Jobs-Not Cuts Rally on Oct 14

IMPORTANT UPDATE!!!

The following is a message from the host of Jobs Not Cuts - Building Bridges, the Jobs Not Cuts: Week of Action Event that you signed up to attend:

You are receiving this message as one of our 112 people registered to attend our Jobs Not Cuts rally on the Alameda de las Pulgas bridge over Highway 92, on Friday, at 4 p.m.

We are so grateful for your participation, most particularly during this crucial political moment in time when the status quo has become more open to change.

Now this news from our Life is a Moving Target department:

A reporter called me this afternoon to say he had heard back from CalTrans who told him the Alameda de las Pulgas bridge was fixed within this past year and is ** no longer structurally deficient. ** It seems that federal reports, just like census and budget data, run a year or more behind.

He asked me how this affects our rally scheduled for tomorrow (Friday). I laughed and said we no longer had the ideal location, but it is clearly too late to do anything about it, and our concerns about both the need for jobs and our aging infrastructure are unchanged. I also expressed appreciation for the work of CalTrans. It is good news that the bridge is now rated as a 7 in regard to its structure.

The rally is still on, and we are expecting it to draw media attention. I‚m writing so that we all understand how important it is that we are absolutely truthful with the press and public about this new information. CalTrans will certainly be issuing their own statement to the press. Let's applaud them for their good work. Let‚s ask the press to keep us informed on progress made on all the other bridges.

Let's make sure that signs say things like --Fix Our Bridges,-- but not --Fix THIS bridge.-- Let's be candid about what we have just learned, and take it with good humor, but add that every Bay Area citizen knows how horrible our roads are, that there is cause to be concerned about other bridges, pipelines, sewage, etc. etc. Continue to call attention to unacceptable levels of unemployment that must be addressed BEFORE we can work on the deficit issue. If the process is reversed, unemployment will continue to rise.

The AFL-CIO is reporting depression era levels of unemployment in the construction industry, as high as 20% !!!

The Gallup organization just reported this week that a greater percentage of Americans now struggle to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads than do people in China.

Just a few months ago the American Society of Civil Engineers released their 2011 report card for the SF Bay Area, giving our region‚s infrastructure a disappointing rating of C, and calling on us to make this a funding priority. Time is NOT on our side.

We still have a lot to say, so let's say it well.
If you have any questions, please contact me directly at Coordinator.mpadc@gmail.com

Looking forward to being together,
Cilla
Council Coordinator

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You are receiving this email (along with over 100 others) because you have registered for our bridge rally, this Friday, October 14, from 4:00-5:00. We need more helpers to get ready for the event.

If you can help with any of the following tasks, please contact our Events Team Coordinator, JUDITH BROOKS, at JBrooks@remax.net .

-- Sign-in Captains: please bring a pen and clipboard, and we'll provide the sign-in sheets. It's important to get legible contact info from our participants so that we can later invite them to join our Council and continue to work with us if they choose.

-- Making signs for yourself and others (Judith can provide a list of suggested slogans)

-- Handing out the signs at the rally, and collecting them again at the end.

-- Passing out handouts.

-- Taking digital photos (extra credit for video)

Those taking on volunteer assignments will meet at the south end of the bridge at 3:30, to get organized before others arrive. There is a fair amount of street parking on the north side of the bridge. If you know of other nearby parking options, please let us know, and we'll try to set up a shuttle service.

-- If you can be a stand-by parking shuttle driver, let Judith know that, too.

It will be IMPORTANT that we do not block pedestrian or vehicle traffic, that we all stay on the sidewalk, and take care not to drop anything onto the highway. Bring water, as desired, and think about what is bringing you out to this rally-- we are expecting press coverage, and you may get a chance to tell that story.

Thank you all,
See you Friday,
Cilla
Council Coordinator

Cilla and our three working Team Coordinators have set our tie-in event for the national October Action Week (Oct. 10-16). Final planning for this rally will be done at our General Membership Meeting this coming Sunday October 9th - please join us to make it happen! Details of our "Building Bridges/Jobs-Not Cuts" rally are below: ................................................................................................................. It’s no secret that, while far too many Americans are out of work, the country’s aging infrastructure is in desperate need of labor to provide necessary repairs and maintenance. In San Mateo County 74 bridges have been found to be structurally deficient, Santa Clara County adds another 182 bridges to the list, and this says nothing about roads, pipelines, the electrical grid, etc.

Our Mid-Peninsula American Dream Council has decided to call attention to the Problem-Opportunity by holding a rally on one of these bridges: Bridge #350161, crossing over Highway 92 at Alameda de las Pulgas. The bridge, built in 1963, has an average of 14,000 cars per day crossing over it. It has a current structural rating of 4 for the deck, 7 for the superstructure (supporting the deck), and 5 for the substructure (connecting the bridge to the ground). Any rating below 5 is considered to be structurally deficient requiring frequent monitoring, significant maintenance, repair, or replacement. The inspection frequency assigned to this bridge is 24 months; this bridge was last inspected in September of 2008.

Join us on the bridge on Friday, October 14, from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. Meet your neighbors, hear more about the work of our Council, and share your own ideas on how we can best get our country back on track.