Labor Pressure
Labor groups, a key Democratic Party constituency, are pressing Obama to seek major spending on infrastructure to create jobs. Unions were disappointed in Obama's agreement with Republicans last December that extended Bush-era tax cuts for all Americans, including the wealthiest, and in the continuing efforts to cut federal spending by $2.4 trillion.
The leaders of the AFL-CIO, Service Employees International Union and the United Auto Workers had the president's ear on the flight aboard Air Force One to and from the Detroit rally.
AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka said after returning to Andrews Air Force Base that Obama declined to preview what he would call for in his Sept. 8 speech.
Trumka said he expected to be pleased with the speech after hearing the president's remarks in Detroit, including his call to create more jobs through federal spending on road and bridge building.
Administrative Steps
SEIU President Mary Kay Henry said in addition to asking Congress to pass legislation to encourage job creation, there are steps the administration can take on its own. She said there are unspent funds in individual agencies that could be used and that people can be hired for work on disaster-stricken areas using federal relief funds.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue called on Obama to increase domestic energy production, boost trade with countries including South Korea and step up the spending on transportation infrastructure.
Donohue, in a letter yesterday to Obama that he previewed last week, said the "most immediate priority" for the U.S. is creating jobs for 25 million people who are "unemployed, underemployed or have simply given up looking for work."
Donohue also called for reductions in tax rates for overseas earnings and on corporate capital gains.