Monday, August 27, 2012

National Organizations Endorse HR 4277!

Three resolutions featuring HR 4277 and related jobs legislation have been passed by national organizations in the last several months, including AFSCME, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, and the National Organization for Women!!

See below for the text of the resolutions.

Help build momentum for HR 4277 and a national jobs program by passing a resolution in your religious, labor, civic or community organization, or passing a local resolution in your city, county or state legislature!

And, please let us know if you do suceed in passing a resolution, so we can keep track of endorsements and list them on this web site.

Much thanks and appreciation to Ed Rosario of LCLAA for his help in advancing the resolutions at AFSCME and LCLAA, and to our good friends at National Organization for Women for speaking out so clearly on the jobs crisis and the benefits of HR 4277.

Recently Passed Resolutions that Feature HR 4277

AFSCME 2012 Convention Amended Jobs Resolution -- passed at 40th International Convention, 6/18-22/12, Los Angeles, CA

Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) Resolution -- passed at National Confereence, 7/26-28/12, Orlando, FL

National Organization For Women (NOW) Resolution -- passed at National Conference, Baltimore, MD 7/1/12
Draft New York City Resolution in Support of HR 870/HR 4277 (pending)

Other resources for passing local jobs resolutions:

Local Jobs Resolution Toolkit, from Cities for Progress


The text of the AFSCME Resolution follows below:

40th INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION                                                  
LOS ANGELES CONVENTION CENTER                                                               June 18 – 22, 2012
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA                                         


AFSCME Support for Federal Jobs Acts

1.      WHEREAS:
2.      There is a jobs crisis in which mass unemployment continues to take its toll.  At any given time during the Great Recession and its aftermath in the United States about 14 – 15 million people are officially unemployed (forced to work part-time or want a job but are not looking often because they can’t find one). 16 – 18 million full-time workers earn less than the poverty level.  That means about 44 million people and their families are casualties of the jobs crisis; and

3.      WHEREAS:
4.      Even before the Great Recession, millions were unemployed, underemployed and underpaid; and

5.      WHEREAS:
6.      America’s roads need repair, our bridges are eroding, our children need more teachers, parents lack affordable childcare, seniors lack elder care, millions lack adequate healthcare, affordable housing is under siege, and we must green our economy; and

7.      WHEREAS:
8.      All of these needs can and should be met by the federal government; and

9.      WHEREAS:
10.  This was done during the Great Depression of the 1930’s when Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal put millions of the unemployed to work doing useful jobs that have made a lasting contribution to our nation – roads, bridges, schools, libraries, housing, parks, arts, culture and much more; and

11.  WHEREAS:
12.  The labor movement and all its affiliates and supporters need to support the passage of legislation that guarantees a living-wage job to all who want one.  Steps in that direction are: 1. HR 4277 (Rep. John Conyers, D-MI) The Humphrey-Hawkins 21st Century Full Employment and Training Act – would create a national jobs program, including 2.6 to 3.9 million jobs over the first two years, in affordable housing, neighborhood rehabilitation, energy conservation and weatherization, infrastructure repair, education, and human services; 2. The Emergency Jobs to Restore the American Dream Act – HR 2914 (Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-IL) would create, 2.2 million public service jobs in school construction and maintenance, park improvement and restoration, education, child care, law enforcement, health care, energy conservation, and affordable housing; 3. The National Infrastructure Development Bank Act of 2011 HR 402 (Rep. Rosa DeLauro D-Con.) establishes a National Infrastructure Development Bank, an independent body designed to evaluate and finance infrastructure projects of substantial regional and national significance. (A similar bill, S-652, the Senate BUILD Act introduced by Sen. John Kerry would establish an American Infrastructure Financing Authority - AIFA); 4. S. 2252, the Rebuild America Act, introduced by Sen. Tom Harkin in March, a comprehensive bill to invest in roads, bridges and schools, raise the minimum wage, and reform trade policies and the tax code; and

13.  WHEREAS:
14.  Privatization, deregulation and outsourcing are tools for unionbusting and a major source of job loss; and
15.  WHEREAS:
16.  Legislation is needed to create jobs and we need to organize and demand for it now!

