Labor & Employment Law

Trumka on MSNBC: Jobs Summit a Good Step

By Seth Michaels

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said tonight on MSNBC’s “The Ed Show” he was encouraged by the White House Jobs Summit earlier today and that he’s looking forward to working on the urgent goal of job creation. 

Trumka told host Ed Schultz that in the discussions among President Obama, administration officials, economists and business leaders, there was a broad consensus that we need to fix an economy that has shed millions of jobs. Trumka said of the jobs summit: 

I think it worked really well. The president really does understand the urgency of job creation. He said it on numerous occasions: jobs, jobs, jobs. I think his staff and Cabinet understand the importance of job creation. A lot of good ideas came out today that are usable. If we turn them around real quick, we can start putting Americans back to work in weeks. 

Trumka pointed to the weatherization of commercial and residential buildings as an example of a project that boosts the economy in the short term and strengthens it in the long term. Not only do the workers who are doing weatherization benefit, but businesses and families who have their facilities and homes improved save money on energy bills. And everyone reaps environmental benefits from improved energy efficiency. 

Unions, Trumka noted, are doing a lot of the training for green jobs. In addition, unions help workers bargain for a fair share of the economy: 

This economy must be driven by consumer demand. The only way to create consumer demand is to put money in their pockets. Unions put more money in their members’ pockets. 

Trumka also stressed the need to rebuild manufacturing in this country. 

Here’s the AFL-CIO’s five-point plan to create jobs and put the country to work.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on December 03, 2009 (boomark / email).