No recovery for Toledo workers

On June 3, Barack Obama came to Toledo, Ohio to proclaim the recovery of US auto industry. But what Obama called a recovery is nothing but a newfound profitability for the automakers, based on thousands of job cuts and a 50 percent wage reduction for new hires.

The day Obama was in Toledo, the labor department said the US unemployment rate grew for the second consecutive month. More than two years since the wall street crash, the conditions of life for the working people of this city are getting worse every day.

In this video, Toledo workers and social service providers speak about the the crisis of poverty and unemployment in the city, and the implications for society as a whole.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Video
• Toledo
• Social Crisis
• Auto
• Obama
• Chrysler
• Big 3

[chingon711]

i would hope videos like this go viral...americans need to know the majority of our people are suffering and things only seem to get worse.

[UltraDOG17]

I hate living in toledo. Its sucks withoutt an job. Now unemployment raised up to 10% America is going in Martial Law.

[Auggie56]

Keep voting democrat and things will only get worse. Look at all the major cities, they are democrat strong holds, and going down the tubes.

[starlitopensky1]

@Elin48 It is a bad thing that taxes are forced out of me for public education. If I had a choice (and not property), I wouldn't pay them. I went through the system and it sucked. I've taught myself the stuff I need to know. If Michigan is allowed to get vouchers for home schooling, that's what I would do.

[starlitopensky1]

@Elin48 I hear ya, but I hate the public education system, it sucks bad. I think it is a waste of my money. The money I pay for taxes to help support it is wasted since the results the schools put out are terrible.

[AsparagusJam]

Wow, you sound so bitter that the auto industry is recovering .... you have a lot in common with Rush Limbaugh, your hatred of Obama means you want America to fail so he won't be re-elected. How patriotic! Four more years pal ;-)

[Elin48]

@starlitopensky1 I agree with you about the tariffs. But, when you say that teachers pay is forced out of Americans through taxes it sounds as if it's a bad thing. Education is the great equalizer, it should be free, even higher education and vocational education should be free in a civilized society. A favorite quote pf mine: "I enjoy paying taxes, with them I purchase civilization." ~Oliver

Wendell Holmes.

[starlitopensky1]

@Elin48 I have don't have a union. It looks like most of us do not. The money that comes in for teachers is forced out of Americans through taxes. I think NAFTA should be withdrawn from, the US should pull out of the WTO, tariffs should be put on imports so they cost more than products made within the US by American citizens. This way there will be jobs here, decent jobs that pay a decent living. Until then, most Americans will be screwed.

[Elin48]

I teach in a school district with 30,000 students and 1800 teachers. It is an inner city district which includes eight cities in the San Francisco Bay Area. Over the years, I've been teaching for 22 years, we in the union have always chosen health care over pay raises, but now they've begun to chip away at out health care, so much so that those who could afford to retire did so last year. Year after year we have been united around not accepting a two teared pay system.

[Elin48]

@starlitopensky1 You work for a private company with a union, teachers work for the state (money comes in to the school system via the government and the state. Wealthy community they also get money from city taxes via special bonds) and we have a union. Working as a teacher beyond what we do everyday, has become very complicated since NCLB. You may think we don't have a clue, but we've been embroiled in this for the past 10 years. It's very stressful, you and we need to stick together.

[starlitopensky1]

@Elin48 It is a breeze what the governmental employees are experiencing compared to the private industries. Probably most governmental employees don't have a clue. They'll find out as the government starts to cut their wages, pensions, and other benefits; and their jobs.