Dear John,

Today, we are filled with immense pride and joy as we celebrate our 30th anniversary. This month, we are honored to highlight President Emeritus of UFCW Local 770 and LAANE Board of Directors member, John Grant.

For decades, John Grant has been an unwavering changemaker in pursuit of a more just economy. Reflecting on LAANE's role as a harbinger of change in Los Angeles and beyond, John shares about the importance of imagination, collaboration, and discipline in the process of transforming our understanding of what work can be. As we celebrate the penultimate month of our 30th anniversary, we reflect on John Grant's extraordinary leadership and partnership in this movement.

Join us in celebrating this milestone while planning for the next 30 years by supporting 30/30 VISION. Make a contribution today:

John Grant speaking at a rally (left). John Grant at LAANE's 2022 City of Justice Awards when he was honored (right).

Following the exuberance, successes, and rose-colored optimism of the ‘60’s and 70’s, there were few remainders of social justice present in the subsequent decades. Los Angeles’ history as an anti-union town draped its shadow over the progressive movement. Within the labor movement, those trade unionists who searched for a better way forward found themselves instead parched in a desert of business unionism. Victories for working families -- victories which were significant and repeated -- were limited to a few project labor agreements for the building trades.

Seemingly, we lacked not only the power, but the imagination, to do more.

{LAANE enters stage left}

As trade unionists, we understand that organization is key to change.  But Madeline Janis and Roxana Tynan had the vision to see that unions plowing the same, shrinking field, over and over again, did not, and could not, increase the strength of the Union, nor bring forward a more just Los Angeles.

They saw a broader field. And imagined a different way to cultivate justice.  They built an organization that analyzed, collaborated, and then constructed institutional frameworks, based on legislative initiatives, wherein workers received respect, dignity, a living wage and a facilitated democracy.

"The dynamic generated by LAANE’s fresh and innovative approach to addressing 'what is work?' and what must be done to ensure that those who perform it are treated with respect and dignity changed LA."

- John Grant

The first landmark victory, the living wage, gave Los Angeles more than an economic boost for some workers with a city contract. LAANE enabled Unions, environmentalists, and workers of all stripes, to re-think what work is:

• Workers compensated at a fair rate, with the ability to receive health care (living wage);
• Predatory retail companies denied the ability to do business without being transparent about their socio-economic effects (big box ordinance);
• Where businesses are succeeded by similar businesses, succession is guaranteed for those workers who toil there (worker retention);
• When, how, and where workers are permitted to work (fair work week).

This imagination, discipline, and collaboration led to many LAANE successes. But, the heat generated by the LAANE initiatives –  meetings, rallies, discussions, lobbying, testimony, intellectual girding in the media –  did more than lead to the passage of so many measures within Los Angeles County.

That process led to a rise in temperature (ferment and activity) within the labor and social justice movement as well. This exothermic phenomena provided space for activists, intellectual kindling for sages, and a cauldron for brewing remedies for the social and economic illnesses plaguing Los Angeles. The dynamic generated by LAANE’s fresh and innovative approach to addressing “what is work?” and what must be done to ensure that those who perform it are treated with respect and dignity changed LA.

Up LAANE!

John Grant at actions over the years

The Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE) is an organizing and advocacy institution committed to economic, environmental, and racial justice. We bridge community and labor power to win policies that improve the lives of working families in Los Angeles and in Long Beach. Our vision is to help build a new economy rooted in good jobs, thriving communities, and a healthy environment for all. We fight for change through community organizing, building community and labor coalitions, research, communications, and policy work.

Join us in building a city and an economy that work for everyone by supporting 30/30 VISION: celebrating LAANE’s first 30 years while planning for the next.

Make a contribution today:

LAANE
464 Lucas Ave Suite 202
Los Angeles, CA 90017
United States

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