May 19, 2009
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told delegates to the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department’s legislative conference that Congress is committed to passing the Employee Free Choice Act and President Obama is “ready to sign it into law.” Today, the 3,000 delegates hit Capitol Hill to lobby for the bill and other key initiatives.
Quick Poll: Do your friends, neighbors and co-workers know about the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Pelosi: Congress Committed to Passing Employee Free Choice
New Bill Would Aid Many of the 57 Million U.S. Workers Without Paid Sick Leave
Cheney Assault on Employee Free Choice: A Family Affair
Trade Deals Must Protect Everyone, Not Just Investors
Tell the President: GM Can’t Use Taxpayer Money to Ship U.S. Jobs Overseas
Coerced, Harassed, Suspended: A Virginia Worker’s Case for Employee Free Choice
30,000 Workers at AT&T Reject Company’s Final Offer, and More Bargaining News
May 18, 2009
Last week, President Obama reaffirmed his support for the Employee Free Choice Act. “The scales have been tilted to make it really hard to form a union,” he told a town hall meeting. The Employee Free Choice Act will stop “the monkey business that’s done right now to prevent” workers from having a union.
Quick Poll: Have you or has someone you know been fired, mistreated or disciplined for trying to form a union?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Obama, Union Members Nationwide Focus on Employee Free Choice
Biden to AFSCME: America’s Workers Should Get a Union If They Want One
Artists for Employee Free Choice
Women Workers Less Likely to Have Secure Retirement
Painters’ Corporate-Style Annual Reports Keep Union Growing
Labor College Approved to Offer Federal Student Financial Aid
Workers, Allies to Pulte Shareholders: You’re Responsible for Working Conditions
AFL-CIO Calls for Release of Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi
Labor FY 2010 Budget Will Protect Workers. What a Concept
May 15, 2009
On the 189th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, more than 1,000 nurses and other health care advocates took their cases for health care reform, safe staffing levels and patients’ rights to Capitol Hill.
Quick Poll: Do corporations have too much power in our economy?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Hundreds of Nurses Rally on Capitol Hill in National Day of Action
The Stars Align for Employee Free Choice Act
Big Business Likes Arbitration—If It Can Control the Process
Aviation Unions Outline FAA Fixes
Greenhouse, Wheeler and Green Win Major Journalism Prizes
Rabbis Tell Specter: Join Us in Supporting Employee Free Choice
May 14, 2009
Amy Brenneman and Esai Morales are among 47 popular performing artists speaking out on behalf of the Employee Free Choice Act in a dynamic new video. The performers sum it up this way: “The best way for working men and women to get ahead is by uniting with our co-workers and forming a union. The Employee Choice Act does exactly what it says: It gives workers a choice of how to unionize.” Check out the website at www.Artists4WorkersChoice.org.
Quick Poll: Are you comfortable speaking out in the workplace about unions?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
The Stars Align for Employee Free Choice Act
New Ad: Which Side Are You on, Sen. Specter?
Hundreds of Nurses Rally on Capitol Hill in National Day of Action
Massachusetts Moving on Paid Sick Leave Legislation
New Resources for Low-Wage, Immigrant Advocates
Cheney, Rove Attack Employee Free Choice. Thanks!
Currency Reform Bill Could Help Create New Jobs
May 13, 2009
Although the sinking economy has impacted the Social Security Trust Fund, it remains structurally sound and is capable of paying full benefits for the next three decades. It would be "incredibly malicious," says the Center for Economic and Policy Research, to slash benefits or raise the retirement age as called for by alarmists and doomsayers.
Quick Poll: Have you or has someone you know had difficulty negotiating for a union contract?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Health Care Reform, Revived Economy Best Rx for Social Security, Medicare
The Fight for Employee Free Choice, in Arkansas and Around the Country
OSHA, MSHA Move on Bush-Stalled Health and Safety Rules
Veterans Keep Up the Pressure for Employee Free Choice
Global Support Growing for Employee Free Choice
May 12, 2009
This week, actor Danny Glover and the Rev. Jesse Jackson are joining workers, lawmakers and community allies in an 11-state, 30-plus city “Keep It Made in America” bus tour sponsored in part by the United Steelworkers (USW). As USW President Leo Gerard says: “This jobs crisis goes deeper than auto companies and assembly workers in Detroit. Reducing U.S. auto manufacturing drives down overall employment, from the people who make auto catalogs and shipping boxes to workers making glass for windshields, rubber for tires and other materials.”
Quick Poll: In what way has the economy affected you or your family members the most?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
‘Keep It Made in America’ Bus Tour Kicks Off
Health Care Reform Opponent Outed: Scott, a Hospital CEO With Shady Past
AFTRA, AFM Call for ‘Fair Play for Air Play’
Thousands Join in Candlelight Vigils Across California
5,300 Employees at Southwest Airlines Reach Tentative Pact, and More Bargaining News
May 11, 2009
The freedom of workers to form unions and bargain for a better life is not only a workers’ rights issue, but a good investment for business, too, says a coalition of investors. In a letter to Congress, the investors—representing some $400 billion in assets—say the Employee Free Choice Act “would help stabilize the economy.”
Quick Poll: Do your friends, neighbors and co-workers know about the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Leaders in Investment Community Speak Out for Employee Free Choice
CLUW Highlights National Women’s Health Week
Workers Around the World Back Employee Free Choice
Bill Now in the Senate Addresses Credit Card Abuse
Netroots Nation Salon: The Fight for Employee Free Choice, Online and Off
Swine Flu Hits 26 Health Care Workers
May 8, 2009
Unemployment in the United States jumped from 8.5 percent to 8.9 percent in April. Yet some pundits have the audacity to claim that’s “good news” because it’s lower than expected and a sign the recession may even be over. Tell that to the 539,000 workers who lost their jobs last month and to the 3.7 million long-term unemployed.
Quick Poll: What actions would you be willing to take to help pass the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
539,000 Jobs Lost in April—Don’t Let Them Tell You This Is Good News
More Than 1,000 Scholars and Academics Support Employee Free Choice
Labor Department Budget Strengthens Worker Protection Enforcement
Don’t Forget! Netroots Nation Salon Here Tomorrow
CWA, IBEW Back New ‘Golden Coffin,’ Corporate Governance Rules at Verizon
Parental Leave Bill for Fed Workers Advances
May 7, 2009
Every day the momentum and mobilization to build support and pass the Employee Free Choice Act grows. Check out the latest action by veterans groups in Arkansas, Maine and North Carolina; small business owners in Indiana; union members in Sacramento, Calif.; and Working America members in Virginia.
Quick Poll: How worried are you about losing your job?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Veterans, Small Business Owners Step up Fight for Employee Free Choice
Colorado Springs IBEW Hall Goes Green
Thousands of Graduate Assistants Join AFT
Boston Globe Workers Reach Tentative Pact; Unions Offer Options for Media Jobs Crisis
May 6, 2009
The flowers you send your mom this Mother’s Day likely were grown, cut and trimmed by Colombian moms working in harsh and abusive conditions. Find out more about the campaign to win justice for the flower workers and how you can send your mom a special Mother’s Day card to help the Colombian flower workers.
Quick Poll: How did you first hear about the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Colombian Workers Pay High Price for Flowers
Hundreds of Workers Join AFSCME, IAM and CWA
Video: Here’s How Labor Law Is Failing Workers
Act Now to Stop Chrysler Jobs from Going to Mexico
Latino Workers Mobilizing for Employee Free Choice
Join Us at the AFL-CIO: The Netroots and Employee Free Choice
May 5, 2009
The time for health care reform is now. A new study shows fewer workers receive employer-provided health care coverage even as the economic turmoil is costing millions of workers their jobs, adding those workers to the ranks of the uninsured. Still have a job with health care? Be ready to pay more, say employers.
Quick Poll: What do you think is the most important reason to pass the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Millions Lose Health Coverage Since Recession and Job-Based Health Care Declines
Stamp Out Hunger: Join Letter Carriers Food Drive Saturday
Trumka: Specter Must Earn Labor’s Support
Study: Majority Sign-Up Works, Without Coercion, for Thousands of Workers in Illinois
New Project to Combat Unconscious Racism
Laughing at the News: Comedy Writers Speak
May 4, 2009
Pete Seeger, who has been singing and marching with the progressive movement since the 1930s, turned 90 yesterday and was honored with a tribute concert at Madison Square Garden. Seeger, says Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary, “has forged a path that has connected social activism for greater equity, fairness and human rights that has become deeply imbedded in the heart and history of our country.”
Quick Poll: Do your friends, neighbors and co-workers know about the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Happy Birthday, Pete Seeger
Employee Free Choice Web Roundup
In Radio Ad, Sheen Asks Senators to Support Employee Free Choice Act
AT&T Shareholders Face Crowd of CWA
Members, and More Bargaining News
Show Your Love for Working Mothers this Mother’s Day
USW Tells China: Lay off U.S. Trade Cases
Major Congressional Groups Back Public Health Insurance Option
Obama Puts Air Safety Back in the Passenger Seat
May 1, 2009
Swine flu is spreading and the nation’s health care workers—the first line of defense against the disease—are at risk because many of the nation’s health care facilities are not prepared to deal with a pandemic, a recent AFL-CIO report
revealed.
Quick Poll: What do you think is the most important
reason to pass the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Health Care Workers at Risk as Swine Flu Spreads
Veterans Push for Employee Free Choice
May Day: Fight for Workers’ Values
Senior Activist Honored for Community Service
April 30, 2009
Penalties for violating federal workplace safety laws are so weak that an employer can only be charged with a misdemeanor when a violation results in the death of a worker. Workplace health and safety experts told a House committee it’s time to put some teeth in the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
Quick Poll: Have you ever faced intimidation or harassment by a boss for trying to form a union?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Hearing Highlights Need for Tougher Penalties for Job Safety and Health Violations
A Renewed Covenant with America: The Employee Free Choice Act
Congress Passes Obama’s
‘Transformational’ Budget
UAW Members Ratify Chrysler Settlement Pact
Get the Latest on Pulte Homes
World Bank Scuttles Anti-Worker Index
Lots of Action in Lots of States in Support of Employee Free Choice
April 29, 2009
It officially may be President Obama’s first 100 days. But these past few months have been all about wins for working families: Passage of a fair pay act and health care coverage for millions of low-income children. Setting the stage for comprehensive health care reform. Funding for rebuilding infrastructure and family-supporting jobs. Aid to state and local governments so they can avoid layoffs and continue to provide essential services. Moves toward stronger job safety and health rules. Appointment of a labor secretary who supports working familes. Can’t wait for the next 100 days.
Quick Poll: From what source do you most hear about
the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Obama’s First 100 Days Mark Major Wins for Working Families
National Memorial Dedicated to Fallen Workers
Call Congress and Tell Lawmakers to Support the Budget
Solis Set to Announce Two Key Job Safety and Health Rules
AFL-CIO Statement on Specter Joining the Democratic Party
Faith Community Delivers Strong Message for Employee Free Choice
Teens Get LifeSmart
April 28, 2009
The
nation’s workplaces remain far too deadly and dangerous. At Workers Memorial Day ceremonies, union members and job safety activists are honoring those killed on the job and demanding strong workplace safety laws to protect the living. Be sure to read the AFL-CIO’s
just-released “Death on the Job” report.
