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:
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.
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