"I have a poster above where I sleep," said Diane S. from Denver. "It says, 'Never, ever give up.' That's my motivation and my motto."
Diane traveled to Washington, D.C., last week as one of 300 job-seekers who put a face on a tragedy that has been all but invisible to lawmakers -- the startling number of long-term jobless workers.
Since her layoff as a human resource manager in the fall of 2006, she has applied to countless jobs, redefined herself and accepted temporary positions ever further from her calling.
And soon, Diane will lose the last of her jobless benefits -- thanks to the screwed up priorities of congressional Republicans who insist America can't afford unemployment insurance benefits for desperate job-seekers even as they demand $700 billion in tax cuts for millionaires.
By 8 a.m. this morning, more than 1 million people had stopped receiving aid. That number will grow to 2 million by the end of the month if congressional Republicans continue to block the extension. You can track the rising number on the AFL-CIO's website. We're not talking about cushy benefits. Jobless aid only provides a fraction of what each worker earned before being laid off. The average weekly check is about $290.
Anyone who thinks we can afford tax cuts for those who need them least should certainly support unemployment insurance for those who need it most.
But that's not the way things work on Capitol Hill these days.
That's why it's time for action. Never before has Congress refused to take action when this many people were out of work. Help us make Congress do the right thing again. You can make a difference by standing together with jobless workers against those whose only passion is giving more to the rich.
First, meet some of the workers whose lifeline is being cut off:
Now, join me in a campaign to make our national leaders feel the urgency of Diane, Russ, Edrie, Michael and all of America's jobless millions.
As the holiday season begins, more than 15 million job-seekers are competing for only 3 million openings. America has the largest number of long-term job-seekers on record.
We can't ignore our friends, family and neighbors who are unemployed through no fault of their own. Let's create so much pressure that Congress can't ignore them either.
"I know I'm not the only one who's going through this," said Diane. "I have to keep trying."
Let's give jobless workers some hope.
do to pad thier pockets. They only care about perserving thier on a**. They could careless about the workers. Unions are very dangerous to the free workers of this country. The top officials are worse than corpration ever thought about. I have seen it first hand. BEWARE OF TRUMKA. Assimilate to the collective or you do not deserve to live.
It is called Job Tracker. So what is it? With it any worker can find out which companies in their area are exporting jobs, laying off workers, or endangering workers' health or involved in cases of violations of workers' rights. Not bad.
Now think of what you can do with this. Just put in your Zip Code and get a list of companies in your immediate area. Then get a well coordinated team together to let these businesses know that you know what they are up to. Put some pressure on them.
Remember what our Union brother said: "Never, ever give up."
Arguments made by the sycophant Praetorian guard of the economic emperors have been refuted time and time again. Corporations and the very wealthy are currently sitting on a trillion or so. Without investing it in anything resulting in jobs creation. So much for that theory.
Nor does it account for the role we working people have in stimulating the generation of more jobs. We're also consumers-- still 70% of the economy. The fact we help create wealth needs to be acknowledged. And that we have a stake in what we make possible-- the economic system as a whole.
The real reason for anachronistic anti-union tirades is elsewhere. We don't even have to go as far back as the Roman empire of Marc Anthony. Although the parallels are obvious. A sociopathic ruling class. An overextended empire and a de facto economic draft. A monstrous gap between the few very rich and the suffering lower classes.
The contemporary reason? People in unions are covered by contract law. All other US employees fall under a provision inherited from English common law. Called a Master-Servant relationship. Which the heirs of the robber barons want for all working people.
Any reference to The Market or "market price" should be also taken as a warning. That we're dealing with an idolator, not a rationalist. The theoretical basis of this idea makes an unsupported leap from simple barter, like those in rural areas and Third World countries, to the assumed aggregate of all exchanges everywhere simultaneously.
Then they take what they've created and in effect, worship it. An all-powerful, all-knowing entity-- that "invisible hand." Whose laws are interpreted for us by a group of mostly older white men. Who urge that we conform or be punished. Economics as bad theology.
We do not have to accept their version of what's real. Especially when the flaws in this golden calf are so obvious. If it were merely a matter of scientific principle, why do they spend so much time getting favorable laws enacted by their corporate minions in Congress?