Beth Myers:

Working in the movement
for social justice is hard. We all know this but we often don’t admit it. There
are days when you just feel tired and defeated both in you heart and in your
body. Sometimes it feels as though we aren’t making as much of a difference as
we want. With this in mind, it is vital that those of us who fighting for a more
just economy find the time to reconnect with our allies and refocus on the core
missions of our work. The Jobs With Justice Conference was definitely one of
those opportunities for me.  The conference brought together some of the best
and brightest who have chosen to devote their time and energy to building a
better country and world.

United States

On May Day, over 25,000 longshore workers shut down ports all along the
U.S. West Coast to call for an end to the war in Iraq.  The action was
led by rank-and-file ILWU workers who made the decision on February to

Whitney Smith, another senior, said: “It's important for students and community
members to realize that sweatshops are prevalent in the garment industry. Our
research shows that Vermont is currently buying products made by companies that
have been cited for labor violations. That's why we pushed for this law – to
urge companies to improve conditions in their factories and respect workers'
rights.”

On
the back of the card, she can read about women who work in the flower industry
in Colombia, which ships nearly all of its flowers to the United States. About
60% of flowers sold in the U.S. are imported from Colombia, and the majority of
workers on Colombian flower plantations are women.