This week we’ve got an update (and action to take) on the Rebuild America Act; news about green jobs and some staggering news about unemployment and older workers as well as a few other notes of interest.
Urge your Senators and Representative to Co-Sponsor the Rebuild America Act!
Last month we told you about Sen. Harkin (D-IA) sponsoring this bill to build the economy for the 99%. Now we are pleased to report that Rep. DeLauro (D-CT) and Rep Braley (D-IA) have sponsored a companion bill in the house.
Please take a minute to urge your elected officials to co-sponsor this much-needed jobs legislation.
Green Jobs Now
As Leo Gerard, President of the United Steelworkers put it, “It’s not a choice between good jobs and the environment; we can and must have both.” Read the People’s World article covering this topic, and read more about the plan in Michigan endorsed by Clean Water Action. Another labor leader speaking on jobsin the People’s World: The nation should “add four million factory jobs and balance its trade within five years,” said AFL-CIO President Trumka.
Adding Insult to Injury – and Then Some…
A list of sobering news items relating to the unemployed and jobs.
230,000 Long-Term Unemployed Lost Jobless Benefits This Week
The odds of finding a job are improving, but are still stacked against job seekers
In California, double the cuts, double the misery
What does austerity mean in Europe? Higher taxes, fewer jobs – let us count the ways
The Human Disaster of Unemployment
People Not In Labor Force at 522,000, Labor Force Rate Lowest Since 1981
Long-Term Unemployment and Older Workers
The Senate Special Committee on Aging, chaired by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) held a hearing to address unemployment among older workers. Read more and watch the C-SPAN video on the crisis facing these unemployed workers.
Please make sure to visit the People’s World online for the best in worker’s news!
Other resources to check out:
WeNeedJobsNotCuts.com – UnemployedWorkers.org – Unemployed Nation – JobsNotCuts.org
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Scott Marshall is a vice chair of the Communist Party and chair of its Labor Commission. Scott grew up in Virginia where he first became active in the civil rights movement in high school, working on voter registration and anti-Klan projects in rural Southern Virginia and Tennessee. He was also active against the war in Vietnam.
Scott has been a life long trade unionist and was active in rank and file reform movements in the Teamsters, Machinists and Steelworkers unions in the 1970s and '80s. He was co-chair of the Save Our Jobs committee of USWA local 1834 at Pullman Standard in Chicago and active in nationwide organizing against plant shutdowns and layoffs. He was a founder of the unemployed organization Jobs or Income Now (Join), in Chicago, and the National Congress of Unemployed Organizations in the 1980s.
Scott has worked for the Communist Party since 1987 when he became the district organizer for the party in Illinois, a post he held until he was elected chair of the National Labor Commission in 1997. Scott remains active in SOAR (Steelworkers Active Organized Retirees). He lives in Chicago.
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