Living Wage Jobs for All Campaign

Sept. 10 Labor Day Parade in NYC

2011-09-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

The Jobs for All contingent marched with Communications Workers of America Local 1180 in the New York City Labor Day Parade, which took place on September 10.

Here's a Labor Day video shared by Joe Mayhew of CWA Local 1103 in Port Chester, NY

Saturday, Sept 10 - NYC Labor Day Parade Information

2011-09-03T06:12:00.000-07:00

A National Jobs for All Coalition contigent has been invited to march with CWA Local 1180 at the New York City Labor Day Parade, which takes place on Saturday September 10.

We will meet at 10:45 AM on Saturday, September 10 on 45th Street between 5th Avenue and Vanderbilt Avenue.

We understand that Rekindling Reform will also be marching with the CWA 1180 group.

PS If you are unemployed person and you want to get in touch with the Workers' Defense League, here is their contact information:

Workers Defense League

275 7th Avenue

New York, NY 10001-6708(212) 627-1931

Van Jones on Rebuilding the Dream

2011-06-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

Speakout for Good Jobs Now comes to NYC June 30

2011-06-23T08:25:00.000-07:00

Download June 30 NYC Event Flyer

The Speakout for Good Jobs Now tour will feature stops in numerous cities across America giving Americans the chance to speak out about how the economy is affecting them. Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus will listen to what everyday Americans have to say and take that back to Washington with them as they continue to fight to reinvigorate the American Dream — the ability to put in a day’s hard work for good wages and benefits so we can provide our children with a better future.

Learn more about tour stops, visit our Events Page

Speakout for Good Jobs Now

When: Jun 30, 2011
Where: Hostos Community College
500 Grand Concourse
Bronx NY 10451
Description: 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Speakout for Good Jobs
A Congressional Listening Tour—Speakout for Good Jobs Now

Join ... Rep. Charlie Rangel, member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus
Rep. Yvette Clark, member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus
for this important Town Hall meeting.

More Americans are falling out of the middle class than are joining it. These Representatives want to hear the priorities of everyday Americans as a first step towards building America's greatest asset—its middle class.

It's time this country worked again for people who work for a living. Watch this video.

This event is sponsored by ProgressiveCongress.org and endorsed by Progressive Democrats of America. For more information, go to SpeakoutTour.com.
Doors open 6:30 p.m. Please check back for possible time change.
Text NYC to 228466 to get New York City event reminders.

Download June 30 Event Flyer

Speakout for Good Jobs Now National Tour

2011-06-21T07:26:00.000-07:00

Attend one of our Speakout for Good Jobs Now Tour events in cities around the US. Share your stories of how the economy is affecting your life and your ideas for how we can rebuild the American Dream.

Can't attend an event? Speak out by sending a personal story or uploading a video.

More info on events at: http://speakouttour.com/?page_id=8

June 27: Detroit, MI 6 p.m. – 8 p.m., Historic King Solomon Baptist Church 6100 14th Street, Detroit, MI 48208
Join Representatives Keith Ellison (MN- CPC Co-Chair), John Conyers (MI) and Hansen Clarke (MI) at the Historic King Solomon Baptist Church for your opportunity to share your stories and ideas.
Text DET to 228466 to get Detroit Event Reminders

June 29: Milwaukee, WI 6p.m. – 8 p.m. Vincent High School 7501 N Granville Rd, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Join Representatives Gwen Moore (WI), Tammy Baldwin (WI), Jan Schakowsky (IL) and Barbara Lee (CA) at Vincent High School for your opportunity to share your stories and ideas.
Text MKE to 228466 to get Milwaukee Event Reminders

June 30: New York City, NY 5:30 p.m. -7:30 p.m. Hostos Community College, 500 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY, 10451

Join Representatives Charlie Rangel (NY), Jerrold Nadler (NY) and Barbara Lee (CA) at Hostos Community College for your opportunity to share your stories and ideas.
Text NYC to 228466 to get New York City Event Reminders

July 2011
Check back for July locations and Special Guests

July 16: Miami, FL Location information coming soon

Join Representatives Raul Grijalva (AZ-CPC Co-Chair), Lynn Woolsey (CA) and Frederica Wilson (FL) for your opportunity to share your stories and ideas.
Text MIA to 228466 to get Miami Event Updates and Reminders

July 18: Pittsburgh, PA 6p.m. – 8p.m. The Kinsley Association 645 Frankstown Ave, Pittsburgh PA 15206

Join Representatives Raul Grijalva (AZ- CPC Co-Chair), John Conyers (MI) and Mike Doyle (PA) for your opportunity to share your stories and ideas.
Text PITT to 228466 to get Pittsburgh Event Updates and Reminders

July 19: Philadephia, PA Location information coming soon

Join Representatives Raul Grijalva (AZ-CPC Co-Chair), Bob Brady (PA) and Chaka Fattah (PA) for your opportunity to share your stories and ideas.
Text PHILLY to 228466 to get Philadelphia Event Updates and Reminders

July 20: Boston, MA Location information coming soon

Join Representative Jim McGovern (MA) for your opportunity to share your stories and ideas.
Text BOS to 228466 to get Boston Event Updates and Reminders

July 21: Houston, TX Location information coming soon

Join Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee for your opportunity to share your stories and ideas.
Text HOU to 228466 to get Houston Event Updates and Reminders

July 22: Portland, OR

Text PDX to 228466 to get Portland Event Updates and Reminders

July 23: Seattle, WA 12p.m. – 2p.m. The Brockey Conference Center at the South Seattle Community College, 6000 16th Ave. SW , Seattle, WA 98106-1499 (click for map)
Text SEA to 228466 to get Seattle Event Updates and Reminders

August 2011

Check back for August locations and Special Guests

August 16: Oakland, CA
Text OAK to 228466 to get Oakland Event Updates and Reminders

