| Asian communities have a long history of being resourceful
to ensure our economic survival. CAA is committed to helping our
community grow and thrive economically by creating greater employment opportunities
for recent immigrants and low-income individuals through direct services
and innovative programs.
We also remain stalwart advocates for ensuring equal opportunities
at all levels in all fields for Asian Americans and immigrants. To
that end, CAA continues to advance local and state- wide policies that
level the playing field and enhance our ability to participate in the burgeoning
California economy. CAA also regularly works with local developers
and corporations, such as the Catellus Residential Group and Lem Construction,
Inc. to ensure that new jobs are reaching those most in need of work at
major public works projects at sites like the San Francisco State University
or the Asian Art Museum. |
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| Client Services
CAA’s Employment Program supported by the Mayor’s office
of Community Development continues to be a cornerstone in the Chinatown
community. In 1999, CAA’s employment advocates provided job counseling,
job development and placement to over 700 low-income residents of Chinatown,
Visitacion Valley, the Tenderloin and other surrounding San Francisco neighborhoods.
Expanding employment opportunities for our clients, CAA staff have developed
working relationships with many contractors who are currently experiencing
a surge in business due to the economic boom in the Bay Area. |
CAA Employment Advocate May Chan
Meets with a client.
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Nineteen ninety-nine also saw the expansion
of the employment program to three days a week at Visitacion Valley.
Employment advocates collaborated with other agencies, such as Visitacion
Valley Jobs, Education, and Training (VVJET) conducting outreach, employment
workshops and training for the increasing Chinese immigrant population
in Visitacion Valley, and bridging racial lines within the diverse communities
in this neighborhood. |
| In the spring, CAA organized a 6-month English as a Second
Language Construction class to provide recent immigrants with the language
skills to enter the construction industry and to assist clients applying
for membership in the Ironworkers Union/Local 377. This class, taught
by a bilingual education teacher from the school district, was eagerly
attended by 30 students, a number of whom subsequently gained membership
into the union and jobs paying over $25 per hour with benefits.
Research and Analysis
CAA and Equal Rights Advocates recently produced the first
state-wide study of the impact of Proposition 209. It confirmed CAA’s
reasons for opposition to the proposition—decreased opportunities for women
and communities of color in contracting, employment and education. Opportunities
Lost was distributed to local and state legislators (as well as the White
House advisor on race) to ensure that the dramatic costs of ending affirmative
action are recognized and to build the base for amending or repealing Proposition
209.
During 1999, CAA and Equal Rights Advocates also undertook
research to evaluate the current position of women and people of color
within San Francisco’s civil service system. Expanding the underlying
research conducted for previous Broken Ladder reports, first issued in
the early 1980s, CAA and ERA are evaluating glass ceiling issues for all
communities of color and women. With support from the van Löben
Sels Foundation, our updated report will be issued in 2000.
First Source Hiring Program
CAA has been pivotal in the development of San Francisco’s
“First Source” program, aimed at creating jobs for low-income people by
requiring city contractors, city leasees, and private developers to make
good faith efforts to consider low-income residents for newly created entry-level
jobs, including the well-paid construction industry and private developments
such as hotels, department stores and office buildings. We developed
this program with the city in anticipation of welfare reform that potentially
could bring 12,000 low-income job-seekers into the workforce. We
have also been evaluating the effect of welfare-to-work mandates on our
primary client base: low-income, limited-English proficient, Asian immigrants.
CAA’s policy director chairs the citizens advisory committee and monitors
implementation of this important program. |
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