Take Action: Tell your Members of Congress that to achieve an inclusive COVID-19 economic recovery, they must invest in subsidized jobs.
“Many of us lost jobs; many of us got reduced pays.” That’s what Alexander, a 33-year-old Chicagoan who identifies as both Black and Latino, told us about the pandemic’s economic impact on him and his neighbors. When asked what would most benefit his community in response to COVID-19, Alexander’s answer is clear: “More jobs, more opportunities.”
Alexander’s story is one example of what the state and national data have been telling us since the start of COVID-19: the pandemic and its recession have been devastating for people and communities of color. Those hardest hit by the pandemic’s economic fallout are the same groups of people who have been denied access to quality jobs and economic opportunity long before COVID-19: Black women, immigrants, indigenous people, young people of color, people with records, and people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness.
The COVID-19 economic crisis shows what impacted people like Alexander have long known: jobs policy solutions must be rooted in equity and intentionally reach the would-be workers who need them most. These policy solutions must also address long-standing inequities in access to quality jobs and economic opportunity that are rooted in systemic racism and gender discrimination.
Subsidized jobs fit the bill. And it’s time for Congress to act.
Subsidized jobs offer would-be workers real, wage-paying jobs supported with public funds. Subsidized jobs strategies are proven to quickly connect people to work, earned income, training, and on ramps to economic opportunity. Over the last year, we’ve worked in partnership with advocates across the country to push for an equity-centered national subsidized jobs program to be part of COVID-19 economic recovery. And we’re seeing the results of our advocacy.
Now, there’s a budget process moving in Congress that will shape the next recovery package. Congress has from now until September 15 to decide if subsidized jobs will or won’t be included in the package – and we’re hearing that unless we act now, workforce investments like subsidized jobs might be on the chopping the block.
We can’t afford to lose our momentum, and we can’t afford to continue to leave behind would-be workers like Alexander and millions of others who are struggling to make ends meet. We need an economy that works for ALL.
We urge you to act now by letting Congress know that including subsidized jobs in the next recovery package matters to you, your community, and the would-be workers and businesses across your state.
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