Economic Justice

    So many people without jobs...they say the "official" unemployment rate is over 12% in CA, while the "real" unemployment rate is closer to 20% when you include all the people left out by the official rate.  In Oakland, the offical unemployment rate according to the Oakland Community and Economic Agency jumped from 9.5% in 2008 to 17.3% in July 2009 (http://www.business2oakland.com/main/laborforce.htm) .  In certain parts of East and West Oakland, where people of color make up the overwhelming majority, the unemployment rate must be 1/3 or higher.

   We need to include FOOD in the green jobs discussion rather than limit it just to industrial "renewable" energy.  We have a food crisis, a health crisis, and an economic crisis that are all related, so we are working to show that urban/suburban food production can create diverse, living wage jobs, reinvigorate local economic activity, AND also provide healthy affordable food to surrounding communities.  Stay tuned as we receive our grants, raise our support base, and create new jobs in Oakland!