Jobs with Justice Blog

Central Indiana JwJ supports Hyatt workers in civil disobedience action as part of nationwide protests

Allison Luthe — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:53:03 +0000

For the first time in Indianapolis’s recent history, 43 participants staged a mass civil disobedience in front of the Hyatt Regency downtown. Hospitality workers and community supporters of the hotel workers were there to stand up for the Hyatt workers who have been asking management to stay neutral since November of 2008. Among the 43 were two JwJ staff members, seven steering committee members and many other JwJ pledge signers.

On June 16, reports surfaced that the Hyatt had plans to sell the Hyatt Regency in Indianapolis, adding to the uncertainty that Hyatt workers in Indianapolis already face. Over the past decade, taxpayers in Indianapolis have invested $1 billion into the development of the local hospitality industry. The hotel and convention industry in Indianapolis is booming yet at the Hyatt Indianapolis, a non-union hotel, subcontracting of jobs is rampant, hours have been reduced in recent months, and workers earn some of the lowest wages of any

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JwJ San Francisco Sits Down to Support Hotel Workers Rising

Sheila R. Tully — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:40:04 +0000

Members of Jobs with Justice San Francisco turned out in force to support UNITE HERE Local 2 hotel and restaurant workers as they took to the streets to demand a fair contract on July 22. Prior to the rally at Local 2 Plaza in downtown San Francisco, community activists, clergy, and union members packed a civil disobedience training session at Local 2 headquarters. There they reviewed plans to close the street in front of the Grand Hyatt in Union Square.

An hour later, as tourists stared in amazement and snapped photos, fifteen hundred people marched through the streets and converged on the Grand Hyatt, cheering and chanting in several languages in support of the hotel and restaurant workers. The boisterous crowd reflected the diversity of San Francisco as youth from POWER (People Organized to Win Employment Rights), PODER (People Organizing to demand Environmental and Economic Rights), Chinese Progressive Association and Young Workers United joined teachers, nurses, clergy, teamsters, longshoremen, many other union members and elected city officials to condemn

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Tell your Senators: Vote YES to extend unemployment benefits

jwjnational — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:37:32 +0000

Unemployment benefits expired for 2.5 million long-term jobless back in May. Since then, the Senate has almost restored unemployment benefits three times, but each time Republicans have blocked the votes with procedural delays.

Tomorrow, the unemployment benefits extension is expected to come to a vote. Tell your Senators not to fall for GOP scare-tactics about the budget deficit — or their offensive assertions that the unemployed are “spoiled” brats who are just “sitting there” collecting unemployment benefits.

One job for every five people looking for work is a jobless emergency, and we need emergency action now!

TAKE ACTION

Historic Financial Reform Passes!

jwjnational — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:54:25 +0000

They said we couldn’t do it, but they were wrong. JwJ and our partners out-organized the big banks!

On Thursday, two years after the financial meltdown that has spiraled into the worst economic crisis in a generation, the Senate finally voted to approve the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform & Consumer Protection Act. This financial reform bill takes some key steps towards breaking the control that Wall Street has over our country.

This important victory is just the beginning. We will continue organizing to hold the big banks accountable and work to ensure that the banks who profit from our money benefit our communities.

Unemployed Workers Visit Illinois 10th District Rep. Mark Kirk

Allison Fletcher Acosta — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 01:27:45 +0000

Earlier today, members of the Chicago Jobs with Justice Unemployed Workers’ Council and allies paid a visit to Representative (and Illinois Senate candidate) Mark Kirk’s office in Northbrook, Illinois to protest his opposition to extending unemployment benefits.

Jorge Ramirez, President of the Chicago Federation of Labor, spoke to Rep. Kirk’s staff, “that’s the primary reason why a lot of these folks are here. They’re unemployed, their unemployment benefits are getting cut off… he needs to know that the votes he makes in Washington are directly accountable to the people you see in this room.”

The House has already voted to extend unemployment benefits (without Rep. Kirk’s support), but it has yet to pass the Senate. A Senate vote is expected Tuesday.

ACT NOW to Hold Banks Accountable

jwjnational — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:10:34 +0000

They said we couldn’t do it. But they were wrong. JwJ and our partners overcame $1.5 Million PER DAY of banker lobbying!

On Thursday, the Senate plans to vote on the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform & Consumer Protection Act. This financial reform bill that takes some key steps towards breaking the control that Wall Street has over our country — and we need everyone to ACT NOW to pass it!

Last summer, insiders pronounced banking reform “dead.” They said ‘everyone’ had forgotten about the Wall Street bailout and the obscene bonuses — and that Congress was too dependent on bank money as it approached election season to do anything that would actually make a difference. But a series of mobilizations across the country kept the heat on Congress and an important step towards breaking the power of the banks is within our grasp.

Let’s be real: The Dodd-Frank bill, already passed by the US House, is not the end of the struggle. The big banks are still too big. They still need to be broken up and reined

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Kentuckians Demand Unemployment Benefits Extension

Attica Woodson Scott — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:51:39 +0000

On Wednesday, July 7th, as a prelude to our first big action following the US Social Forum (which will be on September 15th), Kentucky JwJ stood in solidarity with millions who have lost their jobs and face a desperate future.

Although this was a last minute call to action, at least 50 protesters showed up to march outside of the office of Senator Mitch McConnell in Louisville. Our demand was an immediate extension of unemployment benefits and protection of Social Security and Medicare — our precious social safety net programs won by generations of struggle.

Several individuals on unemployment spoke, including longtime Kentucky Jobs with Justice activist Gail Helinger. She has been laid off for over a year now, and her unemployment compensation will end soon unless Congress acts quickly!

Gail and several other unemployed workers marched into Senator McConnell’s office to speak with him about this issue but, of course, he was unavailable. They were able to speak to an aide who informed them that the Senator will vote for extension of unemployment benefits that is fiscally responsible.

We then marched several blocks to the unemployment office to distribute leaflets with the following call to action:

Are you unemployed? Are
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Social Networking for Social Justice at the US Social Forum

Ashley Phillips — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 18:53:36 +0000

The main purpose of social media is to make it easier for people to stay connected with family and friends around the world. Websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube have created a space where people can share pictures, videos, and generally keep in touch. In recent years, organizations have been finding new ways to utilize these social mediums to spread their message and reach more people.

At the US Social Forum, the workshop “Social Networking for Social Justice”, facilitated by Attica Scott of Kentucky JwJ and Shameka Parrish-Wright of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, illustrated some of the ways that social media can aid in the fight for social justice.

For social justice organizations, one of the main advantages of using social networking to spread a message or further a movement is that it’s FREE. Social media is like free advertising – you can say all that you need to say and reach so many people without having to pay a dime. Another advantage to using social media is that you can present your message in a fun interactive way, and in ways that will attract new comers and keep the interest of already loyal followers.

Using social media can also help breathe

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US Social Forum Day Two: Money for Jobs, Not Banks!

Allison Fletcher Acosta — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:51:51 +0000

Yesterday was an exciting day of education and action at the U.S. Social Forum!

JwJ coalitions convened and spoke at a variety of workshops, including: Uncovering the Truth on Police & ICE Collaborations (DC JwJ), Social Networking for Social Justice (KY JwJ), Writers’ Circle (Missouri JwJ), The Impact of Financial Restructuring on Michigan Workers and the Union Response (SE Michigan JwJ), Good Jobs for All: Winning Full and Fair Employment for a New Economy (National JwJ), and The TRADE Act as a Tool for Global Justice (Southern Oregon JwJ).

Jobs with Justice members participated in the Excluded Workers Congress People’s Movement Assembly which focused on how we can expand workers’ rights to organize. We heard inspiring testimony from a variety of workers who are fighting for their rights on the job (stay tuned for more on this, including video).

In the evening, JwJ co-sponsored a march and rally with AFSCME Council 65 and the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO to demand, “Money for JOBS, not Banks!”

U.S. Social Forum Kicks Off with March Through Detroit

Allison Fletcher Acosta — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 02:50:28 +0000

What an amazing day!

Jobs with Justice held an orientation session for local coalition folks early in the day and then got on buses to meet up with local labor activists for the USSF opening march.

JwJ joined the march with the other members of the Inter-Alliance dialogue more than 10,o00 people for a lively march through downtown Detroit and then convened at Cobo Hall for the USSF opening ceremonies.

Check out our photo album from the march here.

Tonight JwJ held a meeting of our local coalition leaders to discuss our ongoing jobs campaign. We had a rich discussion about the depth of the jobs emergency and possible approaches for how to address it, including challenging the corporate- funded scare tactics about the deficit that are distracting us from the reality of the jobs crisis. We came away from the meeting with renewed dedication to a more coordinated strategy to challenge the right wing agenda and win good jobs for all.