California Latino Politics
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
NEWS October 2007 PERSPECTIVE 7 Book Review Japanese,Yiddish-speaking 'right to work' Proposition 18, Jews, Irish, and other were a watershed in California white ethnics. Burt shows politics. Burt traces how Latinos California Latino Politics how Roybal and the emerged as a major political CSO knit together an force after the Mexican-Ameri - ethnic tapestry with can Political Association (MAPA) n 1994 Republican governor PeteWilson won reelection with nativist appeals to criminal - class-based issues such as was started in 1960 and devel - ize undocumented immigrants and racist attacks on affirmative action. In 2005 AntonioVil - public housing and rent oped the organizational capacity Ilaraigosa became the first Latino Mayor of Los Angeles since 1872. By 2007, a record control, improved pub - to mobilize Latino voters at the twenty-five Latinos held seats in the California State legislature; three of the last four Speakers of lic transit, more libraries local, state, and federal level. the Assembly have been Latino; and seven Latinos are members of the U.S. Congress. Few and better public edu - In his concluding chapters Burt experts predicted this historic transformation in the state's political landscape. cation, coupled with explores the rebirth of California strong opposition to progressivism. He draws a direct employment discrimination and line between the community Historian Kenneth Burt in to racist police harassment and organizing and coalition building The Search for A CivicVoice: Cali - attacks on minorities. by CSO in the 1940s and the for - fornia Latino Politics , provides a Burt traces how Latinos emerged as a major political Roybal and the CSO won sup - mation of community-labor timely analysis of the origins of port from the NAACP, Japanese coalitions in Los Angeles, San contemporary Latino political force after the Mexican-American Political Association American Citizen League, Jewish Jose, Oakland, and San Diego in power in the Golden State. Burt, Community Relations Council the 1990s. These more recent the political director of the Cali - (MAPA) was started in 1960 and developed the and other ethnic organizations. community coalitions have won fornia Federation of Teachers, Prominent Jewish businessmen approval by local government for seeks to uncover a 'usable past' to organizational capacity to mobilize Latino voters at the became major donors and helped living wage laws, supported provide lessons for building a to create stable funding for CSO, expansion of state provided health new California progressivism local, state, and federal level. a Latino organization. Liberal care for low income residents, and informed by 1940s and 1950s Democrats, the Independent Pro - negotiated 'community benefit Latino civic engagement, labor gressive Party, and the Commu - agreements' to ensure that public politics, and coalition-building. Pillars of support (CSO). The CSO won the back - nist Party all supported Roybal. monies provided to private devel - He views the election of Edward His narrative begins when the ing of the CIO and the Catholic opers create good jobs. The new Roybal to the Los Angeles City Congress of Industrial Organiza - Church—particularly Los Angeles labor movement is deeply Council in 1949, and then his tions (CIO) emerged after the split Archdiocese Bishop Joseph Revitalizing from the bottom up involved in the struggle to defend landslide reelection in 1951, as with the craft-oriented American McGrucken. Labor organizers By the late 50s, CSO and the the rights of undocumented the beginnings of the Latino Federation of Labor in the 1930s. and parish priests staffed the CSO Roybal machine built a social workers and a leading opponent quest for a voice in California In Los Angeles, the left-led indus - and the organization evolved movement and independent of another bracero or 'guest politics. trial unions with substantial Latino from providing services to regis - power base in East Los Angeles worker' program. Burt's fundamental contribu - membership in the garment, elec - tering voters. CSO registered and established an enduring city - Kenneth Burt has written an tion draws upon hundreds of trical, steel, shipping and packing - 15,000 new predominantly Latino wide coalition that could be repli - exceptional book: he provides oral interviews and extensive house industries were the first voters by 1949, trained hundreds cated throughout California. CSO readers with a clear lens to view archival research to analyze the pillar of support for Roybal. of Eastside residents to become organized twenty major chapters the past and to understand the reasons for Roybal's election as The second pillar of the L.A. community activists, and lever - that registered 440,000 new vot - rise of Latino California. For the first Latino in the twentieth labor-left in the 1940s was the aged resources from organized ers by 1960; according to Burt more information, go to century to serve on the Los Catholic Church. In the working labor and the church to build CSO shifted the terrain of local www.kennethburt.com . ccc Angeles City Council since the class and Latino communities of support for Roybal's campaign. politics to revitalize the Demo - 1870s, and to identify the con - Eastside Los Angeles Fred Ross According to Burt the third pil - cratic Party from the bottom up. stituencies and interest groups lar of Los Angeles progressivism Marty Bennett teaches American history and Edward Roybal, both trained Pat Brown's gubernatorial vic - at Santa Rosa Junior College; is a that coalesced to revitalize the and inspired by the legendary was coalition politics nurtured in tory, with CSO support, over the polyglot Eastside community member of CFT Local 1946; and is Los Angeles liberal left in the Chicago community organizer the Republican ultraconservative Co-Chair of the Living Wage Coalition late 1940s, and the entire state a Saul Alinsky, organized the Com - of Boyle Heights that included William Knowland and the of Sonoma County. decade later. munity Service Organization Latinos, African-Americans, defeat of the 1958 anti-union Why Change the “60 Law”? continued from page 6 taught by adjuncts as expressed load allows more of a cushion for loss of office hours or health ben - our own state representatives legislative session. Hopefully by in state law AB1725. Meanwhile, those who need district-offered efits. Part-timers could more easi - that we want this change. State fall 2008 or spring 2009 we will part-time faculty should not health coverage. In several dis - ly achieve one full year of STRS legislators are influenced by sup - have a new load allowance for be penalized. tricts if an adjunct falls below a service credit without teaching port resolutions passed by large part-timers in this state. ccc Some adjunct instructors 40% load, health premium rebate every intersession. organizations (such as our parent believe they will lose classes if a money or even coverage is with - union CFT) and also by letters By Phyllis Eckler and Sam Russo 67% load is granted. This is drawn since state funding for this received from their constituents. doubtful. If administrators can add requires a minimum 40% work - What can I do if I support legislation CFT will keep you informed so more assignments to part-timers load. In times of course cutbacks to change the “60% Law”? that you will have a bill number already working, it saves them the this new 67% threshold would be Once a legislator is found to to refer to when contacting your trouble of looking for, training beneficial so that the loss of a class carry such a bill we will need to legislative representative in and hiring new recruits. The 67% would not necessarily mean the educate, inform and convince Sacramento during the 2008 Legislative Update Tunnel Vision or Just Plain Blind? continued from page 6 continued from page 5 the financial and professional support Committee, where it stalled until next Any fix must include a permanent hours through local bargaining. What - they need to do their best work, and year. As community college funding funding mechanism that rewards, not ever the remedy, part-timers need establishing a better balance between comes to the forefront through the penalizes, districts for offering more assurance that districts will stop lever - the number of full-time tenured faculty, Community College Initiative, we'll part-time office hours. We cannot aging our sense of professionalism and part- and full-time nontenure- be working through the fall to keep count on districts to apply an infusion against the ability to get paid. It’s the track faculty. this important educational issue at the of general funds toward paying for least California community college We developed coalition partners, held forefront and move FACE forward into more part-time office hours. Perhaps students deserve. ccc a press conference, lobbied and testified next year. ccc an Ed Code provision that mandates a before the Assembly Higher Education minimum number of part-time office By Julie Ivey Committee. The bill moved out of com - hours could provide a legal premise to mittee and on to the Appropriations augment this fund and prioritize more.