Two important worker justice items to come before the
Episcopal General Convention in July, 2003 include the
need to support and become involved in justice for immigrant
workers, especially through the planned “Immigrant
Workers’ Freedom Ride” scheduled for this
fall; and support to raise the federal minimum wage to
$8.70 an hour, so that the working poor of this nation
get a small boost upwards. Both of these issues are in
resolutions passed recently by the Diocese of Los Angeles.
With regard to the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride, the
Executive Council of the Episcopal Church passed its own
resolution in support at its March meeting. The strategy
is to push for immigration law reform to include at a
minimum, legalizing the right of immigrant workers in
this country to live and work here. The Freedom Ride will
originate this September from eight cities in the U.S.
and converge by bus on Washington D.C. to lobby Congress.
En route, religious groups across the country will welcome
the buses and provide visible encouragement and support
to the immigrant workers at their scheduled stops. ENEJ
will be working at convention with specific information
regarding the route of the Freedom Ride, to line up support
from the Episcopal churches along the way, and to lobby
congress for immigrant reform legislation. This is an
effort which has been jointly coordinated by the unions
and the interfaith community, especially through the National
Interfaith Committee on Worker Justice.
General Convention will also be presented with the platform
for the Consultation, a coalition of progressive groups
including ENEJ within the Episcopal Church, which addresses
a variety of justice issues. Check at the ENEJ display
at the convention for updated information on these issues.
|