Tele-Town Hall for Unemployed Workers
“This year, our first priority and our second priority and our third priority are creating jobs,” Senator Al Franken told 25,000 unemployed Working America members on a tele-town hall today. With 500,000 of our members unemployed, Working America’s strong priorities are putting people back to work and making sure that, in the mean time, jobless workers have the resources and support they need to get by. So today we reached out to unemployed members to give them a chance to get information, ask questions, and hear about opportunities to take action.
Sen. Franken was joined on the call by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and National Employment Law Project executive director Chris Owens, with Working America’s executive director Karen Nussbaum moderating.
Two unemployed Working America members opened a question-and-answer section that ranged from the broad economic issues to advice for specific situations.
Marvin, from Yellow Springs, Ohio, had worked in the food service industry his whole life as a chef and a manager. He’s been unemployed since the residential college he worked at closed their facility and laid off the staff. He said,
My experience is basically that the service industry is where people spend their surplus money, and no one has any, so we have no jobs. I’ve seen a lot of companies advertise jobs as entry level where before they were looking for people with more experience and were much higher paying.
I’d like to see the government take a more proactive stance to run the economy from the bottom up instead of the top down. So my question for you is what should the government do to create jobs? And not just short term jobs but ones that will stick around.
Sen. Franken responded that “we have to start manufacturing again,” investing in research and development and making use of the strong skills in manufacturing so many American workers have, and “we have to rebuild our infrastructure,” because America’s schools and roads and bridges are in need of repairs that would put jobless workers back on the job. He also stressed the importance of investing in green jobs.
Both Sen. Franken and President Trumka strongly and repeatedly stressed the importance of jobs legislation and economic stimulus. Trumka pointed out that when last year’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed, it was for a smaller amount than was anticipated to be necessary, because Republicans in the Senate stonewalled and obstructed the full amount needed. With the recession having proven deeper than expected, making the stimulus that was passed even more inadequate than initially anticipated, Trumka pointed to the danger of further half measures. Deficit spending now to create jobs and stimulate the economy, he said, is an investment in the future.
Other callers had questions about the billions of dollars in executive bonuses the big Wall Street firms are announcing this week, the effect of buying goods produced cheaply overseas, and unemployment benefits. NELP’s Chris Owens urged listeners to call their senators in support of extending unemployment benefits, which will begin running out for some people at the end of February.
So many callers had questions that time ran out before all could be addressed during the tele-town hall, but this wasn’t just a one-off event. Working America is committed to working with all our members to promote strong jobs and economic legislation to put people back to work, rein in the banks, and restore balance to our economy.
In the mean time, if you’re unemployed, check out our Unemployment Lifeline for resources in your area and advice.
Tags: Richard Trumka, unemployment
