COPA’s mission is to build leadership capacity in local institutions, enabling
them to collaborate to solve community problems and to reinvigorate civic
culture.
COPA is a non-partisan, broad-based organization of almost thirty religious
congregations, labor unions, schools, and nonpro]ts. We organize to bring
together a diverse cross-section of the region around mutual interests to
achieve change for the common good.
Our vision is the launch of a community-driven Workforce Development Intermediary (WFDI) to lift workers out of poverty in partnership with employers of high-road jobs, government leaders, adult education and training institutions in the region.
The intermediary will serve motivated adults who will benefit from a coordinated system of education and training aligned with living wage, in-demand jobs while providing wraparound support (childcare, scholarships, job interview prep, funds for tuition and books, and more) to ensure they can succeed.
COPA leaders have conducted thousands of meetings over the past year with workers in our member institutions to learn of their ambitions and barriers to high-road jobs. The intermediary will provide a skilled and ready workforce in partnership with emerging and existing employers in precision manufacturing, advanced business services, healthcare, and climate resilience sectors. The WFDI will also support entrepreneurship as a pathway for workers who lack legal work permits.
COPA member institutions are in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, and our work impacts all the County. In our meetings, people share their economic pressures, including the lack of affordable housing, the challenges to apply for housing with application fees, not enough good paying jobs, cost and availability of childcare, lack of accessible healthcare. We develop leaders to address these concerns.
Regarding healthcare, on June 9, 120 COPA and IAF leaders went to Sacramento and met with 35 legislators or their staff in scheduled and drop-in meetings to share our stories about healthcare. In response to our efforts, the legislators proposed lowering the monthly premium from $100 to $30. Last year Medi-Cal became available to all undocumented immigrants, not just children and young adults. This was inspired by COPA’s action in 2015 to create Esperanza Care, which provided health coverage to undocumented people in Monterey County.
My name is Lennin Ramos, and I am a proud COPA leader at Our Lady of Refuge Catholic Church in Castroville. Recently, I joined efforts to advocate for full-scope Medi-Cal for members of my community, meeting with staff from our local state legislators to elevate the voices of our community. Three years ago I did not imagine myself as the kind of person that could negotiate and speak as equals with an elected official. COPA has given me the relationships, skills, and confidence to lead—and to take an active role in shaping a more just future for all.
- Lennin Ramos, Castroville
