Category Archives: News

Exposing the Corruption Due to Large Money in our Democratic System

“Before, during, and after these elections — what has to be exposed is the large amount of money that is being spent by multi-millionaires to emotionally affect the votes of our hard-working communities – who often are just trying to survive. What if all those funds that they are spending to advance their power were used to increase the quality of our schools, our health care system, and our economy? It is such an injustice to our communities that the likes of Koch, Munger — and now Bloomberg — are able to invade our homes with their self-serving ads — when the working people, whose labor has helped to make these corporate owners wealthy, have to take to the streets to have their voices heard.”~ Jose Z. Calderon

Bloomberg should focus on NY not IE, Baca saysblog.pe.comGloria Negrete McLeod, left, and Joe Baca, right, are both Democrats vying for the newly drawn 35th Congressional district. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s political PAC has donated more than $3 million to NEgrete McLeod’s campaign including last minute television advertising for $2.3 million.

My Statement Today at a Press Conference to Defeat Measure T in Pomona:

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I am here, as part of the Pomona Coalition to Defeat Measure T. This measure seeks to turn back the will of the people in Pomona – who back in 1990 — after law suits were filed by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Southwest Voter Registration Project, voted to scrap citywide elections in favor of single-member districts to bolster minority representation, to facilitate more direct communication between the voters and their representatives, and to reduce the costs of running for city council seats. The voters voted in this way, also to stop the reality that – although Pomona had changed demographically to over 50% in ethnic minorities in the city – only two members of racial or ethnic minorities, up until 1986, had ever been elected to the council in the city’s 99-year history. Now, we have seen the results of the voters’ decision in 1990 – as we have seen a diversity of city council candidates and elected city council members. Most of all, we continue to see candidates running, from all nationalities, who are able to afford running from a district that they live in – and who are closer to the issues and the people that they vow to represent – because they live in those districts. We are in full agreement with Marian R. Bibian’s October 16th editorial in the Daily Bulletin that the efforts to overturn the will of the voters has been led by a “a small group of former candidates, all unsuccessful in Pomona City Elections, — that “are spending large amounts of money” – that are “frustrated due to their inability to win their personal races for mayor or council member” – and who “want revenge on the council member who dared to speak about the abuses of the infamous checkpoints, towing companies, and excessive overtime.” From investigating Pomona city clerk records, we have found that a group, calling itself, the Pomona Police Officers Association Issue Committee, with its Treasurer Wayne Ordos (whose address is listed in Sacramento), spent $43,186.47 alone (in signature-gathering and signs). Another $2,536.62 has been spent by a group the “Pomona Citizens Right to Vote Committee.” Now, these reports do not include any up-to-date figures on other mailings and flyers that may have been duplicated and distributed recently.

We urge the voters in Pomona to study who is behind Measure T – to not allow the exclusion of candidates who may have limited resources – to not allow a handful of interest groups to control – and to not waste the taxpayer’s hard-earned funds in defending an outdated Measure that will undoubtedly end up in the courts if it is passed – funds that can be better spent on keeping the library open, ensuring the city’ public services, and bolstering the city’s economy. As the Daily Bulletin, in their opposition to Measure T, has reminded us: It seems likely that litigation would be brought against the city if this measure passes, and that’s the last thing cash-strapped Pomona need

Latinos de Pomona califican de antidemocrática propuesta electoral.

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Rubén Tapia
Noticiero Latino, Los Ángeles, CA.
24 de octubre de 2012.

Una coalición de grupos comunitarios, de derechos civiles, sindicales y políticos locales se manifestó ayer en contra de la “Medida T”, propuesta municipal que busca que los concejales de la ciudad de Pomona, se elijan por voto general y no por distritos como lo establecieron hace más de 20 años. La concejal Cristina Carrizosa participó en la protesta.

“Lo qué me preocupa de esta medida es el control que unos cuantos van a tomar de una ciudad que con muchas dificultades pudo eliminar el sistema, “At large” haya en los años 90”

Afirmaron que la “Medida T” es patrocinada por grupos anti inmigrantes, políticos que no han logrado ser electos en el actual sistema por distritos y cuentan con el respaldo financiero de la Asociación de Policías, contra quienes han estado luchando para que modifiquen la confiscación de autos a los choferes sin licencia, destacó la activista Angela Sambrano; “Como saben que estamos ganando poder, nos quieren quitar ese poder, pero no nos vamos a dejar”

Los patrocinadores de la controversial medida, niegan que sean racistas y aseguran que lo que intentan es unificar a Pomona ciudad agrícola del condado angelino, con 160 mil habitantes, más del 70% son de origen latino.

