http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2011/09/05/on-us-labor-day-obama-calls-for-new-worker-aid Source VOA - September 6,2011

U.S. President Barack Obama praised American workers on the country's Labor Day holiday, while calling on political opponents to join him in supporting new spending to fix roads and bridges and to extend a national payroll tax cut. The president appeared Monday before a cheering group of union workers in auto industry hub of Detroit, Michigan. With the country's economy stagnant, he acknowledged that these “are tough times for American workers.” But Mr. Obama, a Democrat, vowed to propose new support for workers in his speech to a joint session of Congress on Thursday night. Numerous opposition Republican lawmakers have opposed his call for more spending to support job creation, but the president challenged them to, in his words, “put country ahead of party.” He said that among other things, he would propose construction spending to fix the country's crumbling roads and bridges, as well as extend an eight-month-old 2 percent payroll tax cut beyond its scheduled expiration at the end of the year. He told Congress, “The time for action is now.” The Labor Day holiday is the country's traditional salute to workers, but this year the U.S. is struggling with persistent high unemployment and stagnant job growth. Labor Day has been officially recognized in the U.S. since 1894. Over the years, it has often been celebrated as the last of the summer holidays with family gatherings and union worker parades, as it was Monday, before cooler weather returns. In some communities, it is the last day before the school year starts for children. But the organized labor movement in the country is greatly diminished from its high point in the post-World War Two years. Now, about one of every eight workers is a union member. But unionized local, state and federal government workers now outnumber those working for private companies, a marked shift from the early days of the country's union movement when unionized factory workers dominated union membership rolls. The country faces daunting labor challenges, and did not add any new jobs in August. About 14 million workers are unemployed, with millions more working part-time even as they attempt to land full-time jobs. The country's unemployment rate has hovered at an unusually high 9 percent figure for 29 months and shows no sign of improving.

President Obama Highlights Need to Combat US Joblessness - Source VOA - September 6,2011

President Obama Highlights Need to Combat US Joblessness Michael Bowman | Washington President Barack Obama waves as he is introduced on stage during a Labor Day event at Detroit's Renaissance Center, headquarters of General Motors, in Detroit, Michigan, September 5, 2011. . U.S. President Barack Obama says America’s jobless should be put to work as part of a comprehensive program to boost a languishing economy. The president marked Monday’s U.S. Labor Day holiday with a speech in Detroit, Michigan, one of America’s most-economically depressed cities. At a time of sluggish U.S. economic growth and stubbornly high unemployment, President Barack Obama acknowledged the obvious. “These are tough times for working Americans," he said. "They are even tougher for Americans who are looking for work, and a lot of them have been looking for a long time.” Home to what was once the world’s biggest car making hub, Michigan has seen hundreds of industries shrink or disappear altogether, and is currently enduring a 10.9 percent unemployment rate, nearly two points higher than the national average. In Detroit, joblessness has hovered between 20 and 30 percent in recent years. President Obama said the nation can forge a better economic future if it unleashes workers on infrastructure projects. “We have got roads and bridges across this country that need rebuilding," he said. "We have got private companies with the equipment and the manpower to do the building. We have got more than one-million unemployed construction workers ready to get dirty right now. There is work to be done, and there are workers ready to do it.” Obama urged the U.S. Congress to “get on board” with an infrastructure program. Thursday, the president will lay out his economic agenda before a joint session of Congress. Although the White House has provided few details in advance, Obama’s proposals are expected to include a substantial federal push to boost employment in the United States. Already, Republicans are lining up in opposition to a government-directed jobs initiative. Texas Governor Rick Perry, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination to challenge Obama in 2012, told supporters in South Carolina the key to Texas’ relatively low unemployment rate is a vibrant private sector and a state government that does not over-extend itself. “We [have] got to get America back working again," said Perry. "And government’s role is to create an environment [conducive to job growth]. I did not create those jobs. Americans created those jobs. Texans created those jobs, because we allowed them to have an environment where they were not overtaxed, overregulated, or over-litigated. We got out of the way and let the private sector do what the private sector does best: create jobs.” Celebrated on the first Monday of September, Labor Day became a national holiday in the late 1800s, a period of significant labor strife in the United States. Although major strikes are less common today and American union membership has declined in recent decades, Labor Day remains a time to reflect upon and celebrate the sacrifices and contributions of workers to the nation’s progress and prosperity. In many Americans’ minds, it is also a time to mark the end of summer.