.ci.redding.ca.us/cclerk/Minutes-2002/Council/02-05-21.pdf) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 22:58, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

The above was a public comment preserved in the minutes of the City Council of Redding, CA.Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Boston ESWA WBC testifies

III. COMMENTS OF BOSTON WORKERS BENEFIT COUNCIL BWBC contends that the rate increase sought by Boston Gas is not in the public interest and should be denied (BWBC Comments at 2-3). BWBC states that its membership includes a significant percentage of individuals who live below the federal poverty threshold (id. at 2). On their behalf and on behalf of other residents in the Company’s service area, BWBC contends that they cannot afford the proposed rate increases (id. at 3). BWBC argues that consumers were unable to afford the 20.1 percent GAF increase allowed in November 2005, resulting in the current level of bad debt that Boston Gas now seeks to recover (id. at 1-2). BWBC asserts that it is not in the public interest to raise rates for the lowest paid workers in Boston (id. at 3). (http://www.mass.gov/Eoca/docs/dte/gas/06-78/103106order.pdf) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 23:04, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 23:19, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

This is a public comment by Boston Workers Benefit Council in opposition to a 2.72% increase in the base rate for natural gas and other fee changes by a Boston utility company in 2006.Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Rochester ESWA WBC testifies

MS. HARPER: Hi. My name is Trudy Harper and I live in the northeast area of Rochester. I'm a volunteer delegate of the Monroe County Workers Benefit Council, and as such I am speaking today on behalf of more than 20,000 low income service workers, unemployed and disabled workers and their families. Our membership numbers are growing in Monroe

County. (http://www.dps.state.ny.us/07-M-0906_PSH_Roch_022008.pdf) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 23:40, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

The beginning of a comment made at a public statement meeting in Rochester, NY, regarding the approval of a merger between two utility companies. The volunteer urged the utility companies to lower rates and forgive debt for customers below 250% of the poverty level facing utility disconnection.Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Jackson County Fuel Committee explains benefit program

"We help people get firewood so they don't have to sacrifice other necessities to keep warm," said Ian Dooley, wood benefit coordinator for JCFC, an all-volunteer private membership group that helps people who can't afford to pay their heating bills. The group was formed about 30 years ago by the Jackson County Workers Benefit Council.

In exchange for volunteering labor — either cutting or loading wood, or office work — JCFC will deliver wood to a client.

"It's a system of reciprocity," Dooley said. (http://archive.mailtribune.com/archive/2006/1218/local/stories/firewood.htm) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 23:47, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

This article, by a journalist, asserts that JCFC provides 30-40 cords of wood per year to members in Ashland, OR.Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

The article also explains the principles members use to operate the association programs. karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 23:38, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

March 22, 2004

Chopping away at poverty

By Myles Murphy Ashland Daily Tidings

One beneficiary of the program is Tom Kelly, who was unable to work for a time in 2000, and relied on the group for firewood.

"It helped us get through the winter," Kelly said.

Now recovered, Kelly gives back to the program by helping with the wood gathering and cutting.

"Seniors especially need help," Kelly said.

Kelly is typical of the volunteer base, according to Jones.

"It's a self-help, collective effort," Jones said. "Anybody who does something is with the committee."

The group also works to weatherize homes and help educate lower income people on ways to save energy.

"We're building a voice in the low-income community," Jones said.

That voice is fleshed out in the organization's publication "Ye Olde Saw," which has regular stories on energy issues and updates on the various programs and events coordinated through JCFC. It is also packed with advertisements from businesses which support the organization.

The committee is always looking for new blood, and welcomes volunteers and donations of money, time, equipment, expertise or wood. Right now, a pressing need is a shed to store collected wood, according to Jones. For information, call 488-2905. (http://www.dailytidings.com/2004/0322/032204n1.shtml) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 22:03, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] ESWA Rochester members speak

Residents, RG&E retirees speak on $4.5B takeover plan

Claudia Vargas Staff writer

(February 22, 2008) — In the fifth of six public hearings across upstate, Rochester-area residents came out by the scores Thursday to speak their minds about the proposed $4.5 billion takeover of Rochester Gas and Electric's parent company.

Several members of the Eastern Service Workers Association, a volunteer organization that said it represents more than 22,000 low-income workers and elderly in Monroe County, urged lower rates and utility debt forgiveness programs for ratepayers whose incomes are 250 percent or less of the poverty level. They also called for a moratorium on utility shut-offs.

(http://www.rochesterdandc.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article3fAID=/20080222/BUSINESS/802220327/1001)

karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 16:27, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

This article isn't available for free any more; what is quoted above is less than impressive.Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for pointing that out. I've added additional information about the author and publisher. karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 23:26, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Western Farm Workers Association Victory

On Friday, June 4th, twelve thousand migrant farm workers in California were ratified a settlement agreement worth well over half a million dollars. After eight years of struggle through the courts, punctuated by threats to the plaintiffs and attempts from California's Attorney General to discredit the claim and convince the court that the suit had exhausted the statute of limitations, Western Farmers Workers Association (WFWA) scored a well deserved, unprecedented victory. (http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=5702) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:02, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Another article actually written by a journalist, this one describing the lawsuit regarding the overcharging of migrant workers for rent in 1996.Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

I think it goes beyond this to illustrate what strata organizing is all about.karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 23:28, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals

Bob Zellner's article in CCLP's Verdict (http://www.bobzellner.com/pic/verdict_2.pdf) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:15, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Excellent. It looks like you've done a bit of work to find legitimate and easily-verifiable descriptions of the good part of what NATLFED does. The best of these, like the znet article, should definitely be worked into the NATLFED article.Whosasking (talk) 02:50, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

On further examination, I find that most of these are brief mentions of NATLFED entities activities or brief statements by NATLFED in newsletters and meeting minutes. The above article on race relations isn't about NATLFED and was reprinted in The Verdict, a NATLFED publication. As such, it has no relevance to the wikipedia articles on NATLFED.Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

That all depends on what the need is. Some claim that the organization is nothing more than a monolithic, secretive XXX, and that's just plain nonsense. karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 23:30, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] WMLA Official speaks on behalf of members

As families and individuals from around the county struggle to keep warm this winter, the Western Massachusetts Labor Action, as well as many other organizations and programs around the state, are working overtime to make sure they do so.

“This winter is turning out to be devastating for WMLA’s membership of low-income working families in Berkshire County,” operations manager Thacher Kent wrote in correspondence with the Berkshire Record.

(http://berkshirerecord.net/index.cfm?dsp=news.view&nid=76) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 20:23, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

This brief article from early 2008 was actually written by a journalist. Thacher Kent describes the hardship of paying utility bills and makes a vague statement that WMLA offers help.Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

The article illustrates the economic position of WMLA members. karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 23:35, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] WFWA Yuba City

When they arrived in the Sacramento Valley, many people said they would be gone in a year. That was 15 years ago. Indeed, the sign outside the door of the small, crammed office of the Western Farm Workers Association has proven to be true: Here to win, here to stay.

