Foreclosures, economic crisis are hot issues at forum in L.A.

An important labor-community fightback forum was held July 26 at the office of Service Employees’ Local 721 in Los Angeles. More than 150 people of many nationalities attended the forum for various reasons. Some came for information needed to immediately address their personal foreclosure crisis; others came for the free legal consultation. But what drew the biggest portion of the audience was the thirst for a fightback strategy.

The forum was organized by the Harvard Boulevard Block Association, the International Action Center and Local 721. Given the deepening economic hardships, it was not surprising that the SEIU hall was packed. On July 24, the front-page headline in the Los Angeles Times pointed to record home foreclosures and defaults–a record that had never been surpassed since those statistics had been recorded—until now.

“We’re going to build a million-person march to stop foreclosures,” said Rosie Martinez, chair of the Latino Caucus of Local 721, an 85,000-member local. Martinez also motivated a proposed Sept. 17th march on the City Council, which was part of the plan laid out by Evelyn Levings of the Harvard Boulevard Block Club. Levings read the Club’s resolution to be presented to the City Council demanding a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions.

BAYAN-USA speakers Kuusela Hilo and Terrie Cervas explained how the suffering of Filipino workers, forced to migrate to the U.S. due to its neocolonialist economic policies in the Philippines, was similar to the suffering of native-born workers here. A nonprofit housing organization provided useful information on the foreclosure crisis’s effects on Los Angeles County.

Activist Jerry Goldberg of the Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions based in Michigan had the crowded auditorium cheering and “heated up.”

He explained how, as a lawyer, even if he won a foreclosure case every day, it would amount to only 365 saved homes a year, while the number of foreclosures in Michigan in one month alone can reach 12,000. “My individual effort is like putting my thumb in the hole of a dam to hold back the water. This is not an individual problem. It’s a social one,” Goldberg stated.

A representative from the IAC spoke on the empty solutions offered by the politicians to this economic crisis: “Governor Schwarzenegger wants to roll back all city employees’ wages—about 200,000 people—back to the minimum wage of $6.55 per hour, while gas prices soar and people already can’t pay their mortgages. It’s as if this was a Hollywood spoof about his political career, but it’s not. It’s what they have to offer as a solution–one made on our backs. Well, we’ve got another solution–that’s a moratorium—and we won’t allow business as usual until we get it.”

State Assemblypersons Mike Eng and Mike Davis both came and spoke in support of a moratorium.

Television coverage of the forum included Telemundo and Channel 4, a NBC affiliate (KNBC), along with national and local radio stations which conducted numerous interviews.

KNBC interviewed Bernice Hunt, a 48-year resident in South Central Los Angeles, who expressed the unimaginable reality of having to leave a home which held all the experiences of her family’s entire life.

Suggestions were taken from forum attendees about what demands should be made to the governor, mayor and city council. This information will be used to begin the first meeting of the newly established Labor-Community Coalition to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions that will meet at the union office.

John Parker spoke at the July 26th forum representing the International Action Center.