http://www.thenation.com/article/165867/new-hope-new-haven-connecticut

“New Hope for New Haven, Connecticut”

January 25, 2012

Paul Bass, The Nation

(Here’s a sneak preview:)

“In the past two decades the city has made advances in immigration policy, revived its downtown core, encouraged a vibrant arts community and, until the mid-aughts, developed a nationally recognized community policing program. …

Despite that progress, interest and participation in local democracy has withered in New Haven, as it has in so many cities where federally funded patronage has dried up. …

Nor have the recent advances made much of a dent in the city’s high poverty and unemployment rates, largely dependent on decisions by state and national lawmakers and corporations. The most enduring poverty-prevention effort of the past three decades has probably been the unionization of Yale’s pink-collar workers and their subsequent success in a series of strikes. That union, Local 34 of UNITE HERE (whose international represents workers in textile, manufacturing, hotel, food service and other fields), now has some 3,500 members. Combined with the roughly 1,000-member blue-collar Local 35, the Yale unions have preserved living wages and good benefits for a big chunk of the city. And they’ve developed into the largest organized political force independent of City Hall. …

Meanwhile, often below the radar, Yale’s unions and their nonelectoral policy spinoff, the Connecticut Center for a New Economy, have built an independent base and started to craft an independent agenda. Since 2004 CCNE has launched grassroots initiatives on social, economic and voting issues as well as a Civic Leadership Institute. Union members and allies have knocked on tens of thousands of doors and have pulled together survey data on the issues people care about. All that work, along with some unconventional strategy, paid off in last fall’s municipal elections.”

Interfaith Fellowship for Universal Health Care, healthcare4every1, and allies in the movement for health care justice descended on the Capitol with a message for Governor Malloy (whose recent State of the State address made no mention of health care despite 2012 being the key year for states to put federal reform in place) “Don’t give all your LOVE to the insurance industry – save some for the the people!”

On Tuesday, February 14th the Interfaith Fellowship for Universal Health Care led a “Love Ambush” action & prayer vigil to remind state leaders that this is a crucial year for health care reform and the people of CT are relying on them to get it right. Frustrated by lack attention to the moral and economic crisis that is our broken health care system, the Faith leaders called on Governor Malloy and legislators to address the “Love Deficit” and “Share the Health” with all. They called for more to be done in 2012 to expand access to health care and eliminate racial and ethnic disparities.

During a moving, impassioned  vigil outside the SustiNet Cabinet meeting numerous clergy took turns leading prayers. (See below for video of Rev. Victor Gomez’s prayer, interpreted from Spanish into English by Rev. Abraham Hernandez, and check out Rev. Josh Pawelek’s blog story about the action). Clad in red and carrying banners, flowers, streamers, and handmade posters and signs, the Fellowship departed the SustiNet Cabinet meeting and led a “bleeding hearts” procession to the Office of the Governor, where they delivered hundreds of “Valentines.”  These messages of love -many made by church youth groups- called on the governor to do more to address gross inequalities and disparities in health care.

“We are standing here today because we believe in love. We believe all God’s children deserve love. We call on Governor Malloy to remember those who are being shut out, discriminated against, and kept down by the health care system. We call on him to show love for the people of Connecticut; to use his tremendous power to bring healing to the people of Connecticut. Now is the time to for boldness,” said Interfaith Fellowship co-chair Pastor Abraham Hernandez.

Rev. Josh Pawelek called on the governor and SustiNet Cabinet to do more to ensure health care for all. “Any serious health reform plan needs to include a state-sponsored public health care option. Such an option would increase consumer choice and access, control -and even reduce- health care costs,” he said. “Our Valentine’s Day wish? Take the public health care option seriously. It matters to Connecticut’s residents. Show us the love, Gov.!”

“This isn’t just a matter of politics and economics. This is a matter of deeply-held, spiritually grounded, faith-based conviction. As people of faith we are called by the Holy power in our lives to love our neighbors. We are called to work for the health and well-being of our fellow human beings – to be compassionate and caring. We are called, therefore, to work for a just health care system in our state and in our nation,” Pawelek said.

Check out these local stories on the December 6th Rally:

• “Protesters march in New Haven against joblessness, violence (video),” New Haven Register

• “Unions, Occupiers march for jobs and safety,” New Haven Independent

• “Unions and Occupiers march on City Hall,” Yale Daily News

The SustiNet Cabinet is charged with creating a business plan for “alternatives to private insurance,” including the Public Option. With 400,000 residents of CT without access to health care and many small businesses and municipalities crippled by the cost of insurance, it’s clear our system is broken; fixing a problem of this magnitude will require a large-scale, coordinated, public response. The public option IS the pathway to do that – to bring healing to people across the state and end gross racial and ethnic disparities.

