5 Things You Need to Know About TPS or Temporary Protected Status

In a turbulent world, countries with more privilege have a powerful ability to protect people from countries experiencing crises such as war, natural disaster or ongoing violence and prevent them from returning to conditions that could cost them their lives. Since 1990, the United States has allowed more than 300,000 immigrants from such countries to live and work here under Temporary Protected Status.

Anti-immigrant groups are pushing the administration to end TPS status, which would strip away work authorization from hardworking men and women and risk sending them back into harm's way. Although we hear a lot about the refugee program, too little is known about TPS. Here are five things working people need to know about this important program:

1. TPS immigrants receive provisional protection against deportation and temporary permission to work in the United States. The majority of current TPS holders have been working in and contributing to our communities for more than 15 years. They pay taxes, join unions, own homes and raise families.

2. TPS status for each country must be renewed at least every 18 months, and each time workers renew their permits they undergo a new security screening.

3. In all, more than 320,000 people from 10 countries are at risk of losing protected status in 2018.  El Salvador leads the way with nearly 200,000 people, followed by Honduras and Haiti, as countries with the largest population to be affected. Other TPS countries include Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

4. TPS designations are made based on extreme circumstances that persist. Sudan, for instance, is still under a State Department travel advisory that warns travelers not to visit the country because of ongoing risks of terrorism, armed conflict and violent crime. Haiti is in turmoil after being hit not only with a devastating earthquake, but by a massive cholera epidemic and multiple category 4 hurricanes.

5. The AFL-CIO opposes this attack on working people. Failure to renew TPS will actively harm our economy, our communities and our unions. We want more working people to have rights on the job, not fewer.

Take action today to hold the line on workplace rights for TPS holders.

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 10/13/2017 - 09:10

What Working People Are Saying About the Janus Supreme Court Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari in the case Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, meaning the court will hold a hearing and make a ruling on the case. The case started with the billionaire governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner, attempting to undercut the voice of public service workers through the courts. Janus is party of a broader strategy by corporate-funded organizations like the State Policy Network, which admits that the whole point of Janus is to strike a "mortal blow" and "defund and defang" unions. Working people are speaking out against these attempts to use the courts to attack their rights. Here's what they are saying:

Stephen Mittons, AFSCME Council 31 member, child protection investigator for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services:

My work as a child protection investigator for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is vital to the safety of our state’s most vulnerable children and families. This court case is yet another political attack on the freedom of my colleagues and I to speak up to ensure that we can safely and adequately manage our caseloads, which reflects our commitment to safety and public service to our communities.

Jeff Price, AFT Local 3 member, teacher at Central High School, School District of Philadelphia:

My union just went through a lengthy contract fight in Philadelphia. We had to fight hard to protect our students’ basic needs, such as having at least one nurse and counselor in each school and ensuring that kids had necessary textbooks and materials. And we had to fight back against the district's desire to eliminate class sizes and get lead testing for the school's water fountains. Most people assume that the union only fights for teachers' rights, when in reality, most of our contract is there to protect the basic rights and needs of our students. Those rights are at grave risk in Janus.

Sonya Shpilyuk, NEA member, high school English teacher, Montgomery County, Maryland:

More and more, the economy is working against working people, including the families whose children I teach. My union gives me a voice and a seat at the table to advocate for my students, my colleagues and my community.

Edna Logan, SEIU Local 99 member, custodian at Esteban Torres School, Los Angeles Unified School District:

By sticking together in our union, we've lifted the wage floor to a $15 minimum wage, protected and expanded health care benefits for our families, and won more funding for our schools. Together, we’ll continue to fight to ensure all students have the support and services they need to succeed in school. That’s why the extremists are attacking us, to stop our progress. But we plan to stick together no matter what and keep standing up for quality public services.

Lee Saunders, president, AFSCME:

This case is yet another example of corporate interests using their power and influence to launch a political attack on working people and rig the rules of the economy in their own favor. When working people are able to join strong unions, they have the strength in numbers they need to fight for the freedoms they deserve, like access to quality health care, retirement security and time off work to care for a loved one. The merits of the case and 40 years of Supreme Court precedent and sound law are on our side. We look forward to the Supreme Court honoring its earlier rulings.

Randi Weingarten, president, AFT:

Unions are all about fighting for and caring about people—and in the public sector that includes those we represent and those we protect and teach in communities across America. Yet corporations, wealthy interests and politicians have manufactured Janus as part of their long and coordinated war against unions. Their goal is to further weaken workers’ freedom to join together in a union, to further diminish workers’ clout.

These powerful interests want to gut one of the last remaining checks on their control—a strong and united labor movement that fights for equity and opportunity for all, not just the privileged few. And under the guise of the First Amendment, they want to overturn a 40-year precedent that’s been reaffirmed numerous times. In other words, this would be a radical departure from well-established law. We believe that after resolving a similar case last year, the Supreme Court erred in granting cert in Janus, and that the trumped-up underpinnings of the plaintiff’s argument will rapidly become clear before the full bench.

Lily Eskelsen García, president, NEA:

For decades, corporate CEOs and the wealthy have fought to enrich themselves at the expense of the rights and pocketbooks of working people, and that harms families in communities across the country. As the nation’s largest union, we know this fight will not only impact the lives of educators, but it also impacts the families of the children we educate. We won’t back down from this fight and we will always stand up to support working people, our students and the communities we serve.

Mary Kay Henry, president, SEIU:

The anti-worker extremists behind this case want to divide working people, make it harder to pool our resources and limit our collective power. But SEIU members won't let any court case stand in our way of sticking together for good jobs and strong communities.

A statement from the four biggest public sector unions (AFSCME, AFT, NEA and SEIU):

The Janus case is a blatantly political and well-funded plot to use the highest court in the land to further rig the economic rules against everyday working people. The billionaire CEOs and corporate interests behind this case, and the politicians who do their bidding, have teamed up to deliver yet another attack on working people by striking at the freedom to come together in strong unions. The forces behind this case know that by joining together in strong unions, working people are able to win the power and voice they need to level the economic and political playing field. However, the people behind this case simply do not believe that working people deserve the same freedoms they have: to negotiate a fair return on their work.

Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 10/12/2017 - 09:28

Tags: Janus

World Day for Decent Work: Immigrant Protections Essential for Achieving Decent Work

Oct. 7 marks the 10th annual World Day for Decent Work, a day when unions across the globe mobilize for decent work. In local events, workers highlight issues of corporate greed, low wages, inequality and injustice. In the United States, immigrant workers and communities are under attack as the Donald Trump administration threatens some of the few protections available to immigrants in vulnerable circumstances. This undermines decent work and the ability of all working people to come together to assert their rights on the job.

The Trump administration has announced that it will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which will strip away work authorization from nearly 800,000 productive members of our society. Further, the administration is currently assessing if it will recertify Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a designation that protects some 330,000 people who fled war, natural disaster and instability and allows them the opportunity to rebuild their lives in the U.S. Ten countries in all currently have TPS designation: El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The labor movement will work tirelessly to defend these important protections.

