- ATD Fourth World

The Forty-Sixth Session of the United Nations Commission for Social Development in New York took place at the beginning of February this year. Jason French (volunteer corps member). WC Phillips and Peggy Mariner (supporters), all residents of Dickenson County, Virginia in the USA attended the meeting as representatives of the International Movement ATD Fourth World.

The purpose of the trip was to contribute the experiences of local people to the Commission on this important subject to help shape the report that the Commission produced for governments at the end of the session.

Preparation for the trip was a year in the making beginning with a visit to the Forty-Fifth session of the Commission which took place in February 2007, again in New York. This session, the first on the subject of Promoting Full Employment and Decent Work for All was a ‘review’, or information gathering, session, in preparation for this years ‘policy’ session. Jason French and WC Phillips attended this ‘review’ session, as observers in order to better understand the issues involved. Through plenary sessions of the full Commission and side events organized by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) they learned, amongst other things, how different factors play into the subject of work and employment such as youth, gender, economic background, ageing and culture.

A second preparation phase happened on the occasion of October 17, International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The Fourth World Movement in Dickenson County adopted the theme of the Commission for the day in order to gather the necessary information needed when returning to New York this year. Leading up to October 17, individuals were interviewed and research was undertaken to get a picture of employment in our area and how people personally experience work. This was used to build a program for the October 17 commemoration which was attended by over 50 local people.

The findings of the October 17 event were summed up in a spoken contribution which WC Phillips gave at a side event during the Commission entitled: Survey of Effective Practices in Employment.

The ones who leave school with a good education can find decent work but often have to leave the area to find jobs in their chosen field.

For most however, employment comes down to the following: Many, especially women, work informally or in the service industry.

Many others, especially men like me, find jobs with the coal mines or natural gas companies and that have pretty good benefits but which are dangerous and harmful to our health with serious consequences for our future employment.

This side event was attended by about 30 individuals. Several other NGO’s presented their projects; projects designed to help those who have the most difficulty finding employment to get the education, training or jobs they need.

WC Phillips, who has himself, suffered from serious medical issues exacerbated by 23 years in the coal mines, also talked about two particular subjects that came out of October 17

Two main points came back again and again. Firstly, training or retraining. Many said:

‘Training for what, there is nothing else around here?’ Others said ‘Even if I do go back to school I don’t want to have to move away to find work?’

There are strong family and community ties in my part of the world and for someone later in life it can be difficult to uproot and move elsewhere to find work and to start over.

At the moment, I myself am faced with these choices.

Many have tried to go back to school to find that classes are designed for young adults who learn quickly and who are already far ahead. Classes are too difficult and fast to follow and most don’t complete them.

Over the past 8 years. The Fourth World Movement has provided free computer literacy classes for adults. Classes focus on making sure that the person with the most difficulty does not get left behind and encouraging students to help one another. Over 500 people have taken the class and it has helped many get jobs or move to better jobs and some have gone on to use computers in their daily lives as either their main source of income or to supplement it. Many say how much it has helped them feel more connected to the world and talk about the social benefits they have gained from being computer literate. This project shows that training and retraining has to be tailored to the needs of each person and not offered pre-packaged as a one-size-fits-all.

Secondly, many said that job benefits were more important to them than high wages, especially health care benefits.

The Health Wagon, based in Dickenson County, provides free health care services to the uninsured and underinsured. The Health Wagon has a central office and a mobile unit which helps it to cover a wide area to reach as many people as possible on a weekly basis. The Health Wagon also organizes regular health fairs and other free events where patients can have multiple health problems dealt with. Many say that the Health Wagon makes it possible for them to be able to get by on minimum wage jobs without having to go into debt or take a second job, and some say that they would not be able to work at all without it, since quitting work to qualify for Medicaid would be a better alternative.

This project underlines the importance of healthcare and how we cannot talk about decent work in my area without also addressing healthcare issues.

The findings from October 17 also contributed to the official written statement of the Fourth World Movement put together by Vicki Soanes, representative of the Fourth World Movement to the United Nations in New York. Vicki also welcomed WC, Peggy and Jason to New York and helped guide them through the session over the four days that they attended.

“It was a great experience. I met a lot of people from all around the world and learned a lot about how different countries and individuals see the question of decent work.” Peggy Mariner.

With their return, WC, Jason and Peggy reported back what they learned to local people, bringing a fresh perspective on what it means to promote decent work and full employment for all.