Quick Poll: What actions would you be willing to take to help pass the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Workers Memorial Day 2009
Equal Pay Day: April 28
Momentum Grows as New Groups Join Employee Free Choice Coalition
Union Movement Mourns Andrea Brooks
Maxwell, New NLRB Appointments: Change We Can Believe In
On Tour for the Employee Free Choice
Act
UAW Reaches Settlement Agreement with
Chrysler, Fiat
CWA Carries on Fight for Fair Contract with AT&T, and More Bargaining News
April 27, 2009
Who’s really behind ads opposing health care reform? Rick Scott, for one—a multimillionaire who is putting $5 million of his own fortune into fighting President Obama’s plan. But what Scott doesn’t say in his ads is that he ran a company that had to pay the largest fine in history for Medicare fraud.
Quick Poll: How did you first hear about the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Workers Skimp on Health Care While Greedy Millionaires Fight Real Reform
Vets, Small Business Owners Back Employee Free Choice
Know-Nothing Newt
Florida Union Members Protest Anti-Worker Corporate Training
Permanent California Carwash Worker Law Takes Step Forward
Electrical Workers Member Becomes 10,000th Member of Sportsmen’s Alliance
Bipartisan Bill Would Strengthen Guest Worker Rules
At Home in Union-Made Utopia: PBS Looks at the Housing Co-Op Movement
Unemployed Workers Have Lifeline Because of Frances Perkins’ Legacy
April 24, 2009
As we get set to commemorate Workers Memorial Day, on April 28, we get great news about a new bill in Congress, the Protecting America’s Workers Act, that would strengthen and modernize the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Also, if you’re in the area, please join us April 28 for two events: A Workers Memorial Day commemoration at the Labor Department and a groundbreaking with Labor Secretary Hilda Solis for a new national workers memorial at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Md.
Quick Poll: Have you or someone you know been through a difficult struggle to form a union?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
New Job Safety Bill, Workers Memorial Day Events at Labor Dept., Labor College
Living with Brain Lesions and Without Health Care
The First 100 Days: Media Attacks on Employee Free Choice
AT&T Posts $3.3 Billion Profit But Wants to Cut Jobs and Wages
In North Carolina, Making the Case for Employee Free Choice
April 23, 2009
Low-wage workers, who would greatly benefit from the freedom to form unions, held a briefing on Capitol Hill yesterday before urging their lawmakers to vote for the Employee Free Choice Act. In a briefing with the workers, author Barbara Ehrenreich puts it
this way: The Employee Free Choice Act is both a human rights measure and an economic stimulus measure.
Quick Poll: How confident do you feel when making
decisions about personal financial investments?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Low-Wage Workers Need Employee Free Choice to Join Middle Class
Earth Day 2009: Green Jobs Can Be Good Jobs
Kudos to Egypt’s First Independent Trade Union
High Road or Low Road in Renewable Energy Manufacturing?
April 22, 2009
It’s Earth Day 2009 and we’re celebrating our partnership with environmental groups who have stood strong for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Says Sierra Club President Allison Chin: “Protecting workers’ most basic rights, including the right to choose how and when to form a union, is an essential part of building a clean energy economy that lifts up all workers.”
Quick Poll: Are you worried that the next generation will have a lower standard of living?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Environmental Community Supports Employee Free Choice
Labor Secretary to Honor Fallen Workers on Workers Memorial Day
Educating Timothy Geithner: The Congressional Review Panel on Capitol Hill
Tell the President: Stand up for Autoworkers
IBEW Video, Op-Ed Separate Fact from Fiction on Employee Free Choicetest
Health Care Reform Must Focus on
Patients’ Needs
High Road or Low Road in Renewable Energy Manufacturing?
April 21, 2009
On the eve of Earth Day 2009, the AFL-CIO outlined steps for reducing energy consumption, cutting down waste and reducing the carbon footprint of our national headquarters. We’re working in partnership with our new Center for Green Jobs, here and in shaping policy nationwide to ensure new green jobs are family-supporting jobs.
Quick Poll: What do you think is the most important reason to pass the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
On Earth Day, AFL-CIO Launches Green Initiative
Specter Staff Threatens to Trash Letters in Support of Employee Free Choice
Grassroots Actions Build Momentum for Employee Free Choice Act
Plumbers Focus on Green Technology for Their Future
States May Lead the Way on Health Care Reform
Workers at American Airlines Protest CEO Bonuses, and More Bargaining News
April 20, 2009
Norm Coleman knows he doesn’t have a chance to get the Minnesota Senate seat after a court decision last week showed Al Franken won. But by dragging out the fight, Coleman and his corporate cronies can make it harder for the majority in the Senate to break filibusters and pass pro-worker legislation like the Employee Free Choice Act
Quick Poll: Are you worried that the next generation will have a lower standard of living?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Big Business Blocks Working Family Bills by Keeping Franken’s Senate Seat Vacant
Plumbers Focus on Green Technology for Their Future
Survey: Health Care Facilities Not Ready for Flu Pandemic
Two Busy Weeks in the Fight for Employee Free Choice
New Website Highlights Labor’s Art Heritage
Actors, Producers Reach Tentative Contract
West Virginia Striking Nurses Win Benefits
Unions Must Seize Opportunity to Reclaim Rightful Role
Wage and Hour Division Gets New Leader
April 17, 2009
Heath Coleman, punished for trying to form a union, is a strong supporter of the Employee Free Choice Act. “I’ve had to put my family’s well-being at stake just to exercise my rights as an American. People shouldn’t have to live the way we’ve had to live for the last year.”
Quick Poll: Have you or someone you know been through a difficult struggle to form a union?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog
Mine Worker Punished for Trying to Form a Union
Union Leader at Republic Windows: ‘We Don’t Have to Wait Until the Boss Screws Us
Here’s How to Fix Nation’s Broken Immigration System
AFL-CIO Urges Obama to Discuss Workers’ Rights in Mexico
Gerard, Bacon: History Shows Why We Need Employee Free Choice Act
Democratic Trade Unions in Nepal Face Tough Fight with New Regime
April 16, 2009
America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), which has been pushing a sham health care reform campaign masquerading as a grassroots initiative, now seems to be using dirty tricks and outright falsehoods in an attempt to keep some of its most profitable programs.
Quick Poll: How confident do you feel when making
decisions about personal financial investments?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Insurers Fight Health Care Reform with Dirty Tricks, But Public Supports Obama Plan
AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Salutes Maersk Alabama Crew
Pennsylvania Union Members Challenge Specter to Support Employee Free Choice
Horowitz’s Latest Attack on Higher Ed ‘Inaccurate, Distorted
Montana College Faculty All Union, and More Organizing News
The Truth About Taxes
Recession Bad for All, Really Bad for Black Men
Banks Need Restructuring, Not Bailouts
April 15, 2009
Corporations are giving generous contracts to top execs while suppressing workers’ freedom to form unions by fighting efforts to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.
Quick Poll: Do your friends, neighbors and co-workers know about the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
CEOs Protected by Big Contracts Make Sure Their Employees Aren’t
Apple Pie and Employee Free Choice
AFL-CIO, Change to Win Agree on Joint Immigration Framework
Carwash Campaign Highlights Success of Community-Labor Teamwork
From the Field: Employee Free Choice Actions Everywhere
April 14, 2009
The 2009 AFL-CIO Executive PayWatch site, which launches today, shows that perks for executives rose 12.5 percent on average in 2008 to $336,248—or nine times the median salary of a full-time worker. The new PayWatch site profiles 10 CEOs who profited big time, while the average worker could barely hang on. Find out what your CEO made last year, play the "Boot the CEO!" game and urge Congress to take tough action on financial regulations at the 2009 Executive PayWatch site.
Quick Poll: In what way has the economy affected you or your family members the most?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Executive PayWatch: CEO Perks Rise as Workers’ Wages, Jobs Wilt
From the Field: Employee Free Choice Actions Everywhere
Heroic Controllers Talk Passenger Through Landing Troubled Plane
Sign up Now for Strategic Research Training
AT&T Workers: ‘No Way’ to Huge Health Care Cuts and More Bargaining News
April 13, 2009
The same corporate executives and Wall Street millionaires whose greed and irresponsibility led to our economic crisis are behind the opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act. A new ad exposes the opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act for their support of an economy that works for CEOs, but not for the rest of us.
Quick Poll: What actions would you be willing to take to help pass the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Employee Free Choice vs. Wall Street
Greed
Teens Choose Justice Over Prom
Plans
7-Year-Old Joins Thousands Writing to Congress for Employee Free Choice
Steelworkers Ratify Master Box-Making Contract
SharedAgenda.org Promotes Freedom from Discrimination, Freedom to Form
Unions
New Financial Help from Union Plus for College
Rockefeller’s Health Care Record Honored
Solidarity Center Condemns Arrests of Burmese Union Members
April 9, 2009
If you lost your job today, would you know where to turn for help? The new online Unemployment LifeLine from Working America and the AFL-CIO is a one-stop resource center to guide jobless workers to local services and advice from others coping with unemployment.
Quick Poll: From what source do you most hear about the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Unemployment LifeLine: One Stop Resource Center for Jobless
It’s Time for a Global New Deal
Jordan Barab Named Acting OSHA Chief
Union Crew Avoids Pirate Takeover, But Ship’s Captain Held Hostage
Professional Workers, Public Would Benefit from Employee Free Choice
Report: Clean Coal Could Create Millions of Jobs
April 8, 2009
Tired of the same old corporate line on the airwaves? Check out “The Ed Show” on MSNBC, hosted by popular progressive radio host Ed Schultz. His first guest was United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard. Gerard discussed the loss of manufacturing jobs in the United States and what the demise of our auto industry would mean to other sectors.
Quick Poll: What do you think is the most important reason to pass the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Congress Recesses, But Employee Free Choice Campaign Heats Up
Ed Schultz Kicks off New MSNBC Show with USW’s Gerard
Specter Supported Employee Free Choice Before He Was Against It
Unions Increase Wages of Service Workers
Jobless? Reach for New Unemployment Lifeline
TWU Campaigns Against ‘Outrageous’ Exec Bonuses at American
April 7, 2009
Beach week can wait. But the Employee Free Choice Act can’t, said hundreds of students from dozens of campuses in 28 states during the Student Week of Action. The student activists staged rallies, community service days, petition drives, educational forums and other public events to promote workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain for a better life.
Quick Poll: Do you feel you’re getting ahead financially?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Student Week of Action Promotes Employee Free Choice Nationwide
IATSE Signs Deal with NETworks Touring Productions
Her Son’s a Quadriplegic. That's the Least of Her Worries
Progressive Caucus Backs Public Health Insurance Plan
AT&T Contracts Expire; Workers Still on Job
2,000 Tampa City Workers Reach Contract and More Bargaining News
April 6, 2009
Hundreds of rallies, community meetings and other events are set for the two-week congressional recess as workers and their allies demand that members of the House and Senate act quickly to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.
Quick Poll: What actions would you be willing to take to help pass the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
As Congress Recesses, Campaign for Employee Free Choice Goes into High Gear
‘Full Scholarship’ Could Cost College Athletes $30,000
Union SAFE Helps Workers During Hard Times
New Perkins Center to Honor ‘Woman Behind New Deal’
From the Field: The Battle’s Just Beginning
Moyers Highlights Jobs with Justice Organizer, Employee Free Choice
April 3, 2009
The U.S. unemployment rate worsened from 8.1 percent to 8.5 percent, with 663,000 workers losing jobs in March. But if you count those who are underemployed or those who want a job but have given up looking, the unemployment rate is more like 15.6 percent—nearly 25 million Americans. Disaster.
