Non-Profits As Union-Busting Shock Troops
Bay Area Community Resources (BACR), a San Rafael-based non-profit, was implicated in the San Francisco Unified School District payment scandal, in which Associate Superintendent Trish Bascom funneled $100,000 from the organization into her pockets and those of a few cronies. Now, according to a report by the Bay Citizen, former BACR treasurer Ruth Rubalcava is accusing the organization of keeping SFUSD administrators on its payroll and allowed them to control millions of dollars of grant money held by the agency.
This is scandalous, of course. However, what is even more scandalous is why school districts must rely on agencies like BACR in the first place. The simple answer is that it is cheaper—it saves them money. But the reason why it is cheaper is not trivial. They are non-unionized and rely heavily on volunteer “slave” labor. (BACR has 250 employees and 6,000 volunteers). These same services, if covered by school districts, would not only be done by employees who would have to be paid, but they would be unionized district employees earning union wages.
Today in Labor History—August 28
August 28, 1918 – Big Bill Haywood and 14 other members of the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) were sentenced to 20 years prison for draft obstruction. (From the Daily Bleed)
August 28, 1920 – West Virginia Governor Cornwell requested federal troops to guard the mines and protect scab labor during a strike by miners, resulting in rioting. (From the Daily Bleed)
August 28, 1933 – A Filipino Labor Union led a strike of 6,000 California lettuce workers demanding 40-45 cents an hour, union recognition and better working conditions. Striking white farm workers split from the Filipinos and