COUPLES ARE GETTING UP TO $2,400 AND $500 FOR EACH CHILD.
JOINING ME RIGHT NOW IS THE
PRESIDENT OF THE AFL-CIO,
RICHARD TRUMKA.
RICHARD TRUMKA. RICHARD, THANK YOU FOR JOINING
ME THIS MORNING.
WHAT’S YOUR REACTION TO THIS
BILL?
BILL? >> WELL, FIRST OF ALL, IT WAS
MUCH-NEEDED AND LIKE EVERY BILL
IT’S NOT PERFECT.
BUT IT’S GOING TO DO A LOT OF
GOOD AND WE NEED TO HAVE IT DONE
VERY, VERY QUICKLY.
THERE ARE SOME THINGS IN THE --
NOT IN THE BILL THAT ARE VERY
IMPORTANT THAT WILL HAVE TO BE
INCLUDED VERY QUICKLY.
IT DOESN’T DO ENOUGH WITH HEALTH
AND SAFETY OF OUR FRONT LINE
WORKERS.
WORKERS. IT DOES NOTHING TO PROTECT U.S.
PENSIONS.
PENSIONS. ONE MAN, ONE MAN AND ONE MAN
ALONE, MARIA, STOPPED THAT FROM
HAPPENING.
HAPPENING. THE PRESIDENT AGREED, NANCY
PELOSI AGREED, CHUCK SCHUMER
AGREED PENSIONS SHOULD BE
INCLUDED IN THE BILL BUT MITCH
McCONNELL SAID NO SO IT’S NOT
IN THERE.
IN THERE. THERE’S ALSO NOTHING IN THERE
FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE AND SOME
OTHER THINGS.
OTHER THINGS. SO WHILE IT’S GOING TO DO A LOT
OF GOOD AND IT’S GOING TO HELP A
LOT OF PEOPLE, WE NEED TO MAKE
SURE THAT THOSE ON THE EDGE THAT
WEREN’T COVERED BY THE FIRST
BILL GET COVERED VERY QUICKLY.
MARIA: RICHARD, WERE YOU
CONSULTED ON THIS?
I KNOW YOU HAVE A RAPPORT WITH
NANCY PELOSI AND MANY IN THE
PARTY.
PARTY. DID THEY ASK YOU WHAT THEY YOU T
IS MOST IMPORTANT BEFOREHAND.
>> WE WERE IN CONSTANT CONTACT
ON THIS BILL.
THE FIRST BILL THAT CAME DOWN
WAS ACTUALLY A TERRIBLE BILL.
IT HAD NO CONTROLS WITH THE
MONEY SO IT WOULD HAVE JUST BEEN
SENT OUT TO PEOPLE, TO
CORPORATIONS WITH NO CONTROL
OVER THEM.
OVER THEM. SO MORE CONTROLS WERE PUT ON THE
MONEY THAT’S GOING TO BE GIVING
OUT AND WE ADDED STUFF TO HELP
WORKING PEOPLE.
WORKING PEOPLE. WE ADDED THINGS INTO
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE, WE ADDED
THINGS INTO STATE AND LOCAL
GOVERNMENT, HOSPITALS, HELP FOR
HOSPITALS, ALL OF THOSE THINGS
WERE ADDED IN THE BILL TO MAKE
IT MUCH BETTER.
STILL, AS I SAID, NOT PERFECT.
MARIA: I KNOW THERE WAS A LOT
OF CONVERSATION OF ADDING THINGS
THAT HAD NOTHING TO OF DO WITH
COVID-19, LIKE ABORTION FUNDING,
LIKE TAX CREDITS FOR SOLAR
PANELS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
THAT ALSO OBVIOUSLY WAS JUST A
CONVERSATION, NEVER MADE IT IN.
>> NO, THOSE WERE -- I THINK
THERE WAS A LOT MORE CHATTER ON
THE OUTSIDE RATHER THAN ON THE
INSIDE.
INSIDE. THOSE THINGS WEREN’T SERIOUSLY
ADDED ALONG THE WAY.
WE TALKED ABOUT --
MARIA: THAT’S GOOD TO NO.
>> WE TALKED ABOUT EMERGENCY
TEMPORARY STANDARD AND THAT
DIDN’T MAKE IT IN THERE AND THAT
MEANS FRONT LINE WORKERS, MARIA,
ARE STILL GOING TO BE EXPOSED IN
A WAY THEY SHOULDN’T BE EXPOSED.
SO WE HAVE TO CONTINUE FIGHTING.
MARIA: LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT
THAT.
THAT. BECAUSE THE NATIONAL NURSES
UNION IS THE COUNTRY’S LARGEST
UNIONS OBVIOUSLY FOR REGISTERED
NURSES, IT’S AN AFFILIATED UNION
OF THE AFL-CIO.
WHAT ARE YOU HEARING FROM THE
NURSES DURING THIS CRISIS?
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR
HEALTHCARE WORKERS ARE
PROTECTED.
PROTECTED. >> THEY’RE SAYING THAT THEY
DON’T HAVE THE PROPER TRAINING
AND THE PROPER EQUIPMENT TO GET
THINGS DONE.
THINGS DONE. NOT THE TRAINING SO MUCH BUT THE
EQUIPMENT.
