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Berkeley\u00a0Citizens Action – June\u00a0Newsletter<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Competing Minimum Wage proposals, Police Review Commission with teeth and more. \u00a0<\/strong>Location: Council Chambers, 2135 Martin Luther King Jr. Way<\/strong><\/p>\n Competing Minimum Wage measures on the November Ballot?<\/span><\/strong> Game-changer for police accountability in Berkeley?<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Berkeley\u00a0Citizens Action – June\u00a0Newsletter Competing Minimum Wage proposals, Police Review Commission with teeth and more. \u00a0Location: Council Chambers, 2135 Martin Luther King Jr. Way Competing Minimum Wage measures on the November Ballot?After years of intense debate on minimum …<\/p>\n
After years of intense debate on minimum wage, we face a chance of having two competing minimum wage ballot measures this November. After a resident initiated measure, the Council majority placed a competing measure that will likely cause serious voter confusion and lead to the failure of increasing to an equitable minimum wage.
Kriss Worthington writes that he has proposed for the June 14th Council meeting that Council adopt its own minimum wage proposal as an ordinance rather than create voter confusion in November.\u00a0
Mike Donaldson from SEIU and the Central Labor Council has asked for support from BCA member for their minimum wage initiative, which would lift the minimum wage to $15 on October 1st, 2017. He explains that their\u00a0measure means minimum\u00a0 of more than $3,000 a year in income for a full-time worker, more sick leave, fewer restrictions, better wage theft protections, more income for youth, less confusion, and does not allow the City Council to arbitrarily change provisions. Attached please find links to the\u00a0minimum wage flyer<\/a> for June 14th council meeting and their community minimum wage initiative<\/a>.
Other items of interest on the\u00a0June 14\u00a0docket:<\/strong>
33. \u00a0Petition President Barack Obama to Grant Clemency to Leonard Peltier
35. \u00a0Honor the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant for its 3000th Asylum Grant
50. \u00a0Ballot Measure to Lower the Voting Age of School Board Elections to Sixteen
\u00a0 \u00a0\u2026and many more!
Please\u00a0attend June 14, but don’t wait until then to contact the mayor and council about items you support or oppose on the council agenda: Here is the\u00a0link<\/a>\u00a0to the city council agenda for next Tuesday,\u00a0<\/span>and the emails for council and city clerk:\u00a0council@cityofberkeley.info<\/a>,\u00a0c
Item 52 would refer the current Oakland community proposal for a similar Police Commission to the city manager to draft a charter amendment to be considered by the voters. There is not yet Berkeley-specific language, and the floor is open for your ideas.
Please review the item in the agenda packet including the Oakland language and\u00a0come out\u00a0June 14\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>to voice your support, giving input into how the Commission should function.
You might consider these questions:
* How is the current role of the PRC insufficient to provide oversight and transparency for Berkeley police?
* Would the Oakland model provide sufficient independence for the commission?
* Is the Selection Panel described in the model ordinance the appropriate way to select some of the commissioners?
* Are the scope and procedures of investigations appropriate?
Beyond the\u00a0June 14\u00a0meeting, if the referral does pass, I believe there will have to be a second vote (July?) to review the City Manager\u2019s language and decide whether to put it on the November ballot. \u00a0There will be a need for community mobilization at that point, and for a strong campaign through the fall to win the vote.
Other upcoming accountability initiatives:<\/strong>
* \u00a0Racial profiling: \u00a0new statistics from this year have been released by the BPD which shows that the biased patterns revealed last year continue into 2016. \u00a0The PRC has established a subcommittee to look into this issue, and community people are invited to participate.
* \u00a0Body cameras: \u00a0new policy draft will be finalized at the June 8 PRC meeting,\u00a07pm, South Berkeley Senior Center.
* \u00a0Crowd control: \u00a0ongoing PRC subcommittee meetings on use of force, mutual aid, etc.
* \u00a0Privacy\/surveillance ordinance, using the ACLU template as modified for Berkeley (as in Oakland, Richmond, Santa Clara County etc.)<\/div>\n