Jobs, economy on minds at labor events

FOND DU LAC - Amid the fun, festive atmosphere in Fond du Lac, there was one thing holding spirits down at the city's Labor Day picnic.

"Jobs, jobs," David Moffitt with the Fond du Lac Labor Council said emphatically. "Everybody wants a job right now. Jobs are in short supply."

Members of the council say the economy may be stabilizing, but employment options aren't.

They want to see quality jobs in the area that offer a livable wage.

"We need jobs that will sustain families and sustain communities, and I think that's what we need to work for," Steve Kirchhoff with the Machinists Local 1947 union said.

In Milwaukee, President Barack Obama made a similar plea to a cheering crowd, calling for job growth, while blaming the recession on Republican agendas.

"These are the folks whose policies helped devastate our middle class and drive our economy into a ditch and now they're asking you for the keys back," Obama said.

Republicans point to Obama's $814 billion economic stimulus, and the "shovel-ready" jobs he promised more than a year ago.

"No matter how many times Obama tries to lay the blame on his predecessors or brag about the historic amount of money and debt he's throwing at our problems, Wisconsin simply isn't buying it anymore," Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus said.

The President's six-year, $50 billion plan to improve transportation could also be a tough sell.

"We are going to rebuild 150,000 miles of our roads," Obama announced to the Milwaukee Laborfest crowd.

Republicans are blasting the measure as irresponsible, while Democrats may be reluctant to approve additional spending so close to elections.

Locally, opinions are mixed. But labor leaders say more in the area are tuning in.

"When people's kitchen issues start to come to the surface like they are right now then people start to pay attention," Moffitt said. "People start to get a little bit more involved once those pocketbook issues start to take place and they have been for a while."