All over New York, immigrant workers labor under unsafe conditions for compensation that doesn't even meet federal minimum wage requirements. Because in many cases these workers are undocumented, their employers think they hold a trump card over them that guards against protesting any form of abuse. The members of Brandworkers International recently settled a case against seafood purveyor Wild Edibles that proves that even the most marginalized workers can speak up and can get results-- provided that they have the resources and support.

Working at Wild Edibles was rough. Workers were typically paid $8.50 an hour for a 60 hour work week, with no overtime pay. That comes to barely $20,000 a year. Working conditions were hazardous. If a worker spoke up about anything-- large or relatively small-- management would retaliate by blowing cold air on them while they worked and heaping on demeaning racial slurs. When they couldn't take any more, the Wild Edible employees reached out to Brandworkers International (a North Star Fund grantee since 2007) and got busy making change.

North Star Fund's latest annual report featured a case study of Brandworkers two year campaign with the Wild Edibles workers for a safe and respectful workplace that observed federal employment laws. You can read the full case study here.

In a press release, Brandworkers  and Wild Edibles have finally reached an agreement-- after two years of a grassroots campaign that saw over 75 high end restaurants stop serving Wild Edibles products. Their campaign was a creative blend of grassroots action, media advocacy, and community organizing. The agreement changes things dramatically for the better. According to the press release, both parties are "requesting that the judge, Robert E. Gerber, of Federal Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, approve a settlement for over $340,000 in unpaid overtime as well as compensation for workers who were retaliated against for asserting their rights; a binding protective mechanism for collective activity; and an enforceable commitment to place Wild Edibles into compliance with all workplace laws including health & safety and anti-discrimination protections."

You can read the entire press release here.

Congratulations to the members of Brandworkers. You have proved that spirited campaigns for economic justice can win real improvements in the lives of workers across all job sectors.

On January 12, the New York State Assembly passed a bill (A02565) that would help end homelessness among people living with AIDS. In a nutshell, the bill ensures that clients of the HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA) would pay no more than 30% of their income towards their rent. In a clear signal of the importance they're attaching to it, this is the very first bill the Assembly has passed for the new year. And more than a week later, the members of NYC AIDS Housing Network (NYCAHN) are still celebrating. This is a major victory for all who hold the value of safe and affordable housing for people who have been economically marginalized by chronic illness or infirmity.

It's been a long fight. The bill was first introduced over three years ago. During this time, NYCAHN has been leading a spirited grassroots campaign to get it passed. Recognizing that community organizing can take time to yield victories, but that those victories are more bold and durable when it does, North Star Fund has patiently supported our efforts even when they seemed quixotic. Thanks to a North Star Fund Rapid Response grant, NYCAHN was able to hire a bus to transport 45 members to talk to elected officials about the importance of ensuring stable and affordable housing for people living with HIV/AIDS during a critical point in the campaign.

Affordable housing is a challenge for all New Yorkers, but it's a life or death issue for low-income New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS.  Without a roof over your head, it's difficult to think about taking complicated medicines, following viral loads and CD4 counts, or practicing HIV prevention.  Finding a place to stay for the night, or numbing the pain and anxiety of being homeless, takes precedence.

Although NYC law guarantees a right to housing for homeless people with AIDS, HASA's rental assistance program does a poor job of keeping people stably housing once they are enrolled. About 11,000 low-income people with AIDS face the risk of homelessness because HASA forces them to pay between 50-85% of their limited disability income towards rent. HASA's current policy requires clients to pay all but $344 per month towards their rent, leaving them with about $11 per day.

Living on this budget, HASA clients face difficult choices between paying rent and covering other basic necessities. Many end up in rent arrears and are evicted into the city's dangerous and unhealthy emergency shelter system for people with AIDS. Wanda Hernandez, a NYCAHN board member who pays 71% of her Social Security Disability check towards rent, recently explained the importance of the bill to the Legislative Gazette, "Once [it] passes, I won't have to worry about whether I can afford to go to the doctor or buy groceries in order to pay my rent."

The legislative process has moved painfully slow for NYCAHN members, including some who lost their apartments and became seriously ill while working to move it forward. After countless meetings with elected officials, creative actions and rallies, however, their work has paid off. In July, the state Senate passed the bill with only one Republican voting against it. Then in September, the NYC City Council passed a resolution urging the Assembly and Governor Paterson to support it.  Finally, the Assembly Speaker publicly committed to pass the bill in December. It will go to Governor Paterson for his signature after the Senate passes the bill again later this month.  Although Paterson's privately told NYCAHN members he will sign it, his press spokespeople have refused to respond to media inquiries.

