Quintessential Careers honors one career or job site each issue of QuintZine with the Quintessential Careers Site Award in recognition of quintessential efforts in helping job-seekers.

June 7, 2004: Working Poor Picnic

Working Poor Picnic

Working Poor Picnic was named to underscore a bitter irony, and to reclaim a holiday (Labor Day) that has lost all meaning in recent years, according to the site.

The site is currently mounting four ambitious projects designed to unite and promote organizations for maximum impact on shared issues of the working poor. One project is a mobile resource center that plans to visit dozens of cities each year. This expo-on-wheels will connect people with local jobs and services, and keep the focus on working-poor issues during the 2004 campaign season.

At these day-long events, visitors will find a wide range of tools to improve their standard of living, individually and collectively, such as:

• Political-action opportunities
• Union and labor-action opportunities
• Job recruiters offering a living wage
• Career counselors
• Free Local Resource Guides, prepared for each host city
• Free or low-cost medical clinics
• Public transportation
• Vo-tech schools, community colleges, GED courses
• Tax preparers, money managers (debt relief)
• Daycare providers and "care sharing" cooperatives

Included on the site are links to sites that enable the working poor to engage in activism in efforts to improve their situation.

See all our featured Quintessential Sites.