0 12 - The Michigan Daily - Orientation Edition 2006 VIEWPOINT Walk a mile in different shoes Homeless for the holidays WHITNEY DIBO ENTER ST AE LEFT By JARED GOLDBERG We take for granted the gifts blue-collar work- ers and unions have given us. Since the University cut its $1.4-million contract with the Coca-Cola Company over winter break, critic after critic, mostly on the conservative side, has come out of the woodwork to complain. "Under these circumstances, is it worth trashing good, middle-class Michigan jobs for what even members of the Coke coalition describe as a 'sym- bolic victory?' I'm sure the soon-to-be laid off Michigan workers will completely understand," wrote Frank Manley (I'd like to buy the world a Coke, 01/17/06). "It's easy to sign a petition for higher minimum wages as a way to end poverty, a stop-gap policy that neglects the fundamental issues behind structural poverty ... good works are the sine qua non of basic activism," opines the editorial board of The Michigan Review, the cam- pus conservative/libertarianjournal. Itis easy to shrug offthe accomplishments ofstu- dent activists for labor, especially if you don't share their politics or are completely apathetic to their cause. Recall last year when the Graduate Employ- ee's Organization and the Lecturers' Employee Organization held a campus walkout because the University administration was being less than compromising during contract negotiations. Then- Engineering freshman Ann Griffin displayed her sentiments with a single sign, photographed and placed in the Daily for all to see: "GSIs: Get Your Ass Back In Class!" How sympathetic. But until all of us have to work in minimum- wage jobs where the rules about fair labor practices are often forgotten, we'll never know what it is like. Until last summer, I never appreciated these things either. I considered luxuries like a 10-minute break for every 5 hours I worked inalienable rights. Inalienable indeed. That particular summer I worked as a dishwasher and food preparer at a national restaurant chain, one that is known for transforming outdoorsy treats such as s'mores to urban delicacies. Being naive as usual, I assumed the rules and rights that I had come to rely on in previous jobs would apply. I could not have been more wrong. I was not allowed to take any breaks whatsoever, though my shifts often lasted eight hours or more. As I punched out one night, I took note of the time on my punch-out slip of how long I had worked: 9 hours, 59 minutes. Food was not free, and if I wanted any fountain drink, including tap water, I had to ask the manager. The managers took breaks often and could not be bothered when they did. Realistically, my experiences don't even com- pare to the murder of union leaders at Coke's bottling plants in Colombia, the deaths of min- ers in unsafe mines or the millions of workers who don't make a living wage. Itis clear by these examples that the regulations and rights that so many fought for in decades past are never set in stone. If we don't watch it, they could be robbed from underneath our feet. My mother, for much of her youth, did not look favorably on unions. Whether it was their bureau- cracy or the penchant some had for corruption, she went through life with the attitude that unions are not the best solution to labor problems. And then she joined one. As a social worker in Wayne County's Fam- ily Independence Agency, she joined the state employee's union, run through the UAW. When she finally retired, she came through the experi- ence on the opposite side from which she had started. "When I saw how employers could take advantage of workers in spite of their contracts, I saw that a strong union is necessary to protect workers' rights," she said. How did she cometothis conclusion?Due tolaws preventing state employees from going on strike, she saw that her union was becoming increasingly too weak and comfortable with the state. With a weak union, she and her fellow workers couldn'tdo anything as the state took more and more benefits and rights away. Her weak union had no recourse to help social workers when instances of violence and threats became regular occurrences. We can all criticize the anti-Coke movement, GEO, LEO and other workers-rights campaigns. But until we walk amile in their shoes, we'llnever know the hardships many workers endure, the oppression they face and the struggles they live through. And until we do, our criticisms will be meaningless. -Feb. 2, 2006 Goldberg is an LSA senior and a member of the Daily's editorial board. W little kid, the idea of home- lessness plagued me. I just could not understand why some people had to stand outside in the blistering Chicago winter while I got to live in a warm apart- ment with my parents. In my eight-year-old head, it just didn't make any sense. I was too young, of course, to internalize the socioeconomic reality of this country or the harsh tradeoffs of a capitalist system. I did not yet know the problems of affordable housing, minimum wage, employment opportunity and all the other roadblocks to the American Dream. All I understood was that these people didn't have a place to sleep. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a startling 37 million Americans currently live in poverty, and the average family is a dangerous three paychecks away from homelessness. These are shameful sta- tistics from one of the world's wealthiest countries. Right here in Washtenaw County, 2,756 people will experience homelessness each year, with 41 people becoming homeless in any given week. For me, Ann Arbor is where I go to school, where I have my first apartment, where I go to football games and write for the paper. I have a home here, and I have a home in Chicago where I'll go for the holidays. But for too many people, Ann Arbor does not mean home or opportunity - it means a lack of affordable housing, a tough job market and a really, really cold winter. The familiar faces we see around campus are often not representative of Ann Arbor's larger home- less population. There are many people we never see, living just a few blocks away from campus at the Robert J. Delonis Center. Each night the Delo- nis Center can accommodate 50 people in its regular shelter and another 25 in a rotating shelter. During the winter months, an additional 50 can fit inside its "warming center" - a room with chairs and blan- kets but no beds. Shelter director Ruth Shabazz says the shelter is nearly full to capacity every night. I know as well as any University student that it's difficult to make time to volunteer amidst the never- ending demands of schoolwork. But as the perilous Michigan winter sets in, maybe we should all make a New Year's resolution to find the time. The Uni- versity community has not only the responsibility but also the manpower to really make a difference in Ann Arbor's fight against homelessness. No matter what your interests or how much time you are willing to commit,there are hundreds of ways to get involved. Many students aren't even aware that places to volunteer exist right in their own backyard LIVE ON YOUR FEET -steps away from the academic buildings, bars and restaurants we all so regularly frequent. The Delonis Center is a good place to start. A truly incredible facility, the shelter provides basics like warm showers, laundry and a place to sleep -while also offering job counseling, substance abuse treat- ment and on-site medical care. Volunteers go through a short four-hour training session, and then can sign up for shifts almost anytime of the day. There is also the Ozone House -a crisis support and housing agency for youth who have run away, become homeless or found themselves in unsafe or unstable situations. Volunteers can help out around the house or work the crisis hotline after a two-week intensive training program. The next volunteer training date is right around the corner on Jan. 9 - perfect timing for anyone who wants to make good on that New Year's resolution. Or if you think you're better off working with kids, SOS Community Services runs the Time 4 Tots program - a daycare center that provides a safe, nurturing environment for homeless children from infancy through preschool while their parents are searching for housing or employment or getting treatment for substance abuse. These are just a few of the many organizations that need student volunteers. If you wanta complete list, just go on www.volunteer-connection.org and you'll find a directory of all community service opportuni- ties in Ann Arbor. The possibilities are endless. As for day-to-day interaction with people living in poverty, it's easy to become desensitized when walking to and from Angell Hall. When I visited the Delonis center earlier this week, I asked vol- unteer coordinator Jennifer Crippin what she does when panhandlers ask for money: "Whether you give a dollar or not," she said, "passing along infor- mation about the shelter in your neighborhood is important." It's a personal choice whether or not to give, butpointing a person in the right direction (in this case, toward the Delonis Center) could make a world of difference. Time, however, can be a more valuable currency than money. Interaction fosters understanding, and in working closely with the homeless community we can begin to breakdown stereotypes surrounding homelessness in Ann Arbor. As most will find intheir first few hours of volunteering, these people are not stereotypes or statistics. Shelter director Ruth Shaba- zz said it well: "The challenge in life is to get beyond stereotypes and get to know people as people." Maybe we should put that on our New Year'sres- olution list too - right above volunteering time in Ann Arbor next semester. -Dec. 9, 2005 Dibo is a member ofthe Daily's editorial board. She can be reached at wdibo@umich.edu. 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