JOBS NOW! Press Conference and Rally.

ATLANTA JOBS WITH JUSTICE RESPONDS TO NEW UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS, DEMANDS ACTION ON JOBS CRISIS

WHAT:
Unemployed Atlantans will tell their stories; spokespeople for Atlanta Jobs with Justice will call for an aggressive jobs creation program and
protection of workers rights.

WHEN:
10:30 a.m., Friday, October 7, 2011

WHERE:
In front of the Georgia Department of Labor headquarters 148 Andrew Young International NE, Atlanta GA

SPEAKERS:

• Adam Valdez recent college graduate, unemployed
• Tonya Pinkston, 9 to 5 member, laid off for two years, unemployed
• Alicia Newton, 9 to 5 member whose background has presented a major barrier to employment, unemployed
• Kennith Beasley, President, American Postal Workers Union, Local 32
• Frederick Brooks III, Ph.D., Associate Professor, GA State Univ. School of Social Work
• Charmaine Davis, Organizing Director, 9 to 5
• Georgia State Senator Vincent Fort

SPONSOR:
Atlanta Jobs with Justice, a coalition of 19 labor, community, student and faith-based organizations.

WHY:

• The Atlanta region lost more jobs last year than any other metro area (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
• Georgia¹s unemployment rate has been higher than the national average for 49 consecutive months.
• Unemployment among African Americans nationally (16.7%) was more than double the rate for whites (8%) in August 2011 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
• Georgia has the third highest poverty rate in the U.S. (1.83 million people), its highest rate of poor folks since 1983(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
• Georgia is tied for the second lowest union member density rate in the U.S.-- with only four percent of all employed workers being union members in 2010.
• The recession has been declared over and many corporations are realizing record profits, yet millions of working people are unemployed nationwide - more than half for over 26 weeks - and many have lost their homes and become dependent on public support for the first time.
• Further cutbacks of public jobs are planned on the federal, state and local level, crippling public education and health and social services for those most in need.
• Tax cuts for the rich and corporations, attacks on collective bargaining, and austerity budgets will only contribute to our economys downward spiral.
• We demand an aggressive, large-scale public program to create good jobs, especially for the hardest hit populations: communities of color, youth, older workers, and the long-term unemployed.
• We also demand strengthening of all workers’ right to organize for better wages, working conditions, and legal status for undocumented immigrant workers.