October 12th was a cloudy and rainy day, but spirits remained high as hundreds gathered at Farragut Square for a rally that included local janitors, community members and labor leaders. Speaker after speaker gave passionate speeches about why they need not just jobs, but good jobs in the current economy. As jobs become harder to find, quality jobs seem to be more scarce than ever. At the end of the rally, the crowd, which included DC Jobs with Justice staff and members, DC Student Labor Action Project and United States Student Association, responded by marching a mile and a half to join Occupy K Street in DC, as janitors embraced the 99% struggling to make ends meet.
Less than 24 hours before their contract expired, area office cleaners won a tentative agreement with wage increases on Sunday night. “This is not just a win for working families and our communities, but it ensures tenants will receive professional service and gives our economy a much-needed boost,” said Jaime Contreras, SEIU Local 32BJ Capital Area Director.
Here’s what this new contract means to hard working local families in the area:
Jobs with Justice coalitions around the country came out in full force yesterday to save our postal service at representatives’ offices nation-wide. Along with postal workers and community organizations, JwJ activists pressured representatives to support H.R. 1351, a bill which would end the manufactured crisis and help correct the accounting problem that makes the postal service appear broke. With the passage of this bill, the post office will be able to access its surplus funds rather than cut over 100,000 jobs, shutter over 3,000 post offices, and reduce services.
In Boston, roughly 500 members of 6 postal unions and supporters, including Jobs with Justice, rallied to demand that post offices remain open and that no one is laid off. Reverend Terry Burke of the First Unitarian Church in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston spoke about how this would hurt his parishioners as well as erode the standard of living in our community. He was joined by postal workers who talked about the fact that the loss of good middle class jobs would further hurt our economy. One worker said,
On Monday, April 4th, over 200 students from University of Colorado Denver, Community College of Denver, and Metropolitan State College of Denver participated in a walkout and rally in support of labor and education. The action was in conjunction with the April 4th “We Are One” National Day of Action that SLAP, Jobs with Justice, and United States Student Association all actively participated in as a response to the recent attack on workers and students across the country.
In Colorado, two anti-worker bills earlier this February:
Senate Bill 12, by Sen. Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, would have prohibited public entities from collectively bargaining with a labor union, or an employee association from acting as a bargaining agent for public employees.
Senate Bill 38, by Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, would have prohibited an employee organization from being officially recognized as the exclusive representative of state employees, barred the state from negotiating with an employee organization to create an employee partnership agreement, and terminated any existing partnership agreements.
At a time when workers’ rights are under attack around the country, many students
Portland Jobs with Justice has led the building of a statewide network to strengthen the movement for a single payer health care system. With the addition of all the Oregon Jobs with Justice chapters (Southern OR, Central OR, Eugene Springfield Solidarity Network, and Mid-Willamette Valley) adopting single payer health care as a priority campaign, Oregon JwJ activist are gearing up to fight for a just healthcare system that puts people before profits.
Single Payer Conference a Huge Success
On January 29, over 450 single payer advocates from around the state of Oregon gathered at the First Unitarian Church in Portland to network and advocate for an improved, expanded Medicare for All program to fix our broken health care system.
The conference opened with a plenary talk by Dr Margaret Flowers, Physicians for a National Health Program’s Congressional Fellow. She presented the basics of what a single payer plan does and explained why the recent federal reform, while making a few positive changes, further entrenches the for-profit insurance industry, while failing to provide universal access to good care or to control skyrocketing insurance and care costs for individuals, families, businesses, governments and society as a whole. Flowers
Thursday’s We Are Indiana rally in Indianapolis capped off nearly three weeks of historic protests at the Indiana statehouse by Indiana’s labor movement. The protests are the longest sustained protests in Indiana’s history, and they rivaled labor’s famous 1995 march on the Indiana Statehouse.
Perhaps more importantly, the 2011 showdown at the state capitol will be remembered for their place amongst popular protests around the world by everyday people standing up to undemocratic government and corporate power. The gathering of nearly 15,000 workers and their progressive allies from around the state and country yesterday marks a new era in American history, in which the unprecedented corporate consolidation of the past four decades is no longer an unchecked political force controlling the future of American workers and working-class communities.
