Latino business owners staying afloat during COVID-19 pandemic despite hurdles

Reyna Gonzalez, the owner of Dulceria La Fiesta, works on a piñata of Marshall, a character from the children’s TV show “Paw Patrol,” in the back of her Mexican candy shop in the Rogers Park neighborhood. Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

A Chicago Sun-Times article on how some Latino-owned businesses in Chicago are coping with the COVID-19 pandemic includes comments from Teresa Cordova, director of the Great Cities Institute and professor of urban planning and policy at UIC.

Teresa Córdova, the director of Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said Latino-owned businesses have been growing in the past 20 years, adding it will be important to figure out how to keep this sector from crashing as the pandemic continues to destabilize the economy.

“If Latino businesses are one of the biggest growing sector of small businesses, then it’s in all of our interest that Latino businesses succeed,” she said, adding that small businesses are vital to neighborhoods.

Full Story from Chicago Sun-Times »

Political Science Speaker Series: Multilevel Democracy

Jefferey Sellers of the University of Southern California will launch the Political Science Department’s Spring Speaker Series speaking on “Multilevel Democracy”  Wednesday, February 17th, 11:30 am to 12:30 pm by Zoom at this link https://bit.ly/3f6foVW. The talk draws on his recently published, Multilevel Democracy: How Local Institutions and Civil Society Shape the Modern State.

 

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National Parks in Your Neighborhood

The National Park Service protects and manages some of our nation’s most historic sites, important natural resources, and scenic recreation areas.  But did you know the mission of the National Park Service extends far beyond the boundaries of national park sites?  The Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) program is a community partnerships office that provides technical assistance to local partners that are planning outdoor recreation and natural resource conservation projects in neighborhoods just like yours. 

On February 16th, join the Great Cities Institute in hearing from Michael Mencarini and Natalie Burgos to learn about how the RTCA Program is supporting partners in Chicago and bringing the ideals of the National Park Service to your community.

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National Parks in Your Neighborhood: The Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) program

The National Park Service protects and manages some of our nation’s most historic sites, important natural resources, and scenic recreation areas. But did you know the mission of the National Park Service extends far beyond the boundaries of national park sites? The Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) program is a community partnerships office that provides technical assistance to local partners that are planning outdoor recreation and natural resource conservation projects in neighborhoods just like yours.

On February 16, 2021, the Great Cities Institute hosted Michael Mencarini and Natalie Burgos from the RTCA program to learn about how they are supporting partners in Chicago and the Midwest region and bringing the ideals of the National Park Service to your community.

Our Chicago: Voices of the community town hall examines discriminatory effects of redlining

Matt Wilson, Senior Research Specialist with Great Cities Institute, participated in a panel discussion ABC 7 Chicago’s Our Chicago program which examined “the long lasting effects of the discriminatory real estate and banking practices of redlining.”

Redlining meant that Black residents, despite having all the necessary collateral and ability to pay, could not secure a home for purchase because of their neighborhood “color designation.” The historic practice of redlining, with some roots in Chicago’s real estate and financial community, had lasting consequences that not only kept Blacks out of desirable neighborhoods, but was instrumental in stifling school integration, opportunities for economic development, corporate development and access to healthcare.

See the Panel Discussion on ABC 7 Chicago

 

Chicago Data Training: Using Microdata from the American Community Survey

This is a recording of the February 15, 2021 workshop with Rob Paral.

What Is the Training? This is an online 1.5 hour training on a type of Census Bureau data called “microdata.”

What is Microdata? “Microdata” are individual person and household responses to the American Community Survey. The data are stripped of personal identifiers. This is the kind of data used to describe, for example, poverty, education or employment among very specific groups like seniors, immigrants, African Americans or others.

What Will the Training Do? This training explains what microdata are, how to access the data, and how to use and display the data.

Do I Need to Use Special Software or Know How to Code? No, to make things simple, the training uses a free service of IPUMS-USA at the University of Minnesota. You can create a free account at usa.ipums.org.

