Jun 27, 2008ANTI-BUSH BUS GETS ROLLING NATIONWIDE
ANTI-BUSH BUS GETS ROLLING NATIONWIDE WASHINGTON (PAI)--Call it the carrier of chronicles of calamity. A 28-ton 45-foot “Bush Legacy Bus” detailing the disasters the anti-worker GOP White House denizen and his GOP congressional minions have foisted on the country...
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Jun 27, 2008USWA'S GERARD, AUSTRALIAN UNION LEADER: WRONG ENERGY BILL COULD DEVASTATE MANUFACTURING
USWA’S GERARD, AUSTRALIAN UNION LEADER: WRONG ENERGY BILL COULD DEVASTATE MANUFACTURING By Mark Gruenberg PAI Staff Writer WASHINGTON (PAI)--The wrong type of energy legislation could devastate manufacturing, causing even more high-paying industrial jobs to shift to low-wage...
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Jun 28, 2008AFL-CIO ENDORSES OBAMA
AFL-CIO ENDORSES OBAMA By Mark Gruenberg PAI Staff Writer WASHINGTON (PAI)--As expected--it just took time for emotions to cool and to round up the needed votes--the AFL-CIO on the afternoon of June 26 announced it endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for the presidency....
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Jun 20, 2008NEW LEADERSHIP GUIDE FOR UNION WOMEN
NEW LEADERSHIP GUIDE FOR UNION WOMEN WASHINGTON (PAI)--Prompted by twin findings that female-run units are more successful at winning union organizing drives, but that female organizers often “burn out,” a Michigan State professor has written a new leadership guide for...
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Jun 20, 2008MACHINISTS CHEER GAO RULING OVERTURNING AIR FORCE TANKER DEAL
MACHINISTS CHEER GAO RULING OVERTURNING AIR FORCE TANKER DEAL UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (PAI)--The Machinists cheered a Government Accountability Office ruling--unusual in federal contracting--to overturn the Air Force’s award of a $35 billion contract to build 179 refueling...
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Jun 20, 2008HIGH COURT KILLS CALIF.COMPANY NEUTRALITY LAW
HIGH COURT KILLS CALIF.COMPANY NEUTRALITY LAW By Mark Gruenberg PAI Staff Writer WASHINGTON (PAI)--Labor’s campaign to ensure company neutrality in Californian organizing drives died June 19 in the U.S. Supreme Court. By a 7-2 margin, the justices killed...
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Jun 20, 2008HOUSE VOTES PAID FAMILY LEAVE FOR FEDERAL WORKERS
HOUSE VOTES PAID FAMILY LEAVE FOR FEDERAL WORKERS WASHINGTON (PAI)--By a 278-146 vote, the Democratic-run House June 20 voted for between four and eight weeks of paid family leave for the nation’s 2.7 million federal workers. The paid leave bill says the remaining four...
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Jun 20, 2008OPEN DOOR POLICY: COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
School is not just where Valeria Marquez works. It’s a place where she and her family are welcome to drop in around the clock for learning, healthcare, fun and games, volunteer projects and more learning.
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Jun 19, 2008AFSCME ENDORSES OBAMA; FEDERATION ENDORSEMENT 'WITHIN NEXT TWO WEEKS'
AFSCME ENDORSES OBAMA; FEDERATION ENDORSEMENT ‘WITHIN NEXT TWO WEEKS’ By Mark Gruenberg PAI Staff Writer WASHINGTON
(PAI)--By unanimous vote, the AFSCME Executive Board voted June 18 to
endorse Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), his party’s presumed presidential
...
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Jun 19, 2008Veterans Benefit from Members' Expertise of GI Bill
PEF members at the state Division of Veterans' Affairs Bureau of Veterans' Education play an integral role in helping veterans throughout the state access millions of dollars in GI awards each year.
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Jun 18, 2008Retired Northwest Labor Press editor, columnist Gene Klare dies
Gene Klare, retired editor of the Labor Press, 1978-79 ILPA president and the longest-serving columnist in the newspaper's 109-year history, died May 30 from complications following a mild heart attack. He was 81.
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Jun 17, 20083,500 ATTEND MEDIA REFORM CONFERENCE; LABOR MEDIA LARGELY ABSENT
The National Conference for Media Reform came to Minneapolis June 6-8, attracting more than 3,500 participants from across the nation. The conference, hosted by the advocacy group Free Press, celebrated recent victories in the fight to oppose increasing corporate consolidation in media ownership...
