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Trumka Talks Jobs, Voter Anger on ‘Bill Moyers Journal’
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In a wide-ranging, 30-minute conversation Friday on “Bill Moyers Journal,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka talked about the need for a large-scale jobs program, what’s fueling voters’ anger, health care reform, the need for workers to regain the freedom to form unions and more.
Following are just a few excerpts. Click here to view the full video or read the transcript.
Pointing to the State of the Union address, Trumka told Moyers that President Obama has “realized that there is a lot of anger and frustration out there,” centered on jobs and the economy—and the best way to address that anger is a jobs bill. Asked how big, Trumka said:
It has to be a large scale. We lost 8 million jobs, plus we have 2 million that we needed for growth. So, we’re 10 million jobs in the hole. In order to do that, it’s going to take more than a little stimulus package or a little jobs bill.
So, our job is to make sure that his understanding of the anger, translates out into a jobs program of sufficient size to solve the problem.
Asked, “Where does the money come from,” Trumka said:
It’s a real simple thing. You know, let’s look at who created the mess. The banks created this mess. Wall Street created this mess. And the super rich have had a tax break from Bush of $1.2 trillion. We can take a little bit back from the rich that have really enjoyed the last 10 years in an unprecedented way, and pay for the creation of jobs that they actually destroyed.
Moyers asked what was behind the voter anger that propelled a Republican to capture a U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts that had been held for decades by Sen. Edward Kennedy.
It was a wakeup call. And we were predicting that. We said, “Look, they’re angry. They’re frustrated. And if you’re not on the side of creating jobs, jobs, jobs—if they don’t believe that, and you’re not acting that on the scale that they think is necessary, you’re going to face a bad time.”
Check out the full interview here.
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GOOD MORNING ; I WOULD LIKE TO LEAVE A COMMENT TO RICHARD TRUMKA , ABOT POLICY AND BILLS AND DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS AND INDEPENDESTS AND MASS THE BLUE STATE . THE MESSAGE WAS FIRED ACROSS THE BOW OF THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION WITH SEN SCOTT BROWN WIN AS A U S SENATOR … WHAT WE MUST ALL DO IS UNDERSTAND WAHT THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA WANT IS CHANGE IN AMERICA WHICH THEY OUR NOT GETTING FROM THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION AND CONGRESS AND THE U S SENATE , WHAT WE HAVE NOW IS LOTS OF BAD DEALS AND CLOSED DOOR BACK ROOM DEALS WITCH OUR FULL OF CORRUPTION , WITH NO TRANSPARENCY , ACCOUNTABILITY AND HONEST GOVERNMENT ! THATS WHY THE LAST 3 STATES WENT TO PEOPLE IN AMERICA WHO OFFER THAT AND WHY THEY WON ! WE HAVE TO LOOK AT HOW OBAMA , CINGRESS AND THE U S SENATE OUR DOING BUISNESS , WE HAVE A CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES AND THEY OUR NOT FOLLOWING ITS PRINCIPLES , THEY OUR FOLLOWING A MARXISM POLICY , WE MADE A VERY BAD MISTAKE WITH VOTING OBAMA IN OFFICE AND WE DID NOT HAVE MUCH OF A CHOICE ON WHO WAS RUNNING , I FEEL WE HAVE TO MUCH CORRUPTION IN WASHINGTON AND POLITICS AND WE HAVE CHICAGO POLITICS NOW WITH MANY BACK ROOM DEALS AND THIS IS HOW OBAMA WORKS AND HE TRYS TO TALK A GOOD GAME , BUT AMERICANS OUR SEEING THROUGH HIS GAME !
