Employment
Lawmakers Approve “Upward Mobility” Bill, Proposing More Slots for Blacks on State Boards, Commissions
The bill also directs the Department of Human Resources (CalHR) to develop model upward mobility goals to include race, gender, and LGBTQ identity as factors to the extent permissible under state and federal equal protection laws.
Assemblymember Chris Holden’s (D-Pasadena) ‘Upward Mobility Bill’ (AB 105) passed the California State Senate with a 29-to-8 vote on September 9.
The legislation promotes more opportunities for people of color in California’s civil services system and requires diversity on state boards and commissions. The bill now heads to the governor’s desk to either be signed into law or to be vetoed.
“Upward mobility is integral to achieving racial justice, and we should be setting the example,” said Holden. “The existing systems in place at our own state agencies fail to create inclusive workplace environments and hinder qualified individuals to move up within their department simply based on the color of their skin. Today, the Legislature took a bold step to fix the problem.”
Specifically, AB 105 would require the California State Personnel Board (SPB) to establish a process that includes best practices and emphasizes diversity in the announcement, design, and administration of exams for potential state employees.
The bill also directs the Department of Human Resources (CalHR) to develop model upward mobility goals to include race, gender, and LGBTQ identity as factors to the extent permissible under state and federal equal protection laws.
Additionally, AB 105 calls for state agencies to collect and report demographic data using more nuanced categories of Californians of African descent, similar to the data collected for Californians of Asian descent. This data will be critical in accurately reporting who among Californians of African descent is experiencing barriers to upward mobility.
Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 3121 into law, which was authored by former Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber, who is now Secretary of State. That bill established a task force to study and develop reparations proposals for African Americans. AB 105 would give the task force more accurate data to utilize in its deliberations.
CalHR data shows that the majority of non-white civil service personnel are paid a salary in the “$40,000 and below” range. When the salary range increases, the percentage of non-white civil servants working in upper-level or management positions decreases. The opposite is true for white civil servants who dominate in management and upper-level civil service positions.
The Sacramento Bee has published a series of letters written on behalf of Black employees working at state agencies such as the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation with detailed accounts of how Black employees are passed up for promotions over white employees. The problem, however, is not limited to upward mobility. In early November, three Black employees at the California Office of Publishing found racial slurs written on cards at their desk.
“We already mandated the private sector to do their part. It’s time for the state to step up and do theirs,” said Holden.
Newsom has until Oct. 10, 2021, to sign the legislation.
Activism
LIVE! — TOWN HALL ON RACISM AND ITS IMPACT — THURS. 11.14.24 5PM PST
Join us for a LIVE Virtual Town Hall on the Impact of Racism hosted by Post News Group Journalist Carla Thomas and featuring Oakland, CA NAACP President Cynthia Adams & other Special Guests.
Thursday, November 14, 2024, 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. PST
Join us for a LIVE Virtual Town Hall on the Impact of Racism hosted by Post News Group Journalist Carla Thomas and featuring Oakland, CA NAACP President Cynthia Adams & other Special Guests.
Thursday, November 14, 2024
5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. PST
Discussion Topics:
• Since the pandemic, what battles have the NAACP fought nationally, and how have they impacted us locally?
• What trends are you seeing concerning Racism? Is it more covert or overt?
• What are the top 5 issues resulting from racism in our communities?
• How do racial and other types of discrimination impact local communities?
• What are the most effective ways our community can combat racism and hate?
Your questions and comments will be shared LIVE with the moderators and viewers during the broadcast.
STREAMED LIVE!
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Book Reviews
Book Review: Groundbreaking Magic: A Black Woman’s Journey Through the Happiest Place on Earth
Your dream job is still a job. You still must be there on time, look presentable and be ready to go. You can love the work and dislike your coworkers, embrace the challenge but hate the drudge, enjoy the process but dread the politics. The book, “Groundbreaking Magic” by Martha Blanding with Tim O’Day, shows us how we can relish our unique employment situations, downsides and all — and still represent.
Authors: Martha Blanding with Tim O’Day
c.2024, Disney Editions
$25.99
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Your dream job is still a job.
You still must be there on time, look presentable and be ready to go. You can love the work and dislike your coworkers, embrace the challenge but hate the drudge, enjoy the process but dread the politics.
The book, “Groundbreaking Magic” by Martha Blanding with Tim O’Day, shows us how we can relish our unique employment situations, downsides and all — and still represent.
On the day she retired from a job she’d had for half a century Martha Blanding took a tour of her workplace as she took stock of the years.
Her parents, who’d lived under Jim Crow in their younger days, wouldn’t have believed the changes Blanding helped make.
