Story Archives

by James Tracy

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently released
a report entitled "Waiting In Vain: America's Housing Crisis." It "revealed"
what most U.S. renters, especially the working poor, could have told them
for free: our housing crisis is nationwide, and housing affordable to
low-income people nearly extinct.

by PNN Staff

Remember when life was young- little Suzy had so much fun- hoppin and boppin to the crocodile rock..

Little Noah's tiny diapered hips, emitting the light scent of powder and baby-ness swayed to the Oldies music as he held on to my legs - it was near bed-time and I was dancing my son, Noah, to bed after his night-time bath and gourmet meal of Gerbers© chicken and rice... suddenly; two large black boots lumbered toward us, shaking the earth as they came closer, a cold steel badge was pushed in my face "Police, Hand me the child, we're taking him in to custody"

"What are you doing? I screamed "Why are you taking my baby?

"What's going on here?" my wife shrieked.

"We're taking your child because you are unfit parents, you are being charged with neglect and emotional abuse, Mr Franklin. I am a worker from Child Protective Services." She handed me her card, grabbed Noah and walked out of the room with the police. The last sound I heard was Noah's screams.

I stood there motionless as my wife started crying. I looked over at my father who was standing on the other side of the room. It all came together. I am poor, I wasn't very good at holding down a job, I was living with my father, it was not a good situation. We did not get along, he wanted me out of his house.

That was three weeks ago - Noah was permanently removed from my care - the reasons were fuzzy- it was never determined what my wife or I really did wrong - they said we swore in front of the child, that I swung him around too fast, that maybe there was drug abuse, ( there was not) but the real reason was my wife and I were poor - my father was not, we didn't have a chance in the court- our extreme love and meticulous care of our very healthy seven month old was never considered, and when the court hearing convened, we watched them terminate our parental guardianship.

The decision to take our baby was part of an ever increasing trend to terminate the rights of parents solely based on the income, financial stability or joblessness of the parent. The implications are terrifying. Case in point; In New York Mayor Giuliani said last week that if you aren't working you won't be allowed to get shelter and if you don't have shelter in New York, you automatically have your children put in foster care.

In California a father was arrested for yelling at his 14 year old daughter when she refused to go to school.

href="column_16.html#1st_col">(go to story)

In Wisconsin they are deciding whether or not to incarcerate mothers who are on crack s they can control the conditions of the fetus.

Will orphan trains for poor children be next, or baby factories run by the state only allowing certain people to actually "raise children" The frightening thing is many people would agree with these civil rights abuses because they are theoretically done "in the best interests of the child."

Unfortunately the public is unaware how increasingly arbitrary the basis of "abuse" determined by Child Protective Services has become, and how equally impossible it is to meet their requirements for reunification, reminding me of the ancient fairytale of Rumplestiltskin who threatened to take the first born child of the princess unless she spun a roomful of straw into gold.

Two weeks later I was able to visit my little Noah - He was hoarse from crying for days on end, his body now reeked of adult male sweat ( his foster father's) his bright blue eyes were blood shot - He will eventually go to his grandfather's house and I will not see him again, he is my son and I loved him, cared for him and danced with him...

Remember when life was young, little suzy had so much fun...


 

by PNN Staff

I never did like the algae green color of my shag carpet, but somehow today it seemed strangely comforting as the dusty acrylic fibers captured my over-flowing tears. I had just hung up the phone with a unit supervisor in Child Protective Services, (CPS) a branch of the juvenile dependency court, my fourth in a series of countless calls to get some information about my daughter...after several minutes of desperate pleading he hung up on me, accusing me of being "difficult..."

It was several weeks since my 14-year-old daughter came home at 4:30 am, I told her she couldn't go out again at night for the whole rest of the week. The next day after school she didn't come home at all- she stayed away for a 5 days, I found out that she ran away with a thirty two year old man - I resolved then and there that she wouldn't be able to go out at night at all...

For this decision, I was under investigation for "emotional abuse" from Child Protective Services, and today, six weeks later, my daughter is warehoused in a foster home where she is "AWOL" i.e., she stayed out all night, six or eight times, "they're not sure". CPS believes that the "care" my daughter receives in this foster home is preferable to the care she receives at home, and in fact they characterize her runaway status as "just being a normal teenager".

I called the worker to protest this situation and once again they terminated the call because I objected to their definition of "normal" I was told by my attorney once again that I was considered "difficult," which in CPS-speak is a very serious label. The two worst things you can be in this eerie Kafka-esque branch of bureaucracy are "difficult" or "threatening." The "Difficult" label can be attained by merely calling the CPS workers too many times, or leaving too many voice mail messages" in other words being upset, persistent, or proactive.

To achieve the "threatening" label one must have the wrong tone to one's voice, when calling and/or leaving voice mail, as well as calling too many times or leaving too many messages, In other words, being extremely upset or frustrated that you're getting the runaround when you're calling to find out what's happening with your child. They used all of this against me in the final court proceedings (as they do with all the parents who question their position).....

The last jurisdictional hearing;

"Your honor - the CPS workers on this case have found the parent to be difficult and often times threatening - she has left countless voice mail messages and sent an endless stream of letters to the department, due to these threatening actions we believe she is mentally unstable and paranoid, It is our recommendation that she undergo two psychiatric evaluations before she is allowed to receive reunification services, It is also our belief that her overly strict parenting style has put the child in conflict, forcing her to rebel even further, when in fact she was only trying to be a normal teenager, establishing her independence..."

