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• January Jobs Report: Good News
  
  
  The recently released jobs report is welcome news. For months, economists and forecasters had predicted weak job numbers to begin 2012, but we saw just the opposite. 243,000 jobs were added to the economy in January. This robust showing lowered the unemployment rate two-tenths of a point to 8.3%, the lowest it has been since February 2009.
  
  The employment surge was led by professional and business services, which added 70,000 positions and manufacturing which added 50,000. Employment in retail also continued to trend up as department stores gained 19,000 positions. Particularly encouraging in the report were the numbers for African Americans and Hispanics, which far outpaced the overall drop. Unemployment rates fell 2.2% for African Americans and 0.5% for Hispanics. These healthy numbers are strong signals that economic recovery is at long last spreading to the jobs market.
  
  Despite the positive gains, economic problems do persist. Historically, unemployment remains high and nearly one third of the jobless have been out of work for over a year. 8.2 million people are working part-time because they weren’t able to find full-time employment. Sales of existing homes have started to rise, but home prices continue to fall. Nonetheless, when unemployment is measured more broadly to include job seekers as well as those in part-time jobs, we see a tenth of a point decrease to 15.1%.
  
  The economy still isn’t where it needs to be, but things are improving under President Obama’s leadership. From proposing and passing recovery legislation that called for investments in education, infrastructure and clean energy to rescuing the U.S. auto industry from demise, it appears clearer than ever that the bold economic efforts of President Obama continue to pay positive economic dividends. We have now sustained 23 consecutive months of job growth. Payrolls are increasing. Factory orders are going up. Layoffs are slowing. There is still much work to be done, but we remain headed towards recovery.
  
  
  
  
• Mitt Romney: Relish the Rich, Ignore the Poor
  
  It seems more likely than ever that Mitt Romney will be the Republican candidate for President. Let’s consider what a Romney presidency would mean to workers.
  
  Over the past year workers across the nation have seen their rights come under attack. In every single one of these fights, Mitt Romney has stood against them. He campaigned in Ohio for SB 5, the assault on public employees' collective bargaining rights that was overturned by voters. When President Obama took a stand against obstructionism and made recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board, the agency charged with overseeing workers’ rights, Mitt Romney called the appointees “union stooges.” Just recently, Indiana became the first state in over a decade to pass so-called right-to-work legislation. This law will lower wages, decrease benefits and prop up corporate profits at the expense of a worker’s salary and dignity. Mitt Romney, in his support of a national right-to-work bill, sees this law as a model for the entire nation.
  
  Along with supporting a national plan that marginalizes workers, Governor Romney supports repealing the estate tax. This would allow for large familial fortunes, similar to his own, to be passed down from generation to generation without incurring a penny of federal taxes. If there was ever an obvious attempt at pandering to the ultra-wealthy, this would be it. The estate tax only affects people with estates in excess of $5 million ($10 million for couples). In 2011, it’s estimated that a mere 8,600 individuals will be affected by it. Repealing the estate tax simply fuels the fire of income inequality that is squeezing the middle class into poverty.
  
  Then, there’s Mitt Romney’s proposed tax policy. The Economist called his plans “Very progressive, by 15th century standards” and came to the conclusion that “Mr. Romney's tax plans represent a large net transfer from the poor to the rich.” His tax plans call for federal tax rates at the bottom 80% of the income distribution to be lowered between 0.6% and 3.4%. For the top 1%, who already received substantial tax cuts in ’01 and ’03, Romney calls for a staggering 8.6% decrease. This tax plan tilts the economic scale towards a privileged few with the promise that it will all one day trickle down to the masses. The workers don’t want a trickle – they yearn for and deserve a rushing tide of prosperity. This is a tax recipe for a 15th century King and his poor peasants – not a thriving society with equal opportunity.
  
  This election isn’t just about policy making. It’s about the larger forces that shape our society. Mitt Romney and his proposed policies don’t seem to grasp the fact that having a job means so much more than a paycheck. It’s about dignity, respect, and one’s place in the community. It’s about looking at your family and feeling proud of the fact that you’re able to support them and their dreams. Workers aren’t looking for a hand out; they’re looking for a hand up.
  
  If Mitt Romney’s campaign rhetoric and proposals have proved anything, it’s that he has no connection to or understanding of the middle class. He’s out of touch and we need to do everything to ensure he stays out of office.
  
  
  
  
• Unnecessary Roughness on Workers
  Just days before billions of people will be tuning in to watch Indianapolis host the Superbowl, the Indiana GOP is putting the wrong kind of spotlight on the Hoosier state. Governor Mitch Daniels will sign “right-to-work” into law today, making Indiana the first state since Oklahoma to adopt this destructive law.
  
  

  That's what we call unnecessary roughness on workers!

  
  As you know, “right-to-work” is not about rights or work. It is, as President Hansen said in the Huffington Post, “the ultimate transfer of wealth from the 99 percent to the 1 percent.”
  
  You can guarantee that special interest groups, big corporations, and anti-worker zealots will try to use their victory in Indiana as leverage to pass “right-to-work” in Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Maine, New Hampshire, and in more and more states around the country.
  
  Not on our watch! Click here to join our rapid response program so that together, we can fight back against anti-worker attacks. You can also sign up by using your cell phone to text the letters UFCW to 698329.
  
  Join today to make sure workers across the country are protected!