AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka released the following statement on the January Jobs report.

January unemployment finally fell below double digits, but our country remains in a serious, deep, and long-term jobs crisis.  We need to create at least 10 million jobs now, and Wall Street and the big banks that created the crisis need to foot the bill. 

We welcome the news that unemployment dropped to 9.7%, but we shed another 20,000 jobs last month, following a revised 150,000 loss in December, and the number of long-term unemployed continues to break records.

These numbers underscore what we have been saying all along.  Working families need bigger and bolder actions –in the short, medium and long term – to create jobs in the immediate future – or we risk permanent scarring of our economy and our workforce.

You can read the rest of the statement here.

A report is out this morning which states that the unemployment rate dropped unexpectedly in January to 9.7 percent. Emloyers shed 20,000 jobs. 

Excluding the beleagured construction industry, which shed 75,000 jobs, the private sector added 63,000 positions.Unemployment among women and black workers continued to worsen.

One of  the worst aspects of the nation’s high unemployment rate is the growing numbers of long-term jobless workers. Long term US unemployment, meaning those without a job for 27 weeks or longer  worsened in January to 6.3 million workers.

When both unemployed and underemployed workers are counted, there still are 25.5 million people without jobs or full-time work or 16.5 precent. The unemploymnet insurance (UI) extension for millions of workers is due to expire on February 28, 2010.

Tell the Senate to Extend Unemployment Benefits

The U.S. Senate must vote soon to extend benefits for jobless workers. Millions of jobless workers will run out of benefits at the end of this month if the Senate doesn't act fast.

Please urge your Senators NOW to extend unemployment insurance benefits for jobless workers for the rest of the year.

While food banks are seeing unprecedented requests for help throughout the U.S., the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Naitonal Food Drive is stepping up their efforts this year to help our neighbors in need.

The NALC food drive partners with the AFL-CIO Community Services network, United Way Worldwide, and the nation's food bank network. We are asking that you place a box or can of non-perishable food next to your mailbox before the letter carrier delivers mail on Saturday, May 8th. The carrier will take care of your donation for you by bringing it back to a postal station, where it will be sorted and delivered by union volunteers to area food banks or pantries for needy families.

Last year, the 73.4 million pounds of food they collected in one day helped to feed an estimated 30 million people, 12 million of whom are children.

Please publicize and promote the May 8th event among your membership. Union brothers and sisters can help those who need it most in a big way this year.

The National Labor Relations Board is a five-member body that considers and decides cases concerning workers' rights across the country. For over two years, only two of the five seats have been filled, which has seriously impeded the Board's ability to assess workers' cases. President Obama nominated three candidates, two of whom, including Mark Pearce, a labor attorney, and Republican committee staffer Brian Hayes, were unanimously approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP). The third nominee, Craig Becker, associate general counsel for SEIU and the AFL-CIO, was approved by a 15-8 vote.

In light of Becker's obvious support of working men and women, Republicans are trying to fight his nomination to the NLRB. In fact, John McCain placed a hold on his nomination while allowing the other two nominations to pass through. The Chamber of Commerce and others in the business community are staunchly opposed to Becker gaining a seat on the Board and have forced a hearing to question his credibility and values. 

Let's take a look at Becker's credibility and values:

• 1978 graduate of Yale University; 1981 graduate of Yale Law School; has taught at the following law schools: Georgetown, University of Chicago, UCLA
• Highly respected labor lawyer and published scholar with over 27 years of experience advocating for workers, especially low-wage workers
• Senator Tom Harkin, Chair of the Senate HELP Committee, has called Becker "one of the pre-eminent labor law thinkers in the United States"
• 66 labor law professors from the top law schools in the country wrote the Senate urging them to confirm Becker's nomination and expressed Becker's "integrity, fairness, and dedication to advancing Congress' purposes in adopting federal labor law and to the role of the NLRB"

Becker is a highly qualified advocate for working people and we need to make sure that his nomination passes. While the Senate HELP Committee held a hearing yesterday, February 2nd, the Committee has scheduled a vote for this Thursday, February 4th. This vote would then lead to a vote by the full Senate. Some Republicans have vowed to filibuster his nomination, meaning that we need 60 votes to invoke cloture before the nomination itself can be voted upon.