Ending homelessness is fundamental to ending the AIDS epidemic-- as important as medication, condoms or clean needles. Moreover, the AIDS crisis has always been a symptom of broader injustices in our society, driven by racial, economic and gender inequalities that can't be addressed with traditional health tools alone.  Over 80% of new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in New York City are among Blacks and Hispanics, and gay men of all races continue to bear a disproportionate burden.  Contrary to conventional wisdom, these disparities aren't driven primarily by differences in individual behavior (i.e. rates of unprotected sex), but rather by social and economic marginalization.

And sadly, the Bloomberg administration is strongly opposed, failing to understand that the bill will be cost-saving. The cost of implementing it will be offset by reduced evictions and shelter placements. They also callously ignore the health benefits. As Daily News columnist Errol Louis noted, "It's nearly always cheaper to maintain a social safety net than it is to provide high-cost emergency services to the very poor, and nowhere is that more true than in the case of people with HIV/AIDS."

Our members couldn't agree more.

Luckily for us, we found that North Star Fund has donor advised funds.  A grassroots philanthropist's dream come true, North Star requires only $1,000 to start the fund and no minimum balance in the fund from year-to-year because North Star's priority is to give away the money to community organizations that can use it. It was a great match for us, because VPF invests in small, grassroots organization with the belief that making investments in smaller and less established organizations is key part of creating social change.

In fact, there was such synergy that our membership this year unanimously chose the Brooklyn Young Mother's Collective--a North Star Fund grantee.  With North Star's quick response to our membership's vote, we were able to present Executive Director Benita Miller with both the symbolic and the actual check at our awards celebration!  Together, we can be changemakers!

In 1994 the Clinton administration cut welfare spending while promising to support welfare recipients through job training programs. The cuts in social spending and insufficient "welfare to work" programs placed low-income New Yorkers in an even more precarious financial situation, especially single mothers and their children.

North Star Fund supported CVH when the organization was just getting started from 1996-2000. "Early seed funding is critical to help groups navigate through their initial experimental phase and grow into more experienced organizations," said Sondra Youdelman, the Executive Director of CVH. "Grants from North Star Fund in the early days allowed CVH to master an effective model of community organizing." As CVH grew and its work expanded, North Star Fund maintains a close relationship with CVH. At our Community Gala earlier this year, we presented with with North Star Frederick Douglass Award, in recognition of their groundbreaking work improving the lives of low-income New Yorkers.

Fifteen years later, CVH is still building the power of marginalized New Yorkers to advocate for their rights and voice their concerns at the decision-making table. With over 28,000 members from throughout New York City, Yonkers and upstate New York, CVH has a successful track record of connecting grassroots organizing and leadership development with public policy.

CVH's record is impressive. The organization has mobilized 12,000 voters in the Bronx, Harlem, and Yonkers in 50 electoral districts. They pushed New York City to create the Commission for Economic Opportunity to focus on poverty and joblessness. Members stopped a 25% benefit reduction in welfare grants and saved welfare for childless adults. A six-year organizing and advocacy campaign led City Council to create more than 20,000 paid transitional jobs for welfare recipients. CVH played a crucial role in influencing New York State and City to build more public housing units.

According to CVH Senior Organizer Henry Serrano, "We are building the power of low-income people of color. It used to be a struggle to get the government to listen to our members. Now elected officials call us when there is a meeting about public housing to invite our members to the table."

CVH connects economic justice to the movement for peace and to end militarism. According to Sondra, "Peace is connected to economic justice. If the government spent less on war there would be more money to meet the needs of low-income people." Although CVH has outgrown our seed grants program, North Star Fund supports their voter engagement work through a donor-advised fund. Sondra views the relationship between North Star Fund and CVH as a partnership. "Groups don't have to change what they are doing to receive funding because North Star Fund believes in the power of building community from the ground up."

In the end, achieving economic justice is a core goal of Community Voices Heard. "We are trying to decrease the divide between the rich and poor by lifting up the bottom and creating a more equal distribution of wealth," explained Sondra. "In one of the richest cities in the world it's an atrocity that such deep poverty and marginalization exists."