Labor

This Labor Day, it appears that a "perfect storm" is gathering that may well sweep away Republican control of the Congress this fall. It is a storm fueled by three developments:


First, profound economic trends have strained working families to the breaking point – workers are not sharing in the wealth they helped create and our nation’s economic recovery has not been a recovery for workers at all.


Second, as you might expect, new polling shows that most voters are painfully aware of these problems and pocketbook issues will be top voting issues this fall.


And finally, the AFL-CIO is making the largest effort in our history in an off-year election, driving home these pocketbook issues. We will play the largest role we've ever played in electing the candidates we've endorsed in many of the pivotal competitive races for the House and Senate.


Why do unions engage in political action at this level?


For workers, a “perfect storm Read more...

This Labor Day, there should be no confusion for Republicans as to why Americans are fed up with their economic policies and are looking for a change.  A recent Census Bureau report shows that 37 million Americans are living in poverty, and the number of those living in the category of extreme poverty has risen sharply.  The data also reveals that income from earned wages fell in 2005 when compared to 2004.  This is the second straight year in a row that wages have dropped for men, and the third consecutive year wages have fallen for women.

In simple terms, the report shows that more families are living paycheck to paycheck, unable to save for college for their kids or afford health insurance.  Americans are increasingly concerned that the American dream will not come true for their families and that their children will not have it better than they did.

Democrats believe that hard work should be rewarded with fair pay, and one way to ensure that is by increasing the minimum wage.  Congress has not raised the minimum wage since 1997 and, consequently, it is at its lowest level in fifty years (when adjusted for inflation).  A full-time minimum wage worker earns only $10,700, which is dramatically below the poverty line for a family of four.

The time has come for Congress to raise the minimum wage.  Democrats believe that an increase from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour over two years is a reasonable increase.  In the wealthiest nation on earth, it is simply unconscionable that hardworking Americans do not make enough money to meet their families most basic needs.  Democrats are committed to a new direction for our country that will raise the minimum wage and bring Americans who work hard and play by the rules out of the grip of poverty.

This Labor Day, politicians across the country will make speeches and release statements praising the efforts and sacrifices American workers have made to our country. They will talk about the debt we owe American workers and their families, and about respect and gratitude for those who form the backbone of our economy. They will make promises, shake hands, and they will stand before crowds to celebrate Labor Day.

But when they return to Washington, and when it comes time to vote, many of these same Representatives will forget the promises they made and their words of gratitude. What matters most is their actions, not their words. Will they raise the minimum wage? Will they protect pensions? Will they stand up for workers' rights? Will they do what they can to stop outsourcing and the flow of jobs overseas? Will they vote against trade agreements that are neither free nor fair, like CAFTA or the Oman Trade Agreement? Or will they block a fair vote on the minimum wage, sit on their hands while executives with golden parachutes cut promised benefits, and endorse policies that reward corporations for shipping jobs overseas?

President Bush continues to claim the economy is strong and getting stronger. And maybe it is - for those at the top. But American workers haven't seen the benefits. Median salaries are shrinking, the number of uninsured is climbing, and despite this "stellar economy," Americans who work full time can't make ends meet. This week, the Census Bureau released the 2005 data on income, poverty, and health care. It confirmed what American families already know -- that Americans have not fared well over the first five years of the Bush Administration. Since Bush took office, there are 5.4 million more people in poverty, 6.8 million more without health insurance, overall median household income has declined by $1,300, and wages as a share of income this year are at their lowest level since at least 1928. Read more...

The United States has an immigration problem.

But it is simplistic to think that we can control our immigration problem simply by controlling our borders.  For years, that has been the line of thinking.  And, for years, we have spent more and more money to reinforce the border.  And, for years, more and more immigrants have come across that reinforced border.  So, we need to do more than apply simplistic analyses to this very complex problem.  Certainly, we need to look at border problems.  But we also need to look at U.S. businesses and their need for labor – both now and in the future.  And we need to look at our need for high-skilled immigrants.  And, clearly, we need to look for a realistic approach for dealing with the 11.5 million undocumented immigrants who have been living and working in the United States for years.

