The purpose of this page is to provide you with a variety of information relevant to the issue of economic justice. It will include lists of economic justice related California state legislation, press releases and articles relating to economic justice, the score cards of California state legislators and the Governor of California on economic justice related California state legislation and other related material.
This web site is designed to be of use to those interested in these issues and to community activists interested in these issues. People are encouraged to make suggestions as to what material should be added to these pages. Anyone may do that by clicking the "Contact Us" button at the top of this page and sending us a message with a suggestion.
California's Unemployment Rate Slowly Improves
According to California's Employment Development Department (EDD) the state's unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) stood at 11.1% in December, 2011. That was down .2% from the prior month. In December 2010 the seasonally adjusted rate had been at 12.6%.
As has been true all through this economic downturn, only the state of Nevada has a higher unemployment rate (12.6%). Curiously, North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate (3.3%). They have a booming oil industry which brings lots of jobs.
In California, 17 counties still have unemployment rates of 15% or higher. As has been true all along, Imperial County had the highest unemployment rate in December (26.8%). However, that shows considerable progress. Its unemployment rate had been as high as 33%.
You can see a report on the California unemployment rate by county by clicking on the following link:
Are you unemployed and having a hard time putting food on the table? The link below will help you find a food bank in your county. They distribute free food to the needy.
Are you one of the more than 533,000 unemployed Californians whose Unemployment Insurance has run out? Has that left you homeless? Another link below will take you to a list of homeless shelters from throughout California.
Are you one of the lucky ones who are still employed? Could you make a contribution to a food bank or a homeless shelter? As a result of rising unemployment, food banks and homeless shelters around the state are having great difficulty keeping up with the demand for food and housing from the growing mass of unemployed and homeless in the state. If it is in your power, please make a contribution to one of these food banks or homeless shelters. Help them feed and house hungry and homeless.
If you need food or housing, or if you are able to make a donation, please consider contacting a food bank or homeless shelter. If you plan to visit a food bank or shelter, or make a contribution, we suggest you call first. In some cases they have moved to another address.
To see a list of food banks in California, with their contact information, click on the following link and then click on any county that interests you.
California also has a program called the Work Sharing Unemployment Insurance Program. It allows employers to cut back the hours of employees rather than firing them altogether. The program pays these employees partial Unemployment Insurance to help make up part of their loss of income while working part time. To read more details on this program, click the following link and then scroll down to and click on the link that says "DE 8684".
In January 2011, the National Alliance To End Homelessness released a report on homelessness in America. This report analyzes the effect the current recession has had on homelessness and how it has contributed to an increased risk of homelessness for many Americans. To read the report, click on the following link:
We acknowledge, with gratitude, that the following score cards are made possible by Capitol Track. (http://www.capitoltrack.com)
The purpose of the score cards below is to tell you the scores that California Communities United Institute (CalComUI) has given to the voting records of California's state legislators on Economic Justice related legislation. To see the scores we have assigned to each legislator, click the links below.
The legislator's tables below will tell you how each legislator voted on each bill. In all cases, CalComUI supported the bill. So, a score of "1" for a bill means the legislator voted for the bill, a score of "0" means the legislator voted against the bill, and a score of "0.5" means the legislator was absent or abstained from voting on that bill.
The legislator's scores for each bill in the following tables is assigned on the basis of a legislator's vote on the floor of the Senate or Assembly. We did not score legislator's votes in committees.
You can look at the tables to see how your Senator and Assembly Member voted on the bills. If you don't remember who they are, links near the top of each table will enable you to find out who they are.
If you have Excel on your computer, you can download any of the following tables and sort them in any way you like. For example, you might want to sort them by Party and then do an average score for the legislators in either or both parties. By contrast, you can sort them by score to see which legislators had the highest scores and which the lowest.
Legislators are fund raising for their next election. If a legislator comes to you for a donation, you may want to check his or her scores on the tables below to see if you want to support that legislator. The score cards may also help you to decide whom you want to vote for.
To see the score cards, click on the links below. (Note: Please be patient. Some of the Score Cards open slowly.)
Education and as much education as we can get is key to the economic security of both individuals and to the entire community of California. To see a series of commentaries on this issue click on the links below. (Note: more commentaries may be added over time.)
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To promote the social, economic, and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex individuals, couples and families; people affected by HIV/AIDS; People of Color; people on limited income; and women. We do this by urging elected officials to enact and support legislation that accomplishes this goal.
