Sarah Levy
August 18, 2010
Nearly 20 un- and underemployed workers and allies demonstrated in front of Portland’s City Hall on August 18 in the first of what is to become a weekly vigil demanding living wage jobs for all and a security net that doesn’t let anyone fall through the cracks.
Organized by a coalition consisting of the Sunnyside Self Help Employment Group; the Coalition of Unemployed, Underemployed and Marginalized Workers; and Jobs with Justice, the weekly vigils are meant to raise awareness and visibility of unemployed and underemployed workers in the Portland metro area—a group that is being pushed further and further under the radar.
“Only in America can you have a full-time job, be poor, live on the streets, and have no benefits,” organizer Ted Pyle announced through a megaphone to downtown passersby.
Oregon’s unemployment rate is now officially at 10.6 percent, over one percentage point above the national average. In addition, the rate of Oregon’s unemployed has continued to increase, as opposed to Washington D.C.’s recent decline, and in the midst of a national economy that is reportedly “recovering” (though for some reason the recovery has nothing to do with jobs creation). According to the Oregon Employment Dept. and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, when those who have given up job hunting and those working less hours than desired are included, the rate jumps up to 20.6 percent, compared to 16.5 percent nationally. And of course, it’s still much worse for minorities.
“It’s not our fault that we are unemployed,” said Eleyna Fugman, one of the main organizers of the coalition. “We are looking for jobs. We want to work.” With an Ivy League degree and plenty of experience working in the non-profit sector, Fugman is among the growing ranks of a well-educated and qualified workforce finding an increasingly bleak employment outlook ahead. She hopes that the vigils will make the unemployed more visible, and make it easier to connect with other groups, such as Oregon People Activating Leaders (OPAL), which came out in solidarity and to promote an upcoming march and rally against bus service cuts.
The visibility is also part of eliminating the shame and isolation that many people feel regarding unemployment. “There should be no such thing as the ‘working poor,’” Fugman said. “A jobless recovery is like a foodless meal.”
The coalition began in summer of 2009 when a group of four un- and underemployed neighbors started having monthly meetings. George Slanina, Jr., one of the founding four, said that the group shaped their goals in the first few meetings, and then focused on organizing a support network for those in need. Until now this had mainly evolved into a monthly potluck. Slanina said he envisions having more neighborhood groups so that people don’t have to spend money to go to a meeting. The groups can then help people get by on a daily basis, as well as provide a way to organize around a larger political struggle.
“Ultimately we want to build a nation-wide movement,” said Slanina. “Like back in the 30’s. You know that slogan, ‘start local, think global.’” For outreach, the coalition has put out an Unemployment/Underemployment Survey, with the hope that people will fill one out and then contact the group and get more involved.
For now, he said, the goal is for each person who comes to one of the vigils to bring another person to the next one. “We want to get enough people here to get noticed.”
Paul Dean, a member of the coalition, said that the next step is to get the unions involved, to make sure that the city doesn’t contract out jobs while undercutting the jobs that exist.
Also outside of City Hall on Wednesday were several mainstream media representatives, though to cover a different story. They were interested in the fact that city representatives were in the midst of rushing through a deal for the wind turbine company Vestas to expand in Portland. The [now in place] deal includes a fifteen-year $8 million interest-free loan—consisting of tax-payer dollars—from the city council to the company, with the added stipulation that they create 100 jobs over five years. That’s 20 jobs a year—barely crumbs when compared to the over 220,000 Oregonians in need. Possible reasons for the secrecy and speed behind the deal could be that the company’s stock value has recently plummeted, or the fact that Vestas is widely known throughout the UK as the Danish company that last year, after soaking up government money, closed their Isle of Wight plant, laying off 700 workers (http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=18566). While this led to a worker-led occupation of the plant, it is a bad sign for Oregon, and a poor reflection on City Council that indicates at best inadequate research and at worst misguided or biased interests.
It is also a sign of the enormous corporate welfare the city is capable of, and that the money exists, just not for the people who desperately need it.
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The vigils are set to continue every Wednesday from noon to 1pm in front of City Hall, at least through the November elections.
(more info)--
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2010/08/16/daily22.html?page=1
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=18566
http://bojack.org/2010/08/taxpayers_shell_out_millions_t.html
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