Quick Poll: How confident do you feel when making decisions about personal financial investments?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
30,000 Jobs Lost a Day in March
Sweeney: Bush OSHA Failure to Enforce Job Safety Law Cost Workers’ Lives
LCLAA: Union Membership Good for Latino Community
SAG, AFTRA Reach Tentative Contract on Commercials
Nevada Nurses Vote to Join CNA/NNOC
70 Years Later, Same Anti-Worker Scare Tactics
April 2, 2009
We have a winner in our Chicken Little Sky Is Falling Bizarre Corporate Panic Over Workers’ Rights contest. The contest, for the most over-the-top comment about the Employee Free Choice Act, ended April 1. Casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who said that there are two “fundamental threats to society”—“radical Islam” and the Employee Free Choice Act—beat out Randel Johnson from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who compared the Employee Free Choice Act to Armageddon.
Quick Poll: How confident do you feel when making decisions about personal financial investments?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
And the Winner Is...
McDonald’s to Limit Pesticides After Shareholder Action
‘Joe’ the ‘Plumber,’ Campaigning Against Employee Free Choice, Hasn’t Read Bill
Blue Green Alliance: House Committee Takes a First Step Toward a Clean Energy Bill
April 1, 2009
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are debating how the U.S. health care system can be saved. Now you have an opportunity to make your voice heard and help shape health care reform to meet the needs of working families. The AFL-CIO and Working America want to know about your experiences with America’s health care system—and today we’ve launched the 2009 Health Care for America Survey.
Take our survey here.
Quick Poll: Have you or someone you know been through a difficult struggle to form a union?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Take Our 2009 Health Care for America Survey
‘The West Wing’ Cast Joins Workers to Support Employee Free Choice
Business Owners, Elected Leaders Support Employee Free Choice
House Hearings: Green Jobs Offer Opportunity to Rebuild Middle Class
Last-Ditch Bush Rule Would Threaten Retirement Security
Obama Honors César Chávez’s Birthday
March 31, 2009
With U.S. unemployment at the highest level in more than a quarter century, six Republican governors would rather play politics with the lives of their citizens than help them make ends meet. If you live in Alabama, Alaska, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina or Texas, you are laid off and left out.
Quick Poll: How confident do you feel when making decisions about personal financial investments?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Six Republican Governors Rather Play Politics than Aid Jobless Workers
Student Week of Action Focuses on Employee Free Choice
Technology Alone Can’t Deliver Better Health Care
Former Pilots President Nominated to Head Federal Aviation Administration
AT&T Workers Authorize a Strike, and More Bargaining News
March 30, 2009
Workers are at the heart of the Employee Free Choice Act and a new campaign is putting workers’ faces front and center in the battle to restore their freedom to join unions and bargain for a better life. On office building banners and billboards around the country, workers say why it’s time to pass the Employee Free Choice
Act.
Quick Poll: Have you or someone you know been through a difficult struggle to form a union?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Face Forward: The Employee Free Choice Act
Construction Workers Turn ‘Tip’ Into Cash for Sick Kids
More Religious Groups Back Employee Free Choice
Work Songs, Bargaining for Work and Family and More from Cool Tools
10,000 Flight Attendants at Southwest Voting on New Contract
Blue Green Alliance Reaches Historic Agreement on Climate Legislation
Generations Must Stand United for Employee Free Choice
Act
March 27, 2009
What a stunning revelation of the deep-seated corporate fear of the Employee Free Choice and the hatred of workers’ rights: A corporation planning a $50 million, 800-job project in Eau Claire County, Wis., says “kill the bill” or it will kill the project and move those jobs overseas if the Employee Free Choice Act becomes law. That’s big time blackmail.
Quick Poll: Do you feel the nation’s economy is: getting better; staying the same; getting worse?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Economic Blackmail
Workers, Homeowners Deliver Lemons to Pulte Exec
Frances Perkins: ‘For God, FDR and the Millions of Forgotten...Working
Men’
Pilots, Controllers Must Be Part of New Air Safety System Development
House Panel OKs Paid Family Leave for Federal Workers
March 26, 2009
Thousands of workers have had their wages stolen by their employers just as effectively as if a robber had put a gun in their backs. Worse: The cop on the beat who’s supposed to protect them—the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division—has been sleeping on the job, a new government report finds.
Quick Poll: How worried are you about losing your job?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
GAO: Labor Department Failing Miserably in Enforcing Wage Laws
‘Without a Union, You’re
Lost’—Snippets from Field Action for Employee Free Choice
Obama’s Budget Will Rebuild Economy on a Solid Foundation
Trade Unions to G-20: Half Measures Will Not Fix Global Economy
‘It’s Time to Regulate All Global Financial Markets
March 25, 2009
After co-sponsoring the original Employee Free Choice bill, Sen. Arlen Specter succumbed to corporate and conservative pressure and said yesterday he will vote to block the legislation. Sen. Edward Kennedy says the fight continues to “move this important legislation forward.” Not only are Pennsylvania workers angry, but Josh Marshall at TPM says Specter’s bow to the right might backfire on his re-election bid next year.
Quick Poll: In what way has the economy affected you or your family members the most?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Grassroots Support for the Employee Free Choice Act Grows
Minnesota Electricians Harness Renewable Energy
Fight for Employee Free Choice Continues Despite Specter’s Flip
Taxing Health Care Benefits: An All-Around Bad Idea
100 Historians Sign On to Support Employee Free Choice Act
Dairy Workers Join BCTGM
March 24, 2009
A so-called “compromise” on the Employee Free Choice Act floated by three big corporations might be a good deal for CEOs, but doesn’t do a darn thing for workers fighting to restore their freedom to form unions and bargain. In fact, it even lets corporations choose a new tool to bust existing unions.
Quick Poll: Have you ever faced intimidation or harassment by a boss for trying to form a union?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Proposal to Gut Employee Free Choice Act: Written by CEOs, for CEOs
Casino Workers Launch Ads, Website for First Contract
Trumka and Economist Schmitt Explain the Need for Employee Free Choice
Small Business Owners: Employee Free Choice Good for Our Workers and Us
With Pretzel Logic, Restaurant Owners Attack San Francisco Health Care Law
Report: China’s Lax Environmental Laws Cost Jobs and Lives
EPI: Unions Don't Cause Firm Closures
UTU Leader Picked to Head Federal Railroad Administration
Pilots Soar with New Spirit Air Settlement, and More Bargaining News
March 23, 2009
The Wall Street Journal’s corporate-fawning editorial board made what must have been a painful admission last week: The Employee Free Choice Act does NOT eliminate the secret ballot. Meanwhile, international legal scholars shot down the newest bizarre claim that it somehow violates international law. What’s next? Is the law of gravity threatened?
Quick Poll: How worried are you about losing your job?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
WSJ: Employee Free Choice Does NOT Eliminate Secret Ballots
Legal Scholars: Employee Free Choice Consistent with International Standards
CWA Members Welcome Middle Class Task Force to St. Cloud Plant
Frances Perkins: The Woman Behind the New Deal
March Madness: 30 Percent Player Turnover Mars Tourney Teams
March 21: International Day for Elimination of Racism
News Nuggets from AFSCME and Sheet Metal Workers
Obama Calls for Credit Card
Protections
March 20, 2009
New green jobs that create clean and efficient energy are getting lots of attention as a critical component of rebuilding the nation’s manufacturing base and reviving the economy. The Apollo Alliance’s new GreenMAP shows how to get there.
Quick Poll: From what source do you most hear about the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Obama: We Should Make It Easier for Workers to Organize
How to Create American-Made Clean Energy
CNA/NNOC, SEIU Agree to Work Together in Bringing Voice to Health Care Workers
Some Anti-Worker CEOs Not Working with a Full Deck
Sunoco Workers First to Ratify Oil Industry Pattern Pacts
March 19, 2009
If you break the contract of a union worker who puts door handles on Chevys and force the worker to take lower wages and benefits, conservative lawmakers and pundits applaud and call it good for the economy. But try to take back bonuses of AIG executives who helped torch the economy and many of the same corporate apologists scream about the sanctity of executive employment contracts.
Quick Poll: In what way has the economy affected you or your family members the most?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Contracts Can’t Be Broken—Unless They Involve Union Workers
From Alaska to Maine, Working People Fight for Employee Free Choice
Trade Experts: Renegotiate NAFTA
Here’s Why U.S. Job Loss Worse, Wider Than Previous Recessions
March 19, 2009
If you break the contract of a union worker who puts door handles on Chevys and force the worker to take lower wages and benefits, conservative lawmakers and pundits applaud and call it good for the economy. But try to take back bonuses of AIG executives who helped torch the economy and many of the same corporate apologists scream about the sanctity of executive employment contracts.
Quick Poll: In what way has the economy affected you or your family members the most?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Contracts Can’t Be Broken—Unless They Involve Union Workers
From Alaska to Maine, Working People Fight for Employee Free Choice
Trade Experts: Renegotiate NAFTA
Here’s Why U.S. Job Loss Worse, Wider Than Previous Recessions
March 18, 2009
There’s still time to cast your vote for our “Chicken Little Sky Is Falling Bizarre Corporate Panic Over Workers’ Rights Award” for the most extreme and downright weird comments about the Employee Free Choice Act. The eight nominees’ over-the-top reactions range from the “demise of civilization” to “pro-slavery” and some truly strange territory in between. You have until March 31 to cast your vote. Check it out.
Quick Poll: Have you ever faced intimidation or harassment by a boss for trying to form a union?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Update: Adelson in the Lead for Chicken Little Award
&nbs p; On the Hill, Fire Fighters Push for Bargaining Bill
Gallup: Strong Support for Freedom to Form Unions
Small Business Leaders Show Support for Employee Free Choice
OSHA Moves to Protect Workers from ‘Popcorn Lung
AIG, CNBC: Poster Demons for a Bigger Problem
March 17, 2009
The first major fight over health care reform and President Obama’s $634 billion down payment heats up in the next few weeks as Congress hammers out a budget resolution. If health care reform opponents reduce or block the down payment, the outlook for moving health care reform forward this year dims significantly.
Quick Poll: How worried are you about losing your home?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Budget Resolution—First Shot in Health Care Reform Fight
Brazil’s President, Sweeney Discuss Global Economy
Former AFA-CWA President Tabbed for NMB Post
NFL Players Selects Smith as Executive Director
Casino Workers Form New Gaming Council
Award-Winning Author to Discuss King’s Quest for Economic Justice
IAM, ALPA, AFA-CWA and TNG-CWA Workers Reach Tentative Contracts—and More Bargaining
News
March 13, 2009
Citigroup, the teetering bank giant that pocketed some $50 billion from taxpayers in federal bailout money, hosted a strategy session/conference call of some of the biggest, deep-pocketed opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act this week. Apparently, Citigroup thinks banks on the dole help the economy, but allowing workers to bargain for better wages doesn’t.