The SustiNet Cabinet can open that pathway. The Interfaith Fellowship for Universal Health Care (IFUHC) delivered this message, urging Cabinet members to see their duties through until we have health care for all.

December 13, 2011

Thomas MacMillan, New Haven Independent:

After she was burned the last time, Helen Martin-Dawson said she’s prepared to work to make sure new developments in town come with an enforceable promise of good jobs for her neighbors in the Hill..

Martin-Dawson (at right in photo) said as much Tuesday evening as she helped officially release a new report from Connecticut Center For A New Economy (CCNE), a grassroots coalition of labor, clergy, and community activists.

The report, entitled “A Renaissance For All Of Us: Building an Inclusive Prosperity for New Haven,” comes just over a week after an “grassroots agenda”-setting CCNE meeting that laid out its main points. And it comes just three weeks before a raft of new union-backed aldermen are set to take office, many of whom are affiliated with CCNE and Yale’s unions.

The document, the result of years of community data collection by CCNE, presents a problem that faces New Haven, and points the way to possible solutions. Read it here.

The problem: While parts of New Haven have experienced a “renaissance” in recent years—downtown, medical and education sectors—the benefits have not been shared equally. Several parts of New Haven—mostly African-American and Latino neighborhoods—have still not recovered from the departure of manufacturing jobs, and the new investments in the city have not helped lift them up, the report argues.

(Read the full article here)

“New Economic Report calls for ‘Renaissance’ for all of New Haven”

December 12, 2011

Abbe Smith, New Haven Register

The Connecticut Center for a New Economy on Monday released a report 10 years in the making that sets the framework for what the nonprofit calls a “renaissance for all of us.”

The theme of the report is extending the city’s “renaissance” to all sections of the city including underserved places such as Newhallville and the Hill and connecting residents with good jobs.

“We hope that as we move forward with this renaissance, that it ends up creating better quality of life for all of New Haven,” said the Rev. Scott Marks, a founding member of CCNE.

The report draws statistics from the federal Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics and takes ideas gleaned from thousands of interviews of city residents as part of CCNE’s Community Voter Project. CCNE is a labor-backed nonprofit organization that advocates for economic and social well-being for working families. The report, which highlights inequality in the city, lays out a “Grassroots Community Agenda” for achieving change in the areas of job creation, economic development, access to affordable health care, education reform, affordable housing and more. It recommends three main tools for change: community benefits agreements and community impact reports for major development projects, and a comprehensive “jobs pipeline” program to include workforce training that results in solid employment, not minimum wage jobs.

The release of the report comes just weeks before the makeup of the Board of Aldermen dramatically changes to a very labor-friendly majority. Many of the people who knocked on doors for CCNE’s Community Voter Project knocked on those same doors when they were running for aldermen in the recent election. A CCNE community meeting on Dec. 3 to talk about neighborhood issues and set priorities drew hundreds of residents and dozens of elected officials.

(Read the full article here)

A Renaissance for All of Us: Building an Inclusive Prosperity for New Haven:

In recent years, New Haven has experienced a “renaissance” fueled by billions in public and private investment, aimed at attracting new affluent people and businesses, yielding high-end downtown development and the expansion of the education, research and medical sectors. This growth generates wealth for the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and defense industries.

However, not enough of that wealth stays in New Haven, where neighborhoods have not recovered from the thirty-year exodus of manufacturing jobs.  As the city and its development partners focus on attracting new affluent residents and businesses, many of the families who already live here are struggling with unemployment, insufficient wages and rising housing costs. New Haven’s simultaneous stories of “renaissance” and struggle point to the history and the persistence of inequality and segregation in a city of wealth and prominence.

This report uses three particular local stories to illustrate both the problems and potential solutions in the struggle for a fair and sustainable economy in New Haven: the redevelopment of the Church Street South public housing site; the expansion of Yale-New Haven Hospital and Yale’s medical area; and the redevelopment of the former Winchester Repeating Arms site. Through personal stories and analysis of state and local data, the report outlines concrete policy solutions from the grassroots.

Read and Download the full report here:

http://www.ctneweconomy.org/wp-content/uploads/A-Renaissance-for-all-of-us.pdf

To schedule a presentation and discussion of the report for your community or church group, please contact us.

