Need a job? How about one with a good wage, flexible schedule, that serves a good cause and includes paid training. Sounds pretty good, right? Too good to be true? Not so much. Turns out Brooklyn is desperate for census workers.
According to Brokelyn.com, a tipster informs them that there aren’t enough people in their database to fill all the jobs that are open.
“…the local office based on Fulton St, which covers the neighborhoods reaching from DUMBO to Clinton Hill & Prospect Heights—Red Hook to Sunset Park (and everything in between) is currently facing a shortage of applicants.”
So get at it, and do it soon. Most jobs are paying $18.75 per hour, part and full-time schedules, evenings and weekends available.
“All people have to do is call 718-360-5150 to schedule to take the test. Or, show up at the Big Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza between 1:30 and 1:45 this Sunday, with two forms of ID (Photo – Passport, License, State ID plus a Social Security Card, or Birth Certificate.) It’s that simple. Due to the shortage, just about any passing score will net a job.”
And while you’re out there doing the job, you’ll learn more about our beloved borough and its rich diversity. Again, from the source:
“I’ve been working for the Census on and off for a while, and it’s an interesting job. I highly recommend it, especially for people who are interested in Brooklyn and people.”
So what are you waiting for?
For more info about the census and why it’s the most important 10 minutes you can spend this month, check our new video.
And don’t forget to get that Numbers Don’t Lie Mixtape from DJ Willie Shakes. Take our census pledge and get your free download here!
See that, giving you free music and job hookups. Who loves you? Pledge today.
The unemployment rates you hear on the news are misleading. The overall unemployment rate is currently at a shocking high of 9.6%–but the ethnic breakdown of this figure is still more disturbing.
According to a study released July 15 by The Economic Policy Institute, minorities are significantly more likely to be jobless than their white counterparts. Part of this can be attributed to the recession, which has taken its toll on non-white communities the worst.
Yet even this cannot account for the shocking unemployment gap that exists. African-Americans typically suffer unemployment rates that are twice as high as their white peers, while Hispanics come in at 1.5% more than Whites. For example, currently in Alabama there is a 5.8% unemployment rate for whites while for African-Americans it jumps to 15.1%! In Louisiana, African-Americans were three times more likely to be jobless. And the same is true for Hispanics, who’s unemployment rates are suspected to be higher than reported (it is thought that many illegal aliens would have feared taking part in this study).
The bad news is that the unemployment gap between whites and minorities is increasing. The good news, however, is that there are tentative plans to improve the situation by imposing a small tax on stocks to create extra resources for job creation in these hard hit communities.
It’s unthinkable that a kid is killed in a drive-by while at an Anti-Violence Rally. Yet that’s precisely what happened to 13 year old Tamrah Leonard in Trenton, New Jersey last Sunday! Abomination! How is society not outraged at this heinous act?
Sadly, it was not an isolated incident.The economic recession has had an adverse affect on homicide rates, which are skyrocketing. Homicide is now the leading cause of death among young African American youth, and the number two cause of death for all other youth aged 10-24. Dire straits mean that desperate youth are becoming increasingly likely to resort to violence. At the same time, decreased funding means that many after-school programs–which have been proven to get youth off the streets and lower crime rates–are at risk of being reduced or eradicated entirely.
Aren’t you glad summer’s finally here? The recent reemergence of the sun makes me crave days at the beach and nights spent camping. But the recession means that for many (hell, most of us) a vacation simply isn’t that feasible this year.
We should consider ourselves lucky if that’s the worst recession can do. It’s hit a lot of people a lot harder. Every year, the number of families who are homeless skyrocket at the beginning of summer. This year has been particularly bad. People from 10 000 families will become homeless in New York alone this summer, an increase of more than 28% from last year. At last count, that number had already hit 9420—9420 moms, dads, brothers, sisters, and children on the street in one city. That’s A LOT of people—so many, that if you wanted to meet them all, one a day, it would take you more than 27 years.
Here’s how it works. The recession means most of us have less money, which means we are buying cheaper food: processed, packaged, and ready-to-eat, rather than healthier but more expensive options such as fresh veggies and fruits. Furthermore, many people are being forced to go out and work two jobs, or to work longer hours, just to make ends meet. So instead of having one parent at home or being able to work part-time and devote time to cooking, we are grabbing a cheap bagel oozing with transfats, carbs, and grease rather than making a healthy meal at home. Less money and more hours spent at work also mean less time and funds to work all those extra calories off at the gym.
Just about everyone agrees that it’s necessary to offer insurance to all Americans and to control healthcare costs from skyrocketing. Despite this, a bipartisan agreement is still far from a done deal. Much of the disagreement stems from a public/private divide and from concerns over the sheer amount of money needed to overhaul the system. Some feel that 1 trillion dollars is still too much money to be spending on health care—which it is. It’s a lot of money period. But in the grand scheme of things, it feels like something worth investing in. Put it into context: in 2009 alone the US will be spending 1 trillion dollars on defense-related issues, including the military and two wars. What’s another trillion dollars spread out over ten years, especially if it is an investment in the future happiness and well-being of Americans?
