Good Jobs First

Reclaiming Economic Development III

The Conference Center at the Maritime Institute

Linthicum Heights, Maryland

May 7-8, 2008

View the 2008 Conference Video

WEDNESDAY, MAY 7

Special Author Appearance (8:30-8:50 AM, Auditorium)

·       Steven Greenhouse, author of The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker

Conference Greeting and Welcome (8:50-9:00 AM, Auditorium)

·       Greg LeRoy, Executive Director, Good Jobs First

·       Fred Mason, President, Maryland State and D.C. AFL-CIO

Plenary: Power, Policy & Public Leverage: Frontline Organizing for a Just Economy (9:00-10:30 AM, Auditorium)

·       Moderator: Leslie Moody, Executive Director, Partnership for Working Families

·       Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, Chief Executive Officer, South Bay AFL-CIO and Executive Director of Working Partnerships USA 

·       Deborah Scott, Executive Director, Georgia Stand Up

·       Madeline Janis, Executive Director, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy

Break (10:30-10:45 AM)

Workshop Sessions I (10:45-12:30 PM)

1. Economic Development and Subsidy Accountability: Introduction to Accountability
 (Room A300)

·       What is it? Who is doing it and why?  Greg LeRoy, Executive Director, Good Jobs First

·       Coalescing with Organized Labor  Naomi Walker, Director of State Government Affairs, AFL-CIO  

·       National Education Associations TEF program  Richard Sims, Chief Economist, National Education Association           

·       Community Benefits Agreements and the Partnership for Working Families   Robin Kniech, FRESC for Good Jobs, Strong Communities (Denver)

2. Smart Growth/Cooler Climate for Working Families: Introduction to Smart Growth
(Room A302)

·       What is Smart Growth? Who is Advocating for It and Why?  Scot Spencer, Board Member of Smart Growth America and Manager of Baltimore Relations, Annie E. Casey Foundation

·       State Policy Toolkit for Smart Growth  Tim Torma, Acting Director, U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys Smart Growth Program  

·       Green Jobs, Less Poverty  Joanna Lee, Lead Researcher, Strategic Concepts in Organizing & Policy Education (Los Angeles)

·       Mapping How Job Subsidies Fuel Sprawl  Allison Lack, Research Analyst, Good Jobs First

3. Community Benefits and Beyond: This Land is Our Land: Organizing to Change How Our Local Economy Works (Bridge Room)

·       Moderator: Elana Dix, Puget Sound SAGE

·       Dearborn Street Coalition  Quang H. Nguyen, Executive Director, Washington Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce (Seattle)

·       The Kingsbridge Armory Campaign   Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter, Community Leader, Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition

·       One Hill Community Benefits Agreement Coalition  Carl Redwood, Hill District Consensus Group (Pittsburgh)

4. Wal-Mart/Big-Box Accountability: Regulating Big-Box Land use to Curb Sprawl and Protect Existing Businesses (Room A307)

·       Maines Landmark State Big-Box Law  Stacy Mitchell, Senior Researcher, Institute for Local Self-Reliance

·       Los Angeles Model Local Big-Box Law  Madeline Janis, Executive Director, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy

·       Gander Mountains Campaign Against Subsidies to Cabelas and Bass Pro Mega-Stores  David Ewald, CEO, Ewald Consulting

5. Advanced Research: Researching Economic Development Subsidies (Room A111/A113)

·       Determining Whether a Company Has Gotten Job Subsidies  Phil Mattera, Research Director, Good Jobs First

·       Mapping How Job Subsidies Fuel Sprawl  Karla Walter, Research Analyst, Good Jobs First

·       Researching Subsidies in New York State   Jim Heaney, Investigative Reporter, Buffalo News

·       Whos on First? Researching the Players in a Deal  Bettina Damiani, Director, Good Jobs New York

Lunch (12:30-1:30, Dining Room)

Plenary: Cities and States Are Getting It; How About Uncle Sam? (1:30-3:15 PM, Auditorium)

·       Greeting: Matt Gardner, Executive Director, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

·       Greeting: Toby Rittner, Executive Director of the Council of Development Finance Agencies

·       Cecilia Estolano, Chief Executive Officer, Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency

·       Margaret Blackshere, Immediate Past President, Illinois State AFL-CIO

·       Mary Beth Maxwell, Executive Director, American Rights at Work

·       Greg LeRoy, Executive Director, Good Jobs First

Break 3:15-3:30 PM

Workshop Sessions II (3:30-5:15 PM)

