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Unemployment: Struggle For Jobs Or Income Grows

By VVAW

It's no secret that millions of people in the US today want jobs or some type of income to keep them and their families alive. Recent government figures claim that unemployment has dropped from 8.6% to 8.3% in the month of November. These figures are fine if you're a government bureaucrat who sits around and makes a living quoting them supposedly showing how things are getting better.

You don't have to be an economics expert to see through this government bull. Talk to the millions of people crowding into unemployment centers around the US. Tell them the unemployment figures are improving, they'll laugh in your face. One significant contribution to these phoney figures is the fact that there were 400,000 exhaustees in November; people whose unemployment benefits expired and who were unable to find employment. This figure is expected to double by March. These people were dropped from the "official" unemployment figures to present "improved" figures. We don't need this garbage, we need jobs! These indeed hard times but they're also fighting times and working people, determined to fight, not starve, can't live on phoney figures and government lies.

Increasingly, people around the country are fight back against these conditions and lies. One such national organization of employed and unemployed workers is the Unemployed Organization Committee (UWOC). UWOC has been consistently demonstrating, picketing, and fighting for jobs or income now! An example of this fighting spirit occurred in late October in Detroit at the Conner Office of the Michigan Employment Security Commission. After leafleting and picketing outside, one UWOC member went inside to speak to the large crowd (300) in the office. After being ordered to leave and refusing, the office director sent out the security police to force him out. He refused and the unemployed workers began shouting, "That's right! Stay!" As the guards kept pushing more and more workers joined in shouting down the guards, until all 300 were involved. One after another, these unemployed workers stepped forward to speak about the need to unite and fight for jobs.

The manager of the office then threatened to shit down the office to which workers shouted, "You better not try it." Oddly, the lines began moving faster. After about an hour, Detroit police arrived and arrested the UWOC spokesman, further outraging the unemployed workers. Seeing the anger of the workers, on cop said, "We can bring 600 cops over here" which further infuriated the workers. The MESC dropped the charges against the UWOC member.

Another demo was held on October 28th at Conners, inside and outside the facility. UWOC members carried banners and signs inside and circulated freely speaking to the workers about the demand Jobs or Income Now and the reopening of two closed unemployment offices. Speaking of the struggle ahead for Jobs or Income, one worker said, "It won't come like a cup of coffee all nicely stirred up with cream and sugar. It'll come rough-but it'll taste better that way."

In these and other UWOC actions across the country, many vets and VVAW members have made an important contribution. Particularly hard hit, younger vets face 15% or higher unemployment, with another 20% of Vietnam-era vets going to school on an inadequate GI Bill, in many cases because of the unavailability of jobs.

We need jobs with decent wages; we need decent health care,; our children need better schools. We've got a lot to fight for, while the government tells us to sacrifice more. We won't sit by as they run this crap to us. What we demand is decent benefits and jobs.