100 Activists from Kentucky to attend national gathering in Detroit, Michigan June 22 to 26
Kentucky Jobs with Justice will be joining more than 10 other social justice organizations on two charter buses to Detroit to take part in the US Social Forum. Here is a snippet from the USSF Web site:
The US Social Forum (USSF) is a movement building process. It is not a conference but it is a space to come up with the peoples’ solutions to the economic and ecological crisis. The USSF is the next most important step in our struggle to build a powerful multi-racial, multi-sector, inter-generational, diverse, inclusive, internationalist movement that transforms this country and changes history.
The USSF provides spaces to learn from each other’s experiences and struggles, share our analysis of the problems our communities face, build relationships, and align with our international brothers and sisters to strategize how to reclaim our world.
The first US Social Forum was held in Atlanta in 2007 with KY JwJ taking over 40 delegates. KY JwJ hosted the first Kentucky Social Forum in 2009 at Berea College, which drew over 400 participants. These Forums were and are inspired by the
From June 22-27, more than 10,000 activists representing thousands of grassroots organizations will converge in Detroit for the 2nd US Social Forum (USSF). The purpose of the USSF is to effectively and affirmatively articulate the values and strategies of a growing and vibrant movement for justice in the United States.
Are you a local Jobs with Justice activist who is coming to the US Social Forum?
We want to invite you to our orientation session on June 22 where you can connect with other JwJ activists from across the country, find out about workshops and other program we are planning, & get an awesome t-shirt to wear as you walk with us during the USSF’s opening march.
Jobs with Justice is very excited about the program that is shaping up for this year’s USSF. Labor is playing a large role in this year’s USSF, with the AFL-CIO, AFGE, AFSCME, UAW, UFCW, USW, UE, Detroit CLC, and numerous local unions planning program and bringing participants to the USSF.
Among the program pieces Jobs with Justice is working on
June 22 – June 26 in Detroit, MI
Another World is Possible!
This June, 20,000+ grassroots activists from hundreds of community-based social justice and social action organizations will gather in Detroit to come up with the peoples’ solutions to the economic and ecological crisis. The 2010 U.S. Social Forum (USSF) will gather social & economic justice organizers, environmentalists, peace & justice activists, community-based organizations, Indigenous nations, unions, and students to address the key issues of our time.
The U.S. Social Forum grew out of a worldwide movement - the World Social Forum – that was in part inspired by the 1999 demonstrations against the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Seattle. In 2007, more than 10,000 activists (including 350+ JwJ activists) gathered in Atlanta for the first U.S. Social Forum.
The USSF is more than just a conference or event. It’s a way to build opposition to the corporate agenda, and create an alternative vision and direction for our country. Through workshops, presentations, marches, information tents, music and cultural events, people can tell their stories and hear about other struggles. One of
Under pressure from the community, Jobs with Justice, and other groups, Wells Fargo has agreed to terms that will allow Belva Davis to stay in her home.
Homeowner Belva Davis of Detroit’s East English Village fell behind on her mortgage while unemployed. Last December, Wells Fargo started to foreclose on Belva’s home.
Belva got a new job, and wanted to renegotiate terms and pay the mortgage. For months Wells Fargo refused to modify Belva’s loan, but they weren’t counting on the outpouring of support Belva got from her neighbors and allies throughout Detroit and across the country.
Belva’s struggle to stay in her home turned a corner after SE Michigan Jobs with Justice brought labor into the fight. On September 29, more than 50 people picketed the Wachovia/Wells Fargo branch office in Grosse Point Woods, MI to demand that Wells Fargo not evict Belva Davis and the thousands of homeowners like her who have fallen behind on their mortgages.
Immediately following the rally, the bank called Belva’s attorney, Jerry Goldberg, to begin negotiations to modify her loan, and Belva finally got a payment plan she can
On September 29, more than 50 people picketed the Wachovia/Wells Fargo branch office in Grosse Point Woods, MI. They rallied to demand that Wells Fargo not evict Belva Davis and the thousands of homeowners like her who have fallen behind on their mortgages.
Homeowner Belva Davis of Detroit’s East English Village fell behind on her mortgage while unemployed. She has a new job and wants to pay the mortgage, but Wells Fargo refuses to modify the loan.
Last year, bailout bandit Wells Fargo pocketed $25 billion in taxpayer money. Even after the government gave it another $2.8 billion to modify mortgages, Wells Fargo has restructured only 6% of its eligible loans, well below most banks (see http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/).
Wells Fargo spends millions lobbying against pro-citizen bills like the Employee Free Choice Act, the Foreclosure Prevention Act (S 2636), and House Bill 3609, which would allow judges to modify mortgages. Where is the bailout for Wells Fargo customers & their neighborhoods?
To say that the things that happened in Pittsburgh were, as President Obama said in the lead up to the G-20, “protests about abstractions [such] as global capitalism” and that those protests were “not really going to make much of a difference” would be missing the real story about what took place in Pittsburgh and where “the movement” is going.
The G-20 Brought People Together – Connecting Pittsburgh to the World
Jobs with Justice worked with local and national groups to plan three events as part of activities inserting “People’s Voices” into the discussion during the G-20. Our coalition’s work focused on ensuring that there were spaces for movement convergence that allowed local, national, and
