CSEA JOINS ONE NATION WORKING TOGETHER; GET ON THE BUS OCTOBER 2

Rochester, N.Y.--  Today, CSEA joined forces with other progressive coalitions to advocate for jobs, justice and education for all in a call to action that is designed to shake up the status quo.

WHO WE ARE

We are young people, frustrated that society seems willing to spend more locking up our bodies than educating our minds, yet still we find ways to succeed and shine.  We are students and newly returned veterans persevering in the face of mounting debt determined not to be the first generation to end up worse off than our parents.

We are baby boomers and seniors who saw hope killed in 1968 and will not let the dream of a united America be taken from us again.  We are conservatives and moderates, progressives and liberals, non-believers and people of deep faith, united by escalating assaults on our reason, our environment, and our rights.

We are workers of every age, faith, race, sex, nationality, gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and ability who have suffered discrimination but never stopped loving our neighbors, or our nation.

We are American Indians and Alaska Natives-- citizens of Native nations-- who maintain our cultures, protect our sovereignty, and strength America economy.

We are the new immigrants, raising our children in the torchlight of the Statue of Liberty, while confronting the shadows that are bigotry and mass deportations.  We are the native born. We inherited the divided legacies of settlers and American Indians, black slaves and white and Asian indentured servants. And yet, in this moment of shared suffering, we rejoice in newfound friendships and new alliances.

We are people who got thrown out of our jobs, schools, houses, farms and small businesses while Wall Street's wrongdoers got bailed out. We are families who pray every day for peace and prosperity; for deliverance from foreclosures; for good jobs to come back to urban and rural America.

We are unemployed workers forced to watch hopes for bold action dashed because some Senators threaten filibusters, and other would-be champions fold in fear.  And yet, we are the majority fueled by hope, not hate. We have the pride, power and determination to keep ourselves and our country moving up and out of the valley greed created.

And most importantly from ensuring women are treated fairly at work, to expanding health care coverage for millions we have been victorious whenever we worked together. We have proven the only thing we need to succeed is each other.  And so, on October 2, 2010, we will come together to march.

As of August 26, here is a short list of local organizations that have signed on to join their brothers and sisters in Washingtion, D.C. on October 2:

Rochester and Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
Rochester and Vicinity Labor Council, AFL-CIO
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), AFL-CIO
Steuben Livingston Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists - Rochester, NY Chapter
Next Generation United – Rochester, NY
Pride-at-Work - Rochester Finger Lakes Chapter
1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East - Upstate NY Division
American Postal Workers Union - Rochester Area Local 215
Monroe County Federation of Social Workers - IUE/CWA Local 81381
Workers United SEIU - Rochester Regional Joint Board
Greater Rochester Community of Churches
Green Party of Monroe County

Metro-Justice of Rochester - Citizen Action of New York

Social Justice Council - First Unitarian Church of Rochester

(Photo of Rochester labor folk by Annette Lein.  Click on image for larger view.)