Gov’t helped save promoters – and the arts

 Bill Knight column for 9-6, 7 or 8, 2021

 The arts are vital to America, and many culture groups were hit hard during the pandemic, according to Brookings Institution, which reported the sector lost $150 billion in revenue and 2.7 million jobs. Fortunately, Washington saw that helping such organizations was needed to revive the country, recognizing that the arts matter not only as a key part of the economy, but to help people appreciate and better understand the world.

The government aid has helped many, despite difficulties.

Now called the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG), administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA), such assistance was initially proposed as “Save Our Stages,” by Sens. John Cronyn (R-Texas) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), providing a lifeline for theaters, museums, dance companies, humanities centers, etc.

Open to businesses that suffered substantial financial losses, it passed and provides about $16 billion in funding to such cultural institutions

Stephen Chilton, a board member with the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), said, “A lot of venues made the decision to hold on instead of close when the aid package was approved.”

Peoria Civic Center General Manager Rik Edgar said they received a SVOG grant in last month.

“We submitted paperwork as soon as we were eligible,” he said. “It took several months, but we understood it would be lengthy process with so many venues needing assistance.”

            Downstate Illinois’ nationally known promoter Jay Goldberg – whose 20^th annual Summer Camp music festival was postponed by COVID last year – said he received help, but the process took more than six months.

“The delays were very stressful,” Goldberg said. “They obviously were not prepared and had several online-access issues. There were also lots of changes to the rules and qualifications as they got into it and realized all the questions and the unique situations involved.”

Some regional venues didn’t seek SVOG help.

            “Peoria Riverfront Museum was fortunate to receive Payroll Protection Program loans in both round 1 (2020) and round 2 (2021), along with Employee Retention Credits,” said museum CFO Ruth Bittner. “These programs limited the amount of expenses toward which we would be able to apply a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, to the point that the time spent applying for SVOG would have outweighed what we would have received from it.”

The process didn’t go smoothly, despite Klobuchar originally predicting money should arrive “the month after the month of application.”

It took three months after passage that SVOG’s web site went live, in April, when it crashed and had to shut down hours later. Applicants couldn’t log on or received error messages, and eventually found it burdensome and confusing. Some had to resubmit applications

“Everyone is frustrated,” Chilton said.

The SBA – overwhelmed by innumerable applications arriving almost simultaneously, as operators competed against each other – warned of online fraud, which discouraged some applicants.

Adam Hartke is another member of NIVA, which complained to Congress, and he said that some delays stemmed from the SVOG’s version of an IRS form giving SBA access to tax records.

“It seems as if there’s no rhyme or reason,” Hartke told Billboard magazine.

Months after the hope was offered, some venues were still waiting.

“I’m frustrated because, with NIVA, we’ve done our jobs. The House and Senate have done their jobs. They responded to us by voting in this bill,” Montana concert promoter Sean Lynch told Rolling Stone. “But then it was handed off to people who didn’t seem to have that urgency.”

Things improved. In early June, only about $127 million had been disbursed, and by late June, the SBA had given out 1,345 awards, a fraction of the 10,000 applicants the administration hoped for by July 4. But on Aug. 9, the SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance reported that $8.4 billion had been awarded to 10,826 of 15,872 applicants.

But now – with new COVID variants and inadequate vaccinations (more than 98% of COVID hospitalizations and deaths are unvaccinated, according to the Associated Press) – any government aid seems invaluable.

            “The most important element for us was to receive some dollars so we could get back on our feet,” said Civic Center GM Rik Edgar said, “We are very appreciative for the assistance we received.”

Church defends, honors work and organized labor

 Bill Knight column for 9-2, 3 or 4, 2021

Like most people of faith, I believe God wants us to love each other.

Like some, I think He also wants us to expect that, even insist on it.

This Labor Day, I’m comforted by documents from my faith traditions that assert the dignity of labor, whether work itself or union members.

            Last year, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a pastoral guide, “Faithful Citizenship,” which stated, “If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers, owners and others must be respected – the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to organize and choose to join a union, to economic initiative, and to ownership and private property.”

            Such principles are as old as the Gospel and the Church, and Catholic social teachings on workers’ rights have been clear and consistent for a century.

            This year, Pope Francis addressed the International Labor Organization and tied workers’ rights to an understanding of humanity, seeing a prominent place for organized labor: “In our haste to return to greater economic activity, let us avoid the past fixations on profit, isolation and nationalism, blind consumerism and denial of the clear evidence that signals discrimination against our ‘throwaway’ brothers and sisters. Let us look for solutions that will help us build a new future of work based on decent and dignified working conditions, that originate in collective negotiation, and that promote the common good. That is what it is about: being human.”

            Seven key church documents address labor:

“Rerum Novarum,” 1891. This encyclical letter by Pope Leo XIII called on the faithful to “save unfortunate working people from the cruelty of men of greed, who use human beings as mere instruments for money-making.” Leo argued that workers’ right to a living wage took precedence over the free market.

“Quadragesimo Anno,” 1931. On the 40th anniversary of “Rerum Novarum,” Pope Pius XI reaffirmed its teachings.

“Gaudium Et Spes,” 1965. The Second Vatican Council declared that the right to form labor unions is a human right. “Among the basic rights of the human person is the right of freely founding unions for working people … without risk of reprisal.”

“Laborem Exercens,” 1981. Pope John Paul II in this encyclical features a section, “The Importance of Unions,” saying, “Workers should be assured the right to strike, without being subjected to … sanctions for taking part.”

“Economic Justice for All,” 1986. U.S. Catholic Bishops’ pastoral letter defended the right to organize. “The Church fully supports the right of workers to form unions or other associations to secure their rights to fair wages and working conditions. We firmly oppose organized efforts, such as those regrettably now seen in this country, to break existing unions and prevent workers from organizing.”

“Centesimus Annus,” 1991. St. John Paul II’s encyclical endorsed states as agents of justice for the poor and for human rights, especially wage-earners, including the right to form labor unions.

“Caritas in Veritate,” 2009. In Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical, the Pontiff said, “Through the combination of social and economic change, trade-union organizations experience greater difficulty in carrying out their task of representing the interests of workers, partly because governments often limit the freedom or the negotiating capacity of labor unions. The repeated calls issued within the Church’s social doctrine, beginning with ‘Rerum Novarum,’ for the promotion of workers’ associations that can defend their rights must therefore be honored today even more than in the past.”

 

            This holiday weekend, as we fire up our grills and honor everyday working people and “essential workers” during the pandemic, it seems appropriate to say grace with the following prayer, issued by the USCCB’s Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development last year:

“Lord God, Master of the Vineyard, how wonderful that you have invited us who labor by the sweat of our brow to be workers in the vineyard and assist your work to shape the world around us.

“As we seek to respond to this call, make us attentive to those who seek work but cannot find it.

“Help us listen to the struggles of those who work hard to provide for their families but still have trouble making ends meet.

“Open our eyes to the struggles of those exploited and help us speak for just wages and safe conditions, the freedom to organize, and time for renewal. For work was made for humankind and not humankind for work. Let it not be a vehicle for exploitation but a radiant expression of our human dignity.

“Give all who labor listening hearts that we may pause from our work to receive your gift of rest.

“Fill us with your Holy Spirit that you might work through us to let your justice reign.

“Amen.”

Advocates plan campaign for Workers’ Rights amendment

 

Bill Knight column for 8-30, 31 or 9-1, 2021

 In May, the Illinois General Assembly adopted Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment No. 11, which will be on the next general-election ballot.

“In November of 2022, voters in Illinois will consider a constitutional amendment banning any law or local ordinance ‘that interferes with, negates, or diminishes the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively over their wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment and workplace safety’,” said Marc Poulos, Executive Director and counsel of the Indiana, Illinois and Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting, a labor-management group.

Poulos was one of several speakers addressing a statewide briefing Aug. 11 at the Chicago Laborers District Council building in Burr Ridge, with about 80 people attending and others watching via Zoom.

“For the first time, Illinois voters will have the chance to enshrine ironclad protections for working people in the Illinois Constitution,” said Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea.

However, the proposed amendment doesn’t protect just unions.

“It’s about EMPLOYEES, whether they’re union members or not,” said Poulos. “It applies to everybody. It would be a constitutional right.”

The amendment would:

* give employees the fundamental right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to protect their economic welfare and safety at work;

* prohibit any law from impeding employees’ right to organize and bargain collectively; and

* that includes laws forbidding contracts mandating union membership as a condition of employment, such as misleadingly named “Right To Work” bans on employer/union agreements requiring workers represented by unions to share in the costs of representation (like Lincolnshire, Ill., unsuccessfully attempted during the Rauner administration) – and the amendment would apply to all levels of government, from public schools and townships to cities and counties).

 

The proposed amendment will need 60% of those voting on the measure itself, or a majority of those voting in the overall election.

Anzalone Liszt Grove Research found that the proposed amendment already has 63% support overall after polling more than 1,200 statistically representative Illinoisans. That includes 81% of Democrats and 57% of Republicans; 74% of Chicago residents, 69% suburbanites and 58% downstate residents; 68% of blue-collar workers and 61% of white-collar employees; 59% of non-union households and 77% of union households. (Even 46% of union households that voted for Donald Trump support the proposed amendment.)

The firm’s research also shows that 66% believe it will protect workers’ rights, although about 40% mistakenly think either it would force people to join a union or give government too much power. (In fact, it doesn’t force unionization; it gives employees freedom – a choice they may not have now. Also, it doesn’t give government too much power; actually, the amendment would PREVENT lawmakers from limiting workers’ rights.)

The proposed amendment had huge, bipartisan support in the legislature, with the Senate passing it 49-7 (with 2 not voting) and the House 80-30 (with 3 voting Present).