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Jun 13, 2008INTL. UNION COALITION BLASTS U.S. LACK OF WORKERS RIGHTS
In a scathing and comprehensive report, the International Trades Union Congress has blasted the U.S. for its lack of workers’ rights, telling the World Trade Organization that U.S. deficiencies there should be part of the powerful agency’s biannual review of U.S. trade policy.
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Jun 13, 2008AFL-CIO TO SENATE: DON'T UNDERMINE HEALTH CARE
Efforts to reform the nation�s health care system should make it universal, comprehensive and affordable without undermining the better aspects of the present employer-based health care system, the AFL-CIO says.
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Jun 13, 2008HOUSE PASSES JOBLESS BENEFITS BILL
t took two tries and a lot of parliamentary maneuvering, but the Democratic-run House on June 12 finally passed a bill lengthening jobless benefits in most states from their present 26 weeks to 39 weeks, and to 52 weeks in states with unemployment rates of at least 6%.
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Jun 10, 2008FEDERATION, ALLIES STAGE BLITZ FOR INCREASED JOBLESS BENEFITS
The AFL-CIO activated its state and local leadership and is appealing to its members to stage a massive blitz on June 10-12 of e-mail and phone calls to Congress, urging passage of a new bill lengthening jobless benefits from their present 26 weeks to 39 weeks in most states and 52 weeks in...
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Jun 6, 2008FARM WORKERS MARCH IN MEMORY OF PREGNANT MOTHER WHO DIED ON JOB
In protest of one of the more-horrifying recent incidents of worker exploitation in the nation’s fields, the United Farm Workers conducted a mass march June 1-4 from Lodi to Sacramento, Calif., in memory of a pregnant mother who died on the job in a California vineyard.
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Jun 6, 2008GREAT LABOR ARTS EXCHANGE SETS SEMINARS, SCHEDULE
It’s one of the most “fun” events on labor’s calendar, but the Great Labor Arts Exchange and the Conference on Creative Organizing is fun with a point: To find innovative ways, using music, comedy, dance, the arts and a lot of brainstorming, to energize organizers and attract thousands of...
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Jun 6, 2008LETTER CARRIERS FOOD DRIVE SETS NEW RECORD: 73.1M LBS.
Rising generosity from the nation’s postal customers helped the Letter Carriers set a new record for their annual food drive for the needy, collecting 73.1 million pounds of food, the union announced on June 2.
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Jun 6, 2008FARM WORKERS MARCH IN MEMORY OF PREGNANT MOTHER WHO DIED ON JOB
In protest of one of the more-horrifying recent incidents of worker exploitation in the nation’s fields, the United Farm Workers conducted a mass march June 1-4 from Lodi to Sacramento, Calif., in memory of a pregnant mother who died on the job in a California vineyard.
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Jun 6, 2008UNION LEADERS, LAWMAKERS UNVEIL NEW TRADE LEGISLATION
Saying it is time that trade pacts work for workers, not just for multi-national corporations, top union leaders and several lawmakers unveiled a new comprehensive trade bill on June 5.
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Jun 6, 2008LETTER CARRIERS FOOD DRIVE SETS NEW RECORD: 73.1M LBS.
Rising generosity from the nation’s postal customers helped the Letter Carriers set a new record for their annual food drive for the needy, collecting 73.1 million pounds of food, the union announced on June 2.
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Jun 6, 2008UNION LEADERS, LAWMAKERS UNVEIL NEW TRADE LEGISLATION
Saying it is time that trade pacts work for workers, not just for multi-national corporations, top union leaders and several lawmakers unveiled a new comprehensive trade bill on June 5.
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Jun 5, 2008WITH PRIMARIES OVER, UNIONS START PLANNING FALL CAMPAIGN
With the Democratic and Republican
primaries over, and with Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.)
and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) their partiesâ?? presumed
presidential nominees, unions are turning their
attention to the fall campaign.
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Jun 4, 2008Why Unions Do Politics
The union needs you to help develop the political power to change the law. Today, every union in the country is asking its members the same thing: get active! This is the year to save the American middle class.
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May 30, 2008AMERICAN AXLE WORKERS APPROVE NEW PACT, END STRIKE, FACE CUTS
By a 78%-22% margin, Auto Workers-represented workers at five American Axle plants approved a new 4-year pact, covering 3,650 workers, on May 22, the UAW said. The workers returned to their jobs from their 3-month strike only to be greeted by a company announcement that 2,000 of them would be cut.
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May 30, 2008TARPINIAN TO STEP DOWN AS CTW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Greg Tarpinian, Change to Win’s executive director since its founding in 2005, will step down from that post on July 6 to return to the New York-based Labor Research Association, the 7-union group said on May 27. UNITE HERE chief of staff Chris Chafe will succeed him.
