Just listened to this broadcast of Richard Trumka, the president of the AFL-CIO, who talked about the middle-class, jobs and health care.  Unions have such an important history in this country and it will be interesting to see the impact they have in a future of more American job-loss.  In recent news the AFL-CIO in Minneosta is pushing for an ambitious jobs bill:

With the Legislature convening on Thursday, one of Minnesota’s most influential labor unions said Monday that it would push for an ambitious job-creation package that features a state bonding bill of at least $1 billion and a $12-an-hour state wage subsidy program.

In outlining its proposal, the Minnesota AFL-CIO, which represents 300,000 workers in the state, acknowledged that it did not know how much the wage subsidy program would cost but said that raising taxes, particularly on higher income Minnesotans, would be one way to help pay for it. The proposal not only would be at odds with initiatives by Gov. Tim Pawlenty and many other Republicans, but also probably goes further than some DFLers would like.