In Los Angeles county, an extremely high percentage of children are in foster care, higher than any other county in the state. As well, low income families and families of color are the targets of most CPS investigations nationwide. Existent parental rights laws were recently changed, decreasing the amount of time Juvenile dependency workers must wait before terminating parental rights for children under five years old, it has changed from an 18 month waiting period to a mere six months, to enable a speedy and biased court trial, with irrevocable consequences for the parents.

There is an upcoming legislation "AB 804 which considers home schooling, "educational abuse." Finally, CPS and its workers have full immunity, this last fact feels very much like another branch of government's ability to stop and search due to "probable cause."

Our society's commitment to independence and individualism leads to the rampant separation of families, in pursuit of the so-called "normal" teen experience. Eager mental health professionals and/or unlicensed child welfare workers have been given the power by the juvenile court system to make pseudo-psychiatric diagnoses and permanently sever parental ties.

POOR magazine in collaboration with Family Rights and Dignity, Families with a Future and several other organizations locally and nationally are investigating the county foster care system, juvenile dependency court and Child Protective Services. We at POOR, also believe in the concept of the community helping to heal the "dysfunctional" family rather than throwing it away, such as some of the revolutionary ideas being tried in Minnesota with the Community support/ community policing programs.

As I held in my breath, my eyes focused on the now-tear stained carpet while I made one more call to my "worker" after the final Jurisdiction trial;

"Where is my daughter? Is she in school? Has she seen her therapist?" I asked in a broken whisper.

"Well, she is staying with a friend... Sometimes"

Who is the friend?

She's a 17-year-old girl - we don't know her or her phone number, but your daughter does call in to check once in a while.

"Then she's a runaway - why don't you have the police pick her up and take her back to the foster home?"

"Because she doesn't want to be in foster care - and there's nothing we can do...(click) "

EPILOGUE

Child Protective Services is a closed system with unlimited power and NO ACCOUNTABILITY.

One Child Protective Services worker said, "It doesn’t matter what complaint you make about me. I have been working here for 10 years." This worker had the responsibility of deciding who should have custody of a baby. The parent she chose put that baby in the oven and roasted her.

The worker was not fired.

Whatever decision Child Protective Services (CPS) makes the Juvenile Dependency (JD) Court accepts as scripture. There is no accountability in the JD Court of Law.

Refer to the PNN Court Watch column, case study #1.ANN. Despite all of the evidence from psychiatrists, teachers, social workers, etc. this minor was sent to a very young, inexperienced family member in Baltimore. Of course the placement failed.

Due to negligence and indifference on the part of the attorney for the minor, the arrogance of CPS and the JD Court, the minor failed every placement and was carelessly placed back in her old neighborhood. The woman with whom she was placed wanted custody as a way to seek revenge on her neighbor. Thus the minor was placed in volatile, dangerous situation with no supervision and was seen selling drugs to other minors.

The taxpayers’ money that has been wasted on this case and many, many others due to the planned negligence of CPS and JD Court and the lack of ACCOUNTABILITY is immense.

by Tom McKay

This August marks the tenth year of sanctions on Iraq. In a country with a
population of only about 22 million people, more than 1 million people have died since
the sanctions began. Millions more are suffering from severe malnutrition, illness and
psychological distress. One-third of Iraqi children are severely malnourished. More than
half-a-million Iraqi children under the age of five have died. A large majority of the
population no longer has access to clean water. In the following article I will list some of the links that are actively involved in stopping this inhumane situation.

The U.S. Trading with the Enemy Act provides for penalties of up to 12 years in
prison and a $1 million fine for taking humanitarian aid to Iraq without a special license
from the U.S. Treasury Department. According to experts on international law, the
sanctions on Iraq violate provisions of the Geneva Convention, the UN Declaration of
Human Rights, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. By breaking the sanctions
and providing humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people, the Campaign of Conscience will
affirm international law and respond to a moral imperative. Thousands of people are
needed to join the Campaign of Conscience to lift the U.S. sanctions.For more information on the Campaign of Conscience see http://www.forusa.org/cciraqframe.html/.

Voices in the Wilderness points out that the "sanctions target the weakest and
most vulnerable members of the Iraqi society - the poor, elderly, newborn, sick, and
young." Their website can be found at www.nonviolence.org/vitw.

After resigning as United Nations Assistant Secretary General and Chief UN Relief
Coordinator for Iraq, Denis Halliday said, "We are in the process of destroying an entire
society. It is as simple and terrifying as that." The Iraq Action Coalition has posted the
full text of his speech explaining why he resigned from his UN post in protest of the
sanctions. It can be found on the internet at http://iraqaction.org/.

Total economic sanctions against any country are a violation of international law.
The Education for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC) says, "the sanctions, which deny access to
basic healthcare, clean water and electricity, are a systematic violation of the Geneva
Convention, which prohibits the 'starvation of civilians as a method of warfare." Their
website is www.saveageneration.org.

The International Action Center points out that these sanctions are racist and they
are genocidal. The U.S. government practices racist oppression internationally through
sanctions and economic domination in the same way that they practice it domestically
through welfare reform, police repression, attacks on affirmative action, and cuts in
education and healthcare that target poor and working communities of color.

The U.S. is doing all of this in the name of profit. They seek to recolonize an oil-
rich region to benefit Exxon, Mobil, and Wall Street - not to help working people. They
use our tax dollars to conquer, dominate, and control other countries and peoples. For
more information, check out the International Action Center website at www.iacenter.org/iraq.htm.

