(as of February, 2011)

EMPLOYMENT

1) Unity: Cooperative Labor Partners and the Out of Poverty Initiative. Job training and job development. Multi-ethnic organizing for jobs. Quality jobs with a minimum of $10 per hour wage. Landscaping, handyman work, simple construction, and personal home care.

Purpose: To promote employment and then more secure employment among workers who are left out of the secure job market. Activity: Job training and job development through marketing of UNITY, sustainable dispatchers, and crew leaders. Family case management and job readiness training.

Leaders: Linda Lloyd, Clothilda Barnett, Ovita Thornton, Vallerie Sims, James Lloyd, Caryl Sundland, Barbara Turner

2) ESL for Immigrant Workers. Learning English makes the immigrants more marketable in the job market. They are grateful for this voluntary effort. A grant of $350 came from the Athens Literacy Council for materials to be used in teaching. Shadow learning is relatively easy--and it is fun.

Purpose: promotion of job readiness among Latino immigrants, as well as ability to connect throughout the community through language skills Activity: conversational lessons at the Day Labor site for the workers, and at the community room at El Banco de las Opportunidad for Latino family members.

Leaders: Carrie Thomas, Tracy Yang, Dustin Christensen, Ray MacNair, George Patrick, Humberto Mendoza, Rosalie Hendon

WORKERS’ RIGHTS

1) Civic engagement and voter registration

Purpose: To get lower income people into positions of greater influence with elected officials Activity: Recruiting non-voters to register to vote and then vote; and then become involved with elected officials in their decision making.

Leaders: Caryl Sundland, Joseph Smith, Dolores Lee-Hill, Helen Smith, Linda Lloyd, George Patrick, Glenda Colbert

2) Workers' Rights Center: Connections to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; Another Focus on Wage Theft, Another Focus on Discrimination with the Connection to EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). The US Department of Labor is waking up! And, the EJC is Waking Up with them.

Purpose: Education of workers on their rights under the laws that protect workers' rights; assistance in filing legitimate complaints of abuse by employers, including wage theft, safety, and health on the job.

Activity: Promotion of laws that protect workers from problems of wage theft, occupational safety and health, and discrimination. Engage workers who need to know more about their rights and need assistance in pursuing their claims and involve the campus Public Interest Project Law students.

Leaders: Ron Wynn, Nicolas Stanojovich, Ray MacNair , Humberto Mendoza, Noe Mendoza, Pamela Voekel, Martha Lowe, Glenda Colbert

3) The University of Georgia Living Wage Campaign. Joining with students at rallies at the Arch every Thursday eve at 5:00pm . In the face of the budget cuts, promoting cuts at higher levels of salaries, cuts in unnecessary construction projects. Promoting a policy of no cuts among the lowest wage workers who can not survive without their jobs.

Purpose: promotion of job security, living wages and benefits, respect by managers for the lowest wage workers in the University Activity: activities formulated by student and faculty leaders; rallies and negotiations with University administrators.

Leaders: Pamela Voekel, Maggie Kilgo, Matt Boynton, Bethany Moreton, Xochitl and Greg Calderon, Joseph Smith, Andrea Merriman

4) Worker Friendly Employer Program. Developing a vital WFE program, recruiting businesses and organizations, promoting worker-friendly practices in wages and benefits. Link to the web site: www.workerfriendly.org.  Applications by public, private, and nonprofit employers can be made online at that web site. Various types of employers have been approved.

Purpose: to encourage a change in the culture of business employment among private, public, and nonprofit employers (including churches).

Activity: developing comprehensive WFE program with clear benefits, making WFE businesses highly visible in the community, recruiting employers and encouraging them to apply, gaining approval in wages and benefits, and publicizing their approval, in order to have an impact on consumers, workers, and employers.

Leaders: JoBeth Allen, Ray MacNair, Patty-Freeman-Lynde, Jessica Magnarella,

5) Immigrant rights for Latino immigrants who are undocumented, for family cohesion, workers rights, human rights, and drivers licenses.

Purpose: to build solidarity among workers of all ethnicities, to make sure that employers do not cheat on their employees, to provide services including winter jackets, coffee at the day labor shelter, and ESL training so that workers can acquire jobs and income leading to secure status in the community.

Activity: demonstrate with Dignity for Immigrants in Athe ns (DIA) and Georgia Students for Higher Education on behalf of their rights as immigrant workers, and make sure that sheriff and police do not abuse and profile immigrants.

Leaders: Humberto and Noe Mendoza, Greg and Xochitl Calderon, Andrea Merriman, Nicolas Stanojovich, Ray MacNair, George Patrick

ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING

1) Fund Raising and Grant Making. The budget of the EJC is slim. Every effort to raise money has a major impact. One view of fund raising: "Let's Get 1,000 People to Donate $25." Various grant opportunities crop up. Research is done on the possibilities, and then grant writing assignments are taken.

Purpose: gaining donor support for staff, rent, equipment, job development activities and acquiring through foundations or government agencies that support our activities Activities: solicitation of donations to achieve $25,000 through 1,000 donations of $25 each (packaged in different ways per donor) and through fundraising events; research on grant possibilities, selection of possible grant funders, writing and approval of proposal, and meeting the funders' guidelines for proposal and deadlines.

Leaders: Joseph Smith, Ray MacNair, Linda Lloyd, Clothilda Barnett, Glenda Colbert, Emily Trostle, Carrie Thomas

2) Office management and volunteer coordination: volunteering to keep the office in good shape. Connection to Free IT Athens; Connecting Board Members and volunteers to the Action Teams.

Purpose: to build and maintain the responsibilities of EJC programs through a grounded and steady office responsiveness, and to extend the reach of EJC programs throughout the community and among the lowest wage workers.

Activity: managing records and managing communications among the various Action Teams; also, recruiting volunteers, making assignments, setting up sociable events; promoting the enjoyability of the volunteer work.

Leaders: Linda Lloyd, Glenda Colbert, Clothilda Barnett, Vallerie Sims, Jonathan Hull

3) Web site management: to design, manage, and keep up to date all activities of the Economic Justice Coalition and its collaborative partners. Training staff to perform updates.

Purpose: to generate interest in the EJC in the community, among potential donors and foundation funders, and among potential volunteers. Communicating the vigor, the values, and the creative goal activities of the EJC.

Leaders: Martin Matheny, Shaye Gambrell, Linda Lloyd, Ray MacNair, Clothilda Barnett