Statement from the National Labor Coordinating Committee (NLCC) on Meeting with President Obama

CONTACT:  Gary Hubbard  202-778-4384; 202-256-8125

On April 7, 2009, the AFL-CIO, Change to Win and the National Education Association announced the creation of the National Labor Coordinating Committee to act nationally on the critical issues facing working Americans.

Chaired by David Bonior, the members of the NLCC include:

Anna Burger, Chair, Change To Win
Larry Cohen, President, Communications Workers of America
Leo Gerard, President, United Steelworkers of America
Ron Gettelfinger, President, United Auto Workers  
Joseph Hansen, President, United Food and Commercial Workers
Edwin Hill, President, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
James Hoffa, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Gerald McEntee, President, American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees
Terry O’Sullivan, President, Laborers International Union of North America
Andrew Stern, President, Service Employees International Union
John J. Sweeney, President, AFL-CIO
Dennis Van Roekel, President, National Education Association
Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers

NLCC STATEMENT (July 13, 2009)

We spoke with a unified voice today to the President as we discussed progress on issues that are so important to working families, including the 16 million working Americans in our unions.

We are working hard with Congress and the President to win health care for every American.  We support a robust quality public plan option that will lower costs and ensure that Americans without coverage can get it.  We believe all employers should participate in a universal plan.  We also believe we can create universal coverage without taxing the benefits of workers.  The last thing working people can stand as they struggle with health costs is new taxes on their benefits – especially during these times of economic hardship.

We also talked about the Employee Free Choice Act, which will restore the middle class by giving workers the choice to bargain, not borrow, their way to a better life.  We look forward to its passage, giving workers a proven path to fairer wages, benefits, and a secure retirement.

Since the onset of the recession, this country has lost an astounding 6.5 million jobs and $14 trillion in wealth.  We support the President’s recovery and reinvestment program, and we believe it should be substantially reinforced with more stimulus, creating millions of good jobs that cannot be outsourced.

We agree with the President that unions are a key part of the solution to fixing this economic mess.  President Obama was elected because Americans want an economy that works for everyone again. We look forward to working with him to make that happen.

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