Trump's State of the Union Not Reality for Most Americans Wikimedia Commons

Last night, President Donald Trump gave his first State of the Union address. Working people were quick to point out that most of us don't live in the reality described in the president's speech and when it comes to the issues we care about, actions speak louder than words. 

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka responded to the speech:

Last night, President Trump painted an everything-being-great picture of America that while optimistic, is not the reality for most working families. That may be how his friends are living, but the working men and women we represent aren’t seeing the same America; and his policies are making it worse. The truth is many of the things he says are undermined by the actual policies he supports.

While he’s rightly acknowledged problems in trade, America’s workers are still victim to corporate-designed deals, and last night he offered no solutions to make NAFTA benefit working people. While he recognizes the crisis of outsourcing jobs, his tax bill actually encourages corporations to do it. While he promises to put America back to work building infrastructure, he actually wants to spend more on a border wall than investing in all of America’s infrastructure for an entire year. And he uses hardworking Dreamers and TPS recipients as a bargaining chip to do it. And slashing regulations, one of his biggest applause lines, really means working people are denied wages and workplaces are less safe.

But, here's the truth: No matter who's sitting in the White House or what they're saying on TV or what they're tweeting, working people are moving forward. We are united around an agenda to secure our economic future—fighting for the freedom to have a voice on the job, share in the wealth we help create and live better lives.

AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. said:

President Trump came into office preaching about the need for a safer America, but instead he is putting the lives of federal law enforcement officers and our communities at risk. The men and women who risk their lives guarding our prisons deserve proper staffing levels to ensure they can do their job and make it home safe. This mandate is bad for citizens, it's bad for prison staff, and it's bad for inmates.

AFSCME President Lee Saunders said:

If you’re among the wealthy and powerful corporate class, President Trump’s speech probably sounded pretty good. But for millions of working families, nothing that was said tonight—and nothing that’s happened over the first year of this administration—provided much reassurance or relief.

President Trump continues to pursue an agenda that rigs the economy even more in favor of millionaires and billionaires. It’s the same-old trickle-down scam—Davos elites get rewarded, while working people get a raw deal.

The Trump priorities are clear: lavish tax breaks on CEOs; outsource jobs while starving public services; take health care away from millions; cut education, Medicare and Medicaid; pass a so-called infrastructure plan that does more to enrich hedge fund managers than invest in communities, with working people paying the bill in the form of higher taxes and tolls; gut regulations in order to prioritize corporate profits over workers’ rights; and drive a cruel immigration policy that breaks up families and affronts human dignity.

President Trump has had a year to prove the sincerity of his campaign promises about ‘the forgotten man and woman.’ Instead, he’s done the bidding of wealthy special interests time and time again. AFSCME members—including Virginia State Del. Elizabeth Guzman of Local 3001, who is delivering tonight’s Spanish language response to the State of the Union–will never quit fighting for freedom for all working people.

AFT President Randi Weingarten said:

The test of any president is whether he can unite a country and enact policies that enable broad-based opportunity. On that measure, President Trump’s inaugural State of the Union failed. Sadly, the high points—of lifting up American stories, as every modern president has done; mentioning a litany of one-liners on promoting infrastructure, vocational education and paid leave; and taking on the opioid crisis and escalating drug prices—were overtaken by ugly fear-mongering about immigrants and federal workers.

For anyone who believes that America is a nation of immigrants, that Dreamers should have a home in this country, that workers’ wages should rise, that the rich should not be the biggest winners in the economy, that college and healthcare should be affordable, and that kids should have a ladder of opportunity, you didn’t get that tonight.

Alliance for Retired Americans Executive Director Richard Fiesta said:

There are several things that the President did not say tonight that are troubling for retirees. 

He did not mention his campaign promises that he would not cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. 

This is important because House Speaker Paul Ryan has made a promise time and time again to cut the ‘entitlements’ that millions rely on for basic necessities every day. Numerous Republican leaders have indicated their desire to enact Medicare and Medicaid cuts, and increased deficits from the tax cuts will provide Congress with excuses to make cuts to these programs. We need the president to make clear that his pledge was not just a campaign gimmick.

President Trump also did not mention that when his tax plan did away with the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, he raised health insurance premiums for 3.3 million people between the ages of 50 and 64.

Nor did the president acknowledge that the Administration recently loosened regulations on accountability for long term care facilities. This scaled back the use of fines against nursing homes that harm residents or place them in grave risk of injury. It was a giveaway to the corporations that run many nursing homes, so it is no surprise that he did not refer to it.

The State of the Union speech that we heard tonight represents an alternate reality that does not reflect what older Americans are up against in 2018.

United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard said:

Much like his time on the campaign trail and his first year in office, the president spent this address talking about how much he has done and will do for workers. Unfortunately, this rhetoric runs headlong into reality.

The president and congressional Republicans tried to take health care away from millions of families. They showered the wealthy and powerful with huge tax breaks and corporations with long-wanted roll backs in regulations. They’ve done nothing to curtail the outsourcing of good-paying American jobs or to ensure the safety of workers and their communities.

On trade, the president outlined an action plan that, if fully implemented, could begin to reform the failed policies of the past. That is promising, but in many areas we are still waiting for results.

Investigations were launched on steel and aluminum, but workers are still waiting to see what the president will do. NAFTA is being renegotiated, but we wait to see whether an updated agreement will rebalance the benefits so that working Americans gain greater job security and better wages.

The trade deficit with China and the world, fueled by protectionist and predatory practices, continues to rise, and action is long overdue. While some positive steps have been taken, they have been too few and too insignificant.

And now, congressional Republicans are talking about reversing the few good things that have been announced, including rolling back legitimate trade protections.

On infrastructure, the single most important job-creating proposal, workers are still waiting for action.  Initial signals are that the Administration wants to pursue a plan that will line the pockets of Wall Street financiers and allow foreign producers to provide the products that will be used to rebuild our country. That is not what workers expect, not what they heard during the election, and it is not the right way to move forward.

On jobs, raising wages and many other issues, workers are still waiting for the campaign rhetoric to be matched by concrete action. They are becoming increasingly frustrated by a White House and Republican congressional majority more interested in looking out for their own self-interests than serving American families.

Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 01/31/2018 - 10:49

Making Infrastructure Work for the Middle Class TTD

On the campaign trail and as president, Donald Trump has continually shined a spotlight on America’s growing transportation and broader infrastructure crisis—and promised to do something about it. Now, as he prepares for his first State of the Union address, the president is expected to once again push his vision for rebuilding America.

There is no denying the needs are dire. Decades of neglect have left us with crumbling roads and bridges, transit and rail systems that can’t keep up with demand, ports unable to accommodate the world’s largest ships, and a world-class aviation system that is forced to rely on outdated technology. Failing to invest means we are leaving behind millions of working Americans who need good jobs and placing our country at a competitive disadvantage on the world stage. This has to end.

As important as it is that we invest boldly, numbers and rhetoric alone won’t cut it. Congress has a responsibility to ensure infrastructure is funded in a way that works for all Americans, not just the privileged few. With growing income inequality and too many Americans who are underemployed, working families need to know the investments made will create quality jobs and leave this country with a transportation and infrastructure network capable of fueling middle-class economic growth.

Such a plan is not hard to envision. In fact, it starts with a common-sense initiative that has strong bipartisan support: stabilizing the Highway Trust Fund that provides transit and highway investments. The Highway Trust Fund relies on a federal gas tax that has not been adjusted one penny in 25 years. Not surprisingly, the Trust Fund has not kept up with rising construction costs and mobility needs. Not only will fixing the Trust Fund support our surface transportation network, but it will free up scarce federal dollars for other critical infrastructure needs that plague our economy.

Thanks to the 2015 FAST [Fixing America's Surface Transportation] Act, a bipartisan framework already exists detailing how to effectively spend federal dollars on many of our surface transportation needs and does so in a way that promotes good middle-class jobs. In addition to grant programs for transit, highways and bridges paid for out of the Highway Trust Fund, Congress authorized programs for Amtrak and freight rail that need to be funded. Simply put, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Lawmakers should use existing programs wherever possible.

While meeting our massive infrastructure needs will take a multi-pronged financial approach, the federal government’s responsibility to fund infrastructure cannot be ignored. Forcing cash-strapped states to cough up the majority of funds needed means too many projects—and jobs—will get left behind. Likewise, relying too heavily on profit-driven private investments will not produce the results this country needs. As much as Wall Street investors and anti-government de-evolutionists will say otherwise, creating a transportation and infrastructure network capable of meeting the demands of a 21st century economy requires significant federal investment. This means expanding federal capital and loan programs, relying on user fees, bonds and debt, and using P3s [public-private partnerships] only where they make sense.

Furthermore, we cannot fund infrastructure by robbing Peter to pay Paul. It has been suggested that infrastructure programs be paid for by cuts to Amtrak, transit or other domestic needs—a plan we wholeheartedly oppose. Compromising one set of federal transportation priorities in favor of another will not get us anywhere. Nor should we attempt to pay for infrastructure investments by robbing federal employees of their pay or retirement savings. This misguided idea was tried and rejected during past debates over transportation spending and has no place in a federal infrastructure package.

