nothin Rally Seeks Local Hiring For Living-Wage Jobs | New Haven Independent

Rally Seeks Local Hiring For Living-Wage Jobs

Aliyya Swaby Photo

More than 400 people gathered at a rally to hear new data about how New Haveners are missing out on New Haven’s living-wage jobs — and to call for a change.

The crowd Tuesday night spilled out the door of the Elk’s Lodge meeting room on Webster Street to support the launch of a campaign by the activist group New Haven Rising for Access to Good Jobs” Tuesday night. Organizers plan to petition the Chamber of Commerce and the city’s leading employers to hire more New Haveners through existing city placement programs.

Organizers first presented results from a DataHaven survey showing that only 47,000 out of 83,000 jobs in New Haven provide living wages. New Haveners have only 9,000 of those living wage jobs and a little less than a fourth of total jobs. Residents of low-income neighborhoods such as Dixwell, Fair Haven, and Newhallville have only 2,000 of total living-wage jobs.

Organizer Reverend Scott Marks (pictured) addressed the audience as he would a congregation, keeping the crowd’s energy high and focused. The first step, he said, is engaging the community. Next, building consensus. The third step is to keep focusing the group until we as a city fix the problem.”

He presented a by-the-numbers break-down of New Haven Rising’s summer organizing activity.

As he called out the statistics, organizers behind the podium (pictured at the top of the story) held up colorful signs in large type.

Twenty-three people gave more than 100 presentations about these figures in public and private venues in the past 71 days. More than 2,000 people attended these presentations, and a total of 4,181 signed the local-hiring petition.

We’re not talking about what we’re going to do. We’re talking about what we’re already doing,” Marks said.

Fair Haven Pentecostal Pastor Hector Luis Otero (pictured) addressed the crowd in Spanish, while New Haven Rising organizer Kenneth Reveiz translated in English. Otero said he receives parents at the church who have to work two jobs in order to survive, which he called“unacceptable.”

We the Latino community are also showing up because we need jobs,” Otero declared.

Representatives from the Board of Alders, city administration, and state Senate attended the rally. Reveiz thanked them for their attendance and asked them for leadership and courage in the midst of crisis.”

Next New Haven Rising plans to send 20 letters to the top 20 employers in New Haven, sharing the stories of those who attended the summer’s presentations and asking for policy change, Reveiz said.

After the meeting, organizer Seth Poole clarified that letters will be directed through the Chamber of Commerce as an umbrella organization. We want to put the ball in their court,” he said. New Haveners should have higher priority for jobs in their city, he said.

The petition called for employers to collaborate with New Haven’s workforce training and placement programs to hire more New Haven residents.”

A main program is New Haven Works, a city-based job-preparation and referral created by New Haven Rising-affiliated activists, alders, the Chamber of Commerce, City Hall, and Yale.

Varney (left) and Paige (right)

Tammy Varney and Ashley Paige said despite personal struggles with joblessness, they have hope” the campaign will help improve access to jobs.

Varney works with many homeless New Haven residents through Tammy’s House of Helping Hands. They’re working, but not enough to pay a deposit” on a home, she said. She said her son applied to a job at a rehabilitation center and the manager rejected him because he was living in Newhallville.” People hiring have negative assumptions of residents of certain neighborhoods, she said.

Sign up for our morning newsletter

Don't want to miss a single Independent article? Sign up for our daily email newsletter! Click here for more info.


Post a Comment

Commenting has closed for this entry

Comments

Avatar for HewNaven

Avatar for RHeerema

Avatar for robn

Avatar for One City Dump

Avatar for HewNaven

Avatar for LookOut

Avatar for anonymous

Avatar for NewHaven06511

Avatar for THREEFIFTHS

Avatar for FacChec

Avatar for Austerity for whom

Avatar for Brutus2011

Avatar for robn

Avatar for One City Dump

Avatar for Brutus2011