BUSHWATCH

From his first days in office, President George W. Bush has assailed the interests of workers and their families. The result is a long and sobering record of Bush administration attacks on workers’ jobs, health, safety, civil rights and more.

Since 2001, the AFL-CIO BushWatch has tracked the anti-worker actions supported, proposed and taken by the Bush administration. This includes Bush's fiscal year 2008 budget, which once again ignores the needs of workers and their families.

http://www.aflcio.org/issues/bushwatch/

 

Press Releases - Text

Remarks by John J. Sweeney, Supreme Court Decision to End the Florida Presidential Vote Count - December 13, 2000

The decision yesterday by a deeply divided Supreme Court is a real national tragedy that, in the words of Justice Stevens, "effectively orders the disenfranchisement" of voters in our presidential election. By ignoring the fundamental principle of "one person, one vote," it profoundly threatens the faith of citizens in our democracy and our system of justice.

Vice President Al Gore won the national popular vote by running on an agenda that spoke to the real needs of Americans. That agenda and those issues—respecting work, strengthening family, building community—will guide our newly invigorated fight to assure working Americans a voice in their nation's government.

http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr12132000.cfm

Statement by John J. Sweeney President, AFL-CIO on the Confirmation of John Ashcroft as U.S. Attorney General - February 01, 2001

We are extremely disappointed that the United States Senate would confirm John Ashcroft as Attorney General. Because Mr. Ashcroft's views, public statements and conduct as a public official place him so outside the mainstream of American values and beliefs, we fear that this appointment will only deepen that which divides us at the very moment that this nation needs healing.

http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr02012001.cfm

 

Statement by AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney on President Bush's Tax Plan - February 08, 2001

President Bush has proposed a massive tax cut, with utter disregard for the urgent priorities facing America's working families.

The budget surplus belongs to all of America's working people whose hard work and productivity made it possible. But the Bush plan will transfer the bulk of the surplus to America's wealthiest, without a word or a plan for how the surplus will address Americans' unmet needs:

http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr02082001.cfm

 

Statement by John J. Sweeney on President Bush's Budget Proposal - February 27, 2001

President Bush is proposing the most anti-working family budget in recent history. His centerpiece is a tax cut that is far too big and dangerously tilted to the wealthy. It would devour the entire surplus and make it impossible to seize the opportunity we have to improve our children's schools, strengthen health care for our families and secure dignified retirements for our older citizens.

http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr02272001.cfm

 

Statement by John J. Sweeney on Bush Administration Move to Overturn Responsible - March 30, 2001

American taxpayers will be outraged to learn that, thanks to the Bush Administration, their tax dollars will be going to fund lucrative federal contracts for companies that routinely violate environmental, civil rights, worker protection, consumer, and other important laws.

http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr03302001b.cfm

 

Statement by AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney on President George W. Bush's First 100 Days in Office - April 26, 2001

Working Americans want a president who prioritizes their needs and finds a fair balance between big business and working people. President George W. Bush has not measured up. His record during his first 100 days has been a shock and a tragedy for working families.

http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr04262001a.cfm

 

Statement by AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney on President Bush's Recess Appointment of Eugene Scalia to be Solicitor of Labor - January 11, 2002

It is a slap in the face of American workers for President Bush to recess appoint Eugene Scalia, an outspoken opponent of ergonomics and other worker protection initiatives, to be the Solicitor of Labor.

http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr01112002.cfm

 

Statement by AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney On President Bush’s Dividend Tax Cut Proposal and “Class Warfare” - January 03, 2003

When the President says that he expects “class warfare” from those who oppose his proposals to give breaks to the very wealthiest taxpayers, he is apparently hoping to deflect attention from the facts about who benefits from his plans. But the truth – demonstrated once again with his proposal to cut the dividend tax for investors under the guise of stimulating the economy – is that it is he and the rich who have declared war on working people and the poor in this country.

http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr01032003.cfm

 

Statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney On Bush Administration Decision to Deny Rights to Baggage Screeners - January 09, 2003

The decision by the Transportation Safety Administration to deny collective bargaining rights to the nation’s 60,000 airport baggage screeners is another assault on the established rights of workers to union representation.

