Sept. 2000

by Richard Bermack

For Los Angeles child abuse investigator Ramal Rush, the connection between improving staffing and caseload numbers and political action is very clear. "The governor sat on an important caseload study since it was sent to him in March," says Rush. "He wouldn't release it. It was only after we exerted extreme union pressure and angry social workers made several visits to Sacramento that he took action and finally released the caseload study."

As expected, it documented what social workers have been saying for years, that they are understaffed and overworked. It stated children's social workers do the jobs of two to three workers, and that caseloads are too high, averaging more than 40 children per worker, where 12 to 15 is the ideal number. But after the study was released, Los Angeles County refused to make funds available to hire more workers, even though it has the resources to do so. "This study has become a political football. If anything is to change, it's up to us to keep up constant pressure. We can't let this die," declares Rush.

Rush decided to do something about it. He got involved in the union's COPE recruitment campaign in Los Angeles County. He took time off from work and visited dozens of offices throughout southern California. Going office to office, and sometimes desk to desk, he talked to social workers about the importance of building up the union's COPE fund to make their voices heard in Sacramento and to put into practice the staffing study.

"COPE exists to help the union flex its political muscles and represent our interests in Sacramento, where the decisions that affect us are really made," adds Rush. "If you want more staff, lower caseloads and stress, this is the way to do it. It's the politicians who make the decisions that affect our lives, especially public employees. We have to get to them. We need to get behind the elected officials that support our interests. In politics, it's people and money that count."

Rush signed up 40 members to the union's COPE fund. "I felt it was the right thing to do. It takes money to send our political message and it takes money to organize our members and bus them to Sacramento. When you are pursuing issues that are important you need to spend money. Nothing is free in the political world."

Rush also plans to be involved in the November election. He attended SEIU's campaign school at UCLA, where he received instruction on the nuts and bolts of political campaigns: precinct walking, phone banking, dissemination of political information, and get-out-the-vote. He expects to be assigned by SEIU to assist a union-backed candidate.

But Rush's political activism doesn't stop at helping other candidates. He also threw his hat in the ring and ran for city council in his home town of Thousand Oaks in Ventura County. "I didn't plan it, it was something I just decided I'd do. I enjoyed it and learned a tremendous amount. I learned that politics is an educational process as well as an opportunity to make some changes and make your voice heard. It's important to get involved, if nothing more than to educate yourself. The political climate is changing. Minorities are electable. Our demographics are changing. Political decisions impact all of us. We must make our voices heard."