DON'T MISS THIS!
The flyer gives a little more detail stating "Job Training, Employment Opportunities for Union Card Holders in the Building Trades" and representatives of the CTA, the Chicago Urban League and the project's general contractor, McHugh Construction will be available to discuss the hiring process and answer specific questions including job training and possible employment for union card holders in the building trades.
It will be interesting to see if there's a planned disruption about jobs since Moore allegedly insulted this group.
After all, they are not going to stand by and pout over not being given a few thousand for job training. Bring your own earplugs and bottled water.
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24 comments:
The construction jobs for union card holders.... there needs to be outreach to young people in this area to instruct them on how to get the apprenticeships and union jobs. Many poor minority people never come near these jobs because they don't know how to become members of the construction unions, and most other people don't know either.
We want as many of our neighborhood people employed on this project as possible.
Funny thing, Paradise, that's exactly what Northside Power was intending to do: train people whose skills weren't up to par for admission to the unions apprenticeship programs.
At the tune of how much and from where? Howard Area Center always has flyers posted to its door and is listed on the governors website...it's credited and has been doing job-training for years. ...'why re-invent the wheel?' Are we to assume that the kitchen can do a better job?
There have to be jobs available and people have to want to work. It's a two part process.
Hello,
I have some questions regarding Northside Power and job training.
What is Northside Power's track record in job training?
What is their successful placement percentage with unions for graduates of their program?
Thanks!
Thanks for your support for good jobs and local hiring and job training. I'm curious, though, why you did not organize around securing funding for expanding the existing programs of the Howard Area Community Center in this area? Is there something wrong with their programs that we should all know about? Thanks again.
It's one thing to provide training AFTER you've gotten it 'in writing' that there will be jobs available. It was more like rabble and rouse, line up some tax dollars 'for me and my pals' and make promises that may not be so easy to keep.
Otherwise, it's akin to my selling a great bridge in San Francisco to you (but I don't own it!)
Just because Northside Power 'intends' to provide this sort of job training does not mean they are competent to do it.
This organization has no credibility with me, as it was organized by Bud Ogle's Good News Mission, an organization we would be better off without.
The information and training need to be delivered by someone who can show aspiring workers how to access union apprenticeships and union membership, and I don't believe Northside Power can do that.
Additionally, many people will not be able to qualify for these heavy, demanding jobs, and some people simply do not want to work.
TIF Grants for Jobs or anything else should require a well written proposal with an agency's track record and track record well documented. Everyone wants to take credit for bringing jobs to the community, but developing job and employment skills takes a long term effort and committment, especially for persons challenged with learning disabilities, mental health issues, cyclic poverty and criminal records. There are no quick fixes.
Gemma, you are correct. There are no quick fixes and HACC has been in the training business for years. The upstart Northside Power, an offshoot of the Soup Kitchen, born of Good News Church, relies heavily on the support of Metropolitan Alliance of Congregations's 'outside agitators'. Sadly, the new kids on the block could not partner with HACC who has a track record in training. Could it be that they don't want to share our tax dollars internally with another nonprofit, only with their domineering parent, MAC? There's only so much grant money to go around, so plan B is to dip into our taxes to promote their agenda under the guise of 'training' the low income with no written plan or guarantee. After two years in this neighborhood, non-resident Romero should know the challenges of disabilities, criminal records and the bad economy people here deal with. Yet, the power group makes promises, makes demands, and grabs for money while excluding other nonprofits in the area. These constant inner conflicts keep many of them from achieving many goals. There's not a REAL unified front.
Interesting realignment of political partnerships going on here, for those who know the history. I guess the enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend?
I share the concerns of others about public money going to religious entities. But one thing that makes Northside Power difficult to discuss is their lack of official organization. Although it's formed mainly (not entirely) of people involved one way or another with the Good News Kitchen, it doesn't have its own corporation or bylaws. It's the classic group of individuals wanting to do the right thing, but finding their way through gradually.
Because of this, Northside Power would almost certainly have had to partner with another organization to complete the training. The relevant questions would be which one and on what terms. But these questions about exactly how the money would have been used miss the point.