1. Economic Development Subsidy Accountability: Subsidies, Sprawl and Climate Change
(Room A300)

·       Mapping How Job Subsidies Fuel Sprawl Allison Lack, Research Analyst, Good Jobs First

·       State Policy Toolkit for Smart Growth  Tim Torma, Acting Director, U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys Smart Growth Program

·       Tax Increment Financing and Sprawl  Greg LeRoy, Executive Director, Good Jobs First

·       Climate Quality Standards for Growing Cooler  Greg LeRoy, Good Jobs First

2. Smart Growth/Cooler Climate for Working Families: Smart Growth and Organized Labor
(Room A302)

·       Organized Labor: Harmed by Sprawl, Gaining from Smart Growth  Greg LeRoy, Executive Director, Good Jobs First

·       Coyote Valley: Labor Case Study  Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, Executive Director, Working Partnerships USA (San Jose)

·       From Con to Pro-Smart Growth: Organized Labor in San Diego  Donald Cohen, President and Executive Director, Center on Policy Initiatives

3. Community Benefits and Beyond: Understanding Community Benefits from a Developers Point of View (Bridge Room)

·       Moderator: Jennifer Steffel Johnson, Senior Policy Analyst, Partnership for Working Families

·       The Basics of Development Finance  Howard Greenwich, Research Director, Puget Sound SAGE

·       How Investors Look at Project Risk  David Keto, Chief Operating Officer, AFL-CIO Investment Trust Corporation

·       Achieving a Double Bottom Line  Brandon Mitchell, Development Director, Full Spectrum Developers

4. Wal-Mart/Big-Box Accountability: Wal-Marts Low-Road Employment Practices and Hidden Taxpayer Costs (Room A307)

·       Wal-Marts Hidden Taxpayer Costs and How It Could Afford Wage Increases  Ken Jacobs, Chair, UC-Berkeley Labor Center

·       Wal-Marts Healthcare Practices  Basav Sen , United Food and Commercial Workers International Union

5. Advanced Research: Researching Corporate Tax Behavior (Room A111/A113)

·       Analyzing a Public Companys Federal Tax Payment Record  Matt Gardner, Executive Director, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

·       Corporate Tax Dodging and Campaign for State Tax Return Disclosure  Michael Mazerov, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

·       Researching Property Tax Assessment Appeals  Phil Mattera, Good Jobs First

Break (5:15-5:30 PM)

Affinity-Group Meetings (5:30-6:15 PM)

Private Dinner (6:15-7:00 PM, Dining Room)

Keynote Address (7:00-8:00 PM, Dining Room)

·       Stacy Mitchell, author of Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Business

Dessert Reception and Book-Signing (8:00-10:00 PM, Dining Room)

THURSDAY, MAY 8

Plenary: State Accountability Campaigns (8:00-9:00 AM, Auditorium)

·       Mary Forsberg, Research Director, New Jersey Policy Perspective

·       Carrie Brunk, Executive Director, New York Jobs with Justice

·       Eric Griego, Executive Director, New Mexico Voices for Children

Keynote Address on Tax Accountability and Great Public Schools (9:00-10:00 AM, Auditorium)

·       Reg Weaver, President, National Education Association

Workshop Sessions III (10:15-12:00 PM)

1. Economic Development Subsidy Accountability:  Subsidy Disclosure (Room A300)

·       The State of State Disclosure  Karla Walter, Research Analyst, Good Jobs First

·       New Jersey Disclosure and Unified Development Budget  Mary Forsberg, Research Director, New Jersey Policy Perspective

·       Unified Development Budgets  Jason Bailey, Research and Policy Director, Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (Kentucky)

·       Using Disclosure Data to Strengthen Workforce Development  Jeff McCourt, Director, Good Jobs First-Illinois, and Bettina Damiani, Director, Good Jobs New York

2. Smart Growth/Cooler Climate for Working Families: Subsidies, Sprawl and Climate Change (Room A302)

·       Communicating Smart Growth  Gene Krebs, Co-Director, Greater Ohio, and former state legislator 

·       Tax Increment Financing and Sprawl in New Mexico  Gabe Nims, Executive Director, 1000 Friends of New Mexico

·       Gander Mountain's campaign against subsidies for Cabela's and Bass Pro  David Ewald, Ewald Consulting

·       Tax Increment Financing and Sprawl  Greg LeRoy, Executive Director, Good Jobs First

·       Climate Quality Standards for Growing Cooler  Greg LeRoy, Good Jobs First

