2024 has been a year of immense challenges and remarkable resilience and the impacts of Hurricane Helene will be felt across our region for years to come. We are incredibly grateful for the support we’ve received this year. As we look ahead to 2025, we want to take a moment to reflect and celebrate the collective accomplishments of the past year.
Since Helene, Just Economics:
- Led calls from the western part of the state for an eviction moratorium and more rental assistance for Western North Carolina in the aftermath of the disaster. Our open letter to state leaders was signed by nearly 800 local elected officials, clergy, organizations, business owners, and community members. We also organized a rally, hosted a press conference, spoke at Moral Mondays and multiple press conferences, worked with partners across the state, brought media attention, and went to Raleigh to lobby our state leaders.
- Jumped into action from the start in several ways including delivering supplies to individuals, helping to prevent evictions, and organizing to meet the needs of our community.
- Ramped up our housing work by advocating for zero rent in public housing during the disaster, canvassing in public housing, leading the WNC Tenants Network, hosting a fair housing training, and providing information and support to tenants in both public and private housing.
- Supported local businesses advocating for small business grants and providing new ways for individuals to show support for Living Wage Certified employers from near and far.
- Organized a disaster relief laundry service organizing 20+ washers in Transylvania County to help do laundry for individuals in Buncombe County without usable water.
- Partnered with Swannanoa Communities Together by providing direct staff capacity for a resource center in the center of one of the hardest hit areas.
Despite the challenges of this year, we have many accomplishments to celebrate:
- We welcome new staff members to the team: Sam Stites, as our Living Wage Program Coordinator and Rural Organizer and Emma Nguyen, as Operations Manager
- Launched a new Living Wage Champions Campaign in Henderson County
- Host another great year of Just Brew It!
Through our Policy Advocacy work, in 2024 we:
- Successfully advocated for higher wages for the lowest paid workers at the City of Asheville
- Worked in solidarity with firefighters to advocate for higher wages for lowest paid firefighters
Through our Grassroots Education and Engagement we:
- Graduated another virtual class of Voices for Economic Justice and worked with another group of participants in the Fall!
- Facilitated 8 Poverty Simulations
With our Living Wage Certification program we:
- Certified 35 employers new to the Living Wage Certification program
- Saw a $1.4 million impact with wage raises given to meet our living wage standards during certification and recertification
- Hosted employer networking events and led the national Living Wage Network
This year, the Affordable Housing Strategy Team:
- Co-led the newly formed Buncombe Affordable Housing Network
- Engaged in the City of Asheville’s Affordable Housing Plan
- Hosted Affordable Housing Advocacy 101 workshops
We lead the WNC Tenants Network and this year we celebrated:
- Joining the NC Tenants Union
- Co-facilitating Tenants Rights Workshops with Pisgah Legal
Our Better Buses Together group successfully:
- Hosted a Spring Transit Riders’ Assemblies
- Led Asheville Regional Transit Coalitions work to advocate for increased frequency to South Asheville and gain better understanding of microtransit
Just Economics is the convener for the WNC Workers’ Assembly, which:
- Took the lead in organizing a May Day rally
- Joined in solidarity actions supporting local union efforts
- Completed a study with partners at UNCA/UNC Gillings on Hospitality Worker Health and Wellbeing
Our affiliate, the Living Wage Coalition of Transylvania County:
- Certified 5 new employers paying a Living Wage to the program and recertified the existing list of Living Wage employers in Transylvania County
- Grew our coalition and launched a new communications team
- Advocated Transylvania County for Living Wages and a Paid Family Leave policy through public comment, meetings, and an op-ed
Your support makes this work possible – thank you! This year reminded us of the resilience and courage of our WNC Community and we’re proud to stay committed to the long-term work of building a more just and sustainable economy that works for all in Western North Carolina.