The Coalition to End the Sanctions on Iraq (CESI) is working to stop this
injustice. On August 28, they will have a press conference in San Francisco to kick off a
nationwide billboard campaign against the sanctions. They point out that "every 12
minutes a child dies in Iraq as a result of U.S. led sanctions. To see their website go to
www.endthesanctions.org.

The billboard campaign is sponsored by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee (ADC). According to their mission statement, "The ADC is a Civil Rights
organization committed to defending the rights of people of Arab descent." You can
learn more about the ADC from their website at www.adc.org.

Please join me in saying NO to U.S. military domination of the world

by Anna Morrow

It’s Thursday, May 23rd, in San Francisco. I’ve lived here all my life, so I know that, weather-wise, this could mean anything. It’s almost noon, and the sky is so clear blue that the buildings around Market Street look like those three-dimensional holographic images. I’m hurrying over to the Homeless Prenatal Program (HPP) for a meeting on the Transitional Housing Misconduct Act of 1992. It’s the year 2000, which means this act has been on the books for 8 years. So why has it never been used in court; why has no one ever heard of it.

I'm cutting across the UN Plaza, acutely aware of my attire: black dress slacks, button-up, sheer, embroidered shirt, gold earrings, necklace and ring. I’m walking fast, hoping no one will pick me out of the crowd and solicit me for money or cigarettes. I’ve been homeless for 6 months, but I clean up pretty well. I still can’t decide if it is a compliment, or a nuisance, or just down right offensive to be approached by strangers who have mistaken me for someone who is financially stable. All of the above maybe, depending on my mood or the current status of my intimate relationship with homelessness.

I duck inside the narrow building and let the darkness of the small corridor protect me for a moment while I wait for the elevator. The building is old, and the elevator is small with one of those grill gates. I press number 10. Once upstairs I walk out onto a yellowing and gray mosaic tile hallway at the end of which, just to the right, is HPP. There are two swinging fake wood paneled doors with a big chip out of the corner of one side and a diaper pail just to the right of the bottom hinge. Inside I find a room with 7 chairs and a huge window that displays a magnificent northwest gaze across Market Street. There is no fog today to impede the view past the top of City Hall, all the way to the "sleeping lady" mountain in Marin. The sight of this local landmark brings me a secret sense of well-being: I am happy to see that she, at least, still has her home.

Back in the room I see the woman I am here to meet. Her name is Falechia. I met her while my son and I were staying at the shelter. She facilitated weekly support groups for women there every Thursday night. Now she is talking to a woman who is holding a small child. They're discussing groceries and best buys for your budget from what I can tell without trying to listen. The little girl is content, no fussing, wearing rolled up overalls and a T-shirt that says, 'Shit Happens' and little flower hair clips that say 'Jesus saves’. As their conversation ends and Falechia passes me towards the door, I re-introduce myself and she turns quickly to greet me.

"Hi Anna! How are you? I'm glad you could make it. We're running a little late. Let me take you upstairs."

I follow her up the stairs, past the diaper pail, and she tells me about the agenda for the meeting and who she expects to be here: Rebecca Vilcomerson from HPP, Arnett Watson, a client advocate, Allison Lum from Coalition on Homelessness, and various shelter and Transitional Housing ex-residents who will be giving their testimonials about having to leave abruptly. As we’re walking down the hallway, I'm thinking about my own shelter experience and how hard it was to live in that environment. I used to lovingly refer to it as "Anna and Jesse's Grand Adventure"( Jesse is my 14 year old son), like it was our version of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. But the sense of "grand adventure" wore off after about five months. By that time I had lost my job and our application for Transitional Housing had been denied. Both of these events occurred within a week of each other. I was stunned, after two lengthy and optimistic interviews with the housing program, to receive the denial letter. Apparently, from their perspective, I was not homeless enough.

I was feeling beyond hopeless at that point, which is somewhere my head goes when I've done everything I can think to do and can't conceive of the next steps. I'm feeling electrocuted by fear and "what-ifs": What if I can't get a job in time? What if we have to live on the street? What if I just have a nervous break down? and then, What if Child Protective Services takes my son?

Right about this time I'm staying sane by reading things like The Bell Jar, Girl Interrupted, Little Altars Everywhere and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. My final claim to sanity came with the self-appointed title of "Hagatha the Shelter Hag." It was a title which was respected by my loyal subjects because it represented my lengthy tenure at the shelter; my high seniority as it were. This was a fun little game I played with my dormitory bunkmates. It included things like re-writing the words to show tunes to fit our current circumstance. To the best of our abilities (which never exceeded our enthusiasm!), we belted out our own lyrics to songs from Oliver, Rent, Fiddler on the Roof. Our songs were usually about us overcoming the odds despite our deplorable conditions. The game was more comic relief therapy than one might think. It was meant to keep us afloat in the turbulent sea of rules, regulations and the power differential which permeated our institutionalized lives. At every turn we were reminded that the we were not authorized to run even the most minute details of our lives. This fact manifested itself in situations like my having to eat cough drops for lunch for an entire week because no staff member would fix me lunch and, of course, I was not allowed into the kitchen.

When I left, I bestowed the title of Shelter Hag to my friend Gaia who had played the game most willingly with me. I gave her my shelter-rat mascot (a stuffed toy) and instructed her to carry on the reign of my position. She still calls me Haggie though, when she sees me. It took two more lengthy interviews and a complete redirect of my life to be accepted as a Transitional Housing participant. I was so happy to be saved from the jaws of "what-if's" that the reality and uncertainty of being in such a program had not yet sunk in.

