Originally appeared in the July 26th edition of the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Are you unemployed? Are you receiving unemployment compensation? Are you about to lose your unemployment benefits? Do you care about people who are unemployed?
If your answer to any of these questions is yes, then you most certainly will want to join Kentucky Jobs with Justice on Sept. 15, along with allies from organized labor, community groups, faith leaders, student activists and progressive elected officials, as we hold a day of direct action on full and fair employment.
This day of direct action stems from energy generated at the July 7 march and rally in downtown Louisville at Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office and the U.S. Social Forum, which drew over 25,000 national activists to Detroit (including more than 125 from Kentucky) for issue awareness and massive networking to solve social ills on the principle of: “Another world is possible, another U.S. is necessary.”
A month before the Sept. 15 day of direct action, we will begin building relationships with individuals who are directly impacted by the jobs crisis by visiting the unemployment office located at Sixth and Cedar and listening to the stories that people have to tell.
Republicans in Congress blocked extension of emergency jobless benefits until last week, when the Democratic majority was able to break the impasse and pass them.
The “Local Jobs for America Act,” HR 4812, would create or save 1 million jobs, get funds out fast with minimal new bureaucracy, and local jobs will increase demand for local small businesses and help spur recovery.
Teachers, police, firefighters and local services will benefit from $23 billion to help states support an estimated 250,000 education jobs, $1.18 billion to put 5,500 law enforcement officers on the beat, $500 million to hire and retain firefighters, $75 billion to save or create 750,000 jobs providing needed local services, and 50,000 on-the-job training slots to help private business expand employment.
At the U.S. Social Forum, Jobs with Justice hosted a People’s Movement Assembly focusing on how unemployment and underemployment is impacting basic human needs like food, housing and access to quality education. We know all too well that there are families in Louisville who struggle every day because the head of household was laid off or downsized.
Turning things around on jobs will take big, bold action and we want people to move from anger to action. Here is what we need Congress to do:
- Reduce unemployment through fair trade, industrial policy, job sharing.
- Support fair employment, protecting workers’ rights and extending them to all workers.
- Stop foreclosures and evictions and fund decent affordable housing.
- Protect retirement security and pensions, increase Social Security benefits.
- Fix our broken trade and immigration laws.
- Stop privatization, layoffs, outsourcing and furloughs.
- Stop layoffs and create millions of good jobs in our communities.
- Retrofit factories, revitalize our cities and make our economy greener for the long haul.
- Extend and expand jobless benefits, including access to health care for laid off workers.
- Reform bankruptcy rules and corporate governance.
We need to join together and build power and momentum through bold action in order to transform our economy into something that works for all of us.
Join our growing coalition of workers, students and youth, people of faith and community members.
You can get involved before Sept. 15 by participating in our lead-in activities at the unemployment office. Contact us at (502) 582-5454 or attica@kyjwj.org.
Thanks for caring about working families.
