Sonoma County Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice

Click Here For The CLUE Mission Statement (Microsoft Word file)

The Founding Convocation:

Making a Moral Case For a Living Wage
Local clergy members gather to discuss the crisis of the working poor and
what can be done

By Yovanna Bieberich
Petaluma Argus Courier
May 31, 2006

Soaring home prices, rising gas prices and wages that don't seem to keep up
with the cost of living have created what the organization Clergy and Laity
United for Economic Justice refer to as the working poor. And since 1996,
CLUE has been working to address this growing problem.

"What we're seeing is that the structure of our economy in the last 25
years has given rise to a low wage style economy," said Ben Boyce, co-chair
of the Sonoma County chapter of CLUE. "This economy has been reinforced by
the World Trade Organization's globalization of the labor force, which
drives wages in the U.S. down."

Originally founded in Los Angeles, CLUE has become a statewide organization
with local chapters that provides a platform for clergy and lay social
justice advocates to address issues that affect the community. The Sonoma
County chapter of CLUE hosts a panel discussion on "The Moral Case for the
Living Wage" from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight at Elim Lutheran Church.

"There's a tremendous level of poverty in Sonoma County, and it's not just
the homeless we're talking about," said Boyce, who was operations manager
for Redwood Empire Food Bank. "These are people who are working jobs at
Kmart and Wal-Mart, junk jobs that often don't have healthcare benefits and
pay close to minimum wage. These people were supplementing their income by
going to food pantries. This is a problem that's not going to be solved by
giving away bags of food. This has to do with how the economy is
structured."

Boyce said that the core of the problem is that more and more companies
have decided to increase profitability by keeping wages down. "Their
response to putting our working class labor force in a head to head
competition with third world country labor costs was to keep wages here
down. That cycle has created a large class of people who are doing the
right thing -- working hard -- but are still poor. It's particularly bad
here in Sonoma County. Job growth here is expected to increase by 60
percent in the next decade, but that's in the low wage sector that pays
less than $12 an hour."

The panel discussion being held at Elim Lutheran features keynote speaker
the Rev. Alexia Salvatierra, executive director of CLUE California. Also
speaking is the Rev. Carol Been of the Interfaith Council of the South Bay;
the Rev. Tim Kellgren of Elim Lutheran; the Rev. Blythe Sawyer of Petaluma
United Church of Christ; John Norris, deacon of St. Vincent's Catholic
Church; the Rev. Norman Cram of the Living Wage Coalition and Father Ray
Decker, archdiocese of San Francisco.

"We have a public policy crisis we're trying to address through living wage
ordinances and affordable housing measures," said Boyce. "These are
measures we can take that will move us toward a solution.

(Contact Yovanna Bieberich at ybieberich@arguscourier.com)

Michael Robinson
1924-2006

Rabbi Michael Robinson, who passed away on July 28th, was posthumously
awarded the Russ and Mary Jorgensen Courage of Commitment Award by the
Peace and Justice Center of Sonoma County at their annual dinner on
November 11th. Rabbi Robinson was a charter member of the Living Wage
Coalition and a key figure in the passage of living wage laws in Sebastopol
(2003) and Sonoma (2004). Rabbi Robinson was also a founding member of the
Sonoma Clergy and Laity for Economic Justice and an advocate for low-wage
workers in numerous organizing campaigns. We were honored to work with this
veteran of the social justice movement, a man who lived out his deep
religious beliefs through committed social engagement. For decades, this
lion of prophetic social conscience worked tirelessly to raise our sights
to a vision of peace, justice, and beauty, a vision that will endure as
long as humans draw breathe on this planet. Through his years of tilling
the rocky soil of the local political landscape, we are now harvesting the
fruits of a vital progressive movement in Sonoma County. Michael Robinson
stands as a model social justice advocate, and we will always remember him
warmly. A tribute to Rabbi Robinson will appear in the Winter 2006
Newsletter. Our Petaluma ordinance, passed on October 16th, was dedicated
to the life of Michael Robinson, an inspiration to us all. For more
information about the life of this remarkable individual, please see:
http://www.rabbimichaelrobinson.com.