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Rudy Howell Approved as Third Justice-Impacted Oakland Police Commissioner

By Sabrina Paynter September 28, 2021

Rudy Howell, Impact Coach at the Rubicon Education Partnership (REP), was approved as the newest commissioner on the Oakland Police Commission (OPC) at last Tuesday's city council meeting. Howell will become the third justice-impacted community member to sit on the OPC since its establishment in 2016. 

"My initial motivation was just trying to be involved in the community," Howell said. "I just wanted to be able to explain my position as somebody impacted by a lot of these laws and policies that seem to really target minority communities. A lot of times, people who create policies don't know how they impact people. They're not really affected by certain policies because they're somewhat removed from the situations they're making the rules for." 

In his role on the OPC, Howell will be tasked with reviewing and proposing changes to the Oakland Police Department's policies and procedures related to police use of force, profiling, and right to assemble, among other responsibilities outlined in the city's charter.  

Howell's focus on civic engagement will play a key part in his work on the OPC. "I think it's important that the way gets paved for formerly incarcerated people to engage civically," Howell said. "Oakland is a very important place for as far as civil rights. There's been a lot of movement in Oakland about being equitable and having a fair shake. It's not enough to talk about it; let's be about it. Let's put in the work, and let's make policies that help everybody." 

In his position at REP, Howell connects justice-impacted individuals with resources to advance their education and obtain college degrees. "My role with Rubicon is to strengthen the community with education," Howell said. "Education is not a short-term endeavor. It's a long-term investment of mind, body, and soul. It's all about the community and improving the community. The Police Commission's work is also about improving communities." 

While he was incarcerated, Howell received his A.A. in Business Administration from Lassen College and was accepted into San Francisco State University, where he began taking classes immediately upon his release. He earned a B.A. in Criminal Justice in 2016 before joining Rubicon Programs as an Impact Coach. 

Despite his success in college, Howell acknowledges that studying the justice system is not a substitute for life experience. "No book will teach any criminal justice major the impact of these policies," Howell said. "I think I'm able to articulate the impact of certain policies that are in place. Let's revise those to make it more equitable for everybody in the community." 

The process to join the OPC began in April, when Howell first applied for the role that he will take over next month. In addition to the initial application, the selection process consisted of a public statement at an OPC Selection Panel meeting, interviews with the OPC Selection Panel, background and reference checks, and a final review and approval by the Oakland City Council. Commissioners on the OPC serve three-year terms and can be selected for up to two consecutive terms.  

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Rubicon Partners With the Community to Welcome Adult Learners Back to the Classroom

By Sabrina Paynter September 24, 2021

Welcome Back Outdoor Resource/Job Fair, Tuesday, October 5, 2021,11:30 am - 2:00 pm, San Lorenzo Adult School (front parking lot), 820 Bockman Road, San Lorenzo, CA 94580As the Bay Area continues to gradually reopen with restrictions, Rubicon Programs and the San Lorenzo Adult School are teaming up with a group of over 30 community partners to host the Welcome Back Outdoor Resource/Job Fair on October 5. This is the first event of its kind at the school since late 2019.

“This pandemic has isolated people, and it’s prevented them from reaching out for help, for whatever reason,” San Lorenzo Adult School Principal Sharita Williams said. “I want to start to help break down that isolation in the community.”

Rubicon staff will be on site to connect attendees with the organization’s resources. In addition to engaging the community with Rubicon’s core programs and supportive services, staff will have information about COVID-19 relief grants and unique work opportunities available because of pandemic funding.

In addition to Rubicon, at least 33 confirmed vendors, many with job openings they are looking to fill, will be at the event. Diane Jesus, Workforce Development Navigator for Rubicon Programs, sees the event as a way to inspire participants who have struggled through the pandemic. “We are coming together to give hope to the community that has been in a pandemic for the past 18 months,” Jesus said. “I feel that our community needs empowerment and hope, and we are all coming together to let them know that there are valuable resources out here, and there are a lot of employers willing to hire.”

Other community-based organizations will also be on site to connect attendees with resources. Among them will be El Shaddai Ministries from San Lorenzo, whose volunteers will be distributing 80 to 100 nonperishable food boxes. Information about COVID-19 vaccinations and testing will also be available to all attendees, and a number of vendors will conduct giveaways throughout the event.