FRI, JUNE 3 >> First Friday Vigil for Jobs in NYC

2010-12-30T12:46:00.000-08:00

First Friday Vigil for Jobs - Come Stand With Us in Dallas, Dayton, New York City, and Syracuse to Send a Message to Washington, DC

Create a National Jobs Program

Joblessness and Service Cuts Must Not

Become the New “Normal”

Friday, June 3, 2011 • 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm

in front of Sen. Schumer’s Manhattan office,

757 Third Ave. (East 47th– 48th Sts.)

Join the Vigil for Jobs on the First Friday of June BECAUSE…

This past year, one out of every four families in America has been affected by unemployment. In January of this year, 13.9 million persons were officially unemployed, and another 14.8 million persons, the “hidden unemployed,” wanted full-time work but were forced to work part-time or wanted a job but were not actively looking. The best way to solve this crisis is for the federal government to create a new national jobs program, similar to the innovative work programs created by President Roosevelt during the 1930’s Great Depression. Senator Schumer, as New York’s highest federal official, we urge you take our message to Washington.

Congress and the President must act immediately to:

· Pass H.R. 589 to extend emergency benefits for the long-term unemployed who have been jobless for longer than 93-99 weeks.

· Resume financial assistance to state and local governments to avoid massive layoffs in health care, education and other essential services and which will disproportionately affect women.

· Create “Green Jobs” in the United States and defund foreign wars and military bases.

Speakers at Vigil: Heidi Siegfried, Hunger Action Network; Jim Perlstein, Professional Staff Congress-CUNY; Owen Rogers, Fight Back; Neal Frumpkin, DC 37 Retirees' Association; Sid Socolar, Rekindling Reform; Jon Bloom, Workers Defense League; Trudy Goldberg, National Jobs for All Coalition; Gaby Moreno, National Organization for Women-NYS

Endorsed by: Alumni Association of Social Service Employees Union Local 371, DC 37 • Americans for Democratic Action, NYC Chapter • Communications Workers of America, Local 1180 • Democratic Socialists of America, NYC Chapter • Empire State Economic Security Campaign • FIGHT BACK • Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition • Healing of the Nations Fndtn, Rev. James Forbes, Jr., Pres. • Hunger Action Network of NY State • Job Party • Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, NYC Chapter • National Jobs for All Coalition • National Organization for Women – NYS • New York Jobs with Justice • Professional Staff Congress/CUNY, AFT Local 2334 • The American 99ers Union • U.S. Labor Against the War, NYC Chapter • Veterans for Peace, NYC Chapter • Workers Defense League, Inc. • Individual Endorsements, org. for identification only: Tom Anderson, Vice Chairman, Organization of Staff Analysts • Keith Brooks, United Federation of Teachers • Leslie Cagan, Co-Founder, Organization United for Peace and Justice • Barbara Garson, author • Connie Gruber • Martin Melkonian, Adj. Assoc. Professor, Hofstra University • Ed Ott, former Exec. Dir. NYC Central Labor Council • Dorothy Savage, Former Dir. of Education & Leadership Ministries, The National Council of Churches • Paul Vasquez, Pres. National Assoc. of Broadcast Employees & Technicians (NABET), CWA Local 16 • Julia Willebrand, delegate, U.S. Green Party Natl. Committee

For more info: http://www.njfac.org/ or http://www.jobscampaign.org/ or http://www.nownys.org/

Contact: National vigil coordinator Logan Martinez (937-433-8260 or 937-275-7259 or loganmartinez(at)hotmail.com; NYS vigil coordinator, Noreen Connell, 212-586-3257 or norconnell(at)aol.com

**Note: No Vigil will be held in May due to scheduling difficulties.**

12/3 First Friday - Vigil for Jobs video on YouTube

2010-12-09T05:25:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc36dnyHGbo

Join us! for our next Vigil for Jobs on the First Friday in January - Jaunary 7 - outside Sen Chuck Schumer's office 757 3rd Avenue (between E 47th and 48th Streets). For more info, visit http://www.jobscampaign.org/

12/3 First Friday - Vigil for Jobs

2010-12-02T07:18:00.000-08:00

First Fridays — "Vigil for Jobs” – New York City

Friday, Dec. 3, 2010
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Gather outside U.S. Senator Schumer's office

757 Third Avenue (betw. 47-48 Sts.)

Why the First Friday?

On the first Friday of each month, new statistics are released by the US Department of Labor on the official unemployment rate. For example, in October 2010, the Department of Labor announced 14.8 million were officially unemployed. The official unemployment rate was 9.3%.

As reported by the National Jobs for All Coalition, an additional 15.5 million people make up the so-called “hidden unemployed.” These include 1) people who are working part-time because can't find a full-time job; and 2) people who want jobs but are not looking so are not counted in official statistics.

Taken together, the total number of jobless people in October was therefore was approximately 30.3 million (18.9% of the labor force). Over 8 million have lost their jobs over the last two years.

Our goal is to call attention to the unemployment crisis, and the need for urgent federal action to reduce unemployment, including a national federal jobs program similar to the WPA. During the last serious economic depression in the 1930’s, President Roosevelt put millions to work doing useful jobs that made a lasting contribution to our country — roads, bridges, schools, libraries, housing, theater, painting, road guides, parks, and much more.

In addition, we call for the continuation of unemployment benefits to the long-term unemployed, including people who have been unemployed for more than 99 weeks.

“Jobless recovery” is a contradiction in terms, and completely unacceptable to New Yorkers. We must insist that the Congress and President act swiftly to create millions of new jobs in clean energy and conservation; infrastructure and mass transit; education, health care, public and human services; and by creating a national industrial policy to stabilize and increase the number of manufacturing jobs, pink-and-blue-color jobs, and employment opportunities for youth and those nearing retirement. Also, the Federal Reserve should be encouraged to direct banks to expand lending for community job creation and small business.