Quick Poll: How did you first hear about the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Citigroup Uses Taypayer Dollars to Fight Workers’ Rights
Trumka: Employee Free Choice Restores Choice Back to Workers
Reality Check: Here's the Real Deal on Employee Free Choice
Employee Free Choice: A Positive Change for U.S. Labor Law
It’s Crazy That Musicians Don't Get Paid Royalties for ‘Terrestrial Radio
Mexican Seafood Workers Battle Inhumane Treatment
Federal Budget Addresses Prison Understaffing
March 12, 2009
In the 20th century, skilled blue-collar jobs were the path to the middle class. In the 21st century, we need to ensure new skilled “green” collar jobs—especially those created by the just-passed economic recovery program—play the same role, says the AFL-CIO’s Center for Green Jobs.
Quick Poll: How confident do you feel when making decisions about personal financial investments?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Setting Standards for Green and Good Jobs
RNs on Capitol Hill Urge Passage of Employee Free Choice, RESPECT Act
Solis Meets Workers of Future
March 11, 2009
The Employee Free Choice Act to restore the freedom of workers to form unions has wide support far beyond the labor movement. Civil rights, religious, environmental, human rights, women’s and consumer groups all hailed yesterday’s congressional introduction of the bill.
Quick Poll: Have you ever faced intimidation or harassment by a boss for trying to form a union?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Religious, Civil Rights, Environmental Groups Support Employee Free Choice
Health Insurance Industry Gets the Profits, Patients Get the Shaft
Workers Speak Out About the Need for Freedom to Form Unions
All Faith Traditions Teach That Workers Should Be Treated With Respect
March 10, 2009
The Employee Free Choice Act is now
officially on the congressional radar screen after it was introduced in the U.S. House and Senate today. The bill to restore workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain for a better life has support from the White House, a majority in both houses of Congress and the American public, but faces a multimillion-dollar corporate attack machine bent on derailing the bill.
Quick Poll: In what way has the economy affected you or your family members the most?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Employee Free Choice Act Introduced in Congress
For Children with Cancer, a Special Gift from Ironworkers
Witnesses: Employee Free Choice Critical to a Stronger, Fairer Economy
Casey, Merkley, Brown and Sanders Make the Case for Employee Free Choice
Senate Committee Hears Testimony from Workers, Experts Today
Health Care Summit: Good Start, Big Challenges Ahead
A Home Is Foreclosed Every 13 Seconds
Air Traffic Controllers Honored for Action Above and Beyond
20,000 CWA Members Approve Tentative Contract with AT&T, and More Bargaining News
March 9, 2009
How crazy are the corporate claims that passing the Employee Free Choice Act means Armageddon is near and civilization is doomed? You can help decide the craziest of them all. Vote in our Chicken Little Sky Is Falling Bizarre Corporate Panic Over Workers’ Rights contest.
Quick Poll: What do you think is the most important reason to pass the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
The Chicken Little Sky Is Falling Bizarre Corporate Panic Over Workers’ Rights Award
Women Gain by Joining Unions
Here’s Your Chance to Win a Chevy Truck
Labor, Human Rights Groups Urge Colombia to Respect Unionists
Health Insurance CEOs Pocket Average $14.2 Million
Employee Free Choice Action Heats Up in the Grassroots
March 6, 2009
“You can’t have a strong middle class without a strong labor movement,” Vice President Joe Biden told the AFL-CIO Executive Council. That’s why, Biden said, Congress must pass the Employee Free Choice Act as a key tool to rebuild the economy.
Quick Poll: How did you first hear about the Employee
Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Biden to AFL-CIO: Employee Free Choice Act Key to Rebuilding Middle Class
Colombian Workers’ Rights Activist Nominated for Meany–Kirkland Award
AFL-CIO Urges Stricter Bank Bailout Process, Hails NEA Affiliations
Bad, Bad, Bad Jobs Report: Unemployment at 8.1 Percent
‘Can My Boss Do That?’
The Grassroots Fight for Employee Free Choice
Check Out Workers Memorial Day Via Facebook
Around the Internet: The Fight to Pass the Employee Free Choice Act
Women Worldwide Are Paid Even Less Than We Thought
March 5, 2009
Here’s more evidence we need comprehensive health care reform. More than one-third of all Americans—most from working families—went without health care coverage for lengthy periods of time during the past two years, a new report reveals.
Quick Poll: Do you feel you’re getting ahead financially?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
One-Third of Americans Went Without Health Care in Past 2 Years
Flight Attendants, Pilots, Mechanics, Stagehands and Others Join AFL-CIO Unions
Solis Investigating Guest Worker Visas on Florida Hotel Project
Performers Call for Fairness in Radio
March 4, 2009
Pro-union workers are fired in more than a quarter of union elections, a new report reveals. The upswing in illegal firings—from about 16 percent in the mid-1990s—is more compelling evidence that workers desperately need the Employee Free Choice Act.
Quick Poll: Have you or someone you know been through a difficult struggle to form a union?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
One in Four Chance Workers Will Be Fired When Forming A Union
AFL-CIO Executive Council: Economic Recovery Package Good First Step
Employee Free Choice on the Move
Writing, Rallying and Podcasting for Employee Free Choice
SMWIA Member Gets Missouri Labor Post; N.Y. State AFL-CIO Endorses Candidate with Union Background
March 3, 2009
Saying “there is a new sheriff in town,” Labor Secretary Hilda Solis told some 500 Miami-area union members at a community forum last night that she will fully enforce the nation’s workplace safety, wage and hour and other labor laws, including the Employee Free Choice Act when it becomes law. The event kicked off the AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting this week.
Quick Poll: Do you trust corporations to decide how workers should form unions?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Solis Meets with Workers in First Public Appearance
In the States, Opponents of Freedom to Form Unions Spread Disinformation
In Rare Move, NLRB Takes Hospitals To Court
Time to Restructure Mortgages, Bank System
Tropicana Dealers Authorize Strike
Labor Secretary Solis, VP Biden to Join AFL-CIO Executive Council Meeting
March 2, 009
Creating green jobs will help revitalize the economy only if those jobs come with good wages and benefits to rebuild the middle class, union and environmental leaders told the first meeting of the Obama administration’s new Middle Class Task Force.
Quick Poll: How did you first hear about the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Biden’s Middle Class Task Force Hears Need for Good Green Jobs
Employee Free Choice Actions in Philly, Michigan, Wisconsin and More
State Workers, Taxpayers Caught in a Fiscal Vise
Unions Pave Way for African American Progress
EPI: Unions Don’t Hurt International Competitiveness
Firefighter’s Hobby Turns Into a Reel Book: Fly Fishing in Virginia
AFTRA to Honor Four Entertainment Giants
Feb. 27, 2009
The “Big Lie” about the Employee Free Choice Act has moved from the corporate propaganda campaign to the halls of Congress with the introduction of the so-called Secret Ballot Protection Act. The Employee Free Choice Act does not take away the secret ballot. It says workers can choose majority sign-up or a secret ballot, it’s up to them—the way it should be.
Quick Poll: What do you think is the most important reason to pass the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Beware of the Big Lie Bill
Obama Unveils Budget for America’s Working Families
Labor Department Employees Welcome Hilda Solis
Bronfenbrenner: Employee Free Choice Is Key for Women
NLRB Backs Utility Workers, Ruling Covanta Energy’s Work Rules Illegal
Pension Benefit Guaranty Employees Join IFPTE
Corker: Classless
Feb. 26, 2009
For eight years, the Bush administration’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) failed to enact new safety standards, enforce current ones and hold corporations accountable for workplace safety. Find out from experts in the union, academic and scientific communities what needs to be done to fix the broken safety agency.
Quick Poll: Do your friends, neighbors and co-workers know about the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
After Eight Years of Bush, Can OSHA Be Fixed?
Workers Memorial Day 2009 Materials Ready Now
Did Opponents of Employee Free Choice Break the Law?
Job Quality in New Green Economy
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Feb. 25, 2009
Today, 39 of America’s top economists, including two Nobel Prize winners, say the decades-long weakening of workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain is a major factor in the economic crisis. In a full-page ad in The Washington Post, they say passing the Employee Free Choice Act is critical to rebuilding our economy.
Quick Poll: Do you feel that the nation’s economy is getting better, staying the same or getting worse?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Leading Economists: Employee Free Choice Key to Rebuilding Economy
Obama Puts Jobs, Health Care at Top of National Agenda
Senate Confirms Hilda Solis as Labor Secretary
Clean Energy, Good Jobs Should Go Hand in Hand
Economic Recovery Package: Jobs, Jobs and More Jobs
Another Russian Union Leader Attacked
Union Leaders Join in White House Meeting on Health Care, Social Security
Workers in Colorado, Arkansas Advance the Fight for Employee Free Choice
Feb. 24, 2009
Members of United Steelworkers Local 2599 in Allentown, Pa., delivered more than 1,000 letters to Sen. Arlen Specter (R)—who in 2007 voted to break a Republican filibuster against the Employee Free Choice Act—urging him to back the bill this year. The special delivery is part of a nationwide grassroots mobilization. Read more grassroots news on the new Employee Free Choice Act blog.
Quick Poll: In what way has the economy affected you or your family members the most?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Pennsylvania Steelworkers Deliver 1,000 Letters for Employee Free Choice
UAW Members at Ford Reach Agreement on Retiree Health, and More Bargaining News
Feb. 23,2009
Common sense tells you the Buy American provision in the new economic recovery package means jobs for America’s workers. Corporations tell you it means a trade war. AFL-CIO international economist Thea Lee tells the PBS “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” just how wrong the corporations are.
Quick Poll: Have you ever faced intimidation or harassment by a boss for trying to form a union?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Buy American Is About Building Jobs, Not Protectionism
Online Union-Made Car Guide
Media Matters Turns Its Lens on Media’s Portrayal of Labor, Economy
Rally in Pittsburgh, Roundtable in Madison and More Action on Employee Free Choice
NLRB Rules Trump Casino; Intimidated Workers Seeking to Join UAW
With Congress Back Home, Jobs with Justice Promotes Employee Free Choice Act
94 Years After Ludlow Massacre, Site Now National Historic Landmark
What’s Wrong with This Picture?
Feb. 20, 2009
From Virginia to North Carolina to Colorado this week, activists mobilized to build support for the Employee Free Choice Act. Our new Employee Free Choice Act Blog lets you keep up to date on actions around the nation and arms you with the latest information from the grassroots effort to counter the corporate disinformation attack machine.
Quick Poll: In what way has the economy affected you or your family members the most?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
From the Field: the Grassroots Fight for Employee Free Choice
Obama Housing Plan ‘Aims Straight at the Heartland
VA Nurses: One Step Closer to Restored Bargaining Rights
Easterling Elected President of Alliance for Retired Americans
Members of Alliance for Retired Americans Meet with Lawmakers Over Recess
No Solar Sweatshops or Wal-Mart Windmills
U.S., Canadian Union Federations Urge Cooperation in Talks Today
Feb. 19, 2009
New research shows workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain will be critical to rebuilding a strong economy. The new report, Unions Are Good for the American Economy, says workers with union contracts earn better wages—and more money in workers’ pockets “would provide a needed boost for the U.S. economy.”
Quick Poll: Do you trust corporations to decide how workers should form unions?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Report: Higher Union Membership = Higher Wages = Better Economy
Three RN Unions Join Forces in New Union
3,000 Rally in Chicago for Employee Free Choice
14,000 Insured Lose Health Coverage Every Day
Feb. 18, 2009
Out-of-touch politicos and corporate apologists claim overpaid American workers, especially union workers, are to blame for the fall of U.S. manufacturing. A new report busts that myth wide open.