DACA and TPS holders are our co-workers, union sisters and brothers, and neighbors. Tens of thousands work in industries such as hospitality, construction, food processing, education and retail. They are leaders in our unions and communities. Many have lived in the U.S. for decades. Many fear returning home.

The longtime failure of Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform and create a pathway to citizenship for millions of hardworking immigrants has created a crisis in which one out of 20 workers in our country lacks formal work authorization. Rather than expanding rights and protections to this population, the Trump administration is expanding the pool of vulnerable workers in our labor force. The resulting threat of deportations weakens our unions and labor rights for all workers.

The entire workforce will suffer if these working people are stripped of their rights and status. The labor movement strongly condemns the efforts to criminalize immigrant communities. Instead of deporting immigrants, we need to ensure that all working people have rights on the job and are able to exercise them without fear of retaliation.

On World Day for Decent Work, we must hold the line on workplace rights and defend these important protections. A future of decent work, equality and shared prosperity is only possible if all workers are free to join together regardless of where they came from. Call on lawmakers today to defend DACA and TPS by signing our petition.

Kenneth Quinnell Sat, 10/07/2017 - 11:35

The Economy Loses 33,000 Jobs in September, and Unemployment Was Little Changed at 4.2%

The U.S. economy lost 33,000 jobs in September, and unemployment was little changed at 4.2%, according to figures released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The decline likely reflects the impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

In response to the September jobs numbers, AFL-CIO Chief Economist William Spriggs tweeted:

September's #JobsReport clearly shows labor market is still recovering (as long term unemployment falling) not a structural shift @AFLCIO pic.twitter.com/UuterBTuzw

— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) October 6, 2017

Over the year, from last September, wages up 2.9% That is too modest for the @federalreserve to consider sticking to raising interest rates

— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) October 6, 2017

#JobsReport may show effect of Hurricane Irma. Payroll employment fell by 33,000. Household survey shows employment up unemployment down.

— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) October 6, 2017

Black Employment-to-Population ration continues to show its climb back that started in 2011 @CBTU72 @dchometownboy @rolandsmartin @AFLCIO pic.twitter.com/BIrRhFO7Gj

— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) October 6, 2017

Broadest measure of unemployment U-6 falls from 8.6 to 8.3% in September (this includes part time workers who want full time work) @AFLCIO

— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) October 6, 2017

The sign of Hurricane Irma and remnants of Harvey is the 105,000 drop in food service and drinking establishments payroll @AFLCIO

— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) October 6, 2017

Last month's biggest job gains were in health care (23,000), transportation and warehousing (22,000), financial activities (10,000), and professional and business services (13,000). Employment in food services and drinking places dropped sharply in September (-105,000) and manufacturing (-1,000) also saw a decline. Employment in other major industries, including mining, construction, wholesale trade, retail trade, information and government, showed little change over the month.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for teenagers (12.9%), blacks (7.0%), Hispanics (5.1%), adult men (3.9%), adult women (3.9%), Asians (3.7%) and whites (3.7%) showed little or no change in September.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was down slightly in September and accounted for 25.5% of the unemployed.

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 10/06/2017 - 10:43

On Manufacturing Day, Let’s Salute the Dreamers — and Make Sure They Can Succeed

This Manufacturing Day post is for all the dreamers out there. For the young men and women who will imagine and invent things that will make the world a better place. And for the folks who will make those incredible things right here in America.

These dreamers will join a long line of change-makers. As a nation, we’ve always risen to the challenge to make a better future for the next generation, although we often take a step or two back before getting it right. As we honor our nation’s makers — past, present and future — it’s important to take stock of what we’ve done well and where we need to make some changes.

Think of the Rosie the Riveters who built the indefatigable Arsenal of Democracy but were forced from work after World War II—and whose daughters and granddaughters still face entirely too much unequal pay, discrimination and harassment. Nevertheless, CEOs such as General Motors’ Mary Barra, female entrepreneurs who launch start-up manufacturers, and a new surge of women embracing the age of digital manufacturing hint at the possibilities (if policies and practices change).

Or think of the black steelworkers who spent decades fighting for opportunity and equality, only to achieve a taste of it just as their mills were shuttered by a lethal combination of imports and advances in automation beginning in the 1970s. Their sons and daughters still reel from instances of police violence, discrimination and horrors, like the white supremacists we all witnessed in Charlottesville just a few weeks ago. But when I see programs like Austin Career and College Academy on the West Side of Chicago and Focus: HOPE in Detroit, I see a glimpse of the future (if we can just get it right).

And think of the proud factory workers who, over the course of our nation’s history, built the world’s largest and most innovative manufacturing economy, only to see it outsourced, devalued and held hostage to a philosophy that placed a premium on cheap consumer goods at the expense of good, stable, middle-class jobs.

The consequence of that job loss has rippled through millions of workers’ lives and thousands of communities. It has even altered our life expectancy rates, our marital rates and, of course, our politics. It’s more than an economic side effect. Deindustrialization has led America down a dead-end alley from which we’ve yet to emerge.

Still, some amazing entrepreneurs are still betting on making things in America, and we’ve managed to add back 1 million manufacturing jobs since the Great Recession, so all is not yet lost.

When some manufacturers grumble about not being able to find skilled workers, wondering why young people can’t see job opportunities right in front of them, I have to bite my tongue. These folks often assume it’s the inaccurate image of manufacturing as dirty and dangerous that’s keeping those doors shut, or perhaps the next generation doesn’t want to work hard.

I don’t want to minimize the challenges we face in replacing a rapidly retiring factory workforce or developing talent within an educational system that for decades squeezed out technical training before realizing that was a mistake. There’s a lot of important work to do here.

These kids — these dreamers — are woke. Now more than ever, job applicants want to know the values of the men and women they’ll be working for. How did their employers respond to these challenges I’ve mentioned? And how will they invest in developing the skills and careers of their workers?

Manufacturing Day should be a two-way street.

Even in an age of automation and globalization, there are a lot of reasons to think that millions more Americans can be working in manufacturing over the next decade. We have a strong energy advantage. We have a robust consumer market. We have an entrepreneurial culture. While more robots will be found on factory floors, the industry is already highly automated. With new products, more market share and sharpened skills, we can create more factory jobs. With the right mindsets in the public and private sectors, we can guarantee that the next generation of really amazing things can be made right here.

So keep dreaming, young dreamers. But remember to keep your eyes wide open while you do. Happy Manufacturing Day — now let’s go make something together.

This guest post from Scott Paul, president of Alliance for American Manufacturing, originally appeared at Medium.

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 10/06/2017 - 08:57

NAFTA Negotiations Still Need Improvement

On Sept. 27, the United States, Canada and Mexico finished the third round of the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiation talks. We’ve been told these talks will “get a better deal for our workers,” but the negotiating goals seem to prioritize getting a better deal for corporations that want to offshore jobs and decrease wages. That means NAFTA will continue to make it harder for you to get a raise. 

The negotiations are held behind closed doors. The public does not have access to the negotiating texts. This means we know few details—and the devil is always in the details when we’re talking trade. That alone means there is cause for concern: Transparent and democratic negotiations are the AFL-CIO’s #1 recommendation for creating a fair and progressive trade policy.

