Invitation to Cover: First Friday Vigil for Jobs

NEW YORK, NY (03/29/2011)(readMedia)-- --

When: Friday, May 6, 2011,

Contact: Gaby Moreno at gaby2122@verizon.net or 212-580-2663

More Info: www.jobscampaign.org

Vigils for Jobs are being held on April 1 at:

12pm-1:00pm - At the Leo W. O'Brien Federal Building Corner of Clinton Avenue and Pearl St., Albany

12pm-1:00 pm in front of Congressmember Peter King's office at 1003 Park Blvd, Massapequa Park

12:30pm - 1:30pm - The Federal Building at 100 S. Clinton St., Syracuse

The "First Friday Vigil for Jobs" held outside of Senator Schumer's office is to urge him and other members of Congress to create a jobs program like those created by the Roosevelt administration during the 1930's. Sponsored by the National Jobs for All Coalition, the National Organization for Women-NYS, and eighteen other civil rights, labor, community, and religious groups, "First Friday Vigils" mark the day that the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the previous month's unemployment figures.

Feature speaker Barbara Garson is the author of two classic books about work in America, ALL THE LIVE LONG DAY and the ELECTRONIC SWEATSHOP, both Penguin paperbacks. She's currently writing a book about this downturn called: DOWN THE UP ESCALATOR: American Lives during the Great and All Too Long Recession. Her articles and reviews have appeared in Harper's, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe, The Baltimore Sun, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Village Voice, Mother.

Speakers at Vigil: Bill Henning, CWA-Local 1180; Ed Tot, Murphy Institute; Barbara Garson, author; Chuck Bell, National Jobs for All Coalition; Gaby Moreno, National Organization for Women-NYS

"We can't let widespread joblessness become the norm," says, Bill Henning of CWA-Local 1180 "because this past year, one out of every four families in America have been affected by unemployment. In January of this year, 13.9 million persons were officially unemployed, and another 14.8 million persons, the "hidden unemployed," wanted full-time work but were forced to work part-time or had given up looking for work."

"The need for more jobs is a critical issue for single mothers," says NOW-NYS President Marcia Pappas. "In New York State, on average over the last three years, single women who were heads of households had an official unemployment rate that was double the official unemployment rates of married men and married women. "

"Create a national jobs program" is the clear message that participants in the "First Friday Vigils" want to send to Washington. Owen Rogers of the Equal Employment Council, states, "The top priority for this economy must be putting people to work."

Additional demands of the Vigil are that Congress act immediately to extend benefits for long-term unemployed individuals who have been jobless for longer than 93-99 weeks (H.R. 589) and to continue financial assistance to state and local governments to avoid massive layoffs in health care, education and other essential services.