The shrinking of the middle class in the United States is something that you hear pundits talk about frequently. A new report from the Pew Research Center shows that problem is not just a real one, but one that is widely distributed across the country and is hurting not just the Rust Belt, Appalachia and the Deep South, but also hits nearly every metropolitan area in the country. Most importantly, the study shows that the rise of inequality is one of the key effects of the shrinking middle class.

The release of a $15 minimum wage bill from New Jersey’s Senate Labor Committee is being hailed by the New Jersey State AFL-CIO and other advocates as a powerful step toward lifting an estimated one million New Jersey residents out of poverty. 

CEO pay for major U.S. companies continues to soar as income inequality and the outsourcing of good-paying American jobs increases. Outsourcing has become a hot presidential election topic with candidates calling out corporations that say they need to save money by sending jobs overseas. Meanwhile, according to the new AFL-CIO Executive Paywatch, the average CEO of an S&P 500 company received an annual income of $12.4 million in 2015—335 times more money than the average rank-and-file worker.

According to news reports, the Obama administration will unveil new rules on Wednesday that will make millions more people eligible to receive overtime pay. 

Here are seven things you need to know about the new rules (after the jump).

The ugly reality that people who work in manufacturing have witnessed for years has just been laid out for all to see in new research by the National Employment Law Project and the UC Berkeley Labor Center: Wages in the manufacturing sector have been pushed so low that 34% of all people who work in production are in households enrolled in public safety net programs.

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.

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.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch made one of the boldest and clearest statements in support of transgender people by a government official at any level this week:

"Let me also speak directly to the transgender community itself. Some of you have lived freely for decades. Others of you are still wondering how you can possibly live the lives you were born to lead. But no matter how isolated or scared you may feel today, the Department of Justice and the entire Obama administration wants you to know that we see you; we stand with you; and we will do everything we can to protect you going forward."

Today, TV reality star and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan to iron out differences between them. While we would give anything to be a fly on the wall during that meeting, we can only speculate about topics of conversation.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued the following statement in reaction to new rules to modernize workplace injury reporting and protect workers who report injuries.

Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, bragged about his “tremendous” support within unions. "The workers love me," he claimed.

This year’s political campaign has forced the economics profession to reconsider the fraying orthodoxy of free trade.

The West Virginia AFL-CIO has joined with several other unions representing the state's working people in launching a legal challenge of the Republican-led legislature’s "right to work" law.

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.

As Mother’s Day approaches, the AFL-CIO released a video featuring a pregnant mom who is concerned that the secrecy around food labeling and regulations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership could negatively impact her unborn child.

The 24th annual Letter Carriers’ "Stamp Out Hunger" Food Drive is on May 14 this year. The food drive, sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), is the world’s largest one-day food drive, taking place in more than 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.

The U.S. economy added 160,000 jobs in April and unemployment was 5.0%, unchanged from March, according to figures released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This continues the record string of months with job growth.

In a new Medium article, AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Tefere Gebre and Johanna Hester, the president of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), discuss the importance of fighting for racial justice in communities of color.

In 2016, we are reflecting on where we have come and where we are going. It is the 45th anniversary of the opening of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; the 25th year the AFL-CIO has produced the Death on the Job report; and an election year. OSHA actually opened its doors 45 years ago on April 28, the date we now honor as Workers Memorial Day every year.

The 24th annual Letter Carriers’ "Stamp Out Hunger" Food Drive is on May 14 this year. The food drive, sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), is the world’s largest one-day food drive, taking place in more than 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.