Finally, no infrastructure plan would be complete without a guarantee to working families that their tax dollars will be maximized to create good jobs. High labor standards and Buy America rules are not negotiable. Any infrastructure package passed by Congress must prioritize protecting and creating the kinds of jobs that allow working people a chance at a middle-class lifestyle.

The time for infrastructure investment is upon us, but the details of a plan matter. Trump is expected to make his case tonight. It will then be up to lawmakers to prioritize a bipartisan bill that rebuilds our infrastructure, fuels a new wave of middle-class job creation and reinvigorates the American economy in a way that will work for everyone. Details matter, and we’ll be paying attention.

This post originally appeared at the AFL-CIO's Transportation Trades Department.

Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 01/30/2018 - 15:00

Chuck Jones Is Still Taking Trump to Task Kentucky AFL-CIO

When Ronald Reagan ran for president in 1980, the Republicans put out a TV commercial in which a union guy said Reagan was for working stiffs like him.

Unions warned that the far-right-wing Reagan was notoriously anti-union. "A union member voting for Ronald Reagan would be like a chicken voting for Col. Sanders," said a sign in a Paducah, Kentucky, union hall.

In his first year in the White House, Reagan busted the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) union. He went on to be the most anti-union president since Republican Herbert Hoover.

Reaganomics—warmed over 1920's Republican "trickle down" economics, which caused the Great Depression—pushed the unemployment rate above 10% by the mid-term elections in 1982. Not surprisingly, Reagan was sagging in the polls. The jobless included the union guy. He made a commercial for the Democrats—for free, he said—and apologized for voting for Reagan.

Last year, unions warned that Trump was anti-union. He even said on the campaign trail that he preferred "right to work" states to non-right to work states.

Like Reagan, Trump claimed to be the blue-collar, lunch-bucket candidate. Like Reagan, his rhetoric didn't square with his record.  

A Roper poll revealed that 43% of union households voted for Trump. A year into his presidency, Trump’s poll numbers are at a historically low ebb. Buyer’s remorse seems to be rising in union ranks, too.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called Trump out: 

Broken promises are bad enough. But President Trump has also used his office to actively hurt working people. He has joined with corporations and their political allies to undermine the right of workers to bargain collectively. He has taken money out of our pockets and made our workplace less safe. He has divided our country, abandoned our values and given cover to racism and other forms of bigotry.

Chuck Jones agrees with Trumka. He's the feisty former president of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1999 at Carrier Corp. in Indianapolis. Many working people voted for Trump "based on his commitments and his promises to keep jobs here in this country,” Jones told Chris Matthews on his "Hardball" MSNBC show. “I wasn’t one of them, but a lot of our folks were.”

Jones has been going after Trump for months. He doesn't mince words.

“I think everybody ought to respect the president of the United States and the office he holds," The Huffington Post quoted him. "But Donald Trump is a liar and an idiot."

Jones added that the president is "a pure and simple con man...and I’m sorry people bought into his message. He sold us a bag of s---t, and now we’re stuck with it."

In a Nov. 29 Washington Post op-ed article, Jones wrote that “Beyond Indiana, workers across the country feel like they too are victims of a false Trumpian bargain, in which they were invited to trade their votes to keep their jobs. In fact, according to new research conducted by Good Jobs Nation, more than 91,000 jobs have been sent overseas since Trump was elected, the highest rate of jobs lost to outsourcing in five years.”

In any event, polls suggest the Democrats are cruising to a big win in November, which they hope would presage a Trump defeat in 2020.

Nonetheless, in 1984, Reagan was re-elected, and he won 46% of union households, according to another Roper poll. The Democrats lost 16 House seats but added two Senate seats. 

At any rate, Trump will probably maintain most of his white nationalist and ultra-conservative base. But it's hard to imagine him winning back the independents and swing voters he's losing in droves.

Recapturing voters like a Carrier employee—a military veteran and a mother who lost her job—would seem like mission impossible for the president. She poignantly tells her story in a video posted on the "I Regret Voting for Donald Trump in 2016" Facebook page:

That's right, I did. I voted for Trump. I drove in the pouring rain to vote for Trump. I believed him when he came to Indianapolis and said, 'We're not gonna let Carrier leave.' I was not alone. Hundreds of workers desperately wanted to believe him. I now feel betrayed. I feel angry, and I feel forgotten.

Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 01/30/2018 - 12:35

The Lilly Ledbetter Act Is Still Necessary to Fight Pay Disparity AFL-CIO

Nine years ago today, then-President Barack Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, restoring working women’s right to sue over pay discrimination. It was the first piece of legislation enacted during his presidency, and he noted the significance of the moment: "It is fitting that with the very first bill I sign...we are upholding one of this nation’s first principles: that we are all created equal and each deserve a chance to pursue our own version of happiness."

Lilly Ledbetter, the law’s namesake, had blazed a trail forward in the spirit of that fundamental idea. After two decades of hard work at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.’s Gadsden, Alabama, plant, she learned that she was making thousands less than her male counterparts. Over the course of her career, she had lost out on more than $200,000 in wages—plus even more in retirement benefits. She challenged Goodyear’s discriminatory actions, eventually taking her case to the U.S. Supreme Court and the halls of Congress.

Her journey led to a major step forward in the fight for justice in the workplace. But that fight is far from over. Women continue to face discriminatory pay practices—and the problem is even worse for women of color:

• Women overall make 80 cents on the dollar that men make.
• African American women make 63 cents.
• Native American women make 59 cents.
• Latinas make 54 cents.

This outrageous pay disparity doesn’t just hurt women. Some 40% of working women in the United States are the sole breadwinner for their families. When they face discrimination on the job, their loved ones suffer as well.

The AFL-CIO is fighting to end this injustice. The first step is collecting and releasing data on gender pay discrimination. When employers can’t hide their despicable actions, we can effectively fight to end them. Take action today and urge the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to collect equal pay data.

Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 01/29/2018 - 12:18

One Year with Donald Trump: The Working People Weekly List Gage Skidmore

Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s this week’s Working People Weekly List.

Trump at One Year: Giving Cover to Hate: "President Donald Trump's actions and rhetoric over his first year run counter to the values of working people. Here are some of the ways he has used his office to divide our country, abandon our values, and give cover to racism and other forms of bigotry."

Trumka: Despite Trump, Working People Will Build on Our Successes: "AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka held a roundtable discussion Tuesday to reflect on President Donald Trump’s first year in office. Trumka expressed disappointment in the Trump administration's failure to deliver on promises to secure fairer trade deals, invest in the nation’s infrastructure and revitalize working communities. Trumka also criticized the president for actively using his office to hurt working people."

Thai Unions Coordinate, Collaborate for Success: "After working several years at an auto parts factory outside Bangkok, Prasit Prasopsuk compared conditions at his workplace with those of a friend employed at a similar plant—and realized his wages were lower and working conditions worse because there was no union representation."

Bureau of Labor Statistics Reports 260,000 More Union Members in 2017: "Last week, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics released its annual report on union membership, which found that the number of union members rose by 260,000 in 2017. This reflects critical organizing victories across a range of industries, which have reaped higher wages, better benefits and a more secure future for working people around the country."

A Year with Donald Trump: The Miseducation of Betsy DeVos: "Working people warned that President Donald Trump's appointment of Betsy DeVos to lead the Education Department would be a disaster for our families and our communities. Over the past year, DeVos has waged an all-out assault on our public education system and made it harder for students to learn and grow. Here are the most egregious actions from the Trump-DeVos education team."

U.S., Mexico Unions File NAFTA Labor Complaint to Influence Talks: "U.S. and Mexican unions formally complained to the U.S. Labor Department on Thursday that Mexico continues to violate NAFTA’s weak labor standards, a move that they hope will persuade U.S. negotiators to push for stronger rules."

Democratic Candidates for Governor Talk Jobs, Unions: "Four of the Democratic candidates for Michigan governor agree that the minimum wage should be raised to $15, but they have differing ideas on how more jobs can be created in the state. Candidates Gretchen Whitmer, Abdul El-Sayed, Shri Thanedar and Bill Cobbs appeared Wednesday at a gubernatorial town hall meeting hosted by the Michigan AFL-CIO union. It was the first of a series of three town halls with a general focus on jobs and the economy."

Union Chief Says Trump, Having ‘Actively Hurt’ Workers, Is Losing Support: "The president of the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka, who flirted with an alliance with President Trump, delivered a searing critique on Tuesday of the president’s first year, saying that he had used the White House 'to actively hurt working people' and favor corporate interests."

Trump Promised to Defend the 'Forgotten' but Has Hurt the Workers and Favored Corporations, Says AFL-CIO: "Donald Trump won the presidency with promises to defend workers 'forgotten' by the political system but, in his first year in power, has not done more than advance the interests of corporations and harm working families, said on Tuesday the president of the largest union federation, AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka."

Los Angeles Times Journalists Vote 248-44 to Unionize: "Journalists at the Los Angeles Times have overwhelmingly elected to form a union, a first for the 136-year-old news organization that for much of its history was known for its opposition to organized labor."

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 01/26/2018 - 15:57

AFL-CIO and Mexico's National Workers Unions Stand Against Bill that Will Hurt All Working People

The Mexican government has filed legislation that would substantially weaken rights for working people. In response, the AFL-CIO filed a complaint alleging that Mexico is violating the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation, the NAFTA labor side deal.

Mexico’s bill would lock in low wages and poor working conditions. It also would frustrate legitimate unions' efforts to negotiate together on behalf of Mexican workers, who work the longest hours for the lowest pay among all countries that are members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Specifically, the bill would:

• Eliminate the independence of newly created entities under the Mexican constitution responsible for registering unions and collective bargaining agreements.
• Give control to employers and employer-dominated unions to continue to keep independent unions out of the workplace.
• Eliminate transparency requirements for fair union elections, including basic worker access to collective bargaining agreements and contract language.
• Introduce additional obstacles that make it even harder for independent unions to replace employer-dominated unions.
• Promote greater subcontracting by eliminating safeguards to prevent abuse—including for anti-union motives.
• Lower the compensation owed to working people who are victims of workplace accidents and injuries.

In sum, the bill is a gift to employers and employer-dominated unions—in violation of international law, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the intent of Mexico's constitutional reforms. It certainly will make it more difficult for Mexican workers to come together in union to negotiate a fair return on their work.

Since NAFTA's inception, Mexican wages, working conditions and the ability of Mexican workers to exercise their labor rights have not improved; indeed, they have, in many cases, worsened. The current legislation is a disgraceful attempt to further entrench the corporate power and corrupt practices of employer-favored unions. The bill must be withdrawn.

As negotiations commence, the United States must insist that Mexico withdraw this legislation and put in place laws to implement last year’s constitutional reforms—not undermine them. Independent unions must have a seat at the table. This legislation, and the broad violation of workers’ rights in Mexico, is also evidence that the NAFTA labor side agreement has been woefully ineffective at improving labor standards in North America. Any new agreement must include a vastly improved approach to labor rights and standards and enforcement, and it must require measurable changes in practice in Mexico before any new trading privileges are granted.

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 01/26/2018 - 14:34

Tags: Mexico

High Stakes in the Great Lakes: AFL-CIO Holds Regional 2018 Meeting AFL-CIO

“Working people are ready to turn the tide, go on offense and win. We see it every day from coast to coast, in industries far and wide,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said to the crowd of more than 400 labor union activists gathered in Detroit, for the AFL-CIO Great Lakes District Meeting. “This much is clear: Our job has never been more important. Our unity has never been stronger. We are ready to do the hard work of rebuilding the American Dream."

Representatives from state federations, central labor councils and affiliate unions in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania discussed the stakes of the 2018 elections and how the union movement can win for working people.

Attendees at the conference heard from their counterparts in other states on how to achieve those victories, including analysis of the current political landscape, member engagement strategies and campaign planning.
 

Union membership grew by 52,000 members last year. #RightToWork is wrong for Michigan. Ron Bieber, President @MIAFLCIO pic.twitter.com/o2ZreeiQI7

— AFL-CIO (@AFLCIO) January 25, 2018

UAW President Dennis Williams fired up the crowd with a message of unity and power: 

They’re coming for our rights. But we don’t have to give them away. Our opponents may have the money. But we have the truth. And the truth is that union dues provide an incredible return on investment. The truth is that belonging to a union is like being part of a family that will always have your back. The truth is that corporations have become way too strong in America, and the only way to create balance and fairness in the workplace is by joining a union. This is a message we must continue to spread inside and outside our ranks.

The meeting provided all with an opportunity to exchange ideas and gain an understanding of recent research and campaign tactics that will inform the planning and execution of winning campaign strategies in these battleground states.

.@RichardTrumka asks candidates: as MI’s next gov, how will you fight outsourcing and create good paying jobs? @AFLCIO pic.twitter.com/im9PBrM9js

— Michigan AFL-CIO (@MIAFLCIO) January 24, 2018

Participants had the opportunity to attend workshops on a variety of topics, including Common Sense Economics®, member engagement, internal organizing and establishing new paths to power in developing a state federation-based union member candidate program. Special thanks to Charles Wowkanech who shared insights on how the New Jersey State AFL-CIO has been able to elect thousands of union members to public office. As he says, "You can’t go through a town in New Jersey without running into one of us."

This was the first of several regional meetings that the AFL-CIO is organizing for early 2018. The others are slated to take place in Chicago; Buena Park, California; Silver Spring, Maryland; New Orleans; and Las Vegas.

Check out our photo album on Facebook.

AFL-CIO President @RichardTrumka advocating for good jobs and standing up against outsourcing during @MIAFLCIO Gubernatorial Town https://t.co/O36klLbT2k https://t.co/66grb8kVgc pic.twitter.com/aGQNU7prxK

— Western Wisc AFL-CIO (@wwaflcio) January 24, 2018 Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 01/26/2018 - 13:18

Hotel Workers Say #MeToo and Fight Back UNITE HERE

As the #MeToo movement surges across the nation, working women are finding power in their union to speak out and fight back against sexual harassment and assault on the job. In the hospitality industry, housekeepers have been pursuing protections for years, and their union, UNITE HERE, has been shedding light on their struggle.

UNITE HERE surveyed hotel workers in several cities around the country and found that sexual harassment and assault are a pervasive problem. There is a clear power imbalance between men who pay for hotel rooms and the women, often immigrants or women of color, who clean their rooms alone. In Chicago, the survey found that 58% of housekeepers had been sexually harassed by a guest, and they’ve found similar results around the country.

Several hotel workers were featured as Silence Breakers for Time magazine’s 2017 Person of the Year. "I and our union are long in awe of the courage of our hotel housekeepers, cocktail servers, bartenders, waitresses and many more members in speaking out against the sexual harassment and assault that is too prevalent in the hospitality industry. The courage of our union workers in speaking out is resulting in changed policies across our industry that can transform lives," said D. Taylor, president of UNITE HERE.

As hotel workers have spoken up and told their stories, UNITE HERE has fought for protections. Since 2013, all unionized hotels in New York City—hundreds across the city—have equipped housekeepers with panic buttons to summon help. In Washington, D.C., more than 30 union hotels have introduced panic buttons. Working alone where it’s difficult to hear calls for help, housekeepers say these panic buttons make them feel safer.

In 2016, Seattle voters passed an initiative championed by UNITE HERE Local 8 which contained requirements that hotels provide panic buttons to workers, record workers’ reports of harassment and assault by hotel guests, and reassign workers away from problem guests or ban guests when appropriate. The hotel industry has mounted a legal challenge to the new law to maintain their power and silence the women who work for them, but the labor movement continues to fight back and tell the Seattle Hotel Association to protect their employees.

In October 2017, hotel workers secured a major victory when the Chicago City Council passed the "Hands Off, Pants On" ordinance, thanks to a massive campaign by the Chicago Federation of Labor and UNITE HERE Local 1. The legislation mandates that housekeepers, in both union and nonunion hotels, be given panic buttons so they can alert hotel security when they feel threatened and prohibits hotel employers from retaliating against a hotel worker for reporting sexual harassment or assault by a guest.

On the victory, Chicago Federation of Labor President Jorge Ramirez said: "This is a significant step forward for the organized and those we intend to organize in the fight against sexual harassment and assault in the workplace. Unfortunately, it is a step in only one industry. As we have seen in our national news, there is more work to be done to protect workers across all industries. Every day, the labor movement fights for every worker’s right to a safe and secure work environment."

In California, lawmakers have recently proposed a law requiring hotels to provide housekeepers with panic buttons and impose a three-year ban for any guest accused of violence or sexual harassment against an employee and keep a list of those accusations for five years. If it passes, California would be the first state in the nation to have a statewide law protecting hotel workers from sexual harassment and assault.

Working women have been emboldened by the #MeToo movement and will not be ignored. As they continue to come forward and tell their stories, the union movement will remain committed to believing women and empowering them to fight for protections in the workplace.

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 01/26/2018 - 13:07

Trump at One Year: Giving Cover to Hate Gage Skidmore

President Donald Trump's actions and rhetoric over his first year run counter to the values of working people. Here are some of the ways he has used his office to divide our country, abandon our values, and give cover to racism and other forms of bigotry.

Attacks Against the LGBTQ Community

• Tried to ban trans people from joining and openly serving in the military, falsely claiming that trans-related health care is expensive.
• Nearly one-third of his judicial nominees have anti-LGBTQ records.
• Appointed Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. As opponents have feared, Gorsuch has not been friendly to LGBTQ Americans. He dissented against a ruling that requires same-sex parents to be listed on birth certificates.
• Rescinded guidance from the Barack Obama administration telling K-12 schools that receive federal funding that trans students are protected under federal civil rights law.
• Rescinded another Obama-era guideline that said trans workers are protected under civil rights law, enabling the federal government to argue that anti-trans discrimination isn't illegal under federal law.
• Argued in favor of Masterpiece Cakeshop before the Supreme Court, claiming that business owners should be able to discriminate against same-sex couples for religious or "moral" justifications.
• Filed a legal brief claiming that the federal Civil Rights Act doesn’t protect gay and bisexual workers.
• Has legally supported numerous other anti-LGBTQ court cases, including defending North Carolina's anti-trans bathroom law and a case that would allow discrimination against trans people in health care.
• Created the Division of Conscience and Religious Freedom to reportedly work to enable health care providers’ religious liberties aren’t violated, which many see as asking for a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people.
• Fired all the members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS without explanation.
• Failed to recognize LGBTQ Pride Month.
• Proposed ending data collection programs about LGBTQ seniors and people with disabilities, erasing evidence of potential discrimination.

