The Minnesota AFL-CIO and League of Rural Voters sponsored a well attended fundraiser for the JOBS NOW Coalition last Saturday, Oct. 17 which featured special guest, Jim Hightower. The event was held at the CWA hall on E. Lake Street in Minneapolis.
The feisty, funny populist Jim Hightower entertained the crowd while touching on the essence of what JOBS NOW Coalition values and works toward: the idea that all Minnesota workers have the opportunity to earn a family-supporting wage. Hightower explains, "Jobs are the moral essence of economic justice...but the issue isn't just jobs, it's wages. Slaves had jobs."
JOBS NOW Coalition has been providing advocacy through market-based research, public education and aggressive advocacy promoting the needs of workers and business to ensure Minnesota's economic vitality.
We're all in this together, and having that mentality for the revival of Minnesota's economy is key to creative solutions. Again, Hightower says it best:
"There's a great little hardware store in Austin, and the owner will sell you just what you need. If you need one nail--he'll sell it to you. I find myself working on these projects...and when I go into the store and start asking questions, the owner says, 'Together, we can do it yourself.'"