Trish Jetson, Transition Specialist for San Lorenzo Adult School, wants the event to show people that there are resources available for them in their own neighborhoods. “We are opening our doors for in-person lessons for the first time since we closed for the pandemic in March of 2020,” Jetson said. “Sometimes people don’t know that they are living around a valuable resource, and that’s what I know this school is.”

The fair is free and open to the public. Precautions are being taken to ensure that the outdoor event remains safe for attendees, including expanded space between vendors, a mask requirement for all on site, and low-touch activities to reduce contact with communal surfaces.

Rubicon Programs and San Lorenzo Adult School have collaborated together for the past eight years to bolster one another’s services for the community. The two agencies work in partnership to provide job skills training and employment resources to students and community members, among other services.

San Lorenzo Adult School offers a variety of free classes for the community, including a high school diploma program, and courses in Adult Basic Education/GED prep, English as a second language, computer skills, discussion and conversation skills, sewing, fashion design, and more. “We want people to know that we are here and open for the community,” Williams said. “We have a lot of free classes and resources that we can provide, and we want people to know that we are here for them.”

For questions or to get your organization involved in the event, contact Diane Jesus at dianej@rubiconprograms.org.

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Rubicon’s Workforce Services Team Meets Your Hiring Needs

By Rubicon Author September 21, 2021

Rubicon’s Workforce Services team provides top-notch employment services to local Bay Area businesses looking to expand their workforce at no cost.

Our team connects you with pre-screened, qualified job applicants at no cost to the employer. Serving a geographic area spanning the entire East Bay with offices in Hayward, Richmond, Concord, and Antioch, we draw on a roster of over five hundred job seekers to find people who meet your unique hiring needs. Our business clients range from multi-national corporations to local small business owners.

Our Workforce Liaisons provide a comprehensive array of staffing services to employers including:

  • Customized direct staffing assistance
  • Pre-screening and referrals of qualified candidates
  • Free distribution and advertising of current job postings
  • Virtual recruiting and hiring events
  • Pre and post-employment support
  • Employee retention assistance

Wage Reimbursements:

  • Mitigate new hire costs
  • Wage reimbursements up to $5,000

No-cost Labor Assistance:

  • Temporary labor assignments 
  • Increase workplace productivity 

If you are a business owner or hiring manager and would like to learn more about how Rubicon can help solve your staffing needs at no cost to you, please contact:

Business Service Manager, Workforce Services 
Gloribel Pastrana
gloribelp@rubiconprograms.org

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Forging Connection Across Distance

By Rubicon Author February 3, 2021

What happens when work that depends on the human element loses that face-to-face connection? Like countless other organizations across the globe, Rubicon has been grappling with a remote reality since March 2020. The emotional and technological challenges have been undeniable, but there have also been encouraging bright spots along the way thanks to the resiliency and innovation of staff and participants alike. 

Concord-based Career Advisor Greg Reimer is one Rubicon staff member who has seized the moment as a chance to get creative about how he works. Greg was, at first, trepidatious about having to connect with folks across a screen. Coaching depends on establishing “trust and a personal connection,” he says. “I knew the work would not feel the same, and I was curious to see how that would impact my relationship with participants.”  
 

Greg Reimer
Career Advisor Greg Reimer misses in-person interactions with participants but has found ways to stay connected.

Greg helps participants map out and achieve their career goals, a role he adores. “When I can help someone unlock their growth mindset and make a profound shift - that never gets old,” he says.   

In the early days of the pandemic, as meetings with participants switched from in-person sessions to video conferences and online classes, it was immediately clear that remote work was exacerbating existing challenges and inequities. “We identified digital literacy as an imperative,” Greg says.

Rubicon has provided laptops and stipends for WIFI to participants, but figuring out how to teach digital literacy at a distance took some ingenuity. Greg and others at Rubicon sprang into action, creating a teaching library of documents on everything from setting up an email account to using Google docs. Participants loved these new resources, consuming them quickly and asking for more. Still, technology hurdles persisted, so the team came up with an innovative solution: they hired a couple of computer-savvy former participants to staff a help line for those in need.  
 
