Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!

Unemployment is at a 26 year high, meaning more than 20 million Americans out of work, and communities of color the hardest hit.

Several organizations have been raising the cry for a national jobs program for months, and labor unions, who have been deeply involved in the fight for health care reform, have begun to pick up the demand for millions of good new jobs.

NA4J, of course, has been part of that push. We need action for jobs at the national, state and local level.

Nationally, NA4J proposes a new version of the WPA, CCC and CETA - federal hiring programs that put people to work rebuilding our society. Such a program could be funded by a financial transactions tax and other taxes on the wealthy that made a killing while wrecking the economy.

Locally, entities that benefit from public subsidies (like the Target being built at Wilson Yards) should give community residents first crack at jobs, pay a living wage and respect the rights of workers. (80% of voters in the area around the Wilson Yards agreed with this policy).