Teamsters Praise Obama Budget for Focus on Jobs

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa applauded President Obama for a budget proposal that will help create jobs and restore America’s economic leadership. 

Hoffa said he was especially pleased that the president budgeted more than $2 billion for clean energy efficiency and renewable energy incentives.

“President Obama’s forward-thinking budget would put people back to work in jobs based on clean and efficient energy technology,” Hoffa said. “That’s clearly where this country’s economy needs to go.” 

Hoffa also commended Obama’s support for modernizing the U.S. transportation system, including high-speed rail, roads and bridges, air traffic control and the electrical grid.

“Investments in our infrastructure will pay off in the short term with jobs and in the long term with sustained economic growth,” Hoffa said.

Hoffa said he was also gratified that Obama called for a spending increase on opening markets overseas to American goods and services. The budget calls for $534 million – a 20 percent increase over last year – for the Commerce Department to promote exports, enforce trade agreements with other nations and eliminate barriers to the sales of U.S. products. 

“We will fall behind in the global economy if we continue to let countries like China, South Korea and Japan sell their products here while refusing to let us sell our beef and our cars over there,” Hoffa said.

Finally, Hoffa applauded the president for proposing to increase the Labor Department’s funds for enforcement of regulations and laws that cover workplace safety, equal pay and proper classification of employees. 

“Encouraging good business practices such as the fair treatment of workers is the way to build a healthy economy,” Hoffa said. “We lost 2.6 million jobs during the Bush administration, which chose to look the other way when corporations exploited workers. That suggests to me that attacking workers’ rights is not the road to job growth.” 

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.