Jobs and Unemployment

[b757driver]

News just in....
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House of Representatives Passes Unemployment Extension Bill

In surprising good news, a majority of the U.S. House of Representatives voted today in favor of extending unemployment benefits!

By a vote of 227-179, the House voted in favor of an amendment to the re-authorization of the Community Services Block Grant (an anti-poverty program), H.R. 3030. The amendment introduced by Rep. Miller stipulated that federal government should “provide financial and employment support to individuals who cannot find employment, who have exhausted their State unemployment benefits, and who, after the week of December 20, 2003, can no longer receive Federal extended temporary unemployment compensation. The eligibility criteria and benefit amounts under this paragraph for such individuals shall be the same as the eligibility criteria and benefit amounts for individuals prior to December 20, 2003, under the Federal extended temporary unemployment compensation program.”

In short, the vote indicated that the House supported the idea that the federal extended unemployment benefits cut off last December should be restarted, helping those that have run of or will run out of state benefits. When give a direct opportunity to vote their conscience, 39 Republicans and 179 Democrats demonstrated their understanding that federal extended benefits are needed. Click here for the roll call vote http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2004/roll018.xml. This is the first direct vote on the extension this year – and it has gone in the favor of the unemployed.

The vote is by no means the end of the story – because of financing issues, it’s unlikely that unemployment benefits would be paid through the Community Services Block Grant. So, don't expect a extended benefits check next week. The reason that the legislation was written this way by Representative Miller was so it could meet the rules for being “germane” (related) to main bill and voted on as an amendment.

In any case, the vote sends a powerful signal to the Senate and the Bush Administration about the need for action on this issue, and is a major positive step in the direction of restoring extended benefits. Thanks to all who helped out today in contacting key members of Congress. We’ll keep you updated on the latest news on this issue.

Sincerely,

The National Employment Law Project
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[b757driver]

Report: Companies make lots of pink-slip plans in January
NEW YORK (Reuters) — Planned job cuts in January were 26% higher than in December because of increases in offshore outsourcing and mergers that have made some positions redundant, global outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas reported Tuesday.
Post-holiday job cut plans reached 117,556 in January, surpassing the 100,000 threshold for the first time since October.

Consumer product companies led with 22,775 job cuts, the largest number of reported job cuts in that sector in a single month since 1993, according to Challenger.

Poor job creation is a headache for President Bush as he seeks re-election in November. The economy — specifically job creation — is expected to be a key issue in the campaign. Since Bush took office, more than 2.3 million non-farm jobs have been lost.

Consumer product companies led the January cutbacks with 22,775 job cuts, the largest number of reported job cuts in that sector in a single month since 1993, according to Challenger.

Challenger said one of the main factors for the job cuts in January was an increase of employers eliminating jobs in the United States and shifting to service providers in India, China and the Philippines among other countries. (Related story: Job shift creates India tech boom)

Another factor was an increase in mergers so far this year. The survey's head, John Challenger, noted in a statement that one of those mergers will result in "as many as 10,000 job cuts to take place as redundant positions are eliminated."


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Copyright 2004 Reuters

 

[likeitis]

If people don't believe that jobs are going overseas at a record pace they have their heads in the sand. Just last week there was a conference in NYC for corporations to educate them on the process and benefits of taking US jobs overseas. The leaders of this conference have this event every year but they said that attendance was staggering. Asked if they could name any major corporation who was NOT in attendance, their response was that they could not.

A very good friend of mine is a senior engineer at Motorola and he tells me that almost all of their positions will be shipped to India by mid 2005. My brother-in-law is an electrical engineer and intellectual property patent attorney for AMD. Prior to working for AMD he also worked for Motorola and a law office out of LA. At that time he was considered one of the top intellectual property attorney's in the US but even his jobs are being shipped overseas. People keep saying that jobs we are losing are low paying jobs that US citizens don't want. Well to some point that is true but there are thousands of engineering, technical and help desk jobs leaving every month.

Recently the Bush administration put onto a federal website a guide for employers on how to avoid paying overtime. This is on top of the administrations continued push to eliminate overtime for 8 million workers. Basically if you have any supervisory role or make over 60k you will now be considered management and considered a salaried employee. Almost all nurses make over 60k. They can't fill 80% of the positions need, can you imagine what the hospitals will do to these people when Bush gets his way and makes them salaried employees. I sure hope I don't get sick.

When will the assault on the American worker end. All I ask is that Bush make one decision that would be viewed as slightly worker friendly. He has went out of his way to piss of the working american. Even if Bush pulls his ass out of his head and starts accepting his domestic failures he will just pull OBL out of a cave around October to assure his re-election.

All this anger from a life long republican voter. If I had a dollar for every person who told me that they have always voted republican and now can't stand Bush, well I sure wouldn't be driving subcompact fuel efficient car.

 

[ALPO]

I'm with you man!! What we have is capitailism without caracter, they are abusing the crap out of NAFTA, it's gonna come full circle and bite E'm in the ass. The Republicians are to greedy to let the trickle down economics even flow half way down. Now the economy is'nt recovering because nobody has any real jobs to buy anything and the election will be bad for Bush.

 

[b757driver]

That Lou Dobbs, man!

Did anyone see CNN's Lou Dobbs interviewing the CEO that sells seminars to companys extolling the virtues of outsourcing American jobs to places like India, Phillipines and Indonesia.

Lou made absolute mince meat out of the guy and I thought he was about to walk out of the studio!

The most enlightening question was, yes I know companies have to make profits and that it raises the standard of living for the local Indian community, but how does that help the unemployed autoworker in Michigan trying to feed his family or the laid off United pilot!!! The guy muttered a few words about globalization and you could see he was struggling to justify it all. And this from a Harvard MBA. Maybe Mr. Dobbs should have asked "and how would you feel if your job was exporeted overseas?"

I've never seen a person squirm so much in being interviewed - not even a politician....