Resolution: 71A-09-05
Approved: June 22, 2009
The current recession has been long and deep. We continue to suffer from the devastating impact of the Bush Administration’s financial policy on our labor markets. Years of misguided deregulation spurred reckless speculation in financial markets, diverting capital investment into exotic and now toxic financial instruments rather than sustainable growth based on the real economy. When the bubble burst in 2008, American consumers and companies lost access to necessary credit, precipitating the worst recession and unemployment since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
We have lost over six million jobs since the beginning of this recession in December 2007, the largest job loss in 50 years. Unemployment now stands at 9.4 percent. Weaknesses in the manufacturing and housing sectors suggest that unemployment will continue to rise for several months.
Concurrent with job loss, employers have taken advantage of the economic crisis to cut compensation for workers. CWA employers across all sectors are using the recession as an excuse to slash wages and benefits. The collapse of job growth means that the recession affects not only the unemployed but also those who keep their jobs, putting downward pressure on living standards, consumption, and consequently delaying demand-driven national economic recovery. Meanwhile, executives at America’s top companies continue to be paid excessively -- the average Fortune 500 CEO raked in $7.7 million last year.
Restricted access to credit has been disastrous for the automobile industry with the resulting bankruptcies at two of the top three companies. Manufacturing as a whole has been ravaged by the global recession. Meanwhile, states and localities have cut back employment and services as their tax revenues have declined.
At the same time, despite weak domestic demand, the U.S. trade deficit continues to be a drag on employment opportunities, especially in the manufacturing sector.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that President Obama signed in February is a good start in spurring the investment necessary for America's economic recovery. By expanding employment opportunities for working Americans – especially in critical areas like broadband build-out, other infrastructure investment, and support to state and local governments – this plan is an important first step in getting the economy moving again. However, it is clear that a second stimulus package will be necessary to stimulate domestic demand and stem the tide of unemployment.
Flawed trade agreements have historically been the source of job loss for hundreds of thousands of American workers. CWA supports balanced trade agreements that create genuine opportunity for the export of goods made here in the United States and make it more difficult for multinational corporations to move production out of the United States to take advantage of non-existent or lax labor, environmental and health and safety enforcement in foreign countries.
CWA supports passage of the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment (TRADE) Act of 2009. The TRADE Act calls for a long overdue comprehensive review of U.S. trade policy. This bill shapes a new U.S. trade strategy -- one that puts a priority on the interests of working families, farmers, the environment, and domestic manufacturers, not just multinational corporations.
Employers continue to offshore and outsource North American jobs as they pursue the low-wage employment strategies that destroy good jobs for North American workers and undermine strong communities and our nation. We must continue to fight tax and other policies that create perverse incentives to destroy American jobs, and we must support Buy American provisions in the stimulus and other legislation. CWA applauds the Obama administration for extending Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) to customer service professionals and high-tech and public sector workers who lose their jobs due to offshoring, imports, and other trade practices. Until now, these workers had been excluded from receiving TAA benefits.
Concurrent with our economic crises, our nations must take bold steps to address the challenge of global warming and energy dependence. The United States is the most energy-intensive nation in the world and one of the leading emitters of greenhouse gas. Our countries can lead a new technological revolution in the development of new energy technologies that can also serve as a foundation for the revival of our nations’ middle class. CWA has joined the Blue Green Alliance, a labor-environmental coalition that supports measures to address our environmental problems while creating good jobs for North American workers. The Obama Administration has taken a number of positive steps in the stimulus bill to fund green jobs, including the development of broadband-enabled smart grids that will drive energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Resolved: The Communications Workers of America calls on Congress to pass the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment (TRADE) Act of 2009. This legislation represents a fair trade policy that puts a priority on the interests of workers, farmers, the environment, and domestic manufacturers, not just multinational corporations.
Resolved: The Communications Workers of America calls on our governments to pass another round of stimulus spending to increase domestic demand and create jobs for North American workers.
Resolved: The Communications Workers of America will continue to work with the Blue Green Alliance and other coalitions of environmental and social justice that incorporate workers’ interests into the green jobs agenda.