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By Doug Cunningham

Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson says the state legislature there should pass a billion dollar construction bonding bill and a wage subsidy of up to $12 an hour to help put Minnesotans back to work. A construction coalition jobs bill supported by the AFL-CIO would also leverage and stimulate private investment to spark commercial and residential energy-efficient retrofit projects. Knutson says as states struggle with strained budgets in the ongoing process of recession recovery, it’s vital to realize that government must act to help a private economy that has failed to deliver jobs.

[Knutson]: “In the last several years we haven’t seen job growth. We’ve seen job decline. So we need to try something different. And we believe that the bonding bill and this construction jobs coalition bill and wage subsidies are a better way to quickly get people back to work and turn this around.”

Knutson says this jobs crisis isn’t the time to be timid in response to it.

[Knutson 2]: “We have to remember that tough times require strong action. This is that time. So we’re urging our governor, Governor Pawlenty, and both the Republican and Democratic members of the legislature to be bold and decisive in creating jobs and raising some revenue to help support that.”