According to operations manager Niam Rafferty, information about the WFWA has gotten around the area not through the media, but by "arms length work," actually knocking on doors and going into the camps. Members are also encouraged to tell their friends and family about the benefits provided by the WFWA. (http://www.theprospector.org/news/2003/11/24/News/Wfwa-here.To.Win.Here.To.Stay-566986.shtml) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 16:40, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

This is a brief 2003 article in the Yuba Community College student newspaper giving a summary of WFWA.Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

The article illustrates what organizing tactics are used in strata organizing. karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 23:36, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] WSWA Sacramento operations manager opposes AB651

Assembly Bill 651, which would legalize assisted suicide, is called the “Compassionate Choice” Act. But what service workers and other low-paid and uninsured workers want to know is this: What kind of “choice” is it when millions of Californians can’t choose to get the medical care they need, for lack of financial resources? Even those who have insurance coverage often are denied medical care by their health-maintenance organizations (HMOs) and insurance companies because cost savings and profits are their bottom line. Though the intent of our legislators may be to facilitate greater personal choice, economic and legal circumstances already deny that choice to millions of Californians. (http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=47701) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:23, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

The above is an Op-ed piece written by Bill Jennett of WSWA Sacramento on legislation pending in 2006.Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] WSWA volunteers

Reaching out to Sacramento's low-income community is the main purpose of the Western Service Workers Association.

For 34 years, the WSWA, an independent, volunteer-run association, has provided help for low-income families and individuals.

Jose Ramirez, junior anthropology major, volunteers for the organization and is a strong believer in WSWA's purpose.

"We involve the community behind the struggle for economic justice for low-income workers," Ramirez said.

Ramirez said the association's main focus is assuring that everyone has adequate food, clothing, shelter, utilities and medical care. He said the program tries to meet the needs of all individuals who seek assistance by enrolling them in a self-help program.

The WSWA had volunteers on campus every Tuesday this semester to recruit more volunteers for its organization and inform students about its cause.

"Only one in 10 people stop to talk with us," Ramirez said. "People are pre-occupied with themselves, that's why they don't stop."

WSWA has an 11 step self-help program that meets the immediate needs of families and individuals in the community.

Most of the people who benefit from the program have service jobs, part-time jobs or are farm workers, Ramirez said. He said the holiday season is a busy time for the organization.

Shari Beck, a retired school teacher, has been volunteering at WSWA for the past three years.

"Everybody who helps out can make things better," Beck said. "I feel like I'm doing something for the community."

Beck, who volunteers alongside her husband, believes that by volunteering at WSWA, she has become more aware of things going on in her community.

"We wanted to spend time in the community," Beck said. (http://www.statehornet.com/news/2007/12/12/News/Volunteer.Organization.Aids.LowIncome.People.Families-3142167.shtml) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:33, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Article in the student newspaper of California State U. Sacramento on the virtues of volunteering. It asserts that WSWA pressured the Sacramento Municipal Utility to lower rates for low-income customers in 2006.Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Specifically, the article is about volunteering with WSWA in Sacramento karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:21, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Jerry Brown shares WSWA analysis on Enterprise Zones

As the Western Service Workers Association (WSWA) put it, such zones are the equivalent of establishing "Sowetos, USA." (http://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Jerry-Brown.html) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:36, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

This is a brief quote from a WSWA spokesperson on the issue of enterprise zones. You can find many such brief quotes searching newspaper databases for the names of the Workers Associations. Journalists seem to look to the NATLFED volunteers as spokespeople and experts, and sources of good quotes.Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Domestic workers organize -- California Homemakers Association

California Homemakers Association was a loosely-organized mutual benefit association of domestic workers, which began in June 1973 in Sacramento, California. CHA's most active battles were fought by and for in-home care workers and disabled care recipients, although its membership included many free-lance domestic workers, hired by individual homeowners. The association survives in name, but has been relatively inactive since around 1989.

(http://www.attornyonline.com/Attorney-Wo-to/cat.php) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 19:41, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

This was a wikipedia article that was deleted because it lacked "reliable sources." It is preserved in its entirety (without the ads, and you can edit it if you want) at http://www.wikinfo.org/index.php/California_Homemakers_Association but it isn't suitable as a reference for wikipedia.Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] EFWA Lyons NY Court Case

The complaint alleged that the defendants acted in concert under color of state law so as to prevent, and that they, through a series of harassments and illegal evictions and arrests, effectively did prevent, the plaintiffs from exercising their first amendment rights to freedom of speech, to petition the government for the redress of grievances, and to peaceful assembly. More specifically, the plaintiffs alleged that efforts have been illegally made by the defendants to evict low-income people from their homes and buildings on Water Street in the Village of Lyons, so that the Lyons Village Government could redevelop the area for business and commercial interests. In furtherance of that goal, they alleged that the defendants harassed and illegally evicted the EFWA and CCSWS from premises on Water Street in the Village of Lyons. They alleged further that the defendants harassed and illegally arrested Mark Heimbach, the operations manager of the EFWA and the Acting President of the CCSWS, for a supposed misdemeanor pursuant to a section of the State Building Construction Code which has no provision for criminal penalties, and, in particular, has no penalties applicable to a tenant such as appellant Heimbach. The plaintiffs sought damages and declaratory and injunctive relief. (http://cases.justia.com/us-court-of-appeals/F2/597/344/) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 19:46, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

This is a summary of a lawsuit EFWA filed against the village of Lyons, NY, in the 1980s, for harassing the organization and changing the zoning.Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

This suit was filed in the middle of an "urban removal" fight. karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 23:42, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] CHA 1974 negotiations position

The California Homemakers Association Negotiation Position September 26, 1974

The following position on negotiations has been approved by the bargaining committees of CHA on September 19, 1974 and is now being presented to the CHA members for their approval at this membership meeting.

THE CALIFORNIA HOMEMAKERS ASSOCIATION as the Association of Attendant Care Workers presents the following negotiation demands to the County of Sacramento for the negotiation of independent contracts for attendant care workers.

