COPS / Metro Alliance leaders flanked Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff as he announced his instruction to the County Manager to research and craft a plan to raise the County minimum wage from $11.47 per hour to $13 per hour next year, and to $15 per hour within three years.

Two days prior, 325 COPS / Metro Alliance leaders gathered at Sacred Heart Catholic Church to announce their campaign to boost the wage floor for city and county employees from $11.47 per hour to almost $15 / hour. Elvira Adame shared how it angers her to see her daughter earning only $8.50 per hour at a public community college, leaving her "stressed and tired all the time from working so hard." Adame's daughter works full-time without benefits, sick leave or vacation time; to pick up the slack she picked up a second job, but even then is barely getting by.

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Workforce development program Project QUESTwon an award of $6 Million from the US Department of Labor to train 475 adults in the San Antonio area for living wage IT careers. Project Quest's "Homegrown IT" program is backed by local employers including Rackspace, Zachry Holdings and WP Engine. Quest will focus on training long-term unemployed residents of Bexar and neighboring counties. Said Executive Director Sr. Pearl Ceasar, "We are ready to implement it."

Labor Department Awards IT Job Training Funds to Project QUEST, San Antonio Business Journal

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Almost 200 COPS / Metro Alliance leaders from twenty-nine institutions spent a Sunday afternoon examining the state of wages in San Antonio — and found that state sorely lacking!

A diverse mix of congregational members from Catholic, Unitarian, Lutheran, and Baptist denominations, as well as unions, public schools and colleges, gathered to study the City of San Antonio's proposed budget, its impact on the local economy and how it may fund better wages for working families.

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Clergy and leadership from Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Lutheran, Catholic and Muslim congregations of COPS / Metro delivered a joint statement calling on the President and Congress to demonstrate hospitality to children arriving on the border from Central America.

"Don't send them back as if they were animals," argued Fr. Walter D'Heedene of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Speakers underscored that each child should have an attorney, get thorough processing (accorded in the 2008 Wilberforce Act) and have more exposure to vetted religious and social service organizations so that they do not become isolated.

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COPS/Metro Alliance leaders & allies kicked off their Living Wage Campaign on Tuesday morning at the Bexar County Commissioners Court, asking elected officials to raise the county's minimum wage, currently set at the Federal Poverty Level. In response, Judge Wolff asked the County Manager to immediately begin a study of the wage scale and to meet with a COPS/Metro delegation within 7 days.

More photos here.

With about 100,000 Bexar County residents eligible to get healthcare insurance through the exchange, leaders from COPS/Metro Alliance and University Health System brought together close to 100 community stakeholders to evaluate ACA implementation readiness and identify concerns. The first enrollment period for the subsidized insurance runs from Oct. 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014. Leaders aim to develop a comprehensive plan to educate San Antonio area residents on the Insurance Marketplace provision.

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"Trying and difficult circumstances, namely the closing of San Antonio's Levi Strauss plant, inspired the visionary leadership that created Project Quest more than 21 years ago. Different, but equally challenging circumstances, have led to redefining that vision that will carry Quest forward stronger than ever for the next 20 or more years.

Quest, a nationally-awarded workforce development agency, was founded by COPS/Metro Alliance, leaders of the business community, the city of San Antonio, the state of Texas and the regional Private Industry Council..."

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"At a meeting at his district office last week, Rep. Lamar Smith said something that surprised members of Communities Organized for Public Service/Metro Alliance, a church-based advocacy group that supports comprehensive immigration reform.

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"On a bipartisan vote, Bexar County commissioners Tuesday urged Texas lawmakers to expand the state's Medicaid program and take advantage of federal matching funds under the Affordable Care Act.2014 to 2017, expansion will bring $27.2 billion in federal revenue to Texas for just over $3 billion in state investments," said County Judge Nelson Wolff....

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"Groups seeking expansion of Texas' Medicaid program will plead their case outside the Bexar County Courthouse on Tuesday before Commissioners Court is set to take up a resolution supporting their position....Leading the 9:30 a.m. gathering Tuesday ... will be County Judge Nelson Wolff. Also expected are representatives of the county hospital system community organizations called COPS/Metro Alliance.

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