Join Us!! And also plan to attend the next monthly vigil -- Friday, Jan. 7, 2011 (same place, same time).

Cosponsored by:

Communications Workers of America, Local 1180
Empire State Economic Security Campaign
Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition
Healing of the Nations Foundation (Rev. Dr. James Forbes, Jr.)
Hunger Action Network of NYS
National Jobs for All Coalition
National Organization for Women - NYS
Workers Defense League, Inc.

For more information, see Press advisory, posted immediately below.
To endorse the NYC vigil, click here

Download NYC flyer

Contact: Noreen Connell, norconnell(at)aol.com or 212-586-3257

Web: http://www.jobscampaign.org/

12/3 Friday Vigil for Jobs in New York City - Press Advisory

2010-12-02T07:06:00.000-08:00

Press Advisory: Vigil for Jobs

When:       Dec. 3, 2010 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Where:      Outside U.S. Senator Schumer's office, 757 Third Avenue (betw. 47-48 Sts.)
Contact:    Noreen Connell, norconnell(at)aol.com or 212-586-3257

To mark the First Friday of the month release of Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment data, the National Jobs for All Coalition will be joined by civil rights, community, labor, and religious groups in a "Vigil for Jobs" in front of U.S. Senator Schumer's office to call for bold and decisive federal action to create more jobs.

"During the last Great Depression, President Roosevelt's New Deal jobs programs not only saved families from dire poverty and despair, but also left a lasting legacy of infrastructure, art, parks and post offices. We need a similar job-creation program to employ 14.8 million officially jobless Americans and 15.6 million who want work but are not looking or who have settled for part-time jobs," says NJFAC Chair Trudy Goldberg.

Bill Henning, Vice President of CWA, Local 1180, states, “The top priority for this economy must be putting people to work.”

The Vigil for Jobs in NYC is co-sponsored by Communications Workers of America, Local 1180; Empire State Economic Security Campaign; Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition; Healing of the Nations Foundation (Rev. Dr. James Forbes, Jr.); Hunger Action Network of NYS; National Organization for Women - NYS; and Workers Defense League, Inc.

The event is also being held to thank U.S. Senator Schumer for his efforts to secure a further extension of unemployment insurance benefits. "This is a critical issue for women," says NOW-NYS President Marcia Pappas, "because the majority of the long-term unemployed are women." Failure to extend these benefits will not only hurt those currently unemployed but will lead to further joblessness due to depressed consumer spending.

Speakers at the Vigil for Jobs include NJFAC Chair Trudy Goldberg, whose latest book is Poor Women in Rich Countries (Oxford University Press); Bill Henning, Vice President of CWA, Local 1180; and Jon Bloom, Ex. Director of the Workers Defense League, who will talk about the experiences of thousands of unemployed workers who have contacted his agency over the last year.

Vigil for Jobs will also be held in ten other cities on Friday December 3 or during Human Rights Week (December 3 to 11). Contact Logan Martinez (937-433-8260 or 937-275-7259 or loganmartinez(at)hotmail.com) for information about Vigils in Dayton, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, OH; Chicago, IL (with Jobs with Justice); Atlanta, GA; Portland, ME; Columbia, SC; Gary, IN; and Little Rock, AR.

Join us for “First Fridays — Vigil for Jobs” – New York City on Friday, December 3

2010-11-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

“First Fridays — Vigil for Jobs” – New York City

Local community groups, labor unions, civil rights organizations, and unemployed activists concerned about the high unemployment rate plan to hold a vigil and media briefing in front of Sen. Charles Schumer’s office at 757 Third Avenue (between 47th and 48th Streets) on the First Friday of each month from 12:30 to 1:30 PM.

Our first two vigils will be on Friday, December 3, and Friday, January 7.

Our goal is to call attention to the unemployment crisis, and the need for urgent federal action to reduce unemployment, including a national federal jobs program similar to the WPA. During the last serious economic depression in the 1930’s, President Roosevelt put millions to work doing useful jobs that made a lasting contribution to our country — roads, bridges, schools, libraries, housing, theater, painting, road guides, parks, and much more.

Endorsing organizations include:

Communications Workers of America Local 1180
Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition
Hunger Action Network of NY State
National Jobs for All Coalition
National Organization for Women - NY State
Workers Defense League, Inc.
[ List in formation ]

Individual Endorsers:

Ed Ott, Distinguished Lecturer in Labor Studies, The Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies, City University of New York, and former Ex. Dir. Central Labor Council (NYC)

For more information, and to endorse the NYC vigil, click here Download NYC flyer

This effort is part of a national call for local First Friday actions sponsored by the National Jobs for All Coalition. In December, vigils will be held during "Jobs and Human Rights Action Week" in at least 8 cities on December 3 and December 10.

For more information on national actions and organizing a vigil in your community, contact Logan Martinez at loganmartinez2u [at] yahoo.com or (937) 275-7259

Download NYC Flyer Endorse NYC First Friday Vigil for Jobs

Cuts in unemployment benefits could slow recovery

2010-11-24T04:50:00.000-08:00

Failure to pass unemployment insurance extension could cost billions, reports say

Los Angeles Times

11/19/10

"...Letting the nation's unemployment benefits expire could drain billions from the economy and cost millions of jobs, according to two reports out this week. On Thursday, House Republicans voted to deny an unemployment benefits extension, unhappy with the method planned to fund it.

Ending federal extensions would drain the economy of $80 billion of purchasing power, according to a report by the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee. Every dollar spent on benefits increases the gross domestic product by $1.60, the report said.

'Workers receiving unemployment insurance payments are typically cash-strapped and will spend their benefits quickly,' the report said. They spend about $6.5 billion a month on the local economy to buy essentials such as food, clothing and utilities.

