July 21, 2010

Today officially marks a new day on Wall Street  one where working peoples voices are finally being heard. President Obama and the leadership in Congress  with the help of Americas workers -- have achieved a landmark accomplishment in beginning to shift our nation away from the control of big bankers and CEOs and towards working families and Main Street.

Todays signing of comprehensive financial reform into law is a major victory and joins a growing list of progress, dismantling the harmful legacy left by George W. Bush and the Republican Party. We will continue to fight to get and keep our country on track towards an economy that works for everyone.

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Statement by President Mark MacKenzie
On Impact of Passage of Comprehensive Financial Reform in New Hampshire
July 16, 2010

Yesterday’s vote is a historic victory for working people against the big banks. Working families in New Hampshire thank Senator Shaheen for her vote in support of financial reform that will hold Wall Street accountable for the economic crisis and ensure they don’t have the power to do it again. After today, big banks will no longer be able to use their greed to profit on the backs of working families. Millions of working families lost their jobs and still can’t find work because of the reckless and selfish actions of Wall Street and the big banks.

It’s outrageous that after Wall Street’s greed caused the economic crisis and destroyed millions of jobs, all but three Republicans in the US Senate voted against holding big banks accountable and making them pay for their decisions.

President Obama and working family leaders in Congress like Senator Shaheen stood firm to continue our path toward an economy that works for everyone. In the end, fifty seven Democrats and three Republicans voted for this landmark legislation.

Today’s vote, along with the historic vote on health care reform, marks a significant shift from the past. This November, New Hampshire voters will once again have the choice to stay on the path to change or look back to the failed policies of the past. Working families will be dedicated to supporting leaders like Senator Shaheen who vote to create jobs and hold Wall Street and big business accountable.

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STATEMENT BY AFL-CIO PRESIDENT RICHARD TRUMKA ON THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE’S SUIT AGAINST ARIZONA'S SB1070

July 6, 2010

We applaud the Obama administration and the Department of Justice for bringing legal action to stop Arizona from implementing SB1070, an anti-immigrant piece of legislation that would severely undermine workers’ rights and sanction racial profiling.  The union movement, together with many civil rights and faith-based organizations, is relieved to see the President take action to ensure that Arizona does not become the model for how the United States treats immigrants and people of color.  

While the lawsuit is an important first step towards protecting the fundamental civil rights of working people in Arizona, it does not go far enough.  The Administration has an immediate and more efficient alternative to achieve this end:  The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security can—and should—revoke the authority that the Department has delegated to Arizona under the 287(g) program.  Without that authority, Arizona will not be able to implement misguided laws such as SB1070. 

Arizona SB1070 is a frustrated response to the lack of federal action on immigration reform.  Immigration is a federal issue and requires federal leadership, and it is time for Congress to do its job and fix our immigration system in a way that is consistent with our national values. 

The solution to our broken immigration system must protect all workers and provide a fair path toward citizenship for undocumented workers already living and working in the United States.  It must address the unique circumstances faced by undocumented students who were brought to the United States by their parents long ago.  It must include an independent commission to determine our society’s genuine need for more workers that does not afford employers a steady stream of exploitable labor.  And it must include a mechanism to ensure that employers are held accountable when they break the law.

Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on June Jobs Report

July 2, 2010

Today’s unemployment numbers should be a wake-up call to Republicans in Congress who have refused to act to create jobs, stop layoffs and help the jobless. Their repeated ‘No’ votes on jobs are a slap in the face to America’s working families as Congress heads out for a long holiday recess.

Republicans stubbornly refuse to recognize that the private sector’s job-creating machine is dead in the water, creating only 83,000 jobs last month. In the Senate this week, every Democrat but one voted to extend unemployment benefits and all but two Republicans voted to block those same benefits. Overall, the economy shed 125,000 jobs in June as the Census reduced its temporary workforce.  The unemployment rate fell to 9.5 percent in June, but only because 652,000 workers left the labor force.

The economic recovery is still far too weak to power the job growth we need to offset the almost 8 million jobs lost since the recession began.  Meanwhile, 14.6 million workers are formally unemployed, and nearly half of them have been unemployed for more than 26 weeks.

Every effort to dig us out of our 10.5 million jobs hole is being stymied by excuses about the deficit.  This is not to say the federal budget doesn’t need attention—it does, but over the long term. Right now we have an immediate jobs crisis. And unless we address it soon, we’ll only make the nation’s economic conditions worse.

 It is a national disgrace that members of Congress are heading home to celebrate our nation’s birthday after having voted repeatedly NOT to create jobs or to extend unemployment aid. All Americans have been impacted by our jobs crisis, with some families bearing multiple burdens of job loss, foreclosures, and benefit cuts. We’re teetering on the brink of a historic national and global depression. And congressional Republicans are pushing closer and closer to the edge.