(http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb3d5n99h0/) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 19:54, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Wow. This looks like archival material from a library special collections database. It is a document from the California Homemakers Association 1974 campaign against the city of Sacramento, when CHA was actually negotiating with employers.Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

I'll be adding additional material to the main NATLFED article on the interrelation between systemic organizing in specific and "employer negotiations" in general. karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 23:43, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] LULAC resolution in support of WFWA

Resolution

Compliance of Vega vs. Mallory

WHEREAS, the State of California has reached a tentative settlement agreement with migrant farmworkers and their representatives in Vega v. Mallory, to pay back money it took illegally from migrant farmworkers in the 1996-1997 growing seasons;

WHEREAS, the State illegally doubled the rent on the State-regulated migrant camps, not just once but twice, the second time after the State Superior Court of the County of Sacramento had previously ruled the action illegal;

WHEREAS, the class action suit Vega v. Mallory, California State Superior Court of Sacramento County, No. 97AS06548, affects the lives of over 12,000 migrant farmworkers, as well as hundreds of growers who rely on the state-subsidized housing provided for their migrant workers, without which the workers would not be able to continue doing farm work, as their wages are so low and the work so arduous and dangerous that they would be unable to afford housing at standard rental rates;

WHEREAS, hundreds of tree fruit and row crop growers who desperately need the migrant housing program to utilize the labor of the workers living on these camps, benefit from the state-run migrant centers as a form of farm aid, because they not only provide migrant housing such that growers do not have to, they stabilize the price of housing and hence the farmworkers’ expenses, encouraging them to return in the growing season year after year;

WHEREAS, we are certain the State can find a way to compensate the farm workers without taking that money from the migrant housing budget and forcing the camps to cut back the length of time they are open, thus penalizing the very farmworkers who have already been aggrieved by the State’s actions;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED,that the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) supports the just struggle of farm workers, and urges all parties involved to come to a swift and equitable resolution to the class action suit Vega v. Mallory, Sacramento County Superior Court No. 97AS06548 by the California State Legislature, and the Governor’s office doing what ever you can to stand for justice;

(http://www.lulac.org/advocacy/resolutions/2003/vega.htm) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 15:19, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

This is .. um.. an endorsement of WSWA's lawsuit in California.Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Actually, Vega represented the class of migrant workers and Mallory represented the California Office of Migrant Services. After the court victory, the state dragged its feet coming up with the refundable overcharged rents. karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 23:46, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] NEJA intervenes in Philadelphia

With a similar activist spirit, the Rev. Elcombe joined a group of clergy, attorneys and social activists in founding the National Equal Justice Association in 1981.

Because of his contacts and support in the Bay Area, he decided to relocate NEJA, as it was called, to San Francisco. Before moving, the Rev. Elcombe earned a doctorate in counseling psychology through correspondence classes at Newport International University.

In July 1985, the Rev. Elcombe organized the delivery of relief supplies to a west Philadelphia neighborhood ravaged by fire.

He was appalled by the source of the blaze: police who dropped explosives on the headquarters of a radical, anti-government group known as MOVE. The fire destroyed 61 houses, including MOVE headquarters, and left 250 people homeless. Eleven people were killed, including five children.

NEJA, rallying support from communities as widespread as Seattle and San Diego, flew 20 tons of supplies to the fire victims that were distributed by the Citizens Relief Committee in Philadelphia, Barbara Elcombe said.

In 1996, a Philadelphia jury ordered the city and two former city officials to pay $1.5 million in damages from the fire. The ruling was in response to a civil suit filed after years of legal wrangling.

The Rev. Elcombe lent NEJA's support in 1993 to the Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals in Orange and Los Angeles counties. The coalition was formed in response to the not-guilty verdicts in the case of four Los Angeles police officers charged with beating Rodney King.

(http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051030/news_lz1j30elcombe.html) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:15, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

This is an obituary in the San Diego Union-Tribune from 2005 of Arthur Elcombe, a priest who worked with NATLFED extensively.Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] CCLP organization expands into the Los Angeles area

The second group is endorsing legal access to the underserved. Richard Mathias will be working with Dan Fiske of the Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals (CCLP). In 1976 CCLP began in northern California as an organization of volunteers who became involved in confronting the unjust hiring and working practices among health care workers. They were established in L.A. during the aftermath of the Rodney King riots in 1992, when CCLP volunteers helped with legal action to confront unjust curfew violation arrests and other illegal incarcerations. (http://www.uusm.org/faithinaction/fianews.php) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:31, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

This is a church newsletter from San Diego in 2007. Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] FSSW, CCMP and NSWA testify against assisted suicide under the Oregon health plan

“Under this plan(Oregon Health Plan) life-saving surgeries have been denied and children with leukemia allowed to die...It is outright unethical for the state to fund physician-assisted suicide, death, when it is eliminating life-giving services. ” Victoria Jerome, M.D., Coalition of Concerned Medical Professionals.

“Instead of offering life saving treatments and medical care to alleviate suffering, the state will offer assisted suicide. Why? The answer is economics.” Christopher Day, Ph.D. Northwest Seasonal Workers Association.

“We believe that since the Oregon Health Plan continues to cut funding for many treatments that help the poor get well and stay well, it should certainly not offer itself the cheaper way out: encouraging people to save the state money by killing themselves.” Alan Hakimoglu, Friends of Seasonal and Service Workers.

(http://www.pccef.org/newsletters/vol1no2.htm) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 21:45, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

This is a 1998 newsletter of a group called Physicians for Compassionate Care containing a call for volunteers from FSSW and a list of recommendations from POC. Whosasking (talk) 03:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] WSWA Santa Ana membership event flyer

Flyer from Western Service Workers Association on membership holiday event (http://spirit.dos.uci.edu/ccm/Files/halloween.pdf) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:13, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Carol Hogan, lobbyist for the bishops' California Catholic Conference

According to Hogan, lobbyists from several organizations were instrumental in focusing attention on issues affecting the working poor. She said members of the Western Service Workers Association and the Coalition of Concerned Medical Professionals, who have also joined forces with the CCC in an anti-assisted-suicide coalition, were very effective in lobbying efforts to keep living wages for in-home health care workers. (http://www.the-tidings.com/2005/0716/budget.htm) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:23, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Yehuda Hausman volunteers with San Diego WSWA disaster relief

Following the containment of the San Diego County and Imperial County fires, five rabbinical students from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (YCT Rabbinical School) flew to San Diego to do relief work. As one of those students, I met many evacuees and volunteers, victims who had their hearts wrenched open, and donors who opened up their hearts in generosity.

That afternoon we headed to the Western Service Workers Association on Imperial Ave in a predominantly Hispanic area of San Diego. Compared to the well-oiled operations in Rancho Bernardo, the organization appeared to be in desperate need of volunteers and financial help. The Workers Association made it its mission to help the rural victims who lived inland along the Mexican-United States border. In the aftermath of the wildfire, the mostly immigrant communities were without power or running water. With the main highways shut down from fire damage, getting to border towns, in our case Potrero, was a long two-and-a-half hour commute.

After loading cartons of supplies into the two relief trucks associated with the organization, our car, as well as two vans compliments of P.B.S., our caravan snaked its way through winding roads. Along the way, I snapped pictures of the path traveled by the conflagration. Uneven plains and rolling hills, once golden with tall grass, were now seared black like burnt toast. Forested areas still smoldered. The trunks of aged oaks, bereft of leaves and branches, jutted upward—jagged and knife-like, the only color they held was charcoal black and ash white.

The community of Potrero, isolated and ignored by larger organizations like the Red Cross and FEMA, was thrilled to have such a large shipment of water and food. Theresa, her home wrecked by a stout tree that came crashing down in 80 mph winds, vividly described how the fire consumed the range of hills around her small ranch. They live up the road from the sheriff, and if not for his help, Theresa said that the whole ranch would have been lost. Theresa was particularly overjoyed over her reunion with her son, who had been trapped in Mexico when the U.S.-Mexican border had been sealed a week-and-a-half previously. Without power or access to a phone, Theresa said, “I thought he was dead.”

