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Welcome to our new home!
Construction is complete on CPI's new web site, and we have moved in! Please come visit!
Our address is the same: www.onlineCPI.org. We’re still arranging some furniture, but we’re ready for guests. So drop by today!
The new site is designed to make it easier for you to find the information you need. Entryways on the homepage take you to sections organized around five core issues:
- Good Jobs and Healthcare
- Responsible Development
- Affordable Housing
- Good Government
- Fair Economy
In each section, you'll find research reports, commentary, analyses, news coverage, documents, resource links and more. One new feature is Development Watch, where we will keep you up-to-date on major development plans that may greatly impact the community. Fulltext copies of our research reports and issue briefs also are available in a Publications section.
Come on over and explore our new site. Stay a while, and come back often! And please help us extend the invitation to everyone you know who may be inspired to help build a San Diego that works for everyone!
p.s. If you wish to bring a housewarming gift, just click on "Support Us." We will be most grateful!
Saving the Middle Class, One Industry at a Time
Grocery workers represented by United Food and Commercial Workers are fighting for a fair contract with reasonable wage increases and healthcare benefits -- the basics families need to maintain a decent standard of living.
The major supermarket chains are earning profits approaching $3 billion a year, enough to share with the employees who made it possible. The union wants to eliminate an unfair and divisive two-tier system in which new hires are paid less and must work longer for benefits. The entire community will benefit if these workers have middle-class, family-supporting jobs, rather than sinking into working poverty.
The union and the supermarkets agreed this week to extend their contract until April 9. At that point, either party will be able to cancel the contract with 72 hours notice. As the Union-Tribune reported, Albertson's workers voted Tuesday to authorize a strike if necessary. In the meantime, tell workers at Albertsons, Vons, and Ralphs that you support them.
It’s an Affordability Crisis, Not Just a Housing Crisis
Some commentators expressed shock at the news that tens of thousands of people are "fleeing paradise” by moving out of San Diego County. Last year, our region became one of the 10 areas nationally with the biggest net loss of population.
It's not that people hate sunshine. High-priced housing is certainly part of the equation causing the exodus, but equally important is low pay. The employment picture in our region is driven by tourism industries -- hotels, restaurants and other services -- and by retail. Our research has shown that these industries pay, on average, well below what it costs to live self-sufficiently in San Diego.
Under the federal definition, housing is unaffordable if it costs more than 30% of a household’s income. Our analysis of census data shows that almost half (48%) of the households in San Diego County met that definition in 2005, which was much more than five years earlier. Half of us don't make enough to afford our housing.
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