Leaders piled into City Hall to ask City council members to raise the minimum workers would be paid.  Says Garcia,”When we’re using public funds we’ve got to bring in jobs where families can at least afford to eat.”

Controversy Surrounds New Jobs Coming to Austin, KVUE-ABC

As part of a $4.3 Million subsidy by the City of Austin to White Lodging Services Corp. to build a convention center hotel, Austin Interfaith, building trades unions, the Equal Justice Center and the Workers Defense Project (a member institution of Austin Interfaith), called on the City Council to require the company to pay all its construction workers the prevailing wage for their industry.  (Prevailing wage is the industry standard set by the Federal government for a locale).  Austin Interfaith leaders Patty Saragusa, Gina Hinojosa and Emily Timm worked on this effort as part of Austin Interfaith's living wage strategy and efforts to make sure any public subsidies to private companies lead to public gains like living wage jobs.  In a related issue, investors behind the Formula One Racetrack decided to pay their own local match to state's $25 Million / year subsidy rather than ask the city council for the local subsidy.

Network of Texas I.A.F. Organizations PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 5, 2011 FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Paul Skeith, 484-0590 On May 5, 2011 at 11:30 a.m. , The Network of Texas IAF Organizations will hold a press conference calling on the House and Senate to pass a budget that invests in the future of Texas. This includes spending the rainy day fund and finding new sources of revenue to fully fund public education, healthcare, and economic development initiatives like the Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) Fund. The press conference will be held in room E1.026 in the Capitol. “We cannot cut investments that secure our economic future. Education and healthcare are investments in human capital, and the JET fund is designed to help labor markets work more effectively,” said Father Alfonso Guerra of Valley Interfaith. He added “The Senate budget is better than the House budget, but both need to invest more.” Last session, the Network of Texas IAF Organizations worked with Comptroller Susan Combs and Lt. Governor David Dewhurst to create the $25 million Jobs and Education for Texans ( JET ) Fund. This includes the $10 million Launchpad Fund for successful nonprofits such as Capital IDEA in Austin, Project QUEST in San Antonio, Project VIDA in the Rio Grande Valley, and ARRIBA in El Paso. These projects train adults earning on average $10,000 before entering the program for jobs which pay $38,000 on average after graduation. The Network of Texas IAF Organizations also supports greater investments in public education funding and scholarships programs like the Texas Grants. “We understand that these are tough budget times, but failing to adequately invest in workforce and education will weaken our state’s ability to compete economically and attract business,” said Paul Skeith, a leader with Austin Interfaith. “With 68% of Texans without a college education, we need investment in strong public schools that prepare students for college and adult workforce projects that move people out of a cycle of poverty[i].” Attached is a list of Texas business leaders who have written letters in support of reauthorization of the JET fund. The Network of Texas IAF Organizations includes the following organizations: Dallas Area Interfaith, Communities Organized for Public Service, Metro Alliance Border Interfaith, Valley Interfaith, Austin Interfaith, El Paso Interreligious Sponsoring Organization, Allied Communities of Tarrant, The Border Organization, The Metropolitan Organization, West Texas Organizing Strategy. Letters of support to the JET Fund: Austin Interfaith Members of the Central Texas Business Community (Martha Smiley, Mark Curry, Jay Hailey, W. Eric Hehman, Earl Maxwell, Adrian Neeley, Allyson Peerman, Pete Winstead) The Austin Diagnostic Clinic (Robert W. Spurck, Jr., FACHE, Chief Executive Officer) Austin Chamber of Commerce (Michael W. Rollins, CCE, President) Real Estate Council of Austin (Jeff Howard, President) EPISO Bank of the West (Burt Blacksher, Executive Vice President) Wells Fargo (Martha Rochford) The Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce (Richard E. Dayoub, President and CEO) Hunt Companies, Inc. (Joshua W. Hunt, Senior Vice President) Stephen J. Wolslager The Electric Company, El Paso Electric (Richard Fleager, Senior Vice President, Customer Care and External Affairs) University Medical Center of El Paso (James N. Valenti, President and CEO) Valley Interfaith Brownsville Chamber of Commerce (Angela R. Burton, President and CEO) Valley Regional Medical Center (David Handley, Chief Executive Officer) TMO MFR, Accountants & Consultants (Gasper Mir, III, Pricipal, MFR, P.C.) United Way of Greater Houston (Anna M. Babin, President and CEO) Memorial Hermann Healthcare System (Dan Wolterman, President and CEO) Marek Family of Companies (Stan Marek, CEO) COPS/Metro San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (Ramiro A. Cavazos) Tom Frost Alamo Colleges (Bruce Leslie, Chancellor) Dallas Area Interfaith Baylor University Medical Center (John McWhorter, President

Camarena-Skeith and Malfaro: Who picks up the slack for city's incentives?
Minerva Camarena-Skeith and Louis Malfaro, Local Contributors
Published: 6:06 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010

The American-Statesman article "Medical firm eyes a move to Austin" (Jan. 6) quotes Mayor Lee Leffingwell about a subsidy deal he is negotiating with Hanger Orthopedic Group Inc. of Bethesda, Md., to relocate to the Domain.

Leffingwell promises that the deal with Hanger will be "cash-positive" for the city. But any time a company is given substantial tax abatements, other taxpayers are forced to pick up the tab for increased city services like police, fire protection and infrastructure. If the jobs do not pay living wages, families are left dependent on public assistance at taxpayer expense.

Austin Interfaith believes that the city should encourage potential employers to locate in Central Texas using our quality of life, skilled work force, schools and institutions of higher learning as selling points — the factors that business leaders repeatedly mention when selecting a site for their business.

City officials should not subsidize private companies unless those companies agree in writing to pay high wages and benefits, hire locally and provide career advancement for their workers.

Between 2000 and 2007, the City of Austin gave $64 million in public tax subsidies to companies that created 1,400 jobs — about $46,000 per job. This is why we believe these jobs should pay living wages of at least $18 an hour ($37,000 a year) with benefits and a career ladder.

To put this in perspective, $18 an hour translates to $37,000 a year. It is below the average wage in Texas — $18.90 an hour.

A family of four becomes eligible for city social service assistance when it earns less than $21.20 an hour. We oppose using tax dollars to subsidize low-wage jobs.

The City Council approved a $508 million water treatment plant, wants to build a $32 million wastewater tunnel to service future luxury downtown condos and is considering a $600 million rail line to connect the downtown business district to the airport and the University of Texas.

While we are not against infrastructure spending per se, we are very concerned about the impact these decisions will have on poor and working families as well as small businesses. This burden is increased when new companies are given tax subsidies or abatements.

Economic pressures on families and on city, county, school district, Austin Community College and health district budgets are exacerbated during tough economic times like these. Austin's poverty rate — child and adult — is higher than the national average. Investing in education, effective work force development and good jobs are the best use of our tax dollars.

Any deal in which working families are asked to use their tax dollars to subsidize private businesses should be done judiciously, and only when companies guarantee that the jobs they bring are high-wage jobs that provide a true return on the public's investment.

Austin Interfaith leaders met with Rep. Lloyd Doggett in the summer to discuss the need for a deeper commitment from the federal government to long-term job training for families in Austin. Thanks to the work of Austin Interfaith leaders and Rep. Doggett, the new Federal budget signed 12/27/2007  includes a $238,000 appropriation for Capital IDEA! 

Austin Interfaith has always known that Capital IDEA is a stellar job training program, and two awards this year help demonstrate that fact.  Executive Director Steven Jacobs won the Ernst & Young Social Entrepreneur of the year, and Capital IDEA received an award from the Austin Chamber of Commerce.