Organizing Institute apprentices have hit the ground running to help autoworkers build a union at the Nissan plant in Canton, Mississippi—a fight that has been brewing over the past decade. This is the largest class of OI apprentices to be part of any one campaign. It’s important because this is a historic campaign to show that union organizing is a civil right and to show that #BlackLivesMatter.

A new study from the International Trade Union Confederation shows that investing in the care economy in seven countries would create 21 million jobs and address other problems related to aging populations and economic stagnation. The analysis looked at Australia, Denmark, German, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States and found that an investment of just 2% of GDP would narrow the gender pay gap, reduce overall inequality and lower barriers to women's participation in the workforce.

The theme for International Women's Day this year is gender parity, and while women continue to contribute to social, economic, cultural and political achievement, progress toward gender parity has slowed. And trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership does nothing to contribute to that parity and, in many cases, it will reinforce negatives such as downward pressure on wages, sex trafficking and reduced access to medicines.

The Oregon state Senate last week approved an unemployment insurance extension for locked-out workers that previously passed the state House, and the bill now goes to the governor for final approval. The bill will extend unemployment insurance to workers who are locked out as a result of a labor dispute. The legislation was introduced after Allegheny Technologies Inc. locked out members of the United Steelworkers (USW) in August of last year. Last week, the lockout ended when USW and ATI ratified a new contract.

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

More than 250 participants packed the East Brunswick, N.J., Hilton ballroom for the 13th annual Women in Leadership Development conference. The atmosphere of unity and sisterhood was remarkable as both first-time and longtime WILD sisters joined together, representing every union sector, age group and job category, as well as the labor movement’s deep racial and cultural diversity.

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.

The latest video from AFSCME takes a look at some of the Republican policy proposals for the economy and finds that the recipe adds up to recession.

In her life and in her death at the hands of assassins this week, Berta Cáceres, a leader in Honduran struggles for social justice, exemplifies the difficult choices that so many Central American communities have faced over the past 40 years. When the region was torn by Cold War struggles and civil war, Cáceres' family gave shelter and support to those fleeing the violence in El Salvador. As a tenuous peace was achieved, and many Hondurans faced poverty and violations of their rights, she went on to study and emerged as a leader for the rights of the Lenca people to stay on their land and sustain their rural communities, rather than migrate to cities that have become some of the most violent in the world or to the United States seeking safety and opportunity for decent work and better lives for their children.

In a speech yesterday to the Plasterers and Cement Masons (OPCMIA) union, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka challenged Donald Trump’s appeal to working-class voters.

The U.S. economy added 242,000 jobs in February and unemployment was 4.9%, unchanged from January, according to figures released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This continues the record string of months with job growth.

A new report released today from the Economic Policy Institute offers further data that the Trans-Pacific Partnership is fatally flawed.

Tonight, Republicans will be holding their latest debate in Detroit. It's an odd choice considering the racism we've seen in this presidential cycle and the fact that Detroit is a city where people of color are the majority. In the latest video in the Fusion series #CallingAllVoices, Detroit residents demand answers from the Republican candidates.

It's time once again to take a look at the battles for the rights of working families in the states. Here is what the unions in the states are talking about this week. Click on any of the links to follow the state federations and labor councils on Twitter.

This month, we are celebrating Women's History Month by honoring important working family activists and present-day organizers who are women and are fighting at the intersection of women's rights and workers' rights. Today, we look at Theresa King.

The AFL-CIO Executive Council affirmed that working people in the gig economy share a single common designation: employees.

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

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.

If you visit Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, you'll see the familiar red wagons that help make life a little easier for young patients who take comfort from the wagons in the unfamiliar environment of the hospital. More than a year ago, retired Machinists (IAM) member Roger Leggett started making the wagons even more useful, when he invented "Chad's Bracket," which allows the wagons to be used by children who need an IV pole with them. 

At their meeting this week, the AFL-CIO Executive Council issued a variety of policy statements on important issues, from the retirement crisis to investing in infrastructure, from the Zika virus to Supreme Court nominations. Here is a brief look at the policy statements issued this week.