Born in 1950, she’d watched Disney programming on television; living in South Central Los Angeles, she had been aware of the construction of Disneyland nearby. She visited the park for the first time when she was seven years old.
Needing money for college in the early 1970s, Blanding applied for a job at Disneyland and was told that they had no employment available – even though she’d seen postings for job openings. Some weeks later, her roommate encouraged Blanding to re-apply.
Reluctantly, she did. And that time, she was hired to work in the kitchen but before her first day on the job, Blanding was tapped as a tour guide and given training at “Disney University.” Due to her stellar work ethic, she was later promoted to VIP guide; over the years, she moved up the ladder to a series of positions that made use of her managerial and promotional skills.
As time passed and the Civil Rights Movement made strides in America, so did Blanding at Disney. She became a gentle activist, so that other minority workers had opportunities to be Cast Members, office staff, and management.
Oftentimes, she said, “… I was the only Black girl there” and “there was no hiding.”
None, in fact; instead, she used it to everyone’s advantage.
When you first start “Groundbreaking Magic,” you know right away that you’re in for a sweet, charming story from a hidden-until-now trailblazer.
You may or may not continue to feel that way.
In this biography, Blanding (with Tim O’Day) writes about creating equality in one small corner of an iconic business, and the story’s told from a POV that’s unique, engaging, and interesting. Fans of Disney will truly enjoy backstage peeks and insider info that takes readers through the decades and to various Disney locales.
What’s not so interesting is that the authors seem to mention every-single-one they worked with, including everyday people who are long gone or that you’ll probably never meet. That isn’t initially the distraction it becomes later but as the number of names increase, your attention is like to lag.
If you’re business-minded, then, and want to read about a corporation changing with the times, you may eventually be disappointed in “Groundbreaking Magic.”
Read it for the personal parts though, especially if you’re a Disney fan. It’s a dream story.
Business
With Immigration Reform on the Table, Advocates Put Human Face on Calif’s Migrant Farmworkers
About 99% of the commercially grown crops consumed by people across the United States come from California, according to data compiled by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Between half and one-third of the farmworkers who help to grow, tend, harvest and package these crops live in the Golden State. That’s about 500,000 to 800,000 workers. Astonishingly, 75% of them are undocumented.
By Edward Henderson
California Black Media
About 99% of the commercially grown crops consumed by people across the United States come from California, according to data compiled by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
Between half and one-third of the farmworkers who help to grow, tend, harvest and package these crops live in the Golden State. That’s about 500,000 to 800,000 workers.
Astonishingly, 75% of them are undocumented.
“People are very afraid,” said Manuel Ortiz Escámez, a sociologist, audio-visual journalist, and co-founder of Peninsula 360, a news organization based in Redwood City.
“I hold interviews with people who later call and say, ‘Please do not publish anything, because I’m afraid of what could happen,’” he added.
Escámez spoke last month during a news briefing organized by Ethnic Media Services (EMS) that addressed the plight of migrant workers in California, particularly those who live in the United States without legal status.
During an election year when immigration is a polarizing issue with strong opinions on all sides, Escámez says the lives and critical contributions of farmworkers have been reduced to soundbites or barbs in Left vs. Right talking points.
The fervent anti-immigration rhetoric these debates generate can brew hate and motivate hate crimes and hate incidents against migrants, creating an atmosphere of fear and danger among California’s farmworkers, advocates warn.
In these situations, the debate shifts from the virtues of legal vs. illegal immigration to politicians scoring political points by finding a group to blame for the country’s problems.
“Power in politics needs to invent a physically and morally repugnant enemy who wants to take what’s yours because the feeling of emergency creates unity and the need of a savior,” said Escámez. “That’s why migrants have always been the ideal enemy of some U.S. political campaigns … and the data shows that it works.”
No matter where Californians stand on immigration, the contributions migrant farmworkers make to California’s economy and the country’s food supply are undeniable.
In February 2024, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) calculated that immigration will generate a $7 trillion boost to gross domestic product over the next decade. A vast majority of these contributions come from immigrants like California’s farmworkers who perform jobs and endure conditions many Americans choose not to.
“I’m undocumented with a sliver of privilege. I’m still in a precarious position, but millions of people would love to be in my shoes,” said Gustavo Gasca Gomez, immigration outreach specialist and a Stop the Hate coordinator at the Fresno-based Education and Leadership Foundation.
“I can work, and I have social security. But I can’t vote or leave the country and return without express permission. And before I was a DACA recipient in 2012 I was a farmworker right out of high school,” said Gomez. “The work is difficult. It’s hot, dirty and tedious. It makes your mind numb in many ways. But it’s a job that the entire country depends on.”
This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
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