Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Worker Justice Workforce Legislation Can Increase Economic Opportunity in Georgia December 17, 2015 / January 16, 2020 by Melissa Johnson The state is working on a new plan to better leverage federal resources to provide training and work support for Georgians and there is room for improvement in the draft it recently published. The plan is required by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014. The legislation and draft plan offer many opportunities […] Read more » economic development economy training workforce
Inclusive Economy for Immigrants Wesley Tharpe Worker Justice Welcome Newcomers to Build a Stronger Georgia December 16, 2015 / April 2, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe | 1 Comment on Welcome Newcomers to Build a Stronger Georgia Opinions are rarely in short supply when it comes to immigration. Whether it’s on cable news, gathered around the family dining table or dominating your Facebook newsfeed, questions of how immigrants affect our economy and communities are clearly on people’s minds. It can prove difficult to separate fact from fiction, since it’s such an emotional […] Read more » immigration
Budget and Taxes Reports Wesley Tharpe Worker Justice Immigrants Help Chart Georgia’s Course to Prosperity December 16, 2015 / January 16, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe Georgia transformed over the past few decades as immigrants from around the world brought new workers, new entrepreneurs and new taxpayers. Nearly one in 10 Georgians today was born outside of the United States and one in five Georgians under the age of 18 has at least one immigrant parent. This growing community of foreign-born […] Read more » immigration
Featured Higher Education Inclusive Economy for Immigrants K-12 Education Melissa Johnson Worker Justice Open College Entry to Undocumented Students to Bolster Georgia’s Workforce September 29, 2015 / April 2, 2020 by Melissa Johnson | 1 Comment on Open College Entry to Undocumented Students to Bolster Georgia’s Workforce Many Georgia students started college for the first time this fall. That’s good news for Georgia as the state says it needs 250,000 additional college graduates to meet its workforce needs by 2020, according to Gov. Nathan Deal’s Complete College Georgia Initiative. The bad news is that the state is excluding an estimated 5,000 potential […] Read more » Higher Education Tuition Equity
Higher Education K-12 Education Melissa Johnson Reports Worker Justice Georgia’s Workforce Development, Economy Damaged by Barriers to Higher Education for Undocumented Students September 29, 2015 / January 17, 2020 by Melissa Johnson New federal policy provides Georgia an opportunity to increase access to higher education for many young Georgia immigrants who are now eligible to work without threat of deportation. Current policies that prevent these potential students from paying in-state tuition rates or even from attending Georgia universities outright undercut the state’s ability to compete for jobs […] Read more » Higher Education Tuition Equity
Blog Budget and Taxes Wesley Tharpe Worker Justice Pro-Worker Credits in Jeopardy this Labor Day September 3, 2015 / January 15, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe | 2 Comments on Pro-Worker Credits in Jeopardy this Labor Day The U.S. Congress made Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894 to honor the contributions workers make every day to our nation’s strength, prosperity and well-being. But in 2015, on a day when we will celebrate the value of work, it’s distressing that Read more » EITC State Taxes Wesley Tharpe
Blog Cash and Safety Net K-12 Education Melissa Johnson Worker Justice Educating Adults Critical to Georgia’s Success August 6, 2015 / March 12, 2021 by Melissa Johnson | 1 Comment on Educating Adults Critical to Georgia’s Success School is starting this week for many Georgia children but education ended much too soon for many of the state’s adults. Nearly 866,000 Georgians from 18 to 64 are without a high school diploma or GED. Georgia is home to the ninth highest share of adults in this age range in the country without a […] Read more » Economic Security Education Melissa Johnson Report Safety Net
Wesley Tharpe Worker Justice Low Pay Holds Georgia Back April 29, 2015 / January 15, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe | 3 Comments on Low Pay Holds Georgia Back As published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution April 29, 2015 Kills jobs. Bad for business. Hurts the economy. Minimum wage detractors have pushed those arguments for decades and they’re common parlance among some legislators and lobbyists. But those claims are no truer than they were 50 years ago and ignore the economic potential higher wages could […] Read more » Atlanta Journal-Constitution Economic Security Op-Ed Safety Net Wesley Tharpe
Author Blog Budget and Taxes Wesley Tharpe Worker Justice State Transportation Repair Plan Veers Off Course March 24, 2015 / January 17, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe | 2 Comments on State Transportation Repair Plan Veers Off Course As published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on March 24, 2015 The bill lawmakers are pushing to answer Gov. Nathan Deal’s call for more money to fix Georgia’s roads and bridges made a sharp turn in the wrong direction last week. State senators put their stamp on a version their House colleagues passed by including a […] Read more » State Taxes Wesley Tharpe
Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Reports Worker Justice Increase Child Care Assistance to Strengthen Georgia’s Families, Economy March 5, 2015 / January 17, 2020 by Melissa Johnson Many low-income parents raising young children in Georgia are not able to afford the high cost of quality child care. Going without such care can prevent them from keeping jobs, focusing at work, and getting a job if they do not have one. Georgia offers a child care assistance program to help families afford child care, but […] Read more » child care