The rally was intended to force Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels to abandon the 30 pieces of legislation he’s attempting to push through the legislature that attack Hoosier workers, women, immigrants, students, and gays and lesbians. The governor is a leader in the Republican Governor’s Association which is closely allied with the Koch brothers, the billionaire family funding the tea party and spearheading
Though millions of Americans are out of jobs, corporate-funded politicians are attacking worker rights and slashing public services, instead of addressing the jobs deficit.
Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio are the frontlines today, but the corporate agenda is spreading across the country and into the halls of Congress in Washington, DC.
Now is the time to join the fight for Full and Fair Employment, quality public education, good jobs, strong communities, advanced manufacturing, a green economy and … the American Dream! On March 15, 2011, people will rally to support public services and the workers that deliver them, and stand united against the anti-worker, anti-community agenda being pushed in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, and elsewhere.
Workers, community, faith, and students will also be coming together to take action on April 4, 2011. Stay tuned for more details.
March 15 Rallies
Last Update: March 14, 2011 at 2:30pm
CA, Irvine, 5:30 PM, Culver and Alton NY, New Lebanon, 5:30 PM, New Lebanon Library 550 State Route 20 NY, New York, 5:30 PM, Union Square, Northwest Corner OH, Akron, 4:30 PM, 720 Wolf Ledges OH, Ashtabula, 5:00 PM, Jefferson Village – County Seat – St. Rt 46 $
The past couple of weeks have seen an inspiring upsurge in energy on the streets around the country in support of workers and against corporate control of the economy. In Boston two large demonstrations in support of Wisconsin workers made a powerful statement that people are tired of attacks against the middle class. Massachusetts Jobs with Justice and our allies brought thousands of people together—union members and non-union members alike—to show our support for workers’ rights and to “connect the dots” among our various issues to target corporate greed as our common enemy.
On Tuesday, February 22, about 2000 people gathered in front of the State House with a very focused message: collective bargaining is a right, and we stand with the workers of Wisconsin. The crowd of mostly rank-and-file union members swelled beyond expectations into the street.
Governor Deval Patrick, as well as Congressmen Mike Capuano, Steve Lynch, and Ed Markey, were in attendance and addressed the crowd to voice their support of collective bargaining rights. Speakers at the rally included labor leaders,
The massive resistance to corporate-funded politicians and their war on the middle class is making a difference. Polls show that most Americans are on our side, and momentum is shifting our way – if we can keep up the action.
Illinois has been providing key support to our neighbors in Wisconsin – but our neighbors in Indiana need our help as well! Indiana’s Dem legislators are also finding safe haven in Illinois, to prevent ‘right to work’ and other anti-worker bills from being jammed through. But they are feeling pressure to give in.
Thursday, March 10 will be big mobilizations at the Indiana Statehouse.
Tuesday, March 8, 11:30am – 1:00pm in Columbus West lawn of the Statehouse Rally in response to the Kasich “State of the State” address
Tuesday, March 15 – in cities across Ohio Coalition partners are leading actions in a dozen cities across the state to preserve the middle class and Stand Up for Good Jobs and Strong Communities.
On Saturday, October 2, a large and diverse crowd gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC to demand jobs, justice, and education.
Fifteen Jobs with Justice coalitions from Vermont to North Carolina to Illinois sent more than 500 workers, community members, unemployed, and others impacted by the economic crisis to Washington, DC to demand Congress put people back to work. Eleven more Jobs with Justice coalitions participated in solidarity actions in their own cities.
We kicked off the day with a pre-rally at RFK stadium, hosted by the IAM’s Union of Unemployed. Speakers at the rally included UNITE HERE General President John Wilhelm, IAM President Tom Buffenbarger, and Sarita Gupta and Treston Davis-Faulkner of National Jobs with Justice. Gupta told the crowd, “We all have to unite under a banner of fighting corporate greed and taking back America for working people.”
Following the pre-rally, activists gathered on the mall to listen to speeches and
speeches about why they need not just jobs, but good jobs in the current economy. As jobs become harder to find, quality jobs seem to be more scarce than ever. At the end of the rally, the crowd, which included DC Jobs with Justice staff and members, DC Student Labor Action Project and United States Student Association, responded by marching a mile and a half to join Occupy K Street in DC, as janitors embraced the 99% struggling to make ends meet.
