Public Policy Analysis for Not-For-Profits

Health Care Action Task Force

Jobs with Justice

A. Mission

Jobs with Justice (JwJ) is a coalition of 75 local labor, community, student, and religious groups organized to win concrete victories on the road to achieving economic justice and lasting social change. We engage working people in addressing the root causes of poverty, organizing support for workers treated unjustly and/or illegally in the workplace and in organizing an economic base that respects the dignity of the entire community. St. Louis JwJ is part of the Jobs with Justice national network, which was founded in 1987. Local Jobs with Justice coalitions are one of few contemporary examples of permanent multi-issue coalitions empowering those in need to create a community with no place for hunger, homelessness, inadequate health care, unemployment, or discrimination.

B. Mission and Objectives as They Relate to the MFH Mission

We ask the Missouri Foundation for Health to partner with us in our organizing the St. Louis Jobs with Justice Health Care Action Task Force. We are creating a history of shared victories that both incrementally increase health care access and strategically develop collaborations among a broad range of allies that will eventually tip the balance toward health care reform that improves access for the un- and under-insured. As we select specific campaigns, our strategy is to prioritize advocacy for health policy that 1) defends and strengthens employer-based insurance for the working poor and 2) defends and strengthens safety net health care systems on which uninsured families depend. As our objectives clearly demonstrate, we share the MFH commitment to promoting positive health policy changes to achieve quality health care access for Missouri’s working poor.

C. Target Population

We believe that Missouri’s workers are a key constituency to engage in health care reform in our community. A 2004 Families USA report showed that over ј of Missourians (1.354 million) went without health insurance for some period in 2002-2003. Of that number, nearly 83% were from working families. The problem of the uninsured is increasingly a workers’ issue, and St. Louis JwJ is uniquely positioned to engage this constituency through their workplace and community organizations. Health care workers deserve special emphasis as they are on the front lines of our health care system every day. Their first-hand stories do more to move citizens to support improving health care access than any chart or statistic we might provide.

D. Priority Health-Related Objectives

St. Louis Jobs with Justice and its Health