AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka is voicing support for the coronavirus stimulus package.
His comments came during a Thursday interview on the Fox Business show, "Mornings with Maria."
"First of all, it was much needed," he said. "And like every bill, it's not perfect. But it's going to do a lot of good and we need to have it done very, very quickly. There are some things not in the bill that are very important that will have to be included very quickly.
"It doesn't do enough with health and safety of our frontline workers. It does nothing to protect U.S. pensions."
The Senate passed the $2 trillion economic rescue package by a vote of 96-0 Wednesday night. The bill now goes to the House for approval. President Donald Trump has indicated he will sign it when it lands on his desk.
Meanwhile, Fox Business noted the AFL-CIO has more than 12.5 million members in 55 unions. Included in those numbers is National Nurses United, the largest registered nurses' union.
Nurses are "short on equipment, some nurses had to make their own masks, cut up gowns," Trumka said. "So we need the president to use his War Powers Act to help with manufacturing to get all of those respirators out. Not disposable ones, but reusable ones, so we can protect our frontline workers."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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