Ambassador Nathaniel & Elizabeth Davis Civil Rights Legacy Award on October 9, 2012

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Presentation

I want to thank the Pomona Valley Democratic Club for this award. I am so honored to be recognized alongside such great community leaders as Gail Clayborn, John Owsley, and Congressman Joe Baca – to have as the emcee, an exemplary union and community leader – Connie Leyva. Now, this is the way to honor genuine civil and human rights leaders – this is the way to honor the legacy of of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Davis! I accept this award as a collective award — with my wife – Rose – who is a foundation in all I do (and one of the primary reasons that we recently celebrated our 36th wedding anniversary) – with my son Joaquin and his family – Laura and my Grandson Antonio — with my other son, Jose Luis — who are all part of ensuring the energy that it takes in the building of family – whether it is in the home or in the community. I accept this award also on behalf of all the community organizers and community leaders here, you know who you are – whose work in transforming the Inland Empire region – makes us shine – are the salt of the earth – and whose work often goes unrecognized.

Although I am a runner, a father, a grandfather, an emeritus professor, a researcher, and a writer – I am also a community organizer – an intellectual activist. And, as in the case of many of my other community organizer friends here today or out there in the trenches, we don’t often hold any high positions and we don’t have a lot of funds –( hence, we can’t donate in large amounts to campaigns). We are critical thinkers – and our thoughts are often put into practice – in trying to create a more just and equal society. We do a lot of acts that no one knows about – but the persons who are the recipients of those acts – know – and our reputations come to be based on our principles and values. Because we are troublemakers with a lot in spiritual value but with little in material capital – we are not often honored or recognized.

That is why this award is especially meaningful for me today. As community organizers, we usually are climbing many hills everyday – and we face obstacles that try our resilience. I have had many of my students ask – what is it that keeps you going? How does work for social change become a life time commitment?

You know, yesterday, we took a caravan of vans and cars to La Paz (Keene, CA) to be a part of President Obama declaring the place where Cesar Chavez is buried (La Paz in Keene, CA) as a National Monument. This is historic and unheard of – a President of the United States taking such a strong and open stance in supporting the legacy of Cesar Chavez and the union movement – a movement that took on the power of the agricultural corporate power structure .

We took students, community people, parents and their children. Arturo and Monica took their children – a true example of community organizers — educating those who will create our future.

You know, there was a period of time when Obama was no more than a community organizer – and he too was faced with the challenge of building long-term commitments and training new leadership. As he read about the sacrifices ordinary people made during the civil rights movement, he imagined himself in their place, as a Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee worker “convincing a family of sharecroppers to register to vote,” or as an organizer of the Montgomery bus boycott (Obama 2004, 134). In doing so, he formed a commitment beyond himself to figure out how to develop new leaders with a strong consciousness.

When his fellow community organizers became tired, Obama had them look out of their office windows while asking, “What do you suppose is going to happen to those boys out there?….You say you’re tired, the same way most folks out here are tired….Who’s going to make sure [those boys] get a fair shot?” (Obama 2004, 171-72). He challenged the organizers to think about why they were organizing – to look at some of the structural foundations of the problems those young people were facing. This led to the development of a long-term commitment among some of these organizers to create social change that went beyond the challenges that they were facing in the immediate world around them.

In our everyday work, I know that we are facing those same issues today. A number of us are now what we call “veteranos” and we are having to figure out how to share the lessons among younger – and new emerging leaders. This is where I am today – and I have consciously backed away from some areas of organizing to let new leaders emerge.

I am heartened, and everyone here should be also, for those new leaders who are running for political offices with new visions about how to run a city. I am heartened by those new leaders who are questioning how we take care of the environment, how we deal with the trash problem, and who want to ensure that these problems aren’t placed in the living spaces of people of color and working people. I am heartened by the rise of emerging leaders who are out there getting the vote out to save our libraries, to save collective bargaining by voting against Proposition 32, and to support those propositions that invest in our toddlers/our children, and in our schools – to stop the cycle of having to put so much of our tax dollars in prisons later on. I am heartened by the spirit and tenacity of the Dream Students who did not give up when the Dream Act was voted down in Congress but continued to organize until a deferred action policy was implemented.

