Common Ground: We Can’t Pay, We Won’t Pay

May 2005 | Dock of the Bay

We Can’t Pay, We Won’t Pay

With a $57 million-plus deficit dangling over their heads, San Francisco’s MUNI and MTA officials are threatening to hike fares, cut service and fire drivers. But as the Coalition for Sustainable Transport (www.transcoalition.org ) sees it, a fare hike is an attack on the jobless, carless and fixed-income poor (MUNI fares have shot up 50% in the past two years). “Studies show that raising fares and cutting services drives customers away,” notes Jeremy Nelson of Transportation for a Livable City (www.livablecity.org).

A look at the scheduled cuts reveals how MUNI places corporate interests before community needs. Cutbacks have targeted cross-city routes, residential service and weekend travel while sparing the commute-hour traffic that delivers the daily workforce to the steps of the companies like Chevron, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Bechtel and the Carlyle Group.

“The real problem is that mass transit is a jumbo-sized free ride for the bosses and billion-dollar corporations,” Keven Keating argued in the March edition of Fault Lines, the Indymedia tabloid (www.indybay.org ).

In 1981, labor and community activists succeeded in pushing through a “transit assessment” on the very downtown businesses that enjoyed a hidden “subsidy” from MUNI’s taxpayer-supported services. The fee was a good idea, but business interests quickly undermined it, depriving the city of millions of dollars.

If a new downtown assessment won’t fly, Supervisor Chris Daly is prepared to raise the parking tax on drivers and fellow Supe Mark Leno is contemplating a car tax indexed to mileage (or tonnage) — a progressive tax that would compel SUV drivers to pull their own weight. And there’s talk of a Vehicle Registration Surcharge, like the one State Senator Jackie Speier speared for San Mateo.

But the most intriguing option is the threat of a “social strike,” a strategy first used in Italy in the 1970s, celebrated in Nobel laureate Dario Fo’s play, “We Can’t Pay! We Won’t Pay!” which the SF Mime Troupe performed a few years back. In this scenario, both MUNI riders and drivers would refuse to pay or accept fares. Positively MUNI-ficent! — Gar Smith

The Greater Good on Campus

If you didn’t know better, you might guess that the Center for the Development of Peace and Well-Being would be located in Marin or Big Sur. In fact, the Center occupies a room in Tolman Hall on the UC Berkeley campus. Sounding more Ivory Temple than Ivory Tower, the mission statement for the center’s quarterly magazine, Greater Good, vows to explore the “practice of peace and well-being, including subtopics such as compassion, empathy, altruism, resilience and conflict resolution.”

The center has produce two spectacular issues of Greater Good, a beautifully designed bi-yearly magazine that features articles by distinguished editorial board members Jonathan Kozol and Amitai Etzioni and draws from a hidden universe of avant-garde thinkers in and out of academe. The magazine’s table of contents reads like a list of uplifting aphorisms and editors Dacher Keltner and Jason Marsh practice a form of didactic alchemy that forges seemingly contradictory elements into shining new moral amalgams. One example: an interview with former US Labor Secretary Robert Reich investigates the relationship between “Empathy and the Economy.”

The theme of the first issue was “Compassion.” The theme of the second issue is “Forgiveness.” In the cover story, Archbishop Desmond Tutu recounts the revolutionary work of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission — which determined to treat the practitioners of apartheid with forgiveness instead of retribution. Also in the issue: Aaron Lazare discusses prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib; Everett L. Worthington, Jr. of the Campaign for Forgiveness Research shares a personal story of redemption; Fred Luskin of the Stanford Forgiveness Projects lists the Nine Steps to Forgiveness. Other stories explore the value of meditation and mediation on the lives of caregivers, teachers, students and community police.

To request a sample copy of Greater Good, email or call (510) 643-8965. — GS

Tune to The Quake

The Dock recently popped into the Townsend Street office of The Quake (960 AM), Air America’s new radio outpost on the Left Coast. Improbably, the station that now offers “Talk Radio for the Rest of Us” is owned by the conservative mega-corp Clear Channel (which also owns KNEW, KISS, WILD, KFOX, and other stations). The setting is rife with ironies: One account executive wearing a Code Pink shirt works under the shadow of a placard promoting “Savage Nation,” a show whose intemperate host was fired from his previous job for telling a gay caller: “You should get AIDS and die!”

What it’s like to be working in the epicenter of the beast? The Dock put the question to local sales manager Ben Long. “At the end of the day, they’re still capitalists,” Long says. Clear Channel saw a news hole and decided to plug it. As a result, SF now boasts the largest listener market of all 20 Air America stations and Clear Channel lets The Quake run its own show. The downside is that “there is no huge marketing budget” to promote the station. That suits the KQKEers just fine. “We aren’t a corporate radio station,” Long insists.

