Sunday Forum; National Welfare Rights Organization Fifth Annual Convention

No. One can engage a person. So they are banned. The phrase stand. Because they can't afford to. And that we will put on a sofa that we would rather exploit them out and you want to have any more trouble that way. If the opening session of this four day meeting had many outward resemblance of a rally it was a traditional political convention was a morning business session. Russians were brought forward having to do with convention procedures and rules. I'm there for discussions from different representatives and factions on several issues. Points of order and clarification rang out as we saw the first display of straw hats and banners on the floor. The questions were put on the call for yeas and nays yielded adoption of most suggested resolutions except for one issue not of the levying of a fine for disruption of convention procedures in the larger meetings or the workshops. Delegates reasoned that poor people had not the means to pay fines and alternatives were discussed. But finally it was decided that disruption would bring and the

only talk there was as we shall hear only one disruption in this convention and that came through a misunderstanding and physical overall the demeanor of the 1000 attendees was business and serious strategy planning for their own drugs and income and now nobody. The business meeting ran for about 90 minutes and was followed by the introduction of the morning's panel session by Dr. George Wylie. Last night. In our keynote addresses we talked about the kind of political movement the kind of political organization that's necessary to bring about basic changes in the economic structure of this country. Today we begin with a very outstanding panel of people who have been actively involved in organizing some of the different constituencies of people. With home

welfare rights should be deeply concerned. We have a pandal representing working pool representing women's rights representing tenants rights representing domestic household workers representing developing organization among senior citizens. We have also people who represent movements in the trade union fields to make them more responsive and interested in organizing the unemployed. I'd like to introduce now Vincent Sarah Bella from union in New Haven Connecticut who is going to be moderating the panel and the panelists he'll introduce. Mr. cerebellar and the panelists took their places on the podium but at this point there was severe difficulty with the public address system in the home. Mr. cerebellar introduced the first panelist Fred Gaber First I'd like to tell you a little

bit about. Who we are. Because I don't think that very many of us. Heard of the National Coordinating Committee. For trade union action and democracy. But we. Are A. Coordinating Committee that represents. The rank and file. Movements that are developing. In the trade union movement in the United States today. These rank and file developments take the form of. Efforts at democratising the unions. They take the form of efforts at strengthening the contract. They take the. Arm. Movements that lead wildcat strikes against repression in the shops against these kind of movements. Our people. Work in industry. I people. Are members. Of you. And we are a. Bunch of guys. And gals. Who say that the trade union movement in America. Needs revitalized.

The trade union in America. Movement in America. Must once again militantly. Defend the rights of its members. And that it must. Once again as it has done in the past. Become a champion. Of the causes of all of the poor. And of the oppressed people. Just let me ask you. Do workers gain anything when welfare standards are cut. And you know better than I that the answer is No. To those who are forced to live on welfare or gain anything when workers are laid off because some board of director sitting down in New York decides to shut down a factory or institute a new. Letter and institute new labor saving machinery and thousands of workers are laid off. And the answer's no. It seems to me and does anybody gain for instance when the. Railroad workers. Have their rules changed and again thousands of people are laid off. If none of us here in this room. Gain from these kind of things

then I think we got to ask ourself who does again. Because if somebody didn't gain from this if somebody didn't gain welfare standards were cut. If somebody didn't gain when workers were laid off if somebody didn't gain when the. Strikes were broken. Then these things wouldn't happen. So I may be wrong but I have a feeling. That it's the same people who gain in all instances. The guys who own and control the banks and the fact that. The cochairman of our organization rather Rayfield Muti a black steel worker. And Brother Marion college heiress who was a railroad worker have asked me to try. And believe me I can only try. They have asked me to try to express. Their outrage. At the passage of F. AP. They are angry and they told me to tell you that they are mad. Over this

vicious racist degrading attack upon the families. The mothers and the children who were forced by this society onto welfare rolls and then into a dollar twenty seven hour slave labor. They told me that. They and the people they speak for. Are mad. When the billionaire governor of the state of New York forces welfare people to register for jobs that don't exist. They are asked me to express. Anger. When they see a welfare mother with two children living on 58 bucks a month in Birmingham Alabama. And when they found out that the welfare department in the state of California under the direction of Governor Reagan that the welfare. You know the social workers are told not to tell welfare people of their rights. They told me that their god damn mad about that too and they want to try to

