Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC), Los Angeles, CA
The Watts section of South Central Los Angeles has long been a symbol of urban distress in America. Currently, more than half of its residents are unemployed, and about one quarter of its households receive welfare assistance. Conditions in this predominantly African-American community were not much better in the 1960s. Because public transportation lines in Los Angeles did not service the area, many of its low-income residents had to walk at least one mile to the nearest bus route that would bring them to scarce jobs in other parts of the city. Racial discrimination, a high level of police surveillance, and numerous cases of police brutality were all causes of tension in the neighborhood. Another source of frustration among African-American residents was the fact that most businesses in the area were owned by whites who lived outside the community. Local residents had difficulty in gaining access to capital to operate their own ventures. At heart, the issues were the community's lack of control of resources, and its lack of power and representation in the city's political system.
Collective Bargaining for Change
In 1965, members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) and other labor unions decided to apply their political muscle to the struggle for economic and social justice in South Central Los Angeles. Realizing that union organizing strategies could be very effective in forcing politicians to improve conditions in the neighborhood, they formed the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC). Their mission was to empower residents to improve the economic, social and political environment of the community of Watts. Their leader was Ted Watkins, a prominent union member who had just been appointed as an international representative of the UAW. As he stated, "We felt that some of the same organizing capabilities, concessions and bargaining arrangements could be made with some of the politicians who supposedly represented this area."
Within a few months of the organization's founding, Watts and other neighborhoods in South Central Los Angeles erupted into five days of mass rebellion. The violent protest was sparked by a rumor of police brutality, and was fueled by immense frustration over discrimination and poverty. Although the riots took place throughout South Central Los Angeles, the public was left with the impression that Watts was solely responsible for the violence. Watkins and other leaders of WLCAC were concerned that this distortion of the facts was caused by the community's political vulnerability.
The first test of WLCAC's ability to strengthen the community's political voice occurred when a Los Angeles police officer shot a Watts resident who was rushing his pregnant wife to the nearest hospital, which was twelve miles away. This fatal incident became the rallying point in a major campaign to prevent the miscarriage of justice and to improve services in Watts. It also deepened WLCAC's resolve to channel the community's anger into constructive actions. Using their favorable status in the community, WLCAC's leaders were able to suppress a violent backlash and mobilize residents to advocate for a hospital in Watts. Drawing upon their collective bargaining skills, they convinced city officials to construct a facility that would provide desperately needed health care, while creating jobs for local residents. As a result of the success of this campaign, WLCAC became recognized as a legitimate community mediator. Today the Martin Luther King, Jr. Hospital serves as a major employer, health care provider, and center of economic activity in Watts-Willowbrook.
The Future Generation
In order to invest in the future of Watts, WLCAC initiated a number of programs for youth. For instance, one summer youth employment program focused on neighborhood beautification. Entitled Community Conservation Corps, this program paid participants to clear weeds and debris from vacant lots, to plant trees, and to build picnic tables and benches. Over a 15-year period, young people planted over 40,000 trees along South Central's streets, transforming rubble-strewn lots into vest-pocket parks.
One of WLCAC's most ambitious employment initiatives was the Saugus Center, a year-round residential retreat program that offered youth a refuge from the turmoil of the inner-city. Located in a rural town about 40 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, the program trained over 5,000 youth in auto mechanics, horticulture, carpentry, clerical work, paramedics, and other professions between 1968 and 1972. In order to prevent their dislocation from the community, participants stayed at the Saugus Center during the week and returned home on weekends. While the youth were back in the city, senior citizens were bused in from Watts for a weekend in the country. Unfortunately, cutbacks in federal funding under the Nixon administration forced the Saugus Center to close, despite its impressive success.
Controlling the Development Process
Over the years, WLCAC has been guided by a spirit of self-sufficiency and entrepreneurship. Its founding president, Ted Watkins, strongly believed that community residents should initiate and control economic activities in Watts. In 1968, WLCAC set up a separate entity, the Greater Watts Development Corporation, to help fulfill this aspect of the organization's mission. By serving as the general contractor for all of WLCAC's construction activities, the corporation makes optimum use of the economic activities that are generated by its development projects. As Watkins points out, what distinguishes this community development corporation (CDC) from others is that, "WLCAC has never put itself in the mode of being the sponsor. We have been the developer, owner and builder. We have also been the supplier of the materials that go into construction." By controlling various aspects of the development process, the organization is able to recycle dollars within the community and to provide job opportunities for local residents.
One of WLCAC's first innovative development projects was initiated in 1970 in response to the State's plans to construct a major freeway in the midst of a residential area. WLCAC was able to convince the California Department of Transportation to award the organization a contract to purchase and physically move the homes that were in the freeway's right of way. With a $2.9 million low-interest loan from the Chrysler auto workers pension fund, WLCAC purchased vacant lots to relocate the homes that had been slated for demolition. Several years later, as the cost of hiring private movers became prohibitive, WLCAC secured a grant from the Ford Foundation to purchase used moving equipment and establish its own moving company, Tri-House Movers Incorporated.
Another major component of WLCAC's development operations is its Property Management Division, which was created to oversee tenant selection, rent collection, repairs and other services for its residential and commercial properties. It coordinates security, garbage collection, and landscaping services, and operates two home maintenance programs to assist homeowners, particularly elderly and physically handicapped residents, with the upkeep of their properties.