'A failure to extend the unemployment insurance program could hamper the fragile recovery,' the report said. It predicts that consumer spending will fall by $50 billion over the next year if benefits are not extended, and that economic growth will be reduced by 0.4 percentage points by February 2011..."

Read rest of article

House moves to help teachers, public workers

2010-08-10T04:58:00.000-07:00

The Associated Press: House moves to help teachers, public workers:

August 10, 2010

WASHINGTON — Hoping to show disenchanted voters that they are the party that cares about jobs, House Democrats are convening an emergency session to pass a bill aimed at saving hundreds of thousands of teachers and other public workers from unemployment....

...Democrats say [the bill] could save the jobs of more than 300,000 teachers, police officers and other public health workers. Republicans see it as more profligate government spending and a pre-election gift to teachers' unions and other public service unions that are crucial to helping keep Democrats in the majority.

The legislation provides $10 billion to school districts to rehire laid-off teachers or ensure that more teachers won't be let go before the new school year begins. The money could keep more than 160,000 teachers, including 16,000 in California and 14,000 in Texas, on the job, advocates say.

The other half of the bill has $16 billion for six more months of increased Medicaid payments to the states. That would free up money for states to meet other budget priorities, including keeping more than 150,000 police officers and other public workers on the payroll. Some three-fifths of states have already factored in the federal money in drawing up their budgets for the current fiscal year.

The National Governors Association, in a letter to congressional leaders, said the states' estimated budget shortfall for the 2010-12 period is $116 billion, and the extended Medicaid payments are "the best way to help states bridge the gap between their worst fiscal year and the beginning of recovery."

But House Republican leader John Boehner contended, "The American people don't want more Washington 'stimulus' spending — especially in the form of a payoff to union bosses and liberal special interests."

Pelosi responded, "Why wouldn't House Republicans want to keep 310,000 teachers, first responders and private-sector workers on the job instead of on the unemployment lines?"

Read rest of article

Oct 2 - National March for Jobs & Fair Economy

2010-08-01T05:28:00.000-07:00

For more info, visit: One Nation

Visit One Nation Facebook page

Link to Flyer

Photos from May 1 NYC March for Immigrant Rights and Jobs for All!

2010-05-02T07:18:00.000-07:00

May 1 March for Immigrant Rights and Jobs For All in NYC!

2010-05-01T05:07:00.001-07:00

Download May 1 Flyer - English

Download May 1 Flyer - Spanish

*We will meet at 10:45 at the Northwest Corner

of Broadway and Worth St.*

Dear Friends:

The National Jobs for All Coalition is co-sponsoring a Rally in New York City for Labor and Immigrant Rights and JOBS FOR ALL on Saturday, May 1st. See the attached flyer for details. Please join us in order to make this a big success and a big step forward in the fight for living-wage jobs for all. We need your help. Please let us know trudygoldberg [at] njfac.org ) if you can help us hand out NJFAC's literature at the rally, help spread the work, etc., and PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS. As we get closer to May 1st, visit our websites to learn where to assemble with other NJFAC members (http://www.jobscampaign.org/ or http://www.njfac.org/ )

We will soon write to tell you all of the important work that NJFAC has been doing--our National Conference in New York City in November and one its consequences--the formation of a national LIVING WAGE JOBS FOR ALL CAMPAIGN.

Whether or not you were at the November Conference, you will surely want to see our exciting and informative new video with Conference highlights. It has much valuable information on the unemployment crisis and job creation proposals, as well as on the national Living Wage Job for All Campaign. Please visit the Jobs Campaign website: http://www.jobscampaign.org/ and tell others about it.

NJFAC NEEDS YOUR HELP MORE THAN EVER BEFORE. BE A VOLUNTEER FOR LIVING WAGE JOBS FOR ALL. HELP US TO RECRUIT MEMBERS, EDUCATE THE PUBLIC, OUTREACH TO INTERESTED INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZAITONS, MAKE A DONATION--BUILD A MOVEMENT. You can volunteer by sending an email to trudygoldberg [at] njfac.org

See you on May 1st!

In solidarity,

Trudy Goldberg, Chair

National Jobs for All Coalition

www.NJFAC.org

4/29 THURSDAY > Rally & March on Wall Street with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka

2010-04-25T12:09:00.000-07:00

Download April 29 March Flyer

From New York City Central Labor Council

GOOD JOBS NOW CAMPAIGN!

Good Jobs Now Rally/March - Thursday, April 29

On April 29th from 4 to 6pm, in conjunction with the AFL-CIO's Good Jobs Now campaign, the NYC Labor Movement will rally at City Hall and then march down Broadway and through the Financial District. AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka, will lead the rally where we call for the recovery to make its way to working people on Main Street. We need to make sure that the economic bailout does more than just protect CEO bonuses, that it helps to bring back the 10 million jobs lost since 2007.

Collectively, we will show that when workng men and women speak with one voice, they are heard loud and clear. This AFL-CIO Good Jobs Now campaign will be our call for action. Taxpayers bailed out the big banks, now we need to make sure that working men and women have the same opportunity to get back on their feet.

WHAT: Good Jobs Now Rally (followed by march down Broadway)

WHEN: Thursday, April 29 4:00-6:00pm

WHERE: City Hall: enter at Broadway & Chambers St.

For more information contact the NYC Central Labor Council at 212-604-9552or click here for an event flyer.

No one needs to tell America’s families that unemployment and underemployment are at crisis levels. We need jobs—and we need them now.

Wall Street has gotten its bailouts. Now it’s time for Main Street to get some immediate help.

The AFL-CIO is calling on Congress and the Obama administration to take five steps now to care for jobless workers and put America back to work.

1. Extend the lifeline for jobless workers.
2. Rebuild America’s schools, roads and energy systems.
3. Increase aid to state and local governments to maintain vital services.
4. Put people to work doing work that needs to be done.
5. Put TARP funds to work for Main Street.