On December 6th CCNE joined forces with local union members, clergy, community activists and the Occupy New Haven movement at a rally to demand good jobs and an end to violence in the streets.

The march highlighted the role of corporate greed and recklessness in rising levels of poverty and inequality, while advocating a broad agenda that the broad coalition of union and non-union groups involved agreed on:  more good jobs for local residents and safer streets.

At the fore was the powerful youth group the New Elm City Dream. At the rally kickoff  inside city hall, 19-year old New Elm City Dream member Latoya Agnew spoke out for an end to violence, saying “I believe if people had jobs, the violence would stop.”

No longer can we be ruled by apathy and inaction, we must continue building the movement for a fair economy that works better for all people. Join us!

For more on this inspiring rally, check out the press coverage below:

• “Protesters march in New Haven against joblessness, violence (video)” (New Haven Register, 12/07/11)

• “Unions, Occupiers March For Jobs & Safety” (New Haven Independent, 12/07/11)

• “Unions and Occupiers march on City Hall” (Yale Daily News, 12/07/11)

Great video of the rally and march from the Register:

In a packed school cafeteria, people from across the city—including a significant number of local and state lawmakers—held small group discussions framed by some common questions about what they thought the city’s priorities should in the coming year.

Participants were asked to discuss their top three priorities. Four issues stood out among the many discussed (see graph):

*Housing    *Homelessness    *Budget    *Development    *Revenue & Taxes   *Gentrification  
*Community-building   *Democracy   *Organizing    *Traffic   *Sidewalks   *Street lights 
*Trash pickup   *Trees & Parks   *Transportation   *Community centers   *the Dixwell “Q house” 
*Charter reform *Grocery stores   *Seniors   *Relationship between New Haven community and Yale

Participants also got a sneak peek at CCNE’s new report, A Renaissance for All of Us: Building an Inclusive Prosperity for New Haven. The document seeks to distill public opinion—expressed in door-to-door outreach and in many small community meetings—on what New Haven’s priorities should be. At the top of the list: jobs and public safety.  (To read the full report, click on the “Publications” page above).

Read more about the City-Wide Community Leaders meeting in Thomas MacMillan’s New Haven Independent article:  

www.newhavenindependent.org

“Grassroots Agenda” Starts With Jobs, 12/10/11, Thomas McMillan, New Haven Independent:

Picture this: A new “jobs pipeline” funnels cash from big development projects into community centers that train young people for jobs created by the new projects. Employment goes up; crime goes down; everyone wins.

That’s one vision of tackling several big New Haven problems at once. Over 300 people applauded the plan in the cafeteria at Conte-West Hills School in Wooster Square, where it was pitched at a “Citywide Community Leaders Meeting.”

The event was put on by Connecticut Center for a New Economy (CCNE), a 10-year-old grassroots group of union, clergy, and neighborhood leaders, affiliated with Yale’s unions. According to leaders, the organization has an annual budget of $300,000. Half of that money comes from unions, the other half from grants from progressive foundations. Organizers affiliated with the group (acting in other organizational capacities) played a crucial role in helping to elect a new incoming majority on New Haven’s Board of Aldermen—a majority in search of an agenda.

At Saturday morning’s three-hour event, people from various city neighborhoods—including a significant number of local and state lawmakers—talked about the problems they’d like to see addressed in New Haven.

They then got a sneak peek at CCNE’s “Grassroots Community Agenda,” a report that the group has been working on for several years, which will be officially released on Thursday.

The document seeks to distill public opinion—expressed in door-to-door research and in many small community meetings—on what New Haven’s priorities should be. At the top of the list: jobs and public safety.

Click here to read the full article.

On December 1st, CCNE kicked off a week of actions with our 2011 Fundraiser, Night in the Neighborhood.

Thanks to all our friends and allies who came out to support us and to celebrate the tremendous grassroots leaders who stepped forward this year to take our movement to the next level!

We’re grateful to our individual contributors, labor & organizational partners, and to Arte Inc for the inviting space, Rick Reyes & friends’ for the beautiful music, and Dave Greco for the delicious feast.

Even if you missed the fundraiser, it’s not too late to make a donation. We need your support so we can continue organizing for good jobs, health care for all, safe and healthy communities, excellent public education, affordable housing, racial justice and immigrants’ rights.

To make a tax-deductible contribution now, click here or mail a check to: