The Center on Policy Initiatives (CPI) has long been a champion for San Diego’s residents. Dedicated to creating economic prosperity, sustainable communities, and a healthy environment for all. CPI serves a unique role in San Diego – providing policy solutions, education, and opportunities for strategic collaboration across issue areas that advance social and economic justice for working people and diverse communities.
CPI is first and foremost a worker justice organization: they bring together individuals and organizations, and encourage them to work together to identify community needs, while proposing large-scale solutions. Through intentional community building and thoughtful research – CPI has managed to advocate with the residents of San Diego time and time again, and win on priorities that specifically advance equity around worker justice, infrastructure, homelessness prevention, and much more.
Founded in 1997, CPI has worked hard for nearly three decades to empower working-class people: “We envision a world, a San Diego, where working class people can go through life and don’t need more than one job, where they don’t need to worry about housing insecurity, and where they have an infrastructure that helps them not just survive – but thrive,” says Keara O’Laughlin (she/her), Senior Researcher & Policy Advocate
at CPI. Keara works with individuals and organizations to conduct research, identify policy solutions, and advocate for what working families want and need.
According to CPI’s Poverty Income & Earnings Report, in 2021, more than 1 in 9 (11.7%) people in the City of San Diego had incomes below the federal poverty level, higher than in San Diego County overall. Black and Latinx people continue to experience higher rates of extreme poverty, up to double the rate of White or Asian and Pacific Islander households. Income inequality has worsened, especially for the lowest paid workers in the City of San Diego. More than half of all the income in the City of San Diego is going to the wealthiest San Diegans. Not surprisingly, women continue to be paid less than men in the City of San Diego, with some industries paying women 30% less than men.
Many working families across San Diego struggle to make ends meet, often juggling multiple jobs with long hours just to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. This economic insecurity has a direct impact on their health and well-being.
During the 2023-2024 City of San Diego budget process,, the Center for Budget Alliance (CBA), convened by CPI, stood up and fought against a proposed $21 million cut to the City of San Diego’s budget, “a budget balanced on the backs of our poorest community,” says O’Laughlin. No strangers to the power of collective voice, members of the CBA organized over 100 coalition members. Together, they attended city council meetings, budget hearings, held press conferences, and were able to get $20 million of the proposed $21 million in budget cuts restored. This is just one of many examples of CPI’s movement toward systemic change that starts with people power, and emphasizes the power of collective voice. The Invest in San Diego Families Coalition, another coalition convened and supported by CPI, works to advocate for community budget priorities at the county level. The ISDF coalition is unique because it was one of the first coalitions in the nation to do Bargaining for the Common Good. This is when a union agrees to incorporate the needs and demands of its community allies as part of its contract negotiations and see the needs of the broader community as integral to their members’ needs and the overall fight for workers. Through ISDF’s advocacy, we’ve been able to secure funding for free menstrual products, access to doulas, mobile crisis response teams, rental assistance, removing cost of phone calls for people who are incarcerated and programs that support immigrants and refugees. The ISDF coalition’s latest win was the creation of a worker justice fund, which helps workers get paid while waiting to receive their wage theft settlement. So far, 34 workers have been helped through this fund.
It is no surprise that low wages often translate to limited or no health insurance. This lack of coverage can lead to a vicious cycle: workers delay or forgo preventive care, leading to more serious health problems down the line. These health issues can then further impact their ability to work, worsening an already difficult financial situation.
The Center on Policy Initiatives’ practice is rooted in the principles of social justice, and leads with equity and the understanding that our intersectional experiences matter, especially across health disparities, and access to care people need and deserve: “Reproductive freedoms, bodily autonomy, and workers rights are all intertwined – we can’t create policies without those who would be most impacted. Everyone deserves a seat at the decision making table. And at the end of the day, when we come together, we can win together,” says Nelly Gomez Amaya (they/them/elle), Communications Specialist at CPI.
Planned Parenthood Action Fund of the Pacific Southwest believes in fighting for a world where all people have access to the resources they need and deserve. We are proud to work alongside CPI to build a world where all communities can thrive.
CPI is working to radically change the quality of life for families in San Diego. Please visit cpisandiego.org, and follow them on Instagram @CPISanDiego to learn more about this incredible organization. For their most recent report, “Unpaid and Unaware” published in July 2024, please click here.
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