LOOK AT ALL THE SPENDING AND ITS DONE NOTHING , TO HELP CREATE JOBS AND ALL THE PEOPLE OUT OF WORK ! THE DEMOCRATS HAVE CONTROLED THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE THE LAST 3 YEARS ! WHAT HAVE THEY DONE IN THE LAST 3 YEARS SPEND , SPEND , SPEND THEY HAVE SPENT MORE BY 2 TIME THEN GEARGE BUSH HAS IN HIS 8 YEARS WITH ALL HE HAS DONE ! THE DEMOCRATS HAVE LET THE DOGS OUT TO KILL AND THATS WHAT THEY HAVE DONE AND THEY SEEN ALL THIS COMING AND HOW WALL STREET CAME INTO THE HOME LOAN GAME WHEN THEY OPEN THE DOORS FOR THEM AND THATS WHERE IT STARTED , THEY SAY ABOUT 94 % OF PEOPLE WHO REALLY INVEST IN THE STOCK MARKET LOSE OVER A PERIOD OF TIME , I KNOW I WAS TAKEN EVERY TIME GOING TO THE PROS TO INVEST MONEY , ALI BABA HAD 40 THIEVES HE WAS LUCKY HE ONLY HAD FORTY … WE HAVE TENS OF THOUSANDS IN WALL STREET SCAMS THAT REACH TO EVERY CORNOR OF AMERICA AND THE WORLD 1
THE JOBS BILL FROM WHAT I SEEN ON THE NEWS IS THE CLIMATE BILL AS A TITLE AS THE JOBS BILL , BEFORE AMERICANS JUMP FOR JOY , WE NEED TO ASK MANY QUESTIONS AND AS YOU KNOW WHEN WE DO WE OUR CALLED ALL KINDS OF BAD NAMES FROM THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE PELOSI . THATS A BIG PROBLEM BEING A UNION MEMBER AND HAVING THE FACTS TO WHATS GOING ON IN AMERICA WITH THE DEMOCRATS AND PEOPLE TELLING YOU TO GO ALONG WITH CORRUPTION AND BACK ROOMS DEALS WHICH REALLY DONT HELP US FOR ITS THE SAME GROUP THEAT MADE ALL THE PROBLEMS WITH THE ECONOMY , WE NEED TO STOP LOOKING FOR ESCAPE GOATS AND BLAMING REPUBLICANS AND BUSH , WE HAVE HAD ONE OF THE LONGEST RUNNING ECONNOMYS UNDER BUSH EVEN WITH THE RICH TAX BREAKS , WE MUST BE HONEST WITH OUR SELF AND IT WAS BETTER THEN CLINTONS SCAMS AND ALL THE TAXES HE PUT AGAINTS MANY WORKING FOLKS AND IT GETS DEEP … BOAMA AFTER ONE YEAR MOST OF HIS POLICYS FAILED .. WE OUR HEADING TOWARDS A 15 TRILLION DEBIT THAT WILL BE 60,000 OWED BY EACH PERSON IN AMERICA AND THATS A LOT OF MONEY AND WE ONLY HAVE A 15 TRILLION ECONOMY FOR AMERICA , WHAT WILL WE DO PRINT MONEY TO PAY OUR OWN LOANS OR TRY TO SELL OUR DEBIT TO THE WORLD , WE OUR SELL DOUBLE DEBIT AND CHINA SAID IT WONT BUY IT ANY MORE AND THERE TALKING ABOUT MAKING A NEW WORLD DOLLAR ! AMERICANS MUST SEE THE DIRECTION OF WHAT THIS ADMINISTRATION IS DOING AND WHERE THEY OUR HEADING , YES WE NEED JOBS AND WE NEED TO RECOVER FROM THE ECONOMY AND WE NEED FIRST TO UNDERSTAND OF WHY WE GOT HERE ! ALL OF CONGRESS IS COMING UP FOR ELECTION AND THATS WHAT RICHARD TRUMKA SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT FIRST AND VOTE OUT CANCER AND CORRUPTION FROM CONGRESS AND THE U S SENATE , AMERICANS OUR NOT WAITING FOR UNIONS TO COME UP WITH A PLAN WE OUR COMING UP WITH THE PLAN AND UNIONS NEDD TO WAKE UP AND BE HONEST AND GET OUT OF OBAMS BED AND MOVE FORWARS WITH , TRANSPRANCEY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND HONESTY BEFORE CHANGE CAN TAKE PLACE SPENDING TRILLIONS IS NOT THE ANSER , WHEN YOU HAVE A CORRUPT DEMOCARTIC CONGRESS AND U S SENATE THAT WILL NOT LISTEN TO THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE AND FOLLOW THE CONSTITUTION AND NOT THE WILL OF MEN IS WAHTS HAPPENING AND WHY AMERICANS OUR VOTING FOR REPUBLICANS AND INDEPENDETS AND SOME DEMOCARTS LETS FACE IT ITS THE TRUTH , THE UNIONS NEED TO BE HONEST WITH THEM SELF FOR THE OUR STUCK IN THE MUD WITH OBAMA AND NEED TO WASH THEM SELFS OFF AND CLEAN UP THE ACT ,,, CHECK OUT THIS CLIMATE CONTROL BILL THEY OUR CALLING THE JOBS BILL . AMERICA IS BEING CORNED AND THE UNION OUR FOLLOWING RIGHT UP THERE BACK SIDE , GET REAL AND WAKE UP UNIONS !
GOD BLESS AMERICA AND ALL OUR TROOPS FIGHTING FOR OUR FREEDOM AND DEMOCARCY
Please stop repeating the lies you hear from the right on deficits.
There are so many mis-statements in your comments it is bewildering to me.
Do some homework before you open your mouth,please
I don’t like that he did not understand or wanted to sideshirt some of Bill Moyers’ questions which were obvious to me and needed an answer. It made me think he has another agenda behind what he puts out.