America’s jobs situation would be even more dire without the economic stimulus program President Obama and Congress enacted, which has saved or created 1 million jobs. But the depth of this crisis demands that we do more—and that we do it now, before more people lose their jobs, their homes, their health care and their hope.

Join us in the fight for good jobs or for more information, call the NYC CLC at 212-604-9552.

4/9, FRIDAY @ 9:00 AM > Roundtable Strategy Meeting on Jobs Crisis in NYC

2010-04-05T06:01:00.000-07:00

4/9 Roundtable Strategy Meeting on Jobs Crisis,
convened by National Jobs for All Coalition

Friday, April 9 - 9:00 AM -- Classroom 19C (19th Floor)
c/o The Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies
CUNY
25 West 43rd Street
New York, New York

Dear friends,

Thanks very much to all of you who attended or helped organize the March 26 "Jobs Crisis and What to Do About It" event at the Joseph S. Murphy Center for Worked Education and Labor Studies.

The strong turnout for the event demonstrates that there is broad public interest in addressing the crisis in the availability of living wage jobs for all. And the strong, compelling presentations at the forum highlighted smart public policy ideas for job creation and full employment that can make a tremendous difference in improving the economy, meeting human needs and improving working hours and wages for American workers.

To continue the discussion, the National Jobs for All Coalition is convening a roundtable meeting to discuss strategy ideas for working together on job creation and full employment issues in the NY metro area.

Our proposed agenda will focus on:

- Short-term efforts in the current session of Congress to support pending jobs legislation, which at best aims to create 1 or 2 million jobs

- The need for a much larger, transformative jobs bill that creates 6-18 million additional jobs, and a right for all to a living wage job.

- Ways we could collaborate in the New York area to advance this agenda by engaging in:

Public education programs, such as additional events and conferences
Legislative action
Coalition-building and networking to mobilize a broad range of labor, community, religious and human needs organizations
Public actions such as press conferences, demonstrations or other types of broad-based mobilizations. (One such model for this is the “First Friday” actions to call attention the monthly release of unemployment statistics by the Department of Labor.)
Funding and resource-sharing and mobilization – because we know it will take money and paid organizing staff to achieve the bold agenda that is needed.

We hope that you will be able to attend the roundtable and contribute your ideas and individual and/or organizational support.

RSVP -- Please RSVP to jobsconference [at] njfac.org to let us know if you'll be able to attend and/or have ideas or agenda items you'd like to contribute for the discussion.

Thanks very much in advance for your interest. We look forward to seeing you on Friday at the Murphy Center.

Sincerely,

Chuck Bell, Vice Chair
National Jobs for All Coalition
http://www.jobscampaign.org/
http://www.njfac.org/
http://www.drivefordecentwork.org/

3/26 Remarks by Trudy Goldberg, Chair, National Jobs for All Coalition

2010-04-05T05:10:00.000-07:00

Report on Organizational Activities in Behalf of Job Creation by Trudy Goldberg, Chair NJFAC

presented at: "The Jobs Crisis and What to Do About it," 3/26/10, Murphy Institute for Worker Education & Labor Studies, New York, NY. Co-sponsors: Murphy Institute for Worker Education & Labor Studies and the National Jobs for All Coalition (NJFAC)

For decades, we’ve had a chronic shortage of jobs--let alone living-wage jobs. Hardly anyone paid attention, including many on the Left. But today’s seemingly intractable, mass unemployment, nearly double digit for months, can’t be ignored. Still it has yet to galvanize a movement to bring unemployment down to pre-recession levels, much less address our chronic problem. And we have a serious chronic problem. As the handout from the National Jobs for All Coalition shows (see below), the chronic problems of unemployment, underemployment and low wages afflicted millions of workers-- even in the year 2000, when we were at a 30-year low of 4% unemployment.
New Dealers strove to make permanent reforms while the memory of mass unemployment was still fresh. Those of us who favor living-wage jobs for all are determined to strike while the iron is hot. . We know that to secure the right to living wage jobs takes a movement comparable to the great mobilizations that brought civil and political rights to all our people. We know, too, that those civil and political rights are not secure until they are bolstered by economic rights. And we know that this is a formidable task, for it strikes at the heart of employer hegemony that has seldom been greater.
Social Movements need two types of participants: those who benefit directly and those moved by conscience. Both are important. And they are not dichotomous. Direct beneficiaries of full employment are elusive. As some of you have experienced, workers unemployed during a downturn tend to see their plight as temporary and may not regard themselves as beneficiaries for long. They want jobs, but a movement for full employment can begin with direct job creation, as Phil Harvey has just shown us. The experience of being unemployed may increase empathy for the unemployed making those unemployed during this Great Recession potential conscience participants. The chronic victims may be hard to organize although who would have thought that welfare mothers could organize and join a movement for welfare rights. With both groups of the unemployed, there is the problem of self-blame, shame and the likelihood that they won’t see themselves as entitled to what should be a human right. If beneficiaries can be broadened to include the underpaid and underemployed—and it is important to recognize that chronic unemployment depresses wages—then movement potential grows. Many more could be included in a full employment movement if we can convince them how severely unemployment bites. One of our handouts refers you to a recent survey that revealed “the trauma of joblessness; such findinbs should increase empathy and prick consciences).[1] And then there are the costs in revenues lost to the Treasury and the Social Security Trust funds. Yesterday the New York Times (March 25, 2010) carried a front-page story revealing that for the first time ever, social security took in less funds than it paid out; that wasn’t supposed to happen until 2016, but the unemployment brought that shortfall six years earlier than anticipated. There is, as well, the loss of potential output—that we are literally throwing away the goods and services the unemployed could produce. James Galbraith recently helped us to frame the policy choices in a Great Recession in terms of useful or useless deficits: “The only choice is what kind of deficit to run: useful deficits that rebuild the country, as in the New Deal, or useless ones, with millions kept unnecessarily on unemployment insurance when they could instead be given jobs” (The Nation, March 22, 2010, p. 24).
Action Report
Not enough has happened yet, but action is accelerating. Logan Martinez, our Outreach Coordinator in Dayton Ohio, is in touch with groups all over the country who are advocating remedies to this Great Recession. He identifies five major organizations/networks. We could use a clearinghouse to get a better idea of the range of action, to coordinate efforts and to help people to find opportunities for taking actionn in their communities.
I don’t have time to say much about four of them:
1. The AFL-CIO: Make Wall Street Pay project which reportedly included 200 demonstrations this week. .. The focus is on regulatory legislation, union pension funds and making Wall Street pay for recovery. Recently AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka was specific about jobs; he called for a program of $900 billion to create jobs, half of which would be financed by a tax on trading of financial assets.
2. Jobs for America Now is DC- based and counts as membbers over 100 national organizations, including the AFL/CIO, Wider Opportunities for Women, Coalition on Human Needs, Economic Policy Institute…. They have a. 5-point program: that would create 4.6 million jobs in the first year, over half of which would be the result of a tax credit to employers in return for job creation.
3. Jobs with Justice, They are organizing around the country in support of a major piece of legislation for jobs. In Chicago they are said to be very accepting of a tax on financial assets to fund the programs, an approach advocated by our affiliate, the Chicago Political Economy Group. The Jobs with Justice Website says “Join us at the U.S. Social Forum this June.” This will be held in Detroit. The impressive Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign will soon begin a march from New Orleans to the Social Forum. Probably there should be another type of organization supporting jobs: anti-poverty groups like PPEHRC.
Jobs with Justice is also working with students, sponsoring a Student Labor Week of Action March 28-April 4th. The student group will undertake a series of escalating mobilizations through the spring semester, including rallies and student walkouts.
4. Union of the Unemployed. Organized by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers: This union which was formed last summer includes 4-5,000 unemployed workers. You lost your job. You’re not alone. Thirty-one million Americans face the same challenges. You want your job back. You want your life back. The idea is that if millions of jobless join together and act as an organization, they are more likely to get Congress and the White House to provide the jobs that are urgently needed. Whether this will resemble the organizations of unemployed workers during the Great Depression remains to be seen. But it is a promising initiative.

