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Serving Silicon Valley

November 12, 2020 by Zeenab Aneez

This morning, we released a new study on Silicon Valley’s “invisible workforce” — the cafeteria workers, janitors, security officers, and other people who keep tech campuses running.

The key takeaway: tech giants’ commitments to their service workers have meant over 14,000 people can make rent, see a doctor, and pay bills during the pandemic.

The people who cook, clean, and protect these tech campuses are as much tech workers as programmers and engineers. In many cases they’ve devoted their careers to the industry. And through years of powerful organizing side by side with community members like you, they’ve won higher wages, full-family health insurance, and — perhaps most importantly — a growing recognition by the industry that they are an integral part of the tech workforce.

In the early days of COVID-19, that organizing led nearly all major Silicon Valley tech corporations to announce they would maintain pay and benefits for their subcontracted workers while campuses are closed. This has been a crucial anchor of stability for the Black and Brown communities that have been hardest hit by COVID-19 — 64% of unionized tech service workers are Black or Latinx.

Yet in the past couple months, a few outliers like Yahoo (now owned by Verizon) and Lyft have chosen to abandon their workers. They’ve taken away wages and healthcare from several hundred people in the middle of a pandemic.

If the rest of the tech industry were to follow suit, it would have devastating impacts on thousands of families. Our study looks at what the impact would be if Silicon Valley tech giants laid off their thousands of subcontracted blue-collar workers. Among the findings:

  • The number of unemployed workers in Silicon Valley could increase by more than 10%.
  • Up to 12,000 service workers could lose health insurance coverage, along with family members who depend on the coverage.
  • An estimated 6,500 families with children could be at risk of being unable to pay rent.
  • An estimated 8,300 renters could be at risk of being unable to pay rent.

There’s no excuse for tech giants not to maintain their commitments to these workers, especially when those corporations continue to make billions.

Silicon Valley’s tech firms have continued to prosper during the pandemic. The biggest tech companies — Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet (Google), and Netflix — have seen stock prices rise over 45% year to date, hitting historic highs and a combined value of over $5.5 trillion. These corporations have also received billions in public subsidies and tax incentives, including at least $654 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds.

These tech companies have a responsibility to maintain their commitments to the people who have worked hard for years to keep tech campuses running safely and smoothly.

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Our city's resources should be spent on balanced, Our city's resources should be spent on balanced, long-term solutions that lead to housing justice — no bandaid fixes that merely postpone or hide the symptoms. 

What's wrong with spending all our resources on one quick fix? It's expensive, ineffective and could cost us billions. We know because we actually did the math. 

Use the link in our bio to check out our memo explaining why the City Council should consider the unwritten costs of reallocating Measure E dollars to temporary emergency shelters.
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HAPPENING TOMORROW, May 27 from 11am-3pm at the Holy Family Episcopal Church in San José.
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Walk-ins are accepted!
Our failure to invest in affordable housing is rob Our failure to invest in affordable housing is robbing us of a diverse and vibrant future — and it’s the primary reason why so many of our community members have been forced into homelessness.

In 2020 San José voters chose to end this cycle by investing in real, long-term solutions to our housing crisis. Now's not the time to backtrack!

#ProtectMeasureE 
#HomeSweetAffordableHome
YESS! 👏 Parents shouldn’t have to choose betw YESS! 👏 Parents shouldn’t have to choose between economic stability, staying home, and caring for their family! When parents cannot take time off to care for their children, they are more likely to send a sick child to school. And, caregivers shouldn’t have to go to work sick and jeopardize the people they care for because they don’t have good - that's why we're celebrating that #SB616 passed out of the Senate Suspense Hearing and will now move to the Senate floor.

But let's keep up the momentum going; contact your #CAleg representative today 🔗https://workfamilyca.org/paidsickdaysnow

#SB616 is about supporting the health and safety of California’s children, parents, elders, and  caregivers whose essential labor we all depend on.
Congratulations to the first ever cohort of the Wo Congratulations to the first ever cohort of the Worker Power Academy of Silicon Valley for finishing their final session of the program! ✊ These incredible young leaders of tomorrow are equipped with workers’ rights knowledge regarding discrimination and harassment, labor trafficking, benefits navigation, and union rights & organizing!

Thank you to the San Jose Conservation Corps for partnering together to launch a powerful pilot to create new worker leaders.
Our hearts are filled with joy and pride as we mar Our hearts are filled with joy and pride as we marched together — as workers, tenants, immigrants, parents, and community members at the San José May Day Parade today. 

