Residents Seek Economic Justice
Times Weekly
By Ron Kurowski
“What is going on in America is wrong,” said Rev. Craig Purchase, Pastor, and Mt. Zion Full Gospel Tabernacle Church in Joliet. Rev. Purchase was speaking about the economic injustice that is ravaging the less fortunate in our society and how “life for us just goes on”. For him the jobs crisis is a moral issue….
…Abe Mwaura, Coordinator for Warehouse Workers for Justice, explained how the job crisis for the temporary workers in Joliet and Will County was a long term structural problem and would require long term solutions.
More goods come through warehouses in Will County than through any port in the country. Of the 30,000 workers employed in warehouses, 63% are temps. Abe said, “These are workers who work for years without any benefits, no health insurance, no vacations, no overtime pay and no sick days. They suffer wage theft, safety violations, discrimination based on gender, age and national origin.” Since they have no union representation they can be fired at will. “Slavery”, is one word he said could describes what goes on in some of the warehouses.
The meeting concluded with members of the audience telling their personal stories on how the economic crisis affects them.
Demetrie Collins, who worked as a temp in the past, explained what it is like to have to work multiple shifts just to earn enough money to feed his family. He thinks he lost his job as a temp when his employer found out that he was involved with Warehouse Workers for Justice.
The last person to speak was Monica Morales who lost her job 1 ½ years ago. She spoke on how hard it is to support her family on unemployment payments, how difficult it is to find work, even low wage, side jobs. She spoke as if she didn’t believe in her future. She is 21years old.