The real point is that the area North of Howard has horrible unemployment problems, and as much as I know there are some great job training programs on the southside, they're really far away for people who are up here and unemployed. North of Howard is the classic underserved community, and a jobs training program that brought people into jobs would help NOH in so many ways. Northside Power got slammed for working on a worthwhile project.
I also can't help but notice the disparity between the level of outrage directed at Northside Power, versus the treatment of Loyola University. Northside Power is a group of mostly black, mostly poor citizens that meets at a church kitchen, and hoped to get $80K for job training directed into the community (didn't get, just hoped to get). Questions are fair; it's public money. But let's compare:
Loyola University is an expressly religious institution consisting mainly of middle-class to rich white people with formal ties to the Catholic Church, which is actually taking (not hoping, taking) Twenty Million Dollars ($20,000,000) in public funds, which could otherwise have been used for other things, like job training for people NOH. The expressly religious organization is actually taking 250 times the amount of money that the citizens' group only hoped to get.
I wish I could measure outrage per dollar, because there's a real imbalance betwen these two, and once again, people who are black and poor are on the downside of it. Coincidence? Maybe this time, but it's not always coincidence. And perhaps more importantly, this is happening without openly discussing the disparate treatment between races and social class. When these things are not openly discussed, inferences will be made about why they're not discussed, and frankly, when it's not discussed, the word for that is insensitivity.
So let's discuss it. I just said my piece. You? Why aren't there 250 posts regarding Loyola for every post about Northside Power? How do you think this reflects on race and class?
Let me be clear on one thing: It's to the advantage of the more powerful group to pretend that the divisions either don't matter, or don't exist. It's the group on the downside of the division that has to be more aware of what it means. So failing to address these social divisions automatically works to the advantage of the status quo. That is why ignoring these differences is so troublesome.
> Northside Power ... doesn't have its own corporation or bylaws.
Sorry, we can't even consider public funding until Northside Power gets their act together on minimal standards of accountability. Just like everybody else, before Northside Power gets any cash from the City, they will have to fill out an Economic Disclosure Statement (EDS). Download it and look it over. Unless you are ready to give a credible accounting of who you are and who is in charge, you are getting ahead of yourselves looking for a hand-out.
City of Chicago Economic Disclosure Statement
> ... there are some great job training programs on the southside, they're really far away for people who are up here and unemployed.
The Howard Area Community Center next door to the kitchen offers job readiness training workshops.
Howard Area Community Center
Education and Employment Classes and Workshops
Tom, I am one who has personally posted five (at least) long, verbose posts expressing my outrage at Loyola's money grab, on the grounds that they, as a private, tax exempt, and religious entity, have no such entitlement.
I have posted maybe 3 against Northside Power.
They are one and the same, and they have both produced blight that isn't offset by whatever benefits they have brought the community.
Anybody who thinks Loyola has not introduced blight need only look at the blocks on Sheridan they own directly adjacent to the Loyola el station. These are the people to whom the development of Devon Ave (which is distinctly not blighted) and hundreds of millions of dollars of public money is to be entrusted?
I don't benefit from the presence of either Loyola or NorthSide Power, and neither do most of the rest of the residents of the two adjacent wards. However, we all suffer from the bad results they have produced.
I feel that the only thing I can do, or that anyone can do, as a citizen, is take a principled stand against the diversion of public money to strictly private purposes, and I am prepared to back my stance up by being prepared to let go of things that I like- like public arts funding which does NOT make art 'more available to the people', but actually works to accomplish the opposite, as well as things I don't like, like money and land-grabbing TIF plans and sports stadiums and more 10 lane highways to encourage sprawl and destroy our cities-to preserve the principle that public money should be preserved for strictly public needs and that individuals are entitled to make their own choices with their own money when asked to contribute to a private cause or institution.
Tom, you'll find plenty of disgust over the TIF dollars funnelled into the religious entity known as Loyola U. I sat in the City Chambers not so long ago, however, this blog is a chronicle of NOH and it's problems and enablers.