Without corporate bucks, the staff must resort to guerilla marketing, “street work,” and getting to know the community by doing volunteer work. KQKE provided live coverage of San Jose’s Earth Day festivities, and the mid-March anti-war demo at SF’s Civic Center. But when KQKE produced a 30-second TV promo ad that included criticism of the Iraq invasion, Fox refused to air it. (See the ad at: www.thequake.com.)

Despite the challenges, KQKE is finding its audience: morning ratings are up 50%, evening listenership has jumped 100% and, Long says, “we are the third-most-listened-to station in Marin.” While KGO remains the unchallenged AM Godzilla (with an estimated 800,000 listeners), Long fully expects the next ratings sweep will show The Quake registering 200,000 on the Arbitron Scale. When it comes to being radically outspoken, Long observes, “the Bay Area is the mainstream.” He predicts that KQKE’s locally originated programming will “mirror the Bay Area.” — GS

What’s for Sup’, Doc?

Hospital food is still a running joke. In some US hospitals you can even find Big Mac franchises that have commandeered hospital cafeterias. But thanks to Healthcare Without Harm (HWH), a growing number of hospitals are making sure that fresh fruits and organic produce are replacing Big Macs and McNuggets. Instead of “Would you like fries with that?” diners at these pioneering temples of healing are enjoying alternatives to clogged arteries and an early death.

HWH’s founding goal is “to transform the healthcare industry so it is no longer a source of harm.” What began with a concern for the toxic plastics routinely used in hospitals (and which produce deadly cancer-causing dioxins when burned; see CG cover story, Dec., ‘04) now encompasses hygiene and haute cuisine.

HWH works with local farmers to provide hospital cafeterias with organic fruits, pesticide-free produce, free-range meat and poultry. Some hospitals have established farmers markets on the hospital grounds while others have dug up the landscaping to start their own organic gardens.

After launching its first farmers market in 2003, Oakland’s Kaiser Permanente established markets at seven other sites. By hosting markets, HWH’s Kelly Heekin notes, “hospitals can provide their communities with access to fresh foods, promote healthy food choices, and help the local economy.”

Dominican Hospital (part of the Catholic Healthcare West system) set up an organic garden in 2003. Maintained by local high school volunteers, it now provides the hospital cafeteria with a dependable source of herbs and vegetables.

Serving organic food, says Heekin, reduces the community’s exposure to health-harming chemicals while “increasing access to fresh and health foods and… [creating] a market for healthier growing practices.” www.noharm.org — GS

War-Boy Toys

With our troops taking fire in Afghanistan and Iraq, US toy companies have once again joined the ranks of the war profiteers. Hasbro is making a killing with a new generation of GI Joes sworn to defend the Homeland from COBRA, a shadowy terrorist organization headed by a mysterious Osama-like leader (“Probably the most dangerous man alive!”). Unlike al-Qaeda, COBRA operates from a hidden base in “Springfield.” (Why Springfield? Because market research discovered that nearly every state has a Springfield lurking somewhere on the map.) Hasbro has equipped Joe’s team with weapons, strike vehicles and robot attack drones — all recommended for “Ages 5+.”

World Against Toys Causing Harm, Inc. has cited Mattel Inc. for creating one of the “Ten Worst Toys of 2004.” Just like the real thing, Mattel’s Megabuster Battle Weapon offers “potential for impact injuries.” 411 Toys also made the WATCH list for its “Three-gun Squad Set — UZ-1 Commando Machine Gun.” This Kiddie Uzi is recommended for tots as young as 3.

There’s no need to wave the white flag: the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (www.astra.org) has identified a long line of responsible toymakers — and several are in the Bay Area. ASTRA recommends the following companies: Arthur Grobe, Be Smart Toys LLC, Kathleen Milne Co., Sunshine Sales LLC and Yo-Topia Toys. — GS

Remember the Future

The spirit of the ’60s is alive and well at the Red Victorian Bed, Breakfast, and Art on Haight Street. Adorned with hundreds of peace signs painted by proprietor and resident artist Sami Sunchild, the hotel is a haven for those from all corners of the world hoping for a peaceful, sustainable world. “This is their home in San Francisco,” says Sunchild, with characteristic warmth.

TVs are nowhere to be found, and guests are encouraged to gather in the Peace Center lounge on the first floor. Sunchild initiates regular Sunday morning breakfast conversations prompting her guests to discuss topics such as the environment and how to achieve world peace in an improvised forum. Considering its historic location, it’s easy to view the Red Victorian’s utopian inclination as mere nostalgia, but Sami Sunchild believes this vision is more vital then ever. “It’s not about antique furniture,” she insists, “It’s about the future.”