let you know. They're mad about the state condones violence against black people in Cairo Illinois and they want you to know that too. And they are asked me to express their anger. Over the fact that Angela Davis has spent nine months in jail. Without bail. And Lieutenant Calley has been given virtual freedom after his conviction for the murder. And they told me to tell you. That we join with those who say no or this bag God no honor. Thank you very much brother Gabriel. An XP curious from Youngstown Ohio. She's an organizer for the national committee on household employment. She's a former house hall

worker a practical nurse she worked for Vesta. As an organizer for the NWC Bay. She's presently a field organizer for the national committee on how soul employment. And is in the process of traveling through all of the states in this country. It's a pleasure to introduce to you Sister Josephine healing. Let me tell you a little bit about our organization. We are the forgotten ones and when I say we're I mean as women. The national committee on House and climate is an. Actress and a united state that is doing something about the Sahel. Mammy's that's what they call. The household worker who has never been covered by so security. Unemployment compensation paid sick leave paid holidays. Minimum wage last. But now let me tell you know a thing these people vote and pay taxes. Where do they go when they get too early or turn out the pastor.

These women. Return to your house. Where are. You. But they are. Sad to become fascinated with dignity and society has stripped them of every damned thing they suppose they are. But happy still you are supposed to be the first out of your homes to go out and work and take care of someone else's child. Task lying around your baby's neck when he's five so we can get him because you can't afford a babysitter. And Miss miss at home and tell you to come little Miss Susan's our little Miss Susan is 16 and you 45 and you never were. In the past. 15 months or so I've been abroad I've traveled from city to city and we have a lot of women here and we all feel right now. That are working maybe work a couple days and they feel less about the social workers will tell them all if you work we're going to cut you. When leaders don't go to work. Now. Because in the first place you need to be hard look at what your child. That's why you need to be the end.

I know what it is to be up there and have your child come along the path when you're beaten down and treated less than a slave and then you can't touch with him you don't even have a decent road. He needs some TLC and you gave it to him. No matter what they say. Because believe me you have your first chapter to work and that's what the family assistant plan that's going to do to you. It's gonna feel should a rapper 50 Cent on air and also make a worse problem than what we already have. We are trying now we are working very closely with our world for our rights and believe me you can see it she stands behind you 100 percent. We have. 31 cities now and in the 31 cities that we have they went to Washington six hundred eighteen. And they let the Congress will know. That they will be back. So that's has done. In other words the powers are there. We women join together. They asked me why do our fight for single services. Well if you don't believe in a more be one pretty soon. You will get you people. And when

I get there. I see the senior citizens in our groups not 60 and 70 years old that a still should be on welfare and work and are going out there don't get enough. Sixty two dollars a month they are getting to live on and I found several in Washington D.C. and Akasha two dollars a day that a pack a car and got a laugh. That's a very sad situation but those are your mother's and mine that couldn't do anything about it. Now when are we going to let this continue to live with us to have our parents be misused brought upon us eventual E5 to take care of them we can't afford it. And let me tell you one thing when I say we can't afford it we cannot. What this hour is that even I and I'm sure the palace here tell you we make it impossible for us to survive. Now how can you survive on what you get. You have got to let this system know they no longer control you. We control the system and that is by voting and letting them hear your vote. Don't go back and say let's Susan do it my vote don't count three million

votes will count ladies. We are begging we're pleading for your help around the country I will be teaching workshops here are ways how it means I'm as close as. That telephone and believe me you as the saying is if there is money there what Paladin said Have Gun Will Travel have money from in CA t I will travel to make sure that the system knows what you're all about. And as we go along we spread it around that welfare rights is on the move. I think it's a beautiful situation to see as many here. I hope eventually our organization will be this big. We hope to see you join us. We're going to join you. Women rights but a core mission for abortions. Hey don't turn it down don't knock it. I know a lot of you know why you want to be on the I don't know what I want to not but if is there I want I want to get married. That's my part. Don't tell me I don't need it let me find out it's my determination what I want to do with me. And I think as of now this is why I'm stuck out of Enterprise. Because they say I'm a woman. So you see women we got a lot to fight for and you have the power you

