Today, we announced a major 12-city summer jobs tour. Members of Congress will hit the road in June and July to focus the debate in Washington squarely where it needs to be: on job creation and a fair economy for the American people.
The tour, the first of its kind, will begin this Saturday at Netroots Nation in Minneapolis then continue on to Detroit, Milwaukee, New York City, Miami, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston, Houston, Portland, Seattle and Oakland.
This tour is about local citizens having the chance to speak out about how the economy is affecting them. Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus will listen to what everyday Americans have to say and take that back to Washington with them as they continue to fight to reinvigorate the American Dream — the ability to put in a day’s hard work for good wages and benefits so we can provide our children with a better future. A video from the kickoff event of CPC co-chair Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva introducing the tour is available here, and a video of Sandra Carpenter, a former WalMart employee, talking about the need for the tour is here.
"While Washington debates deficit reduction and huge cuts to education, health care and vital services, most Americans are all asking for the same thing - jobs, jobs, jobs," said Kossack Darcy Burner, Executive Director of ProgressiveCongress.org, the sponsor of the tour. "Members of the Progressive Caucus understand this but most of Washington seems detached from what is really happening outside the beltway. The point of this tour is simple: to shift the debate from deficits to jobs."
“The American people need to know who in Congress is on their side and paying attention to what’s happening in this country,” said Rep. Grijalva. “This tour is about giving working families the voice they deserve and a national platform to speak out. We’re going to spend the summer promoting an economy that works for all of us, not just a handful of wealthy CEOs, and I couldn’t be prouder to participate.”
“The middle-class has been the economic engine of our country—and of the world. However, now people are falling out of the middle class while the rich get even richer,” said CPC Co-chair Rep. Keith Ellison. “From factory workers to entrepreneurs we’ve seen hard working people make the United States prosperous for decades. It’s time to end the erosion of the middle class so America can continue to be a strong world leader.”
We're really excited about this tour and hope you will be to. You can see the full schedule for the tour on the tour website or you can text SPEAK to 228466 to get mobile updates (standard fees may apply).
So if you're headed to Minneapolis, make plans to join Reps. Keith Ellison, Raul Grijalva and Jared Polis for the first event on Sat. at 2 pm at Wesley Church next door to the Convention Center.
If you can't make it to any of the tour stops, you can also tell your story in words or video on the tour website and we'll be posting them right on the site.