In other areas, there have been a number of public statements about the negotiations that make us skeptical that these negotiations will reduce corporate power and replace it with rules that protect working people across North America. And if it isn’t fair for all of us, it won’t be fair for any of us. After all, we don’t live or work in an isolated economy. We must bring up standards for working people in all three NAFTA countries.

Get involved by signing this petition and texting TRADE to 235246. 

Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 10/05/2017 - 10:35

Tags: NAFTA

Working Families Join Together to Help Puerto Rico

As the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico continues, working people from across the country are joining together to help with recovery and rebuilding.

The AFL-CIO is teaming up with the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), Machinists (IAM) and United Airlines to fly more than 300 first responders and skilled volunteers to Puerto Rico to help with relief and rebuilding efforts. The flight was a response to the urgent need to get highly skilled workers to Puerto Rico to help people seeking medical and humanitarian assistance, as well as to help with the rebuilding effort. The nurses, doctors, electricians, engineers, carpenters and truck drivers on the flight will engage in various efforts, including helping clear road blockages, caring for hospital patients, delivering emergency supplies, and restoring power and communications. More than 20 unions have members on the flight.

The flight will be operated by members of ALPA and AFA-CWA who volunteered their time, and IAM members will work as ramp employees to support the flight. The flight also will transport more than 35,000 pounds of emergency relief supplies, including food, water and essential equipment. So far, United has carried nearly 740,000 pounds of relief-related cargo. The return flight will bring evacuees back. United, so far, has evacuated more than 1,300 Puerto Ricans in the wake of Hurricane Maria's devastation.

About the flight, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said:

The working families of Puerto Rico are our brothers and sisters. And this incredible partnership will bring skilled workers to the front lines to deliver supplies, care for victims and rebuild Puerto Rico. Our movement is at its best when we work together during times of great need. But we are even better when we find common ground and partner with business and industry on solutions to lift up our communities. This endeavor is entirely about working people helping working people in every way possible. In times of great tragedy, our country comes together, and we are committed to doing our part to assist the people of Puerto Rico.

AFA-CWA President Sara Nelson said:

When our union sisters and brothers see a need in our national or international community, we don’t ask if we should act, we ask how. Today is the result of our collective strength, compassion and commitment to action. I am proud United responded to the call to carry a union of relief workers among America’s working families to care for our sisters and brothers in Puerto Rico. We are united in lifting up our fellow Americans. It is an honor to serve on the volunteer crew of Flight Attendants and Pilots transporting skilled relief workers and returning to New York with hundreds needing safe passage out of Puerto Rico.

The chairman of ALPA United Airlines, Capt. Todd Insler, said:

Our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico need help and this is a race against time. The ALPA pilots of United Airlines are honored to fly these skilled workers and medical professionals to San Juan today and will continue to support the humanitarian efforts going forward. We applaud these brave volunteers who are dedicating their time, selflessly leaving their homes and families, and answering the call to help. The strength of the unions represented on this flight comes from workers joining together to help one another. Likewise, the strength of this joint relief effort comes from all of us—labor, management and government—standing together to help our fellow citizens in their time of need.

IAM General Vice President Sito Pantoja said:

This flight carries not only much-needed supplies and skilled union labor, but also the love and support of more than 33,000 IAM members at United who will continue helping the people of Puerto Rico recover.

Here are some of the other comments about the trip and the overall efforts by working families to help out in Puerto Rico:

AFT President Randi Weingarten said:

These nurses and health professionals represent who we are as a union—caring and springing into action to help people when needed. To the people of Puerto Rico, tu lucha es mi lucha; your fight is our fight. We will be with you every step of the way to ensure our members and the people of Puerto Rico are cared for, the island is rebuilt and public schools are reopened.

Ready to launch the #UnionsUnited relief flight to #PuertoRico with talented @NationalNurses union members volunteering their skills #1u pic.twitter.com/k8giRZNSdn

— Liz Shuler (@lizshuler) October 4, 2017

Liz Shuler secty treas @AFLCIO & @IBEW local 3 union electricians on #PuertoRicoRelief #PuertoRico --some of the 300 pic.twitter.com/G2EH0d5gbZ

— Damon Silvers (@DamonSilvers) October 4, 2017

Proud to be with over 300 volunteers at Newark airport who will fly to help with #PuertoRicoRelief #unionsunited https://t.co/l8BkoWvWDo

— Liz Shuler (@lizshuler) October 4, 2017

It was an honor to join allies and @32BJSEIU members in demanding an immediate & sufficient aid to relieve & rebuild Puerto Rico. #RebuildPR pic.twitter.com/wFiDYHFMm8

— Mary Kay Henry (@MaryKayHenry) October 4, 2017

Our movement is at its best when we work together during times of great need. https://t.co/PZaPUbD9I8 #PuertoRicoRelief #UnionsUnited pic.twitter.com/UNuX8eV4Fb

— AFL-CIO (@AFLCIO) October 4, 2017

 

Teamster volunteers depart for #PuertoRico to assist with relief efforts: https://t.co/1mgZjibjjq #UnionsUnited #PuertoRicoRelief #1u pic.twitter.com/tpNAejzslA

— Teamsters (@Teamsters) October 4, 2017

25 @AFTHealthcare members boarded a plane full of @AFLCIO members to do recovery work in Puerto Rico this AM. pic.twitter.com/MosbprLCZt #1u

— AFT Pennsylvania (@AFTPA) October 4, 2017

Help working families in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands: https://t.co/i5Hw62YTxk

— OPCMIA International (@opcmiaintl) October 3, 2017

Luis lived through Hurricane Maria & says the thing you can do right now is make a donation https://t.co/OUVW1bX9BR https://t.co/2u7Fufg9QL

— United Steelworkers (@steelworkers) October 3, 2017

Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 3010 members who work for AT&T Mobility splicing fiber at a damaged cell tower:

CWA Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 10/05/2017 - 08:11

Miners Working with Congress to Solve Pension Crisis

Strong bipartisan legislation has been introduced in recent congressional sessions to solve the pension crisis currently facing America's mine workers. The Miners Protection Act is a response to a growing insolvency problem with the Mine Workers (UMWA) 1974 Pension Plan. The legislation would protect the pensions of 87,000 current beneficiaries and 20,000 more who have vested for their pensions but have not yet begun drawing them. We've waited too long to see this problem addressed, and Congress should act now.

The pension fund for America's mine workers began as a promise from President Harry Truman in 1946 that America would protect the health and welfare of coal miners, who were vital to the country's safety and growth. In 1974, changes were made to the plan to strengthen these protections. But in recent years, a combination of extremely depressed coal markets, coal company bankruptcies and other factors have caused a significant dropoff in the employer contributions to the fund. In the past two years, contributions to the plan have fallen by more than $100 million, setting up significant problems in the near future, with the fund currently projected to go bankrupt in 2022 or 2023.

Specifically, the legislation would:

1. Include a provision from the original Miners Protection Act allowing transfers of excess funds in the Abandoned Mine Land program to the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan.
2. Direct the Treasury Department to loan the 1974 UMWA Plan funds annually to prevent insolvency.
3. Cap the annual loan amount at $600 million and set the interest rate at 1%.
4. Require the fund to pay interest only for the first 10 years and then pay back the principal plus interest over a 30-year term.
5. Require the fund to certify each year that the pension plan is solvent and able to pay back the remaining principal and interest.
6. Actuarial analyses indicate that the UMWA 1974 Plan would need to take loans for as little as four years.

Learn more about the legislation.

Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 10/04/2017 - 12:37

Working People Need Fair Currency Rules in #NAFTA CLKer.com

One of the reasons that so-called U.S. “trade” deals (such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA) should really be called “offshoring” deals is that they do not contain any enforceable restrictions on currency misalignment and manipulation. Without such restrictions, countries can game the value of their currency to gain a trade advantage that provides corporations an incentive to strip jobs and wages from the U.S.

China’s currency manipulation and misalignment in recent decades helped displace 3.4 million U.S. jobs and cost America’s working families $37 billion in wages in 2011 alone. You see, when trade between countries gets out of balance, with one country racking up mounting deficits and another racking up mounting surpluses, the currencies of each country are supposed to adjust, making the exports of the deficit country (in this case the U.S.) relatively cheaper, which would eventually create a rough balance of trade.

But when currencies don’t adjust properly—which can happen when a country purposely holds the value of its currency down, as China did for a couple decades—balance won’t be achieved. Misaligned currency creates incentives for global companies to invest in the countries with the lower valued currency, such as China (where they are also confident they can exploit workers) and to disinvest in the countries with the higher valued currency, such as the U.S., where employers can use the threat of offshoring to drive down wages.

Trade deals like NAFTA should fight this trend, not exacerbate it. But they never have. NAFTA and other trade deals (such as the WTO, CAFTA and the TPP) were written to benefit global companies, not working people. That can change with a new NAFTA, but we still don’t know yet if a final deal will create new, people-centered trade rules. So far, we don’t know if enforceable currency rules will be in the new deal. If the administration fails to propose enforceable currency rules, it will signal that the “new” NAFTA isn’t very new at all, but the same old corporate power grab that continues to push down wages all across North America.

You can help by calling the U.S. Trade Representative’s office at 202-395-6135 and demanding that negotiators include enforceable currency rules in NAFTA. Then text TRADE to 235246 to learn what else you can do to join the fight for a new and better North American economy!

This is the fourth in a series of blog posts on what rules are needed to create a new North American economy.  Read more.

Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 10/03/2017 - 10:53

Tags: NAFTA

Working Families Respond to Mass Shooting in Nevada

After yet another mass shooting last night, this time in Las Vegas, working families and their allies responded to the tragic evening. Below are their responses.

Steve Sisolak, chair of Clark County Commission in Las Vegas, has set up a GoFundMe page to collect donations to aid the victims and their families. Please visit the Las Vegas Victims' Fund and contribute what you can.

Thank you to all the first-responders caring for the victims in this terrible attack. https://t.co/G0glCXbaX3

— Richard L. Trumka (@RichardTrumka) October 2, 2017

Thoughts and prayers are with tourists and workers tonight on the Las Vegas Strip.

— The Culinary Union (@Culinary226) October 2, 2017

BREAKING: Statement by Culinary Union's Geoconda Argüello-Kline regarding the mass shooting in Las Vegas last night: https://t.co/q3h4qLuKgn pic.twitter.com/6pilcgiRGg

— The Culinary Union (@Culinary226) October 2, 2017

pic.twitter.com/GwwCyaPcdQ

— IATSE LOCAL 720 (@iatselocal720) October 2, 2017

2 off-duty @UFLAC #firefighters among #CA 1st resp. injured in #VegasShooting. Non-life threatening #PrayForVegas https://t.co/O2VQm8qZHt

— CPF (@CAFirefighters) October 2, 2017

TY to @NVAFLCIO, @smartunionworks, Bartenders, @TheIronworkers, @LIUNA & all labor brothers & sisters who've helped today! #LasVegas pic.twitter.com/vHraIMFll9

— Michelle White (@MickyWhiteNV) October 2, 2017

Thank you to all the first-responders caring for the victims in this terrible attack. https://t.co/G0glCXbaX3

— Richard L. Trumka (@RichardTrumka) October 2, 2017

These are locations where you can donate blood. SPREAD THE NEWS! pic.twitter.com/t9g1f0GXwn

— Marlene (@Marlenec_c) October 2, 2017

Union members, see below. Lend a helping hand. https://t.co/0GGnV6TQP0

— AFL-CIO (@AFLCIO) October 2, 2017

We thank the fire fighters, police, and medical professionals for their quick response and the work they've done to save lives.

— DPE (@DPEaflcio) October 2, 2017

Mass Shooting in #LasVegas: How to Talk to Students https://t.co/LDIAt5JiqP

— CA Teachers Assoc. (@WeAreCTA) October 2, 2017

Thinking of those who died & were wounded in #Vegas #shooting. Our hearts go out to first responders trying to help https://t.co/uOYcfr3LEr pic.twitter.com/xUni1QFYsy

— Bonnie Castillo (@NNUBonnie) October 2, 2017

Pray for the victims and their families in Vegas today.Another reminder how precious life is and how we must watch and care for one another.

— D. Taylor (@DTaylorUH) October 2, 2017

If you are trying to locate a loved one in Las Vegas, call 1-866-535-5654.

— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) October 2, 2017

Thoughts and Prayers are with our Las Vegas @ActorsEquity members. BAZ company is safe. Will continue to update.

— Christa Jackson (@AEARepChrista) October 2, 2017

There have been more mass shootings than days this year. It is long, long overdue for Congress to take action on gun safety.

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) October 2, 2017

Our thoughts and hearts are in Las Vegas with victims & their loved ones.

— Transp. Trades Dept. (@TTDAFLCIO) October 2, 2017

Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families in Las Vegas. #PrayingforVegas pic.twitter.com/kxNsyLUbNQ

— AFSA Leadership (@AFSAUnion) October 2, 2017

Our condolences to the victims and families of the #LasVegasShooting. #1u

Statement from President @IAMBobMartinez: https://t.co/FsPmzrB6wH pic.twitter.com/P5aSnMDTql

— Machinists Union (@MachinistsUnion) October 2, 2017 Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 10/02/2017 - 13:18

The Great Con: 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.

AFL-CIO Leader Trumka Hits Trump Tax Plan: "AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka hit hard at GOP President Donald Trump’s tax plan. He predicted it would eventually lead to Republican agitation for more cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Trump unveiled the plan, after weeks of work by his business-dominated economic team. It calls for a cut in the corporate tax rate from its current 35 percent to 20 percent and eliminates the estate tax, a favorite GOP cause."

GOP Tax Plan Is 'The Great Con,' Says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka: "Trumka said a tax plan that would be good for working people should have corporations and the rich paying their fair share. It should also create enough revenue to create jobs and should destroy all incentives to offshore jobs and profits, he added. 'This tax plan fails miserably on all three of those things.'"