got the vote. Man a lot of men stand on the corners and will bother to go you girls. And ladies continue with it. It's a beautiful situation and as I say is this rest assured way over you are in CA she will be there also. Thank you. Next moderator Vincent cerebellar introduced attorney Florence Kennedy. She's worked on law suits to abolish abortion laws which have resulted in abortion reform. She is director of consumer information services and is with the media workshop. She's also the co-author of the publication. Called abortion route. Very pleased to have her with us this morning. Flo Kennedy. Let's get it together because this is may be our last chance. To see nigger nobility is out. You don't get noble get New York so you may as well just for get back don't worry about being reasonable Don't worry about impressing your own pressers you gotta get it

together here. You got a year to do it in. You gotta kill f A-P you got a not any body out of the political box that's still talking about it. C and you've got to get control of this pig ocracy honey because they're going to kill you and kill your kids OK. If you were now you can not count on any body and you ain't gonna win nothing for keeps. See I was in the matter Gloria Steinem has a way of get me come on in all these things so she have me out there after no sleep no thing else. And we went out there and it turned into a triumphal march we were all ready to confront the system out there because they had thrown 3000 people off welfare right. So we went out there and we had our trial for March because we put them back on. Then I just talked to Jerry Decker from out there today and she tells me is right back where it was almost knocked a dollar off here on a dollar off there and I have all the

facts but get with and find out what that teaches us. Real quick lesson and it's like taking a bath when you win something is like you took a bath to day. But if you don't bathe in three or four days honey you're right back where you was. So we're doing well thanks. Then they and he when you win somethin It Don't Mean You can go back to bed. See you just gotta stay out there and just like you got to brush your teeth and go to the john and take a bath. You gotta stay in that struggle cause something that's ongoing and it don't never stop. So don't relax. Now you're not going to be able to count on the courts no justice right. I didn't think there was a better hustle around than the law and I even was stupid enough to think you can make some changes with the law. But just like Fred said a minute ago. As long as you got Cali running around with a hundred thousand dollar contract and to write his life story and Angela Davis and a lot of other people a seven in six

finance sales they ripped off the TV set the didn't work and tally this shot up all these women and the kids and the people is running around here a star. Now you see so that shows you you can't rely on the courts right now. But that means something else. It means that you gotta get where the lawmakers are because no matter how much you say that the political establishment don't work they are collecting all the money and you know why you can't get the money you need because the real welfare recipients end up against the world. See if you can get what you need because the real welfare data go to Lockheed because Lockheed hasn't got the money to finish the contract right. And the film now what you got to do in 1972 is to get the real welfare recipients up against the wall. Right. Just say Will the real welfare recipients please stand up

against the will of. The free. Oh and that me every time anybody talks about the space program you know they are on welfare and we ate and every time you hear the 15 description a little half assed set up that's supposed to keep you interested. They make it to the moon and not see you suppose to go crazy. See because what's happening is the old divide and conquer technique has got the trade union people thinking they support you. But the fact is you both support them moving ship of a hill above the scale of a given night. Now you see what we gotta assume see there's a lot of hostility between the black women and women's movement. A lot of black women that know where is at. See

because you're copying the clothes you copy in the way they make their food. You can't be in the perfume you're trying to get the cars. The first sensible halfway decent political thing the white women ever did. See you out here pal. See now that's bullshit. And I would say the white women in the movie everybody's full of shit right. But the rest of the hands of a. The question was. Why the C. C ship is one thing coated with chocolate and tell you is freedom without a fight of the hero of a fight just say the ship makes good fertilizer. Write. A few and you will be in the grassroots. You need some fertilizer right.