Yet incredibly, once again the Administration has used the war as a weapon to deny rights to the very workers it relies on to win the war. This is a shameful act that should not stand.

http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr01092003a.cfm

 

On Bush Administration’s Decision to Oppose University of Michigan Affirmative Action Program - January 17, 2003

President Bush's decision to weigh in against the University of Michigan's affirmative action program before the Supreme Court--and to do so during the week we honor Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy--is outrageous and short-sighted. Mischaracterizing an affirmative action program designed to promote diversity as a "quota" system is disingenuous, divisive and deeply troubling. As reactions to Senator Lott's recent praise of Strom Thurmond's Presidential campaign showed, resorting to highly-charged symbolism inflames racial tensions rather than easing them, and undermines our continuing efforts to win equal opportunity for all.

President Bush's decision to take a stand that would push America backwards, while shocking, is just the latest blow against the advancements of women, people of color, workers and the poor. He has nominated judges and other top leaders with abysmal civil and human rights records, rolled back workers' safety protections and other workplace rights, and cut programs that help poor families. He is once again pushing a giant tax giveback to the rich that provides little or nothing for most working families and that exacerbate the terrible fiscal crisis facing the states.

http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr01172003.cfm

 

Statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on Bush’s Decision to Appoint Charles Pickering on the Eve of MLK Day- January 16, 2004

On Dr. Martin Luther King’s 75th birthday, President Bush traveled to Atlanta to lay a wreath at Dr. King’s grave.

But 24 hours later, President Bush turned his back on Dr. King’s legacy of fighting for civil rights and justice for all by appointing Charles Pickering to serve as a federal judge on the prestigious Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Americans deserve federal judges of distinction and fairness, not judges with questionable records on civil rights. Bypassing the Senate to appoint Charles Pickering is an insult to all Americans who still believe in Dr. King’s dream.

http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr01162004.cfm

 

Statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney About President Bush's State of the Union Speech Scheduled for Tonight - January 20, 2004

Mr. Bush’s tax and trade policies have been tried, and they have failed. When it comes to jobs, all we have to show for three years of multi-trillion-dollar tax cuts for the rich, free-wheeling trade policy and race-to-the-bottom corporate globe-trotting is the loss of 2.9 million private sector jobs, including a staggering 2.6 million manufacturing jobs. More of the same will make matters worse for the nation and for working families.

http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr01202004a.cfm

 

AFL-CIO Votes to Endorse Senator John Kerry for President - February 19, 2004

13 Million-Member Group Pledges to Launch Biggest and Earliest Effort Ever

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with working men and women and union leaders from around the nation, Senator John Kerry accepted the 13 million-member AFL-CIO’s endorsement today at a vibrant rally beneath a banner reading “America Needs Good Jobs.”

http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr02192004.cfm

 

Statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on December Employment Report - January 07, 2005

With the new year upon us, it’s a good time to reflect on whether the economic news Wall Street salutes is equally good news for working families. Viewed through the prism of jobs—the measure Americans care about most—the economy remains unbalanced and unsettled, giving working families plenty of reason to worry about what may lie ahead. Although the economy added new jobs each month of the past year, job growth was spotty and uneven and occurred disproportionately in industries that offer low wages and little or no benefits.

http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr01072005.cfm

 

Statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on the Racist Comments of William J. Bennett - September 30, 2005

The appalling, racist comments of William J. Bennett demand condemnation.

How could a man who equates black children with crime—not to mention seeing genocide of African Americans as a theoretical crime solution—have been entrusted by the Reagan administration with educating our children and by the administration of George H. W. Bush with protecting them from illegal drugs?

Bennett’s comments give us insight into a dangerous mindset that has led to underfunded public schools that are leaving behind so many children—especially children of color and poor children. They underscore the horror we saw when New Orleans flooded and the poor—mostly black and brown—were left behind.

Truly, America needs a new direction.

Every responsible public official—Democrat and Republican—must condemn Bennett’s grotesque comments and he must apologize to African Americans and to all Americans whom he has so deeply offended.

http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr09302005.cfm

 

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney: "Federal Funding Cuts and New Tax Breaks for the Rich Are Shameful" - October 19, 2005

It’s outrageous and shameful that President George Bush and his right-wing congressional allies plan to use Hurricane Katrina as an excuse to cut federal programs for the poor, for students and for the ill -- while giving $70 billion in new tax breaks to the rich.

http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/sp10192005.cfm

 

Statement by AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney on Nomination of Samuel Alito to Supreme Court - October 31, 2005

It is ironic that on the day we remember civil rights hero Rosa Parks in Washington, President Bush rejected an opportunity to unite our country with a nominee to the Supreme Court who could help bridge the difficult divides of race and class and politics in America today. Instead, he catered to the demands of the far right wing of his party—a decision guaranteed to spark a fight over the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms.

http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr10312005.cfm