Welfare: Business must pay living wages and provide health benefits for all workers.

Los Angeles, at the crossroads between Latin America and the Pacific Rim, is ground zero for all the forces that bear on the welfare reform debate. Our landscape features thriving industries bolstered by a publicly funded infrastructure, a rising immigrant population that toils in the most dynamic sectors of the economy and multitudes of working poor in the shadows of billionaires.

When he signs the welfare reform bill, President Clinton will have made a calculated political decision in heat of election-year battle. Leaders from government, industry and organized labor and community service organizations must now respond with a moral decision to do what is right for our people and our economy.

Last year, these diverse sectors proved that it can be done. The largest county workers’ union--Service Employees International Union Local 660--spearheaded a broad-based coalition that halted a potentially devastating wave of L.A. County budget cuts. A powerful alliance of labor, political and civic leaders rallied to defend jobs and services, ultimately securing state and federal funding to maintain services. Following the union’s lead, the supervisors established a health crisis task force to ease the threat of full-scale meltdown. Now we need an economic crisis task force to advance a longterm vision.

Some joint efforts already are under way in government. County officials are reportedly reaching out to Mayor Richard Riordan for assistance in coping with the welfare-reform impact. The city may not have a legal obligation to take up the welfare issue, but its leaders ought to accept the moral obligation to defend their constituents. Today, the Southern California Assn. of Governments will host an economic summit aimed at uniting our six-county congressional delegation around an agenda that serves the state’s bipartisan interest.

SCAG is correct to acknowledge the need, as Palm Desert Mayor Pro-tem Richard Kelly puts it, to “address and rectify the increasing dissimilarity between the economic health of the city, the suburbs and the region” or “the region’s image as a prosperous and dynamic place for doing business will be stigmatized.” This vision represents a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t look as though seats at the table have been extended to labor and the community. They, too, must be full partners in the search for economic relief or the effort will fall short.

Labor and the community figure prominently in several legislative drives now under way. This fall, the Los Angeles City Council is expected to vote on an ordinance that would guarantee a family-supporting wage to employees of the city proper, its semi-autonomous agencies and its subcontractors. The ordinance is backed by organizations ranging from the Tourism Industry Development Council to labor unions to community advocates and academic institutions. Labor is also campaigning for passage of Proposition 210, which would raise the state minimum wage above the federal level, and Proposition 217, which would tax the wealthiest 1.2% of Californians to fund local services.

Passage of the so-called living wage ordinance would thin the ranks of the working poor and curtail the corporate welfare that the private sector receives by leaving its employees uninsured and dependent on the public health system. There are more than 2 million uninsured Angelenos who use public hospitals, and more than 80% come from working households. Ironically, the garment, hospitality and service industries--prospective employers for people moving off welfare rolls--are leading benefactors of this corporate welfare.

County supervisors are resuming budget deliberations today. Earlier debate was narrowly focused on which jail wings and towers to open to lock up more of our neighbors. If we want to bridge the social and economic gaps that divide us, if we want to defend dignity and respect, if we want to promote a substantive solution to overcrowded jails, we should affirm a moral commitment to the health, welfare and education of all Angelenos--from the bottom up.