Water costs burst community's pocket books

New Holly, Wash.--Sidney Carter speaks in a sure, careful cadence that makes you want to listen. He’s well known in his New Holly neighborhood, and you can find him knocking on neighbors’ doors, passing out petitions to sign or just chatting them up. The topic he brings to the doors is always the same -- the Seattle Housing Authority is not helping low income residents of New Holly pay what they can afford for their utilities. Some residents are paying more than half of their monthly incomes in rent and utility bills.

Carter has lived in the area for over many years -- before it was renamed “New Holly.” He has seen reconstruction, new parks, renamed roads and a steady, expensive increase in his utility bill.

“I’ve lived here for a long time,” Carter said. “And all those years the water prices have been too high.”

New Holly has a thriving immigrant population, with many cultures blending together as more people move there. The new neighbors join the community and get a sense of connection. The families just begin to get settled -- then they get their utility bills.

“I’ve seen folks move in and then after three months, have to move out again,” Carter said. “The prices of their utilities are so high it’s cheaper to live somewhere else.”

Carter wants to stay in the community and he wants to be able to afford it. He is getting involved with Working Washington and his community because he believes that if you stick together with others you can then bring about change.

He wants to help fix the utilities problem because he has a daughter going to college and she will need a home when she returns. He wants to be able to welcome her back to New Holly.

“I’ve lived here for 12 years,” Carter said. “I want to live here for another 12.”

Carter isn’t the only one who wants to find a solution. Many of his neighbors have decided to tackle the high costs of the utility bills by meeting up and brainstorming solutions.

The meetings are a mixture of English and Somali as residents talk out their plans to work with the Seattle Housing Authority to come to agreements that are mutually beneficial. They want an agreement that will give them the tools they need to make more informed decisions and requests.

The Congressional Super Committee should invest in America By Nate Jackson

The Congressional Super Committee, with Washington’s own Senator Patty Murray as a co-chair, is charged with finding $1.5 trillion dollars in the Federal Budget before the end of November. The money can be from revenue, spending cuts or some combination of the two.

We believe that the committee should protect the needs of the most vulnerable among us by leaving Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security off the table. We also know that the real problem in America is not a debt or deficit crisis, but a jobs crisis.

At a forum at Town Hall in Seattle, policy experts Ryan Alexander with Taxpayers for Common Sense, Paul Guppy of the Washington Policy Center, Andy Nicholas of the Washington State Budget and Policy Center, and Ross McFarlane of Climate Solutions discussed the goals of the Super Committee.

They pointed to the just released Green Scissors 2011 Report as the basis for their discussion.  

The report details potential spending cuts, tax loophole eliminations and a review of older programs and benefits in a modern light in order to save significant amounts. Proposed cuts include agricultural laws that were passed during the Great Depression, and getting rid of tax subsidies to profitable business sectors such as the oil and gas industry.

The Green Scissors report makes the case for reevaluating outdated programs, and eliminating unjustified tax breaks so that our government can focus on creating good American jobs.

McFarlane from Climate Solutions said that the only way that we can move forward is to make investments in our own country that will put us on a job creating and competitive path. He argued that the keys to a broad economic recovery include energy efficiency, green technology and infrastructure projects – all of which help create good jobs.

Budget and Policy Center analyst Andy Nicholas talked about the need to protect social safety net programs such as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (welfare) and Social Security. He argued that these are proven programs that lift thousands of people out of poverty per year.  He also thought that the first priority of any federal policy maker should be fixing the economy by investing in programs that have a proven track record of getting people back to work.

The Super Committee has an enormous opportunity to help get America back to work. We need to make sure they put people first by protecting our social safety net and investing in the creation of good American jobs.

We’ve heard enough about the debt crisis. Let’s find a solution to the jobs crisis.

Who We Are—Abeba Berhe

by Nate Jackson New Holly, Wash.--Many people with serious health problems withdraw. Abeba Berhe pushes forward even though she is on dialysis for serious kidney disease.  The disease is debilitating, but Berhe is fighting it because she wants to see her children have a better life.

