The Funeral for American Jobs: Unemployed Workers Gather to Mourn the ‘Death’ of the Jobs Act at Mass. GOP Headquarters

The “99%” protests in Boston have taken a turn for the morbid. Less than 24 hours after U.S. Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) voted against the American Jobs Act, dozens of unemployed workers – as well as faith and community leaders – turned out for a mock funeral service in front of the Massachusetts Republican Party headquarters in Boston.

Organized by MassUniting, a grassroots coalition devoted to creating better jobs, stronger communities and more corporate accountability, the Funeral for American Jobs commemorated the now “deceased” proposals that were outlined in the Jobs Act.

Cardboard coffins placed in front of GOP Headquarters bore the names of the fallen: “Mass. Bridges Roads Tunnels,” “American Jobs,” “Middle Class,” and “U.S. Economy.”

Jason A. Stephany, a spokesperson for MassUniting, told New England Post that the event gave unemployed workers and community members a chance to “eulogize the jobs lost in the U.S. Senate.” Participants chose the GOP Headquarters as the site of the funeral to express their dissatisfaction with Senator Brown, who “voted with the Republican leadership, yet again, to kill jobs,” said Stephany.

The event started with a “full funeral procession,” which included “a gentleman with a trumpet” who played ‘Taps,’ Stephany told New England Post. By the time the procession reached GOP Headquarters, there were approximately two-dozen people gathered, including several teachers and construction workers. Pastor Paris Cherry of Dorchester delivered the funeral sermon.

According to a White House document, the proposed American Jobs Act, which was shot down in the U.S. Senate, could have provided Massachusetts with approximately $850 million for highway and transit projects, approximately $590 million for preventing teacher layoffs, approximately $380 million for upgrading schools and approximately $40 million for revitalizing local communities. Such funding promised to support about 20,000 local jobs in the Bay State.

MassUniting plans on organizing more demonstrations and events in the Boston area. “There’ll be a number of things that are coming out now that Scott Brown and Republican leaders have voted down the Jobs Act,” Stephany said. “We’re looking to see what we can do next… we’re working with Occupy Boston on different protests.”

See below for a video of the Funeral for American Jobs:

Related posts:

1. Verizon Workers Hit Picket Lines From Mass. to Va.
2. Governor Patrick Highlights Impact Of American Jobs Act On Massachusetts Bridges
3. CT Seeks to Curb Unemployment by Injecting $9.9M into Training Future Healthcare Workers
4. Report: Facebook Plans to Expand New Headquarters
5. UK-Based Tech Company to Create 100 Mass. Jobs Over Two to Three Years

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Posted by erik devaney on Oct 14 2011. Filed under Featured - For home page featured article. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry