The
Community Alliance for a Sustainable
Economy
The mission of the
Community
Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (CASE) is to provide leadership in
the
Monterey Bay region on issues affecting working people and their
families, to
build a support structure for labor-community
organizing and to build
cross–cultural coalitions that strengthen the voice of immigrants,
youth and
other groups historically excluded from power.
The founding of CASE was one
of the primary outcomes of a two-year planning and capacity building
process,
starting in 2002 and involving a diverse group of labor and community
activists
affiliated with unions and community organizations in the Monterey Bay
region.
Current efforts focus on
campaigns for economic justice and immigrant rights, on supporting the
local
movement for affordable health care and educational opportunities, and
on
building a structure of support for progressive innovations in local
unions and
community organizations, including youth programs, immigrant rights
alliances,
and workers’ centers. Receiving office space and staff support from the
Monterey Bay Central Labor Council on an in-kind basis, CASE is already
rooted
in the largest regularly meeting group of social justice activists in
the
region and has an unprecedented opportunity to provide effective
leadership for
social change.
CASE
is dedicated to the idea that all people regardless of their race,
gender, age,
citizenship status or union membership deserve respect, economic
opportunity
and equal treatment under the law. We believe government should
prioritize
policies that promote good jobs, youth opportunities, affordable
housing,
peace, and equal rights for all. We believe that increasing civic
engagement
and participation among immigrants and other low wage workers (who make
up the
vast majority of the workforce in our region) is the best way to
achieve these
goals. And we believe that the labor
movement can be a more effective force to achieve these goals if we
bring
together different unions on a community basis and help them to deepen
their
relationship to working families and communities.