Despite her struggles, Berhe keeps her head up and has joined with her community to fight for a fair economy. She is moving her schedule around dialysis and other treatments to be able to get to the meetings and events that are empowering her New Holly neighbors.

Born in Ethiopia, Berhe has been in the states since 1999. She was a former care provider before the economy collapsed and has since been unable to find gainful employment. She is a mother who has seen the cuts to state budgets--caused by big corporations like Chase Bank not paying their fair share--affect her family in education, medical benefits and more.

“I didn’t know that Chase Bank was hurting the government,” Berhe said. “Because of Chase our Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is gone, the budgets are cut and we have to do something. Chase needs to go.”

Oftentimes Berhe has to make decisions about how she spends her money and where to make cuts.  She sometimes has to go without heat and bundle herself and her children in colorful blankets. Even in the low Northwest sunlight, her family closes the drapes during the winter because heat is too expensive. Other times, she skimps on her on food so that she can feed her children.

Berhe was beginning to get discouraged and anxious before she started getting involved with Working Washington and her community. Now she understands that she is not alone and she has come to numerous gatherings.

The only way to make lasting change is to get involved in the struggle. Berhe has talked to her neighbors, spoken out to elected officials and has helped bring her community together to tackle some of their major concerns.  She’s been active, engaged and she is not slowing down.

“If we can do something about this,” Berhe said. “We can raise our children in this beautiful land.”

Chase’s favorite Washington Congressman: Representative Reichert

by Nate Jackson The dog days of August are starting to wind down. Families are beginning to come back from vacations, school bells are ringing and Rep. Reichert’s hiding from his constituents, raising money from wealthy donors and ignoring the jobs problem.

Man throwing money

Instead of spending the time away from Congress to meet with his constituents, Rep. Reichert has only two advertised public events during the August recess and both of those events charge money to attend.

We have to worry about every dollar because we still cannot find good jobs, and he is charging us entry fees to talk with him?

Three separate demonstrations have rattled the quiet community near the bank-owned building that houses Reichert’s office on Mercer Island. Working Washington, MoveOn, Washington CAN and Center for Community Change have all responded to the overwhelming frustration by constituents that Reichert is not representing their concerns about good jobs in our communities.

Is giving money a way to get some attention from Rep. Reichert?

Maybe Big Banks have the answer. Reichert received $6000 from Chase Bank in campaign contributions in 2010. That means Chase gave more to Reichert than any other congressperson in Washington State.

This is the same bank that, upon taking over Washington Mutual, summarily laid off 3,400 Washingtonians. Now, it is giving money to a representative who is on the Ways and Means Committee.

The sad part is Chase isn’t the only bank giving funding to Reichert. Reichert’s third biggest corporate donor is Wells Fargo, yet another out of state Big Bank.

Meanwhile, Reichert’s constituents are being denied access to their congressman as staffers lock doors during stated business hours and ignore the demands that Reichert do more to address the real crisis in this country a lack of good jobs.

We need a congressman who is on our side fighting for good jobs for his constituents.  We can’t afford to have an elected official be Chase’s “favorite.”

Reichert needs to make it clear that he is listening to his constituents and taking his political cues from the people he represents, not from out of state national banks. He needs to show us he is concerned about good jobs and getting Washingtonians back on their feet.

Where are the Good Jobs at the Airport?

Aug. 23, 2011

by Julio Sanchez

SeaTac, Wash. -- Sangabo Hassan, Farhiyo Ahmed  and Mohamed Hassan joined together with workers and out-of-work community members to ask “Where are the Good Jobs?” at Tuesday’s Port of Seattle Commission meeting.

Port commission meeting
Port commission meeting

The question was particularly relevant because for the first two hours of the commission meeting, the Port Commissioners and a succession of bureaucrats touted the allegedly “Good Jobs” available at SeaTac Airport, which the Port Commission oversees.

