The global union movement today took a step forward in its effort to move the global economy away from the failed policies of the past and toward a bold new economic model that focuses on creating jobs and more equitable and sustainable growth.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka joined union leaders from around the world for the 50th Anniversary Forum of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, where they held the European launch of “Exiting From the Crisis,” a volume of essays from more than 30 global trade union leaders and economists.

The book was released last month at the AFL-CIO and now you can go online here where we feature links and nine videos of presentations at the forum held at the book release in Washington, D.C., including one by Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, who wrote the foreword to the book. Check out a page of videos from the release here.

Trumka, who is president of OECD’s Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC), will lead the global unions in delivering a call to finance ministers of the 34 OECD countries to tackle the global jobs emergency, reduce inequality and ensure that the shift in focus of OECD development policies includes as one of its priorities the creation of decent work. Learn more and download the trade unions’ statement to the finance ministers here.

Trumka told today’s OECD forum that governments around the world are retreating from their pledge at the 2009 meeting of the G-20 in Pittsburgh to make job creation a priority. Instead, they are pushing austerity, deficit reductions and cheaper labor.

He called on governments to adopt the key proposals in the book, which include:

• Measuring economic growth in terms of how well it serves the needs of citizens.
• Using fiscal and monetary policy to achieve full employment and raise living standards and making sure workers’ income keeps pace with increases in productivity.
• Building sustainable, responsible corporations that recognize their duties to the workers they employ and the communities in which they operate.

David Coats, research fellow at the Smith Institute and editor of “Exiting From the Crisis,” told the OECD Forum the most effective policies to create jobs have been those that were negotiated between unions, employers and governments and therefore had broad support.

“Exiting the Crisis” is the product of the Global Unions Task Force on a New Growth Model, a joint project of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), TUAC, the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) and the Global Union Research Network (GURN).