By Mark Gruenberg

PAI Staff Writer

            WASHINGTON (PAI)--Union leaders who issued immediate reactions to Democratic President Barack Obama’s Jan. 27 State of the Union address generally praised his emphasis on creating jobs. 

            But some of labor’s allies -- including Larry Mishel of the Economic Policy Institute and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich -- faulted Obama or being too timid and declaring he would freeze spending on “people programs” that help workers.

            Leading the group was AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka, who said labor would be out campaigning for the second economic stimulus, also known as a “jobs bill,” that Obama strongly endorsed. 

            “We must act on a scale that will be meaningful,” Trumka said after hearing Obama’s proposal, including removing some taxes on employers that create jobs here while imposing them on employers that do so overseas.

            “We need more than 10 million jobs just to get out of the hole we’re in.  We want health care fixed.  We want our leaders to break the stranglehold of Wall Street and the big banks and make them pay to repair the economic damage they created,” Trumka added.  Obama also proposed making banks pay additional fees -- stock transaction taxes -- as both a way to curb speculation and to dampen bankers’ ardor for the gambling that pushed the U.S. into the Great Recession.

            “The president was right to call out Republicans for obstructing change and

putting politics ahead of progress,” Trumka said. “Now it’s time for all of us to get busy and work together to bring the big changes that are essential -- starting with enacting a jobs bill that is big enough to create jobs for the millions of people who want to work

and can’t find jobs.  The time for small change is long gone,” he added.

            Trumka then announced the AFL-CIO would start to mobilize a nationwide jobs campaign to get the legislation passed.

            But what Obama proposed and what Congress is considering are two different things: The House passed a $154 billion jobs bill on Dec. 16, but the Senate is drafting its own, lesser, version which may be unveiled Jan. 28.  That bill is supposed to be worth $80 billion, with small business job creation tax credits as its centerpiece.

            Other union leaders also praised parts of Obama’s speech, while workers interviewed by Working America, the AFL-CIO’s grass-roots affiliate, concentrated solely on jobs. 

            Mishel and Reich said Obama’s freeze on domestic spending hurts job creation. Pump Handle, a newsletter for workers concerned about job safety and health, proposed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) use the freeze of its $500 million budget to dump the GOP Bush regime’s $128 million “compliance assistance” program in favor of OSHA initiatives that really work.

            The comments included:

            * AFSCME President Gerry McEntee: “Unfortunately, we learned in the past year that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was not big enough to stimulate a full-scale recovery” from the Great Recession.  “Unless we act now, more Americans –- including nearly a million public employees –- could lose their jobs as current federal investments run out and the vital services Americans need during tough times are cut to the bone.  There simply won’t be an economic recovery if Washington turns its back on Main Street USA.

            “Investing in public sector jobs creates jobs in the private sector.  Federal funding is needed to keep our streets safe, our children educated and our families in good health...Focus like a laser beam on saving and creating American jobs by including robust investments in public services in any upcoming jobs legislation.”

            * AFT President Randi Weingarten: “President Obama is trying to shield children from budget cuts that affect their schools.  He understands kids don’t get a second chance to receive a good education and our country’s future depends on the quality of education we provide for our children.

            “Just as we acknowledge the president wants to do everything he can to protect children, we also have to acknowledge that when budget cuts weaken the safety net, there are real and harmful effects on children and their families. We will work with the White House and Congress to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act,” which Obama mentioned in his speech.  “After eight years of No Child Left Behind” -- anti-worker GOP President George W. Bush’s law --  “it’s time to pass a new law that will give every child access to high-quality public education needed to succeed,” she said.

            * The Working America members: “Samantha from Ohio said ‘We need the money to go to Main Street, we do not want to give money for Wall Street. We need jobs! If we don't have money, people will not be able to pay taxes to keep this town alive. The people are trying to make ends meet. But most of us cannot.’  An underemployed Missourian, Don, added: ‘We need jobs and we need decent jobs. The federal government has got to help create something.’  And an unemployed Minnesotan, Liz, agreed.  ‘We need to focus on putting people back to work.  Put individuals back into the discussion and equations.  We hear the economy is doing better, but people aren’t going back to work.  People are losing their jobs and not able to support their families. Let’s focus on that instead of bank bailouts.’”

            * EPI’s Larry Mishel: ““In all likelihood the unemployment rate will be higher in October than it is now, yet somehow the White House thinks it’s appropriate to begin reducing domestic discretionary spending at that time. Reducing overall spending when tens of millions of Americans remain out of work would be a disaster. It will condemn millions to years of avoidable economic hardships...We need the federal government to inject demand into a severely weakened economy in order to create jobs.  ###