The images of these crossroads are floating across my mind’s eye as Falechia gestures me into a big room, one entire side of which is windows. She tells me pizza will be here soon and then she leaves to go get sodas. I wander over to the window and take in a second amazing view. This one spans all the way down Market Street to the ferries, out over the bay and across the bridge. The sky is still pristine blue. My eyes skip over smoke stacks and tarred roofs and land on the side of a building painted in huge white letters that spell out:

I work for a guy called myself.

Somehow this message encourages me; I take itin with a hint of amusement and turn back tothe room. Six folding tables have been pushedtogether to make one giant table in the middle.There are three separate doors opposite thewindowed wall, which also has tables the fulllength of it. They’re crowded with papers andplants and assorted stacks of books. I ventureover to the big table and choose a seat near thefar end of the room. I'm guessing this is thehead of the table, as there is a flip chart closebehind and a TV-video resting on a chair nearby.The wall is crowded with posters and signsleaning against a mail bucket filled with manilafolders and paperwork. In the very back is awhite-board with no tell tale signs of writingfrom previous meetings, presumably because it’stoo hard to get to. By now other people aregathering around, joining me in the room: themother with the baby from downstairs andFalechia, who is talking to a co-worker. SoonAllison comes in and we are ready to begin.

As we are going around the table introducingourselves, I Iearn how it is that these peoplecame to be here and how they are related to thesubject at hand: the Transitional HousingMisconduct Act. "It is a moral issue," Falechiasays firmly. She would repeat this statementthroughout the meeting. Falechia goes on to tellus of her own experience, one in which havingcompleted a Transitional Housing Program ingood standing (meaning she accomplished allshe had set out to do and did not get into anytrouble along the way), she is then told that shecan not stay past her exit date. The staff at theTransitional Program, who had spent theprevious months portraying themselves as herallies, had suddenly become strangers who werekicking her out on the street. Her newapartment was not yet ready for her to move in,so there would be a 2 week lapse of housing forherself and her children. She fought their rulesand won, but she carries a permanent woundfrom feeling forsaken by people who instantlychanged from caring and supportive toindifferent and unyielding the moment herprogram clock ran out. The sense of disbelief andbetrayal is still evident in her voice, though sheis recounting an incident from nearly 2 yearsprevious.

Next we heard from Allison Lum. She works atthe Coalition on Homelessness. She says thatshe periodically gets phone calls from currentshelter and Transitional Housing residents whoare been forced out of their living arrangementswith no place to go and no where to turn forrecourse. She recounts a day when such a phonecall came in as she was simultaneously staringdown at a document on her desk titledTransitional Housing Misconduct Act of 1992.This coincidence prompted her to call Rebecca atHomeless Prenatal Program in search of moreinformation.

Rebecca spoke next. She continues Allison’sstory and says that she too had been at a loss forhow to advise clients who were going throughsimilar difficulties in SF shelter and Housingprograms. She reviewed the Act and drafted asummary which she passes out and readsthrough for us. The most significant piece ofinformation for me was that it is illegal forprogram residents to be excluded (a termequivalent to evicted, for housing residents)without due process, although this is clearlywhat is taking place. The second piece of vitalinformation for me was a clarification made byArnett Watson.

Arnett introduces herself as a client advocate. Iremember her name from an information boardat the shelter. Her name and number whereposted for representation during grievanceprocedures. I have yet to be given anyinformation at my current Transitional Housingprogram about who to contact for grievanceprocedures requiring third party mediation. As itturns out, there is none. What Arnett Watsonsays is that there are only two ways for aprogram resident to be excluded from a program:one is unlawful detainer and the second ismisconduct act. No one can just be thrown outon the streets without due process. Again myhead is searching for understanding. So why isthis happening? I am still trying to comprehendwhy no one running these programs iseducating the people they are supposed to behelping about their rights.

Arnett goes on to explain that interestinglyenough, the act originated as a way for programsto speed up the "eviction" process by offering aless time consuming legal procedure. Anotherinteresting point made by Arnett is that the pieceof paper which I, and all other participants in myprogram, were made to sign in which we gaveaway our rights as tenants was not worth thepaper it was written on. The fact that we signedit is meaningless because LEGALLY there areonly two ways which a person can be made toleave - even if you are still within your 30 dayprobationary period. Well, this is very differentfrom the message I was given. I was led tobelieve that just as it was up to them to decide ifI would be allowed into the program, it would betheir decision if I was to be put out of theprogram. They would have the final say, andthey would always be right because they makethe rules. What I was hearing today, however,led me to believe otherwise. Arnett said, "Peopledon't know that they can get help, they don'tknow they have rights." I am feeling exhilaratedat hearing this and reach for extra flyers todistribute when I get "home".

At this point the woman with the childintroduced herself. She has 2 more children athome. She says she had recently been put outfrom a Transitional Program. It is the same onethat I am currently at. She tells her story of beinggiven 15 minutes to gather her things and go, ofall of her belongings being left in the hallway, ofher sons new jacket disappearing during theshuffle. It is when she is at the peak of her anger,strongly declaring the injustices she hasendured, that I realize a startling and alarmingfact: This woman sitting beside me is the womanwhose room I now occupy. When she is donespeaking, I reach over to give her a hug. Shethinks, perhaps, that I am showing my supportor empathy. With my arms are around her Iwhisper in her ear, "I think I 'm staying in yourroom."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ *~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Legally, you can not be made to leave from a

Transitional Housing Program without due process, i.e. ,

Unlawful Detainer or Transitional Housing Misconduct Act.

