Over 400 leaders of COPS / Metro Alliance assembled at St. Henry's Catholic Church, to confront the top candidates for Mayor and City Council (Districts 2, 3, 5 and 7) on wages, workforce development and housing in the City.

Leaders asked candidates to commit to raising wages for the lowest paid city employees from $11.47 to $14.91 / hour over three years, starting with $13 / hour for fiscal year 2016; establishing a wage floor for contracted and outsourced workers to at least the City's current minimum of $11.47; stabilizing city funding for workforce development program Project Quest at $2 million per year; and working with COP / Metro leaders on a 2017 city bond for housing rehabilitation.

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On the heels of a successful campaign to raise the wages of San Antonio's lowest paid public workers, COPS / Metro leaders Fr. Steven Gamez and Sr. Consuelo Tovar assert that the March on Washington for JOBS and Freedom is still relevant today.

"Everyone working a full-time job ought to be able to raise a family with dignity and opportunity, and not be dependent on public assistance. As taxpayers, we insist that our public resources be used to foster shared prosperity and not to perpetuate poverty.....

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When Alamo (Community) Colleges announced a decision to eliminate major designations from associate degrees last summer, AC students fought back. Simon Sanchez, from the Student Leadership Coalition asserted, "we are not victims." With the support of the Communities Organized for Public Service (COPS) and Metro Alliance, the organization reached out to hundreds of students, leveraging 595 signatures for a petition against the policy.

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In a win that COPS / Metro is calling "a beginning," the Board of the Alamo (Community) Colleges approved wage raises for its lowest paid workers including an $11.50 minimum for full-time employees. This represents a $1.38 / hour raise for approximately 49 long-time housekeeping staff now making the lowest wage.

The district will also increase pay to $10 / hour for 700 part-time and temporary employees.

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Andrew "Andy" Sarabia, the first president of COPS, Communities Organized for Public Service in San Antonio, argues in the San Antonio Express News that COPS has been a significant and powerful part of the city's history, starting with initial "tie-up" confrontations with the city's power structure to get it to recognize the needs of families and communities. Read more below:

At 40, COPS Still Standing Up For Residents, San Antonio Express News

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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Arguing that "the scope and price tag of this particular deal make it different than other day-to-day decisions," COPS / Metro Alliance leaders descended on City Hall to protest the speed and nature of the proposed $3.4 Billion contract that would pipe in 16 billion gallons of water into the city, and raise prices by 16%.

Specifically leaders asked for attentiveness to the pricing scheme for lower income utility users. "With those big rate increases we think those at the bottom of the income scale should be helped," said COPS METRO Alliance leader Mike Phillips. "If somebody were to go of out their tier they would immediately be hit with the first level tier payments. We want to see the payment tiers reworked."

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COPS / Metro Alliance leaders visually illustrated the implications of a new City rule with a gagged leader standing on the steps of City Hall. Rosa Araujo-Iracheta of St. Philip of Jesus Catholic Church detailed what the new rules would entail, exclaiming "For some agencies, this blackout period has been in effect since March...That's over five months of being shut out!"

A new San Antonio city rule prohibiting non-profits from talking to City Councilmembers about the budget prompted the press conference. Leaders pointed out that the new rule amounted to a gag order, as it applied even to nonprofits not requesting City funds for themselves.

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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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