chamber of commerce and then the afl-cio. and we will be live at 9:00 eastern with a forum on lessons learned since the september 11th attacks. >> this weekend a three day holiday weekend on booktv on c-span2 from katrina secrets. former new orleans mayor ray nagin's account of the storm and after the storm. afterwards, randall kennedy looks at the influence of racial politics on the first african-american president. and live sunday three hours in depth. former editor and columnist for newsweek magazine ellis coats on race in the media. look for the complete booktv schedule at booktv.org and sign up for booktv alert. the weekend schedules in your in box. >> u.s. chamber of commerce president thomas donahue says the government has not done enough to address unemployment. he spoke yesterday at the chamber's briefing on the economy. up next we will show you an hour of that briefing. [inaudible conversations] >> good morning, everybody. welcome to the annual labor day briefing. we are looking forward to hearing from randy johnson.

but it is not everyday you see the president of the afl-cio union here. he came in from d.c. for this strike. >> finally, somebody is standing up big business and the bullying of corporate america. all 12 1/2 million members of the afl-cio are not only standing with them, we are standing them. >> reporter: the numbers illustrate the scope of this dispute. it looks like this outside 34 hospitals in northern and central california. estimated 23,000 nurses walked off the job today. >> it is nice to be with all these nurses and to know that we stand so strong. >> reporter: inside hospital administrators say they brought in enough temporary nurses to provide basic care. they did postpone elective surgeries. >> business as usual. we have a lot of good replace workers who come, all experienced and a fair number of our employees who crossed. >> reporter: his mother is at medical center in burke , recovering from surgery it -- in burke ily. >> totally support the nurses. somebody has to be in there. >> we love our patients. but we need health care also. we need benefits also. >> report

but it is not everyday you see the president of the afl-cio union here. he came in from d.c. for this strike. >> finally, somebody is standing up big business and the bullying of corporate america. all 12 1/2 million members of the afl-cio are not only standing with them, we are standing them. >> reporter: the numbers illustrate the scope of this dispute. it looks like this outside 34 hospitals in northern and central california. estimated 23,000 nurses walked off the job today. >> it is nice to be with all these nurses and to know that we stand so strong. >> reporter: inside hospital administrators say they brought in enough temporary nurses to provide basic care. they did postpone elective surgeries. >> business as usual. we have a lot of good replace workers who come, all experienced and a fair number of our employees who crossed. >> reporter: his mother is at medical center in burke , recovering from surgery it -- in burke ily. >> totally support the nurses. somebody has to be in there. >> we love our patients. but we need health care also. we need benefits also. >> report

that effort foundered over time i think as a result of the afl-cio feeling somewhat overshadowed by thisprojected number velo structure that would have involved a pooling of resources certainly for the political election purposes. the idea seems to have been revived in the new format and the labor formation which we have been reading about in the last couple of weeks as the inside the beltway response to the public sector crisis and it seems to be a version of the national labor coordinating strategy for at least pulling some money for the coordinated political work around the threat to the bargaining rights. my own experience i'm a hard core left syndicate and the unity between the workers and different unions is going to be built from the bottom-up and hours involved had the privilege of being involved for 25 years and creating a very strong tie between the i dw representative telephone workers in new england and the cwa workers within what was originally new york and the motel and became atlantic and is now this monster verizon. in the course of many years of contract can penzance tri

the president of the afl-cio, mr. richard l. trumka. [applause] >> thank you, martin, for the very kind introduction. but more importantly, thank you for what you do every day and what the king family does every day. we all owe you and your family a tremendous debt of gratitude, and i just want to say thank you on behalf of all of us for that. and let me say good morning to everybody, and on behalf of the afl unions of the afl-ci o and our 12 million members, i want to welcome you all here today, and i want to take just one moment to give a special welcome to reverend jackson who has probably stood on as many picket lines with me as anybody else around. and when it came to defending justice and standing up for workers' rights, jesse, you've always been there, and i want to say thank you for all of the things that you've done. [applause] forty-eight years ago this weekend, literally, hundreds of thousands of people gathered here in washington to march for jobs and march for freedom. they came at the call of a. phillip randolph who was the

