Monday, December 08, 2008 – 9:00am to 12:00pm
WASHINGTON, DC—Making the economy work again for ordinary workers will be a top priority for the Obama Administration and the new congress. The Bush years – even before the current economic downturn – were not good for the pocketbooks of ordinary Americans. Wages stayed flat and health and retirement benefits became scarce, while the cost of living rose.
Addressing these fundamental economic challenges will require years of effort and significant new legislation. Yet there are also strategies to help workers that can be implemented much more quickly.
Two new reports by the Center for American Progress Action Fund’s American Worker Project describe how the Obama administration can immediately improve on the Bush administration’s poor track record. As the reports detail, workers, taxpayers and law-abiding businesses will be helped by strategically enforcing existing worker protection laws at the Department of Labor and reforming federal contracting policies to promote good jobs. The reports focus on administrative reforms that can be implemented right away, but also note where Congress must also act.
Please join the Center for American Progress Action Fund and the country’s leading experts for a discussion of how the Obama administration can use its existing authority to best promote the interests of workers. Governor Jon Corzine will discuss what New Jersey is doing to protect workers’ rights and how the Obama administration can draw on state innovations.
9:00 – 10:30 a.m. Panel I: Enforcing Change: Strategies for the Obama Administration to Enforce Workers’ Rights at the Department of Labor Jordan Barab, Senior Labor Policy Advisor, Committee on Education and Labor, U.S. House of Representatives Kim Bobo, Founder and Executive Director, Interfaith Worker Justice Thomas E. Perez, Secretary, Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation Catherine K. Ruckelshaus, Litigation Director, National Employment Law Project Karla Walter, Policy Analyst, American Worker Project, Center for American Progress Action Fund
Moderated by: David Madland, Director, American Worker Project, Center for American Progress Action Fund
10:30 – 11:00 a.m. Keynote Address: Governor Jon Corzine (D-NJ)
11:00 – 12:00
Panel II: Making Federal Contracting Work for the United States Scott Amey, General Counsel, Project on Government Oversight Margaret Daum, Counsel, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Richard C. Loeb, University of Baltimore School of Law David Madland, Director, American Worker Project, Center for American Progress Action Fund
Moderated by: Scott Lilly, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress Action Fund
Admission is free.
Breakfast will be served at 8:30 a.m.
Center for American Progress Action Fund 1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor Washington, DC 20005 Map & Directions
Nearest Metro: Blue/Orange Line to McPherson Square or Red Line to Metro Center
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