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CWA: Empty Promises from the White House as Workers Face Continuing 'Jobless Recovery'
Following is a statement by President Morton Bahr of the Communications Workers of America on the President's State of the Union Address. CWA represents more than 700,000 workers in telecommunications, information technology, media, broadcasting, public service, airlines and manufacturing.
Entering the election season after presiding over the worst job loss since the Hoover administration, President Bush was expected to focus on job initiatives in his State of the Union address. However, the president's speech was long on rhetoric but short on proposals to provide real help to American workers.
The president has suddenly discovered a need to spur job training opportunities, touting a program to offer $120 million in training grants to community colleges. What Mr. Bush didn't mention was that his administration already has slashed hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for job training and vocational education over the last two years.
The president has sought $300 million in cuts to vocational education programs in the 2004 budget, $60 million in reduced consolidated job training grants to states for adult job training, and the complete elimination of Youth Opportunity Grants, a program that two years ago was funded at $225 million.
The president's new training program won't restore the 2.9 million private sector jobs lost during his administration. Indeed the picture is even worse than that, with nearly 15 million U.S. workers either jobless or underemployed today.
Working people were told that the Bush administration's tax cuts, mostly benefiting corporations and the rich, would create half a million jobs by the end of 2003 and 5.5 million jobs by the end of 2004 – or 300,000 new jobs a month. Last month's unemployment report showed a gain of just 1,000 jobs while tens of thousands of people gave up their futile search for work. Meanwhile, with growing numbers exhausting jobless benefits, the White House and Republican leaders blocked attempts to reauthorize the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation program at year's end, citing an "improving economy."
As President Bush participates in planned photo opportunities this week to spotlight his meager training initiative, we should be asking him just what kind of jobs workers should train for at a time when not only are manufacturing jobs are disappearing forever, but white collar and high tech information jobs – the "jobs of the future" -- also are being outsourced overseas by the thousands each month.
Entering the election season after presiding over the worst job loss since the Hoover administration, President Bush was expected to focus on job initiatives in his State of the Union address. However, the president's speech was long on rhetoric but short on proposals to provide real help to American workers.
The president has suddenly discovered a need to spur job training opportunities, touting a program to offer $120 million in training grants to community colleges. What Mr. Bush didn't mention was that his administration already has slashed hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for job training and vocational education over the last two years.
The president has sought $300 million in cuts to vocational education programs in the 2004 budget, $60 million in reduced consolidated job training grants to states for adult job training, and the complete elimination of Youth Opportunity Grants, a program that two years ago was funded at $225 million.
The president's new training program won't restore the 2.9 million private sector jobs lost during his administration. Indeed the picture is even worse than that, with nearly 15 million U.S. workers either jobless or underemployed today.
Working people were told that the Bush administration's tax cuts, mostly benefiting corporations and the rich, would create half a million jobs by the end of 2003 and 5.5 million jobs by the end of 2004 – or 300,000 new jobs a month. Last month's unemployment report showed a gain of just 1,000 jobs while tens of thousands of people gave up their futile search for work. Meanwhile, with growing numbers exhausting jobless benefits, the White House and Republican leaders blocked attempts to reauthorize the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation program at year's end, citing an "improving economy."
As President Bush participates in planned photo opportunities this week to spotlight his meager training initiative, we should be asking him just what kind of jobs workers should train for at a time when not only are manufacturing jobs are disappearing forever, but white collar and high tech information jobs – the "jobs of the future" -- also are being outsourced overseas by the thousands each month.