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May 30, 2008FLIGHT ATTENDANTS PREPARE FOR FIGHT AT NORTHWEST AFTER DELTA VOTE LOSS
The Flight Attendants are preparing to defend themselves and their union at Minneapolis-based Northwest Airlines after AFA -CWA lost an union recognition vote at Atlanta-based Delta Airlines, Minneapolis local president Kevin Griffin says.
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May 30, 2008LABORERS LAUNCH MASSIVE PRO-INFRASTRUCTURE CAMPAIGN
Calling rebuilding America a bipartisan and nonpartisan issue, the Laborers have launched a massive grass-roots campaign to mobilize both unionists and citizens in favor of dedicated, massive investment in reconstructing the nation’s airports, highways and railroads, union President Terry...
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May 23, 2008AFL-CIO PUSHES STRONGER PLANT-CLOSING ‘WARN ACT’
Only one-third of the plants covered by the nation’s 20-year-old plant-closing “Warn Act,” obey that law, and workers are hurt nationwide as a result, the AFL-CIO says.
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May 23, 2008WITNESSES: IOWA BEEF PLANT FEDERAL RAID SPLITS
The massive federal immigration agents’ raid earlier in May on the nation’s largest kosher beef slaughtering plant, in Postville, Iowa, split families and orphaned children, immigrants’ rights advocates told Congress on May 20.
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May 23, 2008HOUSE PUTS FLIGHT ATTENDANTS UNDER FAMILY LEAVE LAW
By a 402-9 margin on May 21, the House voted to put the nation’s flight attendants under the Family and Medical Leave Act. All nine “no” votes were Republicans.
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May 23, 2008THE LION
The news that Senate Labor Committee Chairman Edward M. Kennedy has a fatal brain tumor prompts us to reflect that, regardless of your personal opinion of the Democrat from Massachusetts, he has arguably had a greater impact on the lives of everyone than many presidents and almost all senators.
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May 15, 2008EXPLOITED INDIAN SHIPYARD WORKERS BEGIN HUNGER STRIKE
Taking their campaign against
employer exploitation of their H2-B visa status to the
heart of official Washington, five workers, all
natives of India who fled the slave labor conditions
they toiled in at the Signal International shipyard in
Pascagoula, Miss., began a 5-day hunger strike on...
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May 15, 2008STEEL WORKERS, CWA’S COHEN, AND AFGE BACK OBAMA
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), the
front-runner for the Democratic presidential
nomination, gained steam among unions in mid-May. He
picked up the valuable endorsement on May 15 of one of
the most-activist and politically savvy among them,
the 800,000-plus-member Steel Workers.
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May 9, 2008WHITE HOUSE WITHDRAWS BATTISTA AS NLRB NOMINEE
The GOP Bush regime announced May 6
that it withdrew the nomination of management-side
labor lawyer Robert J. Battista, former National Labor
Relations Board chairman, to a new 5-year term on the
board.
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May 9, 2008MILLER SEEKS FEDERAL CRIMINAL PROBE OF CRANDALL CANYON MINE BLASTS
House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George
Miller (D-Calif.) formally asked the GOP Bush
government’s Justice Department for an investigation
to see if criminal violations occurred before August’s
Crandall Canyon, Utah, fatal coal mine explosions.
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May 9, 2008HEARING REVEALS BUSH REGIME'S ABANDONMENT OF ERGONOMICS
The anti-worker GOP Bush regime’s
abandonment of enforcing job safety and health
standards when ergonomic injuries come up is even
larger than official government data show.
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May 2, 2008HOUSE ORDERS BUSH OSHA TO MOVE AGAINST EXPLOSIVE WORKPLACE DUST
Brushing aside yet another
Republican-led effort to defend Bush regime inaction
on workplace safety, the House on April 30 ordered
Bush’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration
to write standards ordering firms to crack down and
curb explosive workplace dust.
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May 2, 2008CERVICAL CANCER WALK SCHEDULED FOR MAY 17
Unionists nationwide walks on
universal health care won’t be the only workers
tamping the streets on May 17, as the Coalition of
Labor Union Women joins other groups in a walk against
cervical cancer that day, in Washington.
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May 2, 2008ILWU CONDUCTS 1-DAY WEST COAST STRIKE TO PROTEST IRAQ WAR
Angering their bosses, 25,000
members of the International Longshore and Warehouse
Union conducted a 1-day strike on May 1--May Day, the
international workers day--to protest the continuing
war in Iraq and demand the troops come home.
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May 1, 2008Unemployed Construction Workers Say They're Running Out of Time
"Nobody's hiring. You call, and nobody's hiring," said Christopher Leko, age 34, of Elk River. Leko, a member of Local 851, has been out of work for 5 months. He has exhausted his unemployment insurance.