if i were you in the afl-cio a lot of the private sector union guys are furious too. i wouldn't be defending those people. and a good progressive. >> thank you for the answer. mr. greenhut i'm the judge here and you will listen to what i suggest. stick to the question and answer the question. people have dinner reservations. [laughter] >> mr. greenhut do you believe in a. >> that is a really ridiculous question. >> yes or no. >> that is like asking if i beat my wife. yes i believe in democracy, yes i do. stand union members have a right to run for public office just like anybody else? >> do they have a right to take money without asking their members? >> final question. >> , so in a democracy people can run for office and they receive campaign contributions and they receive support from various corporations, from unions and individuals and so on. is it your belief that an elected official has no free will and is incapable of representing his or her constituents given a campaign contributions that are out there? >> well, you know i have not known a lot of elected offic

host: that was the afl and cio president -- it was the afl-cio president on the biggest change in theast 12 months. our next caller is a union member from georgia. caller: i am retired from the carpenters union in atlanta, georgia. the department of labour and put me through an apprenticeship program where i got to make a good wage and take care of my family and sent to the kids to college. i get a pension now from the printers union. the union will not let illegal workers joined. you have to be an american citizen. i think that is why there are less people in favor of unions. host: let's hear from timothy on the democratic line in maryland. caller: this is a form of class warfare foster are republicans. people with good sense join the unions and united to fight employers taking advantage of them. they fought for good wages and better working conditions. these people who did not do that and mostly live in the south and midwest did not have enough sense or foresight to see that joining together as a group would help to increase their power to negotiate. they did not use their good sens

over the weekend, the afl/cio president said the president needs to make a stronger challenge to big businesses to hire more workers. now, what we will see from president obama this week is that speech here on capitol hill on thursday outline iing his jo plan. he also over the weekend pressed congress to pass a highlight bill that at the end of september it will expire then. he says by renewing that, they could save a million jobs. the president expected to talk about those infrastructure projects building roads and bridges to create more jobs. lynn? >> tracey potts for us in washington. thank you. >>> now here's a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. a tornado carved a path of destruction through upstate new york, leaving decimated homes and damaged landscape in its wake. national weather service officials confirmed the touchdown but have not yet determined its classification. ground crews are expected to conduct surveys, which will help estimate the strength of the tornado. >>> two people died in a plane crash that ignited a fast-moving brush fire in the

my name is liz shuler, secretary treasurer of the afl-cio. and welcome to the second panel of this national symposium on jobs and the american dream. and our next panel is focused on justice and the american dreams. it will examine the contrast between dr. king's vision for just a america and our current reality. and before i get started, i wanted to also acknowledge we have a very important elected official you with us today from los angeles, california, county board of supervisors for the second district, mark ridley thomas was in front with us here today. [applause] who i think was on his electronic devise just because he is an avid tweeter, and is probably tweeting right now, in fact. so thanks for being with us here today. nearly half a century later, how close that we come to realizing the dream that dr. king had for our country? has america fulfilled its promise of equality and justice for all citizens? dr. king worked, fought, and gave his life so that all people would be afforded these rights are basic rights. so we have to ask oursel

the president of the metropolitan detroit central labor council, our host sandra williams. afl-cioh trumpka. the president of the michigan afl-cio, mark gaffe knee -- mark gaffney. and some proud sons and daughters of michigan representing working people here and across the country, c sciu president henry, teamster president jimmy hoffa, u.a.w. president bob king. utility workers president mike langford. we're proud of them and we're proud of your congressional delegation who are working every single day with your state and local elected officials. to create jobs and economic growth and prosperity here in michigan and all across the country. i am honored, we are honored to spend this day with you and your families. >> thank you! >> the working men -- >> thank you! >> and women of america. this day belongs to you. you deserve a little r&r. a little barbecue. because you've been working hard. you've been working hard to make ends meet. you've been working hard to build a better life for your kids. you've been working hard to build a better detroit. but that's not all i'm going to tal

he will be addressing union members to create jobs his speech will take less it will be held at the afl-cio in detroit the president's appearance follows the reports that no jobs were added last month this is the first time since 1945 >> the u.s. postal service may be in default they are struggling to pay bills and they may not be able to make a five and a half billion dollar payment later due later on this month without the help they may have to shut down this winter >> interesting pictures of people landing in ottawa hall this plane is not sitting properly on the ground it was the united airlines of flight the that skidded off the runway coming in from chicago fire occurs scramble at this scene to stop the fuel leak will cause was reported all 44 passengers were safely taken off the plane >> place for waking up with the kron 4 morning news and we'll take a look outside from our roof camera we have this major heat up coming to will tell you more about this major heat up coming to will tell you more about that in a few minutes how. so...what do you think? i'm not crazy about these light fix

