The National Black Caucus of State Legislators’ (NBCSL) 38th Annual Legislative Conference in Dallas, Texas has endorsed HR 1000, the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment and Training Act. Tennessee State Representative Barbara Cooper’s resolution in support of HR 1000 is a major step forward. We would like to extend our thanks to Representative Cooper for her effort and to everyone who helped with outreach to state representatives. The National Jobs For All Coalition worked closely with network members to secure this breakthrough endorsement.
The resolution, “Leading a National Jobs Movement to Uplift Families and Communities,” shown below, is a part of the NBCSL’s impressive program. The resolution recognizes that direct job creation, the major component, of HR 1000, is the key to solving high unemployment and many other pressing problems in the United States. This year NJFAC will be making a big push to build support for HR 1000 by securing new endorsements by local, state, and national organizations as well as additional Congressional co-sponsors..
For Jobs & Peace. Logan Martinez , Outreach Coordinator, NJFAC, Jobs For All Network www.PutAmericaToWork.net / 937-260-2591 /loganmartinez2u [at] yahoo.com
Leading a National Jobs Movement to Uplift Families and Communities Resolution LMV-15-06
WHEREAS, prior to the economic downturn of the last decade, the average unemployment rate was about 5 percent, reaching a low of 4.4 percent during 2007 and 2006, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics;
WHEREAS, the height of the Great Recession saw double-digit unemployment rates, but since then, the unemployment rate has reversed course and currently sits at 5.9 percent;
WHEREAS, the labor movement has as a founding ideal: the assembling of a broad progressive coalition for social and economic justice;
WHEREAS, during the last decade, macroeconomic shifts have placed communities around the country at risk, threatening the economic security of all and accelerating deep divides and inequalities in our society;
WHEREAS, these circumstances demonstrate that the struggles of workers are inextricably interwoven with the struggles of communities;
WHEREAS, such vital issues for workers today include raising the minimum wage, paid sick days, family and medical leave, freedom to form a union, a living wage, collective bargaining rights, equal pay for equal work, outsourcing, fair wages for all workers, immigration reform, wage theft, and the misclassification of workers;
WHEREAS, unions must work hand in hand with community partners and allies to reverse negative economic trends and to create opportunities for all while building a robust democratic and participatory society; strong and safe neighborhoods; and racial, ethnic, and gender equality;
WHEREAS, when a union and community jointly build a lasting, powerful movement for social and economic justice and an enduring democracy, their collective voices will be heard and collective purposes achieved;
WHEREAS, the lockout of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) Local 252G workers was the impetus for the formation of the Coalition for the Organizational Protection of People and Equal Rights (COPPER), whose mission is to “work collaboratively as an organization consisting of labor, religious, social, and civil organizations that demonstrate a belief in empowering and defending the well-being of all community members;
WHEREAS, COPPER comprises more than thirty representatives from labor, religious, civic, and social organizations and the coalition continues to grow as its fight for economic fairness and to remedy the imbalance of power within the Memphis community expands;
WHEREAS, COPPER’s example of an active coalition to build a jobs movement that results in full employment should guide the efforts of policymakers at the state and federal level;
WHEREAS, in 2013, U.S. Representative John Conyers, Jr. introduced the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment and Training Act, which if enacted, would direct the U.S. Secretary of Labor to establish a Full Employment National Trust Fund with two separate accounts for: (1) Employment Opportunity Grants to states, local governments, and Native American tribes for job-creating activities in communities whose economy is not at a level of full employment; and (2) Workforce Investment programs;
WHEREAS, the bill would also establish arbitration procedures for resolution of disputes for grant recipients and require the U.S. Secretary of Labor to post a whistleblower hotline on the U.S. Department of Labor’s website for the public to report noncompliance with the Act’s requirements;
WHEREAS, under the legislation, the Secretary of Labor would be directed to convene a national employment conference to bring together leaders of small, medium, and large businesses, labor, government, and other parties to discuss employment, with particular attention to structural unemployment and the plight of disadvantaged youth; and
WHEREAS, the bill amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to revise member composition requirements for state and local workforce investment boards to include at least 25 percent of the chief executive officers of minority-serving, community-based organizations.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) supports the establishment of a Full Employment National Trust Fund with two separate accounts for: (1) Employment Opportunity Grants to states, local governments, and Native American tribes for job-creating activities in communities whose economy is not at a level of full employment; and (2) Workforce Investment programs;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NBCSL calls on Congress to pass legislation to establish the National Full Employment Trust Fund and to create employment opportunities for the unemployed in the United States of America;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NBCSL supports the establishment of labor-community partnerships that convene labor, religious, social, and civic organizations to work collaboratively to empower and defend the well-being of all workers within a community; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, and other federal and state government officials as appropriate.
SPONSORS: Representative Barbara Cooper (TN) and Representative Raumesh Akbari (TN) COMMITTEE OF JURISDICTION: Labor, Military, and Veterans’ Affairs Policy Committee CERTIFIED BY COMMITTEE CHAIR: Representative Sharon Beasley-Teague (GA)
RATIFIED IN PLENARY SESSION: Ratification Date is December 12, 2014
RATIFICATION IS CERTIFIED BY: Representative Joe Armstrong (TN), President