As Liberal Groups Prepare Mass Rally, 99ers Push to Organize

[babylonsister]

As Liberal Groups Prepare Mass Rally, 99ers Push to Organize
One Nation Working Together Rally Aims to Focus on Jobs Legislation
By Annie Lowrey 9/27/10 7:47 AM


Howard Dean speaks in support of the One Nation Working Together Rally.


In response to last month’s Glenn Beck-hosted “Restoring Honor” summit, hundreds of thousands plan to descend on Washington for a rally by the Lincoln Memorial next weekend. On Saturday, liberal groups are hosting the “One Nation Working Together” event, making a case for activism for progressive legislation to a middle class that increasingly seems to be withdrawing support from Democratic candidates.

The groups attending include civil rights, gay rights, economic justice, peace and labor activists. The AFL-CIO, National Council of La Raza and dozens of others are busing in participants, and more than 200,000 are set to attend.

“Despite having such evidence of what we can accomplish together, we have seen voter participation rates plummet — from Shelby County, Tennessee to Alameda County, California,” said Ben Jealous, the head of the NAACP. “Simultaneously, far-right extremists have found their way back into the nation’s political discourse and helped re-energize a retrograde agenda that includes attacks on every pillar of our civil rights protections from the Voting Rights Act to the Civil Rights Act to the 14th Amendment itself. Now is the time to get everyone off the sidelines and back on to the battlefield.”

And one of the groups storming that battlefield will be a new, targeted umbrella organization for the 99ers, the American 99ers Union. Just a few weeks old, the union represent 17 groups that in turn represent workers who have exhausted the maximum weeks of unemployment benefits. Its stated goal is supporting fading legislation to help the long-term unemployed, given the high unemployment rate and congressional intransigence and to raise awareness.

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http://washingtonindependent.com/98670/as-liberal-groups-prepare-mass-rally-99ers-push-to-organize

[handmade34]

1. "Americans need legislation to stay afloat..."

[Bitwit1234]

2. I know not having jobs in this country is terrible BUT

the people these unemployed should be picketing and complaining about are the Republicans. They should be picketing Rush and fox. Other then propose bills etc that keep getting shot down the Democrats are being hand tied by all the republican obstruction. The trouble with the Democrats (Senate) is they should figure out a way to get around republicans.

[babylonsister]

3. I think that's part of what this rally is about; drawing much needed

attention to what isn't happening, why, and who is responsible.