What Happens at a Jobs with Justice Meeting?

North Texas Jobs with Justice held our planning meeting, as always, at 7 PM on the 2nd Wednesday, October 14, 2009.

Check out the video of some of the participants

Here are some of the things discussed:

1. Updates on the fight for decent health care and Employee Free Choice:

2. Updates on Fair Trade fight:

3. Updates on civil rights:
Normally, we sign up for the Dallas City March for MLK around this time.
This year, we accept an invitation from CWA 6201 to march with them on the Monday holiday in Ft Worth.

4. Updates on immigrants’ rights:
*Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO: on rescinding Bush’s “no match” laws
“This is a real victory for workers. The ‘no match’ program was a flawed and ineffective immigration enforcement tool that would have hurt U.S. citizens and other authorized workers. Employers have been able to game the immigration system for too long. We need comprehensive immigration reform that respects workers’ rights, protects our borders and holds employers accountable.” –Ed

5. Updates on fight for economic justice:

6. Planning for the future

An outline of a plan

What do we have going for us?

What More Should We Take On?

The unemployment crisis is overwhelming, and yet no organization is moving on it. We should have a stock of materials to help the unemployed and a regular meeting to help them organize their voice for change. This should include unemployed immigrants, who currently receive no benefits or help.

We should have a regular center where workers seeking justice can seek help.

What Holds Us Back?

We have no office nor paid staff.

We do not have a structure of trained and consistent leadership

JwJ History in North Texas

Our chapter was formed in January 1990. Its first action was to march in the Martin Luther King Parade that year. Although we initiate some activities, most of our work has been of two kinds:

1. Responses to calls from National JwJ
2. Responses to calls for help from other groups, especially unions.

Most of our activities have impressed other organizations and individuals. It is usual for us to receive pledges of help, but the long-term effect has never grown our planning meetings larger than the 30 people who were present at our founding meeting.

Most of our activities can be described with the phrase recently used by National Chairperson Sarita Gupta. But we want to be more than a “cheap date” to boost other organizations. To do so, we need significantly more resources.

Our Mission Statement

Jobs with Justice is a coalition of labor, community, religious and student organizations standing up and fighting for the rights of working people and our community.

Jobs with Justice is committed to supporting workers rights to have living wages in order to support their families, decent health care, a safe work environment and being treated fairly by their employers.

Jobs with Justice believes in supporting our community struggles and to building a more just society for all of us to live. We believe in holding our political officials accountable for their actions and struggles encountered by our communities.

Jobs with Justice believes that corporations should be held accountable for their actions in helping to sustain our communities and investing in the future of our communities so that we may have a better standard of living.

Jobs with Justice believes that there is no place for racism and discrimination in our society and will fight for equality for everyone.

Jobs with Justice believes that we should all have the right to organize, mobilize and not be penalized.

Jobs with Justices believes that because we all need to be supportive of each other, it is necessary for us to take the “I`ll Be There” Pledge and Stand Up For Justice.

 

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