Quick Poll: How worried are you about losing your job?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Managers, Not Workers, Overpaid in Manufacturing Jobs
Colombia’s Violence Against Union Members Growing
133,000 Ohioans Get Jobs, Despite Boehner Tantrum Over Recovery Bill
Acuff: Grassroots Campaign for Employee Free Choice Is Just Beginning
UAW Reaches Agreement with Big Three
USW’s Bloom Takes Senior Auto Rescue Post
20,000 Telecom Workers Set to Strike, and More Bargaining News
Feb. 17, 2009
Wal-Mart is finding its own silver lining in this worsening economic storm—big profits from the pain working families are suffering as their incomes shrink and jobs disappear. Read how years of Wal-Mart’s everyday low wages and no health care for its workers play a role in today’s awful economy.
Quick Poll: How did you first hear about the Employee Free Choice Act?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Wal-Mart: Recession Profiteer
Sportsmen’s Alliance Works to Conserve and Protect Wildlife
Celebrating Black Labor History Month
Is a Progressive Revolution Possible?
House Passes Compromise Economic Recovery Bill
Minnesota Nurses Negotiate Landmark Emergency Staffing
Chao’s Hubby Slows Senate Vote on Solis for Labor Secretary
UAW Members Don’t ‘Love’ Sen. Corker
Feb. 13, 2009
President Obama told two major newspapers this week that Congress needs to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, and he doesn’t buy the lies anti-worker groups are spinning about the bill.
Quick Poll: Do you feel you’re getting ahead financially?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Obama Reaffirms Support for Employee Free Choice Act
IBEW Local in Portland, Ore., Goes Green
Don't Believe Lies About Health Care Items in Recovery Bill
Kourpias Retires as Alliance for Retired Americans President
Why Retirees Should Care About Employee Free Choice Act
Message to Solis: Get Tough with Labor Law Violators
Labor Website of the Year
Feb. 12, 2009
To build a permanent sustainable economy that works for everyone, policymakers must think beyond the current recovery package, says Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman. Government investment—not the tired old Republican tax cut mantra—must be a cornerstone.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Krugman: Think Beyond Stimulus to New Economy
Check Out Union Videos on Employee Free Choice Rally
Senate Committee Approves Solis as Labor Secretary
Time to Think Big, Push for Progressive Government Action
Functioning Banks, Fair Deal for Taxpayer Dollars Should Be Treasury Goal
N.J. Supreme Court: Striking Nurses Entitled to Unemployment Benefits
Feb. 11, 2009
More than 800 progressive, union and community activists are gathered today in Washington, D.C., to map out strategies to rebuild and sustain a new economy. The Thinking Big/Thinking Forward conference kicks off a campaign to demonstrate that a serious commitment to public investment—infrastructure, schools, aid to states—is critical for the nation’s long-term economic health.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Thinking Big About a New Economy
Wis. Union Families Thank Supporters of Employee Free Choice
Senate-Passed Recovery Bill Would Create Jobs; Republicans Bent on Killing It
L.A. Carwash Owners Face Criminal Charges for Mistreating Workers
Spokane Leader: Don't Believe Anti-Union Smear Campaign
Feb. 10, 2009
If Congress does not swiftly approve President Obama’s economic recovery package, the troubled economy will see even darker days, warn economists across the political spectrum. The same economists say the bigger the package, the bigger the bang.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Even McCain’s Economist Says We Need Big Recovery Package
Buy America Will Create U.S. Jobs. We Need Lots of Jobs
Green Jobs Must Also Be Good Jobs
Lansing Mayor Hammers Unfair Traders
Ferry Workers Forgo Raises to Help Washington State, and More Bargaining News
Feb. 9, 2009
After eight years of being shut out of White House economic policy debates, unions and their members now have a president who will listen. Last week, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka was named to the new economic advisory panel that will serve as President Obama’s team of experts on rebuilding the economy. Also on Friday, Obama overturned a Bush executive order on project labor agreements.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Trumka Named to Obama Economic Advisory Panel
California Workers March for Employee Free Choice
Obama Overturns Bush Exec. Order on Project Labor Agreements
Republican Double Standard for Labor Secretary
Battle for Civil Rights Similar to Today’s Fight for Workers' Rights
Ground Zero Workers Still Suffer from Lung Problems
Buy American Opponents: Un-American
Writers Guild Honors ‘Doubt’ Writer and Committee to Protect Journalists
New Union Plus Benefits Build SAFE Harbor
UnionBook: A Social Network for Labor
TV Signals Tuned in Until June
Feb. 6, 2009
The nation lost nearly 600,000 jobs in January, marking the first time since 1939 that job losses topped more than half a million a month for three straight months. The unemployment rate jumped to 7.6 percent. The economy’s burning down and Republicans fiddle, blocking a job-creating economic recovery bill.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
600,000 Jobs Lost: How Bad Does It Have to Get for Republicans to Act?
Workers Explain Why We Need Employee Free Choice
Unemployed Worker: We Need Help Now
Solis Vote Postponed, But No Hold on Her Nomination
Make a Call for Tobacco Worker Justice
Workers, Environmentalists Unite Around Good Jobs, Green Jobs
Feb. 5, 2009
Thousands of union members and allies yesterday braved below-freezing temperatures to put some heat on Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. At the Capitol Hill rally, workers who were fired for trying to form unions told their stories, and we delivered to lawmakers some of the 1.5 million signatures collected in support of the Employee Free Choice Act.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
1.5 Million Sign on to Support Employee Free Choice; Thousands Rally on Hill
AFL-CIO Announces Center for Green Jobs
Obama Signs Health Insurance Bill for Low-Income Children
Economists: Stimulus Package Needed Now
Economic Recovery Package Helps Everyone
Steelworkers Reach Tentative Contract with Shell
Feb. 4, 2009
In the past year, 1.5 million union members joined the union movement’s Million-Member Mobilization and signed cards and petitions demanding that Congress pass the Employee Free Choice Act. Today, thousands of union members are delivering those petitions to Capitol Hill.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Rally Today for Employee Free Choice
Pope Benedict XVI: Unions Critical to Improving Global Economy
Working Families Need Jobs; Senate Republicans Want Tax Cuts for Wealthy
Two Polls Show Public Doesn’t Buy Insurance Industry’s Spin on Health Care
Feb. 3, 2009
A brand-new 10-minute video documents the Employee Free Choice Act’s positive boost for the economy and cuts through the multimillion-dollar spin of the corporate lobbyists and shady front groups fighting the bill.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
New Video Lays Out the Case for Employee Free Choice
Trumka Nails Greedy CEOs on ‘World News Tonight
Students, Workers Urge Georgetown to Defend Workers’ Rights
8,500 University of California Workers Near New Contract, and More Bargaining News
Feb. 2, 2009
A new print and broadcast ad busts the lies spread by Big Business about the Employee Free Choice Act. The act levels the playing field for workers seeking to form unons. And yes, it gives workers the power to pick whether they want to form a union by secret ballot or majority sign-up. But Big Business doesn’t want you to know that.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
New Ad Refutes the Myths About Employee Free Choice
$3 Million for Super Bowl Ad. $3 for Workers Who Paid For It
Sweeney: Health Care Reform Critical to Economic Recovery
Focus on Working Families, Win a College Scholarship
World Social Forum Kicks Off in Brazil
Jan. 30, 2009
President Barack Obama this morning signed three executive orders reversing Bush-era anti-worker and anti-union orders. Also at the White House ceremony attended by union leaders, including AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, Obama announced the creation of a cabinet-level working families task force to rebuild the middle class.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Obama Reverses Bush Executive Orders, Creates Middle Class Task Force
Engineers: Infrastructure Fails to Make the Grade
Senate Passes Bill Extending Health Coverage to Low-Income Children
Reich: Enact Employee Free Choice Quickly to Help the Economy
New Ad Refutes the Myths About Employee Free Choice
Recovery Bill ‘Good News for the Economy’
p>
Jan. 29, 2009
President Barack Obama’s economic recovery plan that could create and save as many as 4 million jobs passed the House last night and now moves to the Senate. The plan, says AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, “is absolutely essential to turning around this downward economic spiral.”
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
House Passes Economic Recovery Bill
Up to 50 Million More Jobs Threatened by Global Crisis
Lilly Ledbetter Watches as Obama Signs Fair Pay Act
Bailed-Out Bank Uses Taxpayer Cash to Fight Employee Free Choice
Flight Attendants Condemn Demeaning Spirit Airline Ads
Experts: Obama Must Reform U.S. Trade Policy
Jan. 28, 2009
Republican senators fiercely opposed to protecting workers’ freedom to form unions with the Employee Free Choice Act are threatening to block a confirmation vote on Hilda Solis, President Barack Obama’s choice as secretary of labor. Solis supports the bill and is a strong advocate for workers’ rights. Looks like some things in Washington don’t change.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Republican Senators Say They Will Hold Up Solis Nomination
Human Rights Watch: Employee Free Choice Is a Human Right
Union Membership Grows in 2008. When People Can Join Unions, They Do
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Bill on Its Way to President Obama
Will House Republicans Show Bipartisanship in Vote on Recovery Package?
Survey: Will Small Business Owners Support Health Care Reform this Time?
Jan. 27, 2009
After eight years of Bush Republicans chairing a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that severely limited workers’ rights, President Barack Obama has tapped Wilma Liebman as the new NLRB chairwoman. Says Liebman: “Democracy in the workplace is still basic to a democratic society, and collective bargaining is still basic to a fair economy.” Wow, what a change.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
New NLRB Chairwoman Liebman a Welcome Change
AFT Mobilizes for Smart Investments in Economic Recovery Package
Sen.-Designate Gillibrand Supports Employee Free Choice Act
$14 Million for Utility Giant Who Wants to Cut Workers’ Pensions
Newspaper Workers Hold the Line on Layoffs, and More Bargaining News
Jan. 26, 2009
A new report offers further proof that putting the freedom to bargain for a better life back in the hands of workers by passing the Employee Free Choice Act is a key step for economic recovery. The report, by American Rights at Work, links the current economic crisis to the decline in union membership brought about by weak labor laws and relentless corporate anti-union activity.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Report: Employee Free Choice Act Needed to Make Economy Work
Dockworkers Ask: Are Your Union Pension Funds Safe?
Stars Light Up SAG Awards
Apply Now for Union Leaders of the Future Scholarship
Massachusetts Unions Train Working Teens in Workplace Safety and Health
New Report: 30 Million Service Jobs May Be Shipped Overseas
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act One Step Closer to Becoming Law
What Book Do You Want Obama to Read?