Sarah A, who was a member of Concord’s first comprehensive program cohort, enjoys her new position as a Technical Assistant. She was working as a Community Resource Director at East Bay Works before the pandemic, but the position is currently on hold. In her new role at Rubicon, she is on the job for four hours a day, fielding phone calls from participants with tech issues.  
 
An aspiring social worker, Sarah does not identify as a techie but rather as a quick learner. She taught herself the ins and outs of Google Classroom in order to assist participants with that sometimes-confusing platform, but she says most of her calls are simple issues, like log-in problems or trouble with WIFI connectivity. Because she has been through the Rubicon comprehensive program, she knows that “it can be overwhelming at first. It’s a new way of doing things, a new way of thinking.” She is happy to be able to help participants with these issues so that they can concentrate on the content of the classes rather than on their frustrations with the technology.  
 
While remote meetings will never replace being with participants in-person, Greg is pleased that he is able to offer all of the same services, from teaching classes to conducting mock interviews to helping people access career training. In addition, he says, he loves that he can reach participants all over the East Bay because of the way remote work breaks down geographical barriers.  
 
Rubicon is committed to remaining connected with participants until the day in-person meetings and classes resume. 

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Prop 22: What Happened and Where Do We Go From Here?

By Rubicon Author January 21, 2021

As we begin this new year, we are taking the opportunity to wrap up our post-November 2020 election snapshots.  We realize that for most of us, that election is a dim memory, but the lessons we are hearing from all of the organizers with whom we speak include the need to stay vigilant—there is more work to do. In that spirit, this last piece covers Prop 22, the passage of which allows app-based delivery services to classify their drivers as independent contractors, rather than employees.

The easy victory of Proposition 22 is a cautionary tale - a lesson in the power of money and a slick disinformation campaign to sway voters. According to Rey Fuentes of the Partnership for Working Families, “They spent 200 million dollars. With money like that, I don’t know what else can be said.”  

By “they” Fuentes means Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and other gig economy companies who will no longer be required to treat workers as employees entitled to labor protections and benefits. The measure was designed to exempt the companies from a state labor law that would have forced them to employ drivers and pay for health care, unemployment insurance and other benefits. Widely condemned by workers' rights advocates, the passage of the proposition has wide ranging ramifications for the future of gig economy companies nationwide.

With early indicators that Prop 22 would not pass, the companies mobilized, setting a spending record to flood TV and digital ad spaces. Perhaps most insidious, says Fuentes, is the way these companies “co-opted the message of worker advocates.” They bombard drivers and customers alike with in-app notifications and emails touting worker freedom and flexibility and suggesting that the drivers themselves wanted to remain independent contractors. For workers’ rights advocates like Fuentes, the counter-message—“there is nothing flexible about a job where you lose a week’s wages if, say, a family member gets sick”—was drowned out by a sea of Prop 22 propaganda.  

Featuring drivers’ voices front and center was a major key to the Yes on 22 side’s victory. In addition, Fuentes says, the gig companies found some high-profile community partners to deliver their misleading message, among them the California chapter of the NAACP, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and the state’s Hispanic, Black and Asian American chambers of commerce. 

Moving forward, Fuentes says his organization is focused on helping individual workers get what they are owed, including the unemployment benefits for which they are still eligible. “The Passage of Prop 22 should have no impact on past liability -- workers should explore how to preserve their claims before the statute of limitations runs out. Enforcement can and will still take place to capture back wages due, regardless of the companies' position on the effect of Prop 22” he said, adding that they will be keeping an eye on whether or not companies are delivering on what they promised to workers under this new 'independent contractor plus' status.   

Meanwhile, Albertson’s, one of the largest grocery chains in the nation, recently announced that they will be ending their home delivery service in favor of third-party gig workers, drawing swift backlash from unions representing workers at Albertsons who say the chain’s decision will end up degrading good delivery jobs. And on Monday, a labor union and a group of drivers are suing to overturn the proposition. The groups filed suit Tuesday in California’s Supreme Court, alleging Prop 22 violates the state constitution and limits the power of state legislators to implement certain worker protections.  

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