Jobless, Not Voiceless: Labor and Community Unite to Organize UnemployedJobless, Not Voiceless: Labor and Community Unite to Organize Unemployed

A core practice of progressive organizing is to build power by bringing together people directly affected by a problem, developing solutions and taking action together to demand change.

With jobless Americans currently numbering 15 million and (official) unemployment rates projected to be as high as 13% by 2020, Jobs with Justice coalitions are developing models for organizing the unemployed, empowering these voices and faces of the crisis to be a visible and powerful component of winning Full and Fair Employment and a New Economy.

The JwJ approach weaves together unions, community agencies and religious congregations into a project that no group could do on its own.  Though on-line approaches can be very useful (e.g. see here, here, here, here and here), JwJ member groups reach out to laid-off workers for in-the-flesh, “jobless potlucks,” workshops on “surviving unemployment” or moving “From Anger to Action.”   Some cities do weekly canvasses of unemployment offices or food banks and other recruitment activities, collecting surveys or “I’ll Be There” pledges.  Unemployed workers councils identify obstacles to good jobs and help plan local organizing to demand new programs at the city, state and national levels.  By organizing, jobless Americans are no longer voiceless and isolated, and JwJ is helping to get these real voices and faces of the crisis into the public debate (e.g. see here, here, and here)

Among the challenges in this work is balancing the immediate needs that many job-seekers have (e.g. navigating food stamp or UI bureaucracies, jobs search tips, housing problems) with JwJ’s ultimate goal of developing leadership and building a powerful voice for this constituency.  JwJ uses its relationships with community groups to provide information and referral to the resources that exist, rather than recreating them.  Labor unions and churches help identify and recruit laid-off members, who become involved in further outreach and recruitment.  Member groups act as local hosts or anchors for community-based jobless potlucks and meetings, thereby building local relationships for planning and action.

Another challenge is simply the isolation and despair that many job-seekers feel.  Through these efforts, people can break through their isolation and self-blame and are able to start playing an active role in challenging the injustice they experience.

So far, JwJ coalitions are engaged in this work in:  Maine, Illinois, New York, Oregon, Indiana, Kentucky, Texas, Rhode Island, Kentucky and Ohio.  Each local model is evolving, but already, local unemployed councils have helped push for federal unemployment extensions, state programs like “Put Illinois to Work” and other benefits.

This work is a long-term process, to match the reality that without a massive federal jobs creation program that can lead to full and fair employment, unemployment will remain at crisis levels for years to come.