Jobs with Justice Brings Together Grassroots Activists
Over 900 labor activists from around the country converged in St. Louis September 22-24 for Jobs with Justice’s yearly conference.
Coincidentally, the hotel that the JwJ conference was held in was to host the founding Change to Win convention only days later. With stories on the split in the AFL-CIO coming to a head in the national media, it was surprising to some that the topic elicited little commentary from conference speakers.
“It’s not a question that you can have any control over,” said Judy Atkins, Jobs with Justice founding member and former president of United Electrical Workers District 2. “I’m not sure how the discussion would have been framed without it being divisive.”
Some JWJ activists also noted the omission of the Northwest Airlines strike from the conference agenda. “I would have liked to have seen some sort of solidarity action at the airport for the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA),” said Paul Felton, executive board member of APWU’s 480-481 area local. Northwest, which is being struck by AMFA, has gates at the St. Louis airport.
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Prior to the conference’s official beginning, Jobs with Justice provided meeting spaces for religious groups, student labor activists, public service workers, and other interest groups to hold pre-conference meetings.
On Friday, many participants braved the rain to participate in a demonstration protest to keep Bellafontaine Habilitation Center--a facility for the mentally ill and disabled whose workers are represented AFSCME--from closing down for good. Sunday featured a hearing on Wal-Mart from the National Workers’ Rights Board and an anti-war march.
Saturday’s opening plenary, called “Fightbacks in Our Communities” highlighted the fight against rising fares for Atlanta’s public transportation system and college students’ current campaign against Verizon Wireless. Workshops offered tutorials on everything from the healthcare crisis to immigrants’ issues to exploring the non-majority model of organizing.
John Woodruff, from UE Local 222 in Connecticut, came to the conference interested in starting a Jobs with Justice chapter. He was particularly impressed with the student presence at the conference. “The younger folks, they bring a lot of energy to these types of events. But mostly, it was just meeting people—other labor activists and regular rank-and-file people from around the country, plus others with goals and missions that aren’t part of the traditional labor movement. I think it’s a great concept to bring us all together and see where our similarities are.”