Please contact our Senators TODAY to urge them to vote to confirm Becker and to vote for cloture on his nomination. Although Schumer and Gillibrand should support his nomination, the more they hear from us, the more they will realize just how important Becker's nomination is to working people across the country.

STATEMENT BY AFL-CIO PRESIDENT RICHARD TRUMKA ON

CLOTURE VOTE FOR PATRICIA SMITH AS SOLICITOR OF LABOR

America’s workers congratulate Patricia Smith for receiving 60 votes to invoke cloture, clearing her way for confirmation as Solicitor of Labor.  At a time when working families are bearing the brunt of the economic recession and violations of workplace rights are rampant, Ms. Smith’s commitment to strong, fair and effective enforcement of our workplace laws is crucial.

Smith may well be the most qualified person ever to hold the position of Solicitor.  Her 20 years of accomplishments have won her the unanimous support of the state’s congressional delegation—both Democrats and Republicans—and glowing letters of endorsement from business groups in New York State.

Under the leadership of Secretary Solis, the Department of Labor is returning to its historical and proper role – protecting the health, safety and welfare of working families.  America’s workers are proud that Solicitor Smith will be joining this excellent team and continuing her years of public service on behalf of working men and women.

Here is the link to Bill Moyers Journal with President Richard Trumka

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/01292010/watch2.html

Some of the text from the segment:

BILL MOYERS: Did the President's speech this last Wednesday night convince you that he gets it?

RICHARD TRUMKA: Well, I think he does get it. I think the speech was interesting in a lot of ways. He knows that there's a lot of anger and frustration out there. And he was willing to look at people and say, "You're an obstructionist." He looked right at the Republicans and said, "You can't say no to everything and call that leadership." He looked at the Supreme Court and said, "You made a bad decision that's going to hurt this country. Corporations already have too much power. You just handed them more."

So, I think he's starting to understand and feel the anger. And I think he's willing to work his way through. Now, the question becomes, will he do it on a scale that's necessary or essential to solve the problem.

BILL MOYERS: What kind of scale?

RICHARD TRUMKA: That's the issue. It has to be a large scale. We lost eight million jobs, plus we have two 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 job bill. Because if all we do is the same thing that Japan did in the early '90s. They would spend a little, look like they're coming out of recession. And then stop and it would drop back down.

They did that for a whole decade. They lost a decade. And our country just can't stand that. 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.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is tonight's featured guest on Bill Moyer's Journal on PBS. In an in-depth 30 minute interview Trumka will outline steps to restore the nation's economy, create jobs and rebuild the middle class.

The program begins at 9 pm on PBS.

He will talk about the AFL-CIO's role in creating a broad movement of Americans to demand jobs and an economy that works for families on Main Street and why bankers and brokers on Wall Street must be held accountable with strong new financial reform rules.

Trumka will discuss why health care reform must pass and what it must include. He will explain why it's time to restore the freedom of workers to form unions and bargain for a better life.

Visit http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/about/airdates.html to find time and channel in your area.

Rich will also appear live on CNN's State of the Union with John King this Sunday at 12:40 p.m. EST to discuss jobs, the economy, health care and deliver labor's response to President Obama's State of the Union address.

Here is the statement from President Richard Trumka in response to the State of the Union

There is also a you tube video. Here is the link

President Obama was exactly right when he spoke tonight of the stubborn resilience of the American people in the face of adversity.  Despite daily insecurity and the deep hurt of not being able to find jobs, working peoples goodness, decency and hard work have kept our country going.

 

But Americans are also deeply frustrated and angry.  We want to see elected leaders wholl fight for us and bring real change. We want jobs-President Obama is absolutely right that jobs must be our number one focus in 2010.  And we must act on a scale that will be meaningful.