Jan. 23, 2009
Passing the Employee Free Choice Act would “take a huge step toward recapturing the middle-class society we’ve lost,” says Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman. In an open letter to President Obama, he says the bill is a key ingredient in the formula needed to rebuild the economy.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Krugman: Employee Free Choice Key to Economic Recovery
Infrastructure, State Aid Mark Obama Recovery Package
Gettelfinger: Everybody Has to Help Save Auto Industry
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act One Step Closer to Becoming Law
Jan. 22, 2009
As Congress shapes an $800 billion-plus economic recovery package, a new report shows that rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure goes a long way to rebuilding the economy. For every $1 billion in new infrastructure spending on the nation’s transportation, energy, water systems and public schools, 18,000 jobs would be created in the construction, service and manufacturing industries.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Report: Infrastructure Investment Can Create Thousands of New Jobs
Steelworkers Launch ‘Make Our Future Work’ Website
Rule Freezes Bush Move on Chemical Safety, Can’t Stop Family Leave Change
Bush Deals Last-Minute Insults to Workers’ Rights
1,000 Machinists Approve Contract at GKN Aerospace, and More Bargaining News
Jan. 16, 2009
Television and newspapers have done an extensive job telling us about yesterday’s “Miracle on the Hudson” and the heroes involved. What they are not telling us is that those heroes—from the flight crew to rescuers—who saved the 155 lives on US Airways Flight 1549 are almost all union members.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Union Heroes Save Passengers on US Airways Flight
King Day Participants Celebrate 2008 Wins, Plan for Future
20,000 Union Members Respond to Call for Day of Community Service
BushWatch: First MBA President Leaves Behind an Economic Wasteland
Speaking of Rick Berman...
Options for Addressing Our Nation’s Health Care Crisis
Guess What, Heritage: Strong Economies Have Strong Unions
Jan. 15, 2009
Americans voted for change in November. In two new TV ads, workers say now it’s time for change in the workplace—health care, fair wages, job security and the Employee Free Choice Act give them the chance for that change. The ads, from American Rights at Work, stress that restoring workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain for better pay, benefits and security is crucial to make the economy work for all.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
New Ads: Pass Employee Free Choice Act, Make Economy Work for All
‘Berman Exposed’—the Facts Behind the Smoke and Mirrors
More Unemployed Workers, Fewer Jobs
Charter School Teachers Join AFT
Global Unions Will Help Push Employee Free Choice
House Passes Children’s Health Insurance Extension
BushWatch: Eight Years of Health Care Failure
Hundreds of Union Members to March in Inaugural Parade
Jan. 14, 2009
Our own Stewart Acuff delivered quite a shock to Fox News last week. Despite the network and corporate spin, Acuff told talk show host Neal Cavuto the Employee Free Choice Act does not eliminate or make illegal the secret ballot election when workers want to form a union. After parroting the party line for so long, that seemed to come as shock to Cavuto.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
On Fox News, Acuff Cuts Through the Spin About Employee Free Choice
State Budget Crises: New York, Texas for Starters
BushWatch: Job Safety and Health Took Big Hits
Treasury Dept. Not Looking After Taxpayer Money
Jan. 13, 2009
What’s the goal of near-hysterical ads from the corporate community claiming the Employee Free Choice Act would just about destroy the American way of life? United Steelworkers President Leo W. Gerard says it’s “an appeal to fear....It’s the kind of mentality that tries to divide the country...by the very powerful who control the workplaces, who have control of the economy.”
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
USW President Gerard Sets the Record Right on Employee Free Choice Act
BushWatch: The Final Frontier
A Quick Tour of the Bush Legacy
Public Plan Choice Needed in Health Care Reform
Machinists in St. Louis Authorize Strike, and More Bargaining News
Jan. 12, 2009
Made-in-America jobs are the centerpiece of President-elect Barack Obama’s economic recovery plan. “Our first job is to put people back to work,” he says. The plan calls for “green jobs” like building solar panels and wind turbines, repairing aging infrastructure like bridges and roads and building 21st century infrastructure like broadband networks.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Obama Economic Plan: Create Made-in-America Jobs
Solis: Labor Dept. Has ‘Obligation to Restore Trust and Hope’ of Workers
Corporate Greed Behind Opposition to Employee Free Choice Act
House Passes Two Major Working Family Bills: Fair Pay Act, Paycheck Fairness Act
Black Lung Disease on the Rise
New Book Shows IAM’s ‘Wimpy’ No Wimp
Jan. 9, 2009
The nation’s jobless rate shot to 7.2 percent last month, the highest since 1993. In 2008, the economy shed 2.6 million jobs, the biggest one-year job loss since 1945. There is no time to lose in passing a strong economic recovery package to rebuild the middle class.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Disaster: Unemployment at 7.2 Percent. Real Rate 13.5 Percent
Confirmation Hearings Today on Solis for Labor Secretary
Rep. Ellison Shows How to Support Employee Free Choice
More U.S. Children Face Poverty
Welcome, New Members of Congress!
Jan. 8, 2009
A new poll finds overwhelming support—78 percent—for the Employee Free Choice Act. The Peter D. Hart Research Associates poll finds support for the freedom of workers to form unions and bargain for a better life crosses party and state lines, and remains steady even when those surveyed heard messages from both supporters and opponents of the bill.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Survey: Public Strongly Supports Employee Free Choice
Watch Mary Beth Maxwell Discuss Employee Free Choice on C-SPAN
Don’t Be Fooled: ‘SOS Ballot’ Another Corporate Front Group
New Look for Sheet Metal Workers’ Website
AFL-CIO Groups Highlight Cervical Cancer Awareness Month
Jan. 6, 2009
After today’s formalities, the new U.S. House of Representatives gets down to real business tomorrow, when it will vote on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay and the Paycheck Fairness acts. Behind the scenes, congressional leaders and President-elect Barack Obama are hammering out an economic recovery package to rebuild the middle class.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Obama, Congress Put Working Families at Heart of Economic Plan
Smithfield, Republic Wins Signal New Era—If We Act
Screen Actors Postpone Strike Vote, and More Bargaining News
Jan. 5, 2009
Happy 2009, everyone. We’re back with the AFL-CIO Now daily e-mail. A brand new Congress returns to work tomorrow, and President-elect Barack Obama is working with congressional leaders to craft an economic recovery package aimed at rebuilding the middle class. We will keep you posted. Below are some of the items you may have missed over the holidays.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Public Safety Net—Not Charity—Should Guarantee Health Care
Back to School to Learn Labor History
Businessman Argues for Employee Free Choice Act
NYT: We Must Pass the Employee Free Choice Act
Toolkit Helps Faith Groups Support Workers in Distress
2008 in Review: Union Members: Yes, We Can; Yes, We Did
Bush Legacy: Topping the Injustice Index
Dec. 23, 2008
In Minnesota, union and religious activists called for the release of 23 Indian shipyard workers lured to the United States by phony promises of good jobs and visas. They are now jailed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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All of us at AFL-CIO Now wish all of you a happy, joyous and safe holiday season. We will be back with our daily e-mail messages Jan. 5. Don’t forget to visit the blog for new features each day, including our series looking back at 2008 starting Dec. 27.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Rep. Ellison Joins Faith and Labor Leaders in Urging Release of Jailed Workers
Help Locked-Out Workers Get Through the Holidays, and More Bargaining News
Join Union Members and ‘Escape to the Wild’
Check out Equity for Latest Union Musical Tours
Dec. 22, 2008
State economies benefit when working people have the freedom to form unions and bargain for a better life, according to a new study by the Center for American Progress Action Fund. The Employee Free Choice Act ensures that freedom.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Across the Country, Unions Are Good for Workers, the Economy
Check Out Our New Employee Free Choice Act Site
White House Task Force to Focus on America’s Working Families
Go for the Grinch
NFL Players: Football Doesn’t Define Them
Dec. 19, 2008
President Bush let the auto industry hang for weeks and now is proposing a plan for aid. But the plan contains unfair conditions singling out workers. Read the details here.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Bush’s Auto Industry Loans Come With Unfair Conditions for Workers
Is Retired UAW Autoworker Dad Public Enemy No. 1?
Chrysler Shutdown Shows Need for Immediate Help for Automakers
Russian Free Trade Unions Under Attack
U.N. Climate Change Programs Must Be Funded
Dec. 18, 2008
The $700 billion Wall Street bailout was supposed to be used to prime the economy’s pump, get credit moving and help homeowners caught in the mortgage crisis. That’s not happening. A new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office shows there are few if any strings attached on how banks use the money. They can even buy other banks or stuff it under their institutional mattresses.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
‘Shockingly Little Oversight’ of Taxpayer $$$ in Wall Street Bailout
Kim Bobo on NPR: Protecting Workers’ Rights Will Help the Economy
Most Workers Lose in Global Economy
Dec. 17, 2008
The nation’s crashing economy has left 43 states facing serious budget shortfalls—$79 billion this fiscal year and as much as $100 billion next—forcing them to cut vital services, lay off workers, deplete reserves or raise taxes. A new report says federal help is needed now.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Grim State Budgets Could Mean $100 Billion Shortfall
Grinch McConnell Stole Autoworkers’ Christmas. Next Year, He Might Get Yours
Educators Praise Obama’s Choice of Duncan as Ed. Secretary
Anti-Worker Republicans Pressure White House for Deep Pay Cuts in Automaker Loan
Mesa Flight Attendants in Solidarity with Fired Activist
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Dec. 16, 2008
Solidarity in the face of an intensive anti-union campaign paid off for more than 700 research assistants at the State University of New York Research Foundation at Stony Brook who this month voted to join the Communications Workers of America.
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740 Research Assistants Join CWA
Double Standard: Critics of Big Three Loan Subsidize Foreign Competitors
Mesa Flight Attendants in Solidarity with Fired Activist
Reflections on U.N. Climate Change Conference in Poznan
Screen Actors Voting on Strike Action, and More Bargaining News
Dec. 15, 2008
The senators who killed the auto industry loan hate workers who make a middle-class living so much they’re willing to take the economy down to further their ideology. They also may be sticking it to unions in advance of the debate over the Employee Free Choice Act.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Job-Killing Republicans
Did Senators Block Auto Loan Because of Employee Free Choice Act?
Pick the Winner of IBEW’s Photo Contest
Following the ‘Green Jobs’ Road from Bali to Poznan
And the Falsie Goes to...Richard Berman
Dec. 12, 2008
A handful of Senate Republicans killed the $14 billion loan to the American auto industry late last night, advancing their anti-union, anti-worker agenda at the expense of millions of U.S. jobs that will be lost if automakers go under.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
UAW: Union Willing to Go Extra Mile to Save Auto Industry
Obama Reaffirms Support of Freedom to Form Unions
Inauguration Day: Party with a Program
Unemployed in America
Three Cheers for Workers Who Waged the Sit-In
Dec. 11, 2008
The U.S. House last night approved a $14 billion bridge loan for the nation’s Big Three automakers and sent the bill to the Senate. But some Senate Republicans appear willing to kill the bill and sacrifice as many as 3 million jobs to satisfy their anti-union blood lust.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
House Passes Emergency Loan for Automakers
Barnacles of Class War Around Our Necks
Employee Free Choice Gains Backing of Broad Range of Groups
AFL-CIO Ad: ‘Auto Loans About All of Us’
‘Just Transition’: More than Buzz Words
What’s the Timeline for Reducing Greenhouse Emissions?
Oregon Anti-Union Activist Jailed
Dec. 10, 2008
Around the United States today, workers are marking International Human Rights Day with a campaign to educate the public and build momentum to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. But the bill faces a Big Mac attack as fast-food giant McDonald’s joins the corporate assault team to kill the bill.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Human Rights Day, 2008: U.S. Workers Still Lack the Freedom to Form Unions
Memo to Chamber: Get Out of the Way of Fair Pay
10 Reasons to Support the U.S. Auto Industry
Victory for the Sit-In Strikers
Dec. 9, 2008
A $15 billion emergency bridge loan for the nation’s Big Three automakers to save the industry many call the backbone of our economy may come to vote in Congress this week. Brian Schneck, president of UAW Local 259, says it’s not just a loan to the auto industry, but a “middle class bridge loan.”