Our journey back to San Diego was subdued and pensive. We thought of the many whose homes had been wrecked or damaged in Escondido, Poway, and Rancho Bernardo. We thought of the huge outpouring of support for those victims: how literally thousands drove to the distribution center to drop off mops and vacuum cleaners, games of Monopoly or checkers, and shopping bags filled with cereal boxes, tomato sauce, and toothbrushes. We were also shocked by the gaping disparity between the relief work done in a community like Rancho Bernardo and the near total lack of services provided to the residents of border towns like Potrero.

The last thing we did the following afternoon before heading to the airport was transport about 40 boxes of food and water from the Rancho Bernardo distribution center to the small offices of the Western Service Workers Association located in the Hispanic area of San Diego. It was an act that could hardly be said to bring equilibrium to two communities that are miles apart culturally and financially, but it was something.

(http://www.presentensemagazine.org/mag/%3fp=183) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:34, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Miltant article on rights violations

The cops claimed they were responding to an anonymous call to a private child-abuse agency about a crying child, and that earlier attempts by social workers to enter the building had been refused. Three people were charged with criminal weapons possession and criminal sale of a firearm. Police said that residents lacked permits for some of the several dozen small weapons found stored in a cabinet. The New York Times reported that anyone having more than five guns without a permit can be assumed under New York state law to be selling them. Two people were charged with obstruction of government administration. The others were released without being charged.

Two days after the arrests, New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani presided over a press conference where officials reported that a grand jury investigation would be conducted of the group.

No presumption of innocence

Almost before the ink on the search warrants was dry, the New York Times, New York Post, and local radio and television stations began saturating the city with sensationalistic articles. "Bomb cult bust" was the front-page banner headline of the Post the morning after the arrests. "Full story, more dramatic photos: Pages 2 & 3," it promised. The inside headline was "Cult's `bomb factory': 40 busted in swoop on terror suspects' HQ." The Times story, which started on the front page, included a features box titled "A closer look: A cache of weapons and supplies."

But the "cache of weapons and supplies" noted in the Times basement floor plan turns out to be refrigerators of food, crates of books, lockers of clothes, a tool shed, joint compound, a boiler, and "file cabinets containing revolutionary literature and files on migrant workers; light bulbs, lotion and other supplies."

(http://www.themilitant.com/1996/6043/6043_9.html) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 18:07, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] CCLP volunteer marches in San Francisco rally

"We believe the Bush regime should stay out of Iraq and end the occupation. We should worry more about helping people around the world instead of fighting for oil," said Sonya Guadalupe, a Berkeley resident representing the San Francisco-based Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals. "I'm not a radical; I'm just concerned about the kind of world my daughter will live in."

(http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi%3ffile=/c/a/2006/10/05/BAGIDLISHC11.DTL%26type=printable) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 18:35, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Petition against Assisted Suicide

Thousands of people, representing a diverse spectrum of Californians, signed petitions circulated by the Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals (CCLP), the Western Service Workers, and others.

We, the undersigned residents of the State of California, hereby petition our legislative representatives or other governing bodies to uphold the law of the land and promise made to the American people over 30 years ago by President Lyndon Baines Johnson of equal access to health care for all. We call upon our state government to reject any proposed legislation that legalizes or institutionalizes any form of assisted suicide as a medical treatment option. Today in California over 5 million people have no health insurance and over 18 million patients have "managed care" medical coverage. Last year between $150 and $250 billion was "saved" out of a total United States health-care spending of $1 trillion. In the current era of HMOs and managed care, for the majority of patients, health care profits are no longer maximized by providing services and saving lives, but from cutting costs and denying necessary care.

Oregon has legalized assisted suicide as a medical treatment and now pays for it under its Medicaid rationing program as "comfort care." Assisted suicide becomes the ultimate in cost-savings.

We expect our representatives to find the ways and means to save both lives and money by changing policies and protocols, not by allowing physician-assisted suicide as an option for government, insurance companies, HMOs, hospital management corporations and other institutions to cut costs.

(http://www.internationaltaskforce.org/cabb.htm) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 18:40, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Editor's note from CCLP verdict article on outsourcing

Unrecognized workers, whether outsourced or not, face exploitation in the form of poverty wages, forced “off the clock” overtime, lack of medical coverage or other benefits, and more. Cases such as Ansoumana can provide a powerful tool allowing some workers to address flagrantly illegal acts, bringing some egregious violations to the public’s attention. As noted in this article, however, workers cannot count upon the availability of government compliance mechanisms to ensure the law is enforced. Moreover, even the Fair Labor Standards Act does not enforce an obligation beyond the payment of federal minimum wage, which is not enough to live on. It is for this reason that Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals, throughout its history, has worked alongside organizations of seasonal and service workers, domestic workers, farm workers, temporary and other low-paid workers in building organization to address those divisions of labor — both legally and practically — that pit one group of workers against another and allow them to be exploited by the unscrupulous or the uncaring. In this context, it is not efficient for society as a whole when businesses externalize costs by dumping them on others or making impoverished workers do without. For our economy to function efficiently, living wages must be paid to all workers at all times. The plight of poor workers is a problem demanding ever-vigilant action by everyone in a position to help. We call upon legal professionals and others concerned about the plight of low-income working people to join with us in this struggle.

(http://www.outtengolden.com/files/WhenOutsourcingCheatsWorkers.pdf) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 18:50, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Bay Area Alternative Press

The feisty printer who stirs things up with his independent press is a great democratic type. Think of Ben Franklin, Tom Paine and John Peter Zenger from America's Revolutionary era.

In Berkeley, Bay Area Alternative Press keeps the tradition alive. The organization, begun in 1982, prides itself on the skills of its all-volunteer contributors, on its independence from government funding, and on its dedication to giving low-income workers and poor people the means to tell their own stories in their own way.

"This is consistent with what printers, artists and writers have been doing through history -- to use printing skills to do something more than just make a living, founder Matt Marsh said.

Marsh is ever hustling for help, visiting churches, businesses and college campuses. Right now, he needs more writers, press operators and clerical workers. Demand for services is growing. It is coming not only from people who can't afford to buy printing services because they don't make enough money but also from people in government, education and business whose organizations are being squeezed by economic change.

(http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi%3ff=/chronicle/archive/2004/05/14/EBG2O6GOVR1.DTL) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 19:24, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Calendar artists build NATLFED

An example of artwork placed in the NATLFED calendar (http://www.magnetreps.com/image/art/1044/)

An artist describes his process in building NATLFED:

"Here's a poster I recently finished for the National Labor Federation calendar. I have worked on this project a few times over the years and wanted to try something a bit different. The poster was to deal with the issues surrounding migrant workers in America, and their legal problems.I would up with a mixed media assemblage- I made the barbed wire myself and stretched it over the painting, when I began to feel unsatisfied with the painted wires..."