Countless men and women across the country will agree with this one: your first ride was your first love. You probably remember it as junky and cheap, prone to breaking down every morning, but you loved it just the same. Let’s face it: even though it probably guzzled gas like Gatorade and needed to be started just the right way or else it might have blown up, it was still yours. In the near future, 16 year olds will remember the first time they plugged their car in, rather than the first time they filled up the gas tank.
Let’s hear about some electric cars and green jobs, after the jump! Read the full story
It’s understandable to be rejected from college because of your grades, your SATs, or even your extracurriculars - but is it valid to be rejected because you need financial aid?
According to this NY Times article, Reed College in Portland, Oregon is doing just that. As a result of the recession, revenue is dropping at the school, which can’t financially commit to as much financial aid. Long story short, they’ve started rejecting students because they lack full ability to pay.
Let’s go into crippling student loan debt after the jump!Read the full story
Around my 18th birthday, I decided I was gonna get a credit card. The rates were extremely high, the credit line was miniscule, but I felt like a grown up!
Plus, they gave me a free tote bag!
Soon afterwards, I felt myself falling further into debt. I found that American Express was paying for lunch, my gas and my movie tickets way too often. A few years later, I’m finding that the debt I racked up so long ago is starting to even itself out. Many of my friends weren’t so lucky, and the credit card companies are making billions of dollars from people just like them. But relief is on the way.
Yesterday, the CARD Act of 2009 passed through the House and is gonna land on Prez O’s desk for signing. The CARD Act is extremely favorable to the consumer, and credit relief is going to be a huge help in the current economic climate.
When Isaac started his voter registration campaign, he quickly came to realize there were many more issues to tackle in Colorado. Like the struggle of single mothers to hold jobs and raise their kids. Or ex cons who can’t find a job, anywhere.
What is it that sometimes turns us against the needs of our neighbors? We must look past the superficial, past our varied histories or roads taken, and see that we need each other to get where we want to go: a healthier community, with equal rights, and neighbors who help you get what you need.
President Obama is tackling our nation’s economic troubles from the top, but we have to work from the ground up, empowering our communities and shouldering the burden of recovery together.
The Green Jobs movement is founded upon the notion that the health of our nation, the health of our economy, depends upon the health of our planet. Urban revitalization and industrial efficiency go hand in hand. As Taili Thompson says, the Green Jobs movement is a holistic approach that will give back as much as we put into it.
The criminal justice system in America almost guarantees what Kevin Epps calls the “vicious cycle of recidivism” that keeps thousands of Americans from fulfilling any fraction of our social dream.
Rev. Yearwood’s experience working with T.I. is an incredible example of artists becoming activists and giving back to their communities. Working from the ground up, working with our neighbors to build healthier lives, pushing the system to reveal its prejudices and injustice…for activists like Yearwood and Epps, it is the work of a lifetime.
President Obama can not change the fate of our country on his own. It is up to free-thinking artists and activists everywhere to seize the opportunities we have to work with each other and realize our dreams.
The power of a real leader is to inspire the people to act. We must act together!
LIFT THE FEDERAL BAN TO FUND SYRINGE EXCHANGE PROGRAMS IN THE UNITED STATES TO REDUCE THE SPREAD OF HIV/AIDS
One third of people with HIV in the United States were infected through injection drug use.
Blacks account for 50% of all injection drug users infected with HIV in the US.
Allen Kwabena Frimpong is the Outreach Coordinator for an adolescent HIV/AIDS prevention program for HIV testing and education in New York City. He also works as a consultant with the Harm Reduction Coalition, a national organization that works through advocacy and capacity-building efforts to promote the health and dignity of those impacted by drug use.
How naive or corrupt would one have to be to protest against immigration reform while ignoring the thousands of American business owners who exploit their “illegal immigrant” workers, paying them next to nothing and denying them any of the fundamental rights of employment or citizenship?
Human rights transcend continental or national boundaries. Immigration reform is a pressing issue for our country, and whatever side you come down on, one thing is clear: we need an ethical solution.
The history of unions in America is a turbulent one. These organizations, formed to ensure the vitality of the working class, have faced abuse, brutality, and intimidation since their earliest inception.
The balance of power in our country is incredibly off kilter. If corporations can use their vast resources to lobby, pressure, and coerce our legislatures into passing favorable measures, then every man should have the power to band with his fellow workers to ensure the rights of the common man are upheld.
Join the Employee Free Choice Act campaign at www.employeefreechoiceact.org and call your Congressional member today and ask them to support this legislation.
Foreclosures are at the center of out economic crisis. If our friends and family don’t even know where they’ll be tonight, how can they muster the strength to rebuild our society?
BlanQ: Getting this new job! It's gonna happen tho..
angela: Police abuse and misconduct is rampant. Yet, our courts do not hold them accountable. Red tape discourages ligitimate complaints of police violence. I recently filed [...]
Ryan: Im starting to believe that all customer service calls for various companys (Wal-Mart WTF) are overseas or offshore calls!!!!!!!! Why cant we open more [...]
Jen: My problem is all the families that hurt their children.
lil mommi: my one issue i think this world has #1 in ny we have the rockafeller law and all these men who are caught or [...]