Back on the Job is a project launched by the Building and Construction Trades Dep’t, AFL-CIO to bring attention to the unemployment crisis in the construction industry. For four months this Spring, Congress debated whether to extend unemployment benefits. Using logic that only makes sense in Washington D.C., both Democrats and Republicans blamed unemployment insurance benefits for the high unemployment rate. Many of them argued that people just have it too good on unemployment.
Now that Congress is home for the August recess, they need to hear the stories that we hear all to often. You need to tell them what you have been experiencing – months without work, UI benefits that have expired, the loss of health care coverage, the inability to purchase needed groceries or school supplies for your children. The mainstream media is not talking about this crisis; few politicians are talking about this crisis. You need to get in front of a camera and talk about this crisis. You need to get in front of your elected officials and talk about this crisis. If we as a nation do not act to put people back to work, this unemployment problem will likely persist for years.
We need as many building trades members as possible to shoot and upload homemade videos that tell the story of how the lack of jobs is affecting their lives and families, and how bad they want to be back on the job again. It doesn’t matter if the videos are shot on a webcam, a flipcam, a cell phone, or home video camera. This website can handle them all. The uploading is easy – simply click the “Upload My Story” tab on the homepage and follow the easy instructions. Videos that are profane in nature or language, or that are too long in duration may be disqualified from posting. Please keep that in mind because we want everyone to be heard. And we want them to be personal; to tell a compelling story, and to urge Congress and State Governments to take the necessary steps that will put American workers BACK ON THE JOB.
The other equally important aspect to this campaign is to contact your elected officials and demand that they put people back to work by investing in infrastructure spending. Every unemployed construction worker should spend at least 15 minutes every day that he or she is not working to call their elected officials and demand a solution to the jobs crisis. Local unions, Building Trades Councils, and the AFL-CIO are organizing rallies, actions and mass attendance at town hall meetings. We need you to show your support for investing in infrastructure – roads, bridges, schools, sewers, and new energy projects – and putting people BACK ON THE JOB.
- Shoot a personal video and upload it to the website.
- Call your elected officials and make some noise.
- Attend rallies, town halls and actions being organized in your area.