Attacks Against Women

• Reversed the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, making it easier for federal contractors with chronic violations of discrimination laws to keep getting federal funding.
• Proposed a Department of Labor budget cut of 21%, which would hamper work-family protections, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act.
• Signed a bill allowing states to block Title X funding for providers that also offer abortion with nonfederal funds, including Planned Parenthood.
• Proposed denying Planned Parenthood clinics Medicaid reimbursements for serving low-income patients.
• Reinstated and expanded the Global Gag Rule, preventing recipients of foreign aid from offering any information, referrals, services or advocacy regarding abortion care, even if they don't use U.S. funds to do so.
• Cut funding to the U.N. Population Fund, which works on women’s rights worldwide, maternal health, family planning and gender equity programs.
• His pick to run Medicare and Medicaid, Seema Verma, argued that maternity coverage should be optional for insurers.
• Proposed a $50 million reduction in funding for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program.
  Promised to make permanent the Hyde Amendment, which restricts Medicaid coverage of abortion.
• Released a short list of potential judges for the Supreme Court that was filled with anti-choice jurists.
• Nominated Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, a man with a history of arguing against the legal foundation of Roe v. Wade.
• Defended conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly from sexual harassment allegations, as part of a history of defending those who have been accused of harassing women.
• Under his immigration crackdown, unauthorized immigrant women face a threat of deportation if they report domestic violence or sexual abuse.
• Under his health care plan, insurers could stop covering funding for birth control, breast-feeding support, and domestic violence screening and counseling.
• Eliminated a ban that kept federal contractors from using forced arbitration clauses for sexual assault, sexual harassment, or discrimination allegations.
• His Cabinet has just four women. They occupy lower-ranking positions than the white men in the administration.
• Appointed three men to federal government positions for every woman he appointed.
• Neglected to fill women’s leadership roles across the federal government, including the global women’s issues ambassador and the Office on Violence Against Women director.
• Chose staff with extreme anti-woman positions and put them into positions of power.
• Proposed requiring new moms receiving Medicaid to work within 60 days of giving birth or risk losing their insurance.
• His health care plan could eliminate maternity and newborn coverage for millions of women and slash benefits, raise premiums, and increase out-of-pocket costs for millions more.

Attacks Against People of Color, Immigrants and Religious Groups

• Established a taxpayer-funded commission to develop and advocate for policies to reduce voter fraud, an almost non-existent issue whose supposed remedies disproportionately harm people of color.
• Proposed eliminating 121 staff positions at the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division.
• More than 90% of his nominees for federal judgeships are white.
• Proposed eliminating the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Justice, which protects low-income communities and communities of color from environmental hazards.
• Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated Puerto Rico, putting 3.4 million American lives at risk. He responded by saying that Puerto Ricans "want everything to be done for them."
• Reversed an Obama administration plan to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in national parks.
• Opened up much of the Bears Ears National Monument for commercial activities, including potential mining and oil and gas development, despite the fact that it contains countless Native American ceremonial sites, historical artifacts, and dwellings.
• Pursued harsher penalties for drug-related crimes, increasing the overincarceration of African Americans.
• Rolled back programs designed to build trust between local law enforcement and the communities they serve and provide local agencies with technical assistance.
• Reversed a Justice Department plan to reduce the use of private prisons.
• Supports cutting $21 million from tribal law enforcement, despite a lack of necessary resources to address high rates of rape and murder on tribal lands.
• Pardoned former Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona, who was found guilty of illegally profiling and detaining Latinos based on their perceived immigration status.
• Proposed eliminating the Commerce Department’s Minority Business Development Agency, which is the only federal agency that provides business consulting services to people of color who wish to start or expand their own businesses.
• Wants to consolidate the Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, decreasing their combined enforcement budgets by millions.
• Halted the implementation of the Obama administration's Employer Information Report, which would have confidentially collected pay data broken down by gender, race and ethnicity, in order to help uncover wage discrimination.
• Asked Congress to eliminate the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, which serves 1.1 million low-income students of color.
• Is reportedly diverting Justice Department Civil Rights Division resources to attack affirmative action programs.
• Proposed slashing the budget for the Bureau of Indian Education by $64 million.
• Supported a tax bill that could lead to cuts to programs that fund historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and tribal colleges.
• Rescinded a federal grant designed to help right-wing extremists move away from radical ideas.
• Supported a health care proposal that would have left 8.7 million people of color without Medicaid coverage by 2026.
• Proposed cutting $6.2 billion from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which provides subsidized housing to poor people and people of color.
• Wants to slash $50 million from Housing and Urban Development's Indian country housing programs and completely eliminate housing funding for the Interior Department’s Bureau of Indian Affairs.
• Made several attempts to ban Muslims from entering the country.
• Slashed the target number of refugees to be welcomed into the United States to the lowest levels in decades.
• Ended the DACA initiative, potentially disrupting the lives of nearly 800,000 recipients, the vast majority of whom are Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander, or black, leaving many vulnerable to detention and deportation.
• Ended the protected status of 50,000 Haitians displaced by the nation’s 2010 earthquake and ensuing crises that expanded problems on the island.
• Encouraged aggressive immigration enforcement.
• Broke a campaign promise to not deport DACA recipients in April as Juan Manuel Montes became the first known DACA recipient with active status to be deported by Trump.
• Carried out immigration raids that could have harmful effects on birth outcomes. A study found that stress created by immigration raids is linked to an increase in premature births and low birth weights.
• Threatened to split up families fleeing extreme violence in nations with high rates of violence against women and girls.
• Threatened to pull funding from sanctuary cities, which could lead to families losing access to critical programs.
• Muslim Americans have seen a rise in bigotry and attacks after Trump's election, with experts blaming much of the "tremendous levels of fear" among American Muslims on Trump.
• Not only didn't mention Jewish people on Holocaust Remembrance Day, but reportedly blocked the release of a statement that did.
• A white nationalist leader facing assault charges defended himself by claiming that he was acting based on the words of Trump.
• Suggested that $20 million in federal funding for historically black colleges and universities might be unconstitutional because of race.
• Stressed the need to protect the West against forces from the South and East that threaten western values.
• After white supremacist violence erupted in Charlottesville, he condemned "many sides" for the violence, but failed to mention white supremacists, and later falsely claimed that protesters supporting a Robert E. Lee statue were "quietly" showing their support, while counter-protesters were "very, very violent."
• Defended statues honoring Confederates as part of "our history and heritage."
• Said NFL owners should fire players who kneel during the national anthem to protest police brutality.
• Belittled Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) for claiming Native American heritage, calling her "Pocahontas."
• Retweeted three anti-Muslim tweets by British far-right leader Jayda Fransen.
• Said that Haitian immigrants "all have AIDS" and suggested that Nigerians lived in huts.
• Reportedly said that people from Haiti and Africa come from "shithole countries," unlike predominantly white countries like Norway.

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 01/26/2018 - 09:40

Trumka: Despite Trump, Working People Will Build on Our Successes

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka held a roundtable discussion Tuesday to reflect on President Donald Trump’s first year in office. Trumka expressed disappointment in the Trump administration's failure to deliver on promises to secure fairer trade deals, invest in the nation’s infrastructure and revitalize working communities. Trumka also criticized the president for actively using his office to hurt working people.

Last year, 2017, was a challenging year for working people:

I’ll be perfectly frank. 2017 was a difficult year for working people. Corporations did everything in their power to hold down wages. Inequality grew. And politicians at the federal and state level launched a new wave of attacks on our dignity and rights.

Trump not only failed to live up to his promises, he actively sided with those attacking working people:

President Trump said a lot of the right things as a candidate. But his actions haven’t followed suit. There’s been no effort to label China as a currency manipulator. He’s rejected plans to revitalize our coal communities. And despite calling himself a “builder president,” he’s done nothing to invest in America’s infrastructure.

Broken promises are bad enough. But President Trump has also used his office to actively hurt working people. He has joined with corporations and their political allies to undermine the right of workers to bargain collectively. He has taken money out of our pockets and made our workplaces less safe. He has divided our country, abandoned our values and given cover to racism and other forms of bigotry.

But the efforts of Trump and his allies didn't stop working people from coming together: 

Yet even in the face of these challenges, we stood strong. We organized. We elected union members to office. We raised wages. We passionately made our case for a new set of economic rules designed to achieve broadly shared prosperity. And America has taken notice. Our approval rating is more than 60%, the highest in almost two decades.

Trumka noted that the energy of working people to stand up and fight back is on the rise:

That moment is close. I can feel it coming. I feel it in every union hall I visit and every picket line I stand on. I feel it in every politician who looks at us differently since we stopped the TPP. I feel it when I talk to brave immigrants ready to come out of the shadows and working women who are saying enough is enough.

