2012 ANNUAL REPORT

COALITION FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE

CEJ IS AN AFFILIATE OF JOBS WITH JUSTICE AND THE NEW YORK STATE LABOR RELIGION COALITION

237 Main Street, Suite 1200 Buffalo, NY 14202 716-892-5877 (p) 716-852-3200 (f) www.cejbuffalo.org

2012

A Year of Change, Growth, and Accomplishments

The past year was one of many changes for CEJ. We deepened our relationship with our Jobs with Justice counterparts in other areas of the state and began a process of planning truly joint strategy to build statewide progressive power. Internally, our long-time organizers shifted into new roles, with Micaela taking on leadership and campaign development responsibilities as Organizing Director and Andy moving into a position centered on the many types of communications we engage in. For the first time, we were able to hire a staff member, Saty, dedicated to development and fundraising, which led to some of our best events ever. And after seven years of service, Allison Duwe stepped down to focus more attention on her family, which led to me joining CEJ as Executive Director in September. It has been an exciting and challenging few months as weve gone through the transition process, and with the leadership of the CEJ Board of Directors and support of our members and allies, we are poised to grow as an organization. We are proud of all that CEJ has accomplished in 2012. On the following pages are our top 12 highlights of the year, but our work is never done. We are excited for the challenges and opportunities to come in 2013, and we are looking forward to working with all of you to build power and make positive change for workers here in Western New York and across the state. In solidarity,

Jennifer Diagostino Executive Director

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Top 12 from 2012

Brought Local Hiring and Living Wages to Waterfront Development
CEJ and the Canal Side Community Alliance won a major victory with the Webster Block development agreement. After years of pushing the Mayor, Common Council, and Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporate to embrace a Community Benefits Agreement for the development of our waterfront, the City included many of our terms in the sale of the Webster Block to the Sabres HARBOR center. This agreement includes using local labor for construction, seeking city residents for post-construction jobs, and living wages for employees of the ice rink and parking ramp.

Pushed-Back Verizons Corporate Greed

We supported a nationwide campaign to win a fair contract for Verizon workers and preserve good, middle class jobs. Working in coordination with CWA, IBEW, and national Jobs with Justice, CEJ drove local efforts that included occupying multiple Verizon Wireless stores with over 100 labor, faith, community and Occupy Buffalo leaders and organized direct actions with hundreds of others at Verizons corporate offices to pushback against Verizons corporate greed. It was these tenacious efforts, and the workers resolve to strike again if necessary that led to this important victory. It shows that solidarity can win and corporate greed can be defeated.

Fought for a Long Overdue Minimum Wage Increase

As part of the New York Civic Engagement Table, CEJ united workers, labor, faith, and business allies to build public and political support for an increase in NYs minimum wage and index it to the rising cost of living. We told NYS Senator Grisanti a quarter wont cut it, mobilizing low-wage workers and advocates outside his office to call on him to support the proposed increase. We marched outside City Hall with labor, faith, and community leaders to a NYS Assembly hearing on the minimum wage, where the speakers we turned out to give testimony outnumbered opponents by more than three-to-one. Along with the Clean Air Coalition and Citizen Action of WNY, we conducted polling for the first time ever in Grisantis district, finding considerable support for raising the minimum wage, encouraging him to act in the interests of his constituents. And we took the fight to Albany, mobilizing dozens of WNY faith leaders to call on Governor Cuomo to take action on the minimum wage.

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Expanded the Movement for Reform of Corporate Subsidy Programs

CEJ, as co-anchor of the statewide Getting Our Moneys Worth campaign, continued to build the movement for meaningful reform of corporate subsidies. In WNY, we pushed back against VWR Internationals job-shifting practices, and compelled the Authorities Budget Office to initiate an investigation into the company and its tax deals. Our coalition released a statewide report in July highlighting the failure of IDA projects to create jobs and we took the fight for good jobs, not giveaways directly to corporations who have received large subsidies but didnt deliver jobs or community benefits!

