Austin Interfaith & Allies Victorious in Defense of Workers

In the latest segment of a long-standing battle for living wages in Central Texas, 200 supporters of construction workers, including Austin Interfaith leaders, Catholic Bishop Joe Vasquez of the Austin Diocese and Workers Defense Project, rallied on the steps of City Hall demanding that workers receive the pay promised to them by developers of White Lodging, in exchange for $3.8 million in fee waivers granted by the City.
Read moreNYT Cites Capital IDEA-Houston as Factor in Class Mobility
"Houston is one of the few southern cities where upward social mobility is as high as cities in the Northeast and West... Roughly 22 percent of Houston children who grew up in the poorest fifth of the national income distribution have ended up in the top two-fifths today, according to the study.
Read moreAustin Interfaith Calls on City to Enforce Its Own Rules on Economic Incentives and Construction Wages

'Developers need to keep their promises to taxpayers and workers, and the city must enforce its own rules,' said Kurt Cadena-Mitchell, a leader of Austin Interfaith, a multi-congregation group pushing the city to establish a standard above minimum wage on construction projects that are granted economic development deals by the city."
Read moreProject IOWA Celebrates One Year of Success
"Douglas Wells' path to a well-paying job with potential for advancement had a few bumps, but the 27-year-old credits perseverance and a publicly and privately funded training and mentoring program with helping him reach his goal.
Wells completed a welding course and has been working at the Bridgestone Firestone tire plant in Des Moines. For now he is driving a forklift, but he is sure there are opportunities for advancement. More important, this father of two young girls will be able to set an example....
Read moreCapital IDEA Carves Out Career Paths in Austin

Capital IDEA Leads Clients to Career Path, Austin American Statesman
Austin Interfaith Applauds National Instruments for Living Wage
"National Instruments Corp. won approval Thursday for $1.7 million in city of Austin incentives to support the company's proposed expansion of 1,000 Austin jobs over the next 10 years....
Read moreMississippi Clergy Stand with Nissan Auto Workers
Over the last 30 years transnational auto manufacturers have placed plants all over the world; in the US most of the new plants have landed in the South.
Read moreAustin Interfaith Weighs In on Travis Incentive Decision

The new jobs are believed to be part of the company's plans to hire more technical workers and engineers to support its expanding business. The average annual wage for the new jobs is $65,000, and the lowest-paid 10 percent will make about $40,000."
Read moreAustin Interfaith Celebrates Progress on Living Wages
"A diverse mix of Labor Union representatives, city and county elected officials, faith-based organizations and advocates for fair wages and working conditions came to the Workers Defense Project office Tuesday night...to celebrate a move by the county regarding tax incentives, a move many are hoping the city of Austin will follow.
"We really feel a company that's not willing to pay like $11 an hour isn't a very good candidate for an incentive..." said Bob Batlan with Austin Interfaith."
Read moreAustin Interfaith Leaders Celebrate Step Forward on Living Wage

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