The equitable and transparent allocation of over $388 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars to essential workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic has been our fight since June 2022. The culmination of this work has been the creation of the Big Easy Deal through a collaboration known as the Big Easy Budget Coalition that has brought together more than 30 organizations in the city.  We fought together for the Big Easy Deal starting in early 2023.

 

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In May 2023, the coalition won several of its funding recommendations, including four priority demands from NOWCRJ members during the campaign:

• $1M in Food Assistance to Low-Income Residents

• $2.5M in Transportation Assistance (Free Rides for youth aged 16-24) in a program named Opportunity Pass, a collaboration between Ride New Orleans, RTA, NO Children and Youth Planning Board, and NO Public Library where age-eligible residents can sign up with a smartphone.

• $500K for the establishment of a Labor Audit to ensure enforcement of existing local labor laws including Living Wage, Local Hire and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise ordinances. The auditor team is mandated to investigate city contracts, subcontractors for payroll.

• $500K to pilot a Language Access Program for City Government that would include interpretation at public meetings and in City Hall as well as translation of public-facing government forms, information, etc in both Spanish and Vietnamese, the two most frequently spoken non-English languages in the city.