Beth Myers:

Working in the movement
for social justice is hard. We all know this but we often don’t admit it. There
are days when you just feel tired and defeated both in you heart and in your
body. Sometimes it feels as though we aren’t making as much of a difference as
we want. With this in mind, it is vital that those of us who fighting for a more
just economy find the time to reconnect with our allies and refocus on the core
missions of our work. The Jobs With Justice Conference was definitely one of
those opportunities for me.  The conference brought together some of the best
and brightest who have chosen to devote their time and energy to building a
better country and world.

Over the past 2 years, STITCH has been developing
programs and providing trainings for immigrant women in the United States.
As we have been talking to these amazing women, we often hear stories of raids,
racist attacks, and horrible mistreatment by bosses. And the incredible odds
these workers have to overcome. The JWJ conference was a great opportunity to
hear more stories of hope—stories about workers who have organized in a poultry
plant in Tennessee and won, about the communities efforts to support those
workers who were impacted by the raids in MA, and the amazing testimony of the
Indian workers who were exploited by a company and a dangerous immigration
system and chose to fight back.  These workers proved once again that we can and
do make difference when we stand together. The conference also provided us with
a huge number of allies to work with in the coming years and some new tools that
we can use in work in the Central America.

The JWJ motto of “I’ll
be there for you” was truly present at this event. It was a powerful reminder to
me about why we do this work and how together we really are making a difference.
This conference reminded me that I need to be “there” for workers in my
neighborhood, city, country, and globally. I urge everyone to find these
important spaces to recharge, to find hope and to get back to being “there” for
workers everywhere!

Tim Newman:
The Jobs With Justice National Conference was a great opportunity to connect with labor activists from all across the country -- and the world.  On the first day, I attended a half-day issue forum focused on "The Global Race to the Bottom: Trade and Migration."  The forum focused on how corporations and U.S. trade policy have lowered standards for workers' rights and dislocated communities around the world.  With more NAFTA-style free trade agreements (FTA) with Colombia, South Korea and Panama awaiting approval from Congress, it was great to hear from labor advocates from two of these countries.  Hector Giraldo from the SINTRADEPTO union in Colombia and Sang-Hoon Yi from the KCTU union in Korea both participated and explained how the FTA's would harm workers' rights in their countries.

It was also exciting to hear success stories from across the country.  While sometimes the global corporate assault on workers' rights can seem overwhelming, it was inspiring to hear about how people are fighting back and winning.  Some of the speakers who really excited the crowd included Stewart Acuff, Organizing Director at the AFL-CIO, and Thomas Robinson of POWR (Philadelphia Officers and Workers Rising) and the dynamic Bishop Dwayne Royster of the Living Waters United Church of Christ, who both talked about their winning campaign to improve conditions for security guards at the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University in Philadelphia.  Most importantly, it's clear that Jobs With Justice really is playing an important role in building a movement from social and economic justice.

On Friday, May 2, JWJ also organized a march from the conference to the Rhode Island Capital Building to tell Governor Carcieri that we won't stand for balancing the budget on the backs of Rhode Island's working class.  Check out this video from the protest:

Did you attend the JWJ National Conference?  What did you think?