“As you probably know, SB 6 passed the Senate but never actually came before the House for a vote.  We had several committee hearings on the bill but the significant and vocal opposition to the measure derailed it for the session.” ~State Representative David Osborne

We won!  For the first few months of 2011, Kentucky Jobs with Justice was part of a powerful group of individuals and organizations from across our state who fought back against anti-immigrant Senate Bill 6.  SB6 is Arizona SB1070 copycat legislation that would target anyone for detention who does not speak English or who appears to have been born outside of the U.S.  It would target anyone who “assists” an undocumented worker or their undocumented children.  Furthermore, SB 6 would make many immigrant crime victims, including victims of domestic violence, think twice about reporting crimes or cooperating with police it they fear racial profiling or bias.

Kentucky Jobs with Justice stands in solidarity with our immigrant brothers and sisters who are facing anti-immigrant attacks from those who prefer to divide our country instead of build our communities.  Many of the immigrants who

Continue reading Victory in KY against Anti-Immigrant Copycat Bill

Kentucky’s Senate Bill 6 (SB6) is one of several bills that has been introduced in state legislatures across the country that copycat Arizona’s anti-immigrant legislation SB1070 signed into law by Arizona’s Jan Brewer last spring.  The law legalizes unchecked racial profiling by police of anyone they “suspect” is undocumented.

“I’m just a concerned community member” was the message we heard from many of the more than 100 people who showed up at a called meeting in early January to discuss possible responses to Senate Bill 6 (SB6).  During that meeting, many ideas were brought forth, one of which was a lobby and rally day which hundreds of people participated in on February 8 in Frankfort. Folks from across the state showed up to show their opposition to this bill and to stand in solidarity with immigrant and migrant families throughout Kentucky. We know with the work being done to resist SB6–with so many new people emerging to be a part of these efforts– the opportunities to build on this energy

Continue reading We Are All Kentucky! Rally to Stop Anti-Immigrant SB6

The dust has settled on the mid-term elections. The Democrats lost the majority in the House and maintained a majority in the Senate by the hair on their chins. Many states faced similar turnovers in leadership in governor’s races and elections for state legislators.

Jobs with Justice coalitions reflect below on the impact of the elections on working people in their communities:

Chicago Jobs with Justice Director Susan Hurley and two members of their unemployed workers council were part of CNBC’s election night coverage.  Said Hurley, “the people who we deal with who are unemployed are, frankly, terrified, because we know that by the end of December 2010, 3.5 million people are going to be thrown off all existing extensions to unemployment benefits.  These are benefits that whenever they’ve come before the Congress, Republicans have filibustered.”

Tomorrow, Chicago Jobs with Justice Unemployed Workers Council members will call for a federal jobs program and unemployment benefits to be extended at an action

Continue reading Jobs with Justice Coalitions Reflect on the 2010 Midterm Elections

When a friend has news to deliver to another, most use the method of giving the good news first to soften the blow of the bad news.  According to some, Kentuckians were given the bad news first Election night, when Republican Dr. Rand Paul was announced as Kentucky’s elected U.S. Senator.

Dr. Paul faces great scrutiny about his opinion of minorities and their civil rights and “bashing” the unemployed.  This summer during the debate over the extension of unemployment benefits, Lexington radio station WVLK-AM reported that Paul said:

It’s time for America’s unemployed to face facts and stop holding out for jobs similar to the ones they’ve lost…  As bad as it sounds, ultimately we do have to sometimes accept a wage that’s less than we had at our previous job in order to get back to work and allow the economy to get started again.  Nobody likes that, but it may be one of the tough love things that has to happen.

On Dr. Paul’s election website, he selects 16 issues to comment on and not one of them was about jobs

Continue reading Rand Paul wins in Kentucky, but Yarmuth and Fischer Also Prevail

Originally appeared in the July 26th edition of the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Are you unemployed? Are you receiving unemployment compensation? Are you about to lose your unemployment benefits? Do you care about people who are unemployed?

If your answer to any of these questions is yes, then you most certainly will want to join Kentucky Jobs with Justice on Sept. 15, along with allies from organized labor, community groups, faith leaders, student activists and progressive elected officials, as we hold a day of direct action on full and fair employment.

This day of direct action stems from energy generated at the July 7 march and rally in downtown Louisville at Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office and the U.S. Social Forum, which drew over 25,000 national activists to Detroit (including more than 125 from Kentucky) for issue awareness and massive networking to solve social ills on the principle of: “Another world is possible, another U.S. is necessary.”

A month before the Sept. 15 day of direct action, we will begin building relationships with individuals who are directly impacted by the jobs crisis by visiting

Continue reading Kentucky JwJ Challenges Community to Call for Full Employment

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

Continue reading Kentuckians Demand Unemployment Benefits Extension

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

Continue reading Social Networking for Social Justice at the US Social Forum

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

Continue reading Kentucky Jobs with Justice is Taking 100 Activists to the USSF in Detroit!