AFL-CIO Blog

  • Protect Workers and Democracy: In the States Roundup
    Protect Workers and Democracy: In the States Roundup It's time once again to take a look at the ways working people are making progress in the states. Click on any of the links to follow the state federations on Twitter. Alabama AFL-CIO: Alaska AFL-CIO: Arizona AFL-CIO: California Labor Federation: Florida AFL-CIO: Georgia AFL-CIO: Indiana State AFL-CIO: Iowa Federation of Labor: Maine AFL-CIO: Massachusetts AFL-CIO: Michigan AFL-CIO: Minnesota AFL-CIO: Missouri AFL-CIO: Montana AFL-CIO: Nevada State AFL-CIO: New Jersey State AFL-CIO: New York State AFL-CIO: North Carolina State AFL-CIO: Ohio AFL-CIO: Oregon AFL-CIO: Rhode Island AFL-CIO: Tennessee AFL-CIO Labor Council: Texas AFL-CIO: Virginia AFL-CIO: Washington State Labor Council: West Virginia AFL-CIO: Wisconsin State AFL-CIO: Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 07/22/2021 - 14:00 — Jul 22
  • Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, Partners Host Vaccine Clinic in Harrisburg
    Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, Partners Host Vaccine Clinic in Harrisburg Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO and the Harrisburg Region Central Labor Council partnered with the NAACP and Rite Aid to host a COVID-19 vaccine clinic at the Camp Curtin YMCA in Harrisburg on July 8. The clinic provided free shots to all interested parties who still sought the vaccine, including students, and union member volunteers helped staff the event. Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Rick Bloomingdale (AFSCME) said every shot matters because it gets our community one step closer to immunity. “It’s so important right now with the state opening up, getting back to work. We want everybody to be safe, vaccinated and healthy,” Bloomingdale said. The AFL-CIO plans to keep organizing vaccine clinics, so people have a convenient opportunity to get their shots, said Bloomingdale. “The more people that get it, the safer that we’ll all be. With the Delta variant going around, we’ve just got to make sure that people are safe and healthy.” Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 07/22/2021 - 09:39 Tags: COVID-19, Community Service — Jul 22
  • Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Labor-Sponsored Scholarships from Texas to Hawaii
    Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Labor-Sponsored Scholarships from Texas to Hawaii Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. Our labor movement consistently goes beyond the bargaining table to serve our community. In Texas, the Tarrant County Central Labor Council hosted its Annual Jim Wright Memorial Invitational golf tournament July 5 with more than 22 foursomes. The council raised funds to provide scholarships to high school seniors of affiliated union families. Event participants also heard about the need for labor law reform and filled out more than 125 postcards asking U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn to vote for the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU) Local 277 and American Income Life sponsored the tournament. The Hawaii State AFL-CIO, led by President Randy Perreira (AFSCME) also is helping to raise scholarship funds through a golf tournament—specifically, for the Hawaii Government Employees Association’s (HGEA/AFSCME) Charles R. Kendall Scholarship. Kendall dedicated his life to improving the working conditions of public employees throughout Hawaii. To honor his memory, the HGEA in 1966 established the Charles R. Kendall Scholarship and Education Fund, which provides educational benefits to members and their immediate families. Fundraising events such as the golf tournament are held year-round to fund the scholarships. Through these efforts, the Kendall Fund has been able to give out more than 2,000 awards to deserving individuals. Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 07/21/2021 - 10:09 Tags: COVID-19, Community Service — Jul 21
  • Trumka Says PRO Act Should Be Passed in a Bipartisan Way: The Working People Weekly List
    Trumka Says PRO Act Should Be Passed in a Bipartisan Way: The Working People Weekly List Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s the latest edition of the Working People Weekly List. Trumka on Bloomberg TV: PRO Act Should Be Passed in a Bipartisan Way: "AFL-CIO Richard Trumka joined Bloomberg's Balance of Power to discuss the budget proposal that provides the largest tax cut ever for working families, and how important passing the PRO Act and voting rights legislation is to our democracy." Texas Democrats Meet with Labor Activists, Sen. Manchin in Washington as They Push Voting Rights: "A crowd gathered as a large number of the more than 50 members—some casually dressed in sneakers and jeans or tracksuits—met at the Black Lives Matter plaza Thursday morning for a press conference hosted by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. Leaning on the image and legacy of Congressman John Lewis, a civil rights icon who died almost exactly a year ago, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka denounced GOP-led efforts in multiple states to pass election integrity bills before turning to the Texas delegation with a smile. 'Heroes and heroines, every last one, in my opinion,' Trumka said to loud cheers from the crowd of mostly labor and civil rights activists." Trumka Praises Inclusion of Pro Act Fines in Key Money Bill: "Hefty fines for corporate labor-law breaking, a top part of the Protect the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, have been inserted into the Senate Democrats’ key money bill, a budget 'reconciliation' measure which right-wing Senate Republicans can’t filibuster. 'Parts of the PRO Act are part of reconciliation,' AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told People’s World at an outdoor July 15 press conference. 'Some of it can’t get in,' due to the rules that restrict 'reconciliation' bills to taxing and spending only, Trumka admitted. 'But the (PRO Act) fines and things having to do with monetary policy are in,' he elaborated. Trumka discussed the PRO Act after introducing and praising the Texas state Democratic legislators who flew out of Austin to D.C. to stop their right-wing GOP colleagues from passing more-repressive voting legislation targeting Blacks and browns than the Lone Star State already has on its books." CEOs Made 299 Times More Than Their Average Workers Last Year: "'This is consistent with what we’ve been seeing year to year,' Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer, said in a press conference with reporters Wednesday. 'Inequality, the imbalance in our economy, is clear by this report that the pay of CEOs and working people continues to be a major problem in this country.'" Senate Confirms Calif. Labor Secretary Su to DOL's No. 2 Spot: "Liz Shuler, the secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, in a tweet on Tuesday called Su 'a fierce leader who will ensure the U.S. Department of Labor can deliver on its mission and improve the lives of working people across the nation.'" Daily on Energy: Labor to Pressure Biden to Deliver Unionized Clean Energy Workforce: "Labor leaders want to see President Joe Biden’s aggressive climate policies include strong protections for workers to guarantee that the clean energy jobs created would carry the same benefits that unionized fossil fuel jobs do. The AFL-CIO, the country’s biggest labor group, is throwing its support behind those policies, but it is promising to keep the pressure on Biden to fulfill his promise of a unionized clean energy workforce. He’ll be starting from a low baseline. 'The pattern that we’ve seen is the family-supporting union jobs are in the traditional sector' such as fossil fuels, said Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO’s secretary-treasurer, in a virtual event yesterday hosted by the Center for American Progress." Alaska Workers Stand Up for Equality: "The labor movement in America has always stood for fairness and equal opportunity. Collective bargaining as an idea rests on the principle that everyone must come together to achieve a common goal, regardless of background. This is why labor unions were able to lead some of the most important movements in American history, from the campaign for the 40-hour work week, to minimum wage and workplace safety laws. It’s also why we as Alaskan labor leaders are announcing that we stand with the recently created Labor for Equality Council, a group of unions representing 4.9 million workers, dedicated to passage of the Equality Act, which would ensure all LGBTQ workers and their families are able to feel safe and welcome in their workplaces and communities." Case of Hervis Rogers 'Textbook Example' of Voting Injustice, Say Rights Advocates: "The Texas AFL-CIO said the case against Rogers had similarities with the one against Crystal Mason, another Black Texan, who was sentenced to five years in prison for casting an ultimately uncounted provisional ballot in the November 2016 election while she was on federal supervised release. 'This is a voter suppression prosecution, pure and simple, a poster child for Jim Crow 2.0,' said Texas AFL-CIO president Rick Levy in reference to Rogers' case. 'Unfortunately, it confirms that Texas' shameful legacy of disenfranchisement is alive and well and desperately needs fixing.'" AFL-CIO Wants Workers ‘Front and Center’ in Battling Global Warming: "Workers, especially union workers, should be 'front and center' in the battle to reverse global warming, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler says. That especially includes unionists who build and repair energy infrastructure, such as members of her home union, the Electrical Workers (IBEW), she adds. Shuler outlined what should be the central role of workers in battling global warming in a one-on-one zoom discussion with Tony Podesta, the longtime Democratic heavyweight and founder of the Center for American Progress, a noted D.C. think tank." Business, Labor Groups Endorse Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal: "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the AFL-CIO and a group of other prominent business groups on Thursday endorsed a $1.2 trillion, eight-year bipartisan infrastructure framework endorsed by President Biden and a group of Senate moderates." Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 07/20/2021 - 15:05 — Jul 20
  • PRO Act Week of Action: What Working People Are Doing This Week
    PRO Act Week of Action: What Working People Are Doing This Week Welcome to our regular feature, a look at what the various AFL-CIO unions and other working family organizations are doing across the country and beyond. The labor movement is big and active—here's a look at the broad range of activities we're engaged in this week. Actors' Equity: AFGE: AFSCME: Alliance for Retired Americans: Amalgamated Transit Union: American Federation of Teachers: American Postal Workers Union: Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance: Association of Flight Attendants-CWA: Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers: Boilermakers: Bricklayers: California School Employees Association: Coalition of Black Trade Unionists: Coalition of Labor Union Women: Communications Workers of America: Department for Professional Employees: Electrical Workers: Fire Fighters: Heat and Frost Insulators: International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers: Ironworkers: Italian American Actors: Jobs With Justice: Labor Council for Latin American Advancement: Laborers: Machinists: Metal Trades Department: Mine Workers: Musical Artists: National Air Traffic Controllers Association: National Association of Letter Carriers: National Day Laborer Organizing Network: National Domestic Workers Alliance: National Federation of Federal Employees: National Nurses United: National Taxi Workers Alliance: NFL Players Association: North America's Building Trades Unions: Office and Professional Employees: Painters and Allied Trades: Plasterers and Cement Masons: Professional Aviation Safety Specialists: Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union: Roofers and Waterproofers: SAG-AFTRA: Seafarers: Solidarity Center: The NewsGuild-CWA: Theatrical Stage Employees: Transport Workers Union: Transportation Trades Department: UAW: Union Veterans Council: UNITE HERE: United Food and Commercial Workers: United Steelworkers: United Students Against Sweatshops: Utility Workers: Writers Guild of America, East: Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 07/20/2021 - 14:00 — Jul 20