And I feel it in the disappointment and determination of working people, one year into the Trump administration.

The president has a choice:

At the end of the day, this is bigger than any politician or president. It’s about making progress for regular working people. If President Trump wants to change course and join us in the fight to raise wages and standards, strengthen our democracy, and build better lives, we will be ready. But if he continues down his current path, workers will be looking for a new president in 2020.

Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 01/24/2018 - 15:06

Thai Unions Coordinate, Collaborate for Success Julian Hadden

After working several years at an auto parts factory outside Bangkok, Prasit Prasopsuk compared conditions at his workplace with those of a friend employed at a similar plant—and realized his wages were lower and working conditions worse because there was no union representation.

The conversation spurred Prasopsuk to action, and he went on to organize a union in 2007, starting with 200 co-workers whose numbers grew to 1,700 in two years. Now, a 16-year veteran at the factory, where he makes ball bearings, Prasopsuk is treasurer of the 40,000-member Federation of Thailand Auto Workers Union (TAW) and vice president of Thailand Autoparts and Metal Workers Union (TAM), a TAW affiliate. Both unions are part of the Thai Confederation of Electronic, Electrical Appliances, Auto and Metal Workers (TEAM).

Despite his success, Prasopsuk says it is “very difficult” to get workers to form unions in Thailand. Employers dismiss workers they suspect of organizing a union—even though it is against the law—and wield a gamut of other tactics, including forming company unions and taking legal action against workers and unions for such issues as derogatory statements on social media.

Some 525,000 workers are employed in auto parts factories in Thailand, which is the world’s twelfth-largest automobile producer in the world. The country also is a leading producer of hard disk drives, making it a major exporter of high-value goods. Most industrial factories are owned by multinational corporations, and steep competition from emerging low-wage Asian countries like Vietnam drives factory owners’ relentless efforts to cut costs by targeting workers. Some companies are moving factories to other Southeast Asian countries with lower wages. Meanwhile, the government’s stepped-up efforts to privatize key sectors is resulting in layoffs and wage cuts.

To meet these challenges, unions representing manufacturing workers and public employees have joined forces in a tightly knit network in which they regularly meet to discuss organizing campaigns and legal battles and plan for coordinated actions around issues like raising the minimum wage. Through the Thai Labor Solidarity Committee (TLSC) and Organizing Labor Union Committee, unions also engage in long-term planning around issues such as boosting organizing capacity, expanding outreach to both formal and informal economy workers, and advancing a democratic labor movement in the face of company unions.

Workers ‘Scared to File for a Union’

An hour south of Bangkok, past a traffic-choked highway near the country’s industrialized Eastern seaboard, union leaders gather at the newly built Workers’ Training Center in Chonburi. Removing their shoes as they enter the spacious main hall, which is presided over at one end by a colorful Buddhist shrine and a portrait of the revered late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, activists convene around a table to update each other on the most recent issues facing their unions.

Completed in December 2015 with funds collected by TEAM union activists, the TEAM Workers’ Training Center is a symbolic embodiment of Thai unions’ ongoing struggle to unify and coordinate their efforts. Twenty years ago, no unions represented workers in Thailand’s industrialized Eastern provinces. With the support of partners around the world, including the Solidarity Center, worker activists have formed some 1,000 factory-level unions representing more than 100,000 workers in the area, where corporations from China, Japan, Taiwan and the United States vie for regulatory breaks the Thai government offers to lure private investors into setting up factories in the eastern provinces. Two decades ago, the government created a special economic zone along the Eastern seaboard, transforming it into the “Detroit of Southeast Asia,” according to some union leaders.

Foreign exports, primarily computer hard disks and road vehicles, account for 60% of Thailand’s GDP; and last year, exports grew by 6.6%, the highest in the past four years. With regional competition intensifying, the Thai government is joining with private investors in a $45 billion set of large-scale infrastructure projects in three eastern seaboard provinces that include a new international airport, port facilities, highways and railway links.

The relentless demands for ever lower costs throughout the global supply chain reverberate across industrial plants in Thailand, where Kornchanok Thanakhun, general secretary of the Textile Workers Federation of Thailand (TWFT), said one of the biggest challenges in organizing factory unions is that “the employer dismisses union leaders” as soon as workers become interested in forming a union.

The “process to remedy fired workers takes years, that’s why workers are scared to file for a union,” said Manus Inklud, president of Petroleum and Chemical Workers Federation of Thailand and 27-year production auditor at Goodyear.

To address the issue, unions across Thailand have been urging the government to ratify International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 87 and Convention 98 covering the freedom of association and the freedom to stand together in union and negotiate together. Ratification would provide worker rights’ advocates with a strong basis for challenging employer efforts to break unions by firing workers because currently, “Thai law doesn’t provide us with a lot of support,” said Thanakhun, speaking through a translator.

Boosting Minimum Wage, Maintaining Public Services

Union activists also have pooled their efforts in a nationwide campaign to increase the minimum wage and bring it in line with inflation and cost of living. Union leaders say the government’s recent creation of provincial minimum wage tiers, governed by labor-management-government subcommittees, are manipulated by employers, and they recommend re-instituting a single national minimum wage structure.

Another key campaign involves rallying opposition to a proposed bill that would privatize crucial government services. The TLSC and its affiliate, the State Enterprises Workers’ Relations Confederation (SERC), recently petitioned the National Legislative Assembly to pull the Governance and Administration of State Enterprises draft bill, with SERC Vice General Secretary Pongthiti Pongsilamanee reiterating that the government is increasingly focused on profitability at the expense of public service.

The union coalition also is holding educational meetings around the newly enacted 2017 Labor Protection Act, which unions say could weaken union bargaining power by normalizing the use of lower-paid student trainees in the workplace.

A Union to Improve Their Children’s Future

Advancing worker rights across Thailand could not happen without union organizers like Paitoon Bangrong, whose tireless efforts to sign up new members encounter numerous obstacles—including from workers themselves.

Bangrong, a 17-year union member and metal pipe production line worker, is president of the Eastern Labor Union and works with TEAM to help workers form unions. He says many workers he talks with do not understand the benefits of unions, in part because unions receive negative media coverage. So he explains to them how unions improve safety on the job and bolster other fundamental worker rights, and then asks if their children will work in the plants.

“If their children work in the plant, they want good conditions,” he said. “They realize a union can provide better opportunities and working conditions for their children.”

Safety issues are rampant at plants without unions, says Sema Suebtrakul, who has worked as a union organize for 20 years, literally helping form the first unions in the country’s Eastern seaboard. Factories use second-hand machines without safety protections, buildings are rent by structures that could lead to collapse, fire safety equipment doesn’t work, pregnant workers are not allowed to sit and dirty restrooms are a health hazard.

Now an organizer with the Federation of Thai Autoworkers Union/TEAM, Suebtrakul estimates he has organized more than 100 plant level unions. Originally a storekeeper with some legal background, Suebtrakul became aware of the sometime inhumane working conditions at industrial factories through a friend who was a union organizer. After he became involved in helping workers form unions, he became hooked on helping people, he said.

Larey Youpensuk, president of TAW, which represents 9,400 members at 13 plants, said “there is a clear difference between union plants and nonunion plants.”

“If you don’t have a union, you can’t negotiate with employers, you don’t have as good benefits or safety conditions.” Youpensuk said he’s proud of how he in his seven years as president, his leadership helped expand the union from five plants to 13, through intensive union organizing efforts with TAW’s parent federation, the Thai Auto Workers’ Union.

Youpensuk also beams with pride when talking about his fundraising efforts to help build the Workers’ Training Center and create a gathering point for Thai unions. Youpensuk and other Thai leaders are well aware that cohesion and coordination—solidarity!—throughout the labor movement is essential for success.

This post originally appeared at the Solidarity Center.

Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 01/24/2018 - 12:42

Tags: Solidarity Center, Thailand

Bureau of Labor Statistics Reports 260,000 More Union Members in 2017

Last week, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics released its annual report on union membership, which found that the number of union members rose by 260,000 in 2017. This reflects critical organizing victories across a range of industries, which have reaped higher wages, better benefits and a more secure future for working people around the country.

Of the report, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said:

In the face of a challenging year, the power of working people is on the rise. Together, we organized historic new unions, stood up to powerful corporations and won higher wages. But today’s data is more than numbers on a page, it’s a growing movement of working people that can’t be measured as easily. When more union members fill the halls of power, when wages rise and inequality shrinks, and when a growing number of people see that we can and will change the rules of this economy - that’s when you’ll know unions are on the rise.

Key trends found in the data include:

• Working people in "right to work" states like South Carolina and Michigan are joining unions by the thousands.
• Young workers continue to drive union growth. Since 2012, union membership among working people under 35 has continued to rise. Last year, they made up three-quarters of new members.
• Professionals and information industry workers continue to drive growth, reflecting key organizing successes by the Communications Workers of America (CWA); the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE); the AFT; and the AFGE.
• Recent victories are among working people across sectors ranging from media employees to charter school teachers and librarian professionals to the 20,000 doctors who joined unions in the past year.

Other advocates for working people weighed in on the numbers.

