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Welcome to a new blog feature where twice a month American Rights at Work spends some time off the clock with notable labor leaders, thinkers, and organizers.
First up is AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler, who shares how she joined the labor movement, why young workers should too, and how she likes to spend her time when she’s “off the clock”! Read more »
In 2009 alone, 4,340 workers were killed on the job – an average of 12 workers every day– and an estimated 50,000 died from occupational diseases. Read more »
Shared sacrifice? Not so much. We sure don’t know any workers who got 23 percent raises last year. Read more » As state governments and local municipalities grapple with serious budget challenges, pension critics are taking the opportunity to push for substantial cuts and wholesale elimination of defined benefit retirement systems. To hear them say it, pensions impose only costs – but that’s simply not the case. As our new research demonstrates, private and public pension funds help drive the economies of communities through investments that, in addition to producing solid returns, create good jobs. In December 2010, we warned that Scott Walker believed he could solve Wisconsin’s budget issues by taking away a voice on the job from working women and men. Four months into office, Gov. Walker is following through on his promise to attack Wisconsin’s working families. A few weeks ago, we wrote about Sports Illustrated naming professional football player and active union member Drew Brees as its Sportsman of the Year in recognition of his work on and off the field in New Orleans. Brees isn’t the only union member giving back this holiday season. In newspapers across the country, stories are cropping up about the ways everyday union members are pitching in to better their own communities. In New Jersey, the Atlantic City and Cape May County AFL-CIO Central Labor Council recently completed its sixth annual “Fly Home for the Holidays” program that helps a local resident bring a loved one to New Jersey for the holidays. This year the Council helped Fred Slunt III fly his parents from Nevada to southern New Jersey so the family can spend the holidays together. Both of Fred’s parents have encountered serious medical conditions in recent years and have been unable to meet their youngest granddaughter in person. For the millions of Americans that Wall Street’s recklessness sent to the unemployment line, time is running out. Thanks to right-wing obstructionism in Congress, emergency jobless benefits have already started to lapse—and will leave 2 million unemployed workers without a lifeline by the New Year. Another 4 million will be left out in the cold by the end of February, through no fault of their own. Still not convinced that extending unemployment benefits is the right thing to do? Read more » |
Posts Tagged ‘AFL-CIO’
This Saturday is Workers Memorial Day, a time when working families across the country gather to remember the dead and fight for the living — as Mother Jones put it. Though we’ve made significant strides in workplace safety over the years, it’s clear that we’ve still got some work to do.
Union Shop
