AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka visited the Orange County Labor Federation on January 6, 2010. The event was historic for the Orange County Labor Federation (OCLF) - it was the first time a sitting AFL-CIO President made a stop in Orange County. Tefere Gebre, OCLF Executive Director, described President Trumka as "one of the most visionary leaders in the labor movement today" and continued, "we (Orange County) used to be a drive over county - drive over to get to Los Angeles or San Diego. That changed today."
Pres. Trumka made the Orange County stop as part of a larger trip thru California. Other stops were San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles. He described the California swing as part of a nationwide listening tour where "he wants to go around the country and listen to people and find out how the economy is treating everyone."
Workers from United Domestic Workers (UDW) Local 3930, who provide in home supportive services, and Orange County Employees Association (OCEA) met with Pres. Trumka in a separate meeting before the roundtable with leaders from labor locals. Before the meeting, Rose Nguyen, a member of UDW, said, "The state budget and priorities are making it impossible for me and my co-workers to provide the needed services to the aged, blind, or disabled Californians who depend on our services to survive day to day. We need an economy the works for all of us, not only Wall Street."
Rose's comments echoed Pres. Trumka's that the recent problems on Wall Street, TARP bank bailouts and recession have hit all Americans very hard. "When the first stimulus was passed, nobody believed the recession was a deep as it was. Economists thought that the $1.3 trillion stimulus would right the economy.", Pres. Trumka said and continued, "We pushed for $1.3 trillion, but the Republicans blocked it. We got $797 billion, which was in three parts - one-third state and local aid, one-third infrastructure and one-third tax breaks. Everyone knew it wasn't big enough to prevent more job losses, but it pulled us back from the brink. Now, we need a second stimulus to create jobs." Currently, there is a job gap of about 10 million jobs.
A five point plan to bring short term relief has been the legislative focus for the AFL-CIO in a push to strengthen the economy. The recent extension of benefits, food assistance and COBRA subsidies for the unemployed was described by Pres. Trumka as "keeping 6 million people out of poverty. If the benefits stop, they are pushed into poverty. They will stop spending and make the economy worse."
Along the same lines the push for more aid to the 48 states which are out of money is to get state and local governments spending again. Government spending puts paychecks into people's pockets either thru contracts, employment or purchases by the government. "Cutting back on spending makes the recession worse," said Pres. Trumka.
Fixing and creating new infrastructure is badly needed and creates good paying jobs. Using bridges and water systems as examples, he said, "$2.2 trillion is needed to repair bridges in the United States. 1 out 4 bridges are structurally deficient. Each day, because of disrepair of the water systems, 7 billion gallons of clean drinking water leaks out of the system." The jobs created by the infrastructure public works projects improve communities, increase public safety and pump dollars into local economies.
Creating jobs is at the core of Pres. Trumka's plan. "We need to create jobs directly, not just trade jobs among people," he said. He has proposed giving the remaining TARP money to community banks to allow these banks to start lending again to small and medium sized businesses. Many of these businesses need loans to fund the working capital requirements or to provide ready cash while receivables are being collected. When lines of credit and other loans dry up, these businesses must tighten down on operations, reduce hiring and sometimes reduce headcount.
In closing, Pres. Trumka added, "We need to push on our representatives to have the fortitude and backbone to get it done. And, it's up to us to make jobs good jobs."
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