Labor & Employment Law

Republican Budget Proposal Attacks Middle Class, Destroys Jobs

By Tula Connell

How bad is the Republican federal budget proposal? AFL-CIO Legislative Director Bill Samuel describes it as an “all-out assault against middle-class Americans.”

In a letter to House members, Samuel summarizes some of the most egregious elements of H.R. 1, the Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011. Among them, is a proposed funding level for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that is so draconian, it potentially would defund the agency completely through the end of the fiscal year in September. Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), who as chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee wields considerable power, added the amendment to defund the NLRB. 

Slashing the NLRB is just one of many examples of how the Republican-backed budget attacks the middle class and working families by taking away  job safety protections, employment training opportunities and by slashing hundreds of thousands of family-supporting jobs. Here’s more:

• $99 million in cuts to OSHA will result in elimination of job safety enforcement and investigations of fatalities.
• $4 billion in cuts to job training and Employment Services will adversely affect programs that serve more than 8 million people per year at a time when we should be funding programs that assist millions of unemployed Americans.
• $50 million in cuts to the National Labor Relations Board will undermine workers’ ability to have a voice on the job.
• $1.1 billion from Head Start will result in 218,000 fewer kids in the program and potentially laying off 55,000 workers.
• $12.3 billion in cuts will further cripple our lagging transportation and infrastructure systems while eliminating more than 340,000 jobs in the transportation setor.
• $786 million in cuts to energy efficiency and renewable energy plus $2.3 billion in cuts to energy loan guarantees will cost good jobs and block our path to a clean energy economy.
• Slashing Social Security administrative costs to $1.7 billion below necessary funding will lead to staff furloughts, reduced office hours, slower claims processing and longer waits for assistance at the very time baby boomers begin to retire.

Further, under the Republican budget:

• No job safety inspections while inspectors are furloughed for up to three months.
• No food safety inspections while inspectors are off the job for more than a month.
• 10,000 teachers and aides cut from struggling schools and 7,100 special education teachers and staff gone.
• State and local job training and employment services phased out for up to 8 million workers.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on February 16, 2011 (boomark / email).