Seventy years later one can find sturdy public works projects built by the men and women of the WPA still in use ... and a brewing movement to repeat the successes of this program, instigated by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and named Hire US, America!
This message came today to those of us who've taken an interest and I thought it should be shared here.
Ninety days after its launch, UCubed remains a work in progress. But the foundation has been laid. And cube by cube, the Union of Unemployed is expanding.
UCubed is fast approaching 1,950 jobs activists in 1,600 zip codes. It now has 404 cubes and 17 neighborhoods across 48 states. Another 1,012 folks are signed up to follow us.
In ninety days, UCubed jobs activists sent 17,000 messages to Congress. That’s right. Seventeen thousand emails and letters landed on Capitol Hill with a thump!
Almost 10,000 of those emails supported a long-term extension of unemployment benefits. Another 2,000 activists signed the "Throw the Bum Out" petition after Senator Jim Bunning stopped a 30-day extension of unemployment and the COBRA discount. And nearly 1,400 WARN Notices were sent to elected officials.
And the UCubed website saw twenty thousand more visitors than in February and 112,000 more page views. With over 66,000 visitors to the site and 354,000 page views, UCubed has an expanding audience, one that values its online resources.
Starting this month, UCubed will engage its jobs activists in a unique and useful deliberative process. The first step is to gain feedback quickly on a 16-point plan to put Americans back to work.
Called Hire US, America, the draft plan will be emailed to every UCubed leader and jobs activist for their reactions, additions and comments. So those 16-points may get bigger and even bolder. A copy of the draft Hire US, America plan can be found here.
On May 1st, the re-drafted Hire US, America plan will be sent to every UCubed leader and jobs activist with a link to an online survey. That way everyone can weigh in with their opinion. The policy points supported by a majority of those participating in the online survey will be the basis for our Hire US, America campaign.
Bumper stickers and yard signs are being printed. And UCubed leaders or jobs activists can order as many as they need to drive home the point – We need jobs. We want jobs. Hire US, America.
Throughout this summer, UCubed will be asking its cube leaders and jobs activists to visit their local campaign headquarters. Theirs will be a simple request to each candidate running for state or federal offices:
Put a Hire US, America yard sign in your yard or on your office wall;
Put a Hire US, America bumper sticker on your car; and
Issue a press release supporting the Hire US, America plan.
In an election year, that’s the very least a candidate running for public office can do for the jobless in their state or district.
But UCubed leaders and jobs activists want action between now and Labor Day on significant elements of their Hire US, America plan. So, this is only one way UCubed intends to pressure the politicians to act decisively.
And what if candidates are unwilling to put up a yard sign, place a bumper sticker on their car, or issue a press release?
Then UCubed leaders and jobs activists will have a trident pronged choice come Labor Day. They can campaign AGAINST the politicians who could care less about America’s jobless. They can campaign FOR only the politicians who fought the hardest to put Americans back to work. Or they can urge the jobless to SIT OUT the 2010 midterm elections saying to ersatz friend and adamant foe alike, "You forgot about us, so forget about you!"
That trident choice – three very pointed options – will be made over Labor Day weekend. It will be made by UCubed leaders and jobs activists gathered online, at labor parades and picnics and in the public meetings they organize.
And their choice will be backed up by a full-fledged campaign to persuade the 31 million Americans idled by this Gravest of Recessions to follow their lead.
In the 2010 midterm elections, the most critical voting block – or non-voting block – is the unemployed. Their righteous anger at being ignored and idled for months, if not years, is like magma raging within a volcano’s vents: potentially explosive and unstoppable when it erupts.
Clearly, something unpredictable is stirring below the American landscape. You just might want to keep an eye out for UCubed Update 4.0 coming at you a month from now.
I joined the web site when it was first covered here on DailyKos and while the activities sound and truly are impressive, they're a tiny little thing compared to what the Progressive community could do if even 1% of the 230,000+ Kossacks signed up and got busy. I made three local 'cubes' in the towns where I work ... and I'm all alone, despite the loss of nearly 2,000 jobs in this town of 12,500. The effort is publicized, but I get the feeling there may be a bit of preaching to the choir happening.
Are you involved? If not, are you going to become involved based on this diary? If so, sound off below and let's talk about how to put some sizzle into this direct job creation effort for the nearly one in five Americans who are out of work.