PRRAC - Grant Reports - Employment/Economic Development

Research products of completed projects are available from PRRAC. Bracketed italicized identifiers [e.g. F301] are PRRAC's internal project numbers, used here to match grant descriptions with research products.

Short reports on the research work and updates on the advocacy work this research has supported regularly appear in PRRAC's bimonthly newsletter journal Poverty & Race -- the relevant issues of P&R are noted at the end of each project description. Send PRRAC a self-addressed, stamped envelope for copies of these articles.

+ The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles' Community Economic Development Unit, together with faculty from the UCLA Grad. School of Arch. & Urban Planning (Jacqueline Leavitt and Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris), and in cooperation with the citywide public housing residents' organization, has researched the impact of various job training and development programs operating in 21 Los Angeles public housing projects. The results are intended to influence more general HUD- and Administration-inspired efforts at job creation, enterprise/empowerment zones, and tenant ownership and management of public housing projects.
[F206] Grant amount: $9,000.
Contact: Mary Ochs, Center for Community Change, 1055 Wilshire Blvd., #1600, Los Angeles, CA 90017, 213/250-4045.
See article in Poverty & Race, Vol. 6, No. 6; Vol. 8, No. 1.

+ The UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies coordinated a research effort by a consortium of community-oriented UCLA faculty and produced a position paper summarizing what current research has to say about the situation underlying the 1992 Los Angeles rebellion; and charted out various policy responses to the problems thus delineated. Key members of the group are Rick Brown (Public Health), Paul Ong (Urban Planning), Kyeyoung Park (Anthropology), Allen Scott (Lewis Center). Community input was integral to the product, which was designed to influence the "Rebuild LA" effort.
[F207] Grant amount: $9,200.
Contact: Allen J. Scott, Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1467, 310/206-4417.
See article in Poverty & Race, Vol. 2, No. 6.

+ Richard Rothstein undertook research to define an "acceptable" minimum wage for developing nations seeking trade preferences in the US market. The research was used to support a lawsuit brought by the International Labor Rights Education and Research Fund against the government for failure to implement the workers' rights provision of the Generalized System of Preferences Act (the so-called Pease Amendments, which require denial of tariff waivers to nations that are not taking steps to implement guarantees of internationally recognized workers' rights). Although the suit was unsuccessful, it did serve to bring about improved administration of the program. This work has as one clear focus protection of low-income and minority workers in the U.S. whose wage levels and living standards are being undermined via exploitation of foreign workers by U.S. and multinational corporations. The research also was used to inform the debate about enforcement of minimum labor standards in developing countries, as reflected in a Clinton Administration proposal to the World Trade Organization.
[F131] Grant amount: $10,000.
Contact: Richard Rothstein, 8036 Elden Ave., Whittier, CA 90602, 310/945-8950.
See article in Poverty & Race, Vol. 2, No. 2.

+ The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is continuing its "Promoting Workers' Rights in the Poultry Industry" project, concentrating on North Carolina. Research focused on the adequacy of current statutory safety, health and free speech protections; how well state and federal agencies monitor and enforce existing workers' rights standards; workers' awareness and exercise of existing rights and protections in this largely minority, female work force. Needed law reforms, enforcement mechanisms and educational programs were proposed. The advocacy work focuses on OSHA amendments and regulatory reform.
[F209] Grant amount: $9,000.
Contact: Louis Clark, GAP, 1612 K St. NW, Washington, DC 20006, 202/408-0034.
See article in Poverty & Race, Vol. 2, No. 6.

+ La Mujer Obrera, a membership organization of 900+ immigrant women garment workers in El Paso, researched the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement on working conditions of their members, focussing on human, civil and labor rights issues. Faculty at the Univ. of Texas--El Paso assisted in the research design and analysis. Information is being used in community education and organizing efforts.
[F210] Grant amount: $9,100.
Contact: Carmen Dominguez, c/o Centro Obrero, PO Box 3975, El Paso, TX 79923, 915/533-9710.
See articles in Poverty & Race, Vol. 3, No. 3; Vol. 4, No. 1; Vol. 7, No. 2.

+ The Community Coalition for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment, Korean Youth Center & UCLA Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Planning collaborated to investigate the social and economic base of South Central Los Angeles following the LA riots. The research was used by community advocates to provide alternatives to the mainstream planning and development proposals put forth in the "Rebuild LA" effort. Advocacy efforts targeted the LA City Council and focussed on liquor store conversions.
[F203] Grant amount: $9,500.
Contact: Karen Bass, Community Coalition for Substance Abuse Prevention & Treatment, 8500 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90003, 213/750-9640.