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May 2, 2008UNIONS PLAN PERMANENT WORKERS MEMORIAL
Larry Bevis, an American Federation of Teachers member
from Birmingham, Ala., will be remembered forever.
That’s because Bevis' name, thanks to his union, will
be one the first to be inscribed in the brickwork of
the permanent Workers Memorial to be erected on the
grounds of the National...
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Apr 26, 2008NO PEACE, NO WORK
Organized labor is set to mark May Day - International Workers' Day - with
what could be the loudest and most forceful demand yet for rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.
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Apr 25, 2008Music Changes Minds
As another May Day comes and goes, we cultural workers in the labor movement know that it will pass without comment in most U.S. unions.
But around the world, millions of workers will gather to remember and honor the sacrifice of Chicago's Haymarket Martyrs in the 1886 battle for the eight-hour...
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Apr 25, 2008Singing History
You can tell the history of labor organizing in the U.S. without speaking a word. The songs tell it all.
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Apr 24, 2008SENATE GOP BLOCKS LILLY LEDBETTER FAIR PAY BILL
Again turning their backs on workers, Senate Republicans mustered enough votes to defeat pro-labor legislation on April 23. In this case, it was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay bill, which garnered a 56-42 majority, but needed 60 votes to halt the talkathon. The House passed it earlier. But the...
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May 1, 2008McCain Communications Tool Kit
While the Democrats try to figure out a candidate, the Republican nominee elect is getting a free ride. With little scrutiny of him, he gets an opportunity to define himself on his own terms--unless we do it first.
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Apr 18, 2008LABOR, LAWMAKERS CONTINUE ANTI-COLOMBIA ‘FREE TRADE’ PACT DRIVE
Even though the anti-worker GOP Bush regime’s controversial U.S.-Colombia “free trade” agreement has been stalled--at least for now—organized labor and its congressional allies are continuing their drive against it.
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Apr 18, 2008EMPLOYEES CAST WARY EYE ON NORTHWEST-DELTA MERGER
Months of speculation ended April 14 with the announcement that Northwest and Delta Air Lines will merge. But for employees of Minnesota-based Northwest, the uncertainty is just beginning. Delta is another story.
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Apr 18, 2008CLINTON, OBAMA OFFER SPECIFICS TO BLDG. TRADES; OBAMA TRIES TO COUNTER ELITISM CHARGES
Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) offered specific lists of pro-worker stands to the 3,000 delegates to the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department legislative-political conference. But Obama also had to use part of his address to counter charges that he’s an...
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Apr 21, 2008Preserving or Distorting the Heritage of the New Deal?
The National Archives is presenting to the public a revised version of the National Labor Relations Act as if it were the original document and refuses to correct the error. An agency charged with preserving our nation's documents is failing in its duty to honestly present this important...
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Apr 11, 2008WITH DEADLINE LOOMING, BUSH LABOR DEPT. CATCHES FLAK ON FAMILY LEAVE
With a deadline for comments from
women, families, unions and businesses looming, the
GOP Bush Labor Department caught heavy flak from women
and lawmakers--Republicans excepted--over its proposed
changes to rules governing family and medical leave.
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Apr 9, 2008CHARLTON HESTON, UNION HERO
Of all the roles played by the late actor Charlton Heston, none now seem
more unlikely than his real-life role as a union official.
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Apr 11, 2008EXCLUSIVE: LABOR, DEM LEADERS AGREE ON SECOND STIMULUS PACKAGE
Saying the nation is in recession,
top union leaders and the leadership of the
Democratic-run 110th Congress agreed on the afternoon
of April 10 on the contours--if not all the
details--of a second economic stimulus package, Sen.
Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and AFL-CIO President John
J....
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Apr 9, 2008LABOR GEARS UP CAMPAIGN VS. COLOMBIA FREE TRADE PACT
Organized labor, joined by several congressional Democrats, started its formal campaign--and geared up its informal drive--against the proposed U.S.-Colombia "free trade" pact and legislation to implement it, after anti-worker GOP President George W. Bush formally submitted the pact on April 7.
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Apr 8, 2008New Orleans Keeps the Beat Alive
April is Jazz Appreciation Month, and, yes, there are still brass bands playing in the streets of New Orleans, marching in traditional jazz funerals and second line parades through the back-a-town neighborhoods and main thoroughfares of the city.
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Apr 4, 2008LABOR CRITIQUES MORTGAGE 'RESCUE' PACKAGE
The "rescue package" for homeowners who face losing their mortgages and homes drew a sharp critique from the AFL-CIO as being targeted to builders and banks rather than the homeowners who really need the money.