Cecil Roberts: Graham-Cassidy a Bad Song That Gets Worse Every Time We Hear It: "President Trump was right when he said health care is complicated. What is not complicated, however, is what working people want from our health care system. We want to be able to get the care our families need — when we need it — at a price that does not leave us bankrupt."

A Tax Plan That Works for the People, Not Wall Street: "Working people are tired of hearing how tax giveaways for Wall Street billionaires and corporations will supposedly trickle down to the rest of us. Too many politicians and pundits want us to believe our country is broke, and we have no choice but to demand sacrifices from working people, yet they have no trouble finding trillions of dollars to waste on tax giveaways for people who do not need them. They want to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, education and infrastructure to pay for tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy."

Unions Are Our Best Chance for Changing Our Economy and Politics: "This month, MaryBe McMillan made history when she was unanimously elected as the first woman president of the North Carolina AFL-CIO. A native of Hickory, North Carolina, and a leading advocate nationally for building labor's presence in the South, McMillan has served as secretary-treasurer of the state federation since 2005, working alongside outgoing president James Andrews, the first African American to hold that post. After the convention, Facing South publisher Chris Kromm talked with McMillan about the state of labor in North Carolina and the South, and why unions are a key piece of the broader progressive movement."

Fact-Checking Inaccurate News About the Jones Act: "On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced he would be waiving the Jones Act in response to devastation that has hit the island of Puerto Rico. Much of the reporting about this has included inaccurate information. Here are the real facts about the Jones Act and Puerto Rico."

Republican Tax Plan a Con Game Against Working People: "Yesterday, President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress released their new tax plan. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka responded to the proposal."

Iowa Teachers Overwhelmingly Reject Attack on Working People: "In February, then-Gov. Terry Branstad (R) signed into law a bill that was a direct attack on the rights of working people. In the first major test of the new law, Iowa's teachers and faculty rejected the attacks and recertified 13 bargaining units overwhelmingly yesterday."

Students Work Together to Create Change at Nike: "In a powerful illustration of the ability of grassroots activists to challenge corporate power, United Students Against Sweatshops, the nation’s leading student organization focused on issues of worker rights and economic justice, has just scored a crucial victory over the world’s biggest sports apparel and footwear brand: Nike."

Time Is Short to Renew DACA Status: "The Donald Trump administration recently announced it will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, an outrageous decision that will strip status and work permits away from nearly 800,000 productive members of our society. The labor movement strongly condemns these efforts to criminalize young working people and will work tirelessly to defend and extend these important protections. While we continue to push Congress and the administration, there are some important things that you need to know if you or a family member, co-worker, neighbor or friend have DACA."

Check Out the More Than 250 Union-Made Options for National Drink Beer Day: "Our friends at Labor 411 inform us that National Drink Beer Day is totally a real thing and that it takes place on Sept. 28. Don't worry, though, they have the definitive list of union-made beers ready for you to check out. Make sure that while you enjoy your beers in celebration of the totally real holiday of National Drink Beer Day, you choose ethically made beers that treat their workers fairly. You have options. More than 250 of them."

Americans in Every Way—Except on Paper: "This month, the Donald Trump administration announced it was ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provided temporary permission for more than 800,000 undocumented young people brought to the United States as children to live and work in the country. The young people covered by DACA include teachers, journalists, entertainers, behavioral health specialists and many other young professionals. As the place in the labor movement for professionals, the members of the affiliate unions of the AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees (DPE) bring to the table a diverse array of backgrounds, nationalities and immigration experiences — including Dreamers.’"

How One AFSCME Local Is Helping Florida Dry Out and Rebuild: "Most times, you can find longtime AFSCME member Bert Walthour serving the city of Miami Beach as a heavy equipment operator. He and his co-workers at Local 1554, AFSCME Florida, where he serves as vice president, make one of the world’s most iconic cities function every day."

NFL Players Association Responds to Attacks on Free Speech: "After President Donald Trump and others attacked the free speech rights of athletes, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) responded to the president's comments."

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 09/29/2017 - 15:21

Working People Are Stepping Up to Help Puerto Rico Seafarers

In the wake of the disastrous effects of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico, union members are stepping up to help with recovery efforts. The situation is so terrible that 100% of the island lacks power, 40% of Puerto Ricans do not have safe drinking water and 60% of the island's vegetation has been knocked down, covering roads and houses, which makes recovery efforts even more challenging.

The labor movement stands with our sisters and brothers in Puerto Rico, and we're here to help make sure that the work that needs to get done will get done.

José Rodríguez Báez, president of the Federation of Workers of Puerto Rico, spoke with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka about recovery efforts:

In the conversation, we explained to Trumka that there has not been enough help with the speed that is required and that we are already in a humanitarian crisis. He assured us that he will communicate with President Trump and congressional leaders to demand the help our people need.

In a call with union leaders in Puerto Rico, Trumka explained the labor federation's response:

We want you and your families to know that they are our priority, and we will not fail them....

We have the skills they need in Puerto Rico. The caregivers and first responders. The heavy equipment operators and truck drivers. The electricians and linemen. The waste disposal workers.

Literally paths have to be cleared through debris. People have to be kept alive in hospitals. Temporary power has to be set up to critical sites like hospitals and telecommunications hubs.

We have been in contact with the Puerto Rican Federation of Labor and with the city of San Juan. Some of you may have seen the Mayor of San Juan on MSNBC talking about how badly they need help.

And we have an opportunity to help. Thanks to the work of the Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) and the Pilots (ALPA), United Airlines has offered us a plane to fly needed skilled workers and relief supplies to San Juan. The plane is available to leave Newark Airport on Wednesday.

The mayor of San Juan and the Puerto Rican labor movement have given us a list of needed workers. They need nurses and doctors, truck drivers, heavy equipment operators, clean up workers, electricians, plumbers, carpenters and other skilled trades.

We can fly volunteers from Newark to San Juan, we have housing and food arranged with the city of San Juan and FEMA, and we can fly volunteers back to Newark. We need union members with the right skills, and a readiness to spend two weeks helping to save their fellow Americans who frankly have been abandoned by their government.

Whenever disaster strikes, union members are on the front lines making sure that their families, friends and fellow Americans recover and rebuild. We will do the same in Puerto Rico.

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 09/29/2017 - 14:47

Fact-Checking Inaccurate News About the Jones Act

On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced he would be waiving the Jones Act in response to devastation that has hit the island of Puerto Rico. Much of the reporting about this has included inaccurate information. Here are the real facts about the Jones Act and Puerto Rico.

True or False: The Jones Act was impeding relief efforts to Puerto Rico.

False: Foreign-flag ships with cargo from ports outside the United States have always been allowed entry to Puerto Rico.

True or False: Unions oppose waiving the Jones Act in an emergency so that ships can access Puerto Rico.

False: Maritime labor has never, not once, opposed a waiver of the Jones Act in an emergency when there were not enough ships or mariners to handle the job. We have never let a ship sail shorthanded.

True or False: Waiving the Jones Act is critical to aiding Puerto Rico at this time.

