A statement from the Coalition noted “The passage of the Federal welfare law in August 1996 marked the greatest attack on the safety net for poor families in 60 years. The most disastrous part of this welfare law was the imposition of a five-year lifetime limit on federal public assistance for families in need. The time limit hits our entire families, including our children.”

“We call on all organizations and people of good will to take a stand against this unjust law. Throughout history there have been laws that promoted slavery and discrimination, inequality for women, as well as many other injustices. The tearing up of the social safety net for children and families in poverty is one more cruel, inhumane law that must be opposed,” continued the statement.

MN Welfare Rights Declaration:

We the undersigned are opposed to the five-year limit on welfare for families in poverty. Cutting welfare from children and families in need will bring about devastating poverty, hunger, and homelessness. We call on elected officials at the state and federal level to restore the social safety net and stop this time limit. We call on our elected representatives to put a time limit on poverty instead of on welfare. What families need are living wage jobs, health care, education, affordable housing and childcare.

MNWRC organizers urge groups and individuals who wish to add their names to the declaration to call the coalition at 612-822-8020 or write:

Minnesota Welfare Rights Coalition

310 E 38th Street #207

Minneapolis, MN, 55409

welfarerightsmn@hotmail.com

#Minnesota #MN #PoorPeoplesMovements #News #WelfareTimeLimit #MinnesotaWelfareRightsCoalition

Didi Francis, of the Twin Cities based Welfare Rights Committee, told demonstrators assembled outside the Minneapolis Federal Building, “On this day in 1996, politicians in Washington D.C. declared a war on the poor in this country.”

The Welfare Rights Committee protest drew over 100 people, including supporters from labor, the religious community, women's organizations, youth and student groups. Among the speakers was Martin Goff, one of the leaders of the recent strike in area hotels.

“This is the biggest attack on welfare in over 60 years! The five-year lifetime limit will throw our families into hunger, homelessness and desperation across this state and across this country!” declared WRC member Kim Hosmer. Pre-teen protesters drew chalk outlines of the children on the plaza in front of the Federal Building to show the devastating effect the five year-limit will have on children.

Duluth

In Duluth, Low Income People Organizing for Power held a dynamic protest where over 50 people joined a rally and marched from the Federal Building to the welfare office. Nearly twenty local organizations endorsed the rally.

“In Minnesota, over 6000 families will hit the time limit in less than two years. This adds up to tens of thousands of children!” said Marvella Davis of Low Income People Organizing for Power.

Many people spoke out against the five year limit, including families receiving welfare, along with supporters from the NAACP, Anti-Racism Collaborative, labor organizations, religious communities and student organizations.

Moorhead and St. Cloud

In Moorhead and St. Cloud, low-income people held lively pickets in front of the welfare offices. Protesters handed out hundreds of educational fliers to people passing by and going into the welfare offices.

“With this five year limit there's going to be so much homelessness! The wages aren't high enough to sustain our families and people are going to be falling left and right! Families in St. Cloud are so angry about these welfare reforms. We need to get ourselves organized! If politicians don't stop this time clock, there's going to be trouble in St. Cloud!” said Kathy Krueger of Minnesotans United for Social Justice.

People Escaping Poverty Project organized the protest in Moorhead. “August 22, 1996 marks the day that the U.S. government turned its back on poor people,” declared Duke Schempp, Director of PEPP. Protesters signed a giant declaration against the five year limit and delivered it to Moorhead Representative Kevin Goodno's office.

“It's not just the recipients that need to take action and hit the streets, it's the people in positions of power that need to step out and take risks. Until those people in power step along side of us and take risks, many more people will be out on the street homeless,” said Organizer Apprentice, Lysa Rinquist of People Escaping Poverty Project.

The Campaign

The day of protests was part of the Minnesota Welfare Rights Coalition's statewide campaign to stop the time limits on welfare. “This five year limit is a vicious law that we have to fight! We call on elected officials to put a time limit on poverty, instead of on welfare! We need to all come together and work together to stop this time bomb that is ticking away!” stated Derrick Parker of Low Income People Organizing for Power.