Visit www.redvic.com for more information, or next time you’re in the city, stop just short of the golden arches to experience a true Love-Haight relationship. — David Sason

Nonprofit News

Full-fledged cooperation between the social justice and environmental movements has been a work-in-progress. Where they once regarded each other warily, both have finally realized social equity and environmental preservation are inextricably linked. As Van Jones of Oakland’s Ella Baker Center (EBC) for Human Rights (www.ellabakercenter.org) puts it: “The path to peaceful streets and true community safety is not more prisons, but ecologically sound economic development.”

EBC will be campaigning for “Green Jobs, Not Jails,” during San Francisco’s June 1-5 UN-sponsored Green Cities Conference to honor June 5, World Environment Day (www.wed2005.org), which SF has the honor of being the first US city to host. At the conference, EBC will unveil “Reclaim the Future,” its new think tank, policy and advocacy group designed to promote green economic development in urban areas with public, private and community based partnerships.

On June 2, EBC hosts an afternoon panel for mayors from around the world on Social Equity and Environmental Justice. It will also present an art exhibit on the environment featuring paintings and performances with the University of Michigan’s Prison Creative Arts program.

EBC was invited to coordinate the Green Cities’ Social Equity Track, a task it shares with a number of other groups including Urban Habitat and the Grassroots Leadership Network. Until EBC spoke out, the issue was not even on the conference agenda. Contact Lora O’Connor at (510) 428-3939 x227 or email — Tim Kingston

Don’t Just Get Mad...Get Active

Protect Your Air! Join California Citizens for a Better Environment (CBE) this month and June to help its ongoing campaign to clean up Richmond’s oil industry [See Common Ground, Feb., 2005 and CG’s new “Toxic Tour” at: www.earthisland.org/the-edge/ToxicTour.mov].

CBE is working to ensure that the Bay Area Air Quality Management (BAQMD) District adopts rules forbidding the flaring of gases from local refineries, except in emergencies. Currently, says CBE’s Carla Perez, Richmond’s five major refineries routinely flare excess gas leading to respiratory infections, asthma attacks, eczema and eye irritations.

Last year, CBE settled a lawsuit against the BAQMD, winning a requirement that the District adopt a rulemaking process to consider “strong enforceable rules” on flaring. The task now is to get those rules adopted to protect the largely poor African American, Latino and Asian communities most affected. Perez invites East Bay residents to show up at hearings slated in May and June to support CBE’s call to prohibit flaring “except for true emergencies.” Contact Perez by email or call (510) 302-0430 For time and place of the hearings, contact BAQMD, (415) 749-5000; www.baaqmd.gov or CBE, (510) 302-0130; www.cbecal.org. — TK

Triple Bottom Line People, Planet, Profits
Vote with Your Wallet

What’s the best auto insurance? The best travel agency? The best bank? If you’re looking to keep your devalued dollars out of the clutches of Earth-gutting corporations, BuyBlue.org will help you separate the corporate Good Apples from the Bad Apples.

On Valentine’s Day, BuyBlue spread word that the country’s biggest chocolate-makers — Nestle, Mars and Hershey — are George-Bush-supporting “red” companies. And you can cut back on those outings to the Outback Steakhouse. BuyBlue dings the eatery for spending “hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying against benefits for low-income workers.” BuyBlue speculates that Outback’s 2004 payback might have been better had management chosen not to spend “$870,000 fighting a minimum wage increase in Florida and health care benefits for low-wage workers in California.”

Buy Blue’s blogs contain such tidbits as a list of the senators who voted for oil drilling in the Alaska Refuge — and a list of the energy companies that funded their campaigns.

Sometimes, BuyBlue’s investigations provide some surprises. “The one thing which none of us thought existed [was] a blue oil and gas company,” the website marvels. “And not just a pale, marginal blue, but a 98.1% solid primary blue.” So, if you want to boycott Shell, TexacoChevron and Exxon (all heavy Bush-backers), tank up with Amerada Hess.

Despite the red vs blue premise, this isn’t a partisan operation. As the founders are quick to explain, it’s not about “supporting Democrats…. Buying blue is about supporting progressive, ethical business practices that enhance the quality of life-inducing living wages and responsible environmental standards.” The website also certifies “apolitical corporations” (i.e., good firms that make no political contributions) because “buying blue is more than a political statement. It is a humanitarian statement.”

Although the blue-list got its start assessing political contributions, the goal is to broaden its ranking system using other standards as well. Meanwhile, BuyBlue has plugged into its own beliefs by choosing a small, non-corporate server to host its website. Drak.net is a progressive, woman-owned business, “which is rare in the hosting world.”

“Ultimately, corporations want to make money,” so consumers have to “prove that our business is more valuable than cheap labor and loose environmental restrictions and tax cuts.” BuyBlue expects to have 1,000 companies and/or brands listed by April. — GS

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