March 19—Fifty-one workers, one from each state and the District of Columbia, will share their personal stories of how America’s jobs crisis affects them, their families and their communities during a March 24–31 Show Us the Jobs™ bus tour. Beginning with a rally in St. Louis, bus riders will visit eight states and 18 cities, completing their journey in Washington, D.C. The bus riders will spread the word to policymakers, the media and the public about the devastating impact of joblessness, low-wage, no benefit jobs—and how more and more well-paying jobs are being shipped overseas.
“Economists keep saying that the economy is on the rebound, but I have to ask: What types of jobs are out there?” says John, a bus rider and unemployed information technology worker from Illinois. “Politicians are turning a deaf ear to what is going on with the people of this country…we need to focus on creating good jobs for America.”
3 Million Jobs Lost Since Bush Took Office
Every day in America, 85,444 people lose their jobs and economists say those jobs aren’t coming back. The United States has lost nearly 3 million private-sector jobs since President George W. Bush took office in 2001, and more than 2.8 million manufacturing jobs. Faulty trade and tax policies that make it profitable to send U.S. jobs broad have encouraged many employers to ship jobs overseas.
Now white-collar workers’ jobs are at risk: As many as 14 million white-collar jobs could be lost in the next decade, according to a 2003 study by the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. At the same time, the jobs that are being created are low-wage jobs that provide few if any benefits. In the industries now adding jobs, pay is 21 percent less than in American industries losing jobs.
The bus riders and their union allies will converge on Capitol Hill March 31 to lobby lawmakers for legislation to stop employers from sending jobs overseas and encourage job growth in this country. “If everyone who is being affected by the economy makes their voices heard, I’m positive that we can solve this problem,” says Carl, a bus rider from Louisiana, who would have to work 16-hour days to make up for the loss of overtime pay under a Bush administration proposal to take away workers’ overtime pay protections.
The tour is sponsored by the AFL-CIO and WORKING AMERICA, a new national organization for nonunion working families.
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