. >> the head of the afl-cio will talk about jobs and the economy tomorrow morning. you'll get the brookings institution. live coverage starting at 10:00 eastern on c-span 2. >> republican presidential candidate newt gingrich laid out his vision for the country in a speech in iowa. the former house speaker is calling his 10-point plan the 21st century contract with america. it includes repealing the new health care law, making changes to the tax system and allowing younger americans to opt out of the social security system. in 1994, mr. gingrich was one of the architects of the house gop's contract with america. this event was held at a financial services company in des moines. [applause] >> thank you. thank you, also, to the principal group. i'm delighted to be here, and to have a chance to share with you what i think is a very important concept. and i am particularly delighted that billie and bob ray would come honor us with their being here, because i think this is to some extent in the tradition in which governor ray served this state. it's an effort to actually

the founder of the afl-cio the first president said he didn't think it made any sense. what we're seeing now is the tide starting to move back. we're in difficult economic times. people are saying wait a minute. a government ought to be run for the benefit of the voters and the tax payers and not those who work in the government. unions have a place in the private sector but in government it's quite different. >> that's just ridiculous. workers have a basic human right to form a union if they want to. there's no way in which workers in the public sector they're not the enemies of the tax payer. they're not the enemies of the government. what workers are doing is saying they want a voice on the job. they want the same kinds of protections that other workers have, not to be treated arbitrarily. a lot of workers in the public sector whether firefighters or nurses or teachers or police officers are fighting for safe workplaces, for decent conditions. nurses need to fight for a decent patient load so they can give good service to their patients. teachers need to fight for sm

definitely all related and i know we are running out of time for the final comment i want to thank the afl-cio for inviting me to participate in this. it has been a learning experience for me. i would love to all the information i would receive from these distinguished panelists, and i also feel that as a journalist, i have a mission and as a hispanic journalist and i have believed since i started way back in 1981, and i learned very young in my career that i had a mission and my mission was going to be to have to go above and beyond informing people, that i was going to have to do a little bit of social work because my audience was a little bit different and needed -- had different needs, and additional needs to the rest of the viewing audience. therefore, i have practiced what they call advocacy journalism or what some people criticize his advocacy journalism. as the famous martyr journalist in california once said, if i am being accused of doing advocacy journalism and if that means speaking out for my community and for the rights of my community, then let it eat. that is what i am. [applau

also supportive of the afl-cio, a great friend of democrats. it has a lot of strength behind it in terms of lobbying and those who would advocate for it. but it does require spending that would be offset later, which is something the republicans are highly skeptical about, and rightly so. >> the president did not abuse the majesty of this venue, and my predecessors who called us about weapons of mass destruction in iraq and the purchase of enriched uranium, which did not exist. it was a difference in style in a sense that it was not given -- it was a far more energized -- it was the president on caffeine. we have seen a big decaffeinated barack obama the last several years. >> talking about $250 billion of tax cuts. republicans like tax cuts. why would not -- what do they vote for that? >> it is fascinating to watch them why they might not vote for it, because they do have to contort their arguments because they have supported these tax cuts before. these tax cuts are a favorite of the business community --gain, friend to the republicans. so it

we brought 30,000 working america members into the afl-cio into working america. there's eight unions organizing with each other. there's more solidarity and determine -- determination on the ground than we've seen. we are vibrant and up and together. here's the real skinny about the elections. in 2008, president obama won wisconsin by 14 points. those six senators won their elections, republican elections by about an equal margin so they defied the trend in wisconsin and got legislated by double -- elected by double digit margins. we didn't pick the six senators. they were the only six that could be recalled because the laws. now, think about this. we got collectively from the six of the biggest, highest performing republican districts, we got 49%-plus of that aggregate electorat, and they got a little over 50%. if i'm a strategist, i have to say in my six best performing districts, i just broke 50%, i got a problem, and we won. we took two of them out, and by the way, one of the republican senators voted against that bill so effectively we have the working majori

