Social Forum Looks to New U.S.

Under the slogan, "Another world is possible, another US is necessary" thousands of activists marched through Atlanta last week to open the first-ever United States Social Forum, stopping at rally points to connect national issues to local Atlanta campaigns around fair housing and a union contract for nurses at a downtown hospital. Connections were made throughout the week, as over 8,000 activists from across the country and around the world spent five jam-packed days sharing ideas and planning future actions. Highlights included students and their allies brought together by the Student Labor Action Project  (SLAP) to strategize about campaigns to support workers on campuses around the country for the upcoming year, while a dancing cell phone mascot led the charge as a national network coordinated by Jobs with Justice and CWA supported Verizon Wireless workers who want to unionize. And in a historic announcement Domestic Workers United announced the creation of an alliance working to advocate for domestic worker rights in America. We all stood and cheered while the delegation of domestic workers sang their fight song, a carnival melody whose chorus goes: So be prepared to fight / for what we know is right /Stand up and unite/ so we can fight, fight, fight! Chants of "Si Se Puede" repeatedly brought the crowd to its feet and organizers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers collected cards in support of their campaign against Burger King and Jobs with Justice collected Verizon Switch cards. Photo courtesy of Flickr user sarahruthvg
–Report by Sarah Heydemann (DC Jobs With Justice intern)