A freind of time tell you white women in the movement. But I'm trying to say the right to use fertilizer. Don't get too close. Step in it but get with it. O of O'HOY ask for a few laughs who are affected. The Badger got a sense the only five now. Now my last word is honey. We gotta hold our nose and work with all these people. We gotta get the scene behind for I'm so much for unity you can't have too much unity with people that have been programmed to be suspicious distrustful jealous envious black women worried about competing with the white women black men now trying to live because of the hate of a few. We knew we as black women must give as good as we got the reason we coal black like the people and like the Africans that I saw in Paris and London

is because we've been making the white man for years honey and now we have my soul as we've been saying. We might say it was an involuntary and it was then often. We still have been making it for years. Now what we want to do all we want to work with these white women in whatever mess with your man you just offer like you would a black woman right. The way that we're going to get together now 1972 this is my last sentence. 1972 is the time for the people power and the full power you know and this is where we're going to move. This is the way we're going to minimize the horizontal hostility where we would rather fight each other than fight the media and the courts and the police and the doctors and help people you know. So we got to understand the real enemy is. And I want to see tickets every ticket in every city in every state with a certain percentage of welfare rights. Recipients. Talk

about the freak with you the fake welfare preview the six fair people the real welfare people a lot of them talk about the way they talk now and I want to see you on every single ticket I want to on the ticket we gotta take this money away from the pigs. We got to get you into the house where the money is being allocated so you don't have to be out here begging people to get rid of fat. Now when you go back that's what you can talk about so you're going to have to worry so much about whether you work with the white We're going to use them to get those offices you need rather are brown power brown people black power black people and women power. Pass. Was. The next member of the panel is the director of the boycott activities in the England for the United Farm Workers of America and their purpose of course is to build in effect a boycott against the growers and the farm workers in Arizona and California. She previously taught the school in a detention home for girls and was

director for a halfway house for women out of prison. We're happy to have with us. Andrea O'Malley. Dad like to talk a little bit about who the fam workers are and what they're doing and how we fit into it here in New England. The United Farm Workers Organizing Committee is a group of workers farm workers in the country who are organizing themselves in order to gain many minimal human dignity such as tulips in the fields with a working drinking water in the fields. But most basically they're fighting for the same things that poor people allover the world are fighting for. And that is the recognition that they are first always and forever human beings that have dignity and should be recognized as such. When they first went out on strike in 1965.

Many of them. Believed that they were fighting the growers and very quickly learned the same bitter lessons at the Welfare Rights Organization has learned that it's not a particular institution you're fighting. Rather it's the whole system. When they were on welfare during the strike they were thrown off because there was work available father and that work was in the same fields that they had just walked out of trying to make them a little bit more human place to be. Here in New England the type of thing that we're doing is to support farm workers don't need anybody to move in and tell them what they need. They know what it is in a way that people who haven't worked in agriculture don't know they know the problems of poverty they know the problems of hunger they know what they have suffered they know it very clearly. But what they do need is other people across the country to support. Via. The unionization. Because they don't have the legal

protections to gain unionize sation recognition and collectively bargain with the growers to improve their living in working conditions. They have learned that rather than be divided among themselves rather than have the Chicanos fighting the Puerto Rican Zin the Puerto Rican fighting the Arabs that are al of these workers will unite themselves together take the power that they have by the very force of their numbers and use that against a small elite a std group the growers. Thank you of very much. Andrea. I just I wanted to proffer a program for just about a minute to tell you a story I. Think you'd be interested in. Knowing about. During the months of May and June of this year my union at Yale University. Was involved in a very bitter seven week strike. Against Yale and all its power. And during the first five weeks of that strike we were slowly but surely. Losing the strike. At that

point. George Riley sent in to New Haven. From nwr our Bruce Thomas to help us reorganize the strike. And then we began to have a chance. And then. On graduation day at Yale the 14th of June we decided that we would participate in a massive nonviolent demonstration. In an effort to get the attention of Mr. Kingman Brewster yells president. To the plight of the people in our union. Because he'd been very indifferent and very insensitive to a lot of efforts to reach him in an effort to resolve that. Very bitter dispute. And on that day in New Haven George Riley came in from Washington and. Bruce Thomas was whether US as I said for two weeks and we had a demonstration. Which was peaceful and nonviolent during the course of which the cops. Came out swinging with their clubs and. The level of the level at clubs at a number of workers some of whom went to the hospital. And 12 of us were arrested.

