Labor & Employment Law

Arkansas Workers: We Need Jobs Now

By James Parks

Workers across the country are sending a strong message to state and national political leaders that jobs are priority No. 1. Yesterday, activists in Arkansas told a press conference at the state capitol in Little Rock that drastic cuts in state services could come unless Congress approves a jobs bill that gives aid to cash-strapped state and local governments.  

At the press conference, Jobs for America Now, a coalition of union, religious and activist groups, released a report showing that Arkansas may have to make some disastrous cuts in services unless it receives more federal assistance.  

According to this report, economists predict that without federal assistance to state and local governments with budget shortfalls, 900,000 Americans could lose their jobs in fiscal year 2011, and 3 million will lose their jobs by 2012.

The Arkansas action follows a Feb. 11 rally at which hundreds of California workers at the state capitol told legislators in both Sacramento and Washington, D.C., that we need real leadership to create good jobs across America.

Robin Roark, a public school teacher, told the Little Rock press conference that America needs “a robust jobs bill.”

…One that can help the state of Arkansas weather the current budget storm, and more importantly, give back to our neighbors the sense of honor and decency that comes from earning a paycheck.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on February 16, 2010 (boomark / email).