SEPt/oct newsletter
In This Issue:
- Nancy Jamison Fund for Social Justice
- New Report on County District 4
- Policy Updates
- Budget Advocacy Updates
- In Case You Missed It
- What We’re Reading
- Job Opportunities
NANCY JAMISON FUND FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
The Nancy Jamison Fund for Social Justice (NJFSJ) seeks to support under-celebrated individuals working towards racial equity and social justice – in any capacity – throughout San Diego county. Honorees receive $50,000 in unrestricted funding to advance their work.
Our Executive Director, Dr. Kyra Greene, serves on the NJFSJ grant committee and helped dream up this program alongside Nancy’s family. Nancy Jamison believed in the power of individuals in our region to make a difference. True to the passion of the fund’s namesake, the NJFSJ celebrates the people behind the work.
We need your help. Every one of you knows someone who is deserving of this recognition and who could benefit from this funding. Please spread the word of the fund and please consider nominating yourself or someone else in your life.
Nominations are accepted through December 30th with grant awards anticipated in March 2024.
NEW REPORT
Last week we published a report analyzing the most recent ACS Census data (2021 5-year estimates) for County Supervisorial District 4. CPI’s analysis shows that the Board of Supervisors must address child poverty, drastic racial inequities, high rents, and low wages. In the report we talk about severe poverty because the federal poverty thresholds are an inadequate measure to describe who is really struggling in San Diego.
What can you do about it? The deadline to vote for a new representative for County Supervisorial District 4 is next week on November 7th. This is important because the County Board of Supervisors manages a budget of more than $8.1 billion and makes policy decisions that affect the lives of almost 3.3 million people. The Board of Supervisors has authority over worker protections, benefits for immigrants, mental health services, housing, and more. If you live in District 4, the special election is your chance to make sure someone who shares your values is elected to the County Board of Supervisors.
If you live in District 4, you should have already received a ballot in the mail. If you are eligible and have not registered to vote yet, you can do so anytime. Because of redistricting, you may now live in a different district than during the 2020 election. Find your County District here.
Check out our Election Action Center to learn more.
POLICY UPDATES
SB 497 Passes!
Thanks to your advocacy and workers fighting for justice across California, Governor Newsom signed SB 497 into law! Senate Bill 497, the Equal Pay and Anti-Retaliation Act, goes into effect on January 1, 2024.
This law introduced by California Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, in collaboration with our statewide coalition California Coalition for Worker Power (CCWP), will make it easier for workers to speak up and hold employers accountable. This bill will give many workers a path to justice when faced with retaliation and deter employers from seeking retaliation when a worker asserts their legal rights.
BUDGET ADVOCACY
City of San Diego
Last month, the Community Budget Alliance (CBA) hosted a Budget 101 for coalition members in preparation for the 2024 budget cycle. We will be releasing our Peoples’ Budget memo next month! Be sure to follow the CBA on Facebook and Instagram, and sign up for our email list to get notified when we release it.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Know Your Rights Event
In August, we hosted a “Know Your Rights” event together with the Employee Rights Center, San Diego Black Worker Center, and DSA San Diego. Representatives from both the city and county Offices of Labor Standards and Enforcement also joined the event to talk about resources for workers. CPI spoke with attendees about what wage theft is, how it impacts families and communities, and where workers can get help with reporting wage theft.
Email us at cpi@cpisandiego.org if you’d like “Know Your Rights” wallet cards to share with other workers and community members or if you would like to request a Know Your Rights training for your organization.
SDBWC Black in Front Summit
Last month, our Senior Researcher and Policy Advocate, Dr. Derrick Robinson, presented to a full room on the state of Black workers in San Diego at the San Diego Black Worker Center’s (SDBWC) first annual Black in Front Summit, liberating data on poverty, unemployment, unequal pay and wage theft for Black workers. For many people who attended, this was the first time they had heard this data and information about wage theft and their rights as workers. Derrick helped the audience understand how Black workers are disproportionately unemployed and forced into low paying jobs because of discrimination and racism, regardless of qualifications that Black workers have.
“The room was filled with Black people looking for tools to take back to their communities to uplift Black workers. These audience members were asking tough questions and really responded positively to the material being presented. They really helped us to relay the point that worker justice cannot be achieved without also focusing on racial justice issues.
I definitely felt the safety and love being shared in the space, along with the readiness to be called to action. I’m excited for what the future holds for the Black Worker Center and the Black community in San Diego as a whole. I’m looking forward to the next opportunity to connect with Black San Diegans around what we all can do to support Black workers in our community.”
—Dr. Derrick Robinson, Sr. Researcher and Policy Advocate
WHAT WE'RE READING
A selection of articles that are informing our economic justice work and making us think.
- California Public School Students Will Learn About Labor Rights Under First-of-Its-Kind Law (Common Dreams, Oct 2023)
- Why the Labor Movement Should Fight for Prison Abolition (On Labor, March 2021)
- Poverty is Rising in California: What Can Policymakers Do? (California Budget & Policy Center, Sept 2023)
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
We are currently hiring for the following positions. Click to learn more:
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As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, CPI relies on the generous support of our community to operate. If you would like to support our fight for economic and social justice, please consider becoming a monthly donor or making a one-time donation. Thank you so much!
CPI San Diego