#Minnesota #MN #PoorPeoplesMovements #News #WelfareTimeLimit #MinnesotaWelfareRightsCoalition

Despite freezing temperatures, 200 people of all nationalities came to the Minnesota State Capitol Jan. 3 to protest against welfare time limits. Before moving inside the building, activists stood on the outside steps giving speeches and chanting, “Tick by tick and tock by tock! Stop the 5-year limit clock!”

“In this state, in less than a year and a half, 5000 families could be cut off welfare. In one criminal swoop, up to 15,000 children could be thrown into the streets! This government isn't ending corporate welfare. Instead they are harming poor families!” said Deb Konechne.

Deedee Francis and Deb Konechne are members of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul based Welfare Rights Committee, one of the groups in the Minnesota Welfare Rights Coalition. Other organizations that are part of the coalition include Low Income People Organizing for Power from Duluth, People Escaping Poverty Project (P.E.P.P.) from Moorhead, Minnesotans United for Social Justice from St.Cloud, Working Poor of Mankato, the Winona Chapter of Welfare Rights Coalition, and Miikana Bimaadiziwin of Virginia.

Duke Schempp of Moorhead's P.E.P.P. firmly said, “We will not allow this attack upon our lives to continue. We are going to fight against every attack on welfare every step of the way!” Joining him from Moorhead was 11-year-old Franky Martinez who was dressed in a chin-to-knee clock costume, and who was pursued by his brother wielding a large cardboard hammer. Martinez spoke over the loudspeaker, “They say that we, the children, are the future. I say, WHAT future?”

10,000 hand-cut paper dolls representing future homeless children were thrown from the second floor of the Capitol, and fluttered down over the crowd in the rotunda below. Capitol police tried to take a bag of paper dolls from some children, but the young protesters managed to empty the bag of dolls over the balcony rail.

“This government needs to end poverty instead of ending people's right to survive! We will smash the 5-year time limit clock!” Christina Hosmer told the rally. Then, a 9-foot tall papier-mâché hammer was raised to rip a clock banner. “Politicians! We're at your door! Stop the war on the poor!”

The protest coincided with the opening day of the state legislature, and it marked the beginning of a battle that will continue throughout the legislative session. “We're fighting for a clear, simple, and just set of demands,” said Linden Gawboy of the Minnesota Welfare Rights Coalition. “We will not let reactionaries or poverty pimps set the agenda at the capitol,” she added. Over the past several years, a handful of fake “advocates for the poor” have worked to undermine the fight of low-income Minnesotans.

Protesters also demanded that the state government make up for the federal cuts to immigrants, along with the abolition of “sanctions”. Sanctions are grant cuts used against those who are supposedly not “in compliance” with the welfare program. Most of the sanctions are illegal and arbitrary. Sanctions mean hunger and homelessness.

The protest was attended and endorsed by many religious, youth and labor groups. Martin Goff, of the Minneapolis hotel workers' union H.E.R.E. Local 17, spoke strongly against corporate welfare and called for ending welfare time limits. According to Goff, the politicians need to “hear us or fear us.”

Jane McDonald, of the Sisters of St. Joseph, demanded that lawmakers “Serve the needy, not the greedy.” All the speakers stressed the importance of protesting. “Just because it's a law doesn't make it right. We learn from history that the only way to end injustice is to organize against it. That is what we are doing and will continue to do,” vowed Marvella Davis of Duluth's L.I.P.O.P. “If there's no justice, we will give them no peace!”

#StPaulMN #SaintPaul #PoorPeoplesMovements #News #WelfareTimeLimit #MinnesotaWelfareRightsCoalition #paperDolls

St. Paul, MN – In a nationally unprecedented move, a bill to repeal the time limit on welfare was introduced at the Minnesota State Capitol. Senator Hottinger of Mankato and Representative Neva Walker of Minneapolis are carrying the repeal bill in the Senate and House.

The bill's opening words declare an anti-poverty goal: “The state shall set policies and use its resources to put a time limit on poverty, instead of a time limit on assistance for families living in poverty. The state will eliminate the time limit on welfare and ensure that not one child or family in poverty is without needed assistance...”

The Minnesota Welfare Rights Coalition has been pushing for a repeal of the time limit since the five-year clock started ticking. State estimates project that nearly 5000 families will hit the five-year limit on July 1, 2002. Hundreds more families will lose assistance in the months to follow.