+ The Sugar Law Center researched the impact of the 1988 WARN Act, which requires companies with 100 or more full-time employees (or where an aggregate of 4000 regular hours are worked, regardless of the number of employees) to provide at least 60 days' written notification of any plant closing or mass layoff. The law is fraught with enforcement and inadequate coverage problems. The research dealt with three pending cases of theirs and produced a clearinghouse "pleadings bank."
[F226] Grant amount: $10,000.
Contact: Maurice and Jane Sugar Law Center for Econ. and Social Justice, 2915 Cadillac Tower, Detroit, MI 48226, 313/962-6540.
See article in Poverty & Race, Vol. 3, No. 3.

+ The Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy of the University of Massachusetts--Boston held a December 1991 conference, "From Poverty to Economic Development: Community and Policy Strategies for Latinos in Massachusetts." Twelve research papers were commissioned, covering a wide range of subjects. The conference presented these findings in an effort to raise public consciousness about the problems of Latinos in the state, develop remedial public policies and understand the role of public policy in creating the problems outlined in the research papers; provided a vehicle for local Latino researchers to enter the debate on poverty and its public policy implications; and provided a forum for discussion of issues of Latino poverty among scholars, policy makers and Latino community organizations and activists.
[F118] Grant amount: $9,500.
Contact: Prof. Mirén Uriarte, Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy, Univ. of Massachusetts - Boston, Harbor Campus, Boston, MA 02125-3393, 617/287-5790.

+ PrairieFire, an organization that effectively fought against farm foreclosures during the 1980s, is now working on the issue of exploitation of minority workers being recruited (largely from the Southwest) to work in meatpacking plants in Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. Research focused on recruitment and hiring practices, violation of state and federal workers' rights laws, and the impact of these new minority workers on rural communities. The research supported a range of advocacy/organizing strategies, including community and worker education and training, community organizing, coalition development and new public policy initiatives. The initial focus is on Iowa.
[F124] Grant amount: $10,000.
Contact: Barb Gardner, PrairieFire, 550 Eleventh St., Des Moines, IA 50309, 515/244-5671.
See articles in Poverty & Race, Vol. 1, No. 5; Vol. 5, No. 5.

+# Asian Immigrant Women Advocates, as part of its Garment Workers Justice Campaign, conducted research (product line, distribution, profit margins, number of employees, wages, benefits, etc.) on Jessica McClintock, Inc., one of the largest garment manufacturers in the U.S.; and generated information on the number of jobs created and lost in the industry (via exportation, future trends, etc.) The Campaign pushes for changes in social policies that will protect the rights and dignity of workers, immigrants, women and low-income people in the garment industry.
[C108] Grant amount: $5,000.
Contact: Young Shin, AIWA, 310 8th St., #301, Oakland, CA 94607, 510/268-0192.
See article in Poverty & Race, Vol. 7, No. 3.

+# The Japan Pacific Resource Network examined the social and economic impact of Japanese companies in the U.S. on the lives of American minorities and presented practical ways in which minority communities can draw upon the resources of U.S.-based Japanese corporate operations to address their concerns and support community-based initiatives with regard to employment, community economic development and other needs. A community resource manual was produced.
[C101] Grant amount: $5,000.
Contact: Tomoji Ishi, Japan Pacific Resource Network, 310 8th St., #305B, Oakland, CA 94607, 510/891-9045.
See article in Poverty & Race, Vol. 7, No. 3.

+ The California Human Development Corporation is challenging the 1990 Census enumeration, via administrative advocacy and litigation, regarding the undercounting of farmworkers. Due to seasonality and imprecise categorization, such workers may be undercounted by as much as half. Race, language, education level, family living patterns, immigration status and crowded housing interact to produce this undercount, which results in underfunding of various farmworker housing, health, education and employment programs. PRRAC's funds supported technical work to demonstrate the undercount. La Cooperativa is working with California Rural Legal Assistance in developing the litigation component.
[F129] Grant amount: $10,000.
Contact: Ed Kissam, Aguirre International, 480 E. 4th Ave., #A, San Mateo, CA 94401, 650/373-4924.
See article in Poverty & Race, Vol. 7, No. 4.