this is becky mueller. >> i am the president of the texas afl-cio. welcome to our state, those of you who came from out of town. i would not be surprised to find that the field trip would be to love field. we have had a long time relationship with southwest airlines. i am not surprised the that is where we were this morning. but i am pleased to see you three up there. business and the obama administration working together tha. in texas, our unemployment situation is not as good as you see on the national tv. we do have 30% folks out of work in some industries. we have some folks, as always, who have fallen off the road. our numbers sound good if you look, but when you look deeper, we have families that are hurting turn we have families -- that are hurting. we are families who have difficulty feeding and clothing their children going back to school. it makes my heart feel good that we're seriously talking about this bipartisanship. but i have one question. how do we do it quickly? we talk about these families were school is started and they cannot figh

that is what the afl-cio intends to do. only together can we reinvigorate our democracy. that is why unions of the afl- cio are pooling our resources and developing your around mobilization capacity of our own. independent of parties and candidates and fuelled by the power that comes from unity. we will listen, and we will talk to all working people. not just those with the benefit of a union contract create the problems and solutions belonged to all of us. as we declare our political independence this labor day, we are announcing our independent advocacy arm. this will help build the power of america is silent majority, the middle class, and poor, who are struggling to just get by. it will not directly fund political campaigns. nor will its matched the endless flow of cash from corporations. but it will be an effort by and for working people. communicating beyond our membership and striving to ensure that all the work -- all who work have a strong voice in the political process. what do we want to accomplish? first and foremost, we need to put america back to work. we can

>> reporter: the white house made a statement with its guests, bringing richard trumka, head of the afl-cio lady's box. republicans did the same. house speaker john boehner brought a laundry list of business leaders who say their businesses are being strangled by washington regulation. rob and tanya? >> thanks to john hendren for that. >>> more than 100,000 people are being forced from their homes as dangerous floodwaters continue to rise in pennsylvania. lingering rain left behind by tropical storm lee is pushing the susquehanna river at wilkes-barre to its highest level in nearly four decades. with thousands of homes at risk, many were ick to obey evacuation orders. >> i'm moving out my first floor because if it goes 38 feet, i'm going to have five feet on my first floor. >> i have grandkids. had to be taken out on a dump truck or a crane or something. it was water everywhere. we couldn't even walk in the street. >> so much devastation. upstream, 20,000 people were ordered to evacuate in binghamton, new york, where the river crested at 12 feet above flflood stage. it is the worst flooding

and it has to do with if you focus only on unions that were part of the afl-cio. i raise this because the american federation of government employees is involved in huge campaign right now to represent transportation safety officers in the tsa. and the national treasury employees union has come in very late to buy for that, those workers. and i want to know if you research spoke to that at all, specifically because afge is one of the unions that really has been growing in the face of lots of unions dying. >> maybe afge brothers who would like to speak to the. this is a very important representation election if we add to the other level of public sectors, in the union of their choice, personal preference would be afge seems have more support in logan in boston, you know, tsa folks that i've talked to, some limited traveling i've done. the obama administration did make some changes in the national mediation board, election rules that have supposedly made easier for us to win elections to the airline industry, and the tsa long overdue representation election was going

the plan we hear? >> they are. they are. trump ca and hoff, leaders respectively. afl-cio and the teamsters, have wanted the president to go big, have a big jobs plan but there again is the tension between what his base wants and independent voters want. there's also a tension between the labor unions, the afl-cio said we're not going to participate as we've traditionally done through the democratic party, we're going to set up our own group because we're fed up with the president, with the democrats, we don't think we're getting what they need to get from them, they've been too timid, too ready to compromise, so we're going to sort of sit, operate independently, and then this morning, there were reports that political donations from the unions are down 40 percent compared to two years ago, and that a lot of labor movement, the leadership is sitting on the sidelines and saying we're not going to participate. >> karl, that is so interesting. we're going to have to watch reaction from both sides on the speech on thursday. thank you for your preview, we appreciate it very muc

