Like every picture is worth
a thousand words, every truth has a cost and the numbers never lie. In
this economic crisis unemployment is hitting African American and
Latino communities hard.
Check out the new report Beyond the Quick Fix: http://fairrecovery.org/?page_id=318
But
it isn't just the numbers that matter, it's the stories they represent.
Like Amy, who can't find work so she's forced to squat in an empty
building with her family. Like Jerry, an out of work truck driver who
has resorted to collecting cans on the street to survive and at the
same time face the indignity of the welfare line.
These stories are too common in our country. We need new stories. We need better numbers.
Making the Numbers Real
Last
Thursday night at a union hall in Orlando, members of the Miami Workers
Center, Florida New Majority, Central Florida Jobs with Justice, and
AFL-CIO started to make some new numbers. Fifty people signed up to
fight for good union jobs. They started telling their stories, how they
resist and live even when we are facing an uphill battle.
Over
60 people gathered together to hear the results of a new study released
by the Miami Workers Center, Kirwan Institute, and RISEP, called: Beyond the Quick Fix -ARRA Contracting, Jobs, and Building a Fair Recovery for Florida.
Badili Jones, of Florida New Majority, opened the evening with a presentation of the most striking results from the study.
"Only
3 out of 49 contractors awarded ARRA money in Florida are minority
owned business. Minority owned businesses are getting less than 1% of
the value of contracts in the state," said Jones.
Jones
continued, "With unemployment reaching 15.4% in among African Americans
and 11.6% among Latinos in the state, there is a desperate need for
ARRA money to get to these communities. And it's not. We have to change
this. We have to organize our communities and win changes in the
system."
The audience then listened to a panel of
union leaders, a college professor and political science student
present different perspectives on the economic crisis and jobs.
Then
the collected group of union members, residents and community activists
participated in a lively discussion of what should be done in Orland.
They discussed what the strategic fight will be to increase spending on
jobs for communities of color. As the town hall came to a close people
stayed late, talking about what they could do. They pushed past the
numbers and saw what could be possible when we connect with the stories.
Check out the report here: http://fairrecovery.org/?page_id=318
The
town hall was a part of the Build a Fair Florida, a statewide campaign
supporting local grassroots fights while shifting values in the
Sunshine State.
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