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Last updated on November 6, 2007

The Coalition for Economic Justice is a permanent multi-issue coalition of religious, labor, community, and university allies.

Our current campaign focuses are: living wage enforcement (City of Buffalo) and expansion (Buffalo School District, Erie County, etc.), Economic Development - we seek to network local organizations to advocate jointly around a shared vision/platform for the revitalization of the greater Buffalo region, Voter education and mobilization/community organizing on the East Side of Buffalo, Health Care for All, and Labor Solidarity.

Description:
As part of the national Jobs with Justice network, we believe in:

• Coalition building – Building locally accountable, autonomous and nationally networked local coalitions of labor, community, student and religious organizations. Combined, their power is key to winning concrete improvements for workers and their communities.

• Reciprocity – Labor and community groups need each other to win and build power. Relationships between and amongst these organizations must be built on principles of reciprocity, mutual respect and solidarity.

• Action – Member organizations putting their members into action to support one another’s struggles is a key to building power. We organize rank and file members of our partner organizations to sign pledge cards committing to come out five times a year to support worker and community campaigns. We believe that workers and communities united and in motion are the driving force for social and economic justice.

• Relationships – Building long-term relationships between organizations and individuals is a key to building power.

• Workers’ Rights and Economic Justice – We are committed to a vision of a United States and a world where workers have collective bargaining rights, employment security, a decent standard of living, and freedom from discrimination of all kinds.

History:
The Coalition for Economic Justice (CEJ) began in 1986, formed by faith and labor leaders concerned by the Trico Corporation’s announcement that it was closing its Buffalo manufacturing facilities. Trico’s move was part of over a decade of industrial and manufacturing decline in the area. Although CEJ initially saved some 1,000 jobs, Trico eventually closed two of its three plants in Buffalo and shifted most of its assembly work to a new facility in Matamoros, Mexico. CEJ’s leaders traveled to the Texas-Mexico border to learn first hand about the challenges facing Mexican workers, solidifying the organization’s mission to support workers’ rights locally and globally.
Since its beginning it has been CEJ’s mission to build power for those most affected by economic injustice. The organization is a permanent coalition of labor, faith, university and community groups working in support of workers’ rights and economic equality.
In the early 1990’s, CEJ affiliated with the national organization Jobs with Justice and with the New York State Labor-Religion Coalition.

Contact people:

Allison Duwe, Executive Director, (phone), (email) Micaela Shapiro, Program Coordinator, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (716) 894-2013

Address:

2123 Bailey Avenue Buffalo, NY 14211 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.buffalojwj.org

Directions:

We are located on the East Side of the City of Buffalo. We share office space with the WNY Peace Center. The house we utilize as an office is right on the corner of Bailey Avenue and Genesee Street. Parking is available in the restaurant directly across from our office.   Nearest Bus Stop: Bailey 19, 0 minute walk

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