Update: The House voted 257 to 167 to approve the Senate agreement. 

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka responds to the Senate agreement on the "fiscal cliff":

The agreement passed by the Senate last night is a breakthrough in beginning to restore tax fairness and achieves some key goals of working families.  It does not cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits. It raises more than $700 billion over 10 years, including interest savings, by ending the Bush income tax cuts for families making more than $450,000 a year. And in recognition of the continuing jobs crisis, it extends unemployment benefits for a year.  A strong message from voters and a relentless echo from grassroots activists over the last six weeks helped get us this far.

When you think of minimum wage workers, it’s a good bet firefighters don’t come to mind.

Yet in Scranton, Pa., firefighters are risking their lives rushing into burning buildings, all for $7.25 an hour.

Where are the jobs? Not in the budget agreement reached over the weekend and passed 269-161 last night by the House. The budget deal, which the Senate passed moments ago, is bad  for our country and especially bad for working people. It undermines the nation’s ability to solve the real crisis—America’s jobs crisis.