Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Blog

Congress Must Help the Unemployed or Join Them

In recent weeks some Republicans in Washington have remarked that unemployed Americans should just go “get a job.” 

The problem isn’t that workers are too lazy to look for a job — just ask any of the 15 million unemployed workers out there. Nearly half of the jobless have been unemployed for more than six months. If there were jobs out there waiting for them, they would have found them already.

It’s no time for politics as usual, but Republicans have voted as a virtually solid block against extending unemployment benefits and COBRA health care subsidies to the long term unemployed. 

Many conservative Democrats have not been willing to act either — voicing concerns about more emergency spending with a rising deficit.  But we don’t have a short-term deficit crisis—we have a jobs crisis. 

Congress left for the Fourth of July holiday recess without taking action to extend unemployment insurance and COBRA benefits, leaving millions of families on the brink of disaster.  This inaction is unprecedented and indefensible.

Construction workers — up to 30 percent — are on the bench.  Small businesses are folding.  Plants are closing.  Foreclosures are on the rise.  Up to 300,000 teachers across the country may be getting pink slips — and even more state and local employees.  Our economy is at risk of a double dip recession unless we take steps now to stimulate it.

When Congress returns from vacation, it must act swiftly and decisively in order to alleviate the immediate suffering of the unemployed and create family-wage jobs.  If it fails to do so, union members will hold obstructionist senators and representatives accountable at the ballot box in November.

(Over the congressional recess labor leaders and unemployed workers met with elected officials in Wisconsin to share their stories of economic distress.  Top Photo: Rep. Steve Kagen meeting with an unemployed worker, as well as members of AFSCME, the NorthEast Wisconsin Building and Construction Trades Council and USW.  Photo Credit: Greg Hinds.  Bottom Photo: Rep. Ron Kind met with an unemployed worker as well as leaders from ATU Local 519 and UA Local 434.  Photo Credit: Andy Thompson.)

Waukesha Union Members Build Ramps for Camps

Over the weekend volunteers from the Waukesha County Labor Council built wheelchair accessible ramps at Menominee Park.  Camp Pow Wow within the park hosts campers from the Association for the Rights of Citizens with handicaps (ARCh) during the summer.

“Union members are community members first and foremost,” says Jeff Arnold, President of the Waukesha County Labor Council.  “We fight for access and equality on the job, and we want our kids to be able to enjoy the great outdoors with ease and dignity as well.”

The United Way coordinated this community service effort through labor liaison Kurt Schmidt.

IUPAT DC 7 donated the wood for this project.  The participants included members from BAC Local 7, DALU Local 24111, IAMAW Local 1377, IBEW Local 2150, IUPAT Local 781, LIUNA Local 113, OPCMIA Local 599, and the Wauksha County Labor Council.

Click here to watch video of union members building ramps which access tent platforms.

(All photos of union volunteers at Camp Pow Wow in Menominee Park on June 12, 2010. Photo Credit: Scott Carstens of IUPAT DC 7.  For more pictures, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/wisaflcio/sets/72157624268683114/.)

Media Matters: Wall Street shouldn’t be Above the Law

Now that the big banks have been bailed out at the expense of working people, it is up to union members in Wisconsin and across the nation to make sure that things don’t go back to business as usual.

On Thursday, national AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka announced the launch of the 2010 Executive PayWatch website (see the video above).  Visit http://paywatch.org to find out more about the lavish bonuses handed out to executives at the six biggest banks which received a taxpayer funded bailout.

Earlier last week, the Green Bay Press-Gazette published a guest column by President Trumka and Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President David Newby on job creation and corporate responsibility.  The article called on Wall Street to:

• Pay its fair share to restore the jobs it destroyed.
• Stop fighting financial reform.  
• And start lending in our communities.

Click here to read the full article on the Green Bay Press-Gazette website.

(Photo: Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President David Newby.)

Trial of the Tycoons, Make Wall St. Pay!