AFSCME President Lee Saunders:

Despite relentless, dishonest attacks from wealthy special interests, working people continue to come together for a voice on the job and a seat at the table. Union membership held steady in 2017, a testament to the resilience of people fighting strong headwinds to continue organizing even in a hostile environment.

It’s no surprise that they value unions—as the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual report shows, union workers earn considerably more on average than their non-union peers. Women and communities of color, for whom unions have historically been a pathway to the middle class, enjoy an even greater pay advantage when they join unions.

Now, corporate CEOs and other billionaires are trying to use the courts to rig the system even more in their favor, chipping away further at the rights of working people. A Supreme Court case called Janus v. AFSCME, which will be decided this year, threatens the freedom of public service workers to negotiate a fair return for the value they add to their communities.

No matter what happens, public service workers and all working people will continue to build power in numbers and stick together in strong unions.

AFT President Randi Weingarten: 

Workers are joining together in unions because they want a voice in an economy and political system that they understand is increasingly rigged against them. Unions give workers the power to negotiate for higher wages and better learning, working and safety conditions for our students, patients and communities, so they have the freedom and the clout to secure a better life.

At the AFT, we’re growing, because we care, we fight and we show up—for our students, our patients, our members and our communities; for public education, good jobs and affordable health care; against hate and bigotry; and in defense of democracy and pluralism. In the face of historic disinvestment in public education and services, political turmoil, and coordinated efforts by conservatives to ‘defund and defang’ us, the AFT has grown to more than 1.7 million educators, higher education professionals, nurses, and public employees.

Our success stems from our union’s pursuit of a voice for our members, based on deeply held convictions and a concrete plan for an economy and society that works for all, not just corporations and the rich.

Machinists (IAM) International President Robert Martinez:

The time for talk about growing our union is over. The real work of growing our membership began last year when we saw some of our most significant organizing victories in decades. We will have trained hundreds of members and staff by the end of the first quarter of 2018.

International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) Director of Organizing James White: 

Workers across America are understanding that in today’s economy, only a collectively bargained agreement provides the security and path forward toward realizing economic gain for their families.

Department for Professional Employees President Paul E. Almeida:

DPE is pleased to see professional union membership continue to grow. Our coalition of affiliate unions values the role professionals play in the labor movement, which is why we’ve worked hard to determine how to effectively represent current union members and organize new members. The tremendous gains in the public sector are the result of professionals deciding to join together to have a voice and make workplace improvements in a climate often hostile to those who work in government.

Michigan AFL-CIO President Ron Bieber:

This is great news for Michigan’s working families and great news for our economy. We need the power in numbers of unions more than ever to protect things our families need, like affordable health care, good schools, and Social Security and Medicare. Now it’s time for our elected officials in Lansing and Washington to get the message, stop attacking working people, and start working together to protect the freedom of working people to negotiate together for a fair return on our work. That’s how we’ll build an economy in Michigan that works for everyone, not just the wealthy.

Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bill McCarthy:

These numbers show that despite political threats from Washington, more working Minnesotans are exercising their freedom to join together in unions to negotiate for a better life. It’s no coincidence that as union membership increased in 2017, so did Minnesotans’ average wages. Union workers set standards for wages and safety that benefit all working people.

New York State AFL-CIO Mario Cilento: 

The labor movement has a long and proud history in New York state, and our numbers continue to grow. We are proud to add an additional 75,000 members to the labor movement, allowing us to provide even more dedicated working men and women with good, solid, middle class jobs and an opportunity for a better life. In fact, the report shows that more than 30% of new jobs created in New York are union jobs.

The labor movement provides the best way for working people to get ahead; particularly at a time when the rights of working men and women are under attack by the fringe right in Washington. We remain committed to fighting for all working people because, when the labor movement is thriving we not only raise the wages, benefits and conditions of employment of union members, we raise the standard of living and quality of life of all working people.

Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain:

Today’s data is more than numbers, it tells us a powerful story and gives working people hope for a better future. It’s about workers standing together to bring forward positive change at work. That’s what belonging to a union is about: standing shoulder to shoulder with your co-workers to protect your freedom to find prosperity, to earn a decent living, to have safe working conditions, and respect and dignity on the job. We live in a country where inequality is rampant. Unions remain the single most effective tool for working people to fight back against inequality. As more workers stand together, our movement will grow, and the future of millions of families will be more secure. This is good news, but our work is not over. Oregon’s unions remain committed to building a state where working people can prosper, and where our freedom to stand together in union is fiercely protected.

Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 01/24/2018 - 11:00

A Year with Donald Trump: The Miseducation of Betsy DeVos AFL-CIO

Working people warned that President Donald Trump's appointment of Betsy DeVos to lead the Education Department would be a disaster for our families and our communities. Over the past year, DeVos has waged an all-out assault on our public education system and made it harder for students to learn and grow. Here are the most egregious actions from the Trump-DeVos education team: 

• Trump's budget would cut 13% ($9 billion) of the Department of Education's funding.
• The Trump budget would eliminate the Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants program by $2.1 billion, an amount which could pay the salaries of more than 35,000 teachers. School districts use the program to support and train their teachers.
• Would invest $1.4 billion of new funding into "school choice," taking much-needed money from public schools and giving it to private schools. The investment is expected to grow to $20 billion annually.
• Promoted using vouchers to channel funds away from public schools toward private schools that have lower quality standards and can discriminate in admissions based on gender, religion, race and income. Charters also often require children with disabilities to sign away their rights in order to receive a voucher.
• Proposed eliminating the Public-Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which provides aid to borrowers who go into public-service jobs, including government organizations, tax-exempt nonprofit groups and public schools.
• Removed the requirement that teachers and educators be required stakeholders in implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act, intimating that feedback from educators isn't "absolutely necessary" for making education plans.
• The Southern Poverty Law Center notes that the administration's hateful rhetoric has led to increased bullying in public schools and increased anxiety rates among children of color.
• Proposed cutting $200 million from the Women, Infants and Children supplemental nutrition program, known as WIC, and threatened other nutrition programs that help students perform better in school.
• Would eliminate $1.2 billion for 21st Century Community Learning Centers and summer programs, which provide before- and after-school care for 1.6 million children, making it possible for parents to go to work.
• Proposed an 18% cut to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which could lead to 160,000 being eliminated from Head Start programs.
• Rescinded Obama-era guidance to keep transgender students in schools with equal access to bathrooms, school facilities and programs.
• Would eliminate the Corporation for National and Community Service, which funds programs such as AmeriCorps, Teach For America and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
• Appointed Candice Jackson to be acting secretary in the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights after she has criticized programs designed to help people of color avoid sexual assault and harassment.
• Proposed cutting Pell Grants, work-study and other programs that make college accessible.
• Trump's health care plan includes cuts to pediatric services, including vaccines, eye exams and well-child visits.
• Is considering eliminating federal guidance to schools to ensure discipline policies don't discriminate against students of color and students with disabilities.
• Proposed eliminating 7% of the professional staff at the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights, making it harder to ensure equal access to education.
• Diverted Justice Department's Civil Rights Division resources to attack affirmative action.
• Halted the gainful employment rule and borrower defense rule that protect students and taxpayers from fraud at for-profit colleges.
• Eliminated requirements that would have made it easier for student loan borrowers to receive better student loan servicing and get on track toward repayment.
• Would slash the budget for the Bureau of Indian Education by $64 million.
• Trump supported a tax bill that could lead to dramatic funding cuts to historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions and tribal colleges.
• Rolled back Obama-era protections for survivors of sexual assault while signaling that she was more interested in protecting those accused of sexual assault than survivors, particularly through a busy schedule where she spent a lot of time meeting with groups that want to further reduce protections for sexual assault survivors on campuses.
• She has held or holds financial stake in Performant Recovery, a company that pursues defaulted student loan borrowers, and numerous companies with investments in for-profit colleges. Rather that fighting for students and families, she's beholden to big-money special interests.

Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 01/24/2018 - 10:58

Working People Are Watching, Mr. President: The Working People Weekly List

Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s this week’s Working People Weekly List.

Working People Are Watching, Mr. President: "To Washington, D.C., insiders, this month’s budget negotiations are just the latest partisan exercise in a series of manufactured crises that too often result in short-term solutions. But for those who live and work outside of the Beltway bubble, much more is at stake."

Paul Booth, Antiwar Organizer and Union Stalwart, Dies at 74: "Paul Booth, a leading architect of the first major march on Washington against the Vietnam War in 1965 and later an influential union organizer and a vigorous opponent of anti-labor legislation, died on Wednesday in Washington. He was 74."

Steelworkers Union President ‘Disappointed’ and ‘Frustrated’ with Trump: "In an interview with CNN, United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard said that American workers are in some ways worse off now than they were just a year ago. 'We're terribly disappointed and hugely frustrated,' Gerard told CNN. 'There's been no action that has done anything to protect and defend American jobs.... In some cases we're worse off now than we were then.'"

