Wednesday, September 05, 2018

Guess it's time to mark ourselves safe


It is a day of recovery here in the wake of not-quite-hurricane Gordon.  The storm didn't hit us at all. Instead it became the latest in a string of rather lucky events where after a few days of worry it turns out to have barely even rained.  These come with their own sets of anxieties and arguments over what is the appropriate level of preparedness.  But, really, non-disasters like this are fantastic problems to have.  Far better to be mad online today about unplanned school closures than, say, massive levee failures, right?

Anyway, up until late last night, it was looking like we, finally, after years of well earned post-traumatic overreaction, handled this situation just right.  Nobody called an unnecessary evacuation.  There was no absurd curfew.  We all got to see those pre-storm press conferences we love so much. Helena Moreno said "hunker down" a few times.  That seemed about right for the occassion.  Alert but not freaking out.

It was a good idea to close the schools and city offices on Tuesday.   At the time that call was made, the track could well have wobbled westward enough to cause power outages and street flooding.  Giving everyone a day to prepare for that just in case was prudent.  You could argue either way about closing on Wednesday.  I was fine with it but maybe the call was bit premature.  But once that call is made, it's probably best to stick with it.  LaToya changed her mind late last night, probably in response to complaints/jokes that are probably best ignored as people decompressing after the fact.  Instead the late call back causes unnecessary confusion and stress as people rework their plans on short notice. It's not very respectful of those non-essential city employees she had previously professed to think of as her "family."

One such Public Works employee had an interesting letter published in the Times-PicaDotCom today.  Here's what she has to say.
We ask that the Cantrell administration and the people of New Orleans put themselves in our shoes. Imagine doing back-breaking work for the city you love, and still needing public assistance because you aren't paid a living wage. Imagine working your fingers to the bone and not even being given a pair of gloves. That's why we went on strike, and that's why we're going to continue to fight for our rights and our dignity.

We're not the only members of the New Orleans community that don't get a fair shake. Black women in Louisiana make 48 cents for every dollar a similarly qualified white man makes. Formerly incarcerated job applicants who are trying to start new lives get half as many calls back as similarly qualified applicants who don't have to check "the box."

That's why we're joining together with Step Up Louisiana, SEIU Local 21LA, and other workers across the city to demand economic justice for all New Orleanians. This Labor Day, we're calling for a $15 minimum wage for city employees. We want equal pay for women for equal work. We want to ban the box on hiring applications so our neighbors who are returning from incarceration have a fair chance at finding a job.
That bit at the end references the Step Up "Three Point Platform" promulgated during last year's municipal elections. Recall that Latoya "fully endorsed" that platform as a candidate.




It now appears that the mini-strike at Public Works is part of an effort to hold the mayor (and the several members of City Council who also endorsed the platform) accountable to that promise.  New Orleans currently has a "living wage" ordinance on the books that sets the minimum rate at $10.55 (plus inflation adjustments).  Since the current government was elected while promising to take up the cause of amending that to $15, now is the time to ask them to do that. 

But this wasn't the only promise the mayor made last year. Her other big one presents a direct conflict with the wage increase pledge.
On the campaign trail, one of Cantrell’s most consistent campaign promises was that she would revisit the city’s traffic camera program, which was significantly expanded under her predecessor, Mayor Mitch Landrieu. Cantrell called for scrapping the program altogether, or at least suspending it pending the completion of a comprehensive safety study.

But since taking office, her administration has yet to come out with a firm policy proposal for the program. And with city budget season fast approaching, it hasn’t addressed how it would deal with the lost municipal revenue. The cameras are expected to produce between $25 million and $30 million this year, about 25 percent of which goes to the city’s camera contractor.

Last month, the Advocate reported that Cantrell was considering a compromise: keep the cameras in school zones but only operate them during school zone hours, when speed limits are reduced to 20 miles per hour.
It may be that she has to break one of these promises to pay for the other one. That's probably a tougher call than deciding whether or not to close for a storm that never comes.
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