Labor Union Blog

President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address tonight made clear that he hears the people who aren’t being heard by the 1 percent, says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. Obama’s speech showed he “listened to the single mom working two jobs to get by, to the out-of-work construction worker, to the retired factory worker, to the student serving coffee to help pay for college.”

By laying out a vision of an America that can create jobs and prosperity for all instead of wealth for the few, Trumka said the president “voiced the aspirations and concerns of those who are too often ignored.”

Obama also made clear that the era of the 1 percent getting rich by looting the economy, rather than creating jobs, is over.

“Now it’s time for Congress to stop standing in the way of rebuilding our country and act,”  Trumka said.

President Obama presented Congress a choice, Trumka said, between Obama’s vision of the need to invest to achieve stable, long-term prosperity for all and the vision of presidential candidates squabbling over how much further to cut the taxes of the 1 percent.

Obama “spoke to the confidence of working people that if we are determined and committed, we can revitalize ‘Made in the USA.’ That commitment to American manufacturing, made possible in part by enhanced enforcement of trade laws being violated by China , is welcome news to the too many productive, hard working Americans sitting idle unnecessarily.”

Trumka praised the President’s powerful insistance “on a more humble Wall Street subject to a thorough investigation of the misconduct in the mortgage  markets that wrecked our economy,” and applauded the creation of a new mortgage  crisis unit to be co-chaired by New York’s Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman.

Obama also sent a message of hope to America’s young people, “with his words of support for DREAM students, immigrants brought to this country by their parents and committed to the quintessentially American vision of hard work at school or in military service,” Trumka said.

The bottom line, of course, is job creation. The nation is still short 10 million jobs deficit from losses in 2008 and 2009. The addition of 200,000 jobs in December was strong and welcome growth, but the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) points out that even at that rate, the United States will not return to full employment until 2019.

Since Labor Day, Obama has been speaking out forcefully against the same staggering increase in inequality that inspired the Occupy Wall Street movement. His State of the Union speech demonstrate s a focus on job creation Republican House and
Senate leaders should follow.

Yet the Republican leadership is so out of touch it chose Indiana’s Gov. Mitch Daniels to give the party’s response to the State of the Union address, a move Trumka says represents:

the sad decline of the national Republican party and its growing fixation with the voices of CEOs instead of every day Americans.

Daniels, once a supporter of the right of working people to come together to bargain in one voice, has now become a loud, angry opponent pushing to take away that right.

Many thanks and kudos to Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) for calling the Indiana Democratic Caucus today to encourage lawmakers to stay strong and firm in their efforts to stop the state’s Republican leadership from doing an end-run around the democratic process.

In encouraging the caucus to keep fighting against Republican moves to pass so-called right to work legislation, Lewis told Democratic lawmakers they are taking action not only for Indiana but for the entire nation–and the entire nation is depending on them.

“Make no mistake–the Republicans are out to destroy unions and our democracy.”

Lewis’ participation is especially meaningful because of his relationship with Indiana. He was campaigning for Bobby Kennedy in Indianapolis on April 4, 1968, the day that Dr. King was assassinated.

State Rep. John Bartlett (D), who took part in the call, said ”it is an honor to hear from anyone who has been in the struggle for as long as Congressman Lewis has been.”

His words were a major boost for our morale and he strengthened our resolve.

Lewis, who spoke about the long and constant struggle for economic justice, offered the caucus his assistance whenever needed.

Members of the Transport Workers (TWU), whose jobs are facing elimination by Bain & Co., will protest outside campaign offices of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney during the days leading up to the Florida primary election on Jan. 31. Calling Romney ”a job cremator, not a job creator,” TWU President James Little says Romney:

made a fortune snatching up companies, closing factories and laying off workers. Now, Bain & Company—which still lines Mitt Romney’s pockets with their profits—has been hired to axe workers at AMR Corporation.

Some of that fortune is on display today, as Romney’s tax returns show he amassed $45 million in the past two years alone.

AMR Corp. is the parent company of American Airlines and American Eagle, where more than 24,000 TWU members work as mechanics. AMR filed for bankruptcy reorganization on Nov. 29.

TWU filed a formal objection to AMR’s hiring of Bain in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York on Friday, saying Bain has been engaged specifically to reduce jobs at AMR subsidiary American Eagle. The union says the consulting firm was not hired to renegotiate aircraft leases, advise on financing or alter route structures—their sole function is eliminating employees.

According to the New York Times, a significant portion of Romney’s wealth:

remains locked up in Bain funds, from which the Romneys draw income on their own investments with the firm, as well as a share of Bain’s profits.

Read more from TWU here.