Just Economics of Western North Carolina (JE) is a regional, membership organization based in Asheville, NC. Our mission is to educate, advocate, and organize for a just and sustainable economy that works for all in Western North Carolina.
JE was born out of the Asheville-Buncombe Living Wage Campaign, an effort that initially began in 2000, but took root in 2006. This coalition of faith, labor, and community groups succeeded in passing the first living wage ordinance in our region, which guarantees Asheville City employees a living wage.
We knew that the city ordinance was just a start. To have a substantial impact, we needed to dig in for the long term, develop a stronger organizational base, and take the living wage campaign beyond the city workforce and into the private sector.
In 2007, Just Economics became the organizational home for the Asheville-Buncombe Living Wage Campaign. Since our inception, we have worked on living wages as a foundation piece of building a more just and sustainable local economy. We have expanded to include better transit, affordable housing, and other worker issues as focus points for our organizing and advocacy.
Just Economics does multi-county work (with the Living Wage Coalition of Transylvania County as an official affiliate) on several issues related to economic justice. We now have the largest voluntary Living Wage Certification in the country, play a key role in several statewide coalitions, and are moving the needle on local issues like transit. Our work centers the voices of people impacted by economic injustice through our campaign teams and engages our members in building a more just and sustainable economic community.
Together, our members are working to shape the economic development of Western North Carolina in a way that benefits everyone and promotes a sustainable future. We aim to have a membership that reflects the diversity of our community, with an intentional focus on leadership from people living on a low income, workers, bus riders and tenants.