SAN FRANCISCO LIVING WAGE COALITION
2940-16TH STREET #301
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103
PHONE: 415-863-1225
FAX: 863-1927
EMAIL: sflivingwage@riseup.net
For Immediate Release
Contact: Karl Kramer, 415-509-9712
RALLY TO FIX WELFARE-TO-WORK PROGRAMS
On Tuesday, July 29, at 12 noon, on the steps of San Francisco City Hall, on the Civic Center side, mothers and fathers in CalWORKs and other welfare-to-work programs will be rallying to demand that the Mayor and Board of Supervisors fix a broken welfare-to-work system.
Welfare-to-work program participants and former participants will be joining other members of the San Francisco Living Wage Coalition, as well as the San Francisco Branch of the NAACP and SEIU Local 1021.
They will be demanding genuine job training programs that give participants useful skills and experience in a real workplace and are a path to long-term employment with a living wage.
These are some of problems:
- Current six-month programs do not provide enough time to learn practical skills and get work experiences to qualify for entry-level city jobs, many which require at least a year of experience.
- Current programs do not provide real job training and a wage high enough to sustain a family.Many participants are forced to do menial and degrading work for a measly monthly grant.
“We need a real job training that is useful to get a job. Also our work should be more valued,” stated a welfare-to-work participant. - CalWORKs and welfare-to-work participants need to have a voice in developing plans on how the programs will move people into long-term employment that leads to a living wage.
IT’S TIME TO FIX THE PROGRAMS AND MAKE CHANGES IN SF!!!