Channel: Economy
Senate Passes Jobs Bill, Obama Signature Next
The Senate today passed a jobs bill that AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka calls “good start” in helping the nation’s workers climb out of the 11-million-deep jobs hole dug by the Wall Street greed that propelled the economy’s nosedive.
But he says the bill–which is on its way to the White House for President Obama’s signature–must be the first step of a broad and intensive effort to rebuild the economy.
Much more needs to be done. We need to restore the jobs that were lost to the financial debacle, and Wall Street should pay to create them. We must invest in rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure and in the green jobs of the future. We have to maintain funding for vital services by state and local governments and prevent destructive cuts in education, police and fire protection and more. Read the rest of this entry »
Building Green Cars Could Create 150,000 Jobs
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Congress has the power to put thousands of Americans in some of the hardest-hit industries back to work and help protect the environment at the same time, according to a new report. New vehicle technology and the right policy choices, including incentives for higher fuel efficiency vehicles, could create up to 150,000 jobs for U.S. workers. But it will take strong, visionary action by our elected leaders to ensure those jobs are created here, the report says.
In “Driving Growth: How Clean Cars and Climate Policy Can Create Jobs,” the UAW, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Center for American Progress demonstrate how a new fleet of fuel-efficient vehicles would allow drivers to enhance energy security, reduce carbon emissions and put autoworkers and many others back to work.
The economic and environmental benefits underscore the need for Congress to pass strong clean energy and climate legislation that would promote good-paying domestic jobs and encourage investments in efficient, oil-saving technologies, the report says.
Seattle Activists Demand Big Banks Pay Fair Share
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Nearly 100 union and community activists rallied outside a JP Morgan Chase bank branch in downtown Seattle yesterday demanding the state legislature make “Big Banks pay their fair share” by closing a $67 million tax loophole for out-of-state banks.
The rally came on the first day of a special legislative session to close a $2.8 billion budget shortfall that threatens cuts in schools, health care, public safety and other vital services. The House revenue package closes the bank loophole, but bank lobbyists are pressuring the state Senate to maintain the giveaway.
Al Link, Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) secretary-treasurer, says the banks fighting to keep the $67 million loophole open are showing the same greed as
the Wall Street banks that turned their backs on us after they took $700 billion of our money in taxpayer bailouts….Now, here in Washington State, these big banks want even more of our money.
Workers’ Stories Put Face on Victims of Wall Street Greed
One worker says she lost four jobs during the past seven years. Another saw his unemployment insurance (UI) benefits evaporate due to Sen. Jim Bunning’s (R-Ky.) callous filibuster of an UI extension last month.
Those are just two of the personal stories jobless workers and others have shared at the AFL-CIO’s Good Jobs Now site. Our interactive site is part of the AFL-CIO’s fight for good jobs that today kicked off two weeks of action across the country with rallies and demonstrations at branches of the Big Six Wall Street banks—Bank of America, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wachovia-Wells Fargo. (Find out about events in your area here.)
The Big Six’s reckless greed played the major role in wrecking the U.S. economy and killing American jobs. The workers sharing their stories have seen firsthand the damage left behind.
Momentum Building for Action on China Currency Manipulation
The momentum is building for the United States to take strong action to counteract manipulation of its currency by China’s government.
More than 130 members of Congress signed on to a letter from Reps. Mike Michaud (D-Maine) and Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) delivered today that urges Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to take strong action up to and including countervailing duties (CVD) or tariffs because of currency manipulation.
Michaud and Ryan’s letter is the latest in growing calls by Congress and by top economists for the United States to act on the manipulation of currency by China’s government. If Geithner does act, the administration could impose remedies, such as tariffs, to create a fairer trade balance with China.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who co-chairs the Fair Currency Coalition, thanked Michaud and Ryan for their letter:
The working families of this country need jobs now. If we want a recovery that will invest in manufacturing, boost exports, balance trade, and create jobs we must stop China and other countries from illegally manipulating their currency. China’s prolonged undervaluation…is an illegal export subsidy. That is why the U.S. government must allow CVD cases to proceed. American workers expect their government to stand up for them.
Time to Take Tough Action Against China Currency Manipulation
The manipulation of its currency by China’s government is the major problem facing American manufacturing. It’s past time the U.S. government muster the will to take strong action, even imposing emergency tariffs, to level the playing field, several experts, including economist Paul Krugman and United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo Gerard, said yesterday.
Speaking at the forum on “Currency Manipulation: How Should the U.S. Respond?” sponsored by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) with the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), Robert Scott, EPI’s senior economist, said China’s currency manipulation has cost between 1.5 million and 3 million good American manufacturing jobs.
Fred Bergsten, director of the conservative Peterson Institute for International Economics, added:
If there is going to be a serious jobs program, the exchange rate of the dollar must be at the center of the debate.
Wage Gap Between Women and Men Bad, Women of Color Suffer Most
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The pay gap between female and male workers in this country got a hearing in a Senate committee yesterday. But you wouldn’t even know the hearing happened: The issue apparently doesn’t rank up there with the antics of drunk superstars or foolish golfers to get attention by the corporate media.
Right now, U.S. working women receive 77 cents for every dollar paid to a male worker. The ratio has remained nearly unchanged for years. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) has been pushing for more than a decade to pass a paycheck fairness bill, and yesterday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing on the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 12/S. 182).
‘I Am Not Your ATM’
Working people have plenty to be angry with Wall Street about. A $700 billion bailout. Toxic assets and loan guarantees to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars. A financial crisis and credit crunch. Billions of dollars in six- and seven-figure bonuses to the Wall Street executives who got us into this mess.
Unemployment reaching 10 percent. A mortgage crisis extending far beyond subprime loans. Abusive credit and debit card fees. More than five job-seekers for every one job.
Wall Street has treated Main Street as a giant ATM—gambling with the economy, then coming back with their hands out for help. But somehow, no matter how much help the banks need to survive, they always have the resources to fight proposals to regulate them or get them to pay their fair share.
U.S. Income Equality May Equal Mexico’s by 2043
Two reports out this week offer a telling glimpse into the direction of the nation.
- The number of U.S. households with a net worth of at least $1 million jumped 16 percent last year after dipping sharply during the financial crisis, according to a new report. The Spectrem Group study also found “ultra-high net worth families—those with at least $5 million—grew 17 percent last year to 980,000.
- Some 6 percent of all workers were living in poverty in 2008, up from 5.1 percent in 2007—the highest proportion since 6.2 percent in 1994, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2008, some 8.9 million adults were among the “working poor”—1.4 million more than in 2007.
Stimulus $$ Is Out There—300 Pennsylvania Union Leaders Find Out How to Get It
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| Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President William George leads a discussion on tapping into economic recovery funds with union leaders from across the state. |
Yael Foa, AFL-CIO senior field representative for the Northeast Region, sends us this report on union efforts in Pennsylvania to tap into federal economic recovery funds to create jobs across the state.
The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO recently sponsored two first-of-their-kind forums to provide union leaders with specifics about where and how American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) dollars are being spent in our state. We also examined how union leaders can identify opportunities to access economic recovery dollars for job creation and training programs. Nearly 300 union leaders from across the state took part.