+ The Carolina Alliance for Fair Employment (CAFE) undertook a research/training program on organizing part-time, contingent workers, in conjunction with Columbia University anthropology doctoral candidate Jean McAllister. The project's goal is to create a model of how temp workers can be identified, recruited and trained to provide information and support for organizing campaigns to change public policy and private business practices.
[F302] Grant amount: $7,200.
Contact: Charles Taylor, CAFE, 1 Chick Springs Rd., #110-B, Greenville, SC 29609, 803/235-2926.
See articles in Poverty & Race, Vol. 4, No. 6; Vol. 6, No. 3.

+Farmers Legal Action Group (FLAG), working in conjunction with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, the Land Loss Prevention Project and the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, is undertaking a comprehensive research and advocacy project to change U.S. Department of Agriculture civil rights enforcement rules so as to stem the loss of African American-owned farm land throughout the Southeast.
[F303] Grant amount: $9,000
Contact: Randi Ilyse Roth, FLAG, 1301 Minnesota Bldg., 46 E. 4th St., St. Paul, MN 55101, 651/223-5400.
See article in Poverty & Race, Vol. 5, No. 6.

PRRAC Grantee Products and Final Reports

Copies of the following materials, as well as further information on the project, may be obtained by contacting the organization listed. Where available, prices and page length are indicated. Items available from PRRAC, if they are lengthy, may require paying photocopying costs. Project numbers are given to enable cross-reference back to the project descriptions.

Women Garment Workers in El Paso, Texas: Comparisons Between Workers in Small, Medium and Large Factories, by Juanita G. Fernandez (n.d., 25 pp.), available from Cindy Arnold, La Mujer Obrera, c/o Centro Obrero, PO Box 3975, El Paso, TX 79923, 915/533-9710. $5. [F210]

Setting the Standard: International Labor Rights and U.S. Trade Policy, by Richard Rothstein (March 1993, 35 pp.), available from the Economic Policy Institute, 1660 L St. NW, #1200, Washington, DC 20036, 202/775-8810. $5. [F131]

Race and Economics in the Rural Midwest (March 1992, 122 pp.), by PrairieFire, Univ. of Iowa/Labor Center & the Center for Democratic Renewal, available from PrairieFire, 550 11th St., Des Moines, IA 50309, 515/244-5671. [F124]

South Central Los Angeles: Anatomy of an Urban Crisis, edited by Allen J. Scott & E. Richard Brown (June 1993, 138 pp.), published by and available ($15) from Scott at the UCLA School of Public Policy & Social Research, 1301 Perloff Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095, 310/206-4417 (Working Paper No. 5, $15). [F207]

A final report on violations of the WARN Act, which protects workers from unannounced plant closures (December 1993, 15 pp. & Atts.), available from the Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice, 2915 Cadillac Tower, Detroit, MI 48226, 313/962-6540. [F226]

The Impact of Migrant Travel Patterns on the Undercount of Hispanic Farm Workers, by Susan Gabbard, Edward Kissam & Philip Martin (May 1993, 70 pp.), available from the California Human Development Corp., 3315 Airway Dr., Santa Rosa, CA 95403, 707/523-1155. [F129]

Failing, But Not Fooling, Public Housing Residents: The Impact of Job Interventions, by Jacqueline Leavitt & Mary Ochs (Feb. 1997, 93 pp.), available from Leavitt, UCLA Urban Planning Dept., Los Angeles, CA 90095-1656, 310/825-4380. [F206]

A Report on the Carolina Alliance for Fair Employment Greenville Temp School, 7-11 November 1994 (June 1995, 37 pp.), published by and available from CAFE, 1 Chick Springs Road, #110-B, Greenville, SC 29609, 803/235-2926. [F302]

Reform of the Poultry Industry: Recommendations to Improve Worker Safety and Protect Public Health, A Report by the Government Accountability Project (November 1993, 14 pp. + Apps.), available from GAP, 1612 K St. NW Wash., DC 20006, 202/408-0034. [F209]

JPRN's Corporate Social Responsibility Project (September 1994, 2 pp.); Japanese Banks and the Community Reinvestment Act: Differences in Culture and Business Strategy, by Sayuri Oyama & Elizabeth Tracey (December 1994, 16 pp.); Japanese Banks and Community Reinvestment: Assistance for Small Business Owners, by Elizabeth Tracey & Sayuri Oyama (n.d., 30 pp.), all available from the Japan Pacific Resource Network, 310 8th St., #305B, Oakland, CA 94607, 510/891-9045.[C101]