Despite the challenges of organizing during a deadly pandemic, working people across the country (and beyond) continue organizing, bargaining and mobilizing for a better life. This edition begins with several groups of organizers who won voluntary recognition of their new unions. Kentucky Democratic Party Staff Join IBEW: Staff at the Kentucky Democratic Party have joined …
Not long before Donald Trump’s election in 2016, the Pacific Legal Foundation filed suit against California’s farmworker access rule in federal court on behalf of two companies—Cedar Point Nursery in Siskiyou County and the Fowler Packing Company in Fresno. The foundation is a conservative libertarian group that holds property rights sacred and campaigns against racial equity. It fought …
Will the Supreme Court Overrule Farmworker Union Rights? Read More »
Union leaders are hoping to influence Joe Biden’s pick for Labor secretary — but they’re increasingly at odds over who should get the job. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and some of his organization’s largest affiliate unions are singing the praises of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who previously led the city’s Building and Construction Trades Council …
Unions disagree over Biden’s Labor secretary pick Read More »
OAKLAND, Calif. — The myth of lockstep liberal California took a hit this election. Voters in the deep-blue state rejected a progressive push to reinstate affirmative action, sided with technology companies over organized labor and rejected rent control. They are poised to reject a business tax that had been a decadeslong priority for labor unions …
California proves it’s not as liberal as you think Read More »
It may have been the biggest mislabeled celebration in American history. By midday Saturday, November 7, when the election was finally called, hordes of ecstatic people poured into the streets across the country, honking and cheering and weeping with joy. This was widely referred to as a celebration of President-elect Joe Biden. But it really wasn’t about …
Amid widespread concerns that President Donald Trump will attempt to steal today’s election or refuse to leave office if he loses, the leaders of multiple Chicago-area unions issued a joint statement on Monday committing to take any nonviolent action necessary?—?up to and including a general strike?—?to defend democracy. “Every single vote has to be counted,” says Stacy Davis Gates, vice president of the …
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. With so many severe storms and wildfires having struck parts of our country over the …
NATCA’s Disaster Response Committee Raises Funds for Union Relief Efforts Read More »
The police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis ignited the most widespread series of protests in U.S. history. Working people—not only Black, but people of all races—were the driving force. Even labor leaders who are usually reluctant to weigh in on hot social issues spoke out. The challenge now is to bring the militancy and …
The Movement for Black Lives and Labor’s Revival Read More »
I started in the labor movement in the mid-90s, when the fall in union density from 23 percent of the workforce in 1980 to 15 percent in 1994 had created a crisis at the top. In response, the “New Voices” slate led by the Service Employees’ John Sweeney defeated heir apparent Thomas Donahue in the first contested …
How Unions Can Lay the Ground for the Next Upsurge Read More »
Throughout National Hispanic Heritage Month, the AFL-CIO will be profiling labor leaders and activists to spotlight the diverse contributions Hispanics and Latinos have made to our movement. Today’s profile features Linda Chavez-Thompson. A second-generation American of Mexican descent, Chavez-Thompson grew up in Lubbock, Texas. An oft-told anecdote from her childhood told the story of a young Chavez-Thompson convincing …
National Hispanic Heritage Month Profiles: Linda Chavez-Thompson Read More »
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
