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.
Jobs with Justice and North Texas Workers Rights Board activists held a public hearing on the jobs crisis February 26 at Judge Luis Sepulveda’s courtroom in Dallas.
Three unemployed folks: Jorge Ortega, Eddie Ortega, and Katharein Magdalena explained different aspects of the crisis and how they had been impacted. Even though none of them was downhearted, they evoked a compassionate response from the religious and community leaders listening.
Reverend Gerald Britt, Jr, of Central Dallas Ministries talked about the differences in job opportunities in different parts of the city. Almost none of Dallas’ economic activity targets the Southern half of town. Britt pointed out that poor workers have longer days because they have to travel north, where the work is, and return home late in the evenings.
How Can We Raise the Call for 10 Million Jobs?
The AFL-CIO is calling for ten million government-created jobs immediately. It is the only possible hope for economic recovery. They want March 12-26 to be weeks for public actions. As it happens, Spring Break for students begins March 12. With youth unemployment ranging over 50%,
On December 3rd, unemployed workers and their supporters who are angered about the lack of public funding to address the continued economic assault of unemeployment and
underemployment on communities of color, people with disabilities, and youth, held a “Jobless Summit” in Chicago to discuss innvovative strategies to put people back to work.
The summit was in direct response to the “Jobs Summit” called by President Obama. While we applauded the President’s effort, we were concerned about the fact that the voices of the communities most affected by the crisis were ot invited to the table.
The “Jobless Summit” brought together a broad based sector that included unemployed workers, union representatives, economists, religious leaders, and people with disabilities who outlined specific recommendations to increase employment, including a National Jobs Program that puts the most vulnerable members of our communities back to work.
Aronzo Davis, an unemployed worker, said:
This Summit was the first step of a long-term organizing campaign to win a National Jobs Program. The epidemic of joblessness in the African-American community has become a social catastrophe. Unless something is done soon, I’m afraid our nation will head down a long road of endless violence. But we want to create vibrant communities, not desolate ghettos. We need our President and other elected officials to
