"First Friday" Actions for Jobs and to Protect Human Needs

"First Friday" Actions for Jobs and to Protect Human Needs

Dear Friends,

The planning/follow up committee to the National Conference on Living Wage Jobs* is asking groups to hold actions and educational events through March, starting with First Friday actions on March 5th. 2010, and continuing in April on April 9 (actually this will be the second Friday, because the first Friday in April is Good Friday).

Why the First Friday? On the first Friday of each month the Labor Dept. releases the previous month's unemployment numbers, and the issue of unemployment and joblessness gets regular attention from the news media. See February unemployment data here.

Two years into the "Great Recession", 30 million people are unemployed and underemployed. As people lose their jobs they also lose their health insurance and as unemployment benefits run out, they find themselves in dire financial straits. Millions of working people have lost their homes, and tens of thousands are homeless. Basic human needs are not being meet. TANF time limits, sanctions and low grants are pushing millions of American families deeper into poverty.

We are asking groups to organize rallies, picket lines and news conferences aimed at local sites on the First Friday or on another day in March. We encourage people to organize town hall meetings or teach-ins on unemployment and the economic crisis, a “Jobs for All” month.

We urge groups to brainstorm creative actions to bring attention to the unemployment crisis and the need for a significant jobs bill. We will be linking these actions to other human needs fights and specific local issues.

For Jobs and Peace,

Logan Martinez, Outreach Coordinator
The National Jobs for All Coalition
937-275-7259
loganmartinez2u@yahoo.com

*We are setting up a Continuation Committee with working sub Committees, if you or someone from your group would be interested in being on these committees please let me know.