As all of you know, we need a lot of good leadership right now – and we need to find common ground among ourselves like never before. Even where we might differ slightly on some issues – we need to respect each other – and seek unity.

In this election, there are two trends developing. One that is about the future as it is emerging and one that wants to take us back to a time before the civil rights movement. On the one hand, there is a trend that has been seeking to build unity among this society’s diverse groups in building the types of alliances and partnerships that are necessary to meet the challenges of a global economy. The other trend is one that is thriving on creating fear and divisions among working people and using their genuine concerns to blame immigrants, to blame unions — for the economic problems in this country.

I am here with you today – because I know that this club – the leaders that are here – are about reminding our neighbors as to the role that labor and community-based coalitions played in winning the eight hour-day, the civil rights act, social security, medicare, the deferred action policy, and so on – the very programs that the Republicans are dead set in cutting.

I accept this award and the legacy behind it. Brothers and Sisters, let’s redefine the “GNP” and the meaning of “growth” to be gauged, not on whether the multinationals are making more profit, but on whether the wealth that is being created – is serving to create more jobs –improve the health, the education, the environment, and the quality of life – of all of us – our communities – of those who are doing the producing.

— The question before us is – which trend are we going to allow to dominate –

I ask you – Are you going to allow the Koch’s and the Walton’s to have their way? Are you going to let them divide us? Let us make the meaning of this award a reality and unite all that can be united – get out the vote – and make sure that, in this next election – we unite all that can be united in advancing the kind of equal and just world that we all have the right – to live in! Si Se Puede? Si Se Puede!

Suits Peril Last of Affirmative Action in Education

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Note: This article was written in 2001, but with recent University of Texas suit pending in the Supreme Court makes this article very relevant.

Author:	Jose Zapata Calderon. Jose Zapata Calderon is associate professor of sociology and Chicano studies at Pitzer College, Claremont, Calif.
Date:	Mar 21, 2001

THE FUTURE of affirmative action in education lies in two cases involving the University of Michigan. Each are sure to end up at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Last month, a group of students lost a claim urging the university to use affirmative action to right the effects of past discrimination. The ruling did not, however, change an earlier decision by the judge that upheld the university’s admissions policy to include race and ethnicity as factors in admitting undergraduates. That was a major victory for advocates.

In another suit, now before a federal district court, two white applicants claim they were not admitted to Michigan’s law school because of their race. The students contend that they were held to higher admissions standards than those used for black and Latino applicants. Both cases are being fought by the Center for Individual Rights, a Washington-based public-interest law firm dead set on ending affirmative action.

Either case could result in taking away some of the last vestiges of affirmative action as appeals make their way through the courts.

It is possible, for instance, that the court could reconsider its 1978 landmark ruling-Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke, which allowed colleges and graduate schools to use race as a factor among many in their admissions policies. That ruling said that institutions could use race as a factor in admissions but could not set aside specific numbers of places for members of minority groups. Those arguing against affirmative action claim that many colleges are going beyond the use of race as a factor and implementing a quota system that favors students of color.

This was the issue in a 1996 Texas case, now known as Hopwood, where the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the law school at the University of Texas at Austin illegally used racial preferences in admissions. In that case, the Center for Individual Rights argued that any use of preference violates equal protection under the law as guaranteed by the 14th amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1954

Now, with the University of Michigan cases heading toward the Supreme Court, there is a real possibility that the Bakke decision will be overturned. If so, this will mean that every college in the country that receives federal money will not be able to take race into account as a factor in admissions. It will impact the very existence of outreach programs that are aimed at recruiting African- Americans, Latinos and Native Americans. This is already happening in California, where opponents of affirmative action have placed outreach programs in the same category as “programs of preference.”

These important cases are emerging at a time when many white students not sure about having a job in the future and are claiming that there is “reverse” discrimination in the admissions policies of numerous colleges. The cases are also coming when there is increasing competition for limited local and federal education funds and when racial discrimination is being written off as though it didn’t exist anymore. Memory is short, and some critics have forgotten how segregation divided this country only 30 years ago.

Today, there are those who argue that affirmative action has resulted in the development of a growing middle class among underrepresented minorities. They also argue that such policies don’t serve the needs of those who are stuck at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. What they fail to point out is how affirmative action has helped in opening the doors to social mobility for some of these same individuals now in the “middle class.”

