As we close out this year, I want to get directly to the heart of the matter. We will be ok ... maybe even better than ok if we stick together and organize strategically. 

We at Jobs With Justice have long known that democracy is not simply a political project but requires everyday people to be able to make collective decisions about their employment and economic lives as well. Moving into 2025, the stakes are incredibly high. Democracy is on the line. And we must be vigilant in our focus to expand majority rule throughout society. 

Our relationships will be our power as we move towards whatever challenges lie ahead. And remember that crises also breed creativity. This is not only a time for defense but also to experiment with practices and structures that could survive any governing regime. 

Together, we will go toe-to-toe with employers and government leaders who oppose democracy. We will defend our immigrant friends and neighbors against inhumane raids. We will ignite the latent power of southern workers, particularly Black workers in key industries. And in all of it, we will maintain laser-focused on uniting working people across all backgrounds against the billionaires and bad bosses keeping us from being the leaders of our own futures. 

Jobs With Justice was made for this moment. Together we will drive bold, creative strategies to protect our communities from harm and organize alongside workers defending and expanding democracy. The people whose shoulders we all stand on stared down adversity before, and we will do it again. 

No matter how bad things may sometimes seem, our ancestors and elders have survived much worse. And in doing so, they could never have predicted the victories waiting for them just around the corner. What victories might come out of our struggles in this perilous moment? Perhaps this is our generation's chance to defeat the confederacy, once and for all, and build the democracy that Reconstructionists envisioned through the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. 

Our collective story is just beginning. Help us sustain this momentum here. 

Central Florida Jobs With Justice also supported efforts to protect abortion. While Amendment 4 (Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion) failed to meet the 60% threshold required in Florida to pass a ballot amendment, 57% of Floridians voted in favor. Progressive policy is clearly winning in communities despite corrupt systems shackling the potential of a thriving, healthy democracy. 

In California, San Francisco Jobs With Justice celebrated the passing of

Proposition A, which secured millions of dollars for the San Francisco United School District. The funding will go towards modernization projects like reducing the district’s carbon footprint, nutritional services, and structural improvements that keep students and staff safer. They won a similar proposition at the state level too! 

The Network spent much of 2024 in solidarity with postal workers, nurses, teachers, garment workers, Starbucks baristas, autoworkers, and more. Jobs With Justice of East Tennessee, South Carolina Jobs With Justice Solidarity Hub, and Atlanta Jobs With Justice joined Communications Workers of America on the picket lines when 17,000 AT&T Southeast workers went on strike for better pay and working conditions. Portland Jobs With Justice showed up for the Oregon Nurses Association for the largest nursing strike in Oregon’s history, as well as supported Boeing workers when Machinists went on strike in September. Arizona Jobs With Justice stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Natural Grocers' workers after retaliation. And Chicago Jobs With Justice marched with garment workers demanding that Levi’s protect workers across the globe.