Last Saturday, April 7, SBCSC Bus Drivers “overwhelmingly accepted” the tentative contract that was negotiated between AFSCME #686 and the School Corporation. It is expected that the Collective Bargaining Agreement will be approved at the next School Board meeting, scheduled for this Thursday, April 12th at 5:30 pm. We know that many of you communicated…
Dear community member, The South Bend Community School Corporation (SBCSC) bus drivers need our support. SBCSC pays drivers significantly less than nearby districts (up to $5 less per hour), resulting in high turnover, low morale, and an ongoing transportation crisis where there are not enough drivers to get every kid to school on time…
IT’S NEVER TOO LATE! — TO EARN YOUR HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA — TO COMPLETE A GED PROGRAM Do you have your diploma or GED? Do you know a neighbor, friend, or relative who is not a high school graduate? 40,000 residents who live within a 10-mile radius of South Bend are…
According to the Brookings Institution, states and localities spend $50 to $80 billion on tax breaks and incentives each year in the name of economic development despite a mountain of evidence showing that tax incentives produce mostly marginal returns. These traditional approaches to economic development by local governments have not benefited all populations — and,…
At its recent meeting on December 8, the Board of the Community Forum for Economic Justice elected new officers for 2018. They are President Darryl HellerVice-President Regina Williams-PrestonSecretary Linda WolfsonTreasurer Teresa Marcy
Tuesday, Nov. 21, 7 pm, LaSalle Branch Library (3232 Ardmore Trail, SB) The next meeting of the Community Forum for Economic Justice will focus on the need to protect neighborhoods from economic development policies that result in the displacement of residents. Presentations by a panel of neighborhood activists will be followed by open discussion…
The Community Forum for Economic Justice will hold a public forum on the issue of redistricting and gerrymandering. Topics of discussion will include — how the democratic process is thwarted through the manipulation of local and federal districts that favor the party in power — various mechanisms used to suppress voter participation — the…
NEW BAIL RELIEF PROGRAM FOR ST. JOSEPH COUNTY WILL BE DISCUSSED WHEN: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 – 7 PM WHERE: IUSB CIVIL RIGHTS HERITAGE CENTER (1040 W Washington St., South Bend) SPONSORED BY THE COMMUNITY FORUM FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE PRESENTATIONS BY: JUDGE JOHN BRODEN, St. Joseph Circuit Court KATE WILLIAMS, Exec. Administrator, Community…
On July 22, 2016, Mayor Pete Buttigieg announced that all City employees (including part-time, seasonal, and temporary) would be paid a minimum wage of at least $10.10 an hour. The Community Forum for Economic Justice, at its June 2017 meeting, discussed a proposal to require companies receiving tax abatements from the City of…
LEAD! A NEGLECTED KILLER It can kill your future and even take your life. A University of Notre Dame research team recently found that the lead poisoning of South Bend’s children is even worse than originally reported by the Indiana Health Department. Their report identified three census tracts on South Bend’s near northwest side…
Companies Receiving Taxpayer Subsidies from South Bend Should Pay Its Employees at Least the Minimum Wage Paid to City Workers Mayor Pete Buttigieg raised the pay of City of South Bend employees – all employees, including temporary, seasonal, and part-time workers – to at least $10.10 an hour. The Community Forum for Economic Justice…
Are Property Tax Caps Pushing Us Off a Fiscal Cliff? In 2008, Indiana passed property tax caps that limit an owner’s property tax burden to a fixed percentage of the property’s gross assessed value. The full phase-in of these tax caps will take place in 2020 — an event described as a “fiscal cliff.” …