Our country is long past desperate for jobs, and the tools we’ve got for creating them aren’t working.  With nearly one in ten Americans out of work and Congress floundering to pass a jobs bill, it has fallen to cash-strapped states to pick up the slack.  Unfortunately, many states’ job creation programs are nothing more than a shadowy network of corporate ATMs that hand out hundreds of millions in subsidies each year without bothering to ensure that the money goes toward creating jobs, let alone quality jobs.

A new report from New York Jobs with Justice, Urban Agenda and the Coalition for Economic Justice demonstrates how New York’s main job creation entities, Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs) have taken advantage of a lack of public scrutiny to spend more and more money while creating fewer and fewer jobs.  According to the report, entitled No Return on Our Investment: The Failure of New York’s Industrial Development Agencies, IDAs waste $135 million a year on subsidies to businesses that cut jobs or fail to create

Continue reading New Report Catches Job Creation Programs Asleep on the Job

The fact that our government often subsidizes the profits of big corporations instead of investing in our communities isn’t new, but it’s time that we say enough is enough.  How are we going to tackle the tough problems facing our country when our state and local governments—often the places where we can make the greatest impact—are unaccountable and unable to implement the change we need?

New York City’s government frequently greenlights massive redevelopment projects that rely on millions of taxpayer dollars.  In one of the most expensive cities in the world, projects that reshape entire neighborhoods get approved without considering if they will meet community needs, or deliver good jobs and affordable housing. 

New York Jobs with Justice was part of a coalition that fought back during the rezoning of Coney Island to win significant community benefits, including 35% affordable housing units, money  to renovate the local hospital’s emergency room, land for a new school, and much more.

Right now, the Kingsbridge Armory project in the Bronx will saddle a community desperate for good jobs with a shopping complex that will create 1,200 permanent,

Continue reading Fighting for Accountable Development in NYC & Beyond

A sampling of what Jobs with Justice coalitions are working on this week.

JwJ coalitions across the country continued to engage in the health care debate.  Central Indiana Jobs with Justice is forming a local grassroots group of activists to respond to the attacks on health insurance reform.  Stay tuned next week for a more detailed account of the work they are doing.

As we previously reported, Missouri JwJ joined Danny Glover to support St. Louis Casino workers.

Members of the Tompkins County Workers’ Center/JwJ in Ithaca, NY urged members of the state’s Industrial Development Agency to include a requirement that a local hotel receiving tax abatements must pay a living wage.

Former Hannaford workers were joined by members of Food AND Medicine/JwJ  in Maine to expose Hannaford’s anti-union campaign and press for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act.  More details to come on this story next week.

A sampling of what Jobs with Justice coalitions are working on this week.

JwJ coalitions are engaging in health care debate, with some unique approaches.  Central Florida JwJ and Central Indiana JwJ have been rallying to encourage the lawmakers in Florida and Indiana to support a public option in national health care legislation.  Activists from Central IN JwJ, Massachusetts JwJ, DC JwJ, and Utah JwJ also held parties celebrating Medicare’s 44th birthday.  The Vermont Workers Center/JwJ is focused on their “Health Care is a Human Right Campaign”, engaging the grassroots in an effort to win statewide health care reform.

DC JwJ picketed outside a party for Mayor Adrian Fenty’s fraternity in order to bring attention to his recent layoffs of government workers and sale of public property through emergency legislation with little time for public comment.

WalMart’s efforts to build a store on

Continue reading Quick Hits August 1-7, 2009