Chicago activists rally for jobs

CHICAGO--Where is our jobs recovery? Almost half of unemployed workers have been out of work for six months or more, and 8 million are set to exhaust their benefits by the end of the year.

That's why on June 1, a group of activists rallied in front of a local unemployment office demanding an immediate extension and expansion of unemployment insurance, plus a national jobs program be created to deal with the long-term effects of this economic crisis.

The action was called by a group calling itself the Unemployed Workers Council. A campaign of Jobs With Justice, the Unemployed Workers Council is made up of people laid off from jobs in public transit, the private sector, the trades, veterans, activists in the disabled community and homeless advocates.

The group canvassed people visiting the unemployment office, asking them to fill out mock job applications. Besides asking for basic information, the applications asked how long they had been out of work, and what kind of job they were looking for. The applications are being gathered and sent on to Congress.

Some Congressional Republicans have had the nerve to say that unemployment insurance prolongs joblessness. On the application, where there was a space to write a message to their representative, one woman who has been out of work for more than two years wrote: "I want a job. I don't want charity."

This is just the first of many actions. The Unemployed Workers Council plans to visit a different unemployment office every week. What do we want? JOBS! When do we want them? NOW!