Building Mixed-Income Communities
One of WLCAC's major concerns has been the drain of the middle class from Watts. Over the past twenty years, its housing development projects have been designed to attract middle class families back into the area. By building mixed-income communities in which all residents have the same high quality of housing, the organization attempts to create an environment that enables people to live up to their potential. As Watkins explains, "We have tried to create a community that may have a person who is a doctor, lawyer or merchant living next door to a person on welfare... Our feeling has been, if we change the environment of the people who live in this community, we can change their whole being."
WLCAC's first new construction project, Franklin Square, produced 39 homes for low-and moderate-income families in 1973. Since then, the organization has constructed and rehabilitated over 500 units of housing for low and moderate-income families and senior citizens. In order to make homeownership possible for low and moderate-income families, WLCAC runs a program that allows people to purchase single family homes under a monthly installment plan. Over a twenty to thirty year period, WLCAC serves as the landlord and pays for utilities, insurance, and maintenance services. At the end of that period, tenants are granted free and clear title to their homes.
Recycling Capital in the Community
In addition to housing, WLCAC owns and operates several commercial properties and business ventures. During the early 1970s, these ventures included a gas station, restaurant, credit union, food stamp distribution center, seven-store supermarket chain and several convenience stores. In the 1980s, WLCAC began to enter into joint venture partnerships with private developers. For instance, it helped plan and now has 25% ownership in the Willowbrook Community Shopping Center. Through its training programs, it recruited and prepared local residents for jobs in the new shopping center.
One of WLCAC's most successful commercial projects is the 1-15 Home Improvement Center, which houses the organization's headquarters and numerous WLCAC-owned businesses, including building material and home improvement stores, a laundromat, and a food stamp distribution center. The 1-15 Center functions as a small business incubator for local merchants who find neighboring shopping malls too expensive for their operations. In keeping with its belief in continuously recycling capital in the community, WLCAC reinvests the proceeds from its business operations into programs that benefit local residents. "Our dollars basically turn over ten times. We are able to turn money over and build million dollar buildings," says Watkins.
A Helping Hand
In recent years, Watts has seen a growth in its elderly population. In response, WLCAC has developed a number of programs for senior citizens, including meal delivery and home care for seniors who need special assistance but are not ready to move into nursing homes. WLCAC also owns and operates 215 units of senior housing, and runs two senior citizens centers. In order to address longstanding public transportation problems in Watts, WLCAC operates a low-cost service that provides handicapped and elderly residents with door-to-door transport to senior centers, health care facilities and shopping centers.
Over the years, WLCAC has expanded its services to other populations. Like other communities throughout the country, Watts has seen a steep rise in homelessness. Therefore, in 1988 it started a program that provides emergency shelter, food vouchers, counseling and permanent housing placement to approximately 1,000 clients a year. It also runs a child care center and provides training in single-parenting skills. Because of the persistent problems of juvenile drug addiction and violent gang and drug-related crime, WLCAC continues to operate programs aimed at addressing the needs of youth.
Struggling to Survive
One of WLCAC's strong points has been its ability to maintain a diverse base of support through public sector contracts and foundation grants. At one point, it had 35 different service contracts with state, city, and federal agencies. The government cuts of the 1980s had a devastating effect on the organization, however. When the Reagan administration slashed funding for training and employment programs, WLCAC's budget was drastically reduced by 80% over a three-year period. In the early 1970s, the organization's annual budget was upwards of $20 million. By 1992, it had been reduced to $5.9 million. At the same time, WLCAC has had to contend with steadily declining conditions in the neighborhood. Many large employers, including General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Goodyear and Firestone, have closed their plants and left South Central Los Angeles permanently. Despite WLCAC's numerous achievements, the problems of unemployment, homelessness and overcrowding and deterioration of public housing are on the rise.
Reliving the Past
In April 1992, urban rebellion once again ravaged Watts and the rest of South Central Los Angeles. Unfortunately, WLCAC was not spared of the rampant burning and looting during the uprising. Its headquarters were destroyed, causing an estimated $4.5 million loss. After years of work in the community, WLCAC's staff wondered what they could have done to prevent the violence. They have been forced to reassess their work and their ability to bring about broad-based change without the level of public investment that is needed to address the magnitude of the problem. As Louise Manuel, WLCAC's senior planner points out, "Where we have made life better for poor folks, we have done so against all the odds; and where we have not succeeded, or had our efforts thwarted, we have not had adequate resources to address the scale of the problems we face. The lesson is that CDCs can solve problems, given the proper and appropriate application of resources."
After the riots of 1992, South Central Los Angeles once again became the focus of public debate about the need for a national urban agenda. And once again, WLCAC began the process of rebuilding. Sadly, the driving force behind the organization's vision, Ted Watkins, passed away in 1993. Fortunately, he left behind a legacy of community empowerment that is bound to remain strong for years to come. Under the leadership of Terry Watkins, Ted Watkins's daughter and WLCAC's new president, the organization continues to work with the public and private sectors to spur investments in South Central Los Angeles. WLCAC's perseverance in the face of recent setbacks is a testimony to its commitment to the people and future of Watts.
Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC)
10950 South Central Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90059
(213) 563-5600
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