5.Living-Wage Jobs for All Campaign, an outcome of a conference initiated by NJFAC and co-sponsored by diverse organizations—religious, labor, academic, anti-poverty and welfare rights. The Campaign’s unique emphasis is on a much larger program than anything currently proposed. Our letter to the Nation, April 5, 2010 (also a handout) congratulates economist Bob Pollin for raising the ante to 18 million jobs by 2012, but we consider that an interim target. If we stop there, we fail to deal with the chronic high unemployment and low wages that persist even in “better” times. Nor does it raise the fundamental issue of the right to a job at a living wage. We will support efforts to increase jobs, even if they fall short of the mark and work with the other networks we’ve identified—and more. But we are determined to keep our eye on the prize, and we will try to convince other groups to the same. Won’t your join us. in some actions here in the metropolitan area.
As a concrete proposal to advance our strategic thinking and advocacy for full employment, the National Jobs for All Coalition proposes that we convene a follow-up meeting for New York-area people to discuss:
Ways we could collaborate in this area to advance this agenda by engaging in
· :Public education programs, such as additional events and conferences
· Legislative action
· Coalition-building and networking to mobilize a broad range of
· labor, community, religious and human needs organizations
· Public actions such as press conferences, demonstrations or other types of broad-based mobilizations. One such model for this is the “First Friday” actions to call attention to the monthly release of unemployment statistics by the Department of Labor. One First
Friday in the New York metropolitan area is scheduled for Elizabeth
NJ, Friday, May 7th.[2]
· And last but not least—we should also discuss funding and resource mobilization—because know it will take money and a paid organizing staff to achieve our bold agenda.
We’ve requested the use of a classroom here at the Murphy Institute two weeks from today. We propose to hold an initial meeting of all who would like to pursue a serious jobs creation agenda on Friday, April 9 at 9:15 AM, right here in this building. We are circulating a sign-up list, and if you are interested in being involved in the network, we’ll provide you with follow-up information by email or phone. We very much hope to see you then.
[1] See M. Luo & M. Thee-Brenan. (2009). Poll reveals trauma of joblessness in U. S. New York Times, December 15, A1. Available on line at http://proquest.umi.com.libproxy.adelphi.edu:2048/pqdweb?index=0&did=1921240651&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1261974569&clientId=27928

[2] New Jersey’s One-Stop Career Center (formerly the unemployment office), 921 Elizabeth Ave., Elizabeth, NJ, from 10 a.m. till 1:00 p.m. Elizabeth is just across the river from Manhattan, immediately south of Newark. For information, be in touch with the organizer, Rev. Dr. Douglas Grote, dfgrote@yahoo.com

3/26 FRI @ 8:30 AM > The Jobs Crisis and What to Do About It (NYC)

2010-03-14T08:26:00.000-07:00

The Jobs Crisis and What to do About It
Friday, March 26, 2010, 8:30AM to 10:15 AM

The Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies

CUNY

25 West 43rd Street, 18th floor

New York, New York

A light breakfast will be provided.

Featuring:

Katherine Newman - Director, Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies
David Pedulla - Dept. of Sociology and Social Policy, Princeton University
Philip Harvey- Professor of Law & Economics, Rutgers School of Law
Gertrude Goldberg - Chair, National Jobs for All Coalition

RSVP by Monday, March 22, 2010, to Eloiza Morales at (212) 642-2029 or eloiza.morales [at] mail.cuny.edu

March 8, 2010

Dear Friend of the Institute:

As part of our spring 2010 series of labor breakfast forums, we are very pleased to announce a forum entitled “The Jobs Crisis and What to do About It.” This forum will be held on Friday, March 26th 2010, from 8:30 to 10:15 AM at the Murphy Institute, 25 W. 43rd St. 18th Floor, New York, NY 10036.