“We put on this play with the help of community allies because absurd crimes call for creative action,” said Jim Cavanaugh, President of the South Central Federation of Labor.  “The banks that we bailed out with our tax dollars are using that money to resist financial reform and pad their wallets.  That lobbying and bonus money must be redirected towards creating jobs.”

Yesterday, working families in Madison joined together to hold a mock trial for JP Morgan and Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. Union members and community activists participated in street theater, calling for 11 million new jobs. Rally attendees demanded that big Wall Street banks, which helped destroy the economy and then took taxpayer bailouts, pay for job creation.
   
“When JP Morgan and Chase was in trouble, they took $25 billion in our tax dollars to get back on their feet,” said Mark Thomas of AFSCME Local 171. “Now it’s time for JP Morgan and Chase to pay to get working families back on our feet.”

In the past year alone, JP Morgan and Chase has spent $6.2 million to lobby against financial reform.  Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon took home $17.6 million dollars in pay and bonuses in 2009.  Unfortunately, JP Morgan and Chase isn’t the only bank that took bailout money and is now up to the same old mischief.

Since the recession began, America has lost nearly 9 million jobs when we needed to create more than 2 million just to stay even. While Americans suffered, big Wall Street banks took billions in taxpayer bailouts and gave their executives some $145 billion last year alone in pay and bonuses.

According to Cavanaugh, “even a very small financial speculation tax could pay for jobs America needs now.”

The rally in Madison was sponsored by the South Central Federation of Labor.  Union members and community allies from AFSCME, AFT, DALU, IBEW, Madison Teacher's Inc., MadTown Liberty Players, SEIU, UAW and the Workers' Rights Center put on the street theater performance which dramatically condemned the disgraceful actions of big bank CEOs.

The script for Trial of the Tycoons was written by Ron Blascoe of AFT-W 4848.  The cast of the play included Jim Cavanaugh, Kim Genich, Joan Grosse, Roger Hayes, Patrick Hickey, Heidi Verbeten, Angella Volante, and Ken Volante.  MadTown Liberty players provided puppets and props.

Trial of the Tycoons was covered “Live at 5” on WKOW, the Madison ABC television affiliate.  They continued to run coverage during their 6 o’clock and 10 o’clock news broadcasts: http://bit.ly/9vVFlZ

Madison community radio WORT and Workers Independent News also covered the event.

With chants and cheers, Madison activists told the bank to pay a fair share to restore the jobs they destroyed; stop fighting financial reform; and start lending to our community, small businesses and others starved for credit.

Good Jobs Now: Make Wall Street Pay events led by the AFL-CIO are taking place across the country March 15–26. The AFL-CIO is calling on the big Wall Street banks to pay for a major jobs plan to extend unemployment insurance benefits, food assistance and health benefits; rebuild our crumbling infrastructure; increase aid to state and local governments to save critical services and jobs; increase funding for neglected communities to match people who need jobs with work that needs to be done; and use TARP money to get credit flowing to small businesses for job creation. Find out more at www.aflcio.org/createjobs.

In addition to these efforts, Working America, the 3 million-member community affiliate of the AFL-CIO, has kicked off a campaign called "I am not your ATM."  People across the country are submitting photos of themselves in front of ATMs, asking "where's my bailout?" and delivering the message to Wall Street:  "I am not your ATM.” To see some of the photos collected so far, go to www.notyouratm.com. Working America speaks to 25,000 people across the country every week about the creation of good jobs and holding Wall Street accountable.

(Top Photo: Jim Cavanaugh, President of the South Central Federation of Labor addresses audience.  Bottom Photo: Cast of Trial of the Tycoons.  Video and Photo Credit: Union Labor News.  For additional photos, visit flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wisaflcio/sets/72157623510718401/  For more information about MadTown Liberty Players visit: http://madlibplayers.org/)

D.C. Health Care Rally Calls Out Industry Crimes

Last week insurance industry insiders met in our nation’s capital to discuss their lobbying effort against health care reform. Thousands of labor movement activists rallied outside of the meeting, calling the industry stall tactics criminal. Be sure to check out the video above, in which those who have suffered at the hands of our broken health care system stand up and demand change.