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Apr 4, 2008SENATORS HIT NLRB ON WORKERS' RIGHTS
In a continuation of a long-running battle with the anti-worker GOP Bush regime, senators who control the cash flowing to the National Labor Relations Board hit the agency hard for denying and curbing workers' rights.
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Apr 4, 2008SENATORS MAY MOVE TO PUSH OSHA ON WORKER SAFETY
Senators may be moving in a bipartisan manner toward pushing the GOP Bush regime's Occupational Safety and Health Administration to act on a range of worker safety issues and particularly in coming down hard on repeat offenders, at least if their comments after an April 1 hearing are any indication.
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Apr 2, 2008Seven Types of Highly Ineffective Professionals
We've all heard of the habits of highly effective people. This is all well and good but I happen to work in the REAL world; a world where not everyone is effective.
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Mar 28, 2008UFCW, ALLIES RESUME FIGHT AGAINST USE OF ‘NO-MATCH’ LETTERS AGAINST WORKERS
The United Food and Commercial Workers and allies, plus business groups, have had to resume their fight against the Bush regime’s use of “no match” Social Security letters to force employers to fire workers whose identification with the agency and ID on the job don’t match.
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Mar 28, 2008SPEAKERS: GOP STARTS ALIENATING WOMEN IN 1920s
The Republican Party’s alienation of women, which has appeared in the “Gender Gap” in elections starting at least in 1980, actually began in the 1920s, two speakers at a forum on women’s political history say.
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Mar 21, 2008AN HONOR LONG DUE CESAR CHAVEZ
It's been 15 years since the death of the United Farm Workers' Cesar Chavez-- way past time to make his birthdate of March 31 a national holiday.
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Mar 21, 2008STEEL WORKERS TO PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFULS: GET SPECIFIC ON TRADE
Steel Workers President Leo Gerard is telling the three remaining presidential hopefuls, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to get specific on trade.
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Mar 21, 2008PROGRESSIVES PUSH FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE, BUT DISAGREE ON FORM
Progressives meeting in Washington in mid-March vowed to make affordable universal health care the top domestic issue of the 2008 campaign, but--just like their colleagues in the labor movement--they disagreed on the form it should take.
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Mar 21, 2008JUSTICES HEAR KEY LABOR CASE ON NEUTRALITY WITH STATE FUNDS
In a case that could have ramifications nationwide, the U.S. Supreme Court on March 19 tackled whether a state can use its power of the purse to guarantee company neutrality in union organizing campaigns.
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Mar 14, 2008REVIEW: NEW ALBUM BY TOM JURAVICH
On his latest release, Altar of the Bottom Line, Juravich opens a window on the personal stories of real-life workers, showing a remarkable ability to get into the heads and hearts of his subjects while inviting his listeners to come along for the ride.
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Mar 14, 2008LABOR LAUNCHES ANTI-McCAIN CAMPAIGN
The cold north winds from Canada
and an even colder crowd of Republicans inside didn’t
stop more than two dozen unionists from launching
labor’s anti-John McCain campaign, in the northern
wilds of Exeter, N.H.
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Mar 10, 2008Fair-food Activists to Burger King: Where's the Love for Florida Tomato Pickers?
A member of the Student Farmworker Alliance waited patiently in line as the Burger King franchise downtown Minneapolis bustled around him during the Feb. 14 lunch rush. When the activist finally reached the counter, he glanced coyly at a fellow SFA member covertly recording the events on camera,...
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Mar 8, 2008'DON'T BE A MARSHMALLOW!'
It's Women's History Month, and who better to celebrate it with than Dolores Huerta.
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Mar 7, 2008FEDERATION PROPOSES 7-PART TRADE AGENDA
The AFL-CIO is proposing a 7-part agenda for changing U.S. trade and a "strategic pause" halting bad trade pacts that lack labor rights is just one section of it.
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Mar 6, 2008AFL-CIO TARGET: MOBILIZE 1 MILLION FOR EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT
The AFL-CIO set a target of
mobilizing 1 million members to contact Congress with
phone calls, letters, telegrams and e-mails by early
next year, demanding passage of the Employee Free
Choice Act in 2009, federation Organizing Director
Stewart Acuff says.
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Mar 6, 2008HEALTH CARE DRIVE REVS UP
The AFL-CIO’s drive to make
universal, affordable health care the #1 domestic
issue in this year’s election campaign--and then pass
that health care legislation through the 111th
Congress in 2009--is revving up.