(http://www.drawger.com/roberthunt/%3fstart_date=1177992000%26end_date=1180670400%26archives=true) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 15:33, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] CCMP works with coalition to defeat AB1592 in 1999

“We were shocked,” said Penny Montemayor, who had helped organize about 50 volunteers to travel to Sacramento for the vote, originally scheduled for May 19. It was delayed until May 26, and then again until May 27. Many of the opposition group stayed overnight on May 26 and geared up for a chance to speak, according to Montemayor. “We wanted Assembly members to see that there is a lot of public outcry about the deadliness of this law,” explained Montemayor, a member of the Coalition of Concerned Medical Professionals. “We were very disappointed that we had been misled.” Migden’s office issued the following statement : “This is the Speaker’s (Villaraigosa’s) prerogative and something that leadership has the ability to do.” The next step for the legislation would have been the Assembly floor, where all Assembly members would have considered it. However, Aroner did not place the bill before the General Assembly by the June 4 deadline for this year’s legislative session. “We decided to put the bill as a two-year bill to be taken up next January,” said a representative from Aroner’s office. “She’s afraid to bring it to the floor,” declared activist Montemayor. “She knows it won’t pass, and we consider this a victory.” All bills not sent to the Senate by June 4 are essentially dead for the current legislative session. However, because AB 1592 passed out of both the Judiciary and Appropriations committees, it will not have to repeat committee hearings next year. The bill, fashioned after Oregon’s euthanasia law that went into effect last year, would allow doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to dying patients who request them. Opponents of the bill — including California’s Catholic bishops, the state’s Catholic hospitals, medical professionals, medical ethicists and disability activists — contend the law has too few safeguards to protect against irrevocable abuses. Also voting “yes” for the Appropriations Committee were Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles), Susan Davis (D-San Diego), Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks), Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica), Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa), Rod Wright (D-Los Angeles), Aroner, and Migden. Those voting “no” were Marilyn Brewer (R-Newport Beach), Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield), Bill Campbell (R-Villa Park), Rick Ackerman (R-Fullerton), Abel Maldanado (R-Santa Maria), George Runner (R-Lancaster), Lou Papan (D-Millbrae), Helen Thomson (D-Davis), and Charlene Zettel (R-Poway).

(http://catholic-sf.org/061199.html) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 19:11, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Results of Assisted Suicide coalition in 2005

As a sign of the extent of opposition, representatives from the Coalition of Concerned Medical Professionals and the Western Service Workers, two organizations that serve the working poor and uninsured in California, presented petitions with over 32,000 signatures against AB 654 to Assembly Floor Leader Dario Frommer's office on June 1. (http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2005/vs_asstdsuicidecal_jun05.asp) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:15, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Enterprise Zones

But EZs are anti-labor at their heart. They don't create new jobs as much as they draw them away from unsanctified regions, where higher wages and tax rates prevail. As the Western Service Workers Association (WSWA) put it, such zones are the equivalent of establishing "Sowetos, USA." A 1989 General Accounting Office study cited by the WSWA found EZs expensive for governments to undertake, but ineffective in creating jobs. EZs move in precisely the wrong direction - away from the higher wages/higher skill strategy we should be pursuing and closer towards the Third Worldification of the U.S. (http://www.oaklandnews.com/archives/000004.html)karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:21, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Boston ESWA presents membership position at Boston University

Drew Wilkinson, director of the Eastern Service Workers Association, said people need to realize there are voices of poverty speaking meekly in our own country as well.

“The biggest problem for workers in our country is lack of income. Many U.S. companies employ immigrants who are subject to lower wages. Some work two and three jobs and still can’t afford to heat their homes and feed and clothe their families,” Wilkinson said. “People don’t realize that the problem of low wages occurs in our own country.” (http://www.dailyfreepress.com/news/2001/03/20/News/Students.Say.Sweatshops.Still.A.Problem-56563.shtml) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:26, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] ESWA Rochester speaks to Dentists

Mark Horn says he sees evidence of the shortage every day. "If you put 50 of our members in a room, at least 80 percent would have missing teeth. We know that there's a tremendous need" for dental care for the poor, says Horn, who is executive director of ESWA, 244 Bay St. "It's hard to see this level of need, of people who are unable to get their basic needs met, even though they are working."

ESWA has about 21,000 members, from domestic workers to people who have suffered layoffs. The group offers emergency help, such as food and clothing, as well as dental care and legal help to workers and their families. Horn and others canvass city neighborhoods weekly, going door-to-door - rain or shine - searching for people in need. Every week, they find new members.

"These are people who fall through the cracks," Horn says. "We call them the working poor. There's no medical insurance, no dental, no nothing. You're getting paid what you need to survive." Four dentists, including Cianca, work with ESWA, treating patients who come to the dentists' practice for free. These patients don't skip appointments: The group has volunteer drivers who drop them off.

ESWA sent letters to area dentists asking for help but got little response, Horn said. "We don't have enough dentists willing to give up their time," says Patricia Calcagno, a business manager for Hy-Tech Dental Lab at 173 Empire Blvd. The lab donates services to ESWA members. "What do (dentists) need? They don't need anything," she said. "We have a bazillion dentists. They could give one hour. We need dentists. That's it."

(http://www.oralhealthtac.org/files/article1.pdf) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:31, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] WFWA knocks on doors to refund money

Migrant Workers Seek Rent Refunds from California.

By Christina Jewett, The Sacramento Bee, Calif. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Jan. 4--Penelope Montemayor has knocked on hundreds of doors looking for friends, asking after cousins. She has good news for about 8,000 migrant workers who lived in 23 state-run camps in 1996 and 1997.

She wants to find workers eligible to share a refund, possibly $600,000, that was collected in the summers of 1996 and 1997 when the state Office of Migrant Services hiked -- in some cases doubled -- the workers' rent.

Volunteer attorneys with the Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals won an appeal on the workers' behalf 18 months ago, overturning a ruling that denied them the rent money. Migrants' attorneys and the state attorney general's office are hammering out a settlement. If none is reached, the case will go back to trial.

After years of fighting for clean water and sanitation at a migrant camp in Yuba City, Montemayor hopes to have good news for about 200 workers who will return there May 1 to live in 79 units.

Last summer, Western Farm Worker Association and coalition volunteers contacted about 25 percent of the workers after canvassing camps from the Imperial Valley to Sutter County, Montemayor said.

Going door-to-door, Montemayor asked workers if they had lived there in 1996 or 1997, checking names against an Office of Migrant Services tenant list. If they had been there, she collected their contact information to keep on file until a settlement is reached or restitution is granted.

(http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-7938188_ITM) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:55, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] NSWA organizing drive in Medford, OR

The NSWA was created in 1975 by Lon and Charlotte Christensen. Their goal for NSWA was to form a labor organization, but not one considered a "union." Unions must appeal to government sanctions and the Christensens wanted their organization free of government intervention. Charlotte Christiensen cites the Hurricane Katrina tragedy as, "a tragically poignant example" of why. From mental health care practices to feeding droves of stranded migrant workers to ensuring jobs for stationary seasonal ones, the needs of local workers have shifted over the years with each shift in the nations' political climate.