Our Immigration System is Broken.  The root of the current crisis of undocumented immigration is a fundamental disconnect between today’s economic and labor market realities and an outdated system of legal immigration. Undocumented immigration is driven in large part by a U.S. labor market that is creating a higher demand for less-skilled workers than is being met by the native-born labor force or by the current legal limits on immigration. Migration from Mexico in particular has increased over the past two decades as the U.S. and Mexican governments have actively promoted the economic integration of the two countries. As the past decade and a half of failed federal border-enforcement efforts make clear, immigration policies that ignore these larger economic forces merely drive migration underground rather than effectively regulate it.  In short, there is an unsustainable contradiction between U.S. economic policy and U.S. immigration policy, and economics is winning. The problem is not undocumented immigrants, but a broken immigration system that sends the dual messages “Keep Out Read more...

By AFL-CIO President John Sweeney

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the last time the minimum wage was increased. Since President Clinton signed the last wage increase in 1996, the real value of minimum wage has dropped to its lowest level in 51 years – leaving working families struggling to keep pace with skyrocketing gas prices, rising health care costs and inflation. Meanwhile, the Republicans in Congress have given themselves a total of nine pay raises since 1997 totaling more than $30,000 while rewarding their wealthy corporate sponsors with tax break after tax break.

If ever an issue clearly showed the skewed priorities of this Congress’ leadership, it’s the minimum wage. Two weeks ago the Senate rightly rejected a cynical ploy by Republican leadership to poison the current minimum wage increase with yet more massive tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. Millionaire Republican leaders like Bill Frist effectively killed the minimum wage increase before Congress by insisting that low-wage workers get in line behind Paris Hilton and the Wal-Mart heirs to receive a long-overdue wage increase.

While Republican leadership plays games with the minimum wage, real working families are struggling mightily to make ends meet. Ten years ago a gallon of gas cost working people $1.11. Today low-wage workers are faced with gas prices north of $3 per gallon. The majority of these workers are adults who significantly contribute to their family’s overall income. Every day that goes by that they must continue waiting for their hard-earned raise, their families suffer as a result. Read more...

The Federal Reserve reported today that industrial production rose a solid 0.4 percent last month after soaring 0.8 percent in June.  While a red hot July caused utility output (to power our air conditioners) to surge 2 percent, manufacturing output rose a subdued 0.1 percent to a new all-time high!  Still that's not too bad considering the 0.8 percent rise in manufacturing production in June.

All told, manufacturing output has increased 5.8 percent over the past year, led by double digit growth in primary metals, computers and electronic products, aerospace, and electrical equipment.

Not too bad...not too bad at all.

The American people see the minimum wage bill for what it is - a blatant political trick to make voters think Republicans like Chris Shays actually care about them and their ability to make a living. If Chris and the rest of the Republican leadership really cared about enacting a fair and equitable minimum wage, they would have had an up or down vote on just that measure - but Congressman Shays refused to allow even that. Instead he joined the rest of his party to pass a minimum wage bill he knew would never pass the Senate and therefore not be enacted.

I support an up or down vote on a minimum wage increase, which is long overdue for hard-working Americans.

I am proud that we can now send the President the most sweeping changes to our nation’s retirement laws since the enactment of ERISA itself.  This legislation will provide greater security for our nation’s workers who have retirement benefit plans and greater stability for the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporations (PGBC).  There is little doubt that this bill will be the foundation on which the future of our retirement system rests.  Thursday night we secured the future for American workers and their families.  We have now ensured that their hard work is rewarded and their hard earned dollars go towards their retirement needs.  Promises made will be promises kept.

The House bill took an important step forward in ensuring that hard-working Americans can support their families better and I am grateful the moderates' were able to secure that vote. With this bill, minimum wage workers' pay would have increased 41 percent to $7.25 per hour over the next three years.  Economic research has shown that an incremental increase in the minimum wage -- like the one passed by Congress in 1996 and passed the House -- is the best way to ensure there is little to no impact on employment or prices.

By AFL-CIO President John Sweeney:

Last night the Senate told the Republican leadership in no uncertain terms to stop playing games with the minimum wage. The estate tax bill is a “poison pill Read more...