Voces de Casa Maria

The Holy Father on Trickle-Down Economics!

Brian is the one in the middle, Msgr. Cahalane is to the left, and Msgr. O’Keefe is on the right

by Brian Flagg,

Yesterday I had the privilege of being on hate radio, KNST, the early morning show hosted by Garret.

Later on in the day they give you Rush Limbaugh.

I really mean this because it was an opportunity to speak not to the choir!

Like you would expect, I was talking about federal regulation that grew out of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that protect low income and minority bus riders from being discriminated against when local jurisdictions raise bus fares or cut routes.

And about massive income inequality and the rights of workers to organize so they can collectively bargain, etc. etc.

He told me to stop all the “hippie talk.”

I insisted that, on the contrary, it was New Testament talk, it was Jesus talk, it was the social teachings of our Roman Catholic Church and the words of the Popes.

So this inspiring passage, paragraph #54 in The Joy of the Gospel, The Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis, is dedicated to Garret, with a sincere thanks for the invite to be on his show…

“Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system. Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting. To sustain a lifestyle which excludes others, or to sustain enthusiasm for that selfish idea, a globalization of indifference has developed. Almost without being aware of it, we end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s responsibility and not our own. The culture of prosperity deadens us; we are thrilled if the market offers us something new to purchase; and in the meantime all those lives stunted for lack of opportunity seem a mere spectacle; they fail to move us.”

The City’s Transit Task Force has actually stood up to staff in defense of bus riders!

Hallelujah!

The City’s Transit Task Force has actually stood up to staff in defense of bus riders!

Historically the Task Force has operated as rubber-stamp for the staff against bus riders.

The good thing has been that they haven’t had much influence with members of the Mayor and Council.

Councilwoman Uhlichs’ recent appointment of Suzanne Shaffer to the task force seems to have been a positive influence.

Thanks to Gene Caywood, chair of the Task Force, for getting the following letter to the Mayor and Council before today’s May 6^th Council meeting:

Transit Task Force City of Tucson

May 5, 2014

Honorable Mayor Rothschild and City Council Members

City of Tucson, Arizona

Greetings,

The Mayor and City Council appointed Transit Task Force (TTF) met on April 28, 2014 and discussed the Title VI Fare and Service Equity Analysis of the effect on ethnic minorities and people of low income by raising bus fares and undertaking a number of system changes. The analysis found, according to federal guidelines, that there were no disparate or disproportionate impacts. The task force was concerned about that finding, and passed a motion to send you this letter outlining our displeasure with the process, and thus the finding.

Because 67.6% of the bus ridership is classified as low income, and 20.95% of the City of Tucson population is low income, any change in bus fares or service will disproportionately impact the poor of our community, compared to the impact on those above the poverty line.

The same reasoning holds true for the minority populations. Sixty-two percent of the Sun Tran fixed route ridership identifies themselves as a member of a minority population, and according to the census 39.8% of the Tucson population is Hispanic. Therefore, any change in the bus service disproportionately affects the minority people of our community compared to the majority.

Thus the TTF feels strongly that the proposed changes would have a disparate or disproportionate impact, even though the analysis (following the federal guidelines) states the opposite. In other words, the TTF does not think the federal process gives an accurate picture of the true impact on low income and minority populations, and therefore declined to support the analysis done by staff following those guidelines.

Comments of the TTF in arriving at this position centered around the fact that the task force understands the need for reductions in service but is not pleased with them.We do not support service reductions that are geared solely toward cost-cutting rather than toward enhancing the overall effectiveness of the route network. Since increasing transit use as a portion of overall travel throughout the region is a stated goal of both Tucson and Pima County, system changes should be made in response to demand and to opportunities for improved access to jobs and services. At our May 12 meeting we expect to receive Sun Tran’s final recommendations for service changes and develop a response based on the above principles.

We are proud of our community that it is willing to support people of low income by providing a good transit system with a low fare that enables them to go to work, to take care of personal business like shopping, and to participate in the rich cultural and recreational life of this city. Thank you for your continued effort to keep fares low and support a level of transit service that makes this possible.

Sincerely,

Gene Caywood

Chair, Transit Task Force

caywoodgm@juno.com

cc: Transit Task Force

Daryl W. Cole, Director of Transportation

Carlos de Leon, Deputy Director of Transportation

Kate Riley, Sun Tran/ Van Tran General Manager

NEWS CONFERENCE

The Tucson Bus Riders Union is having a News Conference on

Day: May 5^th, Monday

Time: 11:30 A.M.

Place: In front of City Hall

To decry service cuts to 11 Sun Tran routes and to point out how these cuts will seriously impact minority and low-income residents of Tucson.

The Council will consider this issue at their May 6^th meeting.

For more information contact:Cesar Aguirre (520) 878-3044

Mark Blake (480) 482-9067

HELP DEFEND BUS RIDERS

Please join the Bus Riders Union for the PUBLIC HEARING on the CITY BUDGET Tuesday May 6^th, 5p.m. at City Hall (255 W. Alameda).

Your presence will make the point to the politicians that it is NOT OK to CUT BUS ROUTES!

