Recommit to the Dream and the Commitment to Economic & Social Justice

US Trade-Union Movement Honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Detroit, MI

Hundreds of trade unionists and allies gathered in Detroit this weekend to honor the legacy and life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the annual AFL-CIO MLK, Jr. Day Observance.  Virtually every union in the US attended this gathering seeking fellowship and inspiration as they remembered Dr. King’s life and work.  Youth and veterans alike were well represented throughout the weekend.

The Holiday Weekend observance entailed a number of activities focused on honoring Dr. King and renewing his commitment to social and economic justice.  There were community service projects in Detroit, a march, award ceremonies, meals with powerful speakers, as well as workshops that covered a range of topics from building powerful coalitions, quality public education, social media & social justice, the economic crisis and the need for good jobs, and telling our stories – delivering our message.

There were a number of progressive leaders who spoke to the gathering including among others: the legendary Congressman John Conyers, AFL-CIO Executive VP – Arlene Holt Baker and Deepak Bhargava of the Center for Community Change.  US Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis spoke to the gathering as she was honored with the “At The River I Stand” Award, named after the documentary that tells the story of the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike that Dr. King supported, before being assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis during the strike.

A particularly inspiring moment occurred during lunch on Saturday January 14, 2012 when Bob King, President of the United Auto Workers addressed the gathering.  Representing the union that played a key role in financially and politically supporting the Dr. King and the historic March on Washington, President King spoke very passionately about the legacy of Dr. King.  Bob King lauded with fervor Dr. King’s deep commitment to social and economic justice and recommitted himself and challenged everyone in attendance to recommit to the principles and practice of “sustained, non-violent, love-based direct action.”  President King celebrated the Occupy Movement of the 99% as he underscored the need for more direct action and civil disobedience by the working class in order to confront corporate greed and the right-wing.

Jobs with Justice activists attended from Detroit, Rhode Island, Atlanta, among other places.  Treston Davis-Faulkner, National Field Director of JwJ co-lead a workshop titled:  “Build Power! Build Coalitions!” along with Executive Director of Pride At Work, Peggy Shorey.

The weekend concluded on MLK Day with a celebration at the Central United Methodist Church followed by Detroit’s annual MLK, Jr. Day March.

Around the country, Jobs with Justice local coalitions were taking action:

Atlanta

Atlanta Jobs with Justice sang and marched side by side with our sisters and brothers from the community and the Atlanta labor movement on MLK day.  We marched from downtown Atlanta to Ebenezer Baptist Church.  It was an opportunity to remember the legacy of MLK and to continue that legacy by raising awareness within our community about the 740 layoffs that are facing CWA union members at AT&T.  It was MLK that fostered relationships between labor unions, community members and anyone that supports dignity.  It was in this spirit that we mobilized on MLK day and it is in this spirit that we will mobilize on February 14th to keep our community working with dignity.”

Portland

Portland JwJ activists celebrated MLK weekend with a number of activities. Francisco Holdman brought us a number of opportunities for action and reflection at Portland Community College on Saturday and Monday, focused on peace and ending oppression. We had a table at the World Arts Festival’s annual Martin Luther King Jr Day Celebration at Highland Christian Center. We shared a table with Occupy the Dream, Occupy Portland’s committee working on ending racism and honoring Dr King. We also turned out JwJ pledgers to march in Sisters of the Road’s annual Martin Luther King Day march, titled No One is Illegal. We also celebrated MLK Day weekend with Workers’ Rights Board delegations to 4 Verizon stores, delivering the Workers’ Rights Board letter standing with Verizon workers.

Missouri

Missouri Jobs with Justice spent MLK Day gathering hundreds of signatures for proactive petitions that honor the legacy of MLK’s unwavering work toward social and economic justice. MO JwJ has two ballot initiative petitions they are trying to get on the 2012 ballot in November.

The first campaign, Give Missourians a Raise, will raise the minimum wage $1 to $8.25/hour. It will increase the minimum wage for tipped employees such as servers from 50% of the minimum wage to 60% of the minimum wage. The minimum wage will continue to have a Cost of Living Adjustment, which will ensure our lowest paid workers won’t fall behind when inflation causes the cost of good to rise. The other, Missourians for Responsible Lending, will reform the payday loan industry in Missouri. We want to cap the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) for payday and title loans to 36%. Currently, the maximum APR is 1900%, and the average loan has a rate of over 400%.

Missourians deserve to make enough money in their paycheck to pay their bills week to week. If there’s a financial emergency, Missourians deserve access to short term loans that don’t take advantage of our state’s most vulnerable workers. With your help we can change Missouri for the better for hundreds of thousands of working families in 2012.

Follow the campaign trail on Twitter @GiveMOaRaise and @CapTheRate, and on Facebook facebook.com/moresponsiblelending and facebook.com/givemissouriansaraise