that is what the afl-cio intends to do. only together can we reinvigorate our democracy. that is why unions of the afl- cio are pooling our resources and developing your around mobilization capacity of our own. independent of parties and candidates and fuelled by the power that comes from unity. we will listen, and we will talk to all working people. not just those with the benefit of a union contract create the problems and solutions belonged to all of us. as we declare our political independence this labor day, we are announcing our independent advocacy arm. this will help build the power of america is silent majority, the middle class, and poor, who are struggling to just get by. it will not directly fund political campaigns. nor will its matched the endless flow of cash from corporations. but it will be an effort by and for working people. communicating beyond our membership and striving to ensure that all the work -- all who work have a strong voice in the political process. what do we want to accomplish? first and foremost, we need to put america back to work. we can

in my history, this is the most i can remember the afl-cio being of the people, by the people and for the people. we're going to speak to union workers and non-union workers and get them to come out in large numbers to protect the american way of life, to protect the middle class, and to help us create jobs, so that the 25 millions americans out there that are either underemployed or not employed can get back to work. >> one of things we saw, but ohio, indiana, other places, is that labor aside -- where were it's clearly the policy dispute, politically you've been the ones that have been the backbone in terms of resources in helping to even the plays field. when is look at the ten largest contributors to what was in the given political landscape, only two of the top ten -- three of the top ten, forgive me, were supported quote liberal or progressive side, all thee of them were union. seiu, afscme, and the nea. also were conservative groups looks the chamber of commerce, crossroads, and in many ways, aside from the policy difference, i would suspect, and i'm subject to conspiracy somet

and the afl-cio unhappy with his support for more free frayed agreement buzz in the end level of unionlvement in the elections may depend on who gets the republican nomination, if it is a tea party favorite with a history of antiunion leanings, it means more than anything he can do himself. >> and president obama needed some positive news from the international financial markets but didn't get it today. last friday's report showing u.s. companies stopped hiring in august, and britain's lost 3.5%. germany saw 5%. and japan unchanged. the reaction from the jobs report in u.s. markets won't be evident until tomorrow z wall street is bracing for the worst. >> and mail service as we know it could be a thing of the past as soon as later this month. and this is because the post office is flat out of money. the internet and cell phones have taken a lot of letters and bill as way from the post office. now, they say it will default on a $5.5 billion payment this month, unless congress helps out. one spokesman claims the service is really too big to fail. >> we're the center of a trillion dollar

several top union leaders including the afl-cio and the communications workers of america they are inment. they say it will create a stronger unionized workforce. since at&t is currently the only wireless company with union employees. so it's a stand-off. joining me tonight larry cohen, president of the communication workers of america. and gigi sohn. this is a rather unusual situation that you have got democrats in the senate who are opposing what many labor union members and leaders want to take place. why do you want this deal to go through? what's the up side for workers? >> well, first of all, most democrats, including 97 house democrats support the merger, environmental groups, civil rights groups have broad base support. number one, this is an exercise in fantasy capitalism. everybody knows that t-mobile is for sale, everyone knows it was a choice of sprint or at&t. the ceo has stated clearly, i don't have $10 billion to build fourth generation wireless. and we all know that without fourth generation, it's only a matter of time that t-mobile fades and fades and fades. on the ot

first i want to thank the afl-cio for having me, and i'm not going to go into a rally speech. i apologize. i rallied for the last six months. if i hit you, i'm sorry. i use my hands a lot. thank you for having me, president trumka, vice president baker, thank you for having me. because of them as well as the iff, my union, i've gone around the country and speaking about wisconsin. now, you thought wince before was just known for cheese and green bay packers, but know there's a fight on our hands. now we're on the map, again, so to speak, but this is not just a union fight. this is a middle class fight, and right now we are under attack. it feels like we are no longer in the united states of america, but the united corporations of america, but members of dr. king, you have a lot of people that talk about the civil rights, but today is special because we talk about worker rights as well as human rights. in 1968 when he was assassinated, he was there for the memphis sanitation workers because of the deplorable conditions they were working in. a couple things stick out in my head