And while Bruce and I and other strike leaders were in jail. We thought of course that the demonstration of the pickets would have been distress the prop's demoralized disorganized. And when we got out of jail that morning to come back to the scene of the demonstration. Was so happy to see George Riley. There keeping the demonstration of pickets together. And. On the basis of that demonstration what George and Bruce and others did on that very dramatic day in New Haven. The strike quickly came to an end. Within three days. So on behalf of my union I want to say publicly here that we all want to turn a debt of gratitude to George Wiley and Bruce Thomas because without their help without that concern for the poor people in our union we would have gone down the drain but instead they saved the day we won the strike. Our next.

Speaker is a former field representative of the National Council of senior citizens. And also has represented the retired workers department of the United Steelworkers Union of America. And he's currently director of the older persons programs of the model cities program. Very happy to have with us brother Dan shoulder of Washington D.C.. I think most of the speakers have covered the. The main points of what I'd like to say that is that there are coalitions to be formed by you with other people people who have the same kinds of problems same kinds of needs. If those needs can be defined. So I'm not going to repeat what everyone else has said. All people in the United States have a peculiar status every four years the presidential candidates Pat the old people on the head trot them out and say we're going to vote for better Social Security. We're going to get better medical care better hospitals better housing and locally every two years or every three years the local mayors do the same things. The reality of

the status of all people in this country is somewhat different. All the people at this point in time I think are not yet organized to do what you've been doing in welfare. The potential is there the need is there. And I think the willingness isn't there if they can get some some leadership. The most interesting thing about all people and what Flo Kennedy was talking about is their voting patterns. People from the age of 50 to 70 50 to 70 vote at the highest rate of any age group in this country. People talk about the youth vote 972 that will be important but it will be the only people in this country and local and state and national elections who will determine who runs this country they register and vote at the rate of 60 to 80 percent. In this age group that's the most important thing I can I think tell you about all people they have a tremendous amount of unorganized voting and social power. Now they have the power but that power ought to be organized for leverage. Leverage for themselves and leverage for you.

The problem of all people the same problems that all poor people have it's food. Housing it's clothing it's recreation it's income it's jobs. It's fear of crime. It's one of the things that you are concerned about also all the people don't want to identify as all people in many cases and don't want to identify as poor people in many cases. And they've got their racial hang ups as many of you may know. You can help the older persons identify their needs clearly analyze their needs so that you can show them at least in housing at least in recreation at least an organization they're as poor as you are. I found that they could be as tough and as militant as any other group in the society. Their style is different. Don't expect them to sit in in an office. And take on the welfare director for better benefits they may not do that. But they may sit in front of that office in the chairs for day after day and week after week. They all write the light is they'll invade the city council hearings. They are an effective tool. But they are effective mostly in my

mind at least in the way you can twist the heartstrings of the voters and the decision makers in a community. People may be starved may be maltreated but they are respected for their political potential. And if people are involved with you in your fight and in the forefront of your fight I think that can add immeasurably to the way you will factor the political processes in your community. After the speakers on the panel the morning session of the second day of the National Welfare Rights Organization annual convention had fallen behind schedule and so there was no time for questions from the floor in a matter of a few minutes. However the delegation was on its feet as N.W. our own executive director Dr. George why we came down the center aisle of Sales Hall the Brown University where the guest speaker. Here is his introduction. There are a number of candidates who put their hat for the presidency of the United States. One of those and most of the people.

In the candidacy could not find time to come to the end of the convention. But there was one person. When I spoke to him said he had other commitments as the other people had said but said he would change that schedule and come here because he felt that the Welfare Rights Organization and poor people in motion were constituency that he wanted to was interested in and wanted to respond to. That man is going back to Washington immediately follow this session to participate in the fight again against the welfare program for the Lockheed company and to try to fight for the well. I am not me. Is Senator George McGovern. I

am. Arrest thank you very much. George Wiley brothers and sisters are the National Welfare Rights Organization. When we talk these days both in the Congress of the United States and I think in the nation at large about providing that kind of guarantee of simple dignity to the people of this land especially to the poor. What we hear about. Is welfare chiseling the kind of people who want something for nothing who want to take the government for a ride. And I'd like to talk about that for a few minutes this morning and an appropriate place to begin is with the management of the Lockheed aircraft company. You know I have