17.  THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
18.  The AFSMCE 40th International Convention being held at Los Angeles, CA – June 18 – 22, 2012, endorse, lobby and mobilize for the passage of the Humphrey-Hawkins 21st Century Full Employment and Training Act, the Emergency Jobs to Restore the American Dream Act and the National Infrastructure Development Bank Act of 2011, the BUILD Act, and the Rebuild America Act; and

19.  THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
20.  AFSCME urge all its affiliates and friends of labor to endorse, lobby and mobilize for the passage of the Humphrey-Hawkins 21st Century Full Employment and Training Act, the Emergency Jobs to Restore the American Dream Act and the National Infrastructure Development Bank Act of 2011, the BUILD Act, and the Rebuild America Act; and

21.  THEREFORE BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED:
22.  That AFSCME and all its affiliates mobilize against all schemes that embrace the privatization, deregulation and outsourcing of jobs and in support of legislation that would employ millions of jobless workers here in the United States at decent pay and for the improvement of the quality of life through repair and expansion of our physical and social infrastructure.


SUBMITTED BY;       Behrouz Fathi, President and Delegate
                                    Frank G. Thomas, Executive Chair and Delegate
  
AFSMCE Council 37
Local 375, The Civil Service Technical Guild
New York, New York

 

How Did Congress Vote on Jobs Issues?

In the national media, a lot of attention is being given to the Presidential race between President Obama and Mitt Romney. 

But when voters go to the polls, they will also need to assess whether Congress has been doing enough to enact legislation to create jobs.  Many members of Congress have staunchly opposed the American Jobs Act proposed by President Obama, and other legislation to create jobs by investing in infrastructure and public services. 

How can voters find out how their member of Congress voted on jobs legislation, and other matters that affect labor rights?

Three resources for looking up Congressional Voting Records on Jobs Issues are:

AFL-CIO Scorecard (2012 and prior years)

SEIU.org Key Votes

UFCW Congressional Scorecard



Friday, August 10, 2012

Workers Stand for America -- Mass Mobilization In Philadelphia

From:  WorkersStandForAmerica.com



Join Us in Philly!

11 a.m. Saturday, August 11, 2012

Eakins Oval
26th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19130


America's Second Bill of Rights

We the People want to strengthen our nation, as a beacon of equality, economic opportunity and freedom for all. We hold these rights to be essential to our vision of America and believe that the principles contained therein should guide our government, business leaders, organizations and individuals in our common goal of a just and fair society.
The Right to Full Employment and a Living Wage:
All Americans willing and able to work have the right to safe, gainful employment at a fair and livable wage. We call on the public and private sectors to invest in America’s infrastructure and promote industrial development, maintaining job creation as a top policy priority.
The Right to Full Participation in the Electoral Process:
Recent initiatives to disenfranchise citizens seek to reduce the rolls of eligible voters and empower money instead of people. We believe these actions constitute an assault on our nation’s democracy and history of heroic struggle against voting restrictions based upon property ownership, religion, race and gender and call for reinforcing our fundamental right to vote.
The Right to a Voice at Work:
All workers have the right of freedom of association in the workplace, including the right to collectively bargain with their employer to improve wages, benefits and working conditions.
The Right to a Quality Education:
Education is a fundamental bedrock of our democracy, vital to America’s competitive position in the world and the principal means by which citizens empower themselves to participate in our nation's economic and political systems. Quality, affordable education should be universally available from pre-kindergarten to college level, including an expanded use of apprenticeships and specialty skills training to prepare Americans for the workplace.
The Right to a Secure, Healthy Future:
Americans have the right to a baseline level of health care, unemployment insurance and retirement security, all of which have been badly eroded by the disruption of the social compact that served the nation well for decades. We call on government and private industry together to confront the issues of declining access to health care especially for children, weakening of unemployment coverage, and inadequate pension plans that undermine the ability of working men and women to retire in dignity, even as Social Security and Medicare are under strain and threatened with cutbacks.

Endorse the Second Bill of Rights at WorkersStandForAmerica.com
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