for example, i think you'll have an update on an announcement we made in chicago where the afl/cio andaffiliate unions are going to put some of their own pension funds in to putting people to work, retrofitting buildings. they will be in partnership with business instead of having a washington political fight with them. >> the four day invitational workshop is held in new york to address global issues. >> on tuesday morning, survivors of the san bruno gas pipeline explosion will join city leaders in a ceremony to literally close the wound caused by the blast a year ago. they will pick up shovels and fill in the gaping crater caused by the explosion that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes. pg&e crews will take over the job starting tuesday afternoon and about three weeks the spot will be filled in paved over and sidewalks replaced. our media partner san jose america kru create news paeg is going to remove the remaining section of the pipeline from the neighborhood. >> the annual grape harvest will soon begin in the napa valley and grape growers are saying they are looking at a n

think they need to focus as much as they can on like what we did now when we just announced at the afl-ciorican federation of teachers and pension fans and allies are doing what the banking system should be doing. they're out there -- they are funding major building retro fits. they're going to put thousands and thousands of people to work. and that's what i think we should do. >> you're talking about pittsburgh and san diego, orlando. and what you're doing here, it seems to be the exception. these are isolated incidents that are positive but the rest is -- >> exactly. so what should we be doing? what i'm trying to do is figure out how you can get more of the centers of prosperity? how can you take things that are working like this on shoring and not off shoring jobs and jobs from missouri? how can we do this in other places? i spent an enormous amount of time trying to figure out how to get this to work. one thing i'm certain of a washington food fight won't create a job. and i think -- i personally believe the president did the right thing by offering the republicans a plan that included

last week i was joined our representatives from the afl-cio and the chamber of congress, two group to do not see eye to eye on much, but who agree it is critically important for our economy that congress act now. that is what one had the 28 mayors from both parties wrote to congress asking them to come together and pass a clean extension. these are local leaders on the ground every day and know what would happen to there are -- to their communities if congress fails to act. i am calling on congress to pass a clean extension of the transportation bill to keep workers on the job, keep critical project review for, and to give folks a sense of security. there is a lot of talk in washington these days about creating jobs, but it does not help when those same folks term rather than risk losing hundreds of thousands of jobs just because of political gamesmanship. we need to pass this transportation bill and put people to work rebuilding america. we need to put our differences aside and do the right thing for our economy, and now is the time to act because >> i am from the commonwealth of vir

. >> the idea for a big boost in construction is supported by the afl-cio, but it's also supported by the chamber of commerce. those two don't get along on much. but they agree we should rebuild america. >> so my question is, what's congress waiting for? why has it taken so long? now, the bridge behind us just happens to connect the state that's home to the speaker of the house. with the home state of the republican leader in the senate. now, that's just a coincidence. it's purely accidental that that happened. but part of the reason i came here is mr. boehner and mr. mcconnell, those are the two most powerful republicans in government. they can either kill this jobs bill or they can help pass this jobs bill. >> republicans are accusing the president now of campaigning. rrr. when he gives speeches like this now. maybe so. but if so, he really seems to be having a good time while he is doing it. joining us now is chris hayes, host of the new and already great "up with chris hayes," which airs weekend mornings here on msnbc. chris is also editor at large of "the nation" magazine. good t

the afl-cio and some of the public employee pension funds are looking at this and saying, hey, we're not earning all that much money in the stock market, maybe we should invest in an infrastructure bank. maybe we should invest in putting people back to work, modernizing all these buildings and making them more efficient, because if they do that, we know we're going to get our money back, plus a return. i think you'll see some innovative things that will be a real beacon of what america could do, and do in a hurry, to put itself bk to work if we move the money to where the jobs are. >> it would be malpractice on my part, mr. president, if i didn't ask you about politics. you know a thing or two about political leadership and about how to get re-elected. so i have to show you what your good pal and old political hand james carville is saying about this president and his troubles. i'll put it up on the screen. what should the white house do now? he writes. one word comes to mind, panic. this is what i would say to president barack obama, the time has come to demand a plan of action that

