Obama Reaffirms Jobs as No. 1 Priority;
Needs Labor’s Support to Win Congress

In his State of the Union address on January 27, President Obama stated: “Jobs must be our No. 1 focus in 2010.” To that end, he called on Congress to pass a jobs bill that would spur investment in green jobs and clean energy.

He also proposed investment tax cuts for small business owners and a new program that would take $30 billion from the fund used to bail out troubled banks and automakers and redirect it toward an initiative to encourage community banks to lend to small businesses.

The President set a goal of doubling exports in five years, an increase that could provide as many as two million jobs. He also outlined a series of proposals designed to help the middle class, including tax credits for child care and a cap on student loans.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka praised the Obama initiatives, adding: “We must act on a scale that will be meaningful. We need more than 10 million jobs just to get out of the hole we’re in. We want health-care fixed. We want our leaders to break the stranglehold of Wall Street and the big banks and make them pay to repair the economic damage they created."

But many of Obama’s job-creating initiatives won’t see the light of day unless Congress approves them. And if Senate Republicans and conservative Democrats continue to play their obstructionist role, we may end up with another year of gridlock on such major issues as job creation, health-care reform and climate change.

The President appealed to the Republicans to cooperate with Democrats so that Congress can approve laws in behalf of the American people. “We cannot wage a perpetual campaign where the only goal is to see who can get the most embarrassing headlines about their opponent—a belief that ‘if you lose, I win’, “ Obama said.

Labor Shouldn’t Give G.O.P. Obstructionists a Free Hand

For a year and more, the AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions and members have allowed Senate Republicans and conservative Democrats to block and delay legislation that would benefit the American people.

Let’s be frank with ourselves. We know who they are, and we’ve let them get away with their disruptive, unprincipled tactics. Except for the e-mails and phone calls that we’ve been urged to send, we’ve watched the Senate Republicans continue their senseless opposition without challenge, because they hold the threat of a filibuster.

We cannot afford to just watch these momentous political struggles in Washington from the sidelines, as spectators and cheerleaders, if we expect to win any favorable legislation in Congress. It’s welcome news that Trumka has announced that the AFL-CIO is gearing up for a nationwide jobs campaign with allies.

Trumka said: “Now it’s time for all of us to get busy and work together to bring the big changes that are essential—starting with enacting a jobs bill that is big enough to create jobs for the millions of people who want to work and can’t find jobs.”

So when is Trumka’s Jobs campaign going to start? Why has he waited nearly two years after the start of the recession to talk about a campaign? What will it consist of? What are we union members supposed to do in this campaign?

It shouldn’t take Trumka long to put together a Jobs campaign and launch it—if he's really serious about it. And I hope he is.—Harry Kelber

LaborTalk (35) will be posted here on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 and on our two web sites: www.laboreducator.org and www.laborsvoiceforchange.org