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Democrats Send Auto Industry Loan Deal to White House
Our Picks for Holiday Gift-Giving
Worker Sit-In Highlights the Shift in the Political Winds
Three Cheers for Jared Bernstein, Named Chief Economist to Biden
U.N. Climate Change Conference: Union Activists Key to Greening the Globe
Climate Change Targets or Climate Change Actions?
Poznan Perspectives and Aspirations
Sheet Metal Worker, Firefighter Win Sportsmen’s Alliance Contest
Dec. 8, 2008
Workers who harvest tomatoes in Florida’s fields for the fast-food industry have taken another major step for better wages and working conditions. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) reached agreement with Subway, the world’s third largest fast-food chain and biggest fast-food buyer of Florida tomatoes.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Tomato Workers Win Agreement with Subway
UAW Launches Ad to Showcase Need for Bridge Loan to Auto Industry
Nevada Hospital Workers Join CWA with Help from CNA/NNOC
Human Rights Watch Confirms Colombia Not Ready for Trade Deal with U.S.
Zimbabwe Continues Arrests, Assaults Against Union Members
2,300 Pittsburgh Port Authority Workers Get Pact, and More Bargaining News
Putting Labor on D.C.’s Map
Did You Get Your Flu Shot Yet?
Union Members Can See Their Credit Scores for Free
Dec. 5, 2008
The United States is bleeding jobs. New figures show a staggering 533,000 jobs lost in November, the largest monthly jobs loss in 34 years. The jobless rate jumped to 6.7 percent. What’s worse, the numbers don’t reflect drastic layoff plans announced recently by major corporations. Congress must pass an economic recovery program to address the immediate needs of working families.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Bleeding Jobs: U.S. Loses 533,000 Jobs in November
Cast Your Vote for Grinch of the Year
Holt Baker: Employee Free Choice, Health Care Key Priorities
Here’s Why We Need Employee Free Choice
If Auto Industry Goes Bankrupt, Millions of U.S. Jobs Will Be Lost
Franken Still in Contention as Minnesota Counts the Votes
AFL-CIO Unions in Poland for U.N. Climate Change Conference
Dec. 4, 2008
In a move to boost congressional support for an emergency loan to keep the auto industry afloat, the UAW has offered new cost-saving steps. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger says failure in Detroit to keep the Big Three automakers operating would impact the entire country: “Main Street, side street and rural America are all impacted by what the Congress does.”
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Auto Crisis Threatens Entire Economy; Union Ready to Do Its Part—Again
Union Card Raises Wages for Women as Much as Year in College
Dec. 3, 2008
Just weeks before leaving office, President Bush cemented his reputation as one of the most anti-worker presidents ever when he issued an executive order denying collective bargaining rights to some 8,600 federal employees who work in national security, law enforcement and intelligence.
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Bush Denies Bargaining Rights to 8,600 Federal Workers
Bush Spends Record Amount for Corporate Contracting
Martin Misses in Hard-Fought Georgia Senate Runoff
Newspaper Investigation Reveals Lax Enforcement of Child Labor Laws
Gallup: America Still Strongly Supports Unions
Dec. 2, 2008
Georgia voters decide today if Jim Martin becomes the 59th pro-working family U.S. senator in the next Congress. Union volunteers around the state have mobilized support for Martin in his runoff challenge to the Bush-backed and corporate-favored incumbent Saxby Chambliss.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Today’s the Day: Get Out the Georgia Vote in Senate Runoff
Obama Transition Team Wants to Hear from You on Health Care
Attacks on Cleland, Votes in Senate Show Chambliss No Friend of Georgia Vets
Topping Bush’s List: A Rule Making It Harder to Regulate Toxic Substances
Dec. 1, 2008
In 2007, 91 trade unionists around the globe were murdered while fighting for workers’ rights. With 39 workers killed, Colombia remains the deadliest country for union activists, according to a new report by the International Trade Union Confederation.
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91 Trade Unionists Murdered in 2007
Labor Department Lies
You Can Help Send Jim Martin to the Senate
Stakes High as Auto Plan Deadline Approaches
Global Wages Decline; U.S. Income Gap Worst of Developed Countries
Colombian Flower Workers Fired for Seeking Union. You Can Help
‘New Green Deal’ Focus of Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference
A Falsie Would Fit Corporate Hack Rick Berman—Cast Your Vote Now
Giving Thanks—and Taking Action
Railway Workers Receive Hazmat Training at Labor College
Nov. 25, 2008
CNN is the place for breaking news—unless it involves a court ruling ordering the media giant to rehire 110 workers who were fired by CNN because they were union members.
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CNN Ordered to Rehire 110 Workers Fired for Belonging to a Union
Senate Candidate Martin Joins Union Phone Bank as Election Approaches
U.S. Government Using Rusty Tools to Watch Development Money
Screen Actors Seek Strike Authorization
35,000 Theatrical Stage Employees Set to Get New Pact and More Bargaining News
Nov. 24, 2008
The decision by Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson this weekend to bail out Citibank—again—while letting the auto industry twist in the wind, shows how Bush-backed corporate interests are sticking a knife in unionized workers while saving their Wall Street cronies.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Corporate Class War: Pit Worker Against Worker
Sen. Chambliss Gets Angry When Asked About Role in Sugar Dust Blast
Hire Education: Three Unions Launch Campaign for Disabled Performers
Labor Journalists Present Awards, Gear Up for Employee Free Choice Push
Top Shots in Machinists’ Photo Contest
12 Steps for Sober Lawmaking
Unions Back Home Buyers’ Right to Pick Mortgage Co.
Nov. 21, 2008
You know the economy is bad when Bush signs into law an unemployment insurance extension passed yesterday by the U.S. Senate. More than 10 million workers are out of jobs and the bill means unemployed workers have access to up to 20 weeks of federal extended benefits, with 33 weeks in states with high unemployment.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Jobless Benefits Extension Wins Senate OK; Bush Signs
Finally, Some Justice for California Car Wash Workers
Congress Bails on Auto Aid, Tells Detroit to Come Back with Plan
Six-Year Ordeal to Get Job Back Shows Why Employee Free Choice Is a Must
Home Depot Founder: CEOs Who Don’t Fight Employee Choice ‘Should Be Shot’
Worksite Leaflets Key in Georgia’s Senate Race
Nov. 20, 2008
The best way for the incoming Obama administration to revive the tumbling economy is by investing in the nation’s crumbling infrastructure and its people, urged a group of economists, academics, union leaders and other experts at a conference in Washington, D.C., this week.
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The Case for Spending to Save Our Economy
Georgia Working Families Revved Up for Senate Runoff
You Can Help Survivors of Southern California Wildfires
We Can’t Afford Not to Focus on Health Care
Nurses Rally to Support Marriage Equality in California
AFL-CIO Silvers Named by Congress to Panel Reporting on Bailout
Nov. 19, 2008
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and the heads of Detroit’s Big Three told a Senate panel that without federal help to weather the current credit and economic crisis, the automakers could be forced to shut down. Three million jobs are at stake, and Sen. Christopher Dodd said bankruptcy in the auto industry would “take huge swaths of the nation’s economy with it.”
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
UAW President: Millions Will Be Devastated Unless Congress Passes Bridge Loan
Weingarten Calls for ‘Common Ground’ Solutions to Brunt Impact of Financial Crisis on Schools
Begich Win in Alaska Means 58 Pro-Worker Senators
Union Volunteers in Georgia Mobilize to Defeat Anti-Worker Sen. Chambliss
Chambliss Faces Subpoena Over Sugar Blast that Killed 14 Workers
Wal-Mart Part of $1 Billion Skim-Scam Flimflam
Chicana Art Exhibit Opens Today at AFL-CIO
Nov. 18, 2008
A new national ad campaign is the latest step in the drive to build even more public and political support to pass the Employee Free Choice Act to restore the freedom of workers to form unions and bargain for a better life.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
National Ad Campaign Urges New Congress to Pass Employee Free Choice
Tell Congress to Pass a Bridge Loan for Automakers
Nurses Rally in Texas for Patient Protection and More Bargaining News
Nov. 17, 2008
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger says the effort to aid the nation’s industry is “a good deal for U.S. taxpayers—because the alternative is lost jobs, closed businesses and shattered communities, which would impose severe human and economic costs on all of us for many years to come.”
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Help for U.S. Automakers Is a Good Deal for Everyone
Wage Theft: A National Epidemic
King Day Participants to Celebrate Historic Shift in Nation’s Politics
New Bush Rules Narrow Family Leave for Workers
NLC’s National Workers Memorial Drive Seeks Funds
Nov. 14, 2008
Unless the power of working people to bargain for a better life is restored, economic recovery and growth will not reach working families, said the AFL-CIO Executive Council. The council announced immediate mobilization plans to win passage of the Employee Free Choice Act and outlined steps to revive the nation’s and world’s economy at its winter meeting yesterday.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Building on Election Success, AFL-CIO Executive Council Calls for Economic Mobilization
G-20 Unions: Time to Change Direction of Global Economy
Chronically Ill Who Forgo Care Highlight Need for Health Care Reform
Nov. 13, 2008
Just weeks before he turns over the keys to the White House, President Bush and his administration are making a last-minute attempt to hustle through new government rules weakening or rolling back job safety, family leave and environmental regulations.
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Last-Minute Bush Push Threatens Safety, Family Leave, Environmental Rules
Who’s Your ‘Mean One?’ Nominations Open for Grinch of the Year
African American Baptists Endorse Employee Free Choice
Global Trade Union Leaders to Call for Reform of World’s Economy
Nov. 12, 2008
The multimillion-dollar corporate campaign against pro-working family candidates who back the Employee Free Choice Act fell flat. Six brand-new U.S. senators—strong supporters of the bill—won, and a new poll shows that anti-union advertising was among the least important factors in determining voters’ choices.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Voters Reject Corporate Lies About Employee Free Choice
Honoring U.S. Vets by Ensuring They Get Jobs
New Book Showcases Katrina Fire Fighters’ Sacrifices
Union Veterans Backed Obama Nov. 4
Elections Give Big Boost to Trade Reform
Working Families Cast Votes for Health Care Reform
New Congress: A Mandate for Economic Change
100,000 New York AFSCME Members Win 8 Percent Raise and More Bargaining News
Nov. 11 - Veteran's Day - No Issue
Nov. 10, 2008
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger says there is “an urgent need” for government action to help the auto industry, its workers and retirees. Without quick action to revive the industry, “the alternative is lost jobs, business failures and a shortfall in pension and health care obligations.”
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Gettelfinger: Urgent Need for Federal Aid to Save Auto Industry
Kudos to AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Trumka
Seafarer Honored for Risking Life in 24-Foot Waves to Save Drowning Man
Union Member Makes a Difference for African Village
Kriger Named Provost at National Labor College
Nov. 7, 2008
The Bush jobs disaster continues—240,000 jobs were lost in October and the new 6.5 percent unemployment rate is the highest since 1994. In the last year of the Bush administration, nearly 1 million workers have lost their jobs. It is past time for an immediate, short-term economic recovery program for working families.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Disaster: 240,000 Jobs Lost in October
Wal-Mart: Discounted Workers’ Rights
Senate Update: Merkley Headed to Senate, Three Races Still Unknown
Air Line Pilots Union Leader on Federal Panel to Improve Runway Safety
Global Labor Photo of Year: UK Strike
Nov. 6, 2008
Some 60 percent of union voters cited the economy as their top concern, and that was the driving factor behind working family voters casting their ballots for Barack Obama by a huge margin—69 percent to 28 percent over John McCain in key battleground states.
