New labor leader pushes public option at White House

Richard Trumka, the newly elected president of the AFL-CIO, met with President Obama's chief of staff at the White House Wednesday, making a push for the embattled public health insurance option.

Trumka, who replaced John Sweeney, has pushed Obama and Congress to pass the public option that was twice defeated in the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday. A spokesman for the AFL-CIO said Trumka continued that push in a meeting with White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.

Also on Wednesday's agenda was the Employee Free Choice Act, which lost momentum last month when the healthcare debate took center stage. The bill, commonly referred to as "card-check" for its provision that would alter unionization rules, is one of the AFL-CIO's top priorities -- and one of the president's old campaign promises. Trumka and Obama reportedly discussed the bill's progress during their Wednesday morning meeting.

Afterward, AFL-CIO spokesman Eddie Vale said that Trumka "reiterated our commitment to creating good paying jobs, passing health care reform with a public option, the importance of passing major labor law reform and re-regulating financial markets."

"Today's White House meeting follows one-on-ones between Trumka and global leaders, including UN Sec Gen Ban Ki-moon, at last week's G-20 meetings, where Trumka made clear to world leaders to place jobs at the top of their agenda," Vale said in an email.