Today is a reminder that we're all in this together, and that the movement for justice is fueled with our joy and love for our communities!! 

#MayDay2023 #WorkerPower #WorkersUnite
Are you a skilled communicator with a passion for Are you a skilled communicator with a passion for community engagement and economic development? 

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Join us in our mission to empower working families and make a difference in the Bay Area! Apply now by sending your resumé to jobs@wpusa.org!
❌ Higher Rents = ⛺️ More Tents While corpo ❌ Higher Rents = ⛺️ More Tents 

While corporate landlords keep jacking up prices & collecting our rents, more Californians are being pushed into homelessness & tents. On Tuesday 4/25 we call on @senator_umberg senatorashby @sendavemin @senatorcaballero to vote YES on the #HomelessnessPreventionAct #SB567
 
Yesenia Miranda Meza is a single mother. Both she and her son have had health problems in the last year and is concerned about losing their home. ""I did not ask for my son to have 3 surgeries in a span of 6 months. I am an increase away from becoming homeless."" 

Over 170,000 Californians are living on the streets and the homelessness is growing in every community. The people most at risk of becoming homeless are people of color and immigrants. Corporate landlords will always choose profits. 

☎️ Will you call @senator_umberg senatorashby @sendavemin @senatorcaballero TODAY to choose the people and vote YES on #SB567 to #KeepFamiliesHoused and stop the rent hikes and unjust evictions? Without their votes, this bill won't make it. 

https://www.ocregister.com/2023/03/10/legislator-proposes-california-law-to-protect-renters-from-becoming-homeless/
ICYMI our State Senators can pass #SB567 to cap re ICYMI our State Senators can pass #SB567 to cap rent increases annually. We already know rent has been skyrocketing across CA 📈 and a majority of us can hardly make it through the month. So we’re driving calls to ☎️ @senator_umberg senatorashby @sendavemin @senatorcaballero

Corporate landlords are looting constantly us by controlling rent hikes while we struggle to make ends meet 💰 We can’t afford to wait another day to protect seniors, families, students, and everyday Californians. We need to pass SB567 NOW! 

For too long, real estate lobbyists and corporate landlords have been able to hike rents unchecked but with SB567 we’re about to put a stop to that 🛑 

We gotta get these State Senators on board and out of the pockets of corporate interests so call them TODAY and demand they pass SB567 ☎️ #HomelessnessPreventionAct #KeepFamiliesHoused #HomeIsSacred
ICYMI our State Senators can pass #SB567 to cap re ICYMI our State Senators can pass #SB567 to cap rent increases annually. We already know rent has been skyrocketing across CA 📈 and a majority of us can hardly make it through the month. So we’re driving calls to ☎️ @senator_umberg senatorashby @sendavemin @senatorcaballero

Corporate landlords are looting constantly us by controlling rent hikes while we struggle to make ends meet 💰 We can’t afford to wait another day to protect seniors, families, students, and everyday Californians. We need to pass SB567 NOW! 

For too long, real estate lobbyists and corporate landlords have been able to hike rents unchecked but with SB567 we’re about to put a stop to that 🛑 

We gotta get these State Senators on board and out of the pockets of corporate interests so call them TODAY and demand they pass SB567 ☎️ #HomelessnessPreventionAct #KeepFamiliesHoused #HomeIsSacred
"We already know you’ve heard about the rent inc "We already know you’ve heard about the rent increases and rising homelessness in CA 🗣️ OF COURSE you have! A MAJORITY of Californians are facing skyrocketing rents 🚀 making our cost of living impossible! 

But WHY are these rents are rising, you ask? 📈 Corporate landlords have been buying up housing complexes and single family homes all across California, and then deliberately driving up the cost of rent. In San Diego, Blackstone drove up rents by 64% in TWO YEARS. It’s pushing out seniors, families, students, and so many others from their homes.

And starting this TUESDAY 4/25, our reps are gonna decide what to do about it — because there’s something WE can do about it! We can contact @senator_umberg senatorashby @sendavemin @senatorcaballero today and demand they vote ✅ YES and pass #SB567 so we can prevent more homelessness, cap rents, and ensure people have a roof over their heads #HomelessnessPreventionAct #KeepFamiliesHoused #HomeIsSacred
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