AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka: It's 'not the means for recovery that lack, but rather the will'

Jenn Taylor | 11:59 AM on June 01, 2012

Jobs report is alarming and unacceptable with our economy continuing to confront strong headwinds

— Richard Trumka (@RichardTrumka) June 1, 2012

AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka has been known to blast Obama for ignoring the plight of the 99 percent. But is the frequent White House visitor actually slamming the president for the country’s worsening economic situation? After endorsing him?

Nah. It would have been fun, but no dice.

The tweets he sent out this morning were selected quotes from a longer statement that blamed, yeah, you guessed it, the GOP:

.@RichardTrumka of the @AFLCIO calls jobs report 'alarming and unacceptable,' faults GOP for numbers

— Dave Jamieson (@jamieson) June 1, 2012

AFL-CIO On Jobs Report: "Alarming And Unacceptable" http://t.co/Gb4hssN3 via @evanmc_s

— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) June 1, 2012

May’s employment report shows the economy continues to confront strong headwinds. The addition of a mere 65,000 jobs last month and a small uptick in the unemployment rate is alarming and unacceptable.

Most frustrating is the fact that it is not the means for recovery that lack, but rather the will. For purely political and cynical reasons, Republicans in Congress have blocked President Obama’s efforts to maintain momentum for growth, whether it’s the American Jobs Act or routine highway infrastructure investments. Moreover, under the leadership of Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan and John Boehner, Republicans are also looking to cut back on policies that provide relief for the millions of working families worrying about how to pay the bills and how to make ends meet.