First Worker Cooperative Development Training
IWJ is set to host the first Worker Cooperative Development training aimed at encouraging and supporting the entrepreneurial spirit of workers. The training is set for on Feb. 4 and 5 in Austin, Texas at the Worker's Defense Project. Join us as we begin to nurture this spirit by creating community oriented and sustainable businesses that provide good jobs.
Come develop a stronger sense of community and collaboration in the workplace and strengthen the connection between social justice and social entrepreneurship, with the help of affiliates, workers, the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives and Third Coast Workers for Cooperation.
Contact Dianne Enriquez for more information.
An Open Letter to the One Percent
On Dec. 6, the Interfaith Worker Justice Board of Directors met to talk about the unemployment crisis and the unjust economic policies that created the crisis.
What emerged is a call to action addressed to the wealthiest Americans with a special responsibility to make things right.
To Whom Much Is Given, More is Required:
An Open Letter to the One Percent
During this time of financial crisis and economic disparity, we affirm the God-given dignity of every person. We believe God loves all 100 percent of us and wants to use us to create a more just society.
As faith leaders, we appreciate the generosity, charity, and commitment to the common good that many of you embody.
Still, some of you have used wealth and power to benefit the few at the expense of the many. We expect you to work with us to not only give generously, but to advocate for democracy and economic justice that works for everyone.
We call on you to:
- Support tax policies and legislation that require more from you so our nation can create good jobs in America
- Call for an extension of unemployment benefits for those unable to find work.
As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.” We are in this together, all 100 percent of us.
– National Board of Directors, Interfaith Worker Justice –
Merchandise and Resource End-of-the-Year Sale
All IWJ merchandise and resources are available for purchase this holiday season. Spread worker justice cheer to your friends and loved with a gift from our online store.
- Posters
- T-shirts
- Tote-bags
- Buttons
- Water bottles
- Books
Don't forget to get your copy of Wage Theft in America: Why Millions of Working Americans Are Not Getting Paid - And What We Can Do About It. IWJ's Executive Director Kim Bobo’s newly revised book features four new chapters including one profiling ethical businesses across the country.
All merchandise and resources are available online.
We Are The 99: Interfaith Resources on the Occupy Movement
Are people in your congregation talking about the Occupy America actions happening now on Wall Street and in cities across the U.S.?
Help guide a discussion about this movement together within the context of the faith you share.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A FREE JEWISH CONGREGATIONAL DISCUSSION GUIDE
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A FREE MUSLIM CONGREGATIONAL DISCUSSION GUIDE
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A FREE CHRISTIAN CONGREGATIONAL DISCUSSION GUIDE
Many people of faith feel called to take part of the occupy movement spreading across cities all over the world. Others,especially religious leaders, wish to share their support of the concerns being lifted up during the protests.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A FREE INTERFAITH PRAYER SERVICE
The interfaith prayer service can be used or adapted for faith communities looking to reflect and pray on the occupy movement.
Learn more about Wage Theft
In many industries there is a rampant crisis of wage theft. Simply put, workers are having their legal wages stolen by unscrupulous employers trying to gain an advantage over their law-abiding competitors. Click here to register to download the free Wage Theft Toolkit.
For Sale
A Worker Justice Reader – Order it Today!
A Worker Justice Reader: Essential Writings on Religion and Labor, which Thomas Massaro of Boston College calls a "major contribution," is available from Orbis Books. The first volume ever to bring together the key religious texts on worker justice, it will be a vital resource for seminaries, congregational study groups, social justice committees, labor unions, and beyond.
You can order it online or by calling 800-258-5838 (use code WJR for FREE shipping), or ask your local bookstore to order it (ISBN 978-1-57075-875-1)!
To explore incorporating the Reader into your curriculum, contact Joe Hopkins at (773) 728-8400, ext. 38.
Wage Theft in America: Why Millions of Working Americans Are Not Getting Paid – And What We Can Do About It
By Kim Bobo
In what has been described as "the crime wave no one talks about," wages are stolen from millions of workers in the United States every year. Between two and three million workers are paid less than the minimum wage. Nationally-recognized social justice activist Kim Bobo's Wage Theft in America is an incisive handbook for activists, organizers,workers, and concerned citizens on how to prevent the flagrant exploitation of America's working people. Bobo offers a sweeping analysis of the crisis, citing hard-hitting statistics and heartbreaking first-person accounts of exploitation at the hands of employers. She then offers concrete solutions, with special attention to what a new Presidential administration can do to address one of the gravest issues facing workers in the 21st-century.
Order your copy HERE