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Mar 6, 2008FED: SECOND ECONOMIC STIMULUS BILL NEEDED, BUT NOT ENOUGH
Congress should pass a second “stimulus†bill to head off a second recession under GOP President George W. Bush, the AFL-CIO says. But that bill’s not enough to fix the underlying ills of a permanently broken economy
for working families, it adds.
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Mar 1, 2008NONVIOLENT ACTIVISM: A POWERFUL AND JUST WEAPON
Local 237 retirees explored the history, theory, and practice of nonviolent resistance and how it has been part of their own lives at the Retiree Division’s annual tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Feb 25, 2008HIT Sponsors Discussion on Workforce Housing in New York City
The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT) recently hosted a meeting in New York City with labor leaders, city and state officials, developers, nonprofit sponsors and others to explore how the HIT can best work with these groups to finance much-needed workforce housing in New York City.
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Mar 3, 2008Video on Swift Raids
Thanks to Jason Lefkowitz at the Change to Win blog for this video embedding code. Simply cut and paste the code he provides into a page on your site and it should appear.
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Mar 3, 2008UFCW Sues Feds, Launches Hearings on ICE Raids: Tools for Communicators
It can happen here: on Dec. 12, 2006, thousands of workers at
five meatpacking plants were rounded up by armed Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) agents in an effort to locate a few dozen undocumented
workers. Now their union is fighting back. UFCW has sued the federal...
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Mar 3, 2008UFCW Sues Feds, Launches Hearings on ICE Raids: Tools for Communicators
It can happen here: on Dec. 12, 2006, thousands of workers at
five meatpacking plants were rounded up by armed Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) agents in an effort to locate a few dozen undocumented
workers. Now their union is fighting back. UFCW has sued the federal...
more...
Feb 29, 2008TWIN CITIES SECURITY OFFICERS STAGE FIRST-EVER STRIKE
Security officers employed by the
three largest security contractors in the Twin Cities
staged a 1-day strike Feb. 25--the first-ever walkout
by these workers in history.
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Feb 29, 2008UFCW’S HANSEN ON REPRESSIVE GOVT. RAIDS: ‘IT CAN HAPPEN HERE’
Continuing his crusade against
repressive immigration enforcement raids on workers,
United Food and Commercial Workers President Joe
Hansen declared “workers cannot sit back any more and
say ‘It cannot happen here’--because it has.â€
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Feb 29, 2008JUSTICES GIVE AGENCY, WORKERS WIDE LEEWAY IN JOB DISCRIMINATION CHARGES
By a 7-2 vote on Feb. 27, the U.S.
Supreme Court gave workers and the federal Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, a top government
anti-discrimination agency, wide leeway in deciding
what constitutes an employment discrimination “chargeâ€
the EEOC must probe.
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Feb 29, 2008AXLE FIRM FORCES 3,600 UAW MEMBERS TO STRIKE
Company demands for 50%+ wage cuts and
elimination of future retiree and pension benefits
forced 3,600 United Auto Workers at five American Axle
and Manufacturing Co., plants to strike just after
midnight on Feb. 26, UAW said.
more...
Feb 22, 2008WORK, FAMILY, COMMUNITY: Unions Help Rebuild After Disaster
Over the past six years, America's working families have been hit hard by many catastrophic events -- 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the Southern California wildfires, to name a few. In the midst of these tragedies, the labor movement was there -- leading rescue efforts, donating blood, volunteering...
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Feb 22, 2008SWEENEY, RAYNOR, WILHELM EULOGIZE CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER, LABOR ORGANIZER REV. JAMES ORANGE
Citing his key role as a
bridge-builder between labor and the civil rights
movement, AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney and UNITE
HERE Presidents Bruce Raynor and John Wilhelm
eulogized the Rev. James Orange, a longtime civil
rights leader and labor organizer who died in
mid-February.
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Feb 22, 2008COHEN, CHAVEZ-THOMPSON RIP COLOMBIA'S LABOR RECORD
The Colombian government of
President Alvaro Uribe has a dismal record on labor
rights, and especially in failure to pursue and
prosecute Right-Wing paramilitaries who have murdered
2,262 unionists since 1991, two U.S. labor leaders who
met with Uribe say.
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Feb 22, 2008FEDERAL WORKERS UNIONS VS. BUSH: 'WE WON. THEY LOST. GAME OVER.'
Federal worker unions racked up two
big wins against anti-worker GOP President George W.
Bush after his regime, on Feb. 18, gave up its
long-running attempt to impose new anti-worker
personnel rules on the 135,000 employees at the
Department of Homeland Security--and when Congress
earlier...
