Published: December 8, 2010
City Paper

Center of Attention

By Jake Blumgart

The country's ongoing unemployment crisis has become a kind of perpetual motion machine for the news media.

And what better visual aid than photos of the unemployed themselves, voicing their anger in public demonstrations and via powerfully worded signs? But if you look closely, you'll notice something weird: A lot of the pictures are from Philly. Whether it's The L.A. Times, The Portland (Maine) Press Herald, the Honolulu Star Advertiser, The Washington Times or NPR — the photographs of the unemployed protesting benefits cuts and general joblessness are of Philadelphians. But why?

The answer has to do with the Philadelphia Unemployment Project (PUP), a Philly-based advocacy group and services provider for the jobless. Since 1975, PUP has helped its members navigate the Byzantine processes of securing aid while mobilizing them to fight the even larger political battle with government for jobs programs and better unemployment benefits.

Now, all of a sudden and all over the country, when a story runs about the unemployed, you're likely to see a picture of a PUP rally. The sudden attention hasn't gone unnoticed by PUP Director John Dodds, who explains the phenomenon as a sign of how rare organizing among the jobless has become: "We're actually organizing unemployed workers. Unfortunately, there are very few groups doing that," he says, adding, "Back in the '70s, there were lots of unemployed groups everywhere."

Still, the organization is making the most of the spotlight while they've got it. Says Dodds, "A picture's worth a thousand words."