Who Is the Instructor? Rob Paral is a fellow at UIC Great Cities and a past lecturer in the UIC Latin American and Latino Studies Program. Rob has many years of working with Chicago data. His Chicago community area data are widely used, and may be seen at robparal.com

Essential Work, Excessive Risk: Warehouse Work in Chicago and Southern California

For warehouse workers during the pandemic, being deemed “essential” meant their work was suddenly visible to the public and recognized for its importance. But pulling back the veil on warehouse shop floors has also highlighted what workers and advocates have been saying for years: warehouse work is hard on workers’ bodies, health and safety risks are widespread, and new technologies are exacerbating substandard working conditions. As one of the few bright spots in the economy, warehouse employment has grown during the pandemic, but so too have the hazards faced by the disproportionately Latino and Black workforce. This conversation will highlight recent campaigns to address warehouse working conditions in Chicago and the Inland Empire, two major logistics hubs in the country.

Join us as Beth Gutelius, senior researcher at Great Cities Institute and research director of the Center for Urban Economic Development, is joined by frontline organizers and workers: Roberto Clack and Ronald Jackson of Warehouse Workers for Justice (Chicago) and Sheheryar Kaoosji of Warehouse Worker Resource Center (Inland Empire).

Co-sponsored by the UIC Center for Urban Economic Development and GCI’s Latino Research Initiative.

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Essential Work, Excessive Risk: Warehouse Work in Chicago and Southern California

Recording of the February 10, 2021 discussion with Beth Gutelius, Roberto Clack, Ronald Jackson, and Sheheryar Kaoosji.

For warehouse workers during the pandemic, being deemed “essential” meant their work was suddenly visible to the public and recognized for its importance. But pulling back the veil on warehouse shop floors has also highlighted what workers and advocates have been saying for years: warehouse work is hard on workers’ bodies, health and safety risks are widespread, and new technologies are exacerbating substandard working conditions. As one of the few bright spots in the economy, warehouse employment has grown during the pandemic, but so too have the hazards faced by the disproportionately Latino and Black workforce. This conversation highlighted recent campaigns to address warehouse working conditions in Chicago and the Inland Empire, two major logistics hubs in the country.

Here are the links to reports mentioned in the video:

https://humanimpact.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/The-Public-Health-Crisis-Hidden-In-Amazon-Warehouses-HIP-WWRC-01-21.pdf

https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/future-of-warehouse-work/

http://www.ww4j.org/uploads/7/0/0/6/70064813/wwj_food_workers_report-2-1.pdf

Thank you to CAN TV (cantv.org) for recording.

Beth Gutelius to share her research with warehouse organizers amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

For warehouse workers during the pandemic, being deemed “essential” meant their work was suddenly visible to the public and recognized for its importance. But pulling back the veil on warehouse shop floors has also highlighted what workers and advocates have been saying for years: warehouse work is hard on workers’ bodies, health and safety risks are widespread, and new technologies are exacerbating substandard working conditions. As one of the few bright spots in the economy, warehouse employment has grown during the pandemic, but so too have the hazards faced by the disproportionately Latino and Black workforce. 

Beth Gutelius is a Senior Researcher here at Great Cities Institute and research director for the UIC Center for Urban Economic Development. She has been at the forefront of documenting the impacts of COVID-19 and the ensuing increase in online ordering that has put a strain on the lives of warehouse workers. She has been quoted in many recent news articles on the subject of warehouse work, along with her research partner, Nik Theodore:

WBEZ – Warehouse And Factory Workers Make Their Case For Priority Access To The COVID-19 Vaccine

NBC News – Warehouse workers pushed to their limit as holiday orders — and coronavirus cases — surge

Washington Post – Overworked and exhausted, warehouse workers brace for a frenzied holiday rush

WAMU-FM – How Hourly and Gig Workers Are Grappling With Coronavirus

Santa Fe Reporter – The future of work is an open question

KIRO Radio – Automation is Making Warehouse Work Harder, Not Smarter

Vox Media – Robots aren’t taking warehouse employees’ jobs, they’re making their work harder

Join Beth as she discusses with frontline organizers and workers from Warehouse Workers for Justice (Chicago) and the Warehouse Worker Resource Center (Inland Empire) about the continuing hazards warehouse workers are facing. This conversation will highlight recent campaigns to address warehouse working conditions in Chicago and the Inland Empire, two major logistics hubs in the country.

Register for the online Zoom conversation here. The talk will take place on Wednesday, February 10 at 4pm central time.

Co-sponsored by the UIC Center for Urban Economic Development and GCI’s Latino Research Initiative.