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.

For Black History Month, we're lifting up black activists, leaders and agitators who are changing the rules and being the power in our communities. Here are several profiles of leaders who may not be household names, but are worthy of wider attention for their efforts.

I am part of a community where a lot of my peers aren’t working. Many of them want to but can’t because they were formerly incarcerated. In fact, studies show a formerly incarcerated white male has a better chance of being hired than an African American male without a criminal record. But that is frequently overlooked, and it often feels like no one even cares.

Black History Month is meant to celebrate the achievements of African Americans in the United States. While we have made huge strides toward overcoming the barriers that have set us back—we have not fully overcome the damages that centuries of exploitation, oppression and free labor have had on our communities due to enslavement and Jim Crow laws. Many people tell our community that we should “get over it” and “slavery is over, the playing field is equal”—but it's no secret that structural racism has continued to plague our community with higher unemployment rates, overincarceration and a wider education gap than whites and other communities of color.

Last week, the Vermont Legislature gave final approval to a bill that would guarantee working people paid sick days. Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) is expected to sign the legislation. With his signature, Vermont will become the fifth state in the country to require paid sick days. An estimated 60,000 workers who don't currently have access to paid sick leave will now have it. Voices for Vermont's Children, the Vermont State Labor Council and coalition partners have worked on the bill for a decade.

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.

A new video, produced by a collaboration from UCLA's Department of History and the UCLA Labor Center, combines the experiences of young workers and research to tell the story of young workers in the United States. Titled "I Am A #YOUNGWORKER," the animated video is a powerful dive into the world of work for young Americans.

Flint, Michigan, once was the reality and the symbol of America’s industrial civilization. Now it is a grim warning of how our civilization can end—not destroyed by aliens or even by global warming—but destroyed by the greed and indifference of our elites and their neo-liberal policies that replace our public institutions.

For Black History Month, we're lifting up black activists, leaders and agitators who are changing the rules and being the power in our communities. Here are several profiles of leaders who are making new history right now.

In July 2015, Mondelēz International announced it had chosen to invest $130 million in its new Salinas, Mexico, plant instead of investing in its iconic Nabisco bakery in Chicago. As a result, 600 workers at the South Side Chicago bakery could lose their jobs as the product lines are sent to Mexico. The union workers at the Chicago Nabisco bakery have been producing high-quality baked goods such as Oreo and Chips Ahoy cookies, and Ritz and Premium crackers for more than 50 years. These hardworking Chicagoans, as well as others in the Nabisco/Mondelēz production network across the country, have dedicated decades of their working lives to fuel the company’s financial success and global appeal. But their dedication and commitment to building these iconic brands is being rewarded with callous disregard and the displacement of their jobs to unregulated areas of the world with labor forces that work for poverty wages.

More than 11,000 working people sent comments to the U.S. International Trade Commission about the dangers of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Here are some highlights:

Let’s be clear: U.S. Supreme Court nominees are, in fact, confirmed in election years—even when the Senate is not controlled by the president’s party. Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Ronald Reagan appointee, was confirmed by a Democratic-controlled Congress in February 1988, 65 days after his nomination in November 1987. And Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) voted to confirm now-Justice Kennedy in that election year.  

More than 100 state and local governments have introduced or passed resolutions opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership. In addition, more than 100 resolutions opposing the TPP were passed at recent precinct caucuses in Iowa. 

America's working people get up every day and do their jobs, and they expect their elected leaders to do the same. 

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has a message for Senate Republicans who are signaling they will place a giant roadblock in the way of filling the vacant U.S. Supreme Court seat: Do your job. 

Watch his message above. 

The labor movement is welcoming Pope Francis back to North America this week and joining with those celebrating his historic visit to the U.S.–Mexico border. His visit brings a much-needed message of solidarity at a time when immigrants, refugees and working people are increasingly under attack.

A new report released today shows how the Trans-Pacific Partnership lacks adequate labor rights provisions. AFL-CIO Director of International Affairs Cathy Feingold explained the problem.

Today, the Wisconsin Legislature is scheduled to vote on legislation that would open the door to the privatization of municipal water systems without democratic input from local citizens. The legislation, the Fast Path to Water Privatization Bill (AB 554), was added to the calendar at the last minute despite the fact that it could affect every Wisconsinite and lead to a repeat of the Flint, Michigan, water crisis in community after community. 

Supporters of strict voter identification laws argue that they are needed to prevent voter fraud and that they aren't designed to suppress anyone's vote. We've already known for quite a while that voter fraud is largely a myth. Research from the 2014 election shows that voter ID laws suppress the votes of Democrats at more than twice the rate the laws block Republican voters. Are you shocked?