On Wednesday, April 24, the Dallas City Council voted 10-4 to pass an ordinance that will require employers to provide earned paid sick time for Dallas workers. In response, a broad coalition of working people, faith leaders, public health professionals, labor leaders and social justice organizations issued the following statement: “On this historic day, the powerful voices of working people in Dallas have been heard,” said Jose Garza, Executive Director of Workers Defense. “Dallas City Council has done the right thing and voted to provide paid sick time to working families so that no one in Dallas has to choose between taking a pay cut or losing a job, and staying home to care for themselves or a sick child. We have fought for many years for this day and look forward to continuing to make sure that working people get what they deserve.” “Today, council members voted to extend basic dignity and respect on the job to all working people in Dallas, particularly working people of color,” said Brianna Brown, deputy director of Texas Organizing Project. “Soon in this city, people who work will no longer be forced to make the difficult choice of taking care of themselves or a family member, or losing pay or even their jobs. This is a win for the people, whose labor drives Dallas forward each and every day” “After over a year of fighting for paid sick time in Dallas, we are overjoyed to see this come to fruition,” said Nan Kirkpatrick, member of Democratic Socialists of America North Texas. “Worker dignity and ending inequality in our community are two of our driving values, and we are happy to know that at least for today in Dallas, workers have won.” “Today Dallas City Council decided to stand with working families in ensuring that no worker ever has to make the hard choice between earning a paycheck and taking care of themselves,” said Lorraine Montemayor, Political Director at the Dallas AFL-CIO. “We applaud our elected officials that voted for this vital policy in doing their duty to protect workers.” Approximately 302,000 Dallas workers don’t have access to earned paid sick time, despite 71 percent of Texas voters who believe employers should be required to offer paid sick leave to their employees. Workers who lack paid sick time are disproportionately low-income and people of color. Those without paid sick time have to choose between taking a pay cut or losing a job, and staying home to care for themselves or a sick child. Paid sick time is also an issue that affects children and public health. Parents without paid sick days are twice as likely to send their child to school sick, increasing the likelihood that children will spread illnesses. Additionally, service industries including food preparation have some of the lowest rates of paid sick time, exposing more people to illness. The vote followed a press conference and testimony from workers, faith leaders, public health professionals, labor leaders and social justice organizations. More than 100 people filled the City Council chambers during the vote to support the ordinance. Paid sick time in Dallas has been supported by a strong, broad coalition over the years, including Dallas Black clergy leaders, Dallas AFL-CIO, DSA – North Texas, Faith in Texas, Local Progress, Planned Parenthood Texas Votes, Texas Equal Access (TEA) Fund, Texas Freedom Network, Texas Organizing Project, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) 1000 and Workers Defense Action Fund. The earned paid sick time ordinance, introduced by Councilmembers Philip Kingston, Omar Narvaez, Adam Medrano, Scott Griggs, and Kevin Felder in March will require private employers to establish and administer earned paid sick time policies for Dallas workers if an individual or family member experiences physical or mental illness, injury, stalking, domestic abuse, sexual assault or needs preventative care.
Dallas Community Leaders Applaud DA Creuzot for Latest Justice Reform Proposals
DALLAS – Today, a coalition of grassroots and faith-based leaders across Dallas County are applauding District Attorney John Creuzot for unveiling policy proposals that will help put an end to unjust practices that have criminalized the Dallas community for decades. The coalition, which includes Faith in Texas, ACLU of Texas, and Texas Organizing Project, is working with the new DA to ensure his promises are more than words and is encouraging him to be an active leader in the effort to end systemic injustice. “Thank you District Attorney John Creuzot for championing justice starting on your first day of office. We recognize and appreciate your voice of moral courage and the use of your elected political power to value the most vulnerable in our community,” said Kortni Blackmon, national LIVE FREE organizer working with Faith in Texas Blackmon added: “We look forward to working with you to put your promises into action through hosting monthly community meetings, setting a clear and explicit decarceration goal for Dallas County and publicly releasing your operational budget. “We are encouraged by your leadership, Mr. Creuzot. Thank you for raising the bar in Dallas County,” said Brittany White, Live Free Texas Campaign Manager. “We believe this is a powerful first step in the right direction, but the path to justice is long. We, therefore, are counting on all other elected officials to follow suit, in dignity and with fairness for all. May Dallas County work to completely reform this broken system, manifesting the power of people when they are able to reclaim their humanity, their due justice, and their wholeness.” “Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot’s reform proposals are the start of dramatic changes residents have demanded to address deeply rooted issues in the local criminal justice system,” said Sharon Watkins Jones, director of political strategies for the ACLU of Texas. “It is my hope Creuzot will spend his time in office to continue promoting reform that truly benefits Dallas communities.” “We applaud DA Creuzot for recognizing that racial disparities exist in the criminal justice system and that Black people are disproportionately targeted. We cannot have a fair criminal justice system without first admitting that it is steeped in racism,” said TOP Deputy Director Brianna Brown. “What Creuzot is proposing today begins to acknowledge that we are not made safer by just throwing people in jail. Incarceration should be a last resort. We look forward to continuing our work with Creuzot to end mass incarceration in our communities.” ### View District Attorney Cruezot’s full memo here.
Lobby Day: Putting Faith into Action
I have participated in and helped organize many lobby days, and they have always been severely demanding. The logistics are complicated: renting the bus, preparing the materials, coordinating schedules, etc., and of course, convincing the community leaders you serve that getting on a bus before dawn, driving to Austin, and not coming home until after the sun goes down is totally worth it. But, actually, the hardest part for me as a community organizer is preparing my folks to know and embody the full breadth of their power as they speak to the elected officials who are deciding the realities for them and their neighbors. In my past experience, I believed I had to provide a ton of political analysis before my leaders were willing to believe in themselves and their power. This meant a lot of teaching––teaching the nuances of each piece of legislation so our leaders could speak eloquently to the details of each bill; teaching the talking points; teaching about the various committees and hearings; teaching why we need to meet with which representative. For example, I would try to paint a picture illustrating how our presence at the Capitol fits with vote margins in past elections, campaign finance breakdowns, the personalities of elected officials, the legislative process, and on and on and on. And while that is all relevant and useful information, I found it was not paramount for the faith leaders we led to Austin on March 7th. What came to be most impactful was teaching our leaders why they should believe that their voice will make a difference. This is the most significant difference between my past lobby days and a lobby day with Faith in Texas. When I boarded the bus and looked at our team of leaders, I saw 50 faces of people who were there not because of any mathematical calculation or strategic power map, but because of their deep faith convictions. Through their faiths, the group already knew they had power whether it be through their God, Gods, or another complex mosaic of faith principles. Seeing that confidence radiate from our leaders at 6:30 AM in the City Temple SDA Church parking lot gave me reverential pause. The calculations and logic sets usually occupying my mind were silenced. I was reminded of a faith reflection offered by my colleague, Darnell Fennell, from his faith tradition. He said: “Be still and know that God is God. Be still and know God. Be still and know. Be still.” As the bus headed south on I-35, and my colleagues and I started training our leaders for what was coming, I felt a stillness in my soul knowing that we had succeeded the second we stepped on the bus because we were a group who decided to put the power of faith into action. Reflections by Faith in Texas Lead Organizer Joe Swanson.