(Photo: AFSCME members at last week’s DC health care rally. Photo and Video Credit: National AFL-CIO.)

4th Street Forum: Our Sinking Middle Class

This program originally aired on MPTV on February 18th and features Milwaukee Area Labor Council Secretary-Treasurer Sheila Cochran.

Good Jobs Now: Coming Soon to a Local Meeting Near You

“It is no secret that unemployment has reached crisis levels across Wisconsin and throughout the country.  Working people can’t afford to be silent about it anymore,” says Phil Neuenfeldt, Secretary-Treasurer of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.  “At local union meetings and Central Labor Council gatherings working families are coming to terms with how we got into this mess, and what it’s going to take to turn things around.  These discussions are the start of our grassroots fight for good jobs now.”

As AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka explains in the video above, this crisis didn’t spring up overnight.

“Wall Street has run our economy for more than 30 years,” explains Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President David Newby.  “Their agenda ruptured the relationship between productivity and wages, which produced giant economic and social imbalances in America that pushed us into this Great Recession.  President Obama did not cause this disaster, but he is going to have to clean it up.”

The national AFL-CIO Five-point Plan, which has been a central focus of jobs presentations throughout the state, is designed to save or create millions of jobs.

  1.     Most urgently, we must extend the safety net for families hard hit by the downturn.  Unemployment benefits, COBRA health insurance assistance and food aid keep money in people’s pockets. Congress must extend these programs for at least another year. We can’t let Congress nickel and dime our lifeline.

2.    Rebuild America with infrastructure improvements.  We can put people to work now and strengthen the economy for the future by fixing crumbling schools, roads and bridges, developing 21st century energy and communications systems and investing in green jobs and green technology.

3.    Help state and local governments meet pressing needs. State and local governments and school districts are facing huge budget deficits.  If Washington does not act fast, this will lead to mass layoffs of vital public sector workers, including police, teachers and firefighters.  This would mean more devastating cuts in key public services.

4.    Put people to work doing work that needs to be done. The private sector is not creating jobs, and America can’t wait. It’s time for the government to step in. The economic crisis has hit the long-term unemployed, people of color, young workers, veterans and people in distressed communities the worst.  Let’s create the jobs they need where they live, from cleaning up abandoned property to tutoring school children. These must be good, new jobs with good pay and benefits, not jobs to replace existing public-sector workers.

5.    Put TARP money to work for Main Street, not just Wall Street. When small businesses can get credit, they create jobs. The bank bailout was supposed to get credit flowing again, but small businesses are still waiting. We should hire local banks to lend leftover bailout money to small and medium-sized business for job creation.

"We need to start right now, but this fight will be long term," predicts Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Sara Rogers.  "As legislation at the federal and state levels moves, we’ll need immediate grassroots actions.  Get your locals ready to mobilize members on a dime."

Mobilization efforts are already underway around parts of the statewide Good Jobs Agenda, which involves creating a Green Economy for working people, supporting and expanding our manufacturing sector, and strengthening the public services that make Wisconsin a great place to live:
http://wisaflcio.typepad.com/wisconsin-state-afl-cio-blog/2010/02/lets-rebuild-wisconsin-with-jobs-we-can-be-proud-of.html

To schedule a Good Jobs Now presentation at your local union meeting, contact your Service Area Organizer: http://wisaflcio.typepad.com/Service%20Area%20Organizer%20Contact%20Info..pdf

(All photos are from recent Good Jobs Now presentations.  Top Left Photo: ATU Local 1310.  Photo Credit: Laurie Gruber of OPEIU Local 277. Top Middle Photo: The Allied Printing Trades Council of Milwaukee and Madison.  Photo Credit: Justin Geiger.  Top Right Photo: The Northeast Wisconsin Area Labor Federation.  Photo Credit: Greg Hinds.  Middle Photo: Service Area Organizer Greg Hinds speaking to the Sheboygan County Labor Council.  Photo Credit: Rob Boelk of CWA Local 4622.  Bottom Photo: Service Area Organizer Andy Thompson speaking to the Greater West Central Area Labor Council.  Photo Credit: Judy Gatlin of AFSCME Local 1914.  For more photos from Good Jobs Presentations, visit flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wisaflcio/collections/72157623211438772/)

President Trumka Responds to Last Night's State of the Union Address

The following is a statement by national AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka:

President Obama was exactly right when he spoke 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 people’s goodness, decency and hard work have kept our country going.