As for the other entity, you do indeed need to learn the history of NoH from the longtime residents, tenants and owners. There's a trail of bread crumbs leading the way, and if you follow it, listen and do your research, you will know.
What happened to my second comment here? Did I somehow forget to hit publish?
Anyway, it was short and went basically like this: Hugh says that he "can't consider" seeing money go to Northside Power. But a few posts earlier, he recommends that they "organize around" getting money for HACC. So actually, he could consider it, if the money eventually went to a group he likes.
Northside Power would always have had to partner with a group that could satisfy the City's accountability requirements. That's good, but it was also never in question. But for Hugh to want to decide what NSP "organizes around" or whether the money goes to HACC or someone else is backseat driving. Hugh could be involved in making those decisions, if he joined NSP. But he's chosen not to do so, at least so far.
Can't speak for Hugh, only myself. Joining is an option for anyone and some have joined and many have left. Perhaps it's the method of management? How long have you been going? Was Partnering with another NOH organization ever a topic of a NP meeting? Was HACC included in the 18 months of meetings? Was it HACC or MAC?
> ... recommends that they "organize around" getting money for HACC.
I didn't recommend any such thing. I did ask you why you didn't make your goal raising money for HACC, a question you never answered. Are HACC's job readiness training programs deficient in some way you can share with us?
You want to compare & contrast North Side Power and Loyola, how about we compare & contrast North Side Power and HACC.
If you go to the Illinios Secretary of State web site, you will find HACC is registered and has a board and officers and by-laws and annual reports.
SOS CORPORATE/LLC INFORMATION SEARCH
If you go to the City of Chicago web site, you will see HACC has filed disclosures.
Vendor, Contract and Payment Search
HACC has an office and a mailing address.
Where is North Side Power? Who is North Side Power? No one is going to give cash to a bunch of people with signs. It iakes more than a bull-horn to get dough. I would think a full-time professional career "community organizer" would understand Fund-raising in Chicago 101. Grab a mit and get in the game, boys.
Hugh said... "Thanks for your support for good jobs and local hiring and job training. I'm curious, though, why you did not organize around securing funding for expanding the existing programs of the Howard Area Community Center in this area? Is there something wrong with their programs that we should all know about? Thanks again."
Well, there's what you said. At this point, people can make of it what they want. If you want to take the position that it's a sincere question with no inherent barb, go ahead. But I don't believe that to be true.
As I think I said above (or was it in the comment I apparently didn't hit "publish" on?), your points about NSP are valid, if we get to that point. But even taking them into account, wouldn't you expect Joe Moore to notice those issues and raise them directly with North Side Power? What he did instead was encourage them and make promises about what he could and would deliver to them. Under the circumstances, leadership on Joe's part would have been to work with them on overcoming these potential obstacles, or tell them flat out that they were ineligible/inappropriate in his eyes.
What he did instead was to lie, by telling them that they were going to get something that they were never going to get. I think it's hard to blame this little community organization, which is frankly a bit naive in some ways, for hearing the Alderman's promises and believing them. (but fool me twice...)
I think I'm repeating myself at this point, but if NSP should never have been getting this money for the reasons you point out, why the hell was Joe Moore telling them they could?
Love my keyword: hsslz
Tom Said: I think it's hard to blame this little community organization, which is frankly a bit naive in some ways, for hearing the Alderman's promises and believing them. (but fool me twice...)
If you're ready for the military, then be so fooled. The neighbors who believe in the promises may be naive, but the two leading the pack are not. Nor is their 'prophet' David Hatch of MAC. All three have insulted too many neighbors, other organizations to hide behind the term naive.
> What he did instead was encourage them and make promises about what he could and would deliver to them.
What did Moore promise Northside Power?
> What he did instead was to lie, by telling them that they were going to get something that they were never going to get.
What did Moore tell Northside Power they were going to get?
I'm not ignoring the requests for information about exactly what Joe Moore promised North Side Power, but I'm trying to get some good, solid information. Unsurprisingly, there's disagreement about the "details." While I'm working on that, you may enjoy the latest finely-chopped doublespeak from our Hometown Slick Willie. I'd say JoMo's connections to Washington Democrats are showing up clearly.
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