“This is a crime! 5,000 families adds up to as many as 15,000 children that will be thrown off welfare! This is an immediate ticket into the streets for children and their families!” declared Kim DeFranco of the Welfare Rights Committee.

“The five year limit on welfare is a cruel law that is going to force families already deep in poverty, even deeper. It blames the poor for being poor and will push families into devastating homelessness and hunger!” stated Dede Francis of the MN Welfare Rights Coalition. “The repeal bill is so important because it is making history. It's the only bill raising opposition to what the government has done to poor families.”

Poor families from around the state have been putting heat on their legislators, and traveling to the State Capitol for hearings and rallies to stop the time limit. “What we see is the time limit is going to affect a lot of people here. Poor people will never get ahead, poor people will be worse off and more oppressed and its not going to end poverty,” said Annabelle LeClaire of Low Income People Organizing for Power in Duluth.

“While many in the state of Minnesota wonder whether they will get another tax rebate, thousands of families with low incomes wonder whether they will have any food, shelter or assistance beyond July of 2002. Without a safety net, there is no hope for poor families. We need to eliminate the five-year limit and stop blaming poor people for poverty!” stated Duke Schempp, director of People Escaping Poverty Project in Moorhead.

Hearings on the time limit repeal bill and other poor peoples' bills, including proposals to increase education and to reduce sanctions will be the next step. Poor families are gearing up to testify and carry out rallies and protests at the state capitol in the coming weeks.

“We refuse to let this Government throw even one child into the streets. We are fighting a life and death battle, and we call on all people from all walks of life to fight with us to stop this disaster from happening. Stop the time limit now!” said Linden Gawboy of the Welfare Rights Committee.

#StPaulMN #SaintPaulMN #PoorPeoplesMovements #News #WelfareTimeLimit #MinnesotaWelfareRightsCoalition

St. Paul, MN – The Welfare Rights Committee and community supporters went to Governor Ventura's office, Nov. 21, to picket and demand that the he stop the scheduled “Holiday Welfare Cut-offs.”

“There will be 'no thanks' in this Thanksgiving season when 41 families, including 196 children, are facing welfare cut-offs Dec. 1 because of the welfare time limit. ” said Elizabeth Wirtz of Welfare Rights.

At the picket, Committee members delivered over 100 tombstones to the Governor's staff. The tombstones represented all the families and children that would be cut off on Dec. 1, as well as families that have already been cut off of assistance since Sept. 1, 2001. The families that have been hitting the time limit since Sept. 1 are those who moved to Minnesota from states where the time clock started earlier than Minnesota's.

On Friday, Nov. 30, the Welfare Rights Committee returned to Governor Ventura's office. Chang Thao, whose family was scheduled to be cut off on Dec. 1, spoke against the time limits.

This father has been working 4 out the family's 5 years on welfare, but has been unable to earn enough to get off of the welfare grant. The mother has been working too. The whole time, while working at low wage jobs, the family's 5-year clock was ticking. Then, like many in this time of recession, he recently lost his job.

Deb Konechne of the Welfare Rights Committee, stated, “For a week, we have heard nothing from the Governor, despite repeated follow-up calls and letters. We demand he talk with this family face-to-face and figure out what he will do for this family and the other families!” The Committee met with the Governor's representative. As we go to press, Chang Thao's case is under appeal and his family has not been cut off of public assistance.

#StPaulMN #SaintPaulMN #PoorPeoplesMovements #News #WelfareRightsCommittee #WelfareTimeLimit #governorVentura

Television ads calling for passage of the moratorium on the 5-year lifetime limit on public assistance started airing in metro and greater Minnesota in mid-March. The WRC ad slams the House Republicans for their failure to take the action needed to prevent thousands of children and their caregivers from being forced off welfare July 1, 2002. Hundreds of ads have been broadcast so far.

In the ads, a young girl wrapped in a blanket and holding a teddy bear walks down the railroad tracks under a bridge. The words “6,000 children”, “recession”, “unemployment” and “a moratorium would save these kids” flash on the screen as the narrator talks:

On July 1st, up to 6000 Minnesota children and their families will lose public assistance. The recession and rising unemployment are making things worse. Placing a moratorium on the 5-year limit on welfare would save these kids from homelessness and hunger. House Republicans are refusing to deal with this issue. Call your legislator today and tell them to support a moratorium. Kids' lives depend on it.

