Re: plan to employ SF homeless in live-in factory: Uhlman INFO
Theodore Latham (tedrico@hotmail.com)
Mon, 27 Apr 1998 21:17:39 PDT
John Uhlman,
In response to the following question:
>I want to know if there are any similar projects that you are familiar
with. I want to know this so I can learn as much as possible from them,
about what worked, and what didnt, to basically get as much information
as possible in advance of launching our plans.
I will tell you of my homelessness experience while working for
Industrial Labor Services (I.L.S.), in Houston, San Antonio, and Austin
Texas from 8/95 to 12/95. First may I say, your program will be a
success, especially since San Francisco had no such program, while I was
homeless there last summer! Now, back to Texas. When I first arrived to
Texas, for the 1st time after hitchhiking from Lake Charles, LA, I had
already known about the availabilty of Day Labor, moreso out west, than
in my native East Coast region! After going through the Harris County
Library microfiche I came up with 2 possiblilities for me to earn some
quick cash: Labor Force and I.L.S! I went to Labor Force, only to find
better than 250 people lounging around the Labor Hall waiting to get a
ticket somewhere! Since, I was an addict, my waiting around patience was
low to non-existant so I panhandled bus fair and rode the bus to ILS on
Collingsworth and Legion! I was surprised , when I entered the main
entrance, to see a coffee machine, bunk beds, shower facilities, and
microwaves! Although I didn't hang around to get a ticket and later left
Houston enroute to San Antonio, I knew that this place would suit my
emp,oyment and homelessness needs!
Once, in San Antonio, I located ILS and caught the bus to
Fredericksburg Rd. and got on a work ticket as soon as I completed my
application! To my surprise they even issued work eq. (gloves, hard
hats, masks, aprons, boots, tools, etc.) And on top of that, they even
took the workers out to the job via company van, and then picked you up
when your shift was over! Then when I got back and received my $35 for a
days work, I learned that I could stay in the bunk house for $7 a night
and if I wished to save my money, I could sign up for their "Pay Check
Draw" program, in which (like the bank) I could make withdrawals and
deposits to and from my earned income! And speaking of earned income,
that was the only thing deducted from my checks! But as an abuser of
drugs, I eventually had to leave San Antonio, so I looked in a Telephone
Book in the Library to locate the next nearest city that had an ILS.
Which of course was Austin! So I thumbed my way up I-35 and immediately
settled into the ILS their and like before, was out on a ticket in
Research Park, that same day! So you could say, ILS took care of me
(along with the Lone Star Food Stamp Card), the entire time I was
homeless in Texas, and I ended up acquiring the skills learned from
various Job Tickets, like learning how to operate a fork lift and Pace
Foods, Inc. (maker's of Pace Picante Sauce) and learning how to mass
assemble Ice Cream at HEB Grocery, Inc, that helped me to land good jobs
in several of the other 25 states I was homeless in as the years went
on!
ILS is no longer ILS now. They have changed their name to
Pacesetter Personnel, Inc. and you can contact them in at:
1714 Collingsworth
Houston, TX
(281)224-0202
That address and phone number was from 1995 so, you may want to just
call Houston's Operator Information and ask for the new phone number if
it has changed! Well, I don't have time to spell check this, but I hope
this has been helpful to you. Nuff Said!
Regards,
Tedrico Latham
_________________________
TEDRICO'S PAGE
http://members.xoom.com/tedrico/?homeless
Your Informative Homelessness Resource Link!
P.O. Box 514 Rich Square, NC 27869 (252)539-4228
<tedrico@hotmail.com>
Tom Boland <wgcp@earthlink.net> forwarded:
>
>FWD CC Replies to author John Uhlman <Uhlman@earthlink.net>
>
>My name is John Uhlman, I am an MBA student at Dominican College of San
>Rafael, and a resident of San Francisco, Ca. My school is a Catholic
>school, and a Business school, with an orientation towards sustainable
>development. Since this is the case, we have come up with a project
idea
>to employ and house the homeless in SF. The reason I am writing to you
is
>I want to know if there are any similar projects that you are familiar
>with. I want to know this so I can learn as much as possible from
them,
>about what worked, and what didnt, to basically get as much information
as
>possible in advance of launching our plans..
>
>Our idea is to set up a manufacturing cooperative that produces womens
>clothing. What we have in mind is a live-in factory, where the homeless
are
>supplied with all the basic necessities of life. Three hot meals, a
bed,
>showers, etc. and a job. The ideal would be to use facilities at the
>Presido of SF, where their is lots of housing and possible production
>space, but since this is a long shot, there are other sites that can
be
>rented for a nominal cost. This factory would be a closely held
>corporation, where the number of hours worked would determine ones
share
>in the company, the only shareholders would be people who actually
clocked
>in, no one else would be allowed to own a share. At the end of each
>quarter, the total profits would be divided among the workers
according to
>their total shares. The catch is that if their are no profits, there
is no
>pay. I have a feeling, and I know this seems idealistic, that once the
>women of SF and the bay area, realize they can buy quality clothing at
>affordable prices made by the homeless of SF, instead of in a sweatshop
in
>the third world, we will be successful. (did you know that the average
>markup in womens clothing sold in Marin County was 100% above cost). I
>realize this sounds like exploiting people, but if the profits from
any
>successful sweatshop were distributed to the workers, and not just
taken
>by the owner, then it wouldnt be a sweatshop. There are examples of
such
>enterprises being successful, dormitory factories in China, the
Kibbutz in
>Israel, and I believe that if people believe that they are involved in
>something, that they are working for themselves, not their employers,
that
>their productivity rises, and they can out compete the low wages
offered
>in Mexico and other less developed nations. A viable economic
enterprise
>is our goal, one that includes ourselves, and about 20 to 30 formerly
>homeless people.
>
>The purpose of this project is not only to help get people of the
street,
>but to try and keep them off, giving them a chance to earn a living
and
>save money while not having to pay rent. Then after having learned job
>skills, maybe some will become self supporting, at which point they
might
>leave the cooperative and let us offer an oppurtunity to some new
clients.
>I have been a volunteer at many homeless shelters in SF and am
currently a
>volunteer for the Dept. of Human Services in SF. I have talked to many
of
>the homeless, and found some willing to take a chance, and many others
who
>do not trust us enough to be interested. The trust factor has been the
>biggest problem, people believe we will be warehousing them and using
them
>for cheap labor and then taking the money and running. But what I want
>people to know, that the balance sheet and financial position of any
>corporation is open to any shareholder, by law, and the books can be
posted
>on the wall for all to see. The fact that our school is also a convent
has
>led to the incorporation of the nuns into our plans, they provide the
>trust and assurance many people need, and they have agreed to come
with us
>in the event of actual recruting taking place. This is only a quick
>outline of the plan, if you are interested in more details please
email me
>at Uhlman@earthlink.net
>
>So in closing, what I am seeking is if you know of any people who have
been
>through a similar project, please let me know, we need to get all the
prior
>information we can, so this very difficult task might be made easier.
This
>includes people who have trained homeless for jobs, training for the
other
>MBAs who have not worked closely with the homeless before, or any other
>skills you might think helpful. Thank you very much for your time and I
>hope to hear from you soon.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>John Uhlman <Uhlman@earthlink.net>
>
>END FORWARD
>
>
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