These are tough economic times for the people of California. Unemployment is at 12.5%, people’s wages are down, and people are losing their homes. Thousands of teachers and classified employees have been laid off, and we are losing firefighters, police, and other critical public services.

So what has Congress done to stimulate the economy and get people back to work?

They cut taxes on corporations and the rich, they gave away hundreds of billions of dollars in bailout money to the corporate banks, they are letting the big banks foreclose on family homes, and they failed to pass the American Jobs Act.

Are the politicians fighting for you? Can we depend on the politicians and corporations to fix the economy and get people back to work in California?

The only one we can depend on fixing this economic mess is ourselves, the American workers!!!  It is up to each and every one of us to organize and mobilize and fight for the core values of the American worker.

We have rallied to stand up and make the commitment to fight for our children’s future and the future of California. Our fight is right and our fight is just.

When public school budgets continue to be cut so that our children no longer have an opportunity to be successful — that is un-American.

When college tuition continues to skyrocket so that only the rich can afford it — that is un-American.

When American jobs are outsourced to other countries — that is un-American.

When this nation's wealth, wealth that was created by the hands of workers, is deposited into offshore bank accounts — that is un-American.

When workers are told we make too much money, we are lazy, our pensions are too generous, and they tell us that we are to blame for the broken economy and at the same time millionaires are paying less taxes than we are — that is un-American.

When banks would rather foreclose on family homes rather than renegotiate their loan after we gave them hundreds of billions of dollars in bailout money — that is un-American.

Do you hear that giant sucking sound?  That sucking sound is the money being moved from the 99% to the top 1% — that is un-American.

When the unemployment rate is over 12%, the highest level since the great depression and congress cannot pass the American Jobs Act — that is un-American.

Right here in Sacramento, the American Jobs Act would have provided over $40 million in modernization funds that means support for local businesses, construction jobs, apprenticeship programs, and better facilities for our students. But Congress failed to act!

The Teachers and First Responders Act would have prevented the layoffs of 37,000 teachers in California and would have hired more police and firefighters. The Rebuild America Jobs Act would have provided thousands of construction jobs to help rebuild our infrastructure across this nation, paid for by a 0.5% tax increase on millionaires. But Congress failed to act!

I want to say thank you to Senators Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein who voted in support of the American Jobs Act, and shame on those who voted “no.”

It is time for us to tell Congress to do their job and fix the economy by getting people back to work.  It is time for them to pass a jobs act that will create jobs, build infrastructure and pay for it by having small but fair tax increase on millionaires.

It was the hands of the American worker who built the middle class, the foundation of our economy.

It is the American worker who will roll up their sleeves and do the labor that will rebuild our economy and lead this nation to prosperity, and we will fight to bring back an America that values the people, invests in the people, and serves the people.

The best days of America are ahead of us because we will continue to fight together, struggle together, and work together until each and every one of us has a share of the American dream. That is the undeniable spirit of the American worker.

We have rallied to send a message to Congress that people are suffering in this horrible economy. People are losing their jobs, their homes, and the social services they need in these critical times are no longer being supported.  Just look at the cuts to elder care, loss of medical insurance for children, and the cuts to public education.  Many workers are going back to college to retrain but with all the budget cuts it is hard to get the classes they need and the cost is skyrocketing. One of the major fears my students have is what is it going to like for their children?

The government seems incapable of addressing the economy and the loss of jobs in this country.  Congress doesn’t seem to represent the regular working person in this country anymore, and you see the frustration across the country.  President Obama made some steps to try to get people back to work with The American Jobs Act, The Teachers and First Responders Act, and The Rebuild America Jobs Act, but the Senate in Congress has failed us.

We need to make a stand, to make Congress listen to us. Ut is time to fix the economy by creating jobs and building infrastructure, and we can pay for it by a small but fair tax increase on millionaires.