What do the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers have in common–besides playing in the Super Bowl Sunday? Both teams are named after the major manufacturing industry in their towns. Both cities were built on manufacturing and enjoy a loyal following built on the middle-class, blue-collar jobs supported by these industries. The Packers’ middle-class fans are also …
Representatives of the Egyptian union movement announced they are forming a new labor federation, the Federation of Egyptian Trade Unions, which will represent workers in more than a dozen industries and enterprises. The federation also plans to set a date for a nationwide general strike for democracy and fundamental rights. Many people believe the labor demonstrations in …
AFL-CIO, Global Unions Applaud New Egyptian Labor Movement Read More »
Here’s another reason to do away with runaway CEO pay. A study shows bloated CEO pay can make the boss mean. The study examined the corporate behavior of 261 companies and found a close correlation between pay inequality and poor treatment of workers. In companies where CEOs made much more than their average workers, the …
Martin Luther King Jr., whose birthday we celebrate this weekend, died fighting for the freedom of Memphis sanitation workers to form a union with AFSCME. For King, economic justice went hand in hand with civil rights and the right to join a union was critical to gaining economic justice. Writing on AlterNet, Laura Flanders says: King saw public workers …
Martin Luther King Jr. Gave His Life Supporting Workers’ Rights Read More »
A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel’s ruling in favor of U.S. tariffs on passenger and light truck tires made in China shows “the rules of trade, when vigorously enforced, can be made to work for working people,” United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo Gerard said. In September 2009, President Obama became the first president to enforce U.S. …
If the National Football League owners lock out the players next season, not only will millions of fans not have games to watch on Sunday afternoon, but more than 115,000 jobs could be lost, according to a new study. The 32 NFL teams employ on average 3,739 people each, including players, concession workers and office …
NFL Lockout Could Cost $160 Million, 115,000 Jobs Read More »
Many countries around the world, including the United States, depend on immigrant labor to boost economic development, but do not protect the rights of their immigrant workers. Trade union representatives at the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GMFD) meeting in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, last week called on the world’s governments to respect and protect the …
Three years after voting to join a union, dealers at the casino in Wynn Las Vegas late last week ratified a collective bargaining agreement, the first-ever union contract for dealers in Las Vegas. With the contract, the 600 Wynn dealers, who are members of Transport Workers (TWU) Local 721, now have a voice on the …
Each American citizen 18 years old or older has a right to vote and most—not all—have the right to take time off to vote. Thirty-three states have laws on the books requiring employers to give workers time off to cast a vote. The District of Columbia and 17 states do not. With so much at stake in Tuesday’s …
Check Laws to Learn if You Can Take Time Off to Vote Read More »
The people who teach our children, protect us from crime, put out fires in our homes and make sure our water is clean are under attack. Conservative pundits and politicians across the country are using the economic crisis to attack public employees and portray them as privileged compared with everyone else. They use the fact that …
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.
