The Summit on Jobs & America's Future

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The Summit on Jobs and America’s Future brought together economists, elected officials, labor and business leaders, civic reformers and grassroots organizers to build a movement for real jobs now. Participants outlined strategies to convert the resistance against the assault on public workers in Wisconsin into a national movement against job-killing budget cuts in Washington and for bold policies to put Americans back to work.

Session Video

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THE JOBS CRISIS AND AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Robert L. Borosage, Robert Pollin, Angela Glover Blackwell, Celinda Lake
Why is the nation’s most serious economic problem not the top focus of the nation’s political leadership? Why it’s important to change the political focus—and proof the public is ready.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: RICHARD TRUMKA

Introduction by Wade Henderson
In the wake of a brazen attack on the rights of unionized public workers in Wisconsin, the head of the AFL-CIO issues a call to arms to advance the interests of workers and the unemployed.

AN AGENDA FOR ECONOMIC REVIVAL

Gloria Totten, Leo Hindery, Robert Kuttner, Kate Gordon
There is work to be done, and people to do the work. Here’s how we can make the connections that will jump-start a new economy with a vibrant middle class.

MAKING JOBS FOR ALL THE PRIORITY OF OUR GOVERNMENT

Roger Hickey, Rep. George Miller, Rep. Keith Ellison, Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa
Elected officials who have been on the front lines of the fight for job-creation discuss the direction the country needs to go and actions grassroots activists can support.

BUILDING A MOVEMENT FOR JOBS

Ilyse Hogue, Deepak Bhargava, Karen Nussbaum, Robert ‘Biko’ Baker, Robert Kraig
The protests that have broken out in Wisconsin and other states over attempts to strip public employees of their bargaining rights offer clues to how we can build a people’s movement for full employment.

CHANGING THE BALANCE OF POWER

Robert L. Borosage, Rev. Paul Sherry, Van Jones
A populist hunger for change put Barack Obama in the White House in 2008 and put Tea Party-driven Republicans in charge of the House of Representatives in 2010. We now need to offer a new vision to recapture the mantle of change, and believe that yes, we still can.