"Nowadays the system seems diabolical in its punitive nature," she says. "It's getting harder and harder to protect our people."

The Christensens' desire to start the organization stemmed from the community-based organization techniques of the 1950s and '60s. After being raised in the Rogue Valley, the Christensens moved to Northern California, developed job skills and returned with a passion for organizing.

The 1970s Medford was "too reactionary" to welcome such an organization, so the Christensens began to canvas in Ashland to help find resources to meet the needs of the workers. They started with five volunteers.

"In those days, none of us spoke Spanish," says Christensen. "The Hispanics really started coming to the door in force in the '80s. Workers would tell us stories about how they used to have to stay in their camps like prisons. We've built our organization based on others' needs."

The Western Farm Workers Association was a result of the 1986 Immigration Control Reform Act. Up until then, migrant workers had followed the harvests around the country to find work. But the immigration act forced them to remain in one place so that they would qualify to remain stateside. This created a vacuum in the crop harvests around the country that counted on migrant workers to get the food to market.

The NSWA helped these workers with jobs and legalization issues, but Christensen says many crops and farming communities suffered across the Northwest due to lack of manpower. The northern Oregon strawberry crop alone suffered to the tune of $300 million in unharvested crops.

In Washington, frightened apple farmers sent thousands of brochures down as far as South America, pulling 50,000 migrant workers up to Washington to fill 10,000 jobs. Many arrived to find no job, no money and no way home. When the government, declaring state emergency, allotted each family one tank of gas, many of them made it as far as Oregon. The NSWA stepped in, trying to help the workers find jobs, food them and shelter, leading to the creation of the Western Farm Workers Association.

(http://www.dailytidings.com/2007/0313/stories/0313_capstone_curci.php) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 18:30, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] NSWA spokesperson quoted in NYT article on Oregon Health Plan

That criticism was echoed today by Sandy Willow of the Northwest Seasonal Workers Association, an advocacy group for the poor. "At a time when so many people can indulge themselves by buying face lifts and tummy tucks," she said, "this state is saying they have no options but to determine which among the poor will be left to die or suffer for want of money."

(http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEEDA1731F931A15751C0A967958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 18:33, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] NSWA provides data and analysis to Jackson County comprehensive plan

Farm labor living accommodations in the valley accommodate approximately 1,000 residents, although many offer only substandard housing from either a size or structural perspective. The remaining farm workers struggle to find housing of any kind and most of what they can afford is again, usually substandard. Units, often overpriced, are often shared among two or three families. This need is further substantiated by the Northwest Seasonal Workers Association, which says it receives 20 to 30 requests per month for emergency services, including housing. According to a spokesman for Northwest Seasonal Workers Association: “People who cannot acquire housing, either because their income is too low or because they have not yet secured a job, live on the streets or out of their cars.” Housing conditions for farm laborers and migrant farm workers are generally worse than for any other population segment, and remains a major concern.

(https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/dspace/bitstream/1794/1886/1/Jackson_County_Compplan.pdf) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 18:43, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] WFWA reports on progress of refunds

CALIFORNIA: Deadline Nears For $600T Migrant Workers' Settlement

---

Time is running out for migrant workers who lived at state-run farm labor camps to receive their portion of a $600,000 class action settlement with the state over illegal rent hikes in 1996 and 1997, according to state officials, The Lodi News-Sentinel reports.

Aaron Peter, operations manager for volunteer Western Farm Workers Association told The Lodi News-Sentinel that some 12,000 migrant workers, some of whom lived at the Artesi Migrant Center in French Camp, California are entitled to reimbursement checks after the state raised their rents from $3.50 to $7 per person per day without notice.

Janet Huston, spokeswoman for the California Department of Housing and Community Development, which funds the camps, also told The Lodi News-Sentinel that as of July 8, $361,630 in claims payments had been paid or authorized for payment to 717 camp residents. The checks, which can range between $200 and $700, can be equal to a month of income for some workers. The deadline for filing a claim is October 31.

The class action suit began after a group of camp residents at the Artesi center, joined by Western Farm Workers Association and other groups, in 1996 filed suit against the state. The residents ultimately won, but when they returned to the camp the rent on the two and three-bedroom units there were at the same rate as before, Mr. Peter said. The group thus went back to court and attained class action status, according to Mr. Peter. They eventually settled with the state last year.

Mr. Peter called the settlement a significant victory for migrant workers' rights saying, "For a long time people have not considered the farm workers to have particular rights at all." He goes on to say, "We've demonstrated that they do have rights, (and) that the procedures that apply to everyone else apply to the farm workers, too."

Camp residents who wish to submit claims can call claims administrator Poorman Douglas, at (866) 422-0150. (http://www.bankrupt.com/CAR_Public/050817.mbx)

CALIFORNIA: Judge Approves $600T Settlement V. Camp Overcharging

---

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne W.L. Chang approved a $600,000 settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed in 1997 by California migrant farm workers who lived in state-funded camps in 1996 and 1997 against the state Department of Housing and Community Development, which oversees the operation of the 21 camps, the Sacramento Bee reports.

The settlement concludes an eight-year legal battle that began when the state doubled the rent in the migrant camps without providing adequate notice, and then refused to refund the overcharges.

The camps scattered all over Central and Northern California, includes the Davis Migrant Center, the Yuba City Migrant Center and the F.H. Rehrman Migrant Center in Dixon.

According to Jeff Cereghino, lead attorney for the plaintiffs about 1,800 farm workers may be eligible to receive refunds from the settlement, calls for 100 percent return of the farm workers' overpayment, plus 17 percent interest on the principal.

Ms. Penelope Montemayor, a member of the Western Farm Workers Association's organizing committee, also stated that each eligible family could be reimbursed between $500 and $1,000, depending on how long they lived in the camps.

State officials stated that they're pleased that the families will finally be repaid. Attorney Richard Friedman, chief counsel for the department even adds, "We've got the money appropriated and we're very eager to reimburse the folks that are entitled to reimbursement." He also stated that the settlement includes funds for a claims administrator and to advertise the settlement to potential class members, who must file a claim by October 2005 to be eligible for a refund.

For more details, contact (866) 422-0150. (http://www.bankrupt.com/CAR_Public/040830.mbx) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:06, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] WSWA San Diego Newsletter editorial

This is taken from a middle section of an article titled, "A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" reposted in the Western Service Workers Association's publication California Service Worker, San Diego Edition.

While Bush Bush's proposals apply to all undocumented workers in the United States -- which the White House officials estimate at 8 million to 14 million -- the President is targeting Latino workers, particularly Mexicans, who officials think comprise 60% of the undocumented workers in this country.