We are in the midst of a crisis of unemployment with an estimated 12 million jobs needed to get back to pre-recession levels of employment. The public debate on these issues, however, includes several assumptions that warrant examination. Unemployment didn’t suddenly emerge in the aftermath of the financial meltdown. The pre-recession period was, for instance, marked by chronic unemployment and low-wage jobs.

Further, when unemployment is broken down demographically, the disparities are enormous, ranging from under 2 percent for the highest income groups to 20 percent for the lowest. Unemployment among African Americans is projected to reach a 25-year high, with the national rate exceeding 17 percent. The unemployment rate for teenagers is 25 percent, and for black teenagers it is 42 percent. A jobs creation program that does not consider these issues risks becoming another stop-gap measure that ignores the most vulnerable sections of the population.

To what extent does the Obama administration’s proposed $15 billion jobs creation bill address the long-term questions of employment and underemployment? Are there better alternatives that ought to be considered? How can unemployment be reduced substantially while creating living wage jobs? What is the role of labor in building a movement that works not just for jobs but good jobs for all?

Our speakers will address these urgent questions. Katherine Newman is Director, Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, and author of several books, most recently co-author of Who Cares? Public Ambivalence and Government Activism from the New Deal to the Second Gilded Age. She, along with her doctoral student David Pedulla, will detail how the jobs crisis has severely affected the lowest end of the labor market, and address the question of underemployment. Philip Harvey, Professor of Law & Economics, Rutgers School of Law, and co-author of America's Misunderstood Welfare State: Persistent Myths, Enduring Realities, argues for how a stimulus strategy more like the New Deal’s would succeed where the Obama administration’s stimulus plan has not. Gertrude Goldberg, chair of the National Jobs for All Coalition, and author, mostly recently of Poor Women in Rich Nations: The Feminization of Poverty Over the Life Course will report on social and political actions around the issue of unemployment.

This forum is jointly sponsored with the National Jobs for All Coalition. We hope you will join us in this important discussion.Please be sure to RSVP to Eloiza Morales at 212-642-2029 or eloiza.morales [at] mail.cuny.edu by Monday, March 22. We look forward to seeing you.

Sincerely,

Greg Mantsios
Director

Paula Finn
Associate Director

Editor, New Labor Forum

The Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies

http://www.workered.org/

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

2010-03-07T18:22:00.000-08:00

"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.

Endorse Campaign Call to Action!!

2010-03-07T11:27:00.000-08:00

National Campaign to Create Living Wage Jobs for All

CALL TO ACTION [Updated 03/06/10]

Our country is in the throes of an economic crisis—the most severe since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Unemployment is at the disaster level. And even before the onset of our current, deep recession, chronic unemployment, low and stagnant wages, myriad unmet needs and unprecedented environmental degradation were endemic.

Current Job Crisis

Nearly 31 million workers fully or partially jobless (October 2009)
Most rapid job less of any downturn -- and the highest percentage of long-term unemployed workers --since the Great Depression
8 million fewer jobs in the U.S. economy since the onset of the recession.
High unemployment expected to persist, even if the economy "recovers."
Many of the long-term unemployed will lose benefits, their savings, their homes and more

Weak Stimulus

By the Administration’s own estimate, the economic stimulus package enacted in February 2009 will only make up for a fraction of the millions of jobs lost since the recession began. Nor will the stimulus stem the continuing job hemorrhage.

The health and well-being of workers and communities suffer greatly when there is inadequate availability of living wage jobs. In addition, the current official high unemployment rate of over 10% is exceedingly costly to the economy as a whole, costing $1 trillion or more annually in output of goods and services. As former Nobel Prize winner Robert Eisner has pointed out, a nation that tolerates high levels of unemployment is "literally throwing away its potential output."

The "Good Old Days"

Even before the recent economic meltdown, 5 million or more women and men were officially jobless; hidden unemployment afflicted many millions more; and poverty wages were rampant. Inequality reigned, our infrastructure was crumbling, and human services fell far short of needs.

We must not go back to those "Good Old Days." Instead, we should be guided by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933): "We cannot be content, no matter how high the general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people … is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure."

Real Reform

Now is the time to organize and mobilize to create a just economy. We call for:

Establishment of a long-term, permanent federal jobs program, leading to the legal right to a living wage job.
Creation of millions of new, publicly-financed living-wage jobs in education and human services, clean energy and environmental conservation, and infrastructure development and repair.
Priority measures to target new jobs to employ structurally unemployed and underemployed workers, including people living in economically depressed communities, young people, people of color, people with disabilities, ex-offenders, and immigrants, among others.
Guaranteed income support for those who are unemployed, unable to work, and/or doing vital work in the home (including extension of unemployment benefits, an end to TANF time limits, and support for single adults living without adequate income)
Continuation and expansion of federal assistance to ailing state governments, to preserve essential services and prevent further job loss in local communities.
Comprehensive protection of workers’ labor and social rights, including the right to organize, form trade unions and bargain collectively; the right to equal opportunity, with vigorous enforcement of laws and regulations relating to unfair discrimination in hiring and employment against women, people of color and other minorities; worker safety and health; rights to paid sick leave and vacations; and decent working conditions and quality of work life, including autonomy on the job.
Development of industrial and trade policies to promote comprehensive recovery of the manufacturing and services sectors, and other, complementary policies to promote full employment, community economic stability, environmental sustainability, and a fair global economic system.
Fair financing for economic renewal through 1) discontinuing or not renewing the Bush-era tax cuts for wealthy taxpayers; 2) reducing military spending to genuine defense needs, and redirecting the savings to the civilian economy 3) enacting a financial speculation tax on short-term securities transactions; and 4) recapturing federal revenue as more Americans return to work and pay taxes, and the devastating financial and social costs of unemployment are avoided.
Comprehensive measures to ensure public accountability and transparency for the jobs program and public investments, including 1) racial, gender, geographic and social equity in program spending and results and 2) establishment of a national employment accounting office to measure the impact and benefits.

