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Creating Jobs, Strengthening Our Economy
The United States is experiencing the worst economic recession since the Great Depression, and millions of families are struggling from the devastating effects of high unemployment.
Almost every American has been touched in some way by the recession and rising unemployment. However, minority communities are particularly hard hit. The African-American unemployment rate this past December was 16.2%; unemployment among Latinos was 12.9%. More than one-third of African American children are now living in poverty.
The Center for Community Change along with our partner organizations across the country are organizing to address the urgent current crisis of unemployment, as well as the longer term crisis of joblessness, crumbling infrastructure and disinvestment in vulnerable communities.
We believe that Congress and the Obama Administration should implement a Community Jobs Program that would create 1 million jobs at the community and neighborhood level, and put both recently and long term unemployed workers back to work in good jobs that pay living wages, provide benefits, and create stronger, more vibrant communities across the United States.
Take action in the fight for community jobs by joining the Campaign for Community Change.
We also believe that the issue of jobs and economic recovery is intrinsically tied with comprehensive immigration reform and health care reform. Legislatively, we need big wins on each issue to create political momentum to win on other issues. More importantly, we know that a truly just economy involves reform on many different issues including, but not limited to: legal recognition of undocumented workers in the United States, a health care reform package that businesses can afford, and strengthening the right of employees to form a union.
Until we address all of these issues holistically, opponents of change will use these issues to divide the progressive community and stop reform from happening.