Critics also argue that we need “class-based” solutions such as full employment, national health care and quality education that can pull everyone up simultaneously. What they fail to point out is how people of color, even if they reach middle-class status, confront unequal resources and a glass ceiling that prevents them from moving into managerial positions.

Critics are hiding behind the argument that we need to strive for a “color blind” society, arguing that affirmative action only serves to divide working people by allowing one group to benefit at the expense of another. This logic leaves out that specific groups, because of racism and sexism, have been historically excluded or left at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. It leaves out the historical existence and use of special preferences for those who are more privileged, such as the children of large donors or alumni.

Affirmative action has not only resulted in diversifying our campuses with more women and students of color, it has been part of a movement to diversify the curriculum. Affirmative action has helped to pave the way for underrepresented groups to attend college, to graduate and to write the histories of individuals who have been excluded or left out. Affirmative action has been part of including these voices, to explain why one group got stratified at one level as compared to another and to interpret why some groups were institutionalized at the lowest levels of the society.

It is no coincidence that General Motors and 20 other multinational corporations publicly supported the University of Michigan’s stance on affirmative action. They realize that, as part of preparing students for participation in an increasingly global economy, there is a need for programs that are inclusive of varied cultures, languages and people.

There would be no need for affirmative action if every individual who wanted to attend college were granted that right.

In the meantime, we need to support efforts, such as those at the University of Michigan, that consider race, ethnicity, gender and economic status in admissions policies. Real unity among all those concerned will be brought about as we direct our energies to the policy-making arena and promote the idea that there is no contradiction in preserving affirmative action alongside “class- based” solutions.

Ballot Initiative Forum

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Click here for more details on this event.

We need your help in turning out participants for the Ballot Initiative Forum this next Wednesday, October 10th at Our Lady Of Assumption in Claremont. A lot of our friends will be going to the polls without knowing what the ballot propositions are all about. There are too many propositions on the ballot that deeply affect our communities (from funding for education to the future of unions to ending the death penalty, etc.) — for us to be complacent. This forum is an opportunity to organize others, to inform them on the propositions, and to get out their invformed vote. We are asking each member to commit themselves to invite 5 people to the forum. You have already received leaflets on the forum. Please send the announcement to your listservs and place it on facebook. Let everyone you interact with know about the forum. In particular, focus on five friends, call them, take them out to coffee or a nice restaurant, buy them a gift, and invite them to the forum. Please pass out leaflets at any meeting you attend. Most of all, remind yourself and don’t forget:

The Latino Voter’s League is Hiring Fulltime Phone Bankers/Canvassers

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Driver’s Licenses for Young Dreamers

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Below: An Article that appeared in numerous papers from the Associated Press. Unfortunately, they are still using the term “illegal” and I have sent them a strong e-mail condemning the use of this term. However, the article does relate that “the U. S. Department of Homeland Security said that each state could determine whether to issue licenses or extend other benefits to young immigrants who qualify for the deferred status” and that some states, such as Arizona and Mississippi will deny them.

Jose Zapata Calderon

“Some states, such as Oregon and Georgia, have announced that they will grant driving privileges to those eligible for the new program. Others, such as Arizona and Mississippi, have vowed to deny them.

California legislators this month approved a bill that would allow an estimated 450,000 eligible young immigrants in the state to use the federal work permits at the Department of Motor Vehicles as proof of lawful presence in the country. The bill is now headed to the governor.”

Young illegal immigrants may get driver’s licenses

Posted: Sep 15, 2012 12:27 PM PDTUpdated: Sep 15, 2012 12:47 PM PDT

By GOSIA WOZNIACKA

Associated Press

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) – When 17-year-old Alondra Esquivel needs to get from her rural central California home to classes at Fresno State University 20 miles away, she must rely on rides from her relatives or her boyfriend.

Most Californians her age can drive. But Esquivel, a college freshman, was brought illegally to the United States from Mexico when she was 7. And California has denied driving privileges to immigrants lacking legal status since 1993.

“Without a license … I have to depend on others to do the basic things,” said Esquivel, who lives in rural Parlier, Calif., has classes at the college four times a week in Fresno. “It’s a big inconvenience.”

But Esquivel soon could get driving privileges: She is one of an estimated million eligible for a new federal program that temporarily defers deportation and grants work permits to people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. California has the largest number of potential applicants.

The new immigration policy has brought to the forefront the long-running and bitter debate over whether illegal immigrants should have access to driver’s licenses. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said that each state could determine whether to issue licenses or extend other benefits to young immigrants who qualify for the deferred status.

