An Overview
Our Shared Goal
To create a political and business climate that leads to wages that are adequate to afford the basic necessities of life and hope for the future for the working people of the Atlanta region.
The Issue
It is our hope to provide means for the religious/faith communities of the Atlanta region to coordinate and become more engaged in the struggle for a just and fair living wage for the region’s working people.
The Atlanta metro area of more than 4 million people is fragmented into over 100 separate municipal jurisdictions. The city of Atlanta proper has only 400,000 residents. The tendency in the region is to slip into an "us versus them" mentality, particularly around social issues.
For any meaningful movement to get traction in the region, it must have advocates in all jurisdictions – urban, suburban, and rural. The faith community can provide the traction for a movement aimed at insuring a just and fair living wage.
The Campaign
We strive to raise the awareness of the public, business owners, and policy decision makers concerning the tens of thousands of our neighbors in Georgia who are forced to live on wages that do not allow them to support oneself or one's family without public assistance.
We are working through the hundreds of congregations and faith organizations that are constituents of the six allied organizations of the Fairness for Georgia Families coalition.
Through this process, we plan to equip a "critical mass" of advocates representing various faith traditions who are committed influencing public and private decisions on employment and wages – and who understand the importance of addressing the issue in the context of their faith commitments.
We are working with the advocacy groups, 9 to 5 and the Coalition for a Living Wage, in the hope that their activities can be supplemented and enhanced by new understandings and motivation in the wider community, as faith leaders contribute their voices to this civic dialogue.
Coalition Members
Faith And The City has assembled the Fairness for Georgia Families coalition, which includes itself and other established faith-based organizations, each with its own individual track record.
Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters Inc.
Cable television network that reaches 850,000 households in Atlanta metro community
Longstanding activist association of socially conscious faith leaders, congregations, and other organizations
Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta
Regional interfaith organization. Membership of dozens of leaders from Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Baha’i, Buddhist, as well as Christian and other faith traditions.
Faith And The City / Faith And The City Leadership Institute
Nonprofit with interfaith mission to engage people of all faiths in civic dialogue and action.
Mayor's Faith-Based Roundtable
Convened by Mayor Shirley Franklin for input from faith community. Membership of several hundred pastors, rabbis, and imams.
Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta
Membership association of 137 churches that helps Christian clergy, laity, and community leaders to nurture their collective mission.
Resources
Congregational Resource Guide
This resource‘s primary use is to equip religious leaders – elders, deacons, rabbis, imams, priests, and others – to help members of their congregations to become advocates on employment and wage issues. The guide includes sections on facts about the issue, theological/faith rationales for involvement with the issue, preaching/worship helps, educational helps, and outreach and advocacy suggestions. The guide is recommended also for use in activities such as adult studies, religious education classes, etc.
This resource is easily distributed, for use in congregation bulletins and newsletters, in mailings to community associations, and as an informational press release to neighborhood newspapers and radio stations.
Video Series
This series of video episodes features real people’s stories about their own experiences – giving a human face to the statistical confusion. It examines the challenges of living at the low end of the pay scale and those of running a business with employees at that end of the pay scale. The series is produced and aired by Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters Inc. cable network, which reaches 850,000 households throughout the Atlanta metro community. DVD copies are available for use in conjunction with the Congregational Resource Guide.