Main Street

Word on the Street: Young Workers Come Together to Fight for Jobs In Denver

Ali Cochran – Denver, Colorado

Last night members of Working America gathered in Downtown Denver for a happy hour to address the jobs crisis and its disproportionate harm to young people.

Alex Jones, a local college student came to the Young Workers Community Action Club meeting because he’s nervous about finding a job when he gets out of school.  “These days it seems like even with an advanced degree there’s no guarantee.”   The sad part is, he’s right.  Young people have been hit harder than their parents by this economic recession.  Wages earned by young people have declined by 10 percent over the last 30 years.  Over one third of young workers don’t have health insurance and more than half have no retirement plans at work.

Karen Nussbaum, Executive Director of Working America, traveled from DC to meet with these workers as part of a multi-state tour to talk with some of Working America’s 3 million members.  There are over 90,000 members in Colorado alone, with more signing up every day.  As Karen told the group last night, “There is great strength in numbers.  At Working America we knock on people’s doors every night to talk to them about the issues they’re facing; we follow-up with our members and engage them in new and fun ways, like this Young Worker Community Action Team meeting tonight; we’re a part of something big and we are standing together to change the direction of our country.”

The Young Worker Community Action Team meet up was the third of its kind in Denver and comes just in advance of a young workers’ summit in Minnesota next week.  “Groups of young people are coming together across the country, meeting just like this group is tonight,” Kevin Pape, Colorado State Director of Working America, told the crowd.

A member of the Young Workers Community Action Team, Romina Halabi, was recently published in the Denver Post asking “where are the jobs for educated young workers in Colorado?”  She told others about her letter to the editor and how we need to make sure the media and our elected officials are paying attention to this devastating issue, “the easiest way for us to do that, is to tell our stories, and tell them often.”

Studies have shown that young workers are the first to get laid off, compete with more experienced workers for the same jobs, and often get paid less because they are younger.  It’s time to shine a spotlight on this issue.  It’s time for our voices to be heard.

If you’d like to get more involved with the Young Workers Community Action Team or Working America, please contact Ali Cochran at 303-935-9300 for information about our next happy hour.