Job Crisis Forum Video Available on C-SPAN
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If you missed Monday’s AFL-CIO forum on “The Jobs Crisis—Moving to Action: A Dialogue Between Workers and Policymakers,” the full event is now viewable on C-SPAN here.
You also can click on the video, at left, for a six-minute excerpt that features unemployed workers Shonda Sneed and Bob Stein, along with comments from moderator Bob Herbert, distinguished fellow at Dēmos and an award-winning journalist, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) and Heather Boushey, a senior economist at the Center for American Progress.
The forum drew a sharp contrast between the policies that are currently being advocated as solution—like slash-and-burn deficit reduction—with those needed to spark a real economic recovery.
Jobs Crisis Forum: The Time for Excuses Is Over. Create Jobs Now
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Shonda Sneed of Yellow Springs, Ohio, was laid off in December 2009 and is about to run out of unemployment benefits. Because of state budget cuts, she also could soon lose the health care nurse who helps care for her mother who has dementia. At the last job she applied for, she was told 450 others had also applied for the same position.
Sneed and Bob Stein, a 60-year-old former salesman who has been out of work since May 2010, are two of the 14 million Americans who are unemployed—and their story is not being told in the midst of the debate over the deficit. Sneed and Stein, who are both members of Working America, spoke to a forum on “The Jobs Crisis—Moving to Action: A Dialogue Between Workers and Policymakers” at the AFL-CIO this morning.
As Sneed said:
All I want is a decent job. I want to work. I love to work. I’m scared. I don’t know what’s going to happen to my mother. I have a home to pay off.
The forum, moderated by Bob Herbert, distinguished fellow at Dēmos and an award-winning journalist, drew a sharp contrast between the policies that got our country in this economic crisis and are currently being advocated to get it out, and what is needed in order to spark a real economic recovery.
Proposed NLRB Rule Change Draws Wide Support
The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB’s) modest, common-sense proposed rule to remove roadblocks for workers who want to vote on whether to form a union has drawn praise from working men and women, political leaders and activists around the country. Here’s a sample of the comments:
Electrical Workers (IBEW) President Edwin Hill:
By eliminating delays, the board is not only bringing some balance. It is also saving money for taxpayers who foot the bill because of unnecessary litigation.
Communications Workers of America (CWA) President Larry Cohen:
Workers at T-Mobile USA and nearly every other company know firsthand how U.S. corporations use delay to keep workers from making a fair choice about union representation. The changes proposed by the National Labor Relations Board are a first and modest step toward ending some of that delay.
Union and Progressive Activists Join Forces at Netroots Nation
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Netroots Nation, the annual conference for online activists, is on next week, June 16-19, in Minneapolis. The union movement has a big presence there, as we seek to work more closely with our progressive allies in the netroots community. Here are some highlights:
• AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler is taking part in a June 17 lunch panel to talk about breaking down economic barriers that keep many Americans from moving ahead, especially young people, women and communities of color. She is joined by communications consultant Anat Shenker-Osorio and hip-hop artist Rha Goddess.
• Minnesota local labor and progressive activists will showcase how they created strong coalitions to elect a Democratic governor in 2010 and move key progressive priorities, including Tax the Rich legislation. ”Working Together: How Coalition Campaigns Saved the Day in Minnesota,” The panel offers a spot of sun in this ugly state legislation session and an opportunity to meet local activists.
• A group of stellar bloggers are joining on a panel, “Countering Hate Speak that Villainizes Workers and Unions,” and offer suggestions for proactive strategies to build a new understanding of unions and collective power. Panelists are Read the rest of this entry »
Failing to Kill Health Care Reform, Insurers Now Fight to Weaken It
After spending tens of millions of dollars trying to kill the new health care reform law, the nation’s big health insurance companies now, says Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), are:
sparing no expense to weaken this new law and the protection it promises to America’s consumers.
According to a new report by the coalition Health Care for America Now (HCAN), big insurers are trying to gut proposed new rules that require they spend a certain amount of premium dollars on actual medical care, not wasteful administration, marketing or executive pay and bonuses.
Without Job Creation Action, Job Levels Stagnant for Years
Even if the economy begins creating jobs at the fastest pace of job growth during the early 2000s, employment levels won’t reach December 2007 levels—when the Bush recession began destroying nearly 11 million jobs—until 2014.
But even with that rate of job creation, according to a new report, because of the growth in the workforce, the unemployment rate will not fall back to pre-recession levels until 2021. A Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) report, “The Urgent Need for Job Creation,” shows the desperate need for government action on job creation:
Many lawmakers, policymakers and economic commentators do not appear to recognize the depth of the current labor-market recession.
Netroots Nation 2010: Labor, Online Progressives and Union Beer
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Union activists are joining a couple thousand online progressives this week for the annual Netroots Nation conference. The July 22–25 event in Las Vegas brings political powerhouses like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) together with progressives from across the nation for workshops, panels and speaking events like the dynamic full-conference lunch session July 24 with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.
Along with Harvard legal professor Elizabeth Warren, Florida Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson and others, Trumka will take part in the panel, “Building a Progressive Economic Vision,” where he will focus on the key steps the nation needs to take to rebuild our nation’s economy (hint: Trumka’s proposals don’t include slashing the deficit at the expense of jobs).
Rally Today Against Insurance Company Greed, and Other Health Care News
Today, health insurance industry bigwigs are meeting in Washington, D.C., to plot out their strategy to defeat health care reform. We’ll be rallying to show them that we won’t accept anything less than affordable, high-quality coverage for everyone.
Here’s what else is happening in the fight for health care:
- Health insurance companies, drug companies and their front groups have been breaking records in their fight to keep control over our health care, spending millions this summer on TV and lobbying in D.C.
- Senators are looking to rein in the insurance industry by ending the industry’s exception from anti-trust laws.
Nurses Back Franken Bill to Eliminate Heavy Lifting
Direct care registered nurses are injured at a higher rate than laborers, movers and truck drivers because they reposition, move and lift patients, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A proposed bill would protect the health of RNs, ensure patients get the care they need and decrease work injuries, say leaders of the United American Nurses (UAN) and the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA).
The Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2009 (S. 1788), introduced by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), requires the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop and implement a standard to eliminate, as much as possible, manual lifting of patients through the use of mechanical devices. The bill is a companion measure to H.R. 2381, introduced this session in the House by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.).
Shuler to Help Kick Off Minnesota AFL-CIO Political Efforts
Today and tomorrow, the Minnesota AFL-CIO is holding its 2009 Political Conference, and newly elected AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler will be on hand to mobilize and energize delegates to win all across the state.
Today, the conference will hear from a number of candidates for governor, and Shuler will kick off tomorrow’s session. State AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson, the first woman elected to head the state federation, will lead the conference.
The grassroots volunteer efforts of Minnesota union members and Working America members were critical to electing Sen. Al Franken, a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act, in the nation’s closest Senate race last fall. Over the next year they’ll focus on the 2010 race for Minnesota governor as well as key races for the U.S. House.
You can follow the Minnesota AFL-CIO on their blog and on Twitter.
