TAKE ACTION NOW in this issue

Say "THANK YOU"

Stop Government-Backed Loans to CAFOs

SOLIDARITY EVENTS in this issue

JwJ Organizing Committee Meeting 5/28

Rally at Wal-mart 6/4

The Role of Interfaith Communities in Healthcare Reform 6/4

Farming Was My Life: The Hidden Costs of CAFOs 6/7

TAKE ACTION NOW

Say "THANK YOU" to the restaurants that helped "Save Our Tips"

As the legislative session inches toward a close, take some time to stop by and thank the restaurants that openly spoke out against lowering or freezing the wages of servers.

Visit The Bleeding Deacon in St. Louis, MO and say THANK YOU for helping us save the wages of thousand of servers across the state. Then visit http://www.stl-jwj.org/UnionHouses.pdf for a list of union restaurants in the metro area.

Do you know other restaurants who have or are willing to openly support fair wages for servers and the Save Our Tips campaign? Tell us at info@mojwj.org

Stop Government-Backed Loans to CAFOs

In the last 6 months, the pork & poultry industries have asked USDA for millions of dollars for bonus pork and poultry buys in order to stabilize prices resulting from overproduction.  (For example, On March 31st, USDA committed to a $25 million bonus pork buy, and in May the industry asked for an additional $50 million pork buy.)  At the same time, USDA continues to guarantee loans to new and expanding specialized hog and poultry facilities, which are contributing to the very overproduction that taxpayer dollars are being used to try to remedy. 

This continued overproduction fueled by USDA's use of guaranteed loans significantly contributing to further consolidation of the marketplace, putting more independent family farmers out of business.

Please sign on to the letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack requesting that USDA suspend all loans to specialized hog and poultry facilities by clicking HERE.

SOLIDARITY EVENTS 

Thursday, May 28, 2009 6PM - 8 PM

JwJ Organizing Committee Meeting

Held at Epiphany United Church of Christ ,2911 McNair, 63118, in the Benton Park neighborhood of St. Louis City. Agenda items to be announced at a later date. For more information contact Jobs with Justice info@mojwj.org

Thursday, June 4, 2009 12PM

Rally at Wal-mart

Join UFCW's effort to organize Wal-Mart. Come be part of rallies taking place across the country as current Wal-Mart employees will be on hand asking the public and their co-workers to join their effort to unionize the country's largest employer. The community will also be educated on the Employee Free Choice Act.

The Rally will be held at the Wal-Mart at 10741 West Florissant, Ferguson, MO 63135 beginning at 12 PM. For more information please contact Cynthia Blackmon at (636)736-2769.

Thursday, June 4, 2009 5:45PM-8PM

"The Role of Interfaith Communities in Healthcare Reform"

Join the Interfaith Partnership and Faith Beyond walls for an educational forum on the role of Interfaith Communities in healthcare reform. Presenters include; Ruth Ehresman, Rabbi Susan Talve, Dr. Ghazala Hayat, Rev. Teresa Mithen, Eunice Hiott, and additional leaders. A question and answer session will follow the presentation.

The forum will be held at Central Reform Congregation, 5020 Waterman Ave, St. Louis MO 63108. RSVP to Randa Kuziez, rkuziez@faithbeyondwalls.org or (314)531-4787.

Sunday, June 7, 2009 4PM-6PM

Farming Was My Life: The Hidden Costs of CAFOs

Attend a free screening and discussion of the documentary "Farming Was My Life: The Hidden Costs of CAFOs. The documentary, produced by the Missouri Rural Crisis Center and Violet Productions, is a moving and though provoking documentary that depicts the impact of factory farms on the lives of family farmers and their communities.

The documentary is sponsored by: Missouri Rural Crisis Center, Missouri Health Care for ALL, Missouri Jobs with Justice, Central Reform Congregation, and Women's Voices Raised for Social Justice and will last approximately 40 minutes with a community dialogue to follow. The screening and discussion will be held at Central Reform Congregation, 5020 Waterman Blvd., St. Louis MO 63108. Please RSVP to Amy Smoucha, amys@stl-jwj.org or (314)608-3917.

Volunteers Needed!
Missouri Jobs with Justice is currently looking for volunteers! If you are interested in giving us two or more hours of your time a week please contact Jessica at jessica@mojwj.org.  Thank you!

The Jobs with Justice Solidarity News and Events keeps you informed about NEWS, ACTIONS, EVENTS and other opportunities to work for economic justice.

Member organizations can submit event info to info@stl.jwj.org.  The calendar will publish information every Monday. Information is due in by the Friday before the Monday publishing date.

Jobs with Justice is a coalition of progressive labor unions, community, student, and religious organizations committed to fighting together for economic justice.

Thousands of members of these organizations, as well as individuals from the community-at-large have taken the Jobs with Justice Pledge to "Be there five times a year for someone else's fight as well as my own". 

To support this important work financially, visit our secure online donation site.

To find out more about Jobs with Justice including a list of our 90 member organizations, visit www.stl-jwj.org.