Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor released a report in response to the complaint filed by U.S. and Colombian unions detailing systematic labor rights violations in Colombia. The U.S. government acknowledged many of the serious issues raised in the complaint, including inadequate labor inspections and enforcement actions, abusive forms of subcontracting that prevent union organizing and keep the majority of Colombian workers in precarious jobs, and impunity for threats and violence against trade unionists, which creates a climate of fear.

Hundreds of union members who rallied at Kentucky’s Capitol against a trio of Republican union-busting bills surely knew the legislation was unstoppable.

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.

Immigrants who have come to our country in search of better opportunities have been the economic backbone of America for well over a century. In the face of a difficult job market for many immigrants, their keys to the American Dream may not be readily available.

Yesterday, working people who have been employed by fast-food CEO Andrew Puzder shared their stories with Senate Democrats. They made it clear why Puzder is being called the #AntiLaborSecretary. Here are some of the key tweets that captured the hearings.

President-elect Donald Trump nominated Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) as attorney general, and hearings for his nomination are currently underway. Many are discussing the long, terrible record that Sessions has, but we thought it would be interesting to imagine what it would be like to actually work for Sessions. This is speculative fiction, of course, but based on the things he's said and done over the years (click on the link after each entry to read more about Sessions and that topic). But here's what we think it could be like to work for Sessions.

After Republican legislators in Kentucky passed several anti-worker laws, Kentucky State AFL-CIO President Bill Londrigan made the following statement.

Today, as Congress debates the future of the Affordable Care Act, the AFL-CIO sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and all members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

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.

The GOP in Kentucky has been chomping at the bit to destroy the basic protections that’ve held working families together across our state for decades. These newly emboldened GOP leaders need to answer to the people they are hurting with their greed. Kentucky has always run on the love we have for our families and that sense of community has been the bedrock of our labor unions. This is something I learned firsthand from my mom.

Staples and the U.S. Postal Service announced in late 2013 that they would launch a pilot program operating mini post offices in the company’s retail outlets. The initial test markets were the San Francisco Bay Area, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and the Boston suburbs.

Following the Connecticut's State of the State this week, which called for labor concessions to balance the budget, Connecticut AFL-CIO President Lori Pelletier said the governor's proposals are disappointing. Here are some excerpts from coverage of the response.

The U.S. economy added 156,000 jobs in December and unemployment was little changed at 4.7%, according to figures released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This continues the recovery of the labor market at a tempered rate, which means the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee should continue to let the economy grow at this rate and not raise interest rates.

Eds. note: "Right to work" legislation passes 58–39 in the Kentucky House.

Kentucky Republican leaders, led by Gov. Matt Bevin, gained control of the state House, giving them control of the executive and legislative branches. Their first order of business? Go after working families. Bevin and the Republicans are pushing forward with several anti-worker resolutions. In the process, they have given more say in the state's future to outsider billionaires and CEOs than the people of the state.

Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries has changed how it interprets overtime laws—in a way that could fatten the paychecks of Oregon factory workers. The change follows a lawsuit filed in August by the non-profit Northwest Workers' Justice Project on behalf of a group of workers at Portland Specialty Baking, which earlier in 2016 quashed a union campaign.

Not surprisingly, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is making going after Medicare one of his top priorities in the new Congress. But this scheme helps no one but Ryan and his buddies, and cuts to Medicare are not what the American people are asking for, nor need.

Let's be honest, 2016 was a heavy year for a lot of us. But as we start a new year, we've taken time to reflect on the pretty amazing things working people accomplished last year. 

Working people at Verizon who went on strike last year made huge gains, including a raise and 1,300 new call center jobs on the East Coast. 

Happy New Year from America's working people in unions, the AFL-CIO.

Working people in America's unions, the AFL-CIO, wish you a safe and happy holiday season with your friends, family and loved ones. 

The end of the year is a time to reflect and look forward to what comes next. Each year we bring you the top 10 most read blogs on the AFL-CIO blog. 

Here are the most read blogs from 2016.