Labor Day 2011 is just around the corner. Will it be a day off to just go to a picnic, or will it be a day to demonstrate the need for good jobs now? The need for jobs is obvious. Let’s take action and get our friends, co-workers and neighbors involved. The country we save could be our own!   The Fight For Jobs Last week we wrote about the jobs bill Rep. Jan Schackowski (D-IL) is drafting. This week, over 70 progressive organizations signed a letter to President Obama on this bill and the need for him to make job creation priority number one. Want to help? Sign this petition from the AFL-CIO titled, “America Wants to Work.”   Another jobs bill in the works – Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) says, “Rather than allowing the economy to stagnate and leaving our public assets to deteriorate, we can build our way out of this economic downturn. We simply need to remember one of the important lessons of the “greatest generation”: useful work transforms lives and builds our nation forward. ” She has introduced a bill for a 21st Century Civilian Conservation Corps. In the 1930s, the CCC was up and running and employing almost 300,000 Americans within three months, performing essential work in conservation projects on public land. Many national and state parks still rely on buildings and trails constructed by the original CCC.   Around the Nation

• President Obama has chosen Alan Krueger as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors. Krueger, who has authored reports for the progressive Economic Policy Institute, is a step in the right direction to get the administration focused on jobs.
• A Michigan Republican shows great disdain for the poor of his state. Republican Rep. Dave Agema wrote on his Facebook page, “let them that will not work, not eat.” People’s World author John Rummel has the story.
• “To save a dime, they lost a dollar.” Minnesota budget cuts eliminate program that helps immigrant doctors gain certification. “Many of them could be qualified to do this job with just a little bit of extra training,” Nicholson said. “You desperately need people to do this job. Why not get them out in the game? To tackle some of the health care problems Minnesota is facing we need all hands on deck.”
• Snow plowing cut back in New Hampshire. The New Hampshire state Department of Transportation must cope with an 11.5 percent reduction in its maintenance budget this year, a 13 percent cut next year and a 25 percent drop in funds available for sand and salt. As a result, state transportation officials are contemplating a number of austerity measures, including scaling back the number of plows in service between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. and waiting until 5-7 inches of snow has fallen on side roads to begin plowing instead of 3-6 inches as in the past.

Labor Day Online and in your neighborhood To find an event in your area, or to watch the AFL-CIO’s Labor Day video or vote for your favorite worker click here. Please make sure to visit the People’s World online for the best in worker’s news!                

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