3. Community Benefits and Beyond: Good Jobs and Local Hiring (Bridge Room)

·       Moderator: Kathleen Mulligan-Hansel, Director of Research & Communications, Partnership for Working Families  

·       East Palo Altos Successful Local Hiring Ordinance  Marie McKenzie, Redevelopment Manager, City of East Palo Alto

·       The Los Angeles Airport Community Benefits Agreement  Flor Barajas-Tena, Director of LAX CBA and Construction Program, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy

·       Port of Oakland Project Labor Agreement  John Brauer, Workforce Development Collaborative

4. Wal-Mart/Big-Box Accountability:  Wal-Mart in the Taxpayer Trough (Room A307)

·       How Wal-Mart Gets Taxpayers to Help Underwrite Its Expansion  Phil Mattera, Research Director, Good Jobs First

·       Wal-Marts Aggressive Use of Property Tax Assessment Appeals  Phil Mattera, Good Jobs First

·       Dodging State Income Taxes by Using a REIT  Corey Himrod, Legal Outreach Coordinator, Wal-Mart Watch

5. Advanced Research: Researching Business-Government Interaction (Room A111/A113)

·       Procurement Contracts  Scott Amey, Project on Government Oversight

·       Political Campaign Contributions  Ed Bender, Institute on Money in State Politics

·       Lobbying  Craig Holman, Public Citizen

Keynote Address on Regressive Taxpayer Rip-Offs (12:15-1:15 PM, Auditorium)

·       David Cay Johnston, author of the best-selling book Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill) 

Lunch and Book-Signing (1:15-2:00 PM, Dining Room)

Workshop Sessions IV (2:00-3:45 PM)

1. Economic Development Subsidy Accountability: Corporate Income Taxes, Personal Income Taxes and Jobs (Room A300)

·       Single Sales Factor, Passive Income Scams and Combined Reporting  Michael Mazerov, Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

·       Debate on The Young and the Restless: States are losing young people: what should they do about it? Two experts debate one states new personal income tax break: Rob Brown, Executive Director of Opportunity Maine, versus Nick Johnson, director of the State Fiscal Analysis Initiative of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

2. Smart Growth/Cooler Climate for Working Families: Public Transit, TOD, Highways & Jobs (Room A302)

·       Transit-Oriented Development 101 and the Surface Transportation Act Reauthorization in 2009  Sam Zimmerman Bergman, Project Director, Reconnecting America

·       Gaining Construction Jobs for Workers of Color  Laura Barrett, National Policy Director, Transportation Equity Network and the Gamaliel Foundation

·       Community Benefits Agreements for TOD: Denver Case Study  Robin Kniech, FRESC for Good Jobs and Stronger Communities (Denver)

·       Job Subsidies and Mass Transit: How States are Missing the Bus and how localities are Making the Connection  Greg LeRoy, Executive Director, Good Jobs First

3. Community Benefits and Beyond: Beyond CBAs: Policies that Improve Jobs and Neighborhoods; Legally Sealing the Deal (Bridge Room)

·       Moderator: John Goldstein, Field Director, Partnership for Working Families

·       Promoting Better Access to Health Care   Sarah Muller, Associate Policy Director, Working Partnerships USA (San Jose)

·       The Los Angeles Ports Victory  Jon Zerolnick, Senior Research/Policy Analyst, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy

·       Legal Aspects of CBAs  Julian Gross, Director, Community Benefits Law Center

·       Enforcing CBAs  Flor Barajas-Tena, Director of LAX CBA and Construction Program, Los  Angeles Alliance for a New Economy

4. Wal-Mart/Big-Box Accountability: Roundtable  What Have the Wal-Mart Campaigns Accomplished? (Room A307)

·       David Nassar, Executive Director, Wal-Mart Watch

·       Meghan Scott, Wake-Up Wal-Mart

·       Rick Smith, Florida Director, Wal-Mart Alliance for Reform Now

·       Al Norman, Founder, Sprawl-Busters

5. Advanced Research: Researching a Companys Social Responsibility Record (Room A111/A113)

·       Labor/ Employment Practices  Glenn Adler, AFL-CIO Ctr for Strategic Research

·       Litigation and Environmental Issues  Rick Rehberg, FAST-RAA

·       Regulatory Compliance  Charlie Cray, Center for Corporate Policy

Break (3:45-4:00 PM)

Closing Plenary: Good Jobs, Urban Justice (4:00-5:15 PM, Auditorium))

·       Rev. Michael Brooks, Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equality (More2 in Kansas City) and the Transportation Equity Network

• Dan Onorato, Executive of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania