Speak out for good jobs Monday with Rep. Smith

Unemployment is still rising, and most of Congress isn’t paying attention. Rep. Adam Smith is one of the good ones. He wants to hear from you about the effects of joblessness on your family and your community.

Join us on Monday, August 22nd at A veteran speaks out for good jobsHighline Community College to have a conversation with Rep. Smith about how Washington state needs good jobs now.

The recession may be over for the very rich, but it’s not over for the rest of us. Rep. Smith is ready to take our message back to the other Washington and call on Congress to focus on creating good jobs for our communities.

Will you meet us at 11:30 am so that Rep. Smith can hear your story and see for himself just how many people need good jobs now?

Join us to call for Good Jobs Now! Speak out for good jobs now with Rep. Smith Monday, August 22 11:30 am to 1:00 pm (doors open at 10:45 am) At Highline Community College, Building 7 South 240th Street and Pacifica Hwy South, Des Moines, WA

CLICK HERE to commit to joining us and calling on Congress to create good jobs for our communities?

We’ve had enough of rising unemployment. We’re ready to work, and we’re ready to make the call for good jobs loud and clear so that Congress can hear us.

Making Change

by Sandra VanderVen Holding hands

There are fundamental beliefs that I hold true. I believe that as people age, they should have peace knowing that if they have to stop working, they won’t starve.

I believe that there should be special programs in place to help give everyone a leg up, no matter what is holding us back. A free, high quality education should be available to everyone.

But the United States doesn’t care for people who have less the way it used to.

Mental health facilities have been dismantled. People with real problems end up living on the street.

Rich people have used their influence to get the government to look the other way when they did something that wasn’t right.

Where I live in Seattle, Wash., people work hard but still struggle to get by. The future of the kids here depends very much now on who they were born to, because the programs that once leveled the playing field are being removed one by one.

Rep. Dave Reichert was elected in Washington’s 8th congressional district to speak for us in Washington, DC.  His job is to see to it that our idea of what this country stands for is upheld.

Unfortunately, he has his own idea of what to stand for. He believes that rich people and corporations should have more and the rest of us should have less. This belief isn’t harmless. It is ruining our country.

I don’t have any intention of leaving, so I’ve decided to try to make things the way I think they should be. I found some groups of people who have decided it isn’t enough to watch from the sidelines, and I now spend some of my spare time helping persuade our elected leaders to stand for our values.

That is why I am a volunteer organizer.

I now feel like I can make a difference when someone like Dave Reichert demonstrates that he prioritizes the rich over the middle class. For the future of our kids, we go out and tell him what we think.

It all comes together because individuals decided it was time to do something, and when we all do a little bit, we have a loud voice.

I hope you think about adding your voice to ours.  We need you.

“Good Jobs Now!” Rally Draws 200 people

Constituents ask Rep. Dave Reichert, “Where are the jobs?”by Sara Kiesler

Multiple generations read a newspaper about Dave Reichert

Michael Betts is a warehouse worker that is out of work and struggling to find a job. He joined a raucous crowd of over 200 people Thursday morning outside of Rep. Dave Reichert’s office to demand the Congressman listen to his constituents’ pleas for good jobs.

“If we don’t stand up, we’re not going to get the jobs,” said Betts, a Federal Way resident who is in Reichert’s district. “A closed mouth doesn’t get fed.”

The day was filled with intense action--lots of Washingtonians in the streets, chanting, marching outside of Reichert’s office, press everywhere, and dozens of signs held high about jobs.

Constituents of Reichert and concerned citizens were all there to form a Great Depression-era unemployment line to demand that Reichert, a Republican in the 8th Congressional District, stop supporting tax cuts and start supporting good jobs. In keeping with the Depression-era theme, free tomato soup was served in the unemployment line as a reminder that the economy may be fine for the rich, but the rest of us are sill struggling.

Reichert, (R-WA) who supported the Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) budget that would have killed 2.5 million jobs, was nowhere to be seen. Martha Sharp, a resident of Mercer Island and constituent of Reichert’s, walked up to his office door with another local resident to try and speak to him, without any luck.

“They would not open the door to hear what our concerns were,” Sharp said over the loud speaker. “I think it’s a shame because people on both sides of this issue need to be heard.

“We’ll tell him in the next election!” she said, to loud applause.

No Jobs, No Peace

The message of the day was clear:  We need good jobs now, and Reichert should start listening to us instead of the very rich. Dozens of signs dotted the landscape along the sidewalk, from "Good Jobs 4 WA state" to "I'm unemployed and I vote". Chanters led various rally cries, such as "No Jobs, No peace" and "Hey Dave, can't you see, jobs help our economy!"

Dressed as Depression-era newsies, two participants handed out fliers that detailed Reichert’s poor performance creating jobs.

“Extra, extra, read all about it! Reichert gives millions in tax breaks but creates zero jobs,” they said.

People had good reasons for being there to speak with Rep. Reichert. Some, like Lauren Beck of Mercer Island, are worried about Social Security and whether young people in future generations will be able to retire. Others, like Susan Foley, a teacher and resident on Mercer Island, see kids that are struggling just to have enough food in their bellies and clothes on their backs when they get to school.

Members of the Tea Party showed up for a counter-protest, which clearly lacked the diversity, strength and good nature of our crowd. More telling about the Tea Party folks, however, were their "job ideas".

One Tea Party supporter said, “There are plenty of jobs--McDonald's is hiring.” We asked her if she could raise a family on that wage. Predictably, she had no response, underlining how important our protest was.

The rich and big business already have had the government's ear and our money:  we need someone to care about the middle class and offer real solutions--real good jobs in Washington now.

All in all, Betts, the Federal Way warehouse worker, said he felt really pumped up about the day and his chance to “speak up for the little guy.”

“It makes me feel like I’m not the only one who’s struggling,” he said. “Rich, poor, black, white--we all came together.”

Photo credit: Julio Sanchez and Scott Taylor

Join us for FREE tomato soup at the unemployment line!

Whose side are Rep. McMorris-Rodgers and Rep. Reichert on? We need good jobs for people in Washington state. But these politicians consistently votes for policies that benefit only the very rich at the expense of the rest of us.

Depression-era soup line

Join us on Thursday, August 18th to tell Representative McMorris-Rodgers and Representative Reichert that their job is to represent all of us, and we need good jobs now.

With the Great Recession looking more and more like the Great Depression, we are forming a Depression-style unemployment line – with free soup for the unemployed – at Rep. McMorris-Rodgers office in Spokane and Rep. Reichert's office on Mercer Island.

Make your own sign calling on Rep. McMorris-Rodgers and Rep. Reichert to focus on good jobs for Washington, and think about how you would tell them your personal story of how the lack of good jobs has affected you.

They listens to Wall Street, but they're our representative – why won’t Rep. McMorris-Rodgers and Rep. Reichert listen to us?

Join us to call for Good Jobs Now! Line up to show Rep. McMorris-Rodgers just how many people are hurt by joblessness Thursday, Aug. 18 11:30 am to 1:30 PM   FREE: Soup in the unemployment line At the fountain near Rep. McMorris Rodgers Spokane Office 10 North Post Street, Suite 625, Spokane, WA 99201

 

Tell Dave Reichert jobs, not tax cuts!  Thursday, July 18, 9:30 am to Noon  FREE: Soup in the unemployment line Reichert’s Mercer Island office, 2737 78th Avenue, S.E.. Suite 202, Mercer Island, WA 98040

Can you commit to joining the unemployment line as we demand good jobs on Aug 18?

We’ve had enough of Rep. McMorris-Rodgers and Rep. Reichert's support of Wall Street and the very rich at the expense of the rest of us. It’s time to make our Congresswoman stand up for us – we need good jobs now.

Verizon, can you hear us now?

Working Washington stands behind good jobs at Verizon Wireless

by Nate Jackson

Profits are up, the stock holders at Verizon Wireless are happy and the management has decided that now is the time to rip away working families' security and peace of mind.

Not if we have anything to say about it.

Working people at Verizon have toiled behind the scenes to make the telecommunications giant profitable and recognizable around the world. They’ve installed cell phone towers, land line telephone poles, created software and code and made the company one of the fastest growing companies in its field.

Verizon has reaped the benefits and now they are trying to take them away from the very same people who made them a successful company in the first place.

Working families are not going to take it on the chin anymore. More than 45,000 workers have taken a stand to disallow their hard-earned security from being taken away.

There’s history behind today’s strike. Previously, a deal was hammered out for good jobs.  The struggles were hard fought, but in the end both sides came to an accord that made sense.

Verizon got motivated, dedicated workers out of the deal and the workers had rewarding, honest work that they enjoyed.  It was a win-win solution.

Now, in the midst of great profits, Verizon is trying to change the rules. The main points of contention at the strike, according to the NY Times, are benefits, wages, health costs and paid sick leave.

They want to strip away the mutually beneficial agreements and balance more profits on the backs of working families.  Many workers are worried that if the accord is changed too much, they will slip out of the middle class.

At Working Washington, we are fighting for those good jobs to stay good jobs in downtown Seattle at the Verizon store on 6th Ave. from noon until 3 p.m this Tuesday, Aug. 15.  You can stand with us at 1633 6th Ave., Seattle, WA 98101.

Working families who have earned a good job cannot afford to have their jobs downgraded.  After working too hard and long for the respect, healthcare and living wages that have allowed families to claw their way into the middle class, it’s not fair to be pushed down or shoved aside, especially when profits have nearly tripled.

Come join us this week to show you support good, middle class jobs and the rights for families to earn a good living from honest work. There is strength in multiple voices. We want to make known that we want those good jobs we fought so hard for.

We don't want more than our fair share. We want a win-win.

Our Stories -- Manh

My name is Manh. I was born on my parents’ journey from Laos to Thailand and raised in Seattle. I’m still not a citizen. It takes a lot of paperwork to become naturalized.

Right out of high school, I began working at a restaurant. I was employed by the restaurant for 13 years.  I was let go in 2010. After working for a company for 13 years, you don’t think the termination will be so brief, short, and abrupt.

I applied for unemployment. I was turned down on my first attempt, they told me something about my employer contesting my unemployment and giving a different reason than I did for why I was fired.

I considered filing an appeal all by myself, but there was so much paperwork I got intimidated. I found that there were free lawyers available to help people who had been denied unemployment. With their help, I appealed the unemployment denial and finally won--five and a half months after my employment ended.

I didn’t want to trouble family and friends, but the bills kept piling up. I basically closed myself in my house and did not come out for anyone. It got to a point where my sister came by and was banging on my window saying “I am your sister and I love you, open the door.”  She said even if I didn’t talk to anyone, could I at least answer the phone when she called and let her know I was still alive. I said “O.K.  I’m alive,” and closed the door.

I just didn’t feel like being bothered by anyone.

My sister sat me down and said, “You will live with me. If you go back to school, I will take care of you.”  So, I moved back in and began helping her with babysitting and things like that.

Because someone had reached out to me and given me support, I finally decided to pursue a degree and become a surgical assistant.

That is when things started looking up again and I began to feel back on my feet. My adviser at Seattle Central Community College referred me to the Women’s Center. I learned how to be more successful in my education and I also got information on tuition help and fees. I started to feel better when I saw a path to success.

We Want Good Jobs and We Want Them Now!

Demonstrating outside Rep. Dave Reichert’s office by Nate Jackson

Many people demonstrating with signs

 

Over 70 of us gathered outside of Rep. Reichert's office on Mercer Island to tell the congressman that we need good jobs, not spending cuts. We set up outside at a major intersection and shouted “Jobs, not Cuts!"

Passing vehicles, pedestrians and locals applauded or stopped by to talk with us and snap pictures. MoveOn, Center for Community Change, Washington CAN and Working Washington were asking a simple question to Reichert:  "Where are the jobs?"

Rep. Reichert would not speak to us. He ignored us completely. He even refused to talk to a woman who he knew from his church. She approached the office by herself and his staff turned her away--they didn’t want to hear from us.

One man grabbed the microphone and started telling us his story, since Reichert wouldn’t listen. He lives in Reichert’s district and he was disappointed in the lack of representation that Reichert has given him.

“I worked for the military and the government all my life,” he said. “I never thought they would turn their back on me.”

The man was tall and imposing, but the feeling you got from him was a deep sadness that all the work he had done had been taken away from him. He spoke about how his retirement funds are wrapped up in his home, and how he lost his home because of unfair banking practices, which Republicans like Rep. Reichert did not protect him from.

Others stood up to share their story about how they have been represented by Reichert for a long time, but he has done nothing for them. One young man talked about how as a college graduate with a 3.8 GPA he could not find work anywhere until he started looking overseas.

“They knew my value over there,” the recent college graduate said. “They invited me to work and I had to take it. Why do we let our youngest and brightest get left behind?”

Reichert and other elected officials can’t hide behind office doors when they are supposed to be representing us.  They need to understand that the only crisis in Amer

ica is a jobs crisis.  We want good jobs and they will keep hearing that message until it sinks in and they start doing what they were elected to do:  represent us.

Mercer Island is not known as a bastion of progressives, but the crowd swelled with onlookers who quietly asked us one on one what we were all about. We shared our personal stories and why we have joined many organizations together to fight for good jobs. Most of the onlookers went back to their busy day with a thoughtful connection and a better idea of how many people were angry at the lack of action being taken over our jobs crisis.

Rep. Reichert may not have wanted to hear from us, but they will when we come back on Thursday, Aug. 18 from 9:30 am to noon. This time, we are bringing more friends and organizations, and we’ll be having some fun too.

Training In -- Action Camp on Vashon Island

  Action Camp, August 14-21, Vashon Island

by Sandra VanderVen

Want to get involved in a local activism training so you can learn how to lead in our actions against greedy corporations and politicians who choose rich CEOs over working Americans?

The Backbone Campaign’s Action Camp begins on Aug. 14 and continues through Aug. 21.  Activities will include community organizing techniques, strategy and action planning, art for social change, earned media, fun and exciting activism, and kayaking.  People will be coming from all over the country to teach and attend this event.  The camp last year culminated in the now famous Target Ain’t People video, and this year’s camp will include a surprise adventure as well.

I called Bill Moyer, the Executive Director and the creative genius behind the Backbone Campaign to ask him about it.Sandra VanderVen: Bill, can you tell me a little about the camp?

Bill Moyer: This is the first year that Action Camp has grown beyond creative activism like banners and nonviolent protest tactics. We've expanded to include a circle of very talented community organizers. We're going to give people a whole spectrum of tools. People enter into activism at a variety of levels, so we’re making sure to meet people where they are.

SV: What is different about camp this year?Bill: Each year it has changed in some way. We’ve added a community organizing component, brought by our friends from United Workers of Baltimore and City Life/Vida Urbana of Boston. These organizations are doing amazing things, improving working conditions and preventing foreclosures. In this camp we’ll explore the idea of a community supported organizer.  We need organizers to keep things moving in ways that benefit real people.

SV: Why is activism important right now?

Bill: If we're going to build a movement that is strong enough to make a difference in peoples lives, it has to protect peoples’ economic well-being.Backbone campaign itself in the last few years has been doing more work directly related to the well-being of our community.  We helped preserve Maury Island from being turned into an industrial gravel mine. Now it is a park.

We also helped to bring a credit union into our community, and have moved about 8 million dollars in deposits out of Wall Street banks and into our new credit union. An influx of deposits allows them to charge a lower interest rate on loans. This created new jobs on Vashon.

Over the last 5 months, 1,000 people out of the 10,000 person community have moved their money into the credit union. This will continue to stimulate our local economy because it has returned decision making about lending to people who are grounded in the community. Loan officers at the local branches used to be able to make decisions.

Currently at big banks, decisions are made at some corporate office, taking all empowerment away from people who should know. So some loans that should have been made were not, and some loans that shouldn't have been made were. When I walk into the local restaurant and the bartender tells me a story of weeks of frustration with a Wall Street bank, then going to the credit union and walking out with a loan that very day, I realize what the importance of keeping things local can be.

SV: Wouldn't you argue that policy is important because it impacts peoples' lives?

Bill: I feel that by doing work that impacts people in a way that is connected to their quality of life and well-being, we transcend ideology and build a movement toward those bigger national/international goals.  We’re successful when we use the power we have, and build towards getting the power we need to pursue our vision.With all the doom and gloom about the crash in Wall Street and the economy, it occurs to me that *an* economy is failing, but it might not have to be *the* economy that is failing. Maybe there are many economies.  We could be taking doom and gloom and transforming it into doom and bloom.  Wall Street is a doomed model, but local economy has the potential to bloom.

SV: We can only achieve greater economic justice if more of us decide to become activists.  This training is one way to do that.  Check out the schedule, and sign up for the whole thing, or just the days you can. If nothing else, sign up for an action on our website, like telling us your story of unemployment.