Senate Passes Jobs Bill, Obama Signature Next
The U.S. Senate today passed a jobs bill that AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka calls a ”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.
Senate OKs Jobs Bill: Reid Promises More on the Way, Including UI Extension
The U.S. Senate this morning passed (70-28) a jobs bill that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) promises “is not the only jobs bill or the last jobs bill we will bring to the floor.”
The next step likely will be a 30-day extension of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits and COBRA health care subsidies for unemployed workers. Both jobless aid programs are set to expire Feb. 28, and in March alone, 1.2 million people will lose their UI lifeline and health care unless Congress acts.
But with long-term unemployment continuing to rise (currently at an all-time high of 40 percent of all unemployed) the program needs to be extended for at least one year, economists say. Reid says the 30-day measure is a stop-gap while congressional negotiators try to develop a longer-term solution. Click here to tell your senators to act now.
Senate’s ‘First Step’ Jobs Bill Moves to Vote
The U.S. Senate cleared the way last night for a vote this week on a jobs bill that must be just the first step in closing the nation’s staggering 10 million jobs deficit created by years of Wall Street recklessness and failed Bush-era economic policies.
By a 62-30 vote, the Senate broke a filibuster against the bill. Five Republicans voted to end the filibuster and one Democrat, Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.), voted against the cloture motion.
The bill includes a one-year extension of the federal highway program, aid to state and local governments for school, energy and other infrastructure projects and tax incentives for employers to hire workers. But AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says that without “bigger and bolder actions” the $15 billion legislation:
is merely a Band-Aid on an amputated limb. [Majority Leader] Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said this bill is just the first step and more actions need to be and will be taken. We couldn’t agree more….We need 10 million jobs and Wall Street and the rich—who have benefited for years from Bush’s economic policies—need to pay to rebuild the economy and middle class they destroyed.
Create Jobs, Rebuild Infrastructure with National Infrastructure Bank
A broad coalition of union, business, government and academic leaders has called for creation of a National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) that not only would propel the rebuilding of the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, but also would be a major job-creating engine.
At a Capitol Hill press conference this week, Mark Ayers, president of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD), told reporters:
History has shown that when our nation invests in its core infrastructure needs, economic progress inevitably follows. This is important to remember as we grapple to address the twin problems of economic growth and job creation.
House Passes Jobs Bill—Tell Senate to Act NOW
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Last night, the U.S. House passed a critical bill to assist our struggling economy and create jobs.
By a 217-212 vote, the House passed a package that would extend unemployment insurance, aid state governments and fund important infrastructure projects. Some of these initiatives are renewals of funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which are set to expire at the end of the year.
The House’s bill would help state and local governments retain teachers and firefighters and maintain services critical in this time of economic hardship. It also would create jobs by funding public works projects like school construction, rail, transit, water systems and highways. And by extending unemployment insurance and COBRA health care coverage, it gives critical help to those suffering from the jobs crisis at a time when the economy needs consumer demand. The House bill is paid for out of bank bailout funds, so it will not impact the deficit.
Trumka Answers Your Questions, Lays Out Economic Vision
In a great live Web discussion yesterday, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka answered a wide range of questions on the nation’s economic crisis, setting out a vision for short-term job creation and long-term progress toward a fairer economy.
Trumka touched on trade, green jobs, the challenges facing young and older workers, unity in the labor movement and more in an hour-long conversation. More than 6,700 union members and activists took part by submitting and voting on more than 150 questions.
The AFL-CIO has offered a five-point plan to put people to work and turn around the economy. We can and must create jobs now and spur consumer demand, Trumka said in explaining the plan.
Our current economic crisis is just a symptom of larger long-term weakness and inequality in our economy, Trumka said, and good jobs are the solution:
Remember, wages have been stagnant for years, so people had to start borrowing…we got to the point where people just couldn’t borrow any more and the economy just sort of collapsed at that point…we reached the limit of that. Debt can’t continue to be the engine that fuels the economy.
Win-Win: Create Good Jobs, Rebuild Nation’s Infrastructure
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As part of the AFL-CIO’s five-point plan for job creation, we’re making concrete proposals to address the nation’s immediate jobs crisis while keeping an eye on creating a sustainable economy in the future.
Investment in rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure can put millions of people to work now and improve our country for the long term. The United States has some $2.2 trillion in unmet infrastructure needs. That’s a lot of work that needs to be done, at a time when 26 million people are unemployed or underemployed.
Here are some infrastructure priorities that can create jobs now while laying out a strong foundation and offering benefits for years to come:
- Transportation, including high-speed rail, ports, transit, roads and bridges.
- School construction and repair.
- Drinking water and wastewater systems.
- Clean energy and green technology investment, as outlined by the Apollo Alliance.
- Retrofitting buildings to make them more energy-efficient.
- Improvements to National Parks.
California Union Members Host First-Ever Economic Recovery Summit
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California Labor Federation Communications Director Steve Smith tells us how California union members are taking the lead in moving the state toward economic recovery.
The solution to California’s unprecedented economic crisis can be summed up in three words: jobs, jobs, jobs. That was the message this week in Sacramento as the California Labor Federation brought together state and national economic experts with union members and leaders for a first-of-its-kind economic recovery summit to develop an action plan to create jobs and rebuild the California economy.
With unemployment in California hitting a post World War II record of 12.5 percent, summit participants said the state must act immediately to address the growing crisis.
Time Running Out to Rebuild the U.S Economy
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The unwillingness of political leaders to act boldly for the nation’s economic future has put our prosperity in danger, and it’s past time to do something about it, union leaders and lawmakers said today.
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) told the closing session of the Building the New Economy conference in Washington, D.C., that other nations, especially India and China, have made a huge commitment to rev up development of efficient energy sources and threaten to leave the United States in the dust. Said Rendell:
Time is running out. The science and technology are there, but do we have the will? The time of American economic dominance is fast disappearing. If we have an America that doesn’t make anything, then we become a second- or third-rate power.
Rendell, United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo Gerard and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) made up the final panel for the conference.
Government Grows the Economy
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Economist Jeff Madrick, director of policy research at The New School’s Bernard Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, is among several key speakers at next week’s Building the New Economy conference here in Washington, D.C. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard also are among keynote speakers. Here, Madrick shares with us why government involvement in the economy is essential to ensure a robust, successful nation.
America had been living a free-market myth for a generation until the credit crisis of 2008 and 2009 descended on the nation—and the world. One expression of that myth, found frequently on the editorial pages of the popular media, was that government does not grow economies, business does. In other words, government, don’t meddle where you’re not needed. Politicians are even easier to belittle than government itself.
