The WØRD – “Jobs”

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President Biden meets with autoworkers in Macomb County. Click HERE for the full video.

From the Chair

President Biden was back in Michigan on Thursday, meeting with auto workers in Macomb County, emphasizing his economic philosophy: growing the economy from the middle out. It was another demonstration that President Biden, the most pro-union, pro-worker president in history, has the backs of Michigan workers. Throughout his entire presidency, President Biden has delivered for Michigan workers – bringing jobs and manufacturing back to our state and ensuring that we are growing the middle class while leading in the global economy. Donald Trump, on the other hand, will say anything to try to rewrite his record of abandoning Michigan workers and creating incentives to ship jobs overseas, because he is part of the billionaire class and sees the world from Park Avenue instead of an assembly plant floor.

The President’s appearance came just a day before release of the latest jobs figures, which showed another 353,000 jobs added to our economy…along with an upward revision of November and December job gains by 126,000 jobs. The January gains were roughly double economists’ predictions of 177,000, underscoring how the labor market is propelling the economy forward and firmly out of recession territory. The unemployment rate stayed at 3.7 percent – 75 percent lower than the peak during the Trump years.

Average hourly wage growth accelerated sharply in January, rising by six-tenths of a percent, to $34.55 an hour, in part because higher paying industries boosted their payrolls. Over the past 12 months, hourly wages have risen by 4.5 percent, raising workers’ standard of living, especially the lowest earners.

While the Biden administration continues to focus on what is the world’s strongest economy, the other side seems obsessed with a pop star and a football player. Their latest fixation: crazy conspiracy theories about Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, the Super Bowl and the possibility that the pair will be endorsing President Biden’s re-election.

Republicans love having the open support of B list celebrities like Ted Nugent, Kid Rock and Jon Voight, but are appalled (and probably terrified) that the most popular entertainer on the planet might also have a political opinion. When it comes to issues that impact the lives of average Americans, Republicans seem to have little to offer. And on those rare occasions when they tell us their agenda, it is downright frightening. I highlight one of those proposals at the end of the podcast in my weekly “Trump Outrage” segment.

7th District congressional candidate Curtis Hertel, Jr.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has released its first list of priority contests, targeting 17 districts that either have Republicans in seats carried by Joe Biden in 2020, or are competitive open seats. One of those priority seats is Michigan’s 7th district, where Curtis Hertel is campaigning to succeed Elissa Slotkin as she campaigns for the U.S. Senate. Senator Hertel joins us on this week’s podcast.

As Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Director of Legislative Affairs, he led the state through passing bipartisan legislation that cut taxes for seniors and working families, expanded workers’ rights, and won additional new investments in advanced manufacturing that are already bringing good-paying jobs to Mid-Michigan and across the state. He was also instrumental in passing legislation that repealed the archaic 1931 law that banned abortion in Michigan, even in cases of rape and incest.

In the legislature, Hertel led the fight to preserve Michigan’s status as the world leader in auto manufacturing and bring thousands of next-generation electric vehicle jobs to Mid-Michigan by working with Democrats and Republicans to help pass the legislation that won GM’s $6.5 billion investment in the Delta and Orion Township battery cell and electric vehicle plants.

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