Standing with the Unemployed

 Jobs: The Number One Priority in 2010


 


 My sister and nearly half her co-workers lost their jobs this year at a progressive faith-based nonprofit organization. She had worked there for 15 years. No family has gone untouched by the economic crisis. Tens of millions of our brothers and sisters have lost their jobs and many millions more have lost health care benefits, had their hours and wages slashed, or fear that they will lose their jobs. Communities that were already devastated with plant closures and the loss of good manufacturing jobs have been hit harder than others. Unemployment rates are disastrous for people of color, young workers, and veterans.
 
 In last night's State of the Union address, President Obama called jobs the number one priority for 2010. He noted that more than seven million jobs have been lost in the U.S. over the past two years.
 
 The President and Congress cannot solve this crisis unless we all stand up together. Yes, we need to extend unemployment benefits and subsidies for COBRA health insurance purchase for unemployed workers. We need to pass a strong jobs bill that will help create sustainable jobs at living wages, and we need assistance targeted to hardest-hit communities. But as people of faith, we need to go beyond this to promote a full employment economy with good jobs that can support our families.
 
 Interfaith Worker Justice has created a congregational toolkit on unemployment and the economic crisis (the first link on our resource page for Unemployment and the Economic Crisis <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ZOaLyhcPG2vAax%2FbM%2BsSEc7XpDK%2BaGQy> ). It includes a refection on the spiritual meaning of the crisis, worship resources, and a guide to your rights following job loss that includes information about final paychecks, unemployment compensation, avoiding foreclosure, and health insurance. The toolkit also includes action steps that congregations can take, including a guide to setting up congregational support groups and jobs clubs, and ideas for how congregations can raise the prophetic and religious voice and take action in the public policy arena.
 
 Encouraged always by our faith, we can work together to ensure that all people have access to good jobs, living wages, and healthcare. Now is the time to raise our hearts and our voices as people of faith. Now is the time to stand with the unemployed in solidarity and hope, sustained by our commitment to building a future where everyone has the opportunity to work with dignity and respect.