Title aside, the event promises to be an engaging and empowering series of workshops and networking around solutions.
Town Hall on the Economic Crisis
Saturday, January 31
First Unitarian Church, 1011 SW 12th Ave. at Main
12:30 - Doors Open, followed by plenary, work sessions, speakers and a food reception at 5 p.m.
Information on the event is below, but volunteers are still needed to bring it together.
If you are interesting in volunteering, send a note to justice@jwjpdx.org, or just show up at 11 a.m. Saturday at the First Unitarian Church, 1011 SW 12th Ave. at Main Street. Volunteers are needed to hand out leaflets tonight at the downtown lectures:
Paul Krugman 6:30-7pm (Schnitzer) and Cornel West 7-7:30pm (Newmark
Theater). If interested, call Andrea: 503-756-9103.
Help is also needed with setup, greeting and sign-ins, transporting Day Laborers from the center to the event, workshops note takers, reception prep, day care and clean-up. Please reply to chris@jwjpdx.org to sign up.
See the schedule after the jump.
Town Hall on the Economic Crisis
Saturday, January 31
First Unitarian Church, 1011 SW 12th Ave. at Main
12:30 - Doors Open
1:00 – 2:30 - Understanding the crisis - Marty Hart-Landsberg
Making a new vision a reality - Veronica Dujon
2:45 – 4:00 - Breakout sessions (described below)
4:15 – 5:00 - Working together – Building a movement
Barbara Dudley
Tom Leedham
David Bacon
JoAnn Bowman
5:00 – 6:00 - Food and Reception
Plenary Speakers:
Marty Hart-Landsberg Professor of Economics, Lewis and Clark College
Veronica Dujon - Associate Professor of Sociology, Portland State
University ? Chair Sociology Department
Barbara Dudley ? Assistant Professor of Political Science,
Portland State University
Tom Leedham - Secretary/Treasurer Teamsters Local 206
David Bacon ? Labor Journalist
JoAnn Bowman ? Executive Director, Oregon Action
Workshops:
***Building a Green Economy ? We have a historic opportunity to rebuild
our economy into one that is green and sustainable; one that creates
millions of good paying jobs and also addresses climate change and fossil
fuel use. How do we do this? And how do we ensure that those
historically left out are able to prosper in this new green economy?
Session Leaders: Barbara Byrd, Oregon Apollo Alliance and Oregon AFL-CIO;
Jeremy Hays, Green for All.
***Health Care ? Our health care system costs much more than the universal
systems in Canada, Europe and Japan. And yet, millions of Americans are
without health care. How do we break out of this system and create one
that provides universal health care for all? Session leaders: Dana Welty,
Oregon Nurses Association and Jobs with Justice; Tom Leedham,
Secretary/Treasurer Teamsters Local 206.
***Local Alternatives to the Corporate Economy - A partnering and caring
economy is the backbone of healthy community. Join us as we explore
alternative models, existing networks and new ways to facilitate economic
exchange in our community. Session Leaders: Brush, Tryon Life Community
Farm; Tim Calvert, City Bikes; Real Wealth of Portland; Rebecca Hyman,
writer and professor.
***Rebuilding the Safety Net - What remains of our local and national
safety nets is disappearing. Come learn where the holes are and how to
step in to help build inclusive and just safety nets. Session leaders:
Verna Porter, Alliance Retired Americans; Varner Seaman, Sisters of the
Road; Susan Stoltenberg, Impact NW; Janet Hawkins, Multnomah County
Commission on Children, Families and Community.
***Strengthening Our Democracy - Making democracy work. Reflections on
successful campaigns to effect change and brainstorming on new efforts
that could lie ahead. The brass tacks of moving the progressive agenda at
city, state and federal levels. Session leaders: David Delk, Alliance for
Democracy; Jody Wiser Tax Fairness Oregon.
***The Economic Crisis in Oregon - The national unemployment rate is 7.2%,
Oregon's is 9%, and Oregon's revenues are plunging faster than other
states, due to dependence on income taxes. Must public services be cut?
What alternatives are presented? Can a safety net for the most vulnerable
be constructed? How can we increase state revenues? Session Leaders: Mike
Leachman, Oregon Center for Progressive Policy; Melissa Unger, SEIU 503.
***Ending Militarism, and Promoting a Peace and Development Foreign Policy
- Vast military expenditures, creating nothing useful, sap the real
economy, and a foreign policy based in carrying and using military force
requires ever greater military budgets. How extensive is the damage, and
how can the swords be beaten into plowshares? Session Leaders: Will
Seaman, Portland Peaceful Response; Katia, American Friends Service
Committee.
***"Push Me" Said Obama to Progressives: But How? - The most powerful
forces in US life want economic recovery, but on their terms. They will
resist any program that fundamentally challenges their power and profits.
What will it take to win programs that really change the system and
redistribute wealth and power? In organizing around the economic crisis,
how can we build the broad and united movement required? Session Leaders:
Johanna Brenner, Sociology and Women's Studies at Portland State; Kevin
Van Meter, Dicentra Collective; Jason Sheckler, Cross-Trade Solidarity
Network.
***Global Justice - Debt Cancellation for Us and the World, a Just
Response to the Global Debt Crisis - In the global perspective, the US
will be joining the ranks of debtor nations that have been living with the
consequences of large debt for years. Join this panel to explore the need
to organize politically to deal with the banking system from a position of
strength. Session leaders: Patricia Rumer, Jubilee USA national board;
Paul Thiers, Professor, Washington State University; David Carrier,
Economist, Jubilee Oregon; Bob Brown, Jubilee Oregon co-chair.
***Why Unions? - We will look at the 30-year assault on the right to
organize unions and the role of this attack in causing the economic
crisis. Is the time for unions over? Do workers still want and need to
form unions? Discuss how the landmark campaign to reform labor law called
the Employee Free Choice Act is key to getting out of the economic crisis.
Session leaders: Jeanne Carpenter, Laborers Local 483; Ben Nelson,
Laborers International Union; Andrea Townsend, Jobs with Justice.
***Stopping the Global Race to the Bottom - "Free trade" pacts like NAFTA
and the WTO have devastated working families on both sides of the border
and have caused huge displacement of people. They also mandated the
financial services deregulation responsible for much of the recent
economic collapse. What opportunities exist to get rid of these failed
trade policies? How can we work together to enact new trade policies that
actually improve living standards for working people in Oregon and around
the globe? Session leaders: David Bacon, Labor Journalist; Arthur
Stamoulis, Oregon Fair Trade Campaign.
***Housing ? Housing is a right stated in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, yet in the U.S. close to 100 million people are without
adequate housing. With increasing foreclosures and a worsening economy,
that number will grow. What can we do to work toward housing security?
Session Leaders: Reverend Renee Ward; Phil Goldsmith, National Lawyers
Guild; Michael Anderson, Oregon Opportunity Network; Angela Martin, Our
Oregon.
***Uniting Across Racial and Ethnic Divides - A fight for economic justice
requires us to be united. However, the economy enforces barriers along
racial and ethnic lines that are difficult to cross. We need to
understand these barriers and learn ways to overcome them. Find out how
people in our community are starting to build much needed bridges.
Session leaders: Kayse Jama, Center for Intercultural Organizing; Judith
Mowry, Office of Neighborhood Involvement; Romeo Sosa, VOZ Workers' Rights
Education Project.
Posted by Joanne Zuhl