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Union Members Say Economy Tops Their Concerns
Union Voters Helped Propel Obama, Working Family Candidates to Victory
2008 Election a Defeat for Ideology of Greed
A Few Bumps, but Overall Election Ran Smoothly for Voters
Working Families Propel Obama to White House, Win in Senate, House
Nov. 5, 2008
During the campaign and on Election Day, union members, especially in battleground states, helped propel Barack Obama to the presidency. More than 250,000 union volunteers got the union vote out and in key states union voters cast their ballots for Obama by 69 percent to 28 percent—a 41-point margin. Good work!
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Union Voters Helped Propel Obama, Working Family Candidates to Victory
Obama–Biden Win for Working Families
More Senate News: A Win in New Mexico, Loss in Kentucky
Warner, Hagan, Shaheen Win Senate Seats
Voter Deception Continues Up to the Last Minutes of Election
Students, AFL-CIO Stand Up to Republican Challenge in Ohio
Arizona Native Americans Forced to Use Provisional Ballots
Obama’s Final Campaign Stop: UAW Phone Bank in Indiana
Strickland: Any Call You Make Could Be the Deciding Factor
Judge Issues Restraining Order in Virginia Vote
Nov. 4, 2008
Record numbers of people are heading to the polls today and there is a real possibility of snafus and attempts at outright voter suppression. The
AFL-CIO’s My Vote, My Right program has dispatched volunteer union members and lawyers around the country to ensure your vote is counted.
What was your voting experience like today? Tell us in an open thread here.
‘My Vote, My Right’ Ready to Protect Voters on Election Day
Senate Candidates Join Working Families to Get Out the Vote
If It Looks, Acts and Quacks Like a Big Turnout...
International Visitors Observe Milwaukee Union Movement’s GOTV Efforts
Unresolved Illegal Firings: Another Reason to Pass Employee Free Choice
After a Year, Bargaining Set for Casino Workers at Foxwoods
FCC Rushing to Approve Important Rule Without Public Input
Nov. 3, 2008
Throughout the country, union members are making their final push to propel Barack Obama to the White House tomorrow and put pro-worker lawmakers in Congress. Check out the latest from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado and other battleground states.
Quick Poll: Are you concerned about the price of such goods as gasoline and food?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Energized, Mobilized, Thousands of Union Volunteers GOTV
Biden, Sweeney Rally Workers in Ohio
Holt Baker Energizes Bluegrass Workers to ‘Ditch Mitch’
Get Out the Vote NOW
Remembering Studs Terkel
Machinists Ratify Boeing Contract, End Strike
Priest Runs New York City Marathon to Honor Killed Construction Workers
Economy Melts Down Near Wall Street—Literally
After Four Years, Pace University Faculty Get First Contract
Forget Dracula. The Bush Economy Sends Chills up Our Spines
World War II Resistance Fighter Prays for Obama, Mark Warner to Win Nov. 4
Kudos to AFSCME Ohio Housing Inspector, Unionist Bill McEntee
Oct. 31, 2008
Building on the AFL-CIO’s yearlong union member mobilization, in the next four days tens of thousands of volunteers are joining a huge get-out-the-vote drive. They will visit more than 3.9 million union households, make 5.5 million calls and distribute more than 2 million leaflets at worksites urging union voters to get to the polls in support of working family candidates.
Quick Poll: How often do you pay attention to politics?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
A Toast: To Union Volunteers and the 2008 GOTV
Economy, Consumer Spending Sink. We Need a Recovery Package Now
Painters, Steelworkers, Machinists, Sheet Metal Workers in Election Flurry
Report: Labor Department Double Standard Lets Union-Busters Off Hook
McCain’s Health Care Proposal Doesn’t Have a Heart
Boeing Engineers Begin Talks; Machinists Prepare to Vote on New Pact
In New Hampshire, Unions Unite for Obama
Oct. 30, 2008
A record turnout, new voting machines and voter suppression tactics could create a massive Election Day mess. Millions already have voted early and you should if you can. But if you can’t, know your polling place, take proper identification and, just to be on the safe side, don’t wear buttons, caps or shirts supporting a particular candidate or make sure you can cover them up. Click here for more ways to protect your vote.
Quick Poll: Do newspaper endorsements influence the way you vote?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Be Prepared for Long Lines, Snafus on Election Day
Virginia Union Voters Count the Ways McCain Opposes Workers’ Issues
Arizona’s Unions: A November Surprise in McCain’s Back Yard?
Do You Get Time Off to Vote?
USW Raises Questions about Treasury’s Bailout of Financial Firms
Oct. 29, 2008
John McCain’s health care plan would tax employer-provided coverage and provide health care tax credits for workers to buy their own private insurance. Nearly all the experts say the tax credits wouldn’t buy much coverage—and now, the McCain camp top policy adviser agrees, telling CNN, employer coverage is “way better than what [people] could get with the tax credit.”
Quick Poll: Do you feel better off today than you did eight years ago?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
McCain Campaign on McCain Health Care Plan: Employer Plans Better Than Ours
McCain Says He Would Block Employee Free Choice Act
Sarah Palin’s Neiman Marxist Wardrobe
Holt Baker: Union Households Can Decide Election
CNA's Rolling Road Show for Health Care Hits Key Battleground States
UAW on the Air for Three Key Senate Races
Union Volunteers Mobilizing Like the Future Depended on It (It Does)
In Working-Class Pennsylvania, Union Reps and Football Stars Make Strong Case for Obama—and Against McCain
Mobilizing for Political Change Like Mobilizing for a Contract: We Need to Do Both
Striking Boeing Workers Reach Tentative Deal
Retiree Roadrunner Project Showcases Seniors' Concerns
Oct. 28, 2008
Some 4,500 registered voters in Georgia have had their citizenship—and the right to vote that comes with it—questioned, as the state purged some 50,000 voters from the rolls because of supposed computer mismatches. Republican Secretary of State Karen Handel says this isn’t “voter suppression,” but that’s absurd. It’s the latest example of Republican operatives across the country attempting to keep new voters and Democratic voters from the polls.
Quick Poll: Do you have a good idea now about which candidate you are likely to vote for in November 2008?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Republican Operatives Step Up Attempts to Purge Voters
Bikers Rally For Obama
Striking Boeing Workers Reach Tentative Deal
Minnesota Union Members Honor Wellstone by Getting Out the Vote
Rep. Keith Ellison: Employee Free Choice Act Will Strengthen the Economy
Health Care Costs Rise, Wages Fall
Oct. 27, 2008
Last week, a top campaign adviser for John McCain dismissed Northern Virginia as not being part of the “real Virginia,” which she claimed is McCain country. We’ve got news for her: Union members from Norfolk to Richmond to Roanoke are keeping it “real” for Barack Obama in this key battleground state.
Quick Poll: When do you typically vote?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Virginians Say: Obama, U Betcha
AFL-CIO Voter Protection Radio Ads Launch Tomorrow
Trumka Rallies, Leaflets with Union Members in New Mexico
Sen. Clinton, Rep. Lewis, Sweeney, Holt Baker Rally Seniors for Obama
U.S. Economy Needs Bailout for America’s Workers
Union Plus Tips for Making It Through Tough Economic Times
Pittsburgh Workers Share Roundtable Talk with Economist Jared Bernstein
Apply Now for 2009 Union Plus Scholarships
Oct. 24, 2008
Working families across the country have a chance to put a filibuster-proof, pro-worker, 60-vote majority in the Senate on Election Day. That would end the stranglehold a minority of anti-worker senators has used to block the Employee Free Choice Act, fair pay legislation, economic recovery for working families and more. Working with ActBlue, the AFL-CIO is helping progressive Senate candidates raise the resources they need to win.
Quick Poll: Are you satisfied with the current set of presidential candidates?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Here’s How You Can Join the Fight for 60 in the Senate
Skip to Front of the Line: Vote Early!
CWA Joins Blue Green Alliance
Union Veterans: McCain’s Record Doesn’t Support Vets
Working America, Sierra Club Call for Green Jobs
Ohio AFL-CIO President Joe Rugola: Obama Is Best Hope for New Economy
Indiana Working Families Share Economic Concerns with AFL-CIO President Sweeney
Oct. 23, 2008
The largest-ever union member political mobilization is set to kick it up to warp speed as it moves to get out the vote for a fast-approaching Election Day. Already in the drive to put Barack Obama in the White House and elect working family candidates, a quarter of a million union volunteers have reached more union families than ever before—70 million phone calls, 27 million worksite fliers and 10 million door knocks.
Quick Poll: Does it matter to you whether a presidential candidate is divorced?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Largest-Ever Union Get-Out-the-Vote Drive Kicks Off
Kentucky Union Voters Hope to ‘Ditch Mitch,’ Send Lunsford to Senate
Thousands of Workers Gain a Voice at Work with AFL-CIO Unions
A Dead Bear, Slashed Tires and More Dirty Election Moves in N.C.
Bush Republicans Spread the Wealth—Among Wall Street CEOs
October 22, 2008
John McCain is giving us “straight talk”—out of both sides of his mouth when it comes reining in Wall Street greed and supporting George Bush. McCain, who has always touted his reputation as a “deregulator,” now claims he wants to clamp down on Wall Street. He says, “I’m not George Bush,” but he doesn’t mention his 90 percent pro-Bush voting record. Flip-flops aren’t just for feet anymore.
Quick Poll: Whom do you trust most for information about House and Senate candidates?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Straight Talk—or Double Talk?
Holt Baker: We Must Change the Direction of the Country
Bailout for Wall Street Won’t Work Without Aid for Working Families
Mind the Gap: U.S. Wage Disparity Worst Among 30 Nations
Fire Fighters Ad Says ‘No Thanks’ to McCain Health Care Tax
Republicans Caught Engaging in Voter Registration Fraud, Dirty Tricks
Jobs Down in 41 States and District of Columbia
Getting Out Every Vote in Pennsylvania, Colorado and Ohio
20 Million Jobless Projected as Global Wealth Gap Widens
Trumka’s BBC Interview on Cable Today
Minnesota Rep. Ellison Takes on Big Business Smears
Labor Union Women Get Out the Vote Through Count to 5! Campaign
Oct. 21, 2008
Two years after voting to join AFSCME, 50 workers at Heartland Human Services in Effingham, Ill., are being locked out after their employer refused to bargain a fair contract, even refusing to meet with a federal mediator. AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka says if the Employee Free Choice Act were law, employers like Heartland would face mandatory arbitration if they did not bargain seriously with workers’ unions.
Quick Poll: Do you think the next generation will be better off or worse off than yours?
Got comments? Post them at www.aflcio.org/blog.
Heartland Lockout: Another Reason for the Employee Free Choice Act
The World Is Counting On Us
Women are not paid equally as men for the same work, and at Equal Pay Day events around the country today, activists are rallying for the Paycheck Fairness Act
