The president convenes the gathering during the country’s worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. There are more than unemployed six workers for every available job. One in three Americans has either lost his or her job or lives in a household with someone who has.
Participants in the summit will include more than 100 experts and leaders from business, labor, government and community organizations. Confirmed participants from the labor movement include Anna Burger, chair of Change to Win; Leo Gerard, president of the United Steel Workers; Joe Hansen, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers; Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO; and Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.
Nobel laureates Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman also are slated to attend.
At the summit, Trumka said he will discuss a five-point plan proposed by the AFL-CIO and its allies to create jobs and boost the economy:
1. Extending the lifeline for jobless workers through unemployment insurance, food aid and health care assistance.
2. Rebuilding America’s schools, roads and energy systems.
3. Increasing aid to state and local governments to maintain vital services and prevent layoffs.
4. Fund jobs in our communities, focusing on distressed areas.
5. Put the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds to work for Main Street by increasing lending from community banks to small and medium-sized businesses.
The recovery package implemented earlier this year has helped stem the loss of jobs, but more needs to be done to spur economic growth, Trumka said.
“Doing nothing is not an option,” he said. “If we don’t act, everything will be worse – including our federal budget deficit.”
This article, written by Workday Minnesota, includes information from the AFL-CIO blog and CBS News.
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The president convenes the gathering during the country’s worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. There are more than unemployed six workers for every available job. One in three Americans has either lost his or her job or lives in a household with someone who has.
Participants in the summit will include more than 100 experts and leaders from business, labor, government and community organizations. Confirmed participants from the labor movement include Anna Burger, chair of Change to Win; Leo Gerard, president of the United Steel Workers; Joe Hansen, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers; Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO; and Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.
Nobel laureates Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman also are slated to attend.
At the summit, Trumka said he will discuss a five-point plan proposed by the AFL-CIO and its allies to create jobs and boost the economy:
1. Extending the lifeline for jobless workers through unemployment insurance, food aid and health care assistance.
2. Rebuilding America’s schools, roads and energy systems.
3. Increasing aid to state and local governments to maintain vital services and prevent layoffs.
4. Fund jobs in our communities, focusing on distressed areas.
5. Put the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds to work for Main Street by increasing lending from community banks to small and medium-sized businesses.
The recovery package implemented earlier this year has helped stem the loss of jobs, but more needs to be done to spur economic growth, Trumka said.
“Doing nothing is not an option,” he said. “If we don’t act, everything will be worse – including our federal budget deficit.”
This article, written by Workday Minnesota, includes information from the AFL-CIO blog and CBS News.