False: One of the biggest challenges in Puerto Rico is unloading the current cargo ships that are docked as well as the containers at port, not getting more foreign cargo ships. About 9,500 containers of goods were moved by domestic maritime companies to help its residents recover. In the immediate aftermath, one state-of-the-art large container ship arrived with more than 35 million pounds of cargo. This is the equivalent carrying capacity of 1,900 cargo planes. In anticipation of the island’s needs, the domestic American maritime industry stowed some 3,000 containers filled with goods in the terminals prior to the hurricane landing. Jones Act vessels have the capacity to carry more than 4,000 containers per week to Puerto Rico.

True or False: Waiving the Jones Act would add efficiency to delivery of goods.

False: Because of infrastructure challenges, a Jones Act waiver could hinder, not help, relief efforts. A Jones Act waiver could overwhelm the system. There are logistical bottlenecks as a result of the inability to distribute goods within Puerto Rico due to road blockages, communications disruptions and concerns about equipment shortages, including trucks, chassis and containers.

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 09/29/2017 - 10:35

Republican Tax Plan a Con Game Against Working People

Yesterday, President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress released their new tax plan. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka responded to the proposal:

The tax plan Republicans put out [yesterday] is nothing but a con game, and working people are the ones they’re trying to con. Here we go again. First comes the promise that tax giveaways for the wealthy and big corporations will trickle down to the rest of us. Then comes the promise that tax cuts will pay for themselves. Then comes the promise that they want to stop offshoring. And finally, we find out none of these things is true, and the people responsible for wasting trillions of dollars on tax giveaways to the rich tell us we have no choice but to cut Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, education and infrastructure. There always seems to be plenty of money for millionaires and big corporations but never enough money to do anything for working people.

Here are some of the terrible proposals included in yesterday’s plan:

• Allowing multinational corporations to pay little to nothing on their offshore profits, which would be a giant tax break for sending jobs overseas and a giant loophole for corporations to avoid paying taxes.
• Eliminating the estate tax, which would benefit only the wealthiest 0.2% of estates, those worth more than $5.5 million.
• Eliminating the alternative minimum tax, which helps keep the wealthy from exploiting loopholes to avoid paying taxes.
• Reducing the top individual tax rate from 39.6% to 35%, which would mainly benefit the rich.
• Reducing the top individual tax rate for business owners from 39.6% to 25%, which would mainly benefit Wall Street hedge fund managers, real estate developers and law firms.
• Reducing the corporate tax rate from 35% to 20%, which would overwhelmingly benefit the rich.
• Increasing the bottom tax bracket from 10% to 12%.
• Eliminating the tax deduction for state and local taxes, which would punish states that make the kind of investments that boost economic growth for the whole country.

We already know that Trump and Republican leaders in Congress want working people to pay the price for these tax giveaways to big corporations and the wealthy. We know this because the budgets they have proposed for the coming year include trillions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, education, infrastructure and other programs benefiting working people.

This is what a tax plan that actually works for working people looks like. It has three overarching principles. First, Wall Street, big corporations and the wealthy must pay their fair share of taxes. Second, tax reform must raise enough additional revenue now and in the future to create good jobs and make the public investment we need in infrastructure, education, and meeting the needs of children, families, seniors and our communities. Third, tax reform must eliminate all tax incentives for corporations to shift jobs and profits offshore.

Unfortunately, the tax plan unveiled yesterday goes in the exact opposite direction. It does not even qualify as "tax reform." It’s just tax cuts for rich people.

Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 09/28/2017 - 14:29

Iowa Teachers Overwhelmingly Reject Attack on Working People

In February, then-Gov. Terry Branstad (R) signed into law a bill that was a direct attack on the rights of working people. In the first major test of the new law, Iowa's teachers and faculty rejected the attacks and recertified 13 bargaining units overwhelmingly yesterday.

The new law is designed to make it harder for workers to exercise their freedom to stand together in union. It requires that public sector unions re-certify every time they negotiate a new contract, a process that usually happens every two to three years. Also, the law requires that the recertification votes must win the majority of all employees covered under the contract, not just the majority of those who participate in the recertification vote.

The two-week recertification process for the 13 bargaining units saw very strong participation, with 89% of eligible voters participating. They sent an overwhelming message, when 1,101 out of 1,291 voters cast their ballots for recertification.

Iowa State Education Association President Tammy Wawro condemned the law: "I think it’s silly we had to do this, but our people understood what’s at stake and they voted, and I think they sent a message."

This is the beginning of the process. In October, nearly 500 local unions and employee associations will face similar recertification votes.

Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 09/28/2017 - 12:44

Students Work Together to Create Change at Nike USAS

In a powerful illustration of the ability of grassroots activists to challenge corporate power, United Students Against Sweatshops, the nation’s leading student organization focused on issues of worker rights and economic justice, has just scored a crucial victory over the world’s biggest sports apparel and footwear brand: Nike.

Back in the late 1990s, USAS, with the support of the AFL-CIO and a number of affiliates, carried out a groundbreaking campaign to convince universities to write binding protections for workers in contract factories into their lucrative apparel licensing deals with Nike, Adidas, Russell Athletic and other brands. The students won, securing not only enforceable labor rights requirements for every factory around the world involved in the production of university logo apparel, but also the creation of a genuinely independent investigative body to handle verification and enforcement. By design, that organization, known as the Worker Rights Consortium, takes no money from any apparel company or other corporation and is accountable instead to universities, students and labor rights organizations. (The AFL-CIO sits on the WRC’s Board of Directors.) Backed by USAS’s activist leverage, and empowered as an enforcement agent for more than 190 universities and colleges, the WRC has exposed labor rights violations at hundreds of garment factories and helped workers end abuses and improve conditions.

In many cases, WRC investigations and USAS campaigns have enabled workers to form unions in some of the toughest organizing environments in the world. These efforts also have compelled brands to make workers whole in cases where the brands’ contractors have stolen workers’ wages. Such restitution is otherwise unheard of in the global garment industry. These successes stand in glaring contrast to the "corporate social responsibility" schemes operated by the brands, which claim to protect workers in supply chains, but serve mainly to protect the reputations of the brands, while poverty wages and abusive, anti-union management practices continue unchecked.

It is because of the power and effectiveness of these binding university labor codes and independent investigations—which have forced Nike to pay millions of dollars in compensation to garment workers at contract factories, allowed workers at more than a dozen key factories to unionize and compelled other improvements—that Nike decided in late 2015 to stop letting the WRC into its factories. Nike also demanded that universities rewrite their licensing agreements with the company to relieve Nike of most of its labor rights obligations. Nike’s gambit represented a genuine threat to everything the students’ labor rights activism had accomplished: because Nike has enormous financial leverage over many of the universities (it has sponsorship deals with some schools worth in excess of $200 million to the schools) its demands can’t be ignored.

