Tag: jobs

After June Job Gains, Still a ‘Deep Hole,’ and New Worries

New York Times logoSome 4.8 million positions were added last month, but renewed shutdowns could accelerate the continuing layoffs.

Employers brought back millions more workers in June as businesses began to reopen across the country. But the recent surge in coronavirus cases is threatening to stall the economic recovery long before it has reached most of the people who lost their jobs.

\U.S. payrolls grew by 4.8 million in June, the Labor Department said Thursday. It was the second month of strong gains after April’s huge losses, when businesses laid off or furloughed tens of millions of workers as the pandemic put a large swath of economic activity on ice.

The job growth surpassed economists’ forecasts, and it was broad based, cutting across industries and demographic groups. Continue reading.

Rep. Philips introduces bill to expand national service to strengthen COVID-19 response

The UNITE Act of 2020 would provide employment opportunities for a whole-of-government response to the COVID pandemic

WASHINGTON, DC — On Tuesday, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) announced the introduction of legislation to mobilize Americans to fight against the coronavirus. Introduced in the Senate last week by Senators Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), the Undertaking National Initiatives to Tackle Epidemic (UNITE) Act of 2020 would expand authorization of opportunities within AmeriCorps and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and directs them to prioritize projects that strengthen the response of frontlines workers. In addition, the legislation will ensure that existing workforce programs such as AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps VISTA, and FEMA CORE are fully mobilized in order to assist vulnerable Americans – including the food-insecure, elderly, and homeless – during the pandemic. This group is joined by Reps. John Garamendi (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Paul Tonko (D-NY), and John Sarbanes (D-MD) as original cosponsors.

“The American spirit of activism and hard work is alive and well especially during this challenging time,” said Phillips. “The United States must have a whole-of-government response to the COVID-19 pandemic that not only employs those who have lost their jobs or who’ve become underemployed, but also delivers relief to understaffed frontline workers. I urge my colleagues to join me in calling for the swift passage of the UNITE Act on the House floor.” Continue reading “Rep. Philips introduces bill to expand national service to strengthen COVID-19 response”

Building Progressive Infrastructure

How Infrastructure Investments Can Create Jobs, Strengthen Communities, and Tackle the Climate Crisis

Overview

Congress should pass a comprehensive infrastructure package to create jobs and raise wages, tackle the climate crisis, and improve access to opportunity and social equity.

Introduction and summary

Infrastructure is the foundation that makes the economy possible, shaping how Americans move, communicate, and earn a living. It is also essential to national competitiveness. When done right, infrastructure investments produce broad-based prosperity for American workers, facilitating social mobility and access to jobs, essential services, educational opportunities, people, and ideas.

Unfortunately, this social and economic foundation is crumbling. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gives the United States an overall infrastructure grade of D+, estimating a more than $2 trillion funding gap between needs and expected spending by all levels of government over the next 10 years.1 This gap is troubling, because inadequate facilities drag down economic productivity—especially in growing, dynamic regions. Many smaller communities struggle to repair crumbling older facilities, pushing out businesses and creating a downward spiral of population loss and a reduced tax base.

View the complete Janaury 31 article by Kevin DeGood, Alison Cassady, Karla Walter and Rejane Frederick on the Center for American Progress website here.

Indiana Carrier plant to lay off 215 workers on Thursday

The following article by John Tuohy with the Indianapolis Star wrote the following article posted on the USA Today website January 18, 2018:

INDIANAPOLIS — Carrier has announced 215 workers will lose their jobs at its Indianapolis heating and air conditioning plant this week, the last of about 600 previously announced layoffs.

To register their displeasure, many of the workers will gather at an Indianapolis bar Wednesday night to call on President Trump to stop manufacturing jobs from leaving the United States. Continue reading “Indiana Carrier plant to lay off 215 workers on Thursday”

Labor groups step up pressure on Trump to deliver

The following article by David Weigel was posted on the Washington Post website August 20, 2017:

Credit:  AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Labor leaders, once courted by President Trump, are stepping up their campaign to turn workers against the White House if it does not deliver more on jobs and trade — and if it does not stop undoing Obama-era regulations.

The most visible effort, which starts in Indianapolis on Monday afternoon, is a two-week tour organized by the coalition Good Jobs Nation that ropes in labor-friendly politicians. The coalition, launched in 2013 to pressure Barack Obama’s White House on trade and wage issues, is organizing rallies throughout the Midwest through Labor Day.

“Trump ran as a working-class hero, so let’s look at the results,” said Joseph Geevarghese, Good Jobs Nation’s executive director. “We’re seven months into his administration, and wages are flat. People are still getting pink slips.” Continue reading “Labor groups step up pressure on Trump to deliver”

Pruitt’s claim that ‘almost 50,000 jobs’ have been gained in coal

The following article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website June 6, 2017:

“Since the fourth quarter of last year until most recently, we’ve added almost 50,000 jobs in the coal sector. In the month of May alone, almost 7,000 jobs.”
— Scott Pruitt, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” June 4, 2017

“We’ve had over 50,000 jobs since last quarter — coal jobs, mining jobs — created in this country. We had almost 7,000 mining and coal jobs created in the month of May alone.”
— Pruitt, interview on ABC’s “This Week,” June 4 Continue reading “Pruitt’s claim that ‘almost 50,000 jobs’ have been gained in coal”

Highball: Does Trump Know Where Jobs Come From?

The following column by Leah McGrath Goodman was posted on the Newsweek website February 10, 2017:

We had Trump Vodka, Trump Airlines and Trump Steaks. Now, get ready for Trump Finance—a mix of shotgun executive orders, proclamations of instant job growth from the presidential bully pulpit and Trump’s signature verbal lynchings, aimed at select corporations via Twitter.

Following an election that was, in large part, an expression of Americans’ deep unhappiness with the economy, President Donald Trump’s promise to bring back job growth and a booming stock market appear to be somewhat at odds with the policies he’s putting in place during the first 20 days of his presidency. Continue reading “Highball: Does Trump Know Where Jobs Come From?”