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Nationwide Worksite Actions Kick Off Labor 2010
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In California, union workers are learning about Republican U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina‘s support of shipping jobs overseas, or as she calls it, “right shoring.” In Illinois, the word is going out about Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady’s opposition to boosting the state’s minimum wage.
In those and 21 other states today, union members at worksites across the nation are kicking off a nationwide grassroots campaign with a call for creating good American jobs now and backing the candidates that support them.
The worksite actions, which run through July 25, are the first wave of the AFL-CIO’s Labor 2010 mobilization. Says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka:
If politicians want the support of working families in November they need to create good jobs here in America now. People aren’t interested in campaign slogans or promises, they want results.
Union members will distribute fliers at worksites and talk with their union brothers and sisters about candidates for national state and local offices and their stances on jobs and the economy. Among those candidates, Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania Republican candidate for governor, parroted the “lazy” jobless worker myth spread by some Republican politicians and candidates.
In a radio interview over the weekend, Corbett suggested that some Pennsylvanians would prefer to continue collecting unemployment insurance (UI) to getting a job and that extending UI (blocked four times in the U.S. Senate this year by Republicans) is a disincentive to return to work.
The jobs are there. But if we keep extending unemployment, people are just going to sit there.
What world does he live in?
Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Richard Bloomingdale says that Corbett must be completely out of touch with the economy and the plight of jobless workers, who, he says,
would rather be working, feeding their families and paying the mortgage than living with the uncertainty of not having a job, earning less than half their wages and going without health care and pensions….Unemployed workers are looking for work every day. The problem is that for every job opening there are many unemployed workers.
Trumka says the message workers want candidates to hear from now until Election Day is that they need to be on our side when it comes to creating jobs in America, holding Wall Street and Big Business accountable and ending unfair trade practices.
If politicians are fighting for working families then we will work our hearts out for them. If they aren’t delivering and think they can take our support for granted, then they may be awfully lonely come November.
Today, tune in to hear United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo W. Gerard on “The Ed Show” on MSNBC at 6 p.m. EDT. He will discuss unemployment and jobs.
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10 Comments
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If Organized Labor really wants to ” hold Wall Street and big business accountable and overturn unfair trade” then we must recognize that all this was initiated by Dems & GOP’s. The problems we have are systemic and caused by the two party
“good cop, bad cop” system, both of which take money ‘hand over fist’ from big business. Want to “create jobs?” Create a US Labor Party that is organized and backed by organized labor.
http://amlabor.ning.com/
The idea that working people or women could be so depoliticized and dumbed down by “the greatest system (for maintaining the complete unquestioned control of everything by the superrich) in the world” as to consider voting for a millionaire/billionaire like Fiorino in California or Scott in Florida is almost enough to make me vote for a Democrat, but I won’t. I will sit this one out like millions and millions of fellow workers suffering unemployment and underemployment and the dictatorship of cheap weasel bosses if they do have a crummy non-union job. Even union jobs are going to Hell because the boss thinks that he holds all of the cards. These big business phonys could never pretend to offer an alternative if a real one – a Labor Party were to be brought into the picture. It is time to tilt things back toward our direction while we still can. Labor support for Democrats has only enabled the bourgeois stampede to the far right, and made insignificant scum like Lieberman and Nelson into big shots.
Not a bad idea….and very true. This country, it’s citizens particularly working people, feel that Washington bailed out Wall Street, but forgot Main Street.
We need to have laws passed, that will penalize corporations for outsourcing jobs….just because they want cheap labor. They want…want…want. The working people of this country have been squeezed, hung, drawn & quartered. You have to ask yourself, ‘when is enough, enough’? If a total grass movement with ALL Labor organizations does not come together, we will continue to lose!!! Haven’t we lost enough already?
I agree with Ritchie, We need a working people’s party that supports President Trumpka’s call to organize and support undocumented and all workers against corporate bailouts, political sellouts, and military handouts that promote endless wars.
I propose we run a slate of AFL-CIO candidates in opposition to the Twin Parties of Big Business, War, & Plunder.
I agree wholeheartedly. SEIU tried this in North Carolina recently and suffered a setback. There are some opportunities in Labor friendly states as opposed to “right to work states.” No need to “carpet bomb,” we don’t have the resources. With this in mind, we should “pick our spots” carefully and let the Blue Chips fall where they may.
Why do the Republicans hate us workers? Oh, right. we’re workers. We don’t earn enough money. Because they don’t want us to be like them. Thank God!
Union brothers and sisters, The corporate money along with our very own government wants to break us to the point that we are dependant on them for the very air we are breathing.. The time in now to unite and be the strong union we are. Just like when the states joined the union to make our country the great country that it is today. Join in the the discussion and help make our country strong again by listening to the “union and you” radio talk show on http://www.klav1230am.com mondays from 3 to 4pm pst.The union and you radio talk show is a two way open talk forum discussing view points, ideas and solutions to create a better tomorrow..Be part of it and help take our country back to the people
The best way for us to immediately create millions of new jobs and provide economic recovery is to: INVEST NOW IN AN INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES for: Broadband, Healthcare IT, smart Transpotation systems, and smart Grids.
This Investment is like the Investments made in the past, in ERA, TVA, National RailRoad, and the National Transportation Inter-State Highways, which increased productivity and our GDP.
OUR GOAL OR MISSION RIGHT NOW; MUST BE: JOBS, JOBS, MORE JOBS.
Please See:
http://www.gkquoquoi.blogspot.com, http://www.21stcenturyinfrastructure.blogspot.com,
http://www.21stcenturycommunications.blogspot.com.
Gadema Quoquoi
President & CEO
COMPULINE INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Get rid of the 25 million illegal aliens who are employed in the jobs where UNION MEMBERS used to work. I live right next door to illegals who work in well paid jobs that should be held by AMERICAN CITIZENS.
Hey Tricia! What about the SCUMBAGS that hire the illegal workers and don’t go to jail? Everyone forgets that “free trade” is what has made this country suck for us workers and makes the market for illegals, if all of us were pissed and smart enough, we’d take the time to call up our politicians that have sold us out, and tell that we can’t vote for them!! Then go vote but don’t vote for the sell out. If enough of us would do that they’d get the idea.However I think most of us workers are just too stupid or lazy to actually DO SOMETHING!!!