A 14-year-old girl accompanies her Somali-speaking father to his medical appointment. Because the clinic doesn’t provide an interpreter, the girl has to inform her own father than he has been diagnosed with cancer. She remains his interpreter through eight years of treatment, sometimes hiding information to protect him from the bad news. A group ofContinue reading “It’s a Matter of Life and Death: Insurers Must Cover Language Services”
Monthly Archives: December 2015
Hate Has No Home Here / Hate Has No Business Here
The Alliance for a Just Society joins with Main Street Alliance and businesses all around the country who are standing up to racist and anti-Muslim rhetoric from political candidates and others in recent weeks. We reject collective punishment for individual acts and join other in saying “Hate has no business here” and “Hate has no homeContinue reading “Hate Has No Home Here / Hate Has No Business Here”
Defending Planned Parenthood is Essential for the Whole Progressive Movement
(This opinion by LeeAnn Hall was originally published in Common Dreams) Planned Parenthood is an easy target for rage and righteousness as we saw too plainly in the shootings in Colorado Springs late last month. The ongoing conservative attack on Planned Parenthood funding depends on the same extreme rhetoric but, it’s also part of aContinue reading “Defending Planned Parenthood is Essential for the Whole Progressive Movement”
“Patchwork of Paychecks” Not Enough Jobs to Go Around
For Immediate Release Dec. 8, 2015 Contact: Kathy Mulady Communications director kathy@allianceforajustsociety.org (206) 992-8787 Patchwork of Paychecks Only half of all job openings pay $15 an hour or more It’s easy to tell a low-wage worker to “go get a better-paying job,” but the reality is there are nowhere near enough jobs that pay aContinue reading ““Patchwork of Paychecks” Not Enough Jobs to Go Around”
Patchwork of Paychecks
Patchwork of Paychecks: A Shortage of Full-Time Living Wage Jobs Leaves Workers Scrambling to Make Ends Meet (pdf) By Allyson Fredericksen December 2015 Table: Living Wages, Job Openings, and Job Seekers by State (pdf) Fact Sheet Executive Summary (pdf)
“Patchwork of Paychecks” Fact Sheet
Nationally, four of the top five fastest growing occupations pay less than $15 an hour. They are: retail salespersons; waiters and waitresses; cashiers; and food preparation and serving workers, including fast food. Nationally, for jobs that pay at least $15 per hour, there are seven job seekers for every job opening. The occupation category withContinue reading ““Patchwork of Paychecks” Fact Sheet”
Debtors’ Prisons Redux
Debtors’ Prisons Redux: How Legal Loopholes Let Courts Across the Country Criminalize Poverty (pdf) By Allyson Fredericksen and Linnea Lassiter December 2015
Next Attack on Workers – Will Conservatives Champion “Free Riding” to Justify It?
Building power through strength in numbers. It’s one way regular people can overcome opposition from corporate and wealthy special interests to win concrete improvements in our everyday lives. We may not be able to match opponents who can write seven-figure checks dollar for dollar, but by banding together, articulating collective demands, and negotiating with powerfulContinue reading “Next Attack on Workers – Will Conservatives Champion “Free Riding” to Justify It?”