AFL-CIO Unions Gear Up for Major Push in 2018 Election Cycle: "The determination of the nation’s labor movement to come out on the winning side of this year’s election battles was strongly reflected here at discussions during last weekend’s AFL-CIO Martin Luther King conference. Unionists mapping plans here see 2018 as an election year during which they can join with allies to win races in all levels of government and halt in its tracks the anti-labor offensive of the Trump administration and the GOP."

Women Get Tips on Running for Elective Office: "Liz Shuler, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO Executive Council, said she believes more female union members could become effective political candidates if they're encouraged to run. Polls conducted in 2017 by Gallup and Pew Research Center show public support for labor unions has rebounded in recent years, with about 60 percent saying they approve of them or view them favorably. Fewer than 50 percent of respondents voiced support for labor unions in the early 2010s."

Trumka: Key Battle Ahead is the 2018 Elections: "Saying when an economy 'doesn’t support the majority of its citizens, it needs to be fixed,' AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says the 2018 elections are key. And in fixing the economy—by sweeping anti-worker elected officials out of office—workers and their allies will also counter the right wing’s attacks on public sector workers, many if not most of whom are minorities, including African Americans, he added."

In the Air: Renounce a Sexist Past: "Flight Attendants, about 80% women, are ongoing victims of sexual harassment and sexual assault. Not that long ago, the industry marketed the objectification of 'stewardesses,' a job only available to young, single, perfectly polished women who until 1993 were required to step on a weight scale. Our union was formed to give women a voice and to beat back discrimination and misogyny faced on the job."

Outgoing NLRB Chair Miscimarra Leads Attack on Working People's Rights: "On Dec. 16, 2017, National Labor Relations Board Chair Philip Miscimarra’s term came to an end. In the final days before the end of his term, a series of 3-2 decisions were handed down that were unprecedented in several respects, not the least among them was the extent that the decisions will harm working people."

When CEOs Say 'Do No Harm' in NAFTA, They Mean 'Don’t Harm Me': "We keep hearing CEOs of global companies and giant agribusiness conglomerates say 'do no harm' in the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiations, but from the perspective of working families who haven’t had a raise in the past 20 years, this advice doesn’t make any sense."

Let’s Rebuild the Middle Class by Rebuilding Our Infrastructure: "The middle class has been on a steady slide for decades. Signs of this slide are all around us: anemic wage growth, historic income inequality, chronic unemployment and underemployment and, not coincidentally, the steady erosion of workers’ freedom to join unions and bargain for fair wages and benefits. At the same time, American households are facing rising costs that far outpace their stagnant wages. The result is that tens of millions of Americans are stuck in middling jobs that cannot support a family, while a select few enjoy the benefits of rampant inequality."

NJ State AFL-CIO Praises Gov. Murphy on Equal Pay Order: "Marking one of his first actions in office, Governor Phil Murphy (D) signed an executive order promoting equal pay for equal work for women. The New Jersey State AFL-CIO released the following statement following the announcement."

In Houston, Working Families Seek to Reclaim King's Dream: "This past weekend in Houston, the AFL-CIO hosted its Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference, with a theme of 'Reclaiming Our Dream: Strategize, Organize, Mobilize.' Hundreds of working family advocates came together to shift the rules and build power so that working communities can thrive and families can enjoy the fruits of their labor."

From Christmas Trees to Casinos: Worker Wins: "Our latest roundup of worker wins begins with a victory for Christmas tree workers in North Carolina and includes numerous examples of working people organizing, bargaining and mobilizing for a better life."

King and Meany Brought Civil Rights and Labor Together for a Legacy That Continues Today: "Beginning in 1960, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and then-President George Meany of the AFL-CIO began a relationship that would help bring the labor and civil rights movements together with a combined focus on social and economic justice."

Celebrating the Life and Work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: "Many chapters in the story of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. are well-known to Americans. The I Have a Dream speech. The Nobel Peace Prize. The Mountaintop speech. His Letter from a Birmingham Jail. His commitment to nonviolence. All the incredible accomplishments of a visionary."

Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 01/23/2018 - 09:15

Tips Are More Important Than You Think ROC & NELP

The Donald Trump Labor Department is proposing a rule change that would mean that restaurant servers and bartenders could lose a large portion of their earnings. The rule would overturn one put in place by the Barack Obama administration initiated, which prevents workers in tipped industries from having their tips taken by their employers. Under the new rule, business owners could pay their wait staff and bartenders as little as $7.25 per hour and keep all tips above that amount without having to tell customers what happened.

A new study from the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United and the National Employment Law Project shows that waiters and bartenders earn more in tips than they do from their base hourly wage. The median share of hourly earnings they make from tips makes up nearly 59% of waitstaff earnings and 54% of bartenders' earnings. Allowing employers to take much or all of that tipped income would be a major blow to many working in the restaurant and bar industry.

Workers in these fields are already poorly compensated. A recent study by the Economic Policy Institute and the University of California, Berkeley, found that "median hourly earnings for waiters and bartenders are a meager $10.11 per hour, including tips. That is just $2.86 above the current federal wage floor and far below what workers throughout the country need to make ends meet."

While proponents of the change suggest that businesses might use the tips to give workers more hours or to subsidize non-tipped employees, but with no requirement for such use of the tipped wages, employers could use them in any way they see fit. EPI analysis found that the new rule would transfer $5.8 billion from workers to employers.

Read the full report.

Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 01/22/2018 - 10:44

Women Take to the Streets One Year Later, Still Committed to Fighting Trump Agenda

On the one-year anniversary of the Women's March, activists again took to the streets to demand equality and justice for all. 

Here are some of the key tweets from events around the country:

The Women’s March was an incredible day for working women to make their voices heard. March on! #1YearSinceWomensMarch pic.twitter.com/YF6r70HLfW

— AFL-CIO (@AFLCIO) January 18, 2018

Women are primary breadwinner for 40% of US families, so equal pay isn’t just a “women’s issue,” it’s an economic issue @lizshuler #WomensMarch2018 https://t.co/BobdgC1izY

— AFL-CIO (@AFLCIO) January 21, 2018

600k in LA. 300k in Chicago. 200k in NYC. And tens of thousands more across the country, in cities big and small. #WomensMarch2018 was a massive success—and proof we’re not going away. https://t.co/NKcMbREKVD

— Randi Weingarten (@rweingarten) January 21, 2018

.@marybemcmillan, president of the @NCStateAFLCIO - “Workers’ rights are human rights, and human rights are workers’ rights.” #metoo “Don’t call me baby, it’s CEO!” #RallyOnRaleigh #womenlead #TimesUp pic.twitter.com/Gk6dpRLngD

— WomensMarchOnRaleigh (@WomensMarchNC) January 20, 2018

#WomensMarchNYC #WomensMarch2018 #resist #NeverQuit pic.twitter.com/WR883tyuMM

— DC37, AFSCME (@DistCouncil37) January 20, 2018

Timelapse: Watch thousands take to the streets of Cincinnati for the 2018 Women's March @Enquirer pic.twitter.com/6J73iqKnvM

— Amanda Rossmann (@ARossmann02) January 20, 2018

We’re back! #WomensMarch2018 pic.twitter.com/A4JPS06Qev

— Machinists Union (@MachinistsUnion) January 20, 2018

Huge crowd of #SinglePayer supporters at the San Francisco #WomensMarch2018. Single payer is a feminist issue! #SB562 pic.twitter.com/OlvUqwEXzT

— NationalNursesUnited (@NationalNurses) January 20, 2018

IUPAT DC-5 Organizing Team out in support of Woman's Rights @ Seattle's Women's Rights March 2018 pic.twitter.com/fmyCx02DEU

— josejose (@Josejos32147419) January 20, 2018

.@UFCW1428 were loud and proud at the Women’s March in Los Angeles this weekend! pic.twitter.com/ILIaSpJT74

— UFCW (@UFCW) January 22, 2018

Women's March Milwaukee. Labor in the house. Solidarity! United in the struggle. pic.twitter.com/KEhv0UGpGn

— WI AFL-CIO (@wisaflcio) January 20, 2018

The Missouri AFL-CIO was out in force with the thousands of marchers today in St. Louis. The labor movement has always been on the forefront in this nation’s fight for equality and we aren’t stopping now! An attack on one of us is an attack on us all. #STLWomensMarch pic.twitter.com/i42Curpk1n

— Missouri AFL-CIO (@MOAFLCIO) January 20, 2018

Say it loud, say it proud! Labor Rights are Women’s Rights!

Victory at Los Angeles Times Continues Digital and Newsroom Organizing Momentum

Los Angeles Times newsroom employees made history by voting 248–44 to be represented by the NewsGuild—the first newsroom union in the paper's 136-year history.

The vote at the Times is part of a larger trend that has been going on in recent years where folks in newsrooms that are digital or have a strong digital presence have been exercising their freedom to come together in union.

Approximately 400 employees at Vox Media recently voted to be represented by Writers Guild of America, East, and the company voluntarily recognized the union. The union organizing committee at Vox said: "Through voluntary recognition, Vox Media has joined the growing ranks of digital media companies that understand the necessity of unions to secure basic protections for those of us who work in an always-evolving industry. A union will give us the means to maintain what we love about working for this company, and to have a collective voice when we address anything that may change."