The campaign will include field activities and Get Out The Vote drives, plus publicity and paid advertising,

“In Illinois, everybody has somebody in their life who’s in the labor movement,” said Bob Reiter, President of the Chicago Federation of Labor.

 In that regard, advocates of workers’ rights hope to draw on Illinois’ 739,000 union members and a “Me Plus 3” initiative to expand the base of support.

“If every union member brings three people, we win,” Poulos said.

The months-long campaign is expected to cost millions of dollars to combat anticipated attacks and misinformation from opponents.

 “Everybody needs to pitch in,” Reiter said. “The enemy’s at the gate.”

Contributions, offers of other assistance, and questions may be sent to Vote Yes for Workers’ Rights, 6170 Joliet Rd., Suite 200, Countryside, IL 60525.

Dems’ agenda, people’s future at stake this week

 Bill Knight column for 8-26, 27 or 28, 2021

  

Simmering discord in the U.S. House this week may tempt some to think of Shakespeare’s old line “A pox on both your houses.”

That’s understandable...

… unless you have kids, find health care inadequate, feel college is unaffordable, think the rich don’t pay their share of taxes, or worry about climate change.

The House is about to debate the $3.5 trillion spending plan that passed the Senate on a party-line vote, plus the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that the Senate also approved.

However, two caucuses of House Democrats disagree on the next steps in meeting challenges to the country. Nine conservative Democrats say they won’t back the (budget reconciliation) spending plan unless the infrastructure measure comes up first, and 96 members of the Progressive Caucus (co-founded 30 years ago by the late Illinois Congressman Lane Evans) insist on voting for the budget spending plan first or they won’t back the infrastructure bill.

In the Senate, conservative Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona are now wavering, too, and progressive Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts dismissed such conservative threats as “climate denial masquerading as bipartisanship.”

Most House Democrats want to enact Biden’s agenda and serve the public. (After all, Biden voters were clamoring for a pro-democracy, pro-racial justice administration different than the Trump term, not bipartisanship-above-all and better highways.

“Congress can make a down payment not only in hard infrastructure through this bipartisan legislation,” said Illinois’ progressive Congresswoman Marie Newman, “but also in social, human and climate infrastructure through the reconciliation process.”

Infrastructure funding would mean tens of thousands of good, unionized jobs and improvements besides highways, and airports: upgrading the electric grid, mass transit, and high-speed internet PLUS restoring public confidence that government can address people’s needs despite filibuster obstructionism and deference to campaign contributors’ interests.

In Illinois, that could include funding for roads and bridges, but also cyberattack protections, electric-vehicle charging stations, replacing dangerous lead water pipes and modernizing public transportation.

As Newman said, the infrastructure bill alone is insufficient if social needs aren’t addressed. That makes the budget plan more important, progressives say.

The budget plan/reconciliation – the largest expansion of the social safety net since the New Deal decades ago – could cut prescription drug costs, make two years of community college tuition-free, guarantee medical leave, provide universal Pre-K, a Civilian Climate Corps, Medicare expansion and more.

The budget bill is a blueprint outlining goals; lawmakers have yet to detail specifics.

Conservatives want cuts or compromises, despite analysts such as Columbia University economic historian Adam Tooze saying the infrastructure bill will pay for itself with increased economic output and its increased tax revenue.

Progressives argue the current bills ARE the compromise since they’d originally urged a $6 trillion investment in infrastructure AND social needs, and groups such as Public Citizen, MoveOn.org, Women’s March, and the Working Families Party are rallying for unity.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who on Saturday said it’s vital to act swiftly, scheduled the spending plan-reconciliation first, saying, “The House must pass the budget reconciliation immediately. [It’s] the key to unlocking the 51-vote privilege of the reconciliation package for our transformative Build Back Better” priorities. (House Dems have a 220-212 majority; the Senate is split 50-50, with Vice President Kamala the tiebreaker.)

Pelosi also said after reconciliation and infrastructure, she’ll introduce the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore and bolster voting rights weakened by the Supreme Court and some states’ efforts to suppress turnouts.

Despites infighting, Senate Leader Chuck Schumer and President Biden have largely sidestepped the bickering. They seem to respect conservatives’ traditional, cautious approach while also valuing progressives’ ideas and energy. The Democratic Party is a big tent, and caucuses often work together (witness progressive freshman Congresswoman Cori Bush’s protest about expiring eviction protections, resulting in an extension).

Democratic leaders in both chambers say they’re optimistic that the bills will pass, and Progressive Caucus member Ro Khanna from California said, “It’s going to be a challenge. I’m confident we’ll get it done.”

Schumer hopes for legislation to be finalized by mid-September.

Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell and 16 other Republicans who voted for infrastructure know that repairing bridges and roads is popular, but so is repairing Americans’ lives.

Still, maybe it’s time for sparring Democrats to appreciate winning a 69-30 infrastructure vote and pass the budget reconciliation – “settling” for some advancements.

Another old saying, attributed to Voltaire, comes to mind: “Perfect is the enemy of good.”