Launched the Corporate Tax-Dodgers Hall of Shame

CEJ and our Getting Our Moneys Worth partners launched a renewed effort with community, labor, and faith allies all around the state to get good jobs, not giveaways from public investments in development projects. In 6 regions of New York, our coalition held energizing live induction ceremonies where we literally rolled out red carpets. In WNY we inducted Carl Paladino and VWR in the Finger Lakes. Our coalition also launched the Corporate Tax Dodgers Hall of Shame a website at www.gettingourmoneysworth.org, featuring notable examples of corporations that have cashed in on tax breaks but failed to deliver on jobs and community benefits. These efforts further exposed an economic development system that makes it far too easy for corporations to swindle taxpayers. while making it clear that we will continue to fight to fix this system to create good jobs, strong communities, and to have a voice in the process.

Seasonal Sanitation Workers Took Fight to the City for back wages
Seasonal Sanitation workers took a firm stand against the Citys repeated refusal to pay them the full wages they are owed. Timothy Johnson, CEJ leader and Seasonal Sanitation worker captured significant attention when his courageous and honest letter was printed in Artvoice and featured in the newspapers 2012 Year in Review highlighting Tims statement, Byron Brown, do the right thing. One time, do the right thing. Another worker, Abraham McKinney, who is also a CEJ Board Member, videotaped powerful testimony that was presented to an open committee of the Common Council, as he was unable to attend due to work obligations. Abrahams statement concluded with, We worked it, we earned, we deserve it. Despite winning multiple lawsuits against the City over the past two years, CEJ and Seasonal Sanitation workers were dealt a significant blow in our effort to win the back wages the City owes the workers when the NYS Appeals Court ruled in favor of the City and the Control Board on a technicality. While this was a distinct setback to CEJ and Seasonal Sanitation workers, the fight is not over. There have been critical victories along the way to build momentum for justice.

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Advanced the Development of a Worker Center in WNY

In 2012, CEJ played a key role in the growth of an exciting new Worker Center collaborative project. We worked closely with labor and community partners to develop a detailed logic model for the Worker Center, outlining major goals and identifying activities to reach them. We were founding partners for a formal Steering Committee to help guide the Worker Center in our goal of strengthening and encouraging low-wage worker participation across Western New York. As part of the legal committee for the Worker Center, we organized a collaborative workers' rights training with PUSH, VOICE and WNYCOSH, which was attended by dozens of low-wage workers and advocates. We also co-sponsored a live worker hotline, where people having workplace problems like wage theft or uncompensated overtime could drop in and be matched with a volunteer lawyer to help them identify solutions. This past fall, we became part of an Upstate Worker Center Collaborative, which brought us together with other Worker Center projects from Rochester, Ithaca, Syracuse, and Albany as a way to share best practices and identify ways to grow and reach new, under-represented workers. We're looking forward to even more trainings, collaboration, and outreach in 2013.

Trained Hundreds of grassroots, labor, and faith leaders

Working with our partners, we developed and led multiple trainings that gave hundreds of labor, faith, and community leaders the tools to build power in their communities for progressive change. In collaboration with our Fight for a Fair Economy campaign partners, CEJ led a Confronting Corporate Power training with over 100 grassroots leaders from local community groups, congregations, and unions to launch a collective effort to work on key corporate accountability campaigns. Following this training, CEJ worked with PUSH Buffalo and Citizen Action to lead multiple 99% Spring Trainings in WNY and Rochester as part of a nationwide effort to train over 100,000 on the principles of non-violent direction action and engage them to take action on our campaigns to win change in our communities. Additionally, CEJ developed Freedom of Information Clinics with Artvoice, Burning Books, and the Leonard Pelteir Defense Offense Committee. These ongoing clinics provide participants with essential and expert information on Freedom of Information Law requests to gain access to Federal, State, and local government documents.

Hired a New Executive Director!

We made a significant transition and change in leadership in 2012 while strengthening and growing CEJ. After seven years as CEJs Executive Director, Allison Duwe stepped down from the position to focus more attention on her growing family. Following an extensive nationwide search, CEJs Board of Directors announced last September that Jenn Diagostino would take the lead as our Executive Director. New leadership at CEJ comes at a critical time for working people in Western New York and across the country, as we continue to bring labor, faith, and community together in unique and lasting ways to win major victories.