But Americans are also deeply frustrated and angry.  We want to see elected leaders who’ll 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 we’re 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 health care.    

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

Now it’s 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 can’t 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. 

We’re ready to fight for the President’s vision – and we’re 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 we’re 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.

Celebrating Dr. King Through A Continuous Commitment to Civil Rights

On Saturday, January 9 UAW Locals 9 and 469 hosted their annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration.  Milwaukee Area Labor Council Secretary Treasurer Sheila Cochran gave the keynote speech, which focused on Dr. King’s often overlooked struggle for economic justice.   In the video above, Cochran challenges each of us to speak out and take action to combat the continuing inequality in our workplaces.

UAW Local 469 President Tony Rainey served as master of ceremonies, presenting the first ever Janie L. Jackson Civil and Human Rights Awards to Jay Reinke and Annie Stabler.  Milwaukee County Supervisor Peggy West introduced Reinke.  Rainey surprised Stabler by announcing her award, which was not listed on the official program.

The Janie L. Jackson Civil and Human Rights Award was created to honor the legacy of a fierce and loving UAW Local 469 activist and community leader.  It will be awarded annually to those who continue to advance the causes of human dignity and social justice.

(Top Photo: UAW Local 469 President Tony Rainey and Janie L. Jackson Civil and Human Rights Award recipient Annie Stabler.  Bottom Photo: Janie L. Jackson Civil and Human Rights Award recipient Jay Reinke.  Photos and Video Footage: Justin Geiger.  Photo and Video Editing: Sara Wallenfang.)

President Trumka: Working People Will Not Stand for Tokenism

Yesterday, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka gave a major address on the economy and the jobs crisis at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C:

A generation ago, our nation’s policymakers embarked on a campaign of radical deregulation and corporate empowerment – one that celebrated private greed over public service . . .

These policies culminated in the worst economic decade in living memory—we suffered a net loss of jobs, the housing market collapsed, real wages fell and more children fell into poverty.  And the enormous growth in inequality during that decade yielded mediocre growth overall.  This is not a portrait of a cyclical recession, but of a nation with profound, unaddressed structural economic problems on a long-term, downward slide.

Our structural problems pre-date the crisis that hit in 2007 and they are not going to go away by themselves in 2010.

In the short term, Trumka called for the enactment of the AFL-CIO Five Point Plan to stem job losses, create new employment and bring the recovery to Main Street.

Trumka acknowledged that creating jobs without addressing the basic inequalities which led to collapse is not enough to prevent another crisis.  He said that workers must have the bargaining power to turn new jobs into good jobs, and that the Employee Free Choice Act will restore the freedom of workers to form unions. He also called for regulation of the financial industry and for “a combination of fair trade and currency policies, worker training, infrastructure investment and regional development policies targeted to help economically distressed areas.”

Trumka had stern warnings for politicians who were quick to bailout Wall Street, but slow to help Main Street:

The reality is that when unemployment is 10 percent and rising, working people will not stand for tokenism.  We will not vote for politicians who think they can push a few crumbs our way and then continue the failed economic policies of the last 30 years.

The full speech, which outlines a clear vision for the labor movement, is a must see.  Video is available from C-SPAN: http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2010/01/11/HP/R/28205/AFLCIO+President+Offers+Vision+for+Labors+Future.aspx

You can also read Trumka’s full remarks:  http://wisaflcio.typepad.com/REMARKSTrumkaPressClub_Jan11.pdf