The ad ends with the girl gazing seriously into the camera.

The Welfare Rights Committee created the 30-second spot with the help of volunteer filmmakers. WRC member Alex Pflepsen, age 9, is the girl in the ad. Welfare Rights is in the midst of successful fundraising drive to buy more airtime. “We are playing it over and over in the home districts of the nastiest House republicans,” said Kim Hosmer of WRC, “we need to expose them where they live, and around the state.”

“If Representative Goodno is home in Moorhead watching the Leno show tonight, he's going to get our message loud and clear,” said Trishalla Bell of the Welfare Rights Committee.

#StPaulMN #SaintPaulMN #PoorPeoplesMovements #WelfareRightsCommittee #WelfareTimeLimit

The angry crowd was gathered outside the House Chambers on April 4 to let Minnesota politicians know that there were only 89 days left until the day thousands of children would start hitting the 5-year limit on welfare in Minnesota. WRC members set up a large “doomsday clock” in front of the chamber doors, and everyone (even the small children) carried signs against the time limit. Later, they all crowded into the office of the democrat Senate majority leader to demand that he keep the moratorium front and center while he was in secret budget negotiations with the House.

The April 4 action was the latest in a series to demand that politicians put a moratorium on the 5-year limit on welfare in Minnesota. The Minnesota Welfare Rights Coalition (MNWRC) organized hundreds of people to come to the capitol and demand that welfare cut-offs not be allowed to happen.

Moratorium Bill

In late December, the Welfare Rights Committee convinced two Senators to take a stand and sponsor legislation for a three-year moratorium. “A moratorium is just a delay of the imposition of the time limit,” explained Deb Konechne, of the Welfare Rights Committee, “We say there should be no time limit at all. A moratorium is absolutely necessary for now, and it buys us time to fight the whole sick idea of time limits.” From the beginning, House Republicans declared it “dead on arrival,” but a two-year moratorium bill passed through the full Senate in late March.

Opening Day Protest

On Jan. 29, hundreds gathered in the cold and snow on the front steps of the capitol. Besides low income people, representatives from some of the 170 organizations that signed on to the moratorium campaign spoke.

Bernie Hess, of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 73, read a statement of support from the leadership of the Saint Paul Trades and Labor Assembly, “We support the effort to pass a moratorium. It isn't easy to make it in the best of times. Today in these tough economic times it's even harder. So tell the politicians that, instead of attacking the only support that many Minnesota families have, they should be passing the moratorium on the time limit and aggressively fighting for what families need: livable wage jobs, affordable housing, childcare, health and education.”

Budget Crisis

Minnesota, like many other states, finds itself in a recession and a state budget crisis. WRC member Trishalla Bell declared at one of the hearings on the state budget, “Governor Ventura and House Republicans are now set to solve the state's budget crisis on the backs of poor Minnesotans! They say, 'Everyone is going to have to sacrifice.' Well, there is a huge difference between the rich 'sacrificing' a portion of their past tax breaks and a poor family 'sacrificing' basic survival. We have already suffered too much!”

Coming Together to Fight

People packed every hearing on the moratorium bill. According to Roger Banks, of the Council on Black Minnesotans, “We know that we need a moratorium for families in order to survive. The Council is here to work with you. We have to be persistent and keep coming back – to every hearing, every meeting, in order to pass the moratorium.”

The Welfare Rights Committee and a constant core of supporters had to fight on different fronts for the moratorium. Work was done to unite everyone possible, while taking advantage of splits among the enemies. First, they had to convince liberal democrats to sponsor the bill. After that, there was campaign to get other groups around it, other politicians around the bill, and push vacillating politicians and allies to keep up the fight. But the main blow of people's anger was aimed at the House Republicans.

A Homeless Village, and a Hunger Strike

“Republicanville, Homeless Village of the Future – Grand Opening July 1, 2002” read the banner above a collection of cardboard boxes, blankets and tarps set up outside the House chamber. There were street signs showing that Bradley Boulevard intersected with Starvation Lane, and Goodno Avenue crossed with Misery Place (Representatives Goodno and Bradley are anti-welfare Republicans). One Representative stomped around screaming and sputtering when he saw the set-up, and yelled to the cops to tear it down.