Either of theses methods will buy you time, at least 5 days.

For more information or a copy of this act you may contact

Homeless Prenatal Program at 546 - 6756.

Ask for Falechia at x23 or Rebecca at x12.

If you believe that you have been, or are going to be, unlawfully excluded from a program, please call Arnett Watson, client advocate, at mn346 - 3740.

These people are ready to go to court to fight for your rights !

by Scott Clark

The building at 255 9th St. in San Francisco is, by comparison to a lot of office buildings nowadays, a dinosaur. The words: Warehouse Union Local 6, I.L.W.U. stand out over top of a mural of an infamous labor struggle, which is partially obscured at all hours by two semi-clasping trees . The look of the place inside, with its muted sunlight, and red oak paneling, is a quieting influence in contrast to the flow of traffic up 9th St.. Except, that is, when there are union meetings going on, the occasional early evening or a Saturday; or early in the morning when the dispatch office opens. This is also the home offices for I.L.A. Local 38-44 Weighers, Warehousemen, & Cereal Workers; and the San Francisco Bike Messenger Association, The United Farm Workers and POOR Magazine, as well as the aforementioned I.L.W.U. Local 6.

The warehouse industries mentioned above are facing new challenges as commerce changes into ecommerce, and new styles of doing business accommodate themselves to the fast-changing paradigms of the 21st century. The presence of POOR Magazine in the same location, and the fact that POOR is an Internet-based nonprofit that has a reporting focus on, among others, issues of class struggle, were the influencing factors behind this article.

To shed light on the issue I sought out Fred Pecker, Business Manager for Local 6.

POOR: I'm here to talk to you about the ecommerce delivery companies that are not union-based.

Fred: Well., just so you know, a lot of them are union-based. What did you want to know?

P: Why can't a union-based company do just as good a job as a non union-based company?

F: They can. Traditionally, the union does not necessarily get all the contracts that are out there. With companies that have been around for awhile, there is more opportunity for unions to do the work and the organizing that is required to get those contracts.
Webvan, for example. They have their main warehouse, which they stock from the big Webvan trucks centrally. They stock the big warehouse with items that are currently in demand, and the central warehouse provides stock shipments and delivery/pickup services to the smaller warehouses, which are satellites of the main location.

But the situation in a large operation such as Webvan is that you get some of the locations becoming union-based, while others remain unorganized. This is really due to two things: the efforts of local unions to organize the workers; and the response of the workers themselves. It takes a certain type of person to organize a company, it's not easy work sometimes, and sometimes the employees themselves may be unresponsive, for whatever reason.

P: Some of the assertions in my reading material is that the unions are not actively working to organize the employees of ecommerce or attempting to get the ecommerce contracts. What do you have to say about that?

F: Well, with a lot of these companies, they will subcontract out to the unions to provide certain services to them. Say a company sets up to do web sales, they set up a catalog on the web. They may link up with a warehouse union locally that can store and stock all of their catalog items. Then they may want to do the delivery themselves, or they may contract out the delivery, as well. But whoever they contract out to is going to have to administer the billing, and the accounts management, and the time it takes to deliver the items in question, etc.

So, quite often the companies or unions doing the subcontracting will have their administrative services in a separate location from the warehouses and other services. So, again, you get down to the question of how many of these different locations and services are part of a union, and what parts have a history of not being organized, or organized with some success, and also, again, the people doing the organizing. It takes a certain amount of mettle, and perserverance; these are the main qualities of a successful organizer. It may be just one or two people, or it may be several. If these people do not appear, or they appear briefly and then move on, or if the workplace itself remains unresponsive from a worker perspective, then organizing within some part of a company, old or new, could take a very long time.

P: What are your future plans around the ecommerce warehouse industry? I see some new styles of delivery services taking place currently, as far as companies like Kozmo.com that do delivery of essentially whatever the customer wants, in under an hour. Do you have any response as to how this will affect expectations within the delivery industry overall?

F: Well, it won't really affect the companies that already have their contracts set up, and that do more large scale warehousing and delivery. What you’re going to find more with companies like Kozmo, and that you already find taking place, is that they’ll be using other people to provide the delivery, such as bike messengers used to do when it was business-to-business and they would just be delivering somebody’s important documents.

P: Yeah, I've noticed the Bike Messengers' Union is here in the same building as you guys (ILWU Local 250). So you think that they're going to have more involvement with the ecommerce industry than they do now?

F: Sure, well they are already involved with it. But the situation in an increasingly urban environment is that if people want something delivered quickly, they’re better off using bikes or motorscooters to do it, because these are the best types of vehicles for getting around when you have traffic jams all day long.

Tune in next week for Part 2 of “E-What?”. I will be interviewing Chris Johnson, research analyst for the I.L.W.U. International.

by Tom Jackman

(Reprinted from the Washington Post, courtesy of chris98@pacbell.net)
Saturday , September 2, 2000

An undercover Prince George's County detective followed a man from Maryland into the District and finally into Fairfax County, then shot the man to death early yesterday after the man rammed the detective's unmarked car with his Jeep Cherokee, authorities said.

Prince C. Jones, 25, of Hyattsville, a personal trainer at a Bally's Fitness Center there, was pronounced dead at Inova Fairfax Hospital.

Fairfax police said Jones and the detective, whose name they would not release, were in their vehicles when Jones was shot about 3 a.m. near Seven Corners, and police would not say whether Jones fired any shots. After he was shot, Jones drove about two-tenths of a mile toward the home of his fiancee, Candace Jackson, 22, and crashed into a parked car just steps from the house where Jackson was waiting for him.