Some states, such as Oregon and Georgia, have announced that they will grant driving privileges to those eligible for the new program. Others, such as Arizona and Mississippi, have vowed to deny them.

For young people like Esquivel, foreign-born but steeped in America’s language and lifestyles, the single administrative policy at the federal level, coupled with a state decision, could spell a life-changing moment – transforming school and work opportunities, daily nuisances and even social lives.

In California, where the automobile is king and car-culture dominates, the change could be most profound. Nearly inaccessible without a car, the state is famous for its freeways, streets lacking sidewalks and spotty or nonexistent public transportation. Driving is more than a practical necessity for Californians: it’s a birthright.

Illegal immigrants in California who can’t drive face a long series of daily inconveniences and calculated risks. Some drive without a license, unable to find another way to get to work or school. Others depend on family, friends and co-workers for rides.

It’s especially hard on young people like Esquivel, who was raised in the U.S., but has had to miss out on the quintessential American rite of passage. She got top grades at Parlier High School, earning a merit scholarship to attend college, and plans to become an elementary school teacher. But at an age when getting behind the wheel seems pivotal, Esquivel can’t drive to the mall or to see her friends, not to mention to school or work.

“Sometimes I feel like going out, but I can’t really do that,” she said.

Esquivel was smuggled by relatives through a border checkpoint in a car with her younger sister – an experience she barely remembers.

In high school, she watched classmates get driver’s licenses and cars as soon as they turned 16. Esquivel and a few others could not apply because of their legal status.

“It was hard,” she said. “I felt left out. They were able to do things, go places, and I couldn’t.”

Parlier, population 14,500, has little in the way of public transportation, stores or services. Residents drive virtually everywhere – to get to work, grocery shopping, to the doctor and to church.

Esquivel’s parents, who pick grapes, olives and other crops in nearby fields, don’t have time to drive her places and have not allowed Esquivel to drive without a license, because it’s too dangerous, she said.

“If I get stopped, I could get deported,” she said. “Things like that worry them.”

Numerous bills to grant licenses to those without legal status in California have failed or been vetoed by several governors over the past decade.

Still, the commute to college has proved a challenge. Family members have to wait for hours while Esquivel is in class. And while the young woman’s boyfriend, a U.S. citizen, also studies at Fresno State, their schedules don’t coincide.

Her parents told her she might soon have to drive on her own, which fills Esquivel with dread. For the past month, she has occasionally sat behind the wheel with a relative in the passenger seat, in lieu of driving lessons.

Esquivel, who is in the process of applying for the new immigration program, hopes a license will come with it. To benefit, immigrants must prove they arrived in the United States before they turned 16, were younger than 31 as of June 15, have been living in the country at least five years, are in school or graduated, and have not been convicted of certain crimes.

Young immigrants who qualify won’t get permanent legal residency or a path to citizenship, but will receive a work authorization card and a Social Security number.

“I’m really hoping the law that allows us to drive will pass,” Esquivel said. “It would be a great relief for me.”

Critics of the new immigration program say granting licenses to young immigrants like Esquivel would reward and accommodate illegal immigrants.

“We’re already paying for the costs of illegal immigration. Why should we pay for additional benefits?” said Bob Dane, spokesman with the Federation for American Immigration Reform in Washington D.C. “The driver’s license is a breeder document which opens up a full spectrum of rights and privileges” such as access to banking accounts, credit cards and mortgages.

But immigrant advocates say denying licenses to people approved under the new immigration program is illogical.

“This is a common sense issue,” said Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the Los Angeles based National Immigration Law Center. “These are young people who will have valid work authorization and Social Security numbers. They will need to drive to school, to work, to medical appointments. From a policy perspective, granting them licenses makes sense.”

For Esquivel, a license would also mean fulfilling another wish: driving 200 miles north to Sacramento to visit grandparents she has not seen for years.

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Follow Gosia Wozniacka on Twitter at (at) GosiaWozniacka

Daily Dispatch: Delivering 25k Signatures | Warehouse Workers United

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WalMarch Day 3

We started the third day of the WalMarch at St. Martha’s Episcopal Church in West Covina. Walmart Associates brought care packages for the marchers and then more Associates greeted us in front of the Walmart store in Baldwin Park. At the store we delivered more than 25,000 signatures in support of warehouse workers to the manager and then continued to El Monte.

See the full post at: Warehouse Workers United