The wave of digital media companies unionizing gained momentum in 2015, when the now-defunct Gawker Media joined numerous other digital companies that recognized unions and ratified contracts, including Vice Media, ThinkProgress and HuffPost. More recently, writers and editors at a number of other digital publications have affiliated with WGAE and currently are in contract negotiations, among them The Intercept, Salon, Thrillist and MTV News.

Some of the owners of these organizations have fought unionization at their company. Joe Rickets, owner of New York-based sites Gothamist and DNAinfo, shut both websites down rather than recognize employees' right to organize. But those exceptions to the trend haven't slowed down working people who recognize the importance of organizing.

Kim Kelly, an editor at Vice Media, explained it: "People were fed up and broke and anxious about the future, and the union gave them a way to take control and force things to change."

Daniel Marans, a reporter at HuffPost, said that digital media publications need to grow with a changing digital workplace: "That comes to things like transparency on pay, having a decent pay scale that allows a ladder of sustainability where you can support yourself on such an income, and having due process and a guarantee of severance in the case of layoffs."

As the most recent votes at the Los Angeles Times and Vox show us, the trend of organizing at digital publications will continue to grow.

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 01/19/2018 - 14:25

Union Organizer and Antiwar Activist Paul Booth Passes at 74 AFSCME

Paul Booth, a longtime union organizer and leading antiwar activist, died this week from chronic lymphocytic leukemia at the age of 74.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued the following statement: 

I offer my deepest condolences to Heather and the entire Booth family. Everyone who had the privilege of knowing and working with Paul is grieving today. Paul was a good friend and a lifelong activist for working people. From college campuses to Chicago union halls to AFSCME headquarters, he gave every minute and ounce of sweat he had to the cause of social justice. Now, more than ever, we must continue that important work. As he recently urged, 'Let us all be missionaries—missionaries for solidarity, for organizing, for growing our unions and for the fights for justice.’

AFSCME President Lee Saunders also spoke about Booth: "Paul was an organizer’s organizer, a man of great generosity and integrity, a friend and mentor to so many people in AFSCME, the labor movement and the progressive community." AFSCME's website paid further tribute to Booth:

But résumé items don’t capture everything he brought and meant to AFSCME. His leadership helped the union grow and thrive, becoming more diverse and dynamic. He was a gifted organizer. He combined passionate idealism with strategic smarts. He spent every day fighting for the right of public service workers to have dignity, security and a better life....

Paul was also a man of generosity, decency and integrity, who believed in paying it forward—in grooming the next generation of activists. He has been a mentor and teacher to so many in AFSCME and beyond.

Paul is survived by his wife, Heather Booth, a powerhouse of her own in the progressive movement. They met at an anti-war sit-in more than 50 years ago, and Paul proposed just a few days later. Paul and Heather have two sons, Gene and Dan, and five grandchildren. 

Paul Booth leaves behind a loving family, legions of friends and admirers, and a towering, inspiring legacy.

Here is video of Booth speaking at the Democratic National Convention in 2016:

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 01/19/2018 - 11:25

In the Air: Renounce a Sexist Past AFA-CWA

Flight Attendants, about 80% women, are ongoing victims of sexual harassment and sexual assault. Not that long ago, the industry marketed the objectification of "stewardesses," a job only available to young, single, perfectly polished women who until 1993 were required to step on a weight scale. Our union was formed to give women a voice and to beat back discrimination and misogyny faced on the job.

We defined our careers at the bargaining table, in the courts and on Capitol Hill. We taught the country to leave the word "stewardess" in the history books. But the industry never disavowed the marketing schemes featuring short skirts, hot pants, and ads that had young women saying things like "I’m Cheryl, fly me."

Even today, we are called pet names, patted on the rear when a passenger wants our attention, cornered in the back galley and asked about our "hottest" layover, and subjected to incidents not fit for print. Like the rest of our society, flight attendants have never had reason to believe that reports of the sexual harassment we experience on the job would be taken seriously, rather than dismissed or retaliated against.

The most effective thing that could be done now is a series of public service announcements from airline chief executives. It would be powerful to hear these men clearly and forcefully denounce the past objectification of flight attendants, reinforce our safety role as aviation’s first responders and pledge zero tolerance of sexual harassment and sexual assault at the airlines. They need to back up their words with action: A survey of our members last year showed the majority of flight attendants have no knowledge of written guidance or training on this issue available through their airline. Increased staffing and clear policies are needed.

Credibility from the industry on this issue isn’t only about keeping only flight attendants safe. It is absurd to think that a group of people frequently harassed for decades can effectively become enforcers during emergencies without this level of clarity about the respect we deserve. Knowing that CEOs will back us up will also make it easier for flight attendants to intervene when passengers are sexually harassed or assaulted on planes. Flight attendants need to know the airlines will take this as seriously as any other safety duty we perform.

Sara Nelson is the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. This article originally appeared at the Washington Post.

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 01/19/2018 - 11:01

Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf Expands Overtime Rules to Benefit Working People

The officers of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, President Rick Bloomingdale and Secretary-Treasurer Frank Snyder, issued the following joint statement on Gov. Tom Wolf’s overtime expansion announcement:

For the last four decades, too many working people have been denied fair compensation for their dedication and productivity. Governor Wolf’s actions are a crucial first step to correcting this imbalance and changing the rules of the economy to benefit Pennsylvania’s workers. Now more than ever, while the federal government is repealing workplace and wage protections for working people, the governor’s initiative on this matter is critically important.

Read the governor’s official announcement below:

Governor Wolf to Modernize Outdated Overtime Rules to Strengthen the Middle Class and Provide Fairness for Workers

Today, as part of his "Jobs That Pay" initiative, Governor Tom Wolf announced a proposal to strengthen the middle class by modernizing Pennsylvania’s outdated overtime rules to increase the pay of nearly half-a-million people to ensure they are compensated fairly for their hard work.

"Pennsylvania’s overtime rules haven’t changed in more than 40 years and workers are paying the price," Wolf said. "I am taking this action to ensure hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who work more than 40 hours a week for the same job receive the overtime pay they have earned.

"It’s simple, if you work overtime, then you should get paid fairly for it. This important step will put more money into the pockets of hardworking people and will help expand the middle class in Pennsylvania."

Governor Wolf made the announcement at The Fresh Grocer of Grays Ferry in Philadelphia, where he was joined by legislators, local elected officials, store management, staff, and local workers, who were quick to praise the governor’s announcement. 

"What the governor is proposing is common sense," said Denise Kennedy, an Upper Darby resident and secretary at Garrettford Elementary School. "Paying workers fairly on the lower end of the pay scale will put more money in our pockets so we can spend it at local businesses. All I can say is, what can I do to help get this done?"

The middle class is built on the idea of hard work and fair pay, but workers in Pennsylvania have not received a minimum wage increase in nearly a decade and overtime rules established in 1977 have not kept up with inflation. 

Many hardworking Pennsylvanians are not getting the overtime pay they deserve. Because the overtime rules have not been updated, employees are covered by an exemption to overtime that was intended for high-wage, white-collar employees more than 40 years ago. As a result, a salaried worker earning up to $24,000 a year, which is below the poverty line for a family of four, can work more than 40, 50, 60 or more hours a week and is not guaranteed overtime at time-and-a-half. 

"Four decades is far too long for Pennsylvania’s overtime regulations to remain stagnant," said Acting Labor & Industry Secretary Jerry Oleksiak. "Updating the overtime rules to keep pace with our 21st century economy is the right thing to do for the hardworking men and women of the commonwealth. It will also generate competitive salaries and reduce turnover, helping to create and keep ‘Jobs that Pay’ here in Pennsylvania."

At the direction of Governor Wolf, the Department of Labor & Industry is finalizing a plan to modernize rules and clarify requirements. The new rules will phase in over four years to increase the salary threshold that requires employers to pay overtime to most salaried workers.

The first step will raise the salary level to determine overtime eligibility for most workers from the federal minimum of $455 per week, $23,660 annually, to $610 per week, $31,720 annually, on Jan. 1, 2020. The threshold will increase to $39,832 on Jan. 1, 2021, followed by $47,892 in 2022, extending overtime eligibility to 370,000 workers and up to 460,000 in four years.

Starting in 2022, the salary threshold will update automatically every three years so workers are not left behind. Additionally, the duties for executive, administration and professional workers will be clarified to make it easier for employers to know if a worker qualifies for overtime. 

"This long-overdue moment for thousands of struggling, hard-working employees in the 8th senatorial district and across Pennsylvania is saying this really is a happy new year," said Sen. Anthony Williams.

When fully implemented, modernizing overtime rules will increase the wages of an estimated 460,000 workers in Pennsylvania. That will lead to a stronger middle class. When workers earn more, they spend it in their local communities, which helps grow the economy throughout the state.

"The governor’s proposal will give many working families in Pennsylvania an increase in their income and will make sure they are paid for the hard work they are doing," said Rep. Jordan Harris. "That additional revenue will help pay utility bills, buy groceries, take vacations, and just make life a little easier."

The Department of Labor & Industry anticipates releasing the proposed to update the regulations for public comments in March. 

This post originally appeared at Pennsylvania AFL-CIO.

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 01/19/2018 - 10:47