Neither Fairfax nor Prince George's police would say what sparked the confrontation that led to the shooting, whether Jones was armed, why he was being followed or how many times he was shot. Fairfax police said the detective identified himself as a police officer, but they would not say how or at what point during the incident.

The police account was immediately questioned by Jackson and an attorney for Jones's family. They said they couldn't understand how the detective could have identified himself, and they described Jones as a hard worker who had never been in trouble. The attorney, Ted J. Williams, a longtime family friend, said the family would seek an independent FBI investigation.

In the past 13 months, Prince George's County police have shot 12 people, killing five of them, including Jones. Two other men have died of injuries in police custody. Most of the incidents are being investigated by the FBI, and the Justice Department is considering conducting a broader probe to determine whether there is a pattern of civil rights violations by county police.

In May, juries awarded $4.1 million and $647,000 to two people who were beaten or otherwise mistreated by county officers. County Executive Wayne K. Curry (D) has appointed a task force to take a broad look at police behavior. The group is to issue a report by Oct. 1.

The number of complaints alleging excessive force, harassment and the use of abusive language surged 53 percent last year, to 90, the highest number since 1994.

The detective involved in yesterday's shooting, a 26-year-old man with six years on the force, was placed on leave with pay and has not been charged, said Cpl. Tim Estes, a Prince George's police spokesman. Estes would not say whether the detective had violated any laws or policies pending an internal investigation. The Prince George's police weapons policy says, "Firearms may only be discharged . . . from or at moving vehicles when the occupants of the other vehicle are using or threatening deadly force by a means other than the vehicle."

Fairfax Commonwealth's Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr. said he would await the police investigation before deciding whether to file charges. He said no officer had been charged in a police-related shooting in his 32 years as prosecutor in Fairfax.

The incident began in Hyattsville, where both the detective and his supervisor were conducting surveillance on Jones, Estes said. He said they began following Jones in the Chillum Park area. They followed him through the District and into Virginia without losing sight of him, Estes said. He would not say why Jones was being followed. The detective is assigned to a narcotics unit in the Hyattsville
station.

Estes said that Prince George's police routinely venture into other jurisdictions during investigations and that their policy is to notify the other jurisdiction only if an arrest, the serving of a search warrant or other overt action is to occur. They did not alert Fairfax or the District about this case, Estes said.

After the officers followed Jones into Fairfax County, Jones pulled onto Beechwood Lane, just off Route 50 near Seven Corners. The detective's supervisor became separated from the surveillance, but the detective continued, Estes said.

Rather than continue to the house where Jackson was staying, Jones apparently pulled into Spring Terrace. Estes said the detective did not make himself known to Jones and didn't initiate contact, but "apparently [Jones] made himself known to the officer."

Neither Fairfax nor Prince George's police would provide details of what happened next, other than to say that a confrontation occurred and that Jones rammed the driver's side of the unmarked police car. One neighbor, who asked that her name be withheld, said her husband heard 12 shots. Another neighbor said she was awakened by the sound of squealing tires, heard shots, then more
squealing tires.

Williams, the family attorney, said a Fairfax detective told him Jones apparently pulled into a driveway and turned off his lights. The unmarked police car went past, then turned around. As the police car approached again, Jones rammed it, Williams said.

Officer Jayne Woolf, a Fairfax police spokeswoman, said the detective "at one point did identify himself as a police officer." But she would not say whether either man got out of his vehicle.

"It does not make sense, that if someone was ramming your car, you have the wherewithal to identify yourself and shoot at the same time," Williams said. Williams said a doctor at Inova Fairfax told him that Jones had been shot nine times. Police would not say how many times Jones was hit.

Members of Jones's family said Jones did not own or ever use a gun. A family friend said she was told by a Fairfax police officer that Prince George's police had pursued a Jeep from Hyattsville, lost it, and picked up the wrong Jeep in Virginia. Prince George's police denied that account.

Jones, who attended Howard University and was working toward a degree in human development, worked as a trainer and sales representative at Bally's.

"He was of an awesome character," said Charles Greene, manager of the Wheaton gym. "He helped liven the place up. When people would come in he would greet them and say, 'Come on, let's work out, let's get started.' There wasn't anyone who didn't enjoy working with him."

Courtney Phelps, a friend since 1992, called Jones "the most clean-cut guy" who never had been in trouble.

Jones, whose mother is a radiologist, hoped to become a doctor after spending a stint in the Navy, said Jackson, his fiancee. She said he was a fitness fanatic who "would never take drugs. He prays all the time. He was not a violent person; all he wanted to do was do the right thing, and they stole that."

Jackson learned of the shooting after Jones's car crashed into the parked car outside her home and she heard the commotion that followed. She wandered outside to see what was happening, then saw Jones's black Jeep with Pennsylvania license plates. "At that point, I freaked out," Jackson said. She went with friends to Inova Fairfax.

"All he wanted to do was to see his daughter grow up," said Jackson, who has a 10-month-old daughter, Nina, by Jones. "They robbed him of that."

by Lester the Cat And Dee

Well, well, well, imagine me, Lester the cat,
writing about pigeons- whatever I know about pigeons could go in a cook book, along with all of the other tasty things that I’ve eaten.

Hands tells me secretly, Why don’t we invite those
pigeons over for dinner sometime soon?

Good idea, I tell him.

