Arbeitslosenselbsthilfe O l d e n b u r g
Kaiserstr. 19
D-26122 Oldenburg (Oldenburg)
Empfaenger : /a/www: welfare-workfare-state Absender : culturex@VCN.BC.CA (Franklin Wayne Poley) Org.-Empf. : LABOR-L@YORKU.CA Weiterleiter owner-labor-l@YORKU.CA Antwort an : LABOR-L@YORKU.CA Betreff : "Workfare is not about Work"---More Political LIES. (fwd) Datum : Mo 13.07.98, 14:39 (erhalten: 14.07.98) Groesse : 5637 Bytes ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Viggo: Here we arrive at another test of your thesis that Workfare is not about work or contributing to the GNP but about compulsion or population control. One verification I had thought about earlier was that if the powers that be like Mayor Guiliani of New York or Premier Harris of Ontario were really interested in having welfare recipients contribute to the GNP the first thing they would look at is the current contribution to GNP of volunteer work now done by people on welfare. Though such a survey would cost very little, to the best of my knowledge it has never been done. Now we have another test of the validity of the thesis. If Workfare were really about work and contributing to GNP any reasonable person would expect that the powers that be would encourage or at least enable enterprising Workfarers to form their own organizations or associations to be self-employed doing workfare and maybe even to attain the holy grail of capitalism - a profit, someday. Encouraging-enabling would include plain language documents or advisory services on how to register your own Workfare company or association etc. In Ontario the scope of who can hire Workfarers is becoming so broad now that it would seem to include everyone but welfare recipients. FWP.
On Mon, 13 Jul 1998 viggo.andersen@post3.tele.dk wrote:
> ---------------------forwarded message----------------------- > > From: Campaign Director acorncampgn@igc.apc.org > > To: andy@welfarewatch.toronto.on.ca > > Subject: Miwaukee meeting > > Date: Tuesday, June 30, 1998 3:09 PM > > > > MILW.ANNOUNCEMENT > > ATTENTION WELFARE/WORKFARE RIGHTS > > ORGANIZERS AND LEADERS: > > > > ACORN invites you to participate in a National Organizers' > > Summit on Welfare Reform this summer in Milwaukee, > > from July 25-27. > > > > ACORN, joined by labor unions, religious organizations, > > and national political leaders, is sponsoring this Summit to > > call attention to the consequences of welfare reform, and to > > highlight the work of the many organizations that are > > mobilizing welfare and workfare recipients to fight back. > > > > Over 1000 ACORN members from around the country, > > along with representatives from scores of other community, > > church, and labor organizations, will be coming to > > Milwaukee for this event. We chose Milwaukee because > > Wisconsin's W-2 program has come to symbolize the worst > > abuses of so-called welfare reform. Wisconsin's welfare > > recipients have been forced off the rolls in record numbers, > > and most have ended up in oppressive sub-minimum wage > > workfare slots, or have fallen "through the cracks" onto the > > uncertain charity of soup-kitchens, shelters, and > > overburdened relatives. A sponsoring committee led by > > Milwaukee ACORN and other local organizations working > > with W-2 recipients is hard at work planning this event. > > > > The highlight of the Summit will be a Hearing on Sunday, > > July 26, at which a panel of national leaders will be taking > > testimony from welfare and workfare recipients from around > > the country. The composition of the panel is still in > > formation, but early confirmations have come from Linda > > Chavez-Thompson, Executive Vice President of the AFL- > > CIO; Professor Frances Fox Piven, long-time expert on > > welfare rights; well-known writer Barbara Ehrenreich; and > > former Administration official Peter Edelman, who resigned > > to protest the Clinton welfare legislation. > > > > Among those testifying will be workfare workers from New > > York City who recently voted 17,000 to 200 for form a > > union; workfare recipients from Los Angeles who just won a > > precedent-setting grievance procedure; welfare recipients > > from Boston who just won a commitment from the city to > > spend welfare-to-work funds to move people into living > > wage jobs; and many other courageous leaders of an > > emerging national welfare/workfare rights movement. This > > gathering will be unique in its focus on the voices and > > experiences of welfare and workfare recipients themselves: > > the majority of ACORN members and Summit attendees > > have first-hand experience with the welfare system, and are > > involved in local and statewide fights against welfare reform. > > > > The Summit will also include workshops and training > > sessions for welfare and workfare leaders and organizers, on > > issues such as: how to build effective welfare and workfare > > rights organizations; how to impact state and federal policy > > issues; how to combine service delivery, including legal > > services, with organizing; how to work with community > > organizations, unions, and other organizations; and much > > more. > > > > This promises to be an important and well-covered event, > > which will play a significant role in amplifying the voices of > > welfare and workfare recipients who are struggling first > > hand with the consequences of this country's disastrous > > experiment in ending welfare. We hope you will join us. > > > > We have arranged inexpensive room and board at local > > colleges. For more information on this event, and to reserve > > a place, contact: Lisa Donner, at 718-246-7900 ext 243 > > acorncampgn@acorn.org
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Index of Welfare-Workfare-State Archives
Last Modified: October 1998