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Feb 21, 2008UNIONS ARE GROWING - FINALLY
Here's some welcome news you may not have heard: The percentage of U.S. workers in unions actually increased last year. It was the first increase in more than 30 years, and could very well mark the beginning of a steady
reversal of what has been a steady decline.
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Feb 21, 2008TEAMSTERS ENDORSE OBAMA
Citing his electability as determined by their members' poll, the enthusiasm he generates on the campaign trail and his promise to renegotiate NAFTA, the Teamsters board voted unanimously Feb. 20 to endorse Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for the Democratic presidential nomination.
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Feb 21, 2008CHANGE TO WIN ENDORSES OBAMA
Saying his position on trade makes a difference, and that it's time for the Democratic presidential nomination race to end, the 7-union, 6-million-member Change to Win federation endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) Feb. 21 .
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Feb 19, 2008Book Review: Tony Mazzocchi: The Man Who Never Sold Out
Tony Mazzocchi hated work. Don’t get me wrong. He was the hardest working labor leader I’ve ever met. The work he hated was the coerced, soul-numbing labor performed by untold millions in factories, offices and other hierarchical workplaces.
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Feb 19, 2008TV, MOVIE WRITERS TO VOTE FEB. 25 ON NEW PACT
Some 10,500 writers for television
and movies, declaring victory in their struggle with
TV and movie producers and studios, will vote Feb. 25
on the new 3-year pact their union, the Writers Guild
of America, reached the weekend of Feb. 9-10, said one
of WGA’s two presidents, Michael...
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Feb 19, 2008HOFFA NAMES FEDEX, UPS FREIGHT AS ORGANIZING TARGETS
Completion of the Teamsters’ drive
at UPS Freight--the former Overnite Express--and
targeting FedEx, the nation’s largest package delivery
firm, are the Teamsters’ immediate organizing targets,
union President James Hoffa, Vice President and
Freight Division Director Ken...
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Feb 19, 2008GLOBAL SOLIDARITY HELPS DANNON WORKERS
More than 300 workers at the Dannon yogurt plant in Minster, Ohio voted on December 5 and 6 for a voice on the job and are now proud members of the BCTGM.
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Feb 13, 2008SEIU TO PUT HEALTH CARE ATOP POLITICAL PUSH
The Service Employees, and
especially their 1 million health care worker-members,
will put universal, comprehensive health care--type
unspecified--atop their overall $75 million political
push, union Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger said.
more...
Feb 13, 2008SENATE GOP DELETES EXTENDED JOBLESS BENEFITS FROM STIMULUS PACKAGE
Once again turning their backs on
suffering workers, Senate Republicans mustered enough
votes on Feb. 6 to delete extended jobless benefits
from the $160 billion stimulus package Congress passed
the next day.
more...
Feb 13, 2008SWEENEY: BUSH BUDGET 'IDEOLOGICALLY DRIVEN, ILL-CONCEIVED'
Anti-worker GOP President George W.
Bush proposed $3.1 trillion spending plan for the
year starting Oct. 1 is a 'slap in the face to
workers who are struggling to get by' while being
'ideologically driven and ill-conceived,' AFL-CIO
President John J. Sweeney said.
more...
Feb 8, 2008HIT Continues to Finance Affordable Housing in Minneapolis
The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT) is providing $4 million in financing for the third phase of a neighborhood redevelopment project in Minneapolis that will provide new affordable housing resources for local residents.
more...
Feb 1, 2008CALIF. NURSES ASSN. CHEERS DEATH OF SCHWARZENEGGER HEALTH PLAN
By a 7-1 vote on January 28, the California state senate Health Committee killed a corporate-based statewide universal health care plan pushed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), a vote the California Nurses Association cheered.
more...
Feb 1, 2008DEMS TO SIDETRACK COLOMBIA FREE TRADE PACT
Leading congressional Democrats plan to sidetrack anti-worker GOP President George W. Bush's free trade pact with Colombia, at least until trade adjustment assistance, which aids workers who lose jobs to unfair foreign imports, is renewed.
more...
Feb 1, 2008SWEENEY BLASTS BUSH RENOMINATION OF ANTI-WORKER NLRB CHAIRMAN
AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney blasted anti-worker GOP President George W. Bush for re-nominating anti-worker labor lawyer Robert J. Battista to a new 5-year term as National Labor Relations Board chairman.
more...
Jan 31, 2008Green Collar Jobs Can Fight Poverty
"Green Collar Jobs" were the subject of a November 29 presentation sponsored by UCB's College of Natural Resources, the UCB Institute for Social Change and the UC Labor Center. They sought to answer the question, "Can the green economy reduce global warming AND fight poverty?"
more...