where the afl-cio and a couple of its affiliate unions are going to put some of their own pension funds into putting people to work retrofitting buildings. and doing other things that will create jobs for their members and other americans. and they'll be in partnership with business instead of a washington political fight. >> this is all about this stubborn unemployment rate, where do you see the unemployment after all of these suggestions, if they're implemented, where do you see it standing this time next year? >> well, if you look at the program that the president has outlined, i think, if we had the payroll tax cuts and the special incentives to hire the long-term unemployed and we did some of the things that i have been pushing very hard for invest building retrofits, which could create a billions of jobs if we did it right. the estimates are across the economic board, according to mr. zanni, an economic adviser to senator mccain in the 2008 election, all of the estimates it will create 1.3 million to 2 million jobs. and drop unmroemt by approximately 1%. or maybe more. that's if t

. >> now what i want to turn over to the president of the afl-cio. rich, to you. >> thank you for the introduction i want to thank president turner and smu for hosting us today on this beautiful campus. i want to thank all of you for being here. it is good to see you again, mr. secretary. i would like to thank you on behalf of allmericans for the leadership that you feel and the tenacity and determination you have shown in this issue. it is always good to see you again, tom. i think it is appropriate that you are on my far left today. [laughter] >> actually, froout there -- [laughter] >> for you, there probably is the right side. let me start off by saying two $0.20 trillion, that -- two $0.20 -- $2.2 trillion, that is what we need for our infrastructure. that is what is needed to maintain, to keep our 20th- century inheritance from falling apart. not to get ahead. we need another $2 trillion to enter the 21st century and to build a modern, clean energy infrastructure. we need to invest hundreds of billions of dollars a year every year for the foresee

. >> now what i want to turn over to the president of the afl-cio. rich, to you. >> thank you for the introduction i want to thank presidt turner and smu for hosting us today on this beautiful campus. i want to thank all of you for being here. it is good to see you again, mr. secretary. i would like to thank you on behalf of all amecans for the leadershiphat you feel and the tecity and determination you have shown in this issue. it is always good to see you again, tom. i think it is appropriate that you are on my far left today. [laughter] >> actually, from out there -- [laughter] >> for you, there probably is the right side. let me start off by saying two $0.20 trillion, that -- two $0.20 -- $2.2 trillion, that is what we need for our infrastructure. that is what is needed to maintain, to keep our 20th- century inheritance from falling apart. not to get ahead. we need another $2 trillion to enter the 21st century and to build a modern, clean energy infrastructure. weeed to invest hundreds of billions of dollars a year every year for the foreseeable f

he speaks for the labor movement, afl-cio. the president speaks for himself. i speak for the president. >> the press precedent that you are sitting for the 2012 election the candidates are the ones we need to pay attention to. those who introduce them at rallies and surrogates. you don't have to pay attention to anything they say. >> i think i have said what i can say. >> is that the standard now? >> you can report it as you would like. >> i would rather not have to do this washington kabuki every time something happens. if that's the standard, then -- >> -- the standard is we should focus on the actions we can take to grow the economy and create jobs instead of focusing on kabuki theater. did the president find the comments appropriate? >> can we move on? >> bill: that was excellent questioning by mr. tapper. if president obama wants civility he must hold allies to account especially when he is there and he obviously did not. so there you go. as for mr. hoffa himself? i mean, what do you expect? most labor leaders are furious that the tea party has brought pu

richard trumka, president of the afl-cio, thank you for joining us. ission to the moon is delayed. we are live from cape canaveral next. carol, another window of opportunity. >> i'm not panicking yet. >> it could happen still in a few minutes. 42 minutes after the hour. are you curious about new ideas? do you want to learn a new language, or just a new word? maybe you want to know more about anatomy, or astronomy. you could master something new, or uncover a hidden talent. there's never been a better time to learn. it's schwab at your fingertips wherever, whenever you want. one log in lets you monitor all of your balances and transfer between accounts, so your money can move as fast as you do. check out your portfolio, track the market with live updates. and execute trades anywhere and anytime the inspiration hits you. even deposit checks right from your phone. just take a picture, hit deposit and you're done. open an account today and put schwab mobile to work for you. it's real milk full of calcium and vitamin d. and tastes simply delicious. for thos