and and some two dozen banks who are lobbying the members of the Senate right now to guarantee loans to those corporations. Now to me that is welfare chiseling of the very highest order he has. Real asks. We talk about the end of fish and sea and our welfare program and God knows there's been plenty of it. But Lockheed is sold badly mismanaged that even when it overcharges the government of the United States some 2 billion dollars for the C5 airplane. It still can't make money and has to come back for more. Now the president of that company has had the nerve to say that he regards it as un-American for Senator Proxmire and others to stand on the floor of the Senate and say we ought to discuss this matter for a few days before we

debate. If we can wait two and a half years during this administration for Senate action on some kind of reform. In our welfare structure surely we can take two and a half days to debate what we ought to do with the Lockheed corporation folks. There are the oil depletion chiselers and what a rake off that is. Twenty seven and a half percent of the end come of those people totally tax free. I'd like to have that kind of a break as would many of you. To have that kind of income on which we don't pay a dime and perhaps most outrageous of all are these little news items that appear every year and this year was no exception announcing that last year. Three hundred and one families in this country who earned

more than $200000 a year did not pay one single dime in federal income tax. Now that is welfare chiseling. Of the worst kind have. The difference says The difference is that every one of these people and groups that I've talked about that thus far have the full protection of the government of the United States and strong. Articulate unabashed champions in the Congress of the United States who fight for these privileges with all the force they would bring to the defense of the flag of the United States. Meanwhile the people in this country who really need the protection of the government the hungry the handicapped the sick the old people the young mother whose been deserted large numbers of children.

Those are the people who are left standing at the end of the line and that includes these quiet. Long suffering Indian citizens in my state who are most abused of all. But I want to say to this group today that if it works out. As I hope it will that I become president of the United States. All right. Our. Uh ok I intend to see that. Above all else the poor and the second the homeless are heard from and that that cry is responded to in

the White House and in the government of the United States and has now ever since arriving here in Providence. And before this I have heard the rallying cry of this organization Sixty five hundred or five. I want to say very frankly as one member of the Senate who has been concerned about what we could do to replace our present on satisfactory welfare program. That I've been somewhat hesitant about endorsing this proposal 100 percent not because I thought. It was wrong but because I thought it was so difficult to build a coalition around that level that would bring us to success. But I think if this fight is going to move in the direction we want it to move. If we're going to get before the Congress of the United States the kind of

thinking that will really lift the people of America out of poverty that this proposal deserves a fair hearing. And I'm going back from this meeting today to introduce that measure in the Senate of the United States are. Have I I'm going to introduce the the companion measure each hour seven to five seven in the Senate this is the bill that was fought for and introduced by the Black Caucus and their supporters in the house. It is your bill. It provides an income for every American at an adequate level. And the record will show that that legislation really written by the

National Welfare Rights Organization the bill has that that bill was introduced in the Congress last year and will be reintroduced in both houses of the 90 second Congress this year. Now that brings me to the second major point I want to make here today which is H.R. 1. Some people say that that bell modified by Congressman Mills and his committee is it is adequate. But I think every person who has taken the time not only to read that bell but but to measure it against what will actually happen out in the States knows that H.R. 1 is painfully inadequate and will not do the job. Now in my own mind the worst thing about it is the kind of thinking.

That went into it that is the philosophy behind it and put bluntly the thinking behind much of H.R. 1 rests on the premise that people on welfare as the same thing they used to say about anti-war demonstrators until everybody turned against the war that those people are bombs with nothing else to do. In other words that their welfare people tend to be the kind of citizen who doesn't want to work or to do anything to help themselves. In a recent speech in Williamsburg. This is what the president told the rest of the nation. He said scrubbing floors or emptying bedpans. My mother used to do that. It's not enjoyable work and there is nevertheless as much dignity in that as there is in any other work to be done in this country including my own job.