Wear your yellow Bus Riders Union shirt!

Or join the Union at this time and receive a shirt and membership card with your picture on it!

HOW STUPID DO THEY THINK WE ARE?

The Sun Tran bureaucrats plan to issue a report to the Mayor and Council on May 6^th that says that proposed service cuts to 12 of the Sun Tran fixed routes will not have a “disparate impact” on low income and minority riders.

To make matters worse, the majority of the services being cut are on the South and West sides.

Their own numbers tell the story.

For all the fixed routes (not the express routes) the ridership is 62% minority and 68% low income. How much higher would these numbers be for ridership in Wards 1 and 5, the Westside and the Southside?

All bus systems in the U.S. are heavily funded by the Federal government.

So the feds, as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 have a thing called Title VI, so that backwater racist places such as Alabama, Mississippi and Arizona can’t receive federal dollars and then make fare and service cuts that discriminate.

Our City of Tucson transit bureaucrats plan to make their Title VI presentation to the Council on May 6^th.

If they vote for this type of discrimination, surely they will be sued.

How stupid do they think we, the public, are?

How stupid do they think the Mayor and Council are?

Come to the Council meeting with the Bus Riders Union on May 6th.

Daily Star says “Bus riders can rest easy now,” Tucson Bus Riders Union says “no, not yet!”

by Cesar Aguirre

Thanks to the Tucson Bus Riders Union there will be no fare increase, but the City is looking at other ways to balance their budget on the backs of poor bus riders. In order to keep our city’s transit system strong the City must increase ridership. That means that they can’t cut routes or reduce service because doing so would decrease ridership.

Right now the City is considering cutting, or reducing service to about a dozen or so routes, so we, the BRU, are on those routes informing riders of the changes and signing them up for the union. In short we are organizing!

BRU Membership Campaign Team member Jim Thomas and I spent over three hours on route #6 on Monday. Jim spoke to dozens of riders who showed “a lot of concern” regarding the proposed route changes.

What we found was that most riders had no idea that the City was considering the proposed cuts. Out of the nearly forty riders I spoke with only one had knowledge of the route changes, and he was more than upset by it. The proposed changes to this route would not only increase his travel time, but also make him get off the bus and transfer at Ronstadt. As the route runs now he is able to take one bus from home to work and get there on time. If the changes take effect then he will have to leave an hour earlier then he does now in order to make it to work on time.

Since most riders were unaware of the proposed changes I spent a lot of time explaining them to people. Some riders blew me off and were not interested in speaking with me until I would explain the changes to someone sitting nearby, and after catching an ear-full the questions would begin. It wouldn’t take long for them to show interest in the BRU and ask, “so how do I join?”

The fact that bus riders are the last to know about changes to a system that directly effects them and their livelihood is a great indicator of how well Sun Tran and the City of Tucson reach out to the community to make sure there is equity and transparency.

The BRU team will continue to organize and inform riders of the City’s plans for the future of our transit system to make sure there is true transparency and that our elected officials are held accountable for their actions.

Bus riders and supporters be ready for a call to action in early May. STAY TUNED!

SEMANA SANTA – HOLY WEEK 2014

by Brian Flagg,

I feel bad because really and truly I ‘m not holy enough.

We accomplish much here at the Casa Maria Catholic Worker House. Up to 600 single bag lunches and 200 family food bags go out the door here every single day except for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

And the organizing that we have been doing thru the Bus Riders Union just might keep fares as they are and routes intact – the organizing is bearing some fruit.

I guess I’m feeling that all this service/activism can lead me to be a crass workaholic, just like some corporate executive who is a “success” based on how much he works and accomplishes.

Maybe the intensity involved in living this way makes life too dreary, too much of a grind?

Which is why reading the apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis (given to us by Msgr. Cahalane in both English and Spanish) has been such a blessing!

I find it incredibly inspirational –

I would highly recommend reading this little book. Its 142 pages. It says on the back cover of this book, “This dynamic document is written in the plain, everyday language for which the pope has become famous.”

He lays it out: A real believer will be a fountain of joy, the joy of the gospel, because they encounter and continue to encounter Jesus and God’s love, which makes one experience a profound liberation, away from narrowness and self – absorption and more sensitive to the needs of others.

Lord Jesus may we be infused with your Spirit in this holy season, so that we may truly experience the joy of the gospel.

A CONCRETE EXAMPLE OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS STANDING UP FOR POOR PEOPLE

Thanks to all the clergy who spoke at the City Council meeting last night (Fr. Harry Ledwith, Rev. Beth Rambikur, Msgr. Tom Cahalane and Rev. Delle McCormick) in behalf of the City not raising bus fares.

Their exhortation to the Council to not balance their budget on the backs of poor people was loud and clear.

Thanks also to the 45 other religious leaders who signed a letter to the Council.

Special thanks to Pima County Interfaith Council for all their hard work in bringing together the religious leaders of Tucson to stand in solidarity with bus riders.

Here are some pictures of the event and a video of the message delivered by Msgr. Tom and Rev. Delle.