From the perspective of these bureaucrats, comfortably perched in their secured, benefit-abundant jobs, things are OK at SeaTac. But from the perspective of the unemployed and the struggling workers who are desperately trying to survive with a low paying job—without benefits and often seeing only part-time hours—things look dramatically different.

For example, according to the bureaucrats, among the allegedly “Good Jobs” at the airport today is work for one of the many passenger, ramp and cargo handling services provider where a crew of two is expected to unload a 140 passenger plane and refill all the water tanks on that plane in just 1 hour—quite a physically demanding and pressure-laden job. The pay is often $9.25 per hour, just 58 cents above minimum wage. Even worse, some of these jobs do not allow vacation or sick leave during the first year.

These “Good Jobs” claim to offer benefits, but how anyone on this essentially minimum wage job can afford to pay the outrageous amounts required to cover insurance out of pocket for a family is beyond us.

Offering jobs like these to working families leads to a lot of frustration. During the testimony at the commission meeting, these emotions were palpable.

“Every time I apply for a job I am told there is nothing,” said Ahmed, a single mother of three. “We need benefits and we need good jobs.”

Herbert Bernard, a Bags Inc. employee whose hours have been cut to 20 per week with no benefits, spoke up as well.

“We need benefits and we need good jobs,” said Bernard.

Mohammed Hassan, an employment caseworker at the Somali Community Services Center in SeaTac, told the commissioners how he sees plenty of hard workers who are ready to put in long hours in every day.

“I have sent more than 10 qualified candidates to apply to open positions without getting a single response,” he said. “People working in the airport need good jobs with benefits so they can survive and have a better life.”

Working Washington will continue to ask “Where are the Good Jobs at the Airport” We are working on an agenda for the next Ports Commission meeting in September, and we will be asking that question again and again and again, until we get an answer.

Outrageous water bills in New Holly

Aug. 24, 2011 By Sandra VanderVen

 

New Holly, Wash.—Recently, Dionna Fry of Working Washington was talking with residents of New Holly, when she unexpectedly got an earful.

They told her jobs are scarcer than ever. School bus routes have been cut for all kids who live within a mile of the school, even elementary.

Imagine how a working person without a car can provide transportation for a kindergartener when the school is a mile away?

But the biggest issueWater faucet dripping on their minds by far is one of the most precious resources we often take for granted:  water.

The Seattle Housing Authority recognizes that people in low income housing struggle with water bills, so the plan is to ask residents who qualify for help to pay about 30 to 40 percent of their bill.

It turns out that this is not happening. Rather than paying for only a third of their bill, residents are paying about 75 percent of the total cost—which makes water worth its weight in gold, relatively.

It gets worse for New Holly residents like Beverly Riley, who has lived in the neighborhood for 35 years, at one time with three daughters. Riley said her ex-husband refused to pay child support in her early days of living there, but the water bills are harder to manage than those tight budget days.

“Now my water bill runs up to $150 every two months,” said Riley, 78. “I don’t use that much. I have arthritis and I have to get in the tub and soak.”

Recently, her water bill came in at $249. It turned out that her toilet had a silent leak.  The housing authority let her pay the bill over two months—but that didn’t reduce the bill. She paid for the extra cost—and for fixing the toilet—with the $725 per month she receives from Social Security.

The reason many bills are high is there is a large amount of water pressure entering that neighborhood.

Generally, it is easy to regulate the amount of pressure entering a home when it is an average amount. This is important because high water pressure in a house is like high blood pressure in a human—it wears out the plumbing.

But that isn’t being addressed in New Holly, and instead, leaks are springing up. When the residents can’t find the leak, they have to pay the price.

New Holly residents have had a series of meetings with the Seattle Housing Authority to discuss this. The representatives of the Housing Authority claim residents use too much water.

Riley speaks to this issue too. “I know some people abused it by watering their gardens and filling little wading pools,” she said.