Facing the toughest target in the sports apparel industry, USAS swung into action and, over the past year and a half, carried out a national campaign to convince universities to resist Nike’s anti-worker demands and force the company to resume cooperating with the WRC. USAS had no big campaign budget, but the organization has a long track record of effective grassroots mobilization, despite limited resources. USAS organized major campus-level campaigns at more than 25 key schools, involving a range of creative protest tactics, including sit-ins and other direct action. USAS worked with union allies in the Global South to organize tours of university campuses by labor leaders from Thailand and Cambodia, who were able to talk from direct experience about the enormous value to workers of universities’ enforceable labor standards and the WRC’s independent monitoring. From a global day of action, in which workers around the world held solidarity protests, to powerful video compositions featuring the voices of workers from Nike contract factories, to creative use of social media, the USAS campaign was a model of modern grassroots activism—the kind of "asymmetrical warfare" that enables a group of student activists to take on one of the most powerful corporations in the world and win.

And win they did. Urged on by USAS’s activism, Georgetown University, Cornell University, the University of Washington, Rutgers University and other key universities began announcing plans to terminate their contracts with Nike. After extensive negotiations with the WRC, facilitated by Georgetown, Nike agreed to sign a new protocol guaranteeing the WRC access to its factories, on terms stronger than the pre-existing ones Nike was trying to roll back. Nike is now contractually obligated to terminate its business with any supplier that refuses to let WRC investigators in. This outcome reaffirms and strengthens the ability of universities to hold apparel brands that use their logos accountable to internationally recognized labor standards, including the right to organize. It ensures that the WRC will be able to continue its vital work of exposing labor rights abuses in the supply chains of major U.S. brands and aiding workers and unions as they fight to end those abuses and advance their rights.

And, at a time of burgeoning corporate power, with leaders and institutions that are supposed to protect the public interest increasingly prone to defer to corporate priorities, USAS’s campaign shows that corporations like Nike remain vulnerable to well-executed corporate campaigns, fueled by passionate activism. The Nike victory will pay dividends for years to come and it demonstrates that the student-worker alliance forged at USAS’s inception in the late 1990s is as strong as ever.

Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 09/28/2017 - 10:27

Time Is Short to Renew DACA Status

The Donald Trump administration recently announced it will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, an outrageous decision that will strip status and work permits away from nearly 800,000 productive members of our society. The labor movement strongly condemns these efforts to criminalize young working people and will work tirelessly to defend and extend these important protections. While we continue to push Congress and the administration, there are some important things that you need to know if you or a family member, co-worker, neighbor or friend have DACA:

• If your DACA status expires before March 5, 2018, you can still apply to renew for another two years. However, the deadline for renewal applications is Oct. 5, 2017, so it is essential that you begin the process right away. Your union can help you find support to prepare your application and may be able to lend assistance in raising funds to pay the application fee, so reach out immediately if you are in need of help. Please note that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services must receive your application by Oct. 5–a postmark on that date will be too late.
• If your DACA status expires after March 5, 2018, you will maintain your status until the expiration date listed on your paperwork but will not have an opportunity to renew. In addition, you will no longer be given permission to travel abroad. If you already have been granted advance parole, please consult a lawyer before leaving the country.

Now is the time to join the fight to preserve and expand the protections of DACA. The DREAM Act of 2017 would not only ensure that DACA recipients maintain their work authorization, but would also afford them a long overdue pathway to citizenship. This bipartisan legislation would allow young men and women who are part of our workforce, serving in the military or pursuing higher education, to plan for the future and contribute more fully to our communities, our unions and our economy.  When you contact your members of Congress to urge support for the DREAM Act, make sure you demand that they pass a clean bill without any punitive enforcement or anti-workers’ rights provisions.

Your union will be with you in this fight until all working people have rights on the job and in the community. In the meantime, please use and share this fact sheet that summarizes key details of the DACA announcement.

Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 09/28/2017 - 08:14

Tags: DACA

Check Out the More Than 250 Union-Made Options for National Drink Beer Day Labor 411

Our friends at Labor 411 inform us that National Drink Beer Day is totally a real thing and that it takes place on Sept. 28. Don't worry, though, they have the definitive list of union-made beers ready for you to check out. Make sure that while you enjoy your beers in celebration of the totally real holiday of National Drink Beer Day, you choose ethically made beers that treat their workers fairly. You have options. More than 250 of them. Here are a few choices:

• Alexander Keith’s
• Bass
• Beck’s
• Black Hawk
• Blue Moon
• Budweiser
• Bud Light
• Busch
• Butte Creek
• Coors
• Coors Light
• Czechvar
• Dundee
• Duquesne
• Goose Island
• Henry Weinhard’s
• Hoegaarden
• Icehouse
• Iron City
• Keystone Light
• Killian’s
• Kirin
• Labatt Blue
• Landshark Lager
• Lazy Mutt
• Leffe Blond
• Leinenkugel's
• Lionshead
• Mendocino
• Michelob
• Michelob Ultra
• Miller Genuine Draft
• Miller Lite
• Miller High Life
• Milwaukee’s Best
• Molson
• Moosehead
• Natural Light
• O’Doul’s (non-alcoholic)
• Pabst Blue Ribbon
• Red Dog
• Red Tail
• Rolling Rock
• Red Stripe
• Samuel Adams
• Sharp’s (non-alcoholic)
• Schlitz
• Shock Top
• Steelhead
• Stegmaier
• Stella Artois

For the full list, click here.

Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 09/27/2017 - 17:32

Americans in Every Way—Except on Paper DPE

This month, the Donald Trump administration announced it was ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provided temporary permission for more than 800,000 undocumented young people brought to the United States as children to live and work in the country. The young people covered by DACA include teachers, journalists, entertainers, behavioral health specialists and many other young professionals. As the place in the labor movement for professionals, the members of the affiliate unions of the AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees (DPE) bring to the table a diverse array of backgrounds, nationalities and immigration experiences — including Dreamers.’

DPE stands with the young professionals, union members and all of those affected by the termination of DACA. We urge Congress to pass the Dream Act, which would ensure over 1 million people stay out of the shadows and are provided with work authorization, the most potent protection against immigration-based retaliation.

The stories below describe how DACA made the professional career aspirations come true for these young people. Through their work, these Dreamers are making our communities and economy better. We have all benefited from the DACA program and will continue to benefit with the passage of the Dream Act.

Jose Galvan, aspiring Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) member:

Jose Galvan is a theater professional, aspiring member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) and a DACA beneficiary. He came to the U.S. from Mexico as a two-year-old with his mother and brother. They decided to come to the U.S. to reunite with Jose’s father, who had been living, working and paying taxes in California.

Jose was the first in his family to graduate high school, and earned a full, merit-based scholarship to attend the University of San Diego (USD). At USD, Jose discovered his passion for theater.

“I fell in love, because I learned as an artist I had a voice,” Galvan said of his introduction to theater. “I could use art to start a dialogue, make people feel something, question something, make a difference.”

Jose went on to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in theatre arts and performance studies with an emphasis in directing. While a senior at the USD, Jose became the first artistic and literary intern for the Old Globe in San Diego, a theater modeled after Shakespeare’s Old Globe in London. Following graduation, Jose was offered a job in the Arts Engagement Department at the Old Globe.

Jose now has a career in theater. Most recently, he directed a show for children of military families that aimed to help them deal with the unique challenges they face with loved ones in the armed forces. The show toured military bases, armories and armed services’ YMCAs. Jose is now working toward graduate school and getting his master’s degree in directing.

