Labor & Employment Law

Speaking of Jobs?

By Tula Connell

Here are a few good nuggets about jobs to chew on this cold winter day.

? The reactionary noise machine is trying to bad-mouth the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to make it look like it’s not creating jobs. Wrong. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis this week announced the release of nearly $100 million in renewable energy training grants that will create thousands of jobs and help move our nation to energy self-sufficiency. The Electrical Workers (IBEW) is among the unions receiving the green jobs training grants. In Austin, Texas, alone, the $4.8 million granted to the union’s Joint Apprenticeship and Training Council will enable it to train more than 1,000 workers?both experienced journeymen and workers new to the trade?by next year.

? Airbus has asked for an additional $7.6 billion toward its transport plane project?this just after the World Trade Organization ruled that billions of dollars in European subsidies to Airbus violated trade rules. This move by Airbus should be considered by the U.S. government as it weighs whether to grant a $35 billion Air Force aerial tanker contract to either Northrop-EADS (Airbus) or Boeing. Some European nations won’t even allow their neighbors in the European Union to come into their defense markets to compete let alone the United States having a shot to compete overseas. Granting Boeing the contract would create 44,000 jobs in the United States. Today’s jobless data shows the nation needs every one of them.

? In the Wall Street Journal today, United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo Gerard reiterates how China’s currency manipulation and illegal subsidies give it an unfair advantage against U.S. manufacturers, while its labor, intellectual property and environmental protections are grossly inadequate. America’s overall trade deficit this year with China alone will exceed $250 billion, Gerard writes, in large part because: “China flat-out cheats in its trade practices.”

? The United Streetcar LLC is a prime example of a quality U.S. company that promotes good jobs and a stable community, as the Alliance for American Manufacturing points out. The United Streetcar, “an innovative and experienced American manufacturer,” makes high-quality street cars that are in full compliance with the Buy America Act, as the video above makes clear.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on January 08, 2010 (boomark / email).