Wade Rathke Chief Organizer Report
Transcription
Wade Rathke Chief Organizer Report
Wade Rathke Chief Organizer Action Camp 2014 Staffordshire, England Based on ACORN Model Community and Labor with Low Wage Workers Federated • Close to 100,000 members globally now • 70,000 in Canada over the last decade more than 10,000 union of street vendors, security guards and dockworkers in Bengaluru and Chennai, with another 2000 in Delhi and 1000 in Mumbai ACORN International Organizations and partnerships in a total of 17 countries With ACORN affiliates not only in India and Canada, but also in the United States, Italy, Czech Republic, Kenya, and across Latin America in Mexico, Honduras, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, and the Dominican Republic. Partnerships in Indonesia, Korea, and the Philippines. Emerging chapters now being organized in South Africa, England, and Scotland, but we’ll talk much more about that. Campaigns • Remittance Justice • Digital Divide • Landlord/Tenant Licensing (examples from Toronto & Rome) Remittance Justice Digital Divide Landlord/Tenant Licensing Example: From Landlord Licensing to Healthy Homes. Demand: Municipal by law in Surrey BC focused on standards of maintenance Doorknocking, Home Visits, and Personal Contact ACORN India & FDI Watch Beating Walmart Ecuador ACORN Port a Potty Action Demand: Install a washroom at the Tenant Board Ottawa City Hall Work Order Close Line Demand: City to force landlord to do repairs Ottawa – Mattress Action Demand: More long term addictions recovery centres ACORN Model 1970-2008 Constituency Focused: Low-and-Moderate Income, Multi-racial Membership-and-mass based Direct Action Multi-Issue and Campaign Triggered Democratic Political Coordinated Autonomy One central, unified organization - - a union in the community NWRO at 20 in Massachusetts in the United States ACORN Founded 1970 in Little Rock, Arkansas Expanding 1975-1980 20/80 Plan ACORN at 20 States in 1980 ACORN Family of Organizations 600 Community Organizations Labor Unions in Illinois, Indiana, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas ACORN & Unions at Convention Community Radio Stations Little Rock, Dallas, and Tampa 35 Offices ACORN Service Centers Taxes for 50,000 per year, Saving $20 Million Campaign Results Living Wage Campaigns • 150 Campaigns • Ballot propositions in 2006 on Minimum Wage • $3 Billion in benefits for 1.3 million in Ohio, Arizona, Missouri, and Colorado alone. Housing: via ACORN agreements negotiated with banks directly over 30 years, 6 million houses (even at $100,000 value per house = roughly $600 billion worth of ownership). HSBC Example on Predatory Lending – Agreement in Campaign $2 million to ACORN per year for 3 Years Tax Preparers: Agreements with • H& R Block • Jackson-Hewitt • Liberty Tax Services Curtailed Refund Anticipation Loans (eventually barred) where previously 10.5 million people were paying $1.2 Billion in predator fees Community Development Benefits Victories 1995-2004 Local ACORN Chapters Over the Same 10-Year Period Voter Registration 1.5 Million New Voters in 2008 What it All Means? Katrina 2005 New Orleans Residents from Across the Diaspora Protest in DC ACORN Model - Canada Video Citizen Wealth – the Movie Wade Rathke Chief Organizer ACORN International [email protected] acorninternational.org ACORN International/Community Organization International ~ Facebook ACORN International on Twitter @worldorganizers Follow Wade’s blog at chieforganizer.org Order Books on Organizing and Subscribe to Social Policy Magazine socialpolicy.org • • • • Global Grassroots Citizen Wealth Battle of the Ninth Ward Lessons from the Field