Monthly Archives: July 2011

United Workers Stand Up for Transparency

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Many Baltimoreans were stunned by the recent revelation that the metro area is one of the most expensive places to live in the nation. Low-wage workers serving Harbor Place and other tourist venue employers have known and dealt with this fact for years. They organized to address their plight collectively. The result of this organizing is United Workers, a collective of “low-wage workers leading the way to poverty’s end.”

United Workers and allies protested at the headquarters of Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC) over the lack of transparency in dealings between the Corporation and real estate developers. The Cordish Company, “one of the largest and most respected developers in the world” has sought from the BDC rent concessions on other property it leases from Baltimore City totaling $3 million in exchange for improvements it intends to make at Power Plant Live which it leases from the city for $1,000.00 per year plus 22% of net profits. United Workers has a problem with this because there has been no public notification or input concerning the negotiations on the proposal.

Fair Wages and Benefits from Greg Cundiff on Vimeo.

The workers call for implementation of what they call “fair development” when developers utilize public funds or resources in their planning process. Unfortunately when development plans are goals are held secret there is no medium for public input. United Workers released a paper called, “Hidden in Plain Sight” which documents the need for fair development and the barriers to its implementation.

The Baltimore Development Corporation, created under former mayor William Donald Schaeffer, is a so-called quasi-public organization. It seeks funding from city government as any other public agency while maintaining the secrecy of a private company. The theory proposed by quasi-public development organizations is the secrecy is needed to conduct sensitive business negotiations. Community organizers counter that this secrecy keeps the public from knowing how public funds are used.

For background on how the development process works in Baltimore, please see Betty G. Robinson’s article, The Walmart Struggle in Baltimore – An Organizer Reflects on Addressing Public Money Giveaways to Corporate Power.

 

 


Housing in Baltimore – Not very affordable

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If you want to live in Baltimore you’d better make an accountant’s salary or better.So suggests a Baltimore Sun article announcing the results of a nationwide housing affordability report released last week.

The National Housing Conference and The Center for Housing Policy released “Paycheck to Paycheck” a report on wages and the cost of housing in the US on July 21.

The report wasn’t encouraging for middle-to-low income workers in the Baltimore region. Out of 210 metropolitan regions Baltimore is tied with Vallejo, California for being the 22nd most expensive rental market in the nation. Up from 35th last year, the Baltimore market is the 31st most expensive home ownership market in the nation.

The hypothetical accountant earns $55,549. At this earning level, an accountant qualifies for a two-bedroom apartment because the income falls short of the $65,143 required to qualify for a mortgage on a $220,000 home – the median value for the region. A janitor, office clerk, or security guard doesn’t stand much of a chance. A veteran disabled in Iraq or Afghanistan brings in on the order of $20K less than the accountant. Where and how do they live?

There are houses and apartments across the city that don’t reflect the high prices in this report. A look through the City Paper Classifieds appears to bear this out. What is the truth on the street about affordable housing in Baltimore? Over the next few weeks, Sustainworx is going to dig around in Baltimore’s housing market to figure out where real people live.