"The notion that there is a notion that there is a green card at the end of this process is an illusion, and that's the crux of the matter," said Cecilia Muñoz, a vice president of the National Association of la Raza, an Hispanic advocacy organization. "The headlines today suggest that he's providing legal status. But the bottom line is when people learn the details of this proposal and what it does and doesn't do, it's likely to seem less appealing." The Bush administration's claims misrepresent the actual possibility of obtaining a card -- the United States only issues 140,000 green cards a year and Bush is putting a call to potentially millions of workers. The prospect is that most guest workers' temporary statues would expire before they could get a green card. Most of these workers would be deported at the end of the three-to-six year temporary stay.

The fallacy that guest worker programs provide protections or end "illegal" immigration

The Bracero Program (1942-1964) was the product of the bilateral agreement between U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Mexican President Manuel Avila Camacho signed August 14, 1942. The spanish word bracero (from the word arm) means working hand. The program called for the legal immigration of Mexican workers according to U.S. agricultural employers' needs for the duration of World War II but continued until 1964. Tens of thousands of Mexican laborers were brought to the United States to do farm work and railway maintenance work. The program provided for non-discriminatory conditions in wages, work, health, sanitation and lodging, equivalent to those offered American employees. Not a single one of those protections was honored, but since the program benefited U.S. employers, the government pressed for it to continue.

In the 1950's 3.5 million braceros and many more undocumented worked on U.S. farms despite the passage of Public Law 78 which maintained that no braceros would be provided to employers who used undocumented workers. After 1951, growers had to pay for the transport and sustenance of braceros. Getting to the Unided States was left primarily up to the braceros themselves and the task was accomplished in large part by a growing, semi-criminal underground network of hired hands and smugglers that was fostered by the U.S. government's refusal to honor the protections for the workers laid out in the bilateral agreement. Often food, housing and other basic necessities provided for the workers were deducted from their paychecks...

This article is not available online. If you'd like a copy contact WSWA and tell them you want a copy of Volume 26 No. 1 from June 2005. (http://sandiego.indymedia.org/en/2006/05/115562.shtml) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:10, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Bay Area CCMP Vital Signs article

The article below is a reprint from CCMP’s March 2001 newsletter, Vital Signs. Following that is a general description of the CCMP program.

CCMP’s medical benefit program saves lives daily. Here is an example. Dr. Jim Eichel, CCMP’s Medical Director saw a 24 year old male patient at a CCMP General Medical Session this February and took immediate action, consulting a specialist by phone after lab results showed the man to be suffering from liver failure. The consulting gastroenterologist directed a liver treatment program within the next ten days, or the man would suffer definite life-threatening medical complications. Indigent, and lacking a primary care physician, the man had not sought follow-up care for liver function tests done earlier in the year, until he heard of CCMP’s free-of-charge program. Only tenacious advocacy by CCMP volunteer medical advocates made the difference between the patient obtaining timely liver treatment or a county clinic appointment three months into the future. The advocacy proved essential to getting medical coverage for the patient, under an “indigent adult program,”as California’s Medi-Cal coverage does not apply to single adults until they are in a medical emergency situation, a “catch 22” according to the Medi-Cal social worker at the county hospital.

• * *

CCMP stands as the alternative for medical professionals and others to donate their time and skills to work with the entire community in a self-help program to obtain adequate food, heat, housing or a job–resources that guard against health problems afflicting the poor–as well as direct medical care. Without a cent of government funding or a single paid employee, CCMP has demonstrated health care “crisis” in our community can be avoided through a comprehensive approach to health care regardless of ability to pay. Volunteers are urgently needed to reach that growing number who fall through the cracks, finding no other source of accessible care, and to fight for comprehensive care for low-income workers. To find out more about CCMP’s medical advocate training program and how you can help, call Jim at (510) 436-8020. (http://www.ahalenia.com/sfbma/cognitions/cog22.pdf) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 16:29, 9 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Long Island CCMP speaks out on medical rights for prisoners

Members of LIEJA, and other community groups such as the Coalition of Concerned Medical Professionals. contend that denials of a hunger strike are part of a "conspiracy of silence" on the part of the jail's warden and Riverhead officials, designed to evade press coverage or investigation of inmate abuse "I don't know what they're talking about," said McGuire. "The accusations are false. The press would be all over this place if any of it were true." He added. "Inmates receive visitors 7 days a week. We're not covering up anything here." But each night, a caravan of cars bearing 15 to 50 strike supporters leaves the Riverhead Community Center. and, blasting horns through the town, displaying a banner which reads, "Organize," arrives at the jail to rally in the front parking lot. For about an hour, bull-horned chants of "strike, strike, strike!" and "Prisoners demand medical rights!" echo around the walls of the jail. "We have to keep the pressure on until this thing is concluded." said David Shapiro of LIEJA. David Mitchell, another LIEJA member, said, "We remember Attica and we do not want that to happen to our people. They'd love us to riot-then they could bring ir. the guns and gas masks andwail on us. But this is 1980. We're not that dumb. We want to spread the word. that's why the hunger strike. And community support shows the strikers they are not alone." (http://dspace.sunyconnect.suny.edu/bitstream/1951/37502/1/Stony%20Brook%20Press%20V.%2002,%20N.%2002.PDF) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 16:45, 9 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] WSWA Position on Assisted Suicide

On March 21, the same day the Vermont House voted down its assisted suicide initiative, rallies and informational picket lines held in Sacramento and Los Angeles drew more than 250 participants protesting AB 374.

"Assisted Suicide is a frightening proposition, especially when needy, impoverished, and working people with serious illnesses do not even have access to affordable treatments," stated Western Service Workers organizer Bill Jennett at the Sacramento rally. "When HMO groups and Medi-Cal cuts continue to reduce the number of treatment options available to patients, a fifty dollar lethal prescription is a cheap alternative to offer seriously ill or dying patients."

At the Los Angeles rally attended by a crowd of 70 people, CAAS member Bob Cielnicky of Fountain Valley argued against AB 374. "We're seeing an attempt to make a dramatic public policy change by relatively few people in government," said Cielnicky. "It's a very dangerous proposal that jeopardizes the medical community [and] people who do not have adequate insurance who would be considered unprofitable patients if this were legalized."

"Despite attempts at safeguards, there is no way to prevent an individual with inadequate health coverage from being pressured and coerced to choose physician assisted death," said MS patient and California Disability Alliance member, Molly Israel, RN.

(http://www.the-tidings.com/2007/033007/assisted.htm) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 18:30, 9 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] NSWA denounces county union busting

July 7, 2005

Health care workers protest plan to privatize county jobs

Group accuses Jackson County commissioners of ‘union busting’

By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune

Health care workers and their supporters urged Jackson County commissioners Wednesday to back off on a proposal to privatize jobs.

"It sets a precedent for replacing all county workers," said Carlotta Woolcock, operations manager for Northwest Seasonal Workers in Medford. "It is union busting."

(http://archive.mailtribune.com/archive/2005/0707/local/stories/06local.htm) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 16:57, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] NYT article on oregon health plan

Critics, both here and in Congress, say the plan amounts to rationing of government health money. Representative Henry Waxman, the California Democrat who is chairman of the House Health and Environment Committee, said the plan set up a two-tier medical system: one for those with access to the costly miracles of modern medicine, one for those without.