The reason I’m writing about pigeons is that this
guy named Joe sent me something that he wrote about
pigeons taking over the world (not with us cats
around, someone should tell him). This Joe wrote to
me and Hands:

Pigeons and cats mostly run Planet Earth!
Human’s destructive capacities are their own traits.
Let the humans believe that they’re in control,
stumble on to discoveries that we drop in their minds.
Their hidden control continues: These are
Birdview, Pigeon mind(s). Are You Sure That What
You Think Is You Or Are They P-Minds?

And he also sent us some photos- I’m including a
few. Don’t notice if they’re a little spotty: me and Hands had a little trouble with our spit the day that
we looked at them. We had a drooling problem
for some reason.

As soon as I finish this column, which is now, I
think I’ll send this guy Joe a Hands-written
invitation to dinner with me and Hands- for him
and for his pigeons. We’ll talk Joe (humor him)
into going out and taking many more rolls of film of
many more pigeons, lots and lots of pigeons. We’ll
give him categories: most beautiful pigeon, most
happiest pigeon, and so on- whatever takes him the
longest.

Meanwhile me and Hands will amuse ourselves,
discussing with the pigeons this plan for taking over
the world, and how Pigeons and cats mostly run
Planet Earth, and the Delicious Dinner we will
make OF, for, I mean, the pigeons that this Joe guy
leaves with us.

by Kaponda

But for the texture of their skin, Theresa and her Barbie were created in the same image of innocence. Before her velvety baby shoes touch the delicate carpet, the toddler and Barbie will have developed the kind of relationship that is reserved only for the most classical literature of romance. Like the rays of sunlight that seep through her candy-striped drapes onto the pink walls of protection, the tender solicitude of the toddler will warm the Barbie doll of her nursling until she and it are separated by natural forces. The toddler will pass through this state of candescene and will carry with her the sweet memories of an idyllic affair with a doll name Barbie.

Theresa Cruz is one of the millions of women, worldwide, who have been riding on that merry-go-round of fantasy. And like Theresa, the desires of so many other women have been to infuse their youthful passion of virtue into the hearts and minds of the babies to whom they have given birth.

"But the mother's yearning," according to a quote from George Elliot, "that completest type of the life in another life which is the essence of real human love, feels the presence of the cherished child even in the debased, degraded man."

The pink walls of protection of Theresa and other women like her will crumble under the pressure of their emotional separations; and, in particular, the separation between Theresa and her partner will ravage every part of her life, the lives of her four lovely children, the members of her family's lives, and the life of the partner from whom she attempted to separate. Theresa had become a victim of domestic abuse by her partner for over five years. The images of her youthful innocence had become numb to her and she had fallen into the grasp of the slayer of hope. In 1985, Theresa Cruz separated from her partner, patched up what remained of her loving heart, gathered her four sucklings and entered the ranks of single parenting.

It was the kind of fear whispered only in the darkness of secret caverns. After her separation, Theresa was stalked, beaten, threatened with a gun, cut with a knife and violated on every psychological, physical, financial and emotional front. She endured the kinds of major stressors discovered in a study published in the March 2000, edition of the Journal of Family Psychology. It states, in part, "Major stressors diminish parenting by resulting in more controlling, abusive and primitive behaviors, and less nurturing, spontaneous and parenting behaviors." Furthermore, according to the study, women such as Theresa lose their ability to "cope and balance the demands of their home and parenting."

She was driven to the kind of mood-altering, mind-boggling medication that has caused many people in the past to use the sought of judgment which results in bad choices. During her period of medicating, Theresa became addicted to the sedative prescription drug Xanax, as her condition and world cascaded into a state of desperation. She decided to share her problems with a confidant. The decision to confide in someone else would be a decision that would change the course her life forever.

His rage from hearing how, not only his friend, but any woman could be subjected to the type of torturous treatment could not be contained. He knew what to do, and he knew how it should be done. The demon in Theresa's life would soon be cast out by her friend. He would bring down the man who had abused her for so long by shooting him in his legs.

Four days later, Theresa Cruz was arrested and accused of assault and then conspiracy to commit murder. Theresa Cruz had become one of over 146,000 women who are in America's prisons and jails, seventy-five percent of which are mothers and, of that seventy-five percent, two-thirds have children under the age of 18. The Campaign 2000 JusticeWorks Committee estimates that approximately 250,000 children are currently separated from their mothers in prison. Furthermore, the phenomenon of mothers in prison is not unique to America. There are also 100,000 mothers is prisons throughout Europe countries, as well. In addition, the Social Health and Family Affairs Committee on Mothers and Babies in Prison revealed in a June 9, 2000, report, that the 100,000 mothers in Europe's prisons have over 10,000 babies from whom they are separated.

********************************

It has been 10 years since Theresa Cruz was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder. She is currently serving a life sentence. Experts who have covered her trial believe that her case points up the discrimination in the criminal justice system and how laws affecting cases involving domestic violence are either inadequate or underutilized.

Domestic violence is defined as the actual or threatened physical, sexual, psychological or economic abuse of an individual by someone with whom they have or had an intimate relationship, according to the Family Violence Prevention Fund. In 1992, seven percent of American women (3.9 million) who were married or living with someone as a couple were physically abused; 37 percent (20.7 million) were verbally or emotionally abused by their partner or spouse. Each year women experience more than one-half million violent victimizations committed by an intimate.

Diana Block, an expert on domestic violence and an attorney with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, has been following the case of Theresa Cruz and women like her for years and noted to me that domestic violence laws do not adequately serve women who go before either the courts or the parole board in the state of California. I discussed Theresa's case with Diana.

"Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl, D-L.A., introduced, successfully, AB 231," according to Diana, "a bill that directs the parole board to take into account a history of domestic violence when considering prisoners for parole. In the wake of this bill, along with Theresa's very good behavior before, during and after the crime, her past and present attitude, she should have easily been eligible for parole. However, the parole board in May of 1996 did not take into account the new law and denied parole to Theresa Cruz."

Furthermore, according to Diana, "The battered mother of five years and woman prisoner who has served 10 years of a life sentence had her conviction overturned by a federal appeals judge on the grounds that the original attorney in her case was grossly incompetent. However, after Theresa won her freedom through the appeals process, she was remanded back to prison after the state of California lodged a successful appeal.

On Tuesday, September 12, 2000, the California Coalition for Women Prisoners coordinated a rally and speak out at the Board of Prison Terms in Sacramento to draw attention to cases like Theresa's. Diana Block stated that there is a "de facto" parole policy in place in California and that Governor Gray Davis has gone on record as saying he would not agree to parole anyone convicted of any type of murder charge."

I asked Denise Schmitt, Public Information Officer for the California Parole Board, if there is, in fact, an existing policy of the parole board to deny parole to prisoners with murder-related crimes? According to Denise, notwithstanding Governor Davis' statement, "There never was such a policy." I then asked her why had the Parole Board disregarded AB 231 in May of 1996 when it considered the case of Theresa Cruz? The spokeswoman for the entire state of California's policies on liberty stated that she was "not familiar with AB 231."

The circuitous path of Theresa Cruz continues to be shaped by the expedience of political savvy. She and the millions of women who have been violated by both our criminal justice system and their domestic partners will probably always, as was expressed by Blanche DuBuois in Tennessee Williams', A Streetcar Named Desire, depend on the "kindness of strangers" for their daily survival.

During the week of September 25, 2000, Governor Davis reversed his de facto no-parole policy by following the recommendation of the Board of Prison Terms to parole a woman, Rose Anne Park, who had been incarcerated for over 15 years for a domestic-violence related murder case. I asked Diana Block what impact would this decision by Governor Davis have on cases which come before the Board of Prison Terms in the future?

"If I were an optimist, I would say it is a positive step forward and good a precedence. However, it is very unclear whether Governor Davis is using it as a token case, in order to take away the flood of criticism which assailed his no- paroled policy. Since he has agreed to this one release, which is very positive, we as advocates of women prisoners want to make sure that it is not a way of diverting legitimate anger."

"However," Diana continued, "virtually the same time as Park was given parole Theresa Cruz was denied parole. This implies that Governor Davis and the Board of Prison Terms are not changing their overall policy regarding prison terms. The Boar;d of Prison Terms' decision concerning Theresa was that she would have wait another year until her next parole hearing."

Cassie Pierson, Coalition for Battered Women in Prison, stated that the decision by Governor Davis did not address the issue of clemency, which is part of the duties of the Board when it meets. Cassie indicated that in the wake of the recent decision to let the Board of Prison Terms' decision to parole Rose Anne Park stand, that the Coalition for Battered Women in Prison will re-visit the files of many of its clients.

California Coalition of Women's Prisoner's (CCWP) raises public consciousness about the cruel and inhumane conditions under which women in prison live and advocates for positive changes. We promote the leadership of and give voice to women prisoners, former prisoners, and their families and publish a quarterlynewsletter The Fire Inside. For more information contact CCWP, 100 McAllister St., SF, CA 94102, 415-255-7036 ext. 4.

by PNN Staff

“....the point is, low income disabled people need non-profit service providers in the neighborhoods they live in...” Leroy Moore finished his two minutes comment to the Planning Commission and then he quietly retreated

“Yeahhhh!!.... clap..clap.....” The audience clapped hesitantly,emoting a few nervous hurrahs!

“Could you please refrain from these outbursts?” Anita Theoharris mouthed the words slowly..each consonant sticking to the roof of her mouth - her eyes barely moving across the carmel walls of the planning commission. I wondered as I stepped up to the microphone what she would say to me and how little facial expression she would employ. I wondered how long I would last before my assertions about gentrification in the mission would be characterized as an “outburst” - that was several weeks ago......

On Thursday, September 7th the Planning Commission meeting was marred by the “smack-down” of Jonathan Yuet, of the collective Cell Space and Mission Anti-displacement Coalition. Commission President, Anita Theoharis, called for a “bailiff” when Jonathan went seconds over the time limit during the meeting’s public comment section.

Eileen Hirst, Sheriff’s Department Spokeswoman, stated that Jonathan “went limp” when grabbed by the Sheriff’s deputy. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jonathan was put into a pain compliance hold and taken to the ground with force.

This brutal take-down was in full view of the entire Planning Commission and was caught on videotape. This enraged the over 100 community advocates who were attending the meeting. Although this “smack-down” affected one artist, we consider this to be an assault against our urban social movement commonly known as the Mission Anti-displacement Coalition and our Constitutional rights of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

The Mission Anti-displacement Coalition has been organizing for community control of the planning process in the face of reckless planning and massive displacement. Rents are sky-rocketing, long-time residents are being evicted, and small businesses and non-profits that serve the community can’t afford to stay here. Low-income and Latino families, seniors, immigrants, artists and people who grew up here are some of the people being hit the hardest.

Mission Anti-displacement Coalition Demands

*Moratorium on new office developments and market-rate housing and live
/work lofts in the Mission!

*Enforce existing planning codes!

*Commit to community planning process to re-zone the Mission District and ensure funding for this process!