Well. I've been I've been thinking about telling Mr. Nixon that if if he really believes that I know plenty of people who would be willing to trade jobs with him and I. Am. The OEM but that but that is not the point. The point is that he left the impression that floors are not being scrubbed. And that bed pans are not being carried because people are too proud to do that kind of work. The truth is just the opposite. Those jobs have always been done and for the most part they are done by the poor people of America. And one and one reason they are poor. Is because they are paid substandard wages for substandard wages. Substandard wages

for doing the job which the president says is as important as the one he is conducting in the White House. Now. H.R. 1. As it is presently structured is not going to improve that situation. Instead it is going to force mothers to accept those jobs without forcing anyone else to pay a decent wage. Now. Now let me let me just very quickly spell out what I believe to be some of the minimum changes that must be made in H.R. 1 the first of these changes has to do with the legal and civil rights of poor people and reading through that bill is like running through an old newsreel on civil rights decade civil rights fights of the last decade. It is nothing less than an outright repeal or many of the victories of N W R O and others who have

fought so hard to achieve a better measure of civil justice for the people of this country. The end of residency requirements. H.R. 1 brings those requirements back. The end of cutting off benefits before appeals procedures and hearings were completed. H.R. 1 brings back that arbitrary kind of injustice. The end of double standards of liability for step parents of children they have adopted. H.R. 1 imposes unlimited liability. There are other important rights that this bill endangers the right of a mother to decide whether daycare is suitable the right to have points of fact determined by a proper appeals procedure. The right of applicants and recipients to be accompanied by someone who knows their case and the legal regulations. The simple right of being treated with respect and as a human being H.R. 1 provides no

protection on that front. People who do not understand welfare wonder why such rights are important. They don't understand that every Sippy ends have no legal rights. They will not be able to make affective legal challenges when their grants are reduced or their case is closed. So before any bill passes the Congress. Those rights done by H.R. 1 must be made right and the legal rights restored and guaranteed. Now the second and perhaps even more fundamental change has to do with the actual income that families are going to receive. Nothing that deserves to be called welfare reform should begin by making millions of welfare recipients worse off than they are today. And as as and as this bill now stands that is precisely what it does it makes worse off

both in terms of food assistance and financial benefits. Millions of people are presently receiving assistance of that kind. So steps must be taken to lift the twenty four hundred dollar figure now being bandied about to a level somewhere commensurate with standards of decency and dignity for the people of this country. Now protecting legal rights and ensuring that benefits are raised is going to be a very very tough struggle indeed I think it's going to be fought in the last analysis out in the political arena where most battles are fought in this country. It's going to involve. The full. Tough use of organized political power through groups of this kind through other interested citizens to achieve the goals that I'm talking about here this morning. If there's any one thing I've

learned in nearly 15 years in the nation's capital it is that power. Properly exercised can translate into votes in the Congress of the United States. And make no mistake about it if the Lockheed 2 billion dollar loan guarantee goes through you will have witnessed another example of what I'm talking about an organized power harnessed to the political system of this country. Following the speech by Senator McGovern the convention recessed for lunch and reconvened as workshop groups covering many topics. But Chief among them was strategy against the Family Assistance Plan or the strategy sessions were closed to the press for the reason given by an N W R O official to the delegates. You don't want your business put out before you put it out. At 7:30 Thursday evening SEAL's hole was again crowded beyond capacity as guest speakers discussed the future of the welfare rights movement. Among them was journalist

Gloria Steinem. All day long and all of the workshops and the rap sessions that I've been in there's been a discussion at some time or another of one problem. Sometimes we got kind of obsessed with it as we did in the women's rap session this afternoon. And sometimes it was a simple and an understood coalition as it was in the press workshop. But the issue is this. How can women and as Shirley Chisholm points out that must include all women. We must no longer be divided against ourselves by age or race or economic group or sexual preference or even physical beauty. How can all women work together on the problems that oppressed us as women. It's clear that we've got generations of mistrust to deal with. We were just beginning to overcome some of that. Or anyway to

get down to the nitty gritty of the mistrust. This afternoon in the women's rap session where there were a couple of hundred of us gathered together and then we had to break up for dinner. So I understand that we have permission to use this hall afterward. Those of you who have the the energy to survive after this meeting if you want to come forward and sit in the front we can have a little more rap session or at least set up another one for tomorrow because many of the women made that request. I did want to outline some of the issues that kind of came clear over the day but in the meantime there was a press conference. And though it seems perfectly natural to me that I should be here it was clear that it didn't exactly seem perfectly natural to some members of the press. Well. I think the point is that all of us who are not

