We’ve made it halfway to Montauk! Thank you so much to everyone who contributed and helped us raise $10k so far! This means so much to us at a time when the sources of our funding remain uncertain. We must keep fighting for workers’ rights, and every dollar donated will be doubled, ensuring we can continue defending workers and causing headaches for bad bosses!

The future we envision, free of injustice and where all workers are cared for, will likely look much different from the world we see today. To meet that future, we need creative and connective strategies that can strengthen and grow the spaces where it exists as a reality today. In this moment, when hope can feel scarce, these spaces—where our envisioned future can be lived—become beacons guiding us forward.

Artwork by Margaret Palmquist (IG: @swedishsummers)

Art has long served as a powerful tool for self-expression and storytelling, allowing the artist to communicate emotions, ideas, and struggles in ways that transcend our words. As many of us are left speechless by the injustices unfolding around us, we can turn to artful expression to hold space for our hope, joy, and courage.

This is why we created Unsung Voices, a traveling art exhibit originally designed to shed light on the experiences, struggles, and triumphs of workers who have been excluded from the unemployment safety net simply because of the work they do (ie. freelancing) or their classification (ie. cash earner). It’s not rocket science – all labor has value and all workers deserve the protection of a social safety net if they lose their job.

Since its inception, Unsung Voices has expanded to include art and advocacy created by and for a growing community of workers. Just as LIJWJ believes in democratizing our workplaces and society, we also believe in democratizing cultural expression. Through art, we offer a space where workers can share their experiences through self-expression and storytelling, linking individual experiences to a larger call for economic justice.

If you believe art can be used as a tool for social change and has the ability to move hearts and minds, grow public consciousness, shift perceptions and inspire people to act, then please consider making a donation to Long Island Jobs with Justice today.

We have one more week to get to Montauk. Help us put some gas in our tank!

In solidarity,

Long Island Jobs with Justice

P.S. – If you are an artist and would like to submit a piece to be shown at a future Unsung Voices exhibit, head to this link.