AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka unveiled an ambitious plan for tackling unemployment Tuesday, and will take the plan to President Obama during a labor conference on December 3. The plan's largest sticking point is 'bailout' money for small businesses - Trumka wants Obama to use Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) money and some of the 700$ billion in bailout funds to help out small businesses and small banks, which he hopes will then create jobs. The proposal also calls for an extension of unemployment benefits, job creation aimed at distressed communities, money for infrastructure projects, and increased health and nutrition aid for the currently unemployed.
See "US labor group unveils plan to tackle joblessness", David Morgan, Reuters, November 16, 2009