Urban Agenda - Updates

Update — May 2009

COME TO OUR VISIONARY AWARDS ON 13 MAY!

Dear friends and colleagues,

We would be delighted to have you join us at our 2009 Visionary Awards benefit on Wednesday, 13 May, from 6.00-9.00pm at 32BJ, 101 Avenue of the Americas. The event is a chance to meet and catch up with labor, business and community leaders who are committed to making New York City a thriving, green and just place to live and work.

Our annual Visionary Awards celebrate champions of social justice, economic vitality and environmental stewardship. This year, we are proud to honor Michael Fishman, President of SEIU 32BJ; David Jones, President and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York; and Richard Ravitch, Principal of Ravitch Rice & Co. All of our visionaries have helped push for far-sighted change to make our City more sustainable, and we salute their efforts.

We have had an opportunity to work with many of you. Your organization may be one of 170 others who have sat beside us at the Green Collar Jobs Roundtable charting a course for comprehensive workforce development in New York City. You may have met with us around the criteria to ensure a just distribution of economic stimulus dollars. You may have responded to an action alert or just support the work we and the honorees have done. We want to celebrate all of this with you.

Please join us on May 13th. We are looking forward to seeing you there.

Sincerely,

Joanne Derwin, Executive Director, Urban Agenda

FEATURED PARTNER

CONSORTIUM FOR WORKERS EDUCATION

The Consortium for Workers Education (www.CWE.org) is a private, non-profit organization that provides workforce development programs for workers including union members, New Americans and dislocated workers. Founded in 1985, the CWE has provided over 80,000 workers annually with employment, training and education services.

Rebecca Lurie, Director of Development for the CWE, offers a unique perspective to women and workforce development. A former carpenter, Rebecca entered workforce development through her union's training fund. Currently Rebecca focuses much of her attention on creating workforce development programs that will accommodate the shifts to environmental sustainability practices.

In 2009 Rebecca attended an Earth Day event for women and green jobs held by the US Department of Labor. Hosting the event, Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis stated she wanted to "enlarge the dialogue" about women in the green jobs economy. Over three dozen women representing unions, academia, advocacy, and workforce groups discussed methods to engage women in "non-traditional" employment. Proposals include outreach programs, child care, education, support services and equally important, awareness and encouragement. The meeting reinforced the message from President Obama that the government is changing how it does business; that there are new priorities and everyone counts. Upon her return from this event Rebecca said, "This is what transparency looks like."

Rebecca has served on the New York City Apollo Alliance Steering Committee since 2008, is on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative advisory committee and is working with Green For All on a national campaign to highlight best practices for pathways out of poverty to good jobs in the green economy.

SEEING GREEN: NEW JOBS LEAD TO NEW VISIONS

A recent article published in City Limits Weekly explored the potential of community-based green jobs training programs to offer new career options, and help to build broader green consciousness in local communities.

Organizations that offer green collar training programs such as Strive in East Harlem, St. Nick's in Williamsburg, and Sustainable South Bronx all weave an environmental justice theme into their curriculum. Their students build hard skills, and expand their understanding and appreciation for their environment -- for what is happening in their own back yards. Many are often inspired to organize their own independent initiatives aimed at improving their neighborhoods.

Myles Lennon, from Urban Agenda said that the expanding awareness of environmental justice "is one of the greatest strengths of the green jobs movement."

To read the full article, visit www.citylimits.org

SPOTLIGHT

REMEMBERING MAY DAY

While Americans celebrate Labor Day in September, around the world, May 1st has long been considered International Worker's Day. The origin of May Day comes from the struggle for the 8- hour workday, which began in Australia in 1856. At the beginning of the 19th century, it was not uncommon for the average working day to last for 14-16 hours. On May 1, 1886, a series of massive, nation-wide strikes were called for to enforce the 8-hour workday. In Chicago, 80,000 people marched down Michigan Avenue and in the following days, 350,000 workers at 1,200 factories went on strike.

The labor movement continued to fight and various unions won the right to an 8-hour day over the next decades. By 1905, the United Mine Workers, the Building Trades Council and the printing trades won the 8-hour day. The vast majority of Americans, however, still worked 12-14 hour days. The 8-hour work day was not realized for most workers until 1938 when the Fair Labor Standards Act made it a legal day's work nationwide.

May Day is a time to reflect on the struggles of working people. These struggles are ever present today. The recent financial crisis highlighted just how skewed our economy has become with very few at the top and the vast majority struggling at the bottom.

Even with the Fair Labor Standards Act, many workers face workdays longer than 8 hours with no overtime pay and no benefits. The opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for workers to unionize, the demonization of the United Auto Workers, and the resistance to health care reform all show the depth of anti-worker sentiment. Now is the time to rebuild our middle class and advocate for jobs that provide family sustaining wages, paid benefits and career pathways.