Over half of city in financial struggle

from Inside Bay Area

42 percent of Oaklanders living at or below federal poverty level, new report says
By Kamika Dunlap, STAFF WRITER

Trinette Grant, a single mother, said she had to do what she had to do working 14-hour-long shifts as an independent delivery truck driver with no benefits at the Port of Oakland to support her two children.

"I had no choice," said the 36-year-old mom. "I had to make ends meet."

Grant worked as a non-union truck driver for about four years, making $11 an hour before she landed an opportunity to join the Teamsters Local 70 and earn a small wage increase and health benefits.

Although her situation has somewhat improved, Grant is a part of Oakland's many residents who work full-time but still struggle with poverty issues, low-wage jobs and making a sustainable family income. A report released Friday, "Putting Oakland to Work: A Comprehensive Strategy to Create Real Jobs for Residents," revealed more than half of Oakland households face severe economic challenges.

Single parents, the formerly incarcerated and those who speak English as a second language, are among those who face extreme barriers to getting employment, according to the report. The job crisis in Oakland mirrors other cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, where African Americans and other communities of color have a high unemployment rate or low-income jobs.

The study, co-authored by the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) and the Oakland Network for Responsible Development (ONWRD), reveal stark statistics. It highlights sky-rocketing conditions of joblessness, housing costs and poverty-level wages, which put the economic stability of the city and its residents at risk. According to the report, there are about two in five individuals living in economic hardship and 42 percent of the people live at the federal poverty level or far below.

About 56 percent of black workers in the United States work in low wage jobs, said Steven Pitts, a labor specialist focused on the black community at the University of California, Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education, who helped with the report. Pitts and the other researchers involved agree the purpose of the study is to "build a better Oakland for everyone."

To do that, the report outlines a three-point approach and shows the city how to lift its residents out of poverty with an economic strategy focused on creating quality jobs. Moving a quarter of the city's high-need residents — 10,000 people — into family-sustaining jobs is a top priority.

"The full extent of joblessness is larger than previously understood and employment stats don't tell the whole story," said Jennifer Li, research director at EBASE. "There are ways to make poor quality jobs better and the city has a job to set that expectation."

The second strategy in the report is to identify prominent industry sectors such as retail, trade and logistics, health care, biotech and retail for economic growth for the city.

Amaha Kassa, executive director for EBASE, said each of these sectors can help improve viability and offer career advancement opportunities unlike that of dead-end jobs.

The report also focuses on a goal to increase the portion of accessible new jobs in Oakland paying Basic Family Wage ($18.53) from 32 to 50 percent during the next five years. The third recommendation focuses on the need to better evaluate the impacts of development projects and to push for high labor standards, more work force training and local hiring.

"These sectors represent entry level and middle tier jobs," said Lorraine Giordano, a work force development expert who also served as a member of Mayor Ron Dellums Taskforce for Workforce Development. "There needs to be a stronger link between economic and workforce development."

The community is invited to attend a summit to discuss the report today 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the gymnasium at Saint Anthony's Church,, 1500 E. 15th St.