Search News
For the Media
For media inquiries, call CWA Communications at 202-434-1168 or email comms@cwa-union.org. To read about CWA Members, Leadership or Industries, visit our About page.
Jobless or Underemployed? You've Got Lots of Company
The White House billed its tax cuts for the rich as a "Jobs and Growth Plan," and even now, despite all the cruel evidence to the contrary, President Bush hails it as a victory. "The economy is strong," he says like a broken record.
In fact, more than 8 million Americans are unemployed. Millions of others, with college degrees and years of career experience, are underemployed, working a low-wage job or two with no benefits to try to pay the bills. Many of those lucky enough to land new fulltime jobs are earning less and no longer have employer-paid health plans.
Americans have suffered a net loss of more than 1.7 million private-sector jobs since George Bush took office. And even with a small bounce in the number of jobs created, unemployment rates are still higher in 44 states than they were four years ago. Thousands of once middle-class families are facing bankruptcy and foreclosure, exhausting their savings and fearing for their families' health without insurance.
"The middle class is the moral and economic backbone of this nation," John Kerry says. "Franklin Roosevelt realized that and he set in motion programs that helped people go to college, buy a house, and build their wealth. President Clinton saw the same thing. His plans invested in people and we created 23 million new jobs, 7 million Americans were lifted out of poverty and more Americans went to college. The middle class built this country. This country ought to do right by them."
The Bush camp denies the bad job numbers, exaggerates the good ones and occasionally lets its true colors slip out. A high-level Bush campaign worker recently suggested that unhappy jobless workers "go on Prozac," not realizing that a reporter was within earshot. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce president gave a speech saying outsourced workers should "stop whining" and called for even more jobs to be sent overseas.
Kerry has pledged to end Bush's tax breaks for companies that take jobs overseas. Coupled with tax incentives for companies that stay in the United States and other proposals, he says the economy can create 10 million jobs over the next four years.
The economists preaching the Bush tax cut plan claimed that 5.5 million new jobs would be created between July 2003 and the end of 2004. That's an average of 306,000 jobs a month. In August, just 144,000 jobs were created, and less than half that were added in June and July. Yet whenever the numbers are up instead of down, the administration brags that its tax cuts are working.
"In reality, since the tax cuts took effect, there are 2,668,000 fewer jobs than the administration projected would be created," the Economic Policy Institute's Job Watch says, www.jobwatch.org.
All but two states, Wyoming and Alaska, have fallen well below projections for job growth, and the bleeding continues as factories and call centers are relocated to cheaper labor markets overseas. For most states, "the difference between the Bush Administration claim and the actual jobs situation is enormous," Job Watch says.
High-tech workers are being especially hard hit. Since the recession was declared over in November 2001, the United States has lost more than 200,000 technology jobs, according to a new study commissioned by WashTech/CWA Local 37083. In Dallas and the greater Boston area, for instance, a third of all high-tech jobs have disappeared.
"It is stunning to think that in every region of the country, we have fewer high-tech jobs today than we did three years ago," said WashTech President Marcus Courtney. "We must focus on exporting our products instead of our jobs to turn this critical situation around."
In the Senate, Kerry has already taken action to try to save and restore jobs. He is sponsoring legislation to require call center workers to identify themselves and the country they are calling from, and believes consumers have a right to demand they be switched to a U.S.-based call center.
Here are elements of his plan as president:
In fact, more than 8 million Americans are unemployed. Millions of others, with college degrees and years of career experience, are underemployed, working a low-wage job or two with no benefits to try to pay the bills. Many of those lucky enough to land new fulltime jobs are earning less and no longer have employer-paid health plans.
Americans have suffered a net loss of more than 1.7 million private-sector jobs since George Bush took office. And even with a small bounce in the number of jobs created, unemployment rates are still higher in 44 states than they were four years ago. Thousands of once middle-class families are facing bankruptcy and foreclosure, exhausting their savings and fearing for their families' health without insurance.
"The middle class is the moral and economic backbone of this nation," John Kerry says. "Franklin Roosevelt realized that and he set in motion programs that helped people go to college, buy a house, and build their wealth. President Clinton saw the same thing. His plans invested in people and we created 23 million new jobs, 7 million Americans were lifted out of poverty and more Americans went to college. The middle class built this country. This country ought to do right by them."
The Bush camp denies the bad job numbers, exaggerates the good ones and occasionally lets its true colors slip out. A high-level Bush campaign worker recently suggested that unhappy jobless workers "go on Prozac," not realizing that a reporter was within earshot. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce president gave a speech saying outsourced workers should "stop whining" and called for even more jobs to be sent overseas.
Kerry has pledged to end Bush's tax breaks for companies that take jobs overseas. Coupled with tax incentives for companies that stay in the United States and other proposals, he says the economy can create 10 million jobs over the next four years.
The economists preaching the Bush tax cut plan claimed that 5.5 million new jobs would be created between July 2003 and the end of 2004. That's an average of 306,000 jobs a month. In August, just 144,000 jobs were created, and less than half that were added in June and July. Yet whenever the numbers are up instead of down, the administration brags that its tax cuts are working.
"In reality, since the tax cuts took effect, there are 2,668,000 fewer jobs than the administration projected would be created," the Economic Policy Institute's Job Watch says, www.jobwatch.org.
All but two states, Wyoming and Alaska, have fallen well below projections for job growth, and the bleeding continues as factories and call centers are relocated to cheaper labor markets overseas. For most states, "the difference between the Bush Administration claim and the actual jobs situation is enormous," Job Watch says.
High-tech workers are being especially hard hit. Since the recession was declared over in November 2001, the United States has lost more than 200,000 technology jobs, according to a new study commissioned by WashTech/CWA Local 37083. In Dallas and the greater Boston area, for instance, a third of all high-tech jobs have disappeared.
"It is stunning to think that in every region of the country, we have fewer high-tech jobs today than we did three years ago," said WashTech President Marcus Courtney. "We must focus on exporting our products instead of our jobs to turn this critical situation around."
In the Senate, Kerry has already taken action to try to save and restore jobs. He is sponsoring legislation to require call center workers to identify themselves and the country they are calling from, and believes consumers have a right to demand they be switched to a U.S.-based call center.
Here are elements of his plan as president:
- Jumpstart job growth with a new tax credit to encourage hiring by manufacturers and other businesses. It will pay the employer's share of payroll taxes for any net new jobs created in 2005 and 2006.
- No longer allow companies to defer taxes on income earned abroad so long as it stays abroad - an incentive for building foreign facilities and hiring foreign workers.
- Will revisit past trade agreements and won't support new ones that don't include enforceable labor and environmental standards.
- To help Americans prepare for careers, proposes a $4,000 tax credit on tuition to make college accessible. Wants to expand training and lifelong learning through Trade Adjustment Assistance, regional skills alliances and community colleges.