Jan 31, 2008HOUSE OKS STIMULUS PACKAGE; SEN. PANEL ADDS JOBLESS BENEFITS
By a 385-35 vote, the Democratic-run House rushed through on Jan. 29 a $146 billion “stimulus package,†with very little for workers outside of individual checks of up to $600 per person and $300 per child. But the story was different in the Senate.
more...
Jan 30, 2008SWEENEY, BURGER SAY BUSH OFF COURSE ON STATE OF THE UNION
WASHINGTON (PAI)--The chiefs of the nation’s two labor federations, AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney and Change to Win Chair Anna Burger, say GOP President George W. Bush was far off course in his Jan. 28 State of the Union address.
more...
Jan 22, 2008Pilots Urge Swift Action on NTSB Fatigue Concerns
“The NTSB’s decision to again name worker fatigue among its Most-Wanted Transportation Safety Improvements reflects both the seriousness of the threat and the slow pace of action to address it,â€said Capt. Terry McVenes, ALPA’s Executive Air Safety Chairman.
more...
Jan 18, 20081 IN 7 MINNESOTA EMPLOYERS MISCLASSIFIES WORKERS, STATE SAYS
By Michael Kuchta.
More than 17,500 Minnesota employers – 1 in 7 – illegally misclassify workers as “independent contractors,†the Legislative Auditor says in a new investigative report.
more...
Jan 17, 2008LAWMAKERS INTRODUCE BILL TO RENEGOTIATE NAFTA, OR DUMP IT
by Mark Gruenberg, PAI. Reps. Nancy Boyda (D-Kansas), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and five others have introduced legislation ordering the government to renegotiate the controversial U.S.-Mexico-Canada “free trade†treaty, NAFTA. If bargaining fails, their bill orders the U.S. to dump the...
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Jan 17, 2008IRS FINES FEDEX $319M FOR "INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR" DODGE
by Mark Gruenberg, PAI.
Employers' continued efforts to misclassify workers as "independent contractors" and avoid paying Social Security taxes, Medicare, workers' comp and other benefits just got a $319 million kick in the head.
more...
Jan 17, 2008READING CONGRESSIONAL RATINGS
by Mark Gruenberg, PAI. The AFL-CIO's report and ratings are useful, but readers should keep several points in mind as they peruse the records, which are available on the federation's website.
more...
Jan 15, 2008Can workers win global power?
In a global corporate age, how do workers exert power? When corporations can roam the globe for a cheaper price, what resources do workers have, particularly when their own governments support the corporations, not the citizens?
In a unique story of old-fashioned street fighting plus adept...
more...
Jan 14, 2008CAMPAIGN PROMISES by ARTIE LEARY
It's election time again in the United States, which means the American people must choose from a wealthy group of blowhards and pick the best one to lead our country for the next four years.
more...
Jan 4, 2008DURING STAGEHANDS' STRIKE, SOLIDARITY WINS
Call it the month of solidarity. Broadway came together in November when
stagehands of IATSE Local 1 went on strike for the first time in their union
's 121-year history.
more...
Jan 3, 2008On Strikes, Respect and Heroes
The stagehands' Broadway strike was called many things in the 12,000 news stories it generated in its three-week life. Any stagehand could tell you what it was about: respect.
more...
Jan 3, 2008DURING STAGEHANDS' STRIKE, SOLIDARITY WINS
Call it the month of solidarity. Broadway came together in November when stagehands of IATSE Local 1 went on strike for the first time in their union's 121-year history.
more...
Dec 17, 2007NY transit union leader Roger Toussaint calls for action on climate adaptation
Toussaint, speaking for the the International
Trade Union Confederation which represents 365
labor federations in 150 countries, spoke in the
debate on adaptation to climate change. The NY
transit union leader told the body, "As trade
unions, we recognize that the best way to create
the...
more...
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Gene Klare, retired editor of the Labor Press, 1978-79 ILPA president and the longest-serving columnist in the newspaper's 109-year history, died May 30 from complications following a mild heart attack. He was 81. more...
As another May Day comes and goes, we cultural workers in the labor movement know that it will pass without comment in most U.S. unions. But around the world, millions of workers will gather to remember and honor the sacrifice of Chicago's Haymarket Martyrs in the 1886 battle for the eight-hour... more...
You can tell the history of labor organizing in the U.S. without speaking a word. The songs tell it all. more...
It can happen here: on Dec. 12, 2006, thousands of workers at five meatpacking plants were rounded up by armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in an effort to locate a few dozen undocumented workers. Now their union is fighting back. UFCW has sued the federal... more...
A year ago Billy Shea would have stepped to the front of the line to vote down the union. more...