DOGS AND CATS AT CASA MARIA!

The dog and cat shot clinic that happens twice a year here by AWASA (Animal Welfare Alliance of Southern Arizona) is a big deal for those who eat here. Even people who live in the barrio and don’t eat here bring their dogs and cats.

A big thank you to Bonnie Kay who gets veterinarians and students from Pima Medical Institute to staff the clinic.

TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT!

RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF TUCSON WILL SPEAK TO THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL ON BEHALF OF BUS RIDERS AT TONIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MEETING!

A letter signed by 50 religious leaders will be delivered at Call to the Audience. Msgr. Tom Cahalane, pastor of Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church and Rev. Delle McCormick, pastor of Rincon Congregational Church will speak for the clergy.

Originally the Bus Riders Union wanted to write Pope Francis, another bus rider, to ask him to join the Union. After consulting with Bishop Kicanas, he offered the idea of asking clergy to sign a letter such as the one going to Mayor and Council. Thanks Bishop Kicanas!

Here is a list of clergy who signed the letter to the Mayor and Council:

Msgr. Tom Cahalane Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic

Rev. John Kitagawa St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal

Rev. Sharon Ragland St. Mark’s United Methodist

Msgr. Raul Trevizo St. John the Evangelist Catholic

Rev. Delle McCormick Rincon Congregational UCC

Rev. Jim Hobert Sacred Heart Catholic

Rev. Hildegardo Gonzalez Iglesia Luterana San Juan Bautista

Rev. Tom Tureman Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church

Rev. David Wilkinson St. Francis in the Foothills UMC

Rev. Gonzalo Villegas St. Augustine Cathedral

Rev. Beth Rambikur First Church United Methodist

Rev. Harry Ledwith St. Pius X Catholic

Rev. Gayle Bintliff Tanque Verde Lutheran

Rev. Vili Valderrama Our Lady of Fatima Catholic

Rev. Lee Milligan Casas Adobes Congregational UCC

Rev. Stephen Barnufsky OFM San Xavier Mission

Rev. Ed Denham Desert Skies United Methodist

Rev. Steve Keplinger Grace St. Paul Episcopal

Rev. Ravin Gaston United Methodist Church

Rev. Ron Phares Mountain Vista Unitarian Universalist

Rev. Edgar Lopez St. Cyril of Alexandria Catholic

Rev. Bruce White St. Alban’s Episcopal

Rev. Scott Opsahl St. Mark’s Presbyterian

Rev. John Smith St. Michael’s and All Angels Episcopal

Rev. Vicki Hesse St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal

Rev. James Dew Santa Cruz Lutheran ELCA

Rev. Bill Dougherty St. Pius X Catholic

Rev. Kirk Reed Catalina United Methodist

Rev. Sean Carroll, SJ Kino Border Initiative

Rev. Greg Foraker St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal

Deaconess Marjie Hrabe St. Mark’s United Methodist

Rev. James Tumulty OFM San Xavier Mission

Rev. Leah Sandwell-Weiss St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal

Rev. Bill Remmel, SDS Catholic Priest

Rev. Ruthie Hooper St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal

Rev. Mark Long St. Ambrose Catholic

Rev. Paul Buckwalter St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal

Rev. John Lillie Lutheran Pastor

Rev. Dan Johnson Evangelical Covenant Church

Rev. Anne Strong St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal

Rev. Raymond S. Thomas The Holy Way Presbyterian Church

Rev. Ron Rude Lutheran Campus Ministry

Rev. Cliff Blinman St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal

Brother Dave Buer OFM San Xavier Mission

Rev. Linda Hutson Grace St. Paul Episcopal

Rev. Emilio Chapa St. Augustine Cathedral

Rev. Beverly Edminster St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal

Rev. Charlie Knapp Catholic Priest

Rev. David Gillespie St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal

GIVING MORE TO THE RICH (COPS & FIRE) IS STEALING FROM THE POOR!

by Brian Flagg,

Thanks to Councilman Kozachik, Darren DaRonco and The Daily Star for telling the truth and giving some perspective on what have been budget priorities for the City of Tucson. (Top police, fire officials cash in on sick leave, Sunday April 6, 2014)

This story was about how the City spent nearly $5 million buying back unused sick days from some of the highest paid police officers and firefighters the past two years – and spent another $2 million in what the city attorney now says were illegal pension contributions for those un-worked days.

If you missed the story go to:

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/selling-back-sick-leave-nets-millions-for-top-tucson-police/article_db207add-bd97-585d-ad55-d6f74a5176be.htm

The highlight of the story was Steve Kozachik saying, “The purpose of a sick day is so someone doesn’t take a hit when they’re out sick,” “they shouldn’t be used as an annual Christmas bonus for those at the top of the pay scale.” Kozachik said with budget cuts on the table this year, he is going to call on his colleagues to end the practice. “The council can’t be nickel – and – diming bus fares for poor people and leave this kind of money for the top of the food chain.”

Our prayer is that the Spirit is moving in the hearts of our elected officials, that their priorities in the budget they are working on will provide for the least among us.