I watched the interview over the weekend. Overall, I was very proud of Trumka’s representation of Labor’s issues. The question that sparked particular interest with me was the one in which Moyers asserted that since Trumka had recently been arrested in CA, would he then be advocating more “militancy” among union members? I wish Trumka had just said “HELL, YES!!!”
Mr. Trumka; your response was a little too politically correct for me, ALTHOUGH I still appreciate the more appropriate response you offered. I personally support a national day(s) of Strike for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. I don’t care if my standard of living, in the form of my job, is jeopardized; because without Free Choice, it already is. The notion that; any job is better than no job at all, is completely false when it provides less than poverty level compensation, in terms of pay, health care, retirement, or job security.
“Good jobs” did not start out that way, until Unions made them so. The replacement for the loss of good jobs becoming just any ol’ job is absurd; and I refuse to accept that’s the best this Country can do.
I was disappointed at not hearing Mr. Trumka denouncing both the war economy and the move to re-enslave women by removing our right to our own wombs.
And in any case, I hope that we all know the difference between pretty words and real actions.
President Trumka made a number of excellent points. The two that stood out for me were (1) the way he explained the job creation process. He is one of the spokespeople I have heard who understands that jobs will not be created until there is demand from consumers and that programs like extending unemployment benefits are critical in creating that demand. (2) He also clearly articulated the differences in how wealth created by productivity gains in the 50′s and 60′s built the middle class, but that the wealth created by productivity gains in the 90′s and the first decade of the 21st century have only led to widening the pay differential between upper and lower classes.
The issue is Humanity. Let us join together to reduce the national work week from 40 to 32 hours & let us work together across lines of “party” race, creed, or wage to implement a 10% flat tax. These two decisive steps will bring us closer to national and global peace.
Richard is truly a success story and a great motivator.
We desparately need the employee free choice act for all persons in the work force.
And every Americal deserves basic health care. The republicans don’t want it because they say it will cost jobs but it’s quite the other way around. If workers didn’t have to spend so much time worrying about which employer offered health care, I feel productivity would increase. Keep the pressure on the congress to pass health care reform.
Bill Moyers hates workers and is anti-Union
The union movement in the USA is well served through the leadership of Mr. Trumpka. Last week was a good week for the US Middle Class and that includes Mr. Trumpka’s interview on “Bill Moyer’s Journal.”
Pointing to the State of the Union address, Trumka told Moyers that President Obama has “realized that there is a lot of anger and frustration out there,” centered on jobs and the economy—and the best way to address that anger is a jobs bill.
And to guarantee that a jobs bill will be effective it should include mandatory and permanent use of E-Verify for every employer in the US. And those currently employed should be included. Run their names through the system and ‘weed out’ those who are not ‘eligible’ to work in this country! In addition the use of H1-B visas should be severely limited. And while we’re at it how about a moratorium on immigration? American workers should not have to be competing against new immigrants for jobs that are already all too scarce!
Mr. Moyers structured his interview in a hard hitting manner designed to get at the motives behind union positions. Mr. Trumka answered, to the point, and with dignity. It is important not to lose the dignity in order to be heard, even though there are the moments when one wants to blast them with facts about issues after issue.
The American workforce has been viciously attacked beginning with the deregulation of Wall Street by Reagan. So, we see jobs shipped overseas, and workers shipped in. When the Republicans have been in control, they drive up the deficit, wage war for economic aggression in other nations, abusing our military, and never, but never, list the huge cost of war and maintaining our tax support of the industrial military manufacters in the budget lists. Add Republicans allowing offshoring and Swiss accounts to that, as well as millions in lobbyists and publicity propaganda of Wall Street. And yes, we need to get going on manufacturing renewable energy. China is now selling us the wind turbine parts for wind machines in Texas…on our tax dollar. We need to get lobbying and war on a national referendum instead of just on Wall Street’s to do list. Some Dems are on the line on these issues, also. If they don’t shape up, those individuals also need to voted o u t.
That is why the comments “jstuice” made, are so inaccurate. The positions are contradictory to factual records of past administrations. Obama, if he has a fault, it is his considering that people will do the right thing. Instead, he and the Dems needed to ram through every issue as quickly as possible. You can’t play chess with Republican Rhinocerous’. They only learned bomber ball.
DOES ANYONE REMEMBER THE MILLION MAN MARCH ON WASHINGTON? I THINK WE NEED A 10 BILLION MAN MARCH ON WASHINGTON. I THINK WE NEED TO CONVINCE WASHINGTON TO IMMEDIATELY STOP THREE PRACTICES THAT ARE DESTROYING AMERICA:
1) STOP FREE TRADE NOW!
2) STOP OFFSHORING NOW!
3) STOP H1A AND H1B VISAS NOW!
Yes! Pam. Add a fourth: Stop spending billions on invading other countries to prepare for corporate profits overseas…. Save money and lives.