To achieve these goals, we will work together to

1. Document unmet public needs for jobs, infrastructure and public services
2. Inform and educate our communities about those needs, and how can they be addressed through our proposed program
3. Organize a strong, vibrant social movement to inspire grassroots action and arouse the conscience of the public
4. Encourage policy organizations to support this program, and related initiatives to expand availability of living wage jobs, and protect worker rights
5. Develop an effective national advocacy network by reaching out to a wide range of labor, religious, nonprofit and community organizations, and building coalitions and alliances
6. Mobilize regional and national demonstrations in support of this program
7. Design and advocate comprehensive federal legislation to achieve the right to employment at living wages, and develop alliances with members of Congress and other public officials who will support these measures
8. Provide ongoing public oversight of the development and implementation of our proposed program

National Campaign to Create Living Wage Jobs for All

(partial list of interim organizing committee)

Bill Barclay, Chicago Political Economy Group
Chuck Bell, Conference Chair, and Vice Chair, National Jobs for All Coalition
Larry Bresler, Executive Director, Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign*
Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Senior Pastor Emeritus, Riverside Church of New York, Pres., Healing of the Nations Foundation
Barbara George, Healing of the Nations Foundation
Gertrude Schaffner Goldberg, Chair, National Jobs for All Coalition
Logan Martinez, Miami Valley Full Employment Council/Organize Ohio (Dayton, OH)
Bill Quigley, Legal Director, Center for Constitutional Rights
Annie Rawlings, Associate Executive Presbyter for Social Witness, Presbytery of New York City* Elce Redmond, Organizer, South Austin Community Coalition (Chicago, IL)
Melvin Rothenberg, Chicago Political Economy Group
Rev. Marcel Welty (New York, NY)

Organizational Endorsers (Partial List)

Arkansas Interfaith Alliance
Arkansas Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice
Chicago Political Economy Group
Coastal Women for Change (Biloxi, MS)
Disabled in Action, Inc (Atlanta, GA)
Georgia Employee Association, Inc. (Atlanta, GA)
Hospitality House, Inc. (Maine)
Independent Progressive Politics Network (Bloomfield, NJ)
Miami Valley Full Employment Council (Dayton, OH)
Mass Welfare Rights Union / Survival News, (Boston,MA)
Nashville Homeless Power Project
National Jobs for All Coalition
Ohio Empowerment Coalition Women In Transition (Louisville, KY)

[List in formation]

TO ENDORSE THE CALL TO ACTION, please contact us by filling out this form, or sending an email to jobsconference [at] njfac.org

Please indicate if your endorsement is an ORGANIZATIONAL or INDIVIDUAL endorsement.

Also let us know your organizing and volunteer interests, and the names and contact information for other individuals and organizations you think may be interested in this campaign.

Thanks very much!!

Contact:

National Campaign to Create Living Wage Jobs for All
National Jobs for All Coalition
c/o Council on International & Public Affairs [CIPA]
777 United Nations Plaza, Suite 3C
New York, NY 10017
Phone: 212-972-9879
Fax: 212-972-9878
Email: JobsConference [at] njfac.org

Web: http://www.jobscampaign.org/
Web: http://www.njfac.org/
Blog: http://www.drivefordecentwork.org/

FEBRUARY 2010 UNEMPLOYMENT DATA

2010-03-07T10:54:00.000-08:00

Cross-posted from National Jobs for All Coalition

FEBRUARY 2010 UNEMPLOYMENT DATA*
(U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS)

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT: 9.7% [Analysis]
A year earlier, the number of unemployed persons was 12.7
million, and the jobless rate was 8.2 percent. [BLS]

White 8.8%
African American 15.8%
Hispanic 12.4%
Asian** 8.4%
Persons with a disability ** 13.8%
Men 20 years and over 10.0%
Women 20 years and over 8.0%
Teen-agers (16-19 years) 25.0%
Black teens 42.0%

Officially unemployed 14.9 million

HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT

Working part-time because can't find a full-time job: 8.8 million
People who want jobs but are not looking so are not counted in official statistics (of which about 2.5 million** searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available for work during the reference week.) 6.2 million

Total: 29.9 million (18.7% of the labor force)

Source: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

**Not seasonally adjusted.
*See Uncommon Sense #4 for an explanation of the unemployment measures.

In addition, millions more were working full-time, year-round, yet earned
less than the official poverty level for a family of four. In 2008, the latest
year available, that number was 17.8 million, 17.1 percent of full-time, full-year workers (estimated from Current Population Survey, Bur. of the Census, 2009).

In December, 2009, the latest month available, the number of job
openings was only 2.5 million, according to the BLS, Job Openings and
Labor Turnover Estimates, February 9, 2010.+ Thus there are now nearly 12 job-wanters for each available job.[Numbers are not comparable with previous months as methods have been revised.]

Read more here

Contact Us!

2010-03-07T10:42:00.000-08:00

Please contact us by filling out the form below, or sending an email to jobsconference [at] njfac.org

Contact:

National Campaign to Create Living Wage Jobs for All
National Jobs for All Coalition
c/o Council on International & Public Affairs [CIPA]
777 United Nations Plaza, Suite 3C
New York, NY 10017
Phone: 212-972-9879
Fax: 212-972-9878
Email: JobsConference [at] njfac.org

Web: http://www.jobscampaign.org/
Web: http://www.njfac.org/
Blog: http://www.drivefordecentwork.org/

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