Labor Union Blog

In his weekly radio address to the nation today, President Obama said that starting next week he will send portions of his American Jobs Act back to Congress for votes. A Senate Republican filibuster blocked the bill earlier this week.

The first will be legislation to help local governments put hundreds of thousands of teachers back in the classroom, cops back on the streets and firefighters back on the job.

And if they vote “no” on that, they’ll have to tell you why. They’ll have to tell you why teachers in your community don’t deserve a paycheck again. They’ll have to tell your kids why they don’t deserve to have their teacher back. They’ll have to tell you why they’re against commonsense proposals that would help families and strengthen our communities right now.

Obama said that in coming weeks other parts of the jobs package will be sent to Capitol Hill including bills to:

• put construction workers back on the job, rebuilding roads and bridges;
• provide tax cuts for small businesses that hire veterans;
• make sure that middle-class families don’t see a tax hike next year;
• ensure that the unemployed and out-of-work youth have a chance to get back in the workforce and earn their piece of the American Dream.

In his address Obama said “Putting people back to work. Restoring economic security for the middle class. Rebuilding an economy where hard work is valued and responsibility is rewarded – an economy that’s built to last,” is what’s at stake in these upcoming votes.

I’m going to travel all over the country over the next few weeks so that we can remind Congress that’s their job. Because there’s still time to create jobs and grow our economy right now. There’s still time for Congress to do the right thing. We just need to act.

James Earl Jones is the recipient of the 2011 Actors’ Equity (AEA) Paul Robeson Award. The annual award honors performers who best exemplify the principles the legendary actor, singer, author and activist lived by.

Jones, who is currently starring in a London West End production of “Driving Miss Daisy,” says in a statement that he briefly met Robeson three times, including once when he had the chance to hear him sing.

I was standing in the back of the concert hall and can describe the experience best by saying it was as if my soul was being rocked. It was the first time I understood what human magnetism was. Mr. Robeson was blessed with many endowments—among them the scholarship and athleticism of his youth, and the activist commitment that followed his fame as a performer.

Robeson was a political activist who spoke out against racism and strove to guarantee civil rights for all people of color. He strongly believed in the artists’ responsibility to society, the freedom of conscience and of expression and was dedicated to the universal brotherhood of all mankind. For more on Robeson and his work with unions, click here for an exhibition at the Labor Arts’ new virtual museum.

AEA created The Paul Robeson Award in 1971 and made the first presentation in 1974 to Robeson himself. Past recipients also include Micki Grant, Sidney Poitier, Lloyd Richards, Judith Jamison, Carl Harms, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee.