Town Hall Meeting Brings Together Labor Activists, Religious Leaders

Posted on Oct 03, 2009 - 04:25 PM

PCCS co-founder Joerg Rieger joined Texas AFL-CIO President Becky Moeller as featured speakers at a Town Hall Meeting for Economic Justice on September 25, 2009, near Dallas, TX.  Sponsored by North Texas Jobs with Justice and held at UAW 848 Hall in Grand Prairie, Texas, the gathering drew a diverse crowd of 65, including labor activists, religious leaders, and candidates for public office.

By bringing together labor activists and religious leaders for a frank discussion of healthcare and economic issues, the Town Hall Meeting was a major step forward in the process of building a progressive coalition in the north Texas area.

Moeller gave an update on Texas AFL-CIO’s efforts to push for universal access to healthcare and to build new alliances.  She also spoke about the need for workers to seek coalitions with the religious community, and expressed her appreciation for Rieger’s efforts on this front.

In his remarks, Rieger drew attention to the increasingly religious nature of mainstream economics, which holds to blind faith in the benevolence of the market despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.  He also noted that while the Bible explicitly calls for economic justice, and the major mainline Christian denominations officially support worker rights, local congregations do little to make members aware of those teachings.  Workers, Rieger said, should urge their church leaders to support their struggles for economic justice.  Rieger also mentioned how PCCS is helping to facilitate coalition-building between religious leaders, labor activists, and other progressives.

Following the speakers, the audience engaged in a lively Q&A session, which provided additional insights and inspiration.  There was criticism of the “Blue Dog” Democrats and their resistance to healthcare reform, and support for the Employee Free Choice Act.  Audience members also noted that healthcare reform would lessen the bleeding of American jobs to other countries, and would lessen the unemployment crisis by making it possible for older workers to retire.

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