VOCES: community jobs campaign

In February Southwest Workers Union kicked off the Community Jobs Campaign with the Center for Community change along with national organizations to push for the Put Americans Back to Work Bill (HR. 4253). The bill is for the creation of transitional community jobs programs, as well as funding for the creation of more public jobs.

Southwest Workers Union had a lot of success meeting with four City Council offices, the Mayors Policy Advisor and three Congressional Offices. Since then Councilwoman Ivy Taylor (District 2, City of San Antonio, Tx) and Councilman Mike Sanchez (Place 1, Hondo, Tx) have signed the letter of support for the Put Americans Back to Work bill addressed to President Obama.

After Obama’s State of the Union address calling for a freeze on Federal spending for the next three years and the introduction of a “new” Jobs Bill in Congress, we re-strategized our campaign. Since funding is limited we are now looking at our local government officials to push locally and on a state level for funding around TANF grants and CDBG grants. We are also asking Congress to extend TANF grants applications deadline from September 2010 to next year, since there is going to be 5 million dollar surplus that has not been applied for or used; that should be use to implement transitional community jobs programs for people that are unemployed, as well as to fund the creation of jobs in the public sectors such as for school workers that are often short staff or that are getting laid off like in Austin, Tx, (local 11).

Southwest Workers Union is still asking our local city council as well as our Congressmen to support the Put Americans Back to Work bill. The Jobs Bill that is in the Senate now, does not include a community jobs program or education and does not concentrate on targeting unemployment.

- tanya