Landing today in reporters’ inboxes, a joint statement from mortal enemies Richard Trumka, labor’s leading man, and Tom Donahue, big business’s voice in Washington:
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued the following joint statement on President Obama’s State of the Union Address:
“America’s working families and business community stand united in applauding President Obama’s call to create jobs and grow our economy through investment in our nation’s infrastructure.
“Whether it is building roads, bridges, high-speed broadband, energy systems and schools, these projects not only create jobs and demand for businesses, they are an investment in building the modern infrastructure our country needs to compete in a global economy.
“With the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO standing together to support job creation, we hope that Democrats and Republicans in Congress will also join together to build America’s infrastructure.”
It isn’t by any means a new position for the Chamber of Commerce, but it’s politically notable that Obama has the head of the organization that was the primary vessel for moneyed opposition to his signature policy initiative in 2010 out trumpeting a piece of his plans for 2011. A dose of reality though: Obama’s last infrastructure plan couldn’t pass a united Democratic Congress.