born white and born male in this society are born into some kind of subservient role. We are the cheap labor on which this so-called capitalist system works. And unless we stand up together and say no more. We can't possibly begin to humanize and to revolutionise because this is a revolution we're talking about not a reform to humanize the system so-called middle class and conservative women's groups are actually getting their heads together a little bit. Not enough. We have to do it more but a little bit to support welfare women in their fight against the inhumanity of famine. I think where. We're getting together a little bit on some of the issues. OK. It's not the point whether we work necessarily within our own

organizations or not or how we what kind of tactics and what kind of. Arena we choose but we are beginning to agree on our community of interests. We're beginning to agree that Nixon's idea of forced work for women is obscene that he is equally obscene idea that childcare should be a commercially commercialized venture has to be fought. I think he thinks that a Southern Fried children you suppose. In one of the workshops this afternoon we discussed a redefinition of work because women's work has never been defined as dignified work that should be rewarded under all of the labor laws and all kinds of union protection that we have. Keeping a house taking care of children is a job a dignified and

important job. Women must have the choice of whether they wish to work at that job or wish to work outside the home. The next speaker we show here came from Vietnam Veterans Against the War. He is now Hubbard. Thank the very first thing that I would like to do is to let everyone here know that Vietnam Veterans Against the War recognize that veterans are indeed a microcosm of this society. We are indeed poor people where black people were white people red people yellow people were all people. And I'd like to let you know that when we said in Washington during Dewey Canyon 3 that we were here to remove. The last vestiges of barbarism in this country that we were speaking to such things as Pap. Which we consider to be the pity

me of barbarism. The veterans of this country. Are not going to sit back. And to allow. Something like pap. To be passed through the Congress or the Senate of this country. We intend to mobilize all of our forces. We intend to support nwr row all the way through in the battle. We have several of our staff members all Vietnam veterans were on public assistance. We found. In trying to get them on public assistance in New York. That the New York State legislature had ended the war as of January 1st 1971. They wrote into law. A stipulation that any

veteran returning from Vietnam. After. January 1st 1971 would not be considered a wartime veteran and hence he could not receive assistance through the Veterans Service Center of New York State. So we have selfish motivations. We know where the truth is. And that's a rather interesting thing that we learned. We learned that men must plot and combine and negotiate. To tell the truth. But we learned that it's always told sometime somewhere always that we intend to help and if you are over tell it in Washington. We have heard National Public Radio coverage of the fifth annual convention of the National

Welfare Rights Organization. This is the second program of the series of recorded reports on this convention we have today heard excerpts from the July 29 morning business session. A panel discussion on the movement with representatives from several outside factional organizations pledging support to B and W R O portions of an address by Senator George McGovern. Highlights of the Thursday evening session titled The Future of the National. Welfare Rights Movement days to come we shall hear more highlights from this session workshop sessions a panel on cosmic organizing and speeches by Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm and Mrs. Caruthers task of the National Welfare Rights Organization is made up of 400 independent welfare rights organizations across the country they met in Sales Hall on the campus of Brown University in Providence Rhode Island. So conventions ranged over the four days from July 28 to July 30 first 1971 and was attended by 800 to

1000 delegates and friends to organize strategies for the attainment of adequate income for the poor through both wages and welfare in the words of the group of people speaking for themselves. And fighting for their share of America. This program originated in Rhode Island and was produced for National Public Radio by Diddy Doron technical direction was by John Moran with production assistance by Rebecca Eaton This is Robert Cary speaking and this is National Public Radio. You know I am National Public Radio presents coverage of the first annual convention of the National Welfare Rights Organization from Providence Rhode Island. This is the second in a series of one hour recorded reports from back convention. The first program we heard speeches by congressman Ronald Dellums of California and

Congresswoman Bella Abzug of New York at the opening meeting. They cited their conceptions of the factors causing the problems of the poor and issued calls for organization and coalition to cause reform. The main objectives of ANWR all of this convention opposition to and defeat of each on one family assistance plan now when Congress and the establishment of an annual income of sixty five hundred dollars for a family of four in America through wages and welfare they meet under a banner reading welfare. Not warfare. Today we joined the second day of the convention.