To endorse the May 8 Jobs Protest in Washington, DC,
click here or go to
http://www.bailoutpeople.org/
may82010endorse.shtml
To tell us you're coming, volunteer or be an organizer in your
area,
click here or go to
http://www.bailoutpeople.org/
may82010volorgcent.shtml
To donate,
click
here or go to
http://www.bailoutpeople.org/ donate.shtml
PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF DATE CHANGE:
The May 8 Jobs protest and strategy meeting was originally scheduled for
April 10.
Join unemployed people, youth, labor and community activists from all over the
country in Washington D.C. on May 8 to tell the government that today’s
jobless crisis is as bad as it was 75 years ago — when the unemployed
demanded and won a public jobs program.
At 12 noon on May 8, join a “RALLY FOR THE RIGHT TO A
JOB” IN FRONT OF THE U.S. LABOR DEPT. Afterwards,
activists will meet and STRATEGIZE ABOUT HOW TO
WIN THAT RIGHT.
On May 6, 1935, Pres. Roosevelt signed executive order 7034 creating the
largest public works program in history. The Works Progress Administration
created 8.5 million jobs during the Depression of the 1930s.
For all who are concerned with real economic and social justice, the 75th
anniversary of the WPA provides a powerful historical reference point to speak
truth to power.
No truth is more evident today than that the unemployed, the underemployed and
all who must work for a living need a WPA-type jobs program that is at least as
big, if not bigger, than the WPA of the 1930s. There are upwards of 30 million
unemployed and underemployed workers in the country right now. The real
unemployment rate is close to 20 percent in most of the country, and amongst
young African Americans and Latinos/as, the jobless rate is more than 50%
according to the New York Times. Without a real jobs program, many young
workers of color, as well as young workers in general, may never have a
job.
The small jobs bill that Congress passed recently, merely promises tax
incentives to businesses that hire new workers. No one really believes that tax
incentives or other trickle down half-measures are really going to put a dent
in the unemployment rate.
The time has come to establish that everyone has a human right to a living-wage
job. Martin Luther King Jr. devoted the last year of his life to fighting for
such a right.
Let no one insist that it is pointless to fight for jobs because there’s
no money for a jobs program. Budget deficits didn’t prevent the
multi-trillion dollar bail out of Wall St., or the more than one trillion
dollars (and growing) spent on wars over the past decade.
The worst global economic crisis in 80 years — coupled with
globalization, and an economy based on putting profits and greed over social
need — has brought the issue of employment to a historical turning point.
Depression-level unemployment and underemployment has become a permanent
feature of the economy. The new reality of permanent high joblessness not only
affects the growing millions who cannot find a job, it undermines all workers
who are struggling against low wages, cutbacks, and for the right to
organize.
By far, the most essential lesson of the WPA is that it took a massive
fight-back, including the organization of the unemployed, to demonstrate to the
powers that be that there would be no social peace unless there was some social
justice.
The strategy meeting after the rally on May 8 will take up forging the
fight-back. At that meeting activists will discuss what needs to be done to
build a movement for a real WPA-like jobs program; talk about the kind of jobs
that are needed including green jobs; share reports and assessments of local
campaigns for jobs; discuss related campaigns, like the fight for a moratorium
on home foreclosures, evictions and utility shutoffs; the need to expand and
extend unemployment insurance, and the struggle to defend the right to
education. Organizing the unemployed will be high on the meeting’s
agenda. The critical role that unions must play in fighting for the unemployed
will be an important part of the strategy meeting. Labor unions have taken some
notable steps in support of the fight for jobs recently. However, much more
needs to be done.
With your support and active participation, together we can turn the
anniversary of the WPA into the launching of what Dr. King called the next
civil rights movement, a movement for the right to a job.
The Bail Out the People Movement, one of coalitions working on a national level
for a public jobs program, is the initiator of the May 8 protest for jobs. More
organizations and activists are coming on board every day.
To endorse the May 8 Jobs Protest in Washington, DC,
click here or go to http://www.bailoutpeople.org/
may82010endorse.shtml
To tell us you're coming, volunteer or be an organizer in your
area,
click here or go to http://www.bailoutpeople.org/
may82010volorgcent.shtml
To donate,
click
here or go to
http://www.bailoutpeople.org/ donate.shtml
Bail Out the People Movement
Solidarity Center
55 West 17th St 5C
New York, NY 10010
1-212-522-6626
www.bailoutpeople.org
email: bailoutpeople.org/cmnt.shtml