EQUIPMENT. THEY’RE SHORT ON EQUIPMENT, SOME
NURSES HAD TO MAKE THEIR OWN
MASKS, CUT UP GOWNS AND MAKE
MASKS.
MASKS. THAT’S TOTALLY UNA ACCEPTABLE.
SO WE NEED THE PRESIDENT TO USE
HIS WAR POWER ACTS TO HELP WITH
MANUFACTURING TO GET ALL OF
THOSE OUT.
THOSE OUT. NOT DISPOSABLE ONES BUT REUSABLE
ONES SO WE CAN PROTECT OUR FRONT
LINE WORKERS AND THEN YOU HAVE
PEOPLE AT THE VA THAT DON’T HAVE
PROPER PPE.
PROPER PPE. YOU HAVE PEOPLE AT THE AIRLINES,
FOR INSTANCE, THE FLIGHT CREWS.
YOU ALSO HAVE THE SECURITY
PEOPLE THAT ARE BEING EXPOSED
AND DON’T HAVE PROPER TRAINING
OR PROPER EQUIPMENT THAT WILL
MAKE THIS PANDEMIC EVEN WORSE.
MARIA: UNBELIEVABLE.
MARIA: UNBELIEVABLE. RICHARD, WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS
DOES FOR WORK LONGER TERM?
DO YOU WANT TO SEE CERTAIN
SHIFTS OR CHANGES IN TERMS OF
PRIORITIES FOR WORKERS NOW THAT
WE KNOW THAT WORK CAN BE DONE
FROM HOME IN A NUMBER OF
INDUSTRIES?
INDUSTRIES? WHAT’S YOUR TAKE LONGER TERM?
>> WELL, I THINK FIRST OF ALL
YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THE SAFETY
NET LONGER TERM.
AND THE BROADENING OF
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE HOPEFULLY
IF IT STICKS AROUND AND STAYS IN
ITS PRESENT FORM WILL BE GOOD
BECAUSE IT COVERS MORE PEOPLE
THAT WEREN’T COVERED BEFORE.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF WORK WE’VE
KNOWN THIS, AND WE TRIED
DIFFERENT TYPES OF WORK.
SOME WORK CAN’T BE DONE.
I MEAN, A HOSPITAL WORKER CAN’T
DO THEIR WORK FROM HOME.
THEY HAVE TO BE THERE.
A LETTER CARRIER CAN’T DO THEIR
WORK FROM HOME.
BUT SOME -- YOU’LL SEE NEW
CHANNELS DEVELOPING BECAUSE OF
THIS, I’M SURE IN THE FUTURE.
SOME FOR THE GOOD AND QUITE
FRANKLY SOME FOR THE BAD.
MARIA: SO WE’RE WAITING ON
JOBLESS CLAIMS THIS MORNING,
RICHARD.
RICHARD. THERE ARE ESTIMATES OUT THERE
THAT JOBLESS CLAIMS COULD GO AS
HIGH AS 4 MILLION WHICH OF
COURSE WOULD BE A HUGE SPIKE
FROM WHAT WE SAW JUST LAST WEEK
AT 281,000.
AT 281,000. WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING IN TERMS
OF JOBLESS BENEFITS?
DO YOU EXPECT THAT MOST PEOPLE
WILL HAVE ALREADY APPLIED FOR
JOBLESS BENEFITS, GIVEN THAT
THEY’VE BEEN HOME NOW FOR OVER A
WEEK?
WEEK? AT LEAST.
AT LEAST. >> SOME HAVE.
SOME HAVEN’T BECAUSE SOME WERE
JUST FURLOUGHED, THEY WEREN’T
REALLY LAID OFF.
SOME DIDN’T QUALIFIER UNDER
STATE PLANS.
STATE PLANS. SO THE NEW PLAN, THE NEW
STIMULUS PLAN BROADENS OUT WHO
IS ELIGIBLE AND WE’LL BE ABLE TO
GET MONEY INTO THEIR HANDS FAR,
FAR MORE QUICKLY WHICH IS A GOOD
THING.
THING. WE’RE GOING TO SEE A LOT OF
LAYOFFS AND THIS ONE, MARIA,
UNLIKE IN THE PAST, PAST
RECESSIONS OR PAST DOWNTURNS
WE’VE SEEN MANUFACTURING AND
CONSTRUCTION GO DOWN FIRST AND
THEN LOW WAGE WORKERS GO DOWN
SECOND.
SECOND. THIS HAS BEEN REVERSED.
LOW WAGE WORKERS GOT HIT
IMMEDIATELY WITH THIS.
THAT’S WHY THE SICK DAYS WERE SO
IMPORTANT SO THAT THEY WOULD
HAVE A STABILITY AND SOME FUNDS
TO KEEP THEM GOING.
THE BILL UNFORTUNATELY DOESN’T
INCLUDE SICK DAYS IN IT.
BUT IT’S GOING TO ALLOW US --
THEY’RE GOING TO GET
UNEMPLOYMENT NOW, SO WE’LL SEE A
LOT OF THAT -- THE CLAIMS IS
GOING TO BE HIGH.
THIS IS NOT A GRADUAL DROP, THIS
WAS A MAJOR DROP.
MARIA: OF COURSE.
YEAH, SURE.
YEAH, SURE. AND THEY WERE TOLD TO CLOSE
BUSINESSES AND GO HOME.
THAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE.
RICHARD, IT’S GOOD TO HAVE YOUR