It's different than in any other place simply because of the number of people. CVH is a citywide organization whose 300 members are mostly African American and Latina women with children. This is a striking change for the organization, which began in 1994 among mostly men who received general assistance. When Clinton's welfare reform legislation passed in 1996 and women with children were forced into workfare, the face of the organization changed dramatically. Currently CVH is working on a jobs campaign for people on welfare to create or find work that pays a decent wage and includes benefits such as child care, health care, sick time, and paid leave.
Some organizations use moderate tactics.
They want to make workfare better, improve conditions a little. The sweatshop needs to be abolished, not just changed. CVH shows the harmful effects of welfare in a report that documents how workfare workers are replacing city workers throughout New York. The reduction in the number of city workers directly correlates to an increase in workfare workers who do exactly the same jobs for much less money and with none of the standard labor protections. It's important to put out a message that strong.