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Grew CEJ: Hired a New Development and Administrative Assistant

We brought on Saty Singh to fill our new and much needed Development and Administrative Assistant position. Prior to joining CEJ, Saty worked in the development department at Demos, a progressive, multi-issue New York based think tank. With CEJ, she has worked tirelessly to increase our fundraising and organizational capacity, in addition to working on individual giving initiatives, building more institutional support, and organizing exciting and successful fundraising events. She has also been instrumental in improving our financial and administrative management systems.

Awesome Fundraising Events

2012 was an exceptional year filled with several exciting, fun-filled fundraising events, including our 26th Annual Awards Dinner, which was our best gala to date. Over 500 people joined us for a night filled with games, auctions, our outstanding guest speaker Steve Dubb of the Democracy Collaborative, and of course the award ceremony, where we honored James Wagner and John Mudie from CWA 1122, members of OPEIU at BlueCross BlueShield, and John Washington of Occupy Buffalo. Throughout the year, friends of CEJ held house parties to support our work. Our Strike for Justice bowling tournament in August was as eventful as ever, and we ended the year with our most successful auction at the Buffalo CLCs annual holiday celebration. Thank you to everyone who supported CEJ by helping to make these events a great success.

Financial Highlights & Acknowledgements:

This past year was an exciting one for fundraising here at CEJ. We were able to raise more money than ever thanks to our amazing individual and institutional supporters, foundation partners and through exciting fundraising events. We continued to receive foundation support from the Presbyterian Hunger Program, Unitarian Universalist VEATCH program at Shelter Rock, The Rev. Joseph A. Bissonette Memorial Foundation, and the Ford Foundation. Additionally, we secured a new grant from the North Star Fund to support our work with the New York State Civic Engagement Table. CEJ hosted a variety of grassroots fundraising events in 2012 including a spring house party hosted by John Lipsitz and Maria Scrivani, our Annual Awards Banquet, our Strike for Justice Bowling Event, and an auction at the Buffalo CLCs annual holiday celebration. In October, we also held a wonderful farewell party at the home of Steve Halpern and Betty Stanton to say goodbye to our outgoing Executive Director, Allison Duwe.
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(Financial Highlights & Acknowledgements continued )

Thank you to everyone who attended and helped make 2012 our most successful year for events! In the coming year, we will continue to focus our efforts on organizing creative grassroots fundraising events and engaging our members in various fundraising efforts. A big thank you also goes out to our 2012 Board Members for their dedicated service and to our individual and institutional members. We sincerely appreciate our members continued support and our work would not be possible without them. Finally, we would like to thank the staff at Cornell Universitys School of Labor and Industrial Relations in Buffalo for providing in-kind support as well as a CEJ summer intern through the ILRs Highroad Fellows Program and of course, for putting up with CEJ staff each and every day.

2 Anna Falicov, Esq. Board Chair 0 Creighton, Pearce, Johnsen & Giroux 1 2 Anna Geronimo, Board Vice Chair
NYS United Teachers

B O A R D

Creighton Randall, Board Treasurer Buffalo CarShare Cayden Mak, Board recording Secretary 18 Million Rising Abraham McKinney Sanitation Worker Dr. Ruth Meyerowitz SUNY Buffalo Rabbi Alex Lazarus-Klein Congregation Shir-Shalom Betty Martin Transportation Aides of Buffalo Jon Fuzak Laborers Local 220

O Maurice Brown F 1199 SEIU D I R E C T O R S

Cheryl Bird Daemen College Patty DeVinney WNY Area Labor Federation Mark Manna United Food & Commercial Workers

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Annual Awards Banquet

Thursday, May 2 2013
Buffalo Niagara Convention Center 6:00 Social Hour 7:00 Program Begins (Guest Speaker: David Cay Johnson, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Enrich Themselves at Government Expense and Stick You with the Bill)
Dont wait! Call CEJ to reserve your tickets today! (716.892.5877)

The Coalition for Economic Justice

Coalition for Economic Justice 237 Main Street, Ste 1200 Buffalo, NY 14203 Phone (716) 892.5877 Fax (716) 852.3802 www.cejbuffalo.org

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