Jose spent essentially his whole life in the U.S. — it is all he knows. The impending loss of DACA means that Jose could lose his ability to work legally, his access to health insurance, his opportunity to pursue a MFA and his home. The end of DACA also means the U.S. could lose someone who has already made important contributions to the country and is on a path to making many more.

Karen Reyes, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) member:

Karen Reyes is a DACAmented teacher and a member of Education Austin, part of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Karen came to the U.S. from Mexico at the age of two. She grew up the U.S. and always thought of herself as a typical American kid — since that’s who she was. However, once she realized she was undocumented, she began to hold back, frozen by fear.

“I held back from friendships, I held back from activities, I held back from applying to the universities that I really wanted to attend, because would they want me even with my status,” Reyes said.

Fortunately, Karen was able to attend college and pursue her dream of working in education. She earned a private scholarship to attend the Deaf Education and Hearing Science program at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

In 2012, Karen was able to become a DACA beneficiary and teach children who are deaf and hard of hearing. Karen is helping these students and their families communicate and achieve their own dreams.

“DACA made me find my voice and made me be able to live without fear. DACA made me visible, it has empowered me and made it possible for me to come out of the shadows and fight for myself and for the other 800,000-plus Dreamers,” Reyes said. “We must defend DACA because, after living here for 26 years, I am here to stay.”

Karen’s story is adapted from her “Becoming Visible” story previously published by AFT.

Jorge Corona, Writers Guild of America, East, (WGAE) member

Jorge Corona is a filmmaker and writer, a founding member of Fusion’s union for editorial staff, and a former DACA beneficiary. Jorge came to the U.S. from Mexico with his parents as an 11-year-old. He earned admission to the University of Texas after performing well at school in San Antonio. Because of his immigration status, there was a lot of uncertainty about being able to pay for college because he was not legally eligible to work. Fortunately, Jorge found a way, mostly with the help of some scholarships and grants he was eligible for.

While in college at Texas, DACA was announced, and Jorge was able to qualify. After he graduated, he was able to move to New York City and pursue his chosen career because of the employment authorization DACA provided. In New York, Jorge began working for media outlets in a freelance capacity. He did a few jobs at Fusion, and was hired as a full-time employee soon after. Jorge participated in the successful campaign among Fusion staff to form a union with Writers Guild of America, East, (WGAE) in 2015. Winning the right to negotiate with their employer meant Fusion’s staff earned a stronger say in what the company was doing. Many people in the newsroom earned their first raise because of the efforts of Jorge and his co-workers who participated in the organizing campaign.

While Jorge no longer is a DACA beneficiary, his story demonstrates how the program provides stability, protection and a way forward for Dreamers to pursue their career goals and contribute to our economy.

Selene Meza, Office of Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) member:

Selene Meza is a DACA beneficiary serving on the front lines of the opioid epidemic as a chemical dependency professional in Bellingham, Wash. Selene arrived in the U.S. with her family when she was 13. As a young teenage she knew she did not have documents, but at that time she did not know what that meant.

In high school, Selene realized that she was at a disadvantage because she was undocumented. She could not work summer jobs like her friends, and she didn’t think she could go to college. Fortunately, Selene was able to attend community college and then transfer to a four-year school to earn her bachelor’s in psychology. Selene was the first in her family to graduate from college.

While finishing college, Selene initially qualified for DACA. The work authorization Selene received through DACA meant that she could put her degree to use. Selene went to work at a community behavioral health clinic, where she still works today as an addiction treatment counselor. Selene helps people fighting addictions to heroin and works with patients’ families. She is a member of the Office of Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 8.

As a DACA beneficiary, Selene has been able to contribute to her household, which includes her husband and two young children. The end of DACA without a legislative solution will not only pull an important resource away from the fight against the disease of addiction, but it will also make it difficult for Selene to provide for her family.

Esther Lee, Writers Guild of America, East, (WGAE) member:

Esther Lee is a Think Progress reporter, member of Writers Guild of America, East, (WGAE), and has been a beneficiary of the DACA program since 2012. When Esther was two years old, she escaped domestic violence with her mother by coming to the United States from Taiwan. Esther spent her childhood in California.

After she graduated from high school, Esther was able to attend New York University. She paid for her education with money earned from working, along with financial assistance from family.

Esther earned her DACA approval in 2012. Her work authorization from DACA meant that she could pursue her journalism career.

“Coming out of the shadows meant that I was able to get a job that didn’t leave me at the whim of my employers,” Lee notes.

For Esther, the stability provided by DACA has proved instrumental in getting her where she is today as a reporter with Think Progress.

As these stories describe, Dreamers are Americans in every way. Dreamers are our neighbors, friends and professional colleagues, and they are working to improve the place we all call home.

It’s time to make Dreamers Americans on paper, too, by passing the Dream Act. We urge you to help make this a reality by contacting your members of Congress and asking them to support the Dream Act.

This post originally appeared at Medium.

Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 09/27/2017 - 10:04

How One AFSCME Local Is Helping Florida Dry Out and Rebuild AFSCME Local 1554

Most times, you can find longtime AFSCME member Bert Walthour serving the city of Miami Beach as a heavy equipment operator. He and his co-workers at Local 1554, AFSCME Florida, where he serves as vice president, make one of the world’s most iconic cities function every day.

But these past few weeks have been anything but normal, not since forecasters put Florida squarely in Hurricane Irma’s path.

"Life got real busy, real quick," Walthour said. "We implemented our hurricane preparation for the city as well as make sure our houses and families were getting ready."

Walthour and his crew are among the thousands of public service workers in Florida who are helping their communities recover from Irma and are putting their communities’ needs ahead of their own.

Since much of South Florida, including Miami Beach, fell under one of the largest mandatory evacuation orders ever, sleep became as hard to find as water, canned goods and gasoline.

For Walthour and public employees across the state, the storm was just the start.

"Everyone has what is called a landfall team, the first folks who go out once the worst is over, even with the wind and rain still going, to get critical streets, bridges and other places passable for police, fire and recovery personnel to start doing their jobs," Walthour said.

He and his team members reported to a secure building and tried to get what rest they could as the storm struck Florida on Sunday, Sept. 10. Then, at 6 a.m. Monday, even as Irma continued to unleash heavy rain and fierce winds on South Florida, Walthour and his crew team went to work cutting up fallen trees, clearing debris, repairing and replacing signs and signals, and doing everything else necessary to allow families to return to their homes and begin rebuilding.

"We didn’t leave until 4 p.m. on Tuesday," Walthour said. "We slept in our trucks when we could, and if we were so lucky we laid down a bit at our building in the public works yard after a bite of hot food.…This is when public workers really shine, when the clouds turn dark and the path forward is not clear, we are the ones who help make the rebuilding possible."

Like Walthour, AFSCME-represented public service workers are working across Florida to help their communities dry out and recover from Irma. And they’re progressing at a steady pace, though there are still mountains of yard debris to clear, thousands of street lights to restore and street signs to fix, eroded beaches to refill, power to be restored and entire communities to rebuild in some of the hardest-hit parts of the state.

To these selfless sisters and brothers, we say thank you.

Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 09/26/2017 - 13:44