Working families are focus of gathering

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Fifteen organizations that work for reforms in education, health care, jobs and justice are combining forces Saturday to advance the power of working families.

The "Ties that Bind" conference, is aimed at placing the needs of working families higher on the legislative agenda, organizers said Thursday.

"A lot of people who are hurting don't have access to the power, and the concept behind this conference is that we are stronger together," said Joe Berry, of S.C. Working Families.

"The legislative session starts three days later, and we want to build up momentum for these issues."

South Carolina has one of the worst unemployment rates in the nation, and Berry said some attention will be paid not only to creating more jobs but also to developing "green" jobs that will not harm the environment.

The conference's keynote speaker is the Rev. Joe Darby, senior pastor at Morris Brown AME Church in Charleston.

Organizations sponsoring the conference include S.C. Working Families, Goodbye Minimally Adequate, S.C. Appleseed Legal Justice Center, S.C. AFL-CIO, S.C. Education Association, S.C. Fair Share, S.C. Legislative Black Caucus, S.C. NAACP, Carolina Peace Resource Center, Alliance for Climate Protection, Affordable Housing Coalition of South Carolina, S.C. Hispanic Leadership Council, S.C. Hispanic/Latin Health Coalition, S.C. Progressive Network and Waccamaw Indian People.

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