The U.S. is now 24 months into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Over the course of those two years, we have lost 8.1 million jobs and 17.5 percent of the workforce–27.4 million workers–are unemployed, underemployed, or have given up looking for work. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg forsee the unemployment rate remaining at above 10 percent well into the first half of 2010.
On the eve of President Obama’s Jobs Summit at the White House, SEIU Secretary-Treasurer and Change to Win Chair Anna Burger has a piece on the Huffington Post outlining a bold jobs plan to meet the demands of a 21st century economy:
“If we are going to come out of our current crisis stronger and better prepared for the challenges of a 21st century economy, we need someone to take charge, to focus–24/7–on job creation until we see results.
“It’s time for President Obama to empower the 21st century Francis Perkins, someone to speak for him and someone who has the authority across government to shake things up. It’s time to create a country that works for all of us. And that starts with jobs.
“Creating jobs isn’t rocket science. We just need the political will, courage and determination to make it happen.”
The jobs plan Burger laid out focuses on investments in public services and the private sector, a national job training program, and the need to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. Her plan also advocates for a “green bank” to fund energy-efficiency and renewables projects, as well as funding for infrastructure to help rebuild schools and roads. Read the entire plan here.
Burger will join 129 business, academic and government leaders at tomorrow’s Jobs Summit. Other labor labors in attendee will be Leo Gerard from the United Steelworkers, Joe Hansen from UFCW, the AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka and AFT president Randi Weingarten.
Economist Paul Krugman, who will be at the White House jobs forum as well, shares his thoughts on how we can begin to right the wrongs of our economy in the NY Times this week. A large part the solution, according to Krugman? Not leaving workers out of the economic recovery–and the federal government actually creating jobs. “There’s a pervasive sense in Washington that nothing more can or should be done, that we should just wait for the economic recovery to trickle down to workers,” notes Krugman. “This is wrong and unacceptable.”
Krugman proposes direct public employment and employee incentives–such as a tax credit–to swell job creation.”All of this would cost money, probably several hundred billion dollars, and raise the budget deficit in the short run,” he writes . “But this has to be weighed against the high cost of inaction in the face of a social and economic emergency.”
More confirmed attendees of tomorrow’s jobs forum at TPM here.
*This post originally appeared in the SEIU Blog on December 2, 2009. Reprinted with permission from the author.
About the Author: Kate Thomas is a blogger, web producer and new media coordinator at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a labor union with 2.1 million members in the healthcare, public and property service sectors. Kate’s passions include the progressive movement, the many wonders of the Internet and her job working for an organization that is helping to improve the lives of workers and fight for meaningful health care and labor law reform. Prior to working at SEIU, Katie worked for the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) as a communications/public relations coordinator and editor of AMSA’s newsletter appearing in The New Physician magazine.
