September 17, 2020 -- New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice, a leader in the pursuit for justice and equality for Louisiana workers, has continued to serve their community, specifically the New Orleans, Terrebonne Parish, and Lafayette Parish areas by fighting against the criminalization of poverty, organizing against abuse and threats of deportation from exploitative employers and securing safer conditions during the Coronavirus pandemic.
“Throughout this experience with COVID19, NOWCRJ has learned a lot about the depth and breadth of capitalism's impact on workers and we've also learned about the power of workers to help one another and craft real solutions," said Ursula Price, Executive Director of NOWCRJ
During these uncertain times in the world’s history, NOWCRJ pivoted its focus and partnered with coalitions amid the COVID-19 crisis. NOWCRJ has continued to work tirelessly to achieve multiple COVID-19 campaigns. Low-income families drive all of NOWCRJ’s work and decision making. Workers we serve help to implement the campaign plans that they decide to pursue ultimately. Below are the campaigns we executed on their behalf.
“We are now transforming our organization to be more nimble for this moment: making room for more workers and building on our ability to impact individual and local issues like wage theft and criminalization to also impact our states economic development and governance," said Ursula Price, Executive Director of NOWCRJ
COVID-19 Campaigns
Mutual Aid - NOWCRJ created a resource guide for workers excluded from the federal stimulus and other aids. Our resource guide outlined: no ID required testing, medical care clinics, food banks, legal support, eviction prevention, mental health, and home-schooling support. Necessary goods were also able to reach over 100 families in need, and 200 families received a $500 stipend to support them through these times.
Immigration - With a coalition of immigrant justice advocates, NOWCRJ has been pressuring the governor, through various organized efforts, to use his influence to force ICE to release detained people in danger of COVID-19 infection due to the confinement conditions.
Workplace Conditions - Crawfish processors have been exposed to COVID-19 because of their workplace conditions. NOWCRJ has been in discussions to achieve legislation with better provisions for crisis management in the H2B visa program.
Essential Workers Survey - Inspired by data about the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on black and Latinx peoples, in partnership with the research organization “Insight,” NOWCRJ launched an essential workers survey. Our survey will help shape continued efforts fighting for workers’ rights and disaster recovery policies similar to our 2019 work passing a “Living Wage Ordinance” in New Orleans.
Other ongoing efforts include drafting municipal court reform legislation and support workers filing human trafficking, wage theft, and other labor rights complaints.
Learn more about NOWCRJ, visit www.nowcrj.org.
You can also donate here.
About the New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice (NOWCRJ)
The New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice (NOWCRJ) was founded in 2007 as a workers’ rights and racial justice response to the human-made disaster called Hurricane Katrina. Our response built a freedom movement committed to racial, gender, and immigrant justice; and cultivating power at the intersection of race and the economy. The Workers’ Center is an organization by and for the vulnerable, the poor, and Louisiana’s oppressed. The dignity and rights of workers are central to our organizational purpose and have been since the beginning. Over a decade later, the Workers’ Center continues to be a vehicle for Black and immigrant workers to build grassroots campaigns with a local and national impact.
The Executive Director of NOWCRJ, Ursula Price, is available for interviews to share more about the work to be done with the Louisiana area workers.
NOWCRJ 217 N. Prieur St.
New Orleans, LA 70112
MEDIA CONTACT:
Leesha Bush
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