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Updated: 1 hour 4 min ago

AFL-CIO Joins International Mission Demanding Accountability and Human Rights Protections in Honduras

Thu, 03/17/2016 - 12:00

On March 3, human rights activists denounced the assassination of Berta Cáceres, a leader for indigenous rights and environmental justice with the Council of Indigenous and Popular Organizations of Honduras. The Ides of March in Honduras demonstrated once again that the shocking level of violence against activists since the 2009 coup—with some 200 murdered—has reached crisis proportions.

Report: Working Women in the U.S. Have Less than 40 Minutes of Personal Time a Day

Thu, 03/17/2016 - 11:00

new report released by the AFL-CIO reveals that more than half of working women spend less than four hours a week on themselves after fulfilling their work and caregiving responsibilities. The report is based on the results of a survey on women, which received nearly 25,000 responses from union and nonunion women across the country.

Modernization of Chicago Transit to Be Completed by Chicago's Working People

Thu, 03/17/2016 - 08:00

The Chicago Transit Board awarded a contract this week to CSR Sifang America JV to build the newest generation of Chicago Transit Authority rail cars as part of the city's modernization program. CSR has pledged to build a new rail car assembly facility in Chicago, the first new assembly of its kind in 35 years. The investment of $40 million is expected to generate 170 jobs, while also reducing maintenance costs and reducing power use through the use of more efficient technology.

Senate Should Schedule Hearing and Vote on Supreme Court Nominee Merrick Garland

Wed, 03/16/2016 - 12:00

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka released the following statement in response to President Barack Obama's nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Education, Not Deportation! North Carolina State AFL-CIO Calls on DHS to Protect Immigrant Students

Wed, 03/16/2016 - 10:00

In a letter sent last week, the North Carolina State AFL-CIO demanded that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson end the ongoing practice of immigration raids that are terrorizing our communities and requested protection for the Central American teenagers who are enrolled in the state’s public schools.

Flint Families Come to Washington to Demand Answers and Solutions from Rick Snyder

Tue, 03/15/2016 - 10:15

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) will soon be in Washington, D.C., to give testimony to the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee about the Flint water crisis. But he won't be the only one arriving in the nation's capital to talk about his disgrace. Five Flint, Mich., families coping with the aftermath of the crisis also will be in Washington to share their stories. AFL-CIO and the community group Flint Rising are working to ensure these families have their voices heard, too.

The Poster Child for Corporate Greed: Winners and Losers of the Week

Mon, 03/14/2016 - 13:37

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.

Trumka: Trump Would Make Life 'Exponentially Worse' for Working People

Mon, 03/14/2016 - 12:04

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka spoke recently about the dangers of the Donald Trump (R) presidential campaign, in an op-ed in the Providence Journal and an appearance on “Matter of Fact with Fernando Espuelas.”

The Working People Weekly List

Sun, 03/13/2016 - 08:00

Every week, we'll be bringing you a roundup of the important news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here's this week's Working People Weekly List.

Construction Unions Help Wounded Veteran Renovate Virginia Home

Sat, 03/12/2016 - 08:00

Last weekend, Washington, D.C.-area construction unions worked with the Wounded Warrior Project to renovate the Virginia home of a veteran wounded while serving in the Iraq War. Marine Cpl. Brandon Burns was wounded by sniper fire in Al Falluja, Iraq, in 2004, and the left side of his body has been paralyzed since. Now the man who paid a big cost in service of his country is getting much-needed renovations to his home.

Why Are Millennials Worse Off Than You Are?

Fri, 03/11/2016 - 10:11

Ever feel like you’ve been set up to fail?

IBEW 1245 Launches Public-Sector Member-to-Member Education Drive on the 'Union Difference'

Fri, 03/11/2016 - 08:00

This is just one of the tough questions that 60 Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1245 public-sector member leaders tackled as they prepared to launch a new member-to-member educational drive to push back against the growing attacks against public-sector unions.

Trumka: Bad Trade Deals Kill American Jobs

Thu, 03/10/2016 - 10:30

In an op-ed that appeared in USA Today, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka explained why voters are so mad in this election.

Wall Street and Congress Team Up to Stop Worker Retirement Protections…Again

Thu, 03/10/2016 - 10:00

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) recently highlighted what Forbes called financial firms’ two-faced responses to the Department of Labor’s proposed rule to protect retirement investors from financial advisers’ conflicts of interest. In a letter to federal regulators, Warren and Cummings contrasted financial firms’ trashing of the rule when talking to policymakers with their message to shareholders that they shouldn’t worry—the rule is no big deal.

Do You Know Where Your Nabisco Treats Are Made?

Thu, 03/10/2016 - 09:00

Members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) working at Nabisco plants throughout the United States take great pride in producing the iconic products that have been a part of millions of Americans’ lives for more than 50 years.

T-Mobile’s Dirty Secrets Exposed: Unfair Firings, Deceiving Customers and More

Thu, 03/10/2016 - 08:00

Last week, award-winning labor and business reporter Steven Greenhouse published a comprehensive article on T-Mobile’s disgraceful labor and consumer practices.

Attack on Unions Is an Attack on Democracy

Thu, 03/10/2016 - 07:16

It is ever thus. Unions have been under attack by business moguls in the United States since their inception, for no other reason than that they deliver higher pay and benefits so working people can sustain a family.

AFL-CIO Submits Amicus Brief in Support of Immigrant Working Families

Wed, 03/09/2016 - 11:00

The AFL-CIO has submitted an amicus brief in the U.S. v. Texas case, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to lift the injunction that is blocking several million hardworking immigrants from gaining a measure of increased dignity in their lives and security on the job. The brief explains the weak legal rationale relied upon by Texas and the other plaintiff states in claiming the right to challenge federal immigration policy in this case, a challenge that has, unfortunately, obstructed much-needed protections for long-standing members of our communities for more than a year.

Report: Enabling Community Organizing, a Key to Reducing Global Gender Inequities

Wed, 03/09/2016 - 10:00

From domestic workers in New York City to garment workers in Bangladesh, women coming together to organize, demand fair treatment and address gender discrimination is critical to realizing women’s rights and economic justice. A new report from the AFL-CIO, the Rutgers Center for Women’s Global Leadership and the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center, Transforming Women’s Work: Policies for an Inclusive Economic Agenda, discusses the critical need to create an enabling environment for worker and community organizing, including inclusive macroeconomic and trade policies that promote decent work in the market and realign gender inequities in unpaid work in the home.

Former Immigration Judge Responds: No, Toddlers Can't Represent Themselves in Court

Wed, 03/09/2016 - 09:30

The following is written by Eliza Klein, a retired U.S. immigration judge who sat on the bench in Miami, Boston and Chicago from 1994 to 2011, in response to the statements of Immigration Judge Jack. H. Weil who claims that toddlers can be taught to represent themselves in court....

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