 

We need more than 10 million jobs just to get out of the hole were in.  We want health care fixed.  We want our leaders to break the stranglehold of Wall Street and the big banks and make them pay to repair the economic damage they created.     

 

President Obama spoke directly to those concerns tonight.  He called for a jobs bill and putting people to work.  He called for America to take its place as a world leader by investing in our economic foundation, education, infrastructure and energy technology.  He demanded tough financial reform.  He called for curbing corporate influence, stopping tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas and enforcing trade rules.  He committed to end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.  And he said we must finish the job of reforming healthcare.    

 

The President was right to call out Republicans for obstructing change and putting politics ahead of progress. 

 

Now its time for all of us to get busy and work together to bring the big changes that are essential-starting with enacting a jobs bill that is big enough to create jobs for the millions of people who want to work and cant find jobs.  The time for small change is long gone.  We were pleased to see that the President embraced two of the job creation proposals we have made - investing in infrastructure and helping small businesses get credit through TARP funds. 

 

Were ready to fight for the Presidents vision - and were going to insist that it be done right.  That includes restoring the freedom of workers to bargain to make jobs into good jobs by passing the Employee Free Choice Act. 

 

We will not agree with every aspect of every proposal.  We will continue to be an independent voice for middle class Americans and fight for the change working families need-and we are ready to do more.  This is the time for a broad movement of Americans demanding jobs and an economy that works for all, and were ready to put our energy and leadership into building that movement-taking the fight to the doorstep of the banks that are exploiting struggling homeowners, of corporations that are running away from communities and of lawmakers who choose to back them up.

 

We hope elected leaders at every level will choose instead to lead with action.  Working America is watching to see what they do.  We are in a show me kind of mood and we are ready to see results.

A monthly on line journal called Green Labor Journal has been launched by the National Labor College and the AFL-CIO’s Center for Green Jobs. The journal will examine issues of sustainability, energy use and climate change taken from the perspective of the unions.

The journal will showcase union green initiatives and provide up-to-date information on new developments in green policy, technology and work processes.

Each month, the Green Labor Journal will emphasize that green jobs must pay decent wages and benefits so workers can sustain themselves and their families. All green policy initiatives also must include fair labor standards.

The online journal plans to  highlight the important role of unions in environmental debates.

AFL-CIO Blog has an important post up on the results of the election in Massachusetts this past Tuesday. 

Massachusetts voters sent a strong signal to Washington lawmakers Tuesday that they want results—and aren’t seeing any. Not on health care reform, not on job creation and not on fixing the nation’s economy.

Voters also sent another powerful message for Democrats: Ignore the working class at your peril.

Some 79 percent of voters polled on election night said the most important issue for them was electing a candidate who will strengthen the economy and create more jobs. Controlling health care costs was next on their list, with 54 percent citing that issue as the main determinant of their vote.

The poll, conducted by Hart Research Associates among 810 voters for the AFL-CIO on the night of the election, also found that although voters without a college degree favored Barack Obama by 21 percentage points in the 2008 election, Democratic candidate Martha Coakley lost that same group by a 20-point margin.

I am attaching a pdf of the poll for all to view here.

The poll, conducted by Hart Research Associates among 810 voters for the AFL-CIO on the night of the election, also found that although voters without a college degree favored Barack Obama by 21 percentage points in the 2008 election, Democratic candidate Martha Coakley lost that same group by a 20-point margin.

As AFL-CIO Richard Trumka has pointed out, Massachusetts voters have the same goals for reforming health care, creating good jobs and strengthening the economy as they did in November 2008—but President Obama and the Democrats have done too little.

Voters showed they don’t think Democrats have overreached—they think that the Democrats underreached.

Additional, there was another poll conducted on election night by Research 2000 Massachusetts Poll, MoveOn.org said the results show voters worry that Democrats in power “have not done enough to combat the policies of the Bush era.”

Both sets of voters wanted stronger, more progressive action on health care reform as well. In summary, the poll shows that the party who fights corporate interests—especially on making the economy work for most Americans—will win the confidence of the voters.

AFL-CIO says: The working class has spoken. Will Democrats listen?