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The Working People Weekly List

Sun, 09/25/2016 - 06:00

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.

Union Women in the Rust Belt Stepping Up for Clinton

Sat, 09/24/2016 - 06:00

A new article at Bloomberg takes a look at union women in the Rust Belt and finds that more and more of them are supporting Hillary Clinton.

As Trump Visits Pittsburgh, Working Families Reject His Agenda

Fri, 09/23/2016 - 14:15

Donald Trump campaigned in Pittsburgh this week, and working families were there to make sure that Trump's agenda was exposed as the fraud it is. Here is some of the local coverage.

Trying to Teach Old Dogs New Tricks

Fri, 09/23/2016 - 12:09

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve's open market committee concluded its two-day meeting to set U.S. monetary policy. In a vote that divided the Board of Governors, appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in an open public process, and the presidents of the regional bank board presidents, chosen by boards dominated by banks within their region, Janet Yellen, chair of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the FOMC, announced the FOMC decided to hold steady to its current fed funds rate. The fed funds rate is an overnight interest charge made between banks loaning reserves to each other. If it is higher, the cost of making loans goes up, and that reduces liquidity for the business and consumer sectors. Lower liquidity means less borrowing for business investment or consumer purchases like homes and cars. In turn, that means slower demand, and translates into slower growth for jobs.

Worker Wins Update: Groundbreaking Contract Victories in Multiple Industries

Fri, 09/23/2016 - 09:23

When working people come together and win the contracts, it proves that our raising wages agenda drives economic stability. Working people across the country are creating better lives for themselves and turning those workplace victories into political power. These latest worker wins show what the power of collective voice can achieve.

Working Families in Action

Thu, 09/22/2016 - 11:42

When they aren't on the job, working people put their time and effort into helping their community and working for the issues and political leaders who fight for us. Here are some recent examples of working people in action.

Union Women Step Up to the Plate to Elect Worker-Friendly Candidates

Wed, 09/21/2016 - 08:44

On Sept. 13, more than 40,000 union women from across the country joined a telephone town hall to discuss what’s at stake this election cycle for working women and their families. The event was hosted by AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler, the highest-ranking woman in the labor movement, and featured AFT President Randi Weingarten; Maria Elena Durazo, UNITE HERE general vice president for immigration, civil rights and diversity; and Linda Hinton, Communications Workers of America (CWA) District 4 vice president. These leaders rallied their sisters to join the fight to elect worker-friendly candidates up and down the ballot who reflect the economic priorities of working women and families.

Is It Time for the Federal Reserve to Put the Brakes on the Economy?

Tue, 09/20/2016 - 14:04

We recently blogged about the hopeful U.S. Census Bureau release finding the fastest middle-class wage growth on record and a falling poverty rate. However, the Census finding and the 4.9% unemployment rate have some declaring that it’s time for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.

New Poll: Trump's Support Among Union Members is Dropping Fast

Tue, 09/20/2016 - 13:12

The more union members hear about Donald Trump--he supports dangerous right to work laws, refuses to negotiate with working people who formed a union at his hotel and ignores union issues--the less they like him. 

UNITE HERE Calls for Investigation into Westin Long Beach Hotel Owner Natixis

Tue, 09/20/2016 - 11:44

In May, a Westin Long Beach Hotel maid, Juana Melara, and waiter, Francisco Abdul Estin, traveled to Paris. However, this was not a typical European vacation for these two working people. They were there to discuss their working conditions and their right to join a union free of interference with Natixis, the French parent of a company that oversees their hotel.

'We Must Build a More Just System for Migrants and Refugees': AFL-CIO's Tefere Gebre to the United Nations

Mon, 09/19/2016 - 14:30

AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Tefere Gebre addressed the United Nations today about embracing this historic opportunity to create a more just system for migrants and refugees

Gebre is a refugee from Ethiopia and walked 93 days through the desert as a teenager to find his freedom in America

Here are Gebre's remarks to the United Nations (after the jump). 

Donald Trump Doesn't Value Unions or Working People

Mon, 09/19/2016 - 14:09

Time and again, Donald Trump claims that he has union support. He panders to working people but still doesn't get it: He doesn't talk about collective bargaining or the right of workers to stand together for a better life. 

His words ring hollow and working people know it. He won't get our support on Nov. 8.

Working for Trump Is a Bad Idea: Winners and Losers of the Week

Mon, 09/19/2016 - 12:00

Each week, we take a look at the biggest friends and foes of labor. We celebrate the workers winning big and small battles, and we shame the companies or people trying to deny working people their rights.

The Working People Weekly List

Sun, 09/18/2016 - 06:00

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.

Donald Trump Keeps Trying to Con Union Members

Sat, 09/17/2016 - 06:00

It's hardly front-page news that Donald Trump is a big-league flip-flopper. Through Sept. 7, NBC News has tracked "117 distinct policy shifts on 20 major issues, tracking only his reversals since he announced his candidacy on June 16, 2015."

Working People Give a Bold Union Yes in Las Vegas

Fri, 09/16/2016 - 12:37

If you were lamenting that Labor Day’s current day association with leisure has obfuscated the true meaning of the holiday—don’t despair because the working people of Boulder Station Hotel & Casino got together over the Labor Day weekend and after a long battle said, "Union Yes!"

An Open Letter to Donald Trump: You Lost My Vote When You Crossed My Picket Line

Fri, 09/16/2016 - 11:32

Dear Mr. Trump:

My name is Dan Mahoney. I was born and raised in New York. I am a proud member and employee of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the union that represents backstage crew and technicians in entertainment.

Hillary Clinton Has a History. Of Standing Up for Union Workers

Fri, 09/16/2016 - 10:02

She's with us. Long before she starting running for president, Hillary Clinton was a champion for working people and the unions that represent them. That's why we're working hard to make sure she's the next occupant of the White House.

Retired Mineworkers Call on Congress to Protect Their Pensions and Health Care

Fri, 09/16/2016 - 09:57

Last week, 10,000 retired coal miners and their families came to Washington, D.C., to ask Congress to pass legislation that would secure health care for 22,000 and pensions for 120,000 retirees. As the coal industry struggles, some coal companies have been relieved by bankruptcy courts of their obligations to pay health care and pension contributions for retirees. But allowing these benefits to lapse would be not only devastating to the families of the coal miners who worked so hard to keep America out of the dark, it would be the abandonment of a promise made to coal miners in 1947.

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