That criticism was echoed today by Sandy Willow of the Northwest Seasonal Workers Association, an advocacy group for the poor. "At a time when so many people can indulge themselves by buying face lifts and tummy tucks," she said, "this state is saying they have no options but to determine which among the poor will be left to die or suffer for want of money." (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEEDA1731F931A15751C0A967958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:00, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] FSSW testifies against oregon health plan

Senate Special Committee on Oregon Health Plan July 22, 1993 - Page 8

007 SANDY WILLOW: Governor Roberts made a promise to Congressman Waxman, that if Oregon couldn't fully fund the program as described it would scrap the program. To fund the plan, Oregon can give small businesses some of the responsibility, which are ill-equipped to deal with this burden, which includes taxes on providers or cigarettes.

- The Plan is flawed, and whatever the legislature does, it will fail to keep promises made to Oregonians. - Opposes rationing of health care and the denying of care to those who need it. - The legislature should create a medical plan that applies equally to all persons, from the wealthiest to the poorest. - Managed care and HMOs allow finances to dictate service provided, not patient health. - The Brookings Institute stated that the Oregon Plan would result in a $500 million windfall for the insurance industry. This profit will come from the taxpayers and the misery of those who cannot afford the treatment they need. - Physicians treating medicaid patients say they are overworked and often prescribe stronger drugs in order to prevent patients from returning to the office. - We ask the committee to vote no on HB 3684 and abolish managed care.

(http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/legislative/legislativeminutes/1993/senate/oregon_health_plan/sOHPS072293.txt) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:11, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Midwest Workers Association Newspaper

GRASSROOTS VOICE OF HELP AND HOPE

The Midwest Worker is a quality newspaper with a difference: as the voice of the Midwest Workers Association (MWA), it tells the stories that mainstream journalism underplays or ignores.

MWA itself is a free and voluntary unincorporated membership association of the Chicago area’s working poor, including domestic, service, temporary and parttime workers. “Our membership does the work that the city of Chicago couldn’t function without,” writes MWA Operations Manager Clovis Bordeaux. “But besides receiving paychecks with income of only one-half of what is really needed to live in this city, on-the-job benefits are practically non-existent. It’s very common to have someone tell you they haven’t seen a dentist for preventive care in 20 years.” Day and night, seven days a week, MWA operates on a self-help basis, not as a charity, hand-out, or social-service organization. Backed by concerned residents of the community at large, MWA members are currently building an Eleven-Point Benefit Program, without a cent of government funding. The program aims to enable members to meet day-to-day survival needs, to gain a voice and a presence against adverse government policies, and to determine their own fate and future by solving problems of living and working conditions themselves. To achieve these and other aims, MWA urgently needs:

• Volunteer canvassers to seek out potential members in low-income neighborhoods. • Volunteer drivers and advocates to take members to donated professional appointments, and record and organize follow-up steps. • Health and other professionals willing to donate their services. • Volunteer writers and photographers, and volunteers with graphic skills and desktop publishing expertise. • Donated equipment, including recent computers (Mac or Apple); scanners; zip drives and discs, laser printers, and high speed modems. Call MWA at 773-285-0485 for more information.

(http://www.chicagomediawatch.org/pdf/03summer.pdf) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 17:23, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] ESWA members tell their story

Rising gas, food costs changing lifestyles Diana Louise Carter • Staff writer • March 23, 2008

Even without the extra pressure from rising prices, hard times had already fallen on Loretta Holley, 55, of Rochester and her husband.

Alfred Holley, 54, suffered a stroke last May, ending a 30-year career in building services at the University of Rochester.

"He was bringing home good (money) and I didn't have any worries. He provided well," Loretta Holley said.

Now, their weekly "splurge" — dinner at Old Country Buffet — is on the chopping block. And Holley finds the price of gasoline so high that rather than drive a mile for groceries, she waits until her daughter goes shopping and rides with her. If a disabled friend who lives with them didn't help out, "we'd be out the door," she said.

Higher costs of energy, food and health care are pinching household budgets across the country, forcing many people in the Rochester region to make subtle or dramatic changes in their lifestyles. Money that might have been spent on clothing or a dinner out instead is being consumed in ever-increasing gulps and gobbles at the gas pump or supermarket checkout line.

Impact on working poor

Hardest hit are the working poor, said Mark Horn of the Eastern Service Workers of America, a Rochester-based self-help and advocacy organization for service, seasonal, temporary, domestic and disabled workers.

"Look at recent news reports: The cost of pasta has almost doubled," Horn wrote by e-mail. "When low-income people have to pay twice as much for the ultimate low-cost food, that literally leads to starvation."

With rising transportation costs, "our members have to choose between buying gas to get to their jobs and groceries," Horn said.

Loretta Holley and her husband are members of the Eastern Service Workers, volunteering their time to help others who may be facing even more difficult financial situations than they are.

The Holleys take a variety of medications for chronic health problems including diabetes, but gaps in insurance coverage mean they can't always buy the medicine they need.

"I get his meds, and I don't worry about mine," Loretta Holley said.

Horn said younger people are worried about money issues, too, citing figures that suggest 70 percent of college graduates can't find work in their chosen fields, and half of all unemployed people are college-educated.

(http:www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3fAID=/20080323/NEWS01/803230357/1002/RSS01) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 18:17, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] WFWA members win illegal rent increase refunds

Time running out for migrant workers to claim part of class-action lawsuit

By Jake Armstrong News-Sentinel Staff Writer

The clock is ticking for migrant workers who lived at state-run farm labor camps to receive their portion of a $600,000 class-action settlement with the state over illegal rent hikes in 1996 and 1997, officials said.

Some 12,000 migrant workers, some of whom lived at the Artesi Migrant Center in French Camp, are entitled to reimbursement checks after the state raised their rents from $3.50 to $7 per person per day without notice, said Aaron Peter, operations manager for volunteer Western Farm Workers Association.

The checks, which can range between $200 and $700, can be equal to a month of income for some workers.

With an Oct. 31 deadline to file a claim approaching, the crunch is on to alert migrant worker who lived at Artesi and 20 other state-run camps that they are eligible for reimbursement..

"At this point it is going to be a real struggle to get everyone reimbursed," Peter said.

The class action suit began after a group of camp residents at the Artesi center, joined by Western Farm Workers Association and other groups, in 1996 filed suit against the state. The residents ultimately won, but when they returned to the camp the rent on the twoand three-bedroom units there was at the same rate as before, Peter said.

The group went back to court and attained class-action status, Peter said. They settled with the state last year, he said.

Peter called the settlement a significant victory for migrant workers' rights.

"For a long time people have not considered the farm workers to have particular rights at all," Peter said. "We've demonstrated that they do have rights, (and) that the procedures that apply to everyone else apply to the farm workers, too."

(http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2005/08/13/news/4_camp_050813.prt) karl m {{User electrical engineer}} (talk) 20:43, 20 May 2008 (UTC)