Hearing her say this is painful, when having a garden and giving the kids a way to cool off in the summer looks to some like a stolen luxury, while much of the water they are paying for is going down the drain from a leaky system they have no control over.

If society is judged by how we treat the most vulnerable, how are we doing in New Holly?

We Wanted your Jobs Ideas...

and You Delivered!

by Nate Jackson

The economy is working for CEOs and greedy corporations. They got bailouts and tax breaks, but for the rest of us, the officials who voted for tax cuts for the rich just don’t seem to realize that we need good jobs.

Since these “leaders” are too busy to look for answers to the jobs crisis, we asked you to give us your ideas about how to get this economy back on track. As expected, the ongoing results are fantastic, and we are still looking for more.

We asked you: “If you had a billion dollars, what jobs would you create?”

The results are pouring in and the vast majority of us have great ideas on how to get this economy moving again with practical, simple to implement ideas. In no particular order, let’s look at some of the ideas.

 

1.      Marita G. suggests creating and funding art-based educational programs for children.

The impact on a community would be twofold: the positive influences of art in children’s lives and the good rewarding jobs created by the program itself. According to the Policy and Advocacy group ArtsUSA, some of the most impressive benefits are: equalizing the playing field for socio-economic differences, strengthening critical thinking skills and providing motivation for children to be continual learners.

Teaching is a highly rewarding career, and having specific programs to focus solely on art is very much needed when school district budgets are being cut. Often times, the arts are first on the chopping block during a budget crisis.

 

2.       Harriet W. suggests building and running pet care centers.

Pet ownership is huge in the United States. According to The Humane Society 39% of US households own a dog, while 33 percent of households own a cat.  If you broaden out to any pet the number of households in the USA that have a companion animal of some sort jumps to a majority 62 percent of households.

That is a huge market for business, and the pet industry is a multibillion dollar enterprise.  Harriet’s idea of building and running pet centers is good because of the sheer potential number of customers.  The pet care industry would create many jobs both in direct care and in support.  Veterinarians and Vet Technicians would be needed to fill these positions and they are highly skilled professionals.

 

3.       Quenea P. suggests: building and running low income area grocery stores.

Many people in low income areas do not have readily available nutritious foods to eat. Some of these areas do not have a grocery store, which is called the “food desert” phenomenon. Fast food restaurants and gas stations stock greasy, salty and fatty foods that negatively impact the community’s health and longevity.

Stores in low income areas would not only alleviate the “food desert” syndrome, but would activate a job creation center.  Grocery stores may not have the largest profit margins, but they are steady and reliable.  Grocery jobs, under the proper conditions, are good work that is stable.  Stable employment is one of the best ways to get this economy moving again.

These jobs would help fulfill First Lady Michelle Obama’s fight against childhood obesity.

 

4.       Chris W. suggests: Construct mixed income housing near job centers.

Construction jobs are good jobs for families. If you follow some of the examples that have already occurred in the Seattle area, these jobs can be quite stable.

Constructing homes that are near job centers creates walkable communities. Dependence on car-based transportation, a major social justice issue and sometimes impediment to gainful employment, would be lessened.

 

5.       Sibyl J. suggests: Bringing back the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Citizen’s Conservation Core (CCC).

These two organizations are “New Deal” programs that put young people to work during and after the Great Depression. The “New Deal” created infrastructure, parks, and other major public works projects. Some of our country’s greatest projects, like the Federal Writer’s Project that employed writers and artists.

A similar type of program might look something like an expanded AmeriCorps program.  AmeriCorps is the domestic, or United States based, version of Peace Corps.  Participants choose from varying work from teaching, home building, environmental protection or various other community needs.

A version of rebuilding roads, bridges, parks and retrofitting buildings would create many good jobs with the potential to transfer those skills learned into the private sector upon completion of the program.  Some estimates have the amount of crumbling roads and bridges in the thousands.

 

If you have an idea that you haven’t seen here please send us what you think would be the best use of a billion dollars for bringing good jobs back to Washington here:  We Need a Jobs Idea from You.