In a show of solidarity for the people who would be affected by the moratorium, 15 House democrats went on a 24-hour hunger strike. According to Rep. Carlos Mariani, who headed up the effort, “We don't want to see more Minnesota children hungry, homeless or split apart because the benefits they need are no longer available. For many women with children, these benefits are the only means they have to survive on their own, and for many, losing the benefits would mean returning to an abusive relationship. In the clearest possible terms, this could mean the choice between life and death.”

The hunger strike got massive media attention and drove their Republican colleagues nuts. “I'm glad they did it,” said Dede Francis of the Welfare Rights Committee, “the media and politicians don't care when we starve, so it's good that these 15 legislators took a stand.”

The Future

As Fight Back! goes to press, the issue of the time limit has not been decided by the Minnesota legislature. However it turns out, MNWRC is determined to keep up the fight. According to Rita Stevenson, WRC member, “Minnesota legislators should put a time limit on poverty, instead of a time limit on welfare! The last five years could have been spent tackling the problems that force our families into poverty and keep us there. Politicians could have worked for livable wages. Politicians could have tackled the health care crisis! Politicians could have worked to end the housing crisis! Instead they chose to blame poverty on the poor, and to terrorize our families with laws that attack our very survival!”

#StPaulMN #SaintPaulMN #PoorPeoplesMovements #News #WelfareRightsCommittee #HungerStrike #WelfareTimeLimit #Moratorium

St. Paul, MN – “We call it the 'Mother's Day Massacre,'” said Trishalla Bell, of the Welfare Rights Committee. “The politicians chose Sunday afternoon – Mother's Day – to vote to throw thousands of Minnesota kids into the streets,” she continued. Bell was talking about the May 12 vote of the Minnesota legislative budget bill conference committee against language for a moratorium on the welfare time limit.

“This means, that starting July 1 of this year, families will start being cut off basic survival cash assistance,” explained Linden Gawboy of WRC. Minnesota state law has a five-year lifetime limit on welfare for families with children. While the law offers extensions for cases of severe disability, the Welfare Rights Committee was pushing for a three-year moratorium on welfare time limits. “The way the law is now, most parents have to be working in paid employment in order to get an extension to your welfare benefits after five years. Not only is that just stupid, 'cuz if you had a job, you probably wouldn't need the welfare, but we are in recession right now. It's hard for people with skills to find any job!”

Gillie Townsend, a mother of three, said, “I'm outraged that these politicians have the nerve to tell us 'go get a job' and not be willing to stop the time limits. I have looked for jobs and there are none out that my family can survive on without some kind public assistance. These people are insane and not in touch with our reality.”

The Welfare Rights Committee did not stop fighting after the 'Mother's Day Massacre' vote. “We kept going back to capitol almost every day until the end of the session to demand that the politicians undo the vote, and to expose the House Republicans for the lizards that they are,” said one member. “We were even there, with all our kids, at 11:00 on Saturday night, the last day of session.”

Diaper Dump at the Governor's Office

After the session, the WRC targeted the Governor Jesse Ventura. On May 22, WRC members and supporters presented Ventura's office with nearly 800 disposable baby diapers. With TV cameras rolling, the protesters handed over 80 bags of 10 diapers each, one by one, to the governor's fuming staff. Each diaper had a sticker signed by a Minnesotan that called on the governor to stop the time limit on welfare. WRC had gathered the signatures during the moratorium campaign. Trishalla Bell declared, “These diapers are symbolic of the over 6000 babies and children who will be throw into the streets. Governors are supposed to deal with disasters – we want him to deal with this one now!”

The Battle Ahead

“Right now, we are getting the word out to the community about what we can do to qualify for the extensions that we did win last year,” said WRC's Deb Konechne. The Committee says it will watch to make sure that counties are not denying extensions unfairly. Kim Hosmer noted, “There will be different policies. Some counties will be finding ways of extending people, other counties will go out of their way not to extend. We will be watching out for discrimination.” Konechne continued, “As a result of our work, some counties are finding ways to extend almost everyone who's hitting their time limit on July 1. We fought hard to make the welfare time limits an issue that this state could not ignore. We will not stop fighting to undo these sick time limits!”

#StPaulMN #SaintPaulMN #PoorPeoplesMovements #News #WelfareRightsCommittee #WelfareTimeLimit #Moratorium #diaperDump