Follow Us
SF School District blocks Blacks from rebuilding school
February 4, 2013
It has been five short months since dozens of unemployed Black workers and contractors protested exclusion of Blacks from demolition and demanded inclusion of Blacks in the rebuilding of Bayview’s Willie Brown Middle School. Now SFUSD plans to ask the School Board at their meeting Tuesday, Feb. 12, 6 p.m., at 555 Franklin, First Floor, to AWARD THE $44.6 MILLION CONTRACT FOR WILLIE BROWN SCHOOL TO A MAJOR WHITE CONTRACTOR without competitive bidding. Pack the meeting! Protest economic racism!
Visitacion Valley Community Center: The ending of a legacy
September 1, 2012
The history of the center is well known, and its accomplishments far outweigh its failures. Although 95 years is an extremely long time, what the center does not have right now is time – and time will be the deciding factor on whether or not Visitacion Valley Community Center survives.
Should local schools be built by local folks? SF School Board considers local hiring, contracting Monday
August 19, 2012
The San Francisco School Board is considering a strong local hiring and contracting policy that will give Blacks and all San Franciscans a chance to compete for a share of the $531 million in school construction funded by Proposition A – and give our children the economic security they need to succeed in school and in life.
Better job standards for Treasure Island
July 20, 2012
Over the last several months, a conversation has been underway about job standards for maintenance workers at Treasure Island. The fundamental question of the Treasure Island dialog is: How do we serve a targeted population of candidates while delivering the wages, benefits and retirement enjoyed by workers doing the same work in the City and County?
San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passes foreclosure moratorium resolution
April 10, 2012
Supervisor John Avalos’ resolution calling for a suspension of foreclosure activities in the City and County of San Francisco passed in an 11-0 vote at the Board of Supervisors. It signals the City’s resolve to protect homeowners from unfair and unlawful actions until state and federal protections are in place.
Mayoral campaigns ask the Justice Department to protect San Franciscans from Interim Mayor Ed Lee
October 24, 2011
Seven San Francisco mayoral candidates have asked the U.S. Department of Justice to send in election observers and monitors and federal investigators to protect San Franciscans’ voting rights from the official mayoral campaign of Interim Mayor Ed Lee and from the “independent expenditure committee” also trying to elect him outside the campaign spending confines of the official campaign.
Wanted: Government watchdogs to serve on the San Francisco Civil Grand Jury
April 7, 2011
San Francisco Superior Court is seeking applications for Civil Grand Jury service for the 2011-2012 term. The deadline is April 15. Espanola Jackson was a driving force on the San Francisco Civil Grand Jury of 1993-94 that strongly influenced many critical issues.
Fighting for our jobs
December 14, 2010
I am back with you fighting for our jobs at a time when I should have been preparing to choose many of you to work with me to build the new Bayview Library. The contract to build our library in our neighborhood was taken from my company, Liberty Builders, and awarded instead to a white contractor, K C K Builders, whose bid included no Blacks at all. This time we won’t let the gate swing shut again for another dozen years. We’re all fighting back – and we’re winning, especially with the passage of Supervisor John Avalos’ Mandatory Local Hire ordinance.
No work for locals
November 15, 2010
“If Washington, D.C. wants to know what San Franciscans want this Christmas, we are here to say, ‘We want our jobs!’” Bay Area truckers are surrounding the Transbay Terminal and Francisco City Hall at 7 a.m. Monday demanding access to the trucking work underway right now as part of the local federal stimulus projects. By paying per load rather than per hour, the City of San Francisco is undercutting the prevailing wage and exploiting workers.
Blacks demand parity as construction season begins
April 9, 2010
The new Bayview Library must be built by the people it serves. No more exclusion of Blacks as with Third Street Light Rail. Bay View publisher Willie Ratcliff’s company, Liberty Builders, is competing to build it with a team of top Black construction professionals committed to hiring from the community. Come to the Bay Area Black Builders meeting Saturday, April 10, 12 noon, at 1099 Sunnydale, Vis Valley, San Francisco.