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Updated: 1 hour 40 min ago

Trumka: An Abundant Worldview Leads to Shared Prosperity

Tue, 08/02/2016 - 14:45

In an essay for the National Catholic Reporter, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka writes about how approaching politics requires an abundant worldview if you want to achieve shared prosperity.

Do Working People Really Have the Right to Organize in the United States?

Tue, 08/02/2016 - 09:00

At the end of his first visit to the United States, United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and association, Maina Kiai, starkly delivered his conclusions in front of an international crowd at the U.N. office in Washington, D.C.

Restoring the Right to Vote: Winners and Losers of the Week

Tue, 08/02/2016 - 08:00

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.

Americans with Disabilities Act Enhanced Workplaces Nationwide

Tue, 08/02/2016 - 07:15

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka released the following statement as we celebrated last week’s ADA Awareness month and 26th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Workers' Collective Power Leads to Political Change

Mon, 08/01/2016 - 11:00

The political landscape has shifted because working people collectively bargained for, fought for and won pay raises in historic fashion. The time is ripe for a new economic agenda for broad prosperity, and organizing and collective bargaining are the best tools to achieve the economy that works for all. Working people are standing up and speaking out for a voice on the job, which means the right to join together to demand better wages and working conditions without fear of firing or retaliation. We also are helping to win legislation that positively impacts everyone. These latest worker wins show what the power of collective voice can achieve.

Working People Wins Update: Broad Cooperation Key to Successful Contract Victories

Sun, 07/31/2016 - 08:00

Working people across the country are creating better lives for themselves and their families by using the power of collective bargaining to improve their working conditions on many levels. Here are some highlights from recent working people wins.

Working Peoples' Voices Lifted at the Democratic National Convention: A Recap

Fri, 07/29/2016 - 08:45

Working people and the issues we care about have been a prominent part of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this week. The program has been filled with union leaders and members, members of union families and longtime advocates and allies. Advocates like Hillary Clinton.

Our Ground Game: How Working People Win in November

Fri, 07/29/2016 - 07:30

Working people are taking this historic 2016 election very seriously, and the Working America Coalition is unleashing the most comprehensive electoral program in our history. When working people are inspired, there is no political force in America more powerful.

'Democracy Isn't a Spectator Sport': Working People Get a Shout Out in President Obama's DNC Speech

Thu, 07/28/2016 - 06:25

Last night at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, President Obama lifted up the spirit of America's working people and our courage to fight for a better life.

Trumka: Terry McAuliffe Is Absolutely Wrong

Wed, 07/27/2016 - 09:00

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka released the following statement in response to comments made by Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Watch Live Today: Elizabeth Warren Joins Working People to Talk 'Organizing to Win'

Wed, 07/27/2016 - 08:59

Today at 2 p.m. EDT live from the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will join car wash workers, BCTGM Local 300 member  Mike SmithFight for 15  and working people to discuss organizing to win for a better life. 

The livestream will happen on our Facebook page:  www.aflcio.org/Facebook  and on Twitter:  www.twitter.com/aflcio.  

She's With Us: Congratulations Hillary Clinton

Tue, 07/26/2016 - 18:23

The working people of the AFL-CIO proudly congratulate Hillary Clinton as the first female presidential nominee of a major party. 

 Are you with Clinton on building an economy of shared prosperity for all? Join us

What Do Working People Want?

Tue, 07/26/2016 - 13:45

We want elected leaders who think big. Today, two families control more wealth than half our population. One family is spending almost a billion dollars to influence our elections. Meanwhile, more than 60% of American households are one missed paycheck away from economic calamity. This is not the America we should leave our children. We can and must do better.

My Life Matters to the Labor Movement

Tue, 07/26/2016 - 13:12

This month has hit me hard with news that not once, but twice, black lives were lost at the hands of police officers. And then even more violence unfolded in Dallas and Baton Rouge, La. While the locations of these most recent events are far from Boston, where I live and work, they have hurt me so deeply I feel I must respond.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka Addresses the Democratic National Convention

Tue, 07/26/2016 - 10:56

Last night AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka addressed the working people of the Democratic National Convention. 

Here are his remarks:

 

10 Reasons Hillary Clinton Stands with Working People

Mon, 07/25/2016 - 08:00

Working people recognize the high stakes in the 2016 presidential election. On one side, you have Donald Trump, who supports "right to work," which takes away power from working people, and thinks your wages are too high. On the other side, you have Hillary Clinton, who has a long history of advocating for families and working people. She believes that paid family leave, earned sick days, fair schedules, equal pay for women and quality affordable child care are critical, as well as the right to come together in union and negotiate for a better life. Here are 10 ways Clinton stands with working people:

Nabisco Worker Michael Smith Shares His Story: 'I Am Not a Number, a Statistic, I'm a Man'

Sat, 07/23/2016 - 08:00

My name is Michael J. Smith . I am an American worker and, up until March 23, I worked at the Nabisco bakery located on the South Side of Chicago. I worked there nearly five years, and I am unemployed today because Mondelēz International/Nabisco sent my job and 600 others to Mexico where workers earn in one week what I made in several hours.

My wife and I live in Tinley Park, and we have four children and five grandchildren. We attend the apostolic church where I teach Sunday school. I believe in America and am proud to live in America.

Three Points About the Republican Convention and the Fate of American Democracy

Fri, 07/22/2016 - 09:00

Working people in unions are uniquely positioned to demand and defend democracy—government by all the people. Working people know that only in a democracy do we have a chance to be heard.

And so today, after the end of the Republican National Convention, what should people in unions, who above all care about the health of our democracy, make of this spectacle?

Just Remember How Donald Trump Treats Working People

Thu, 07/21/2016 - 14:00

Donald Trump will speak later tonight at the close of the Republican National Convention and, in case you missed it, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka took to Twitter today to remind everyone about Trump's troubled record with working people (after the jump). 

Six Years After Dodd–Frank, a Lot of What Occurs on Wall Street Is Nothing More Than Gambling

Thu, 07/21/2016 - 08:30

Six years ago this week, hundreds of people gathered in Washington to watch President Barack Obama sign into law the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. On that day there was a hope that its passage marked the beginning of a new phase in Washington’s approach to Wall Street regulation.

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