Nearly 30 House Democrats sent Donald Trump a letter “to express our strong concerns” about the nomination of Eugene Scalia as labor secretary. “We believe Mr. Scalia’s consistent record of opposing workers’ rights disqualifies him from heading the Department designed to protect American workers,” the letter, led by Michigan Rep. Andy Levin, reads. “We urge instead that you …
News coverage of the Green New Deal portrays organized labor as a major obstacle to its enactment. But our new report for Data for Progress paints a different picture. In a poll conducted for the think tank by YouGov Blue, union members overwhelmingly favored the proposed reforms, with 62 percent in support and 22 percent against. In a memo …
The Fight for a Green New Deal Can Start with Your Union Contract Read More »
It was a tale of two cities’ mayors (with presidential ambitions) this week. South Bend, Indiana’s Pete Buttigieg and New York’s Bill de Blasio—the two active-duty mayors among the 20 Democratic presidential candidates still on the debate stage—released their labor and workers’ rights platforms. Both mayors include fairly robust proposals to overhaul and modernize our …
The First Labor Plans of the 2020 Race Just Dropped. Here’s What to Make of Them. Read More »
It’s important to uphold the principle that someone who lets a sexual predator—who preys on children, no less—off easy because he’s rich and connected and has good lawyers should not be in charge of a large chunk of the federal government, so Alexander Acosta had to go. That said, many, many workers will be much …
Trump nominates mini-Scalia as labor secretary, this week in the war on workers Read More »
FOR A FEW DAYS IN APRIL, a grocery store chain in New England magnetically attracted Democratic presidential hopefuls. Thousands of Stop & Shop workers were on strike in the biggest private-sector walkout in years. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Mayor Pete Buttigieg (South Bend, Ind.), former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) all joined picket lines to …
Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta is stepping down from his post, just two days after he held a news conference to defend a plea deal that he brokered for wealthy sex offender Jeffrey Epstein while serving as a U.S. attorney in Florida more than a decade ago. President Donald Trump alerted reporters this morning of Acosta’s …
Alexander Acosta stepping down as Labor secretary Read More »
Jenn Puja (IUOE), a labor activist and organizer, won her primary race for White Plains Common Council in New York this week. Puja, along with two other labor-endorsed candidates, advanced to the general election in November. Puja received strong labor backing, including from Operating Engineers (IUOE) General President James T. Callahan, and thanked all unions for …
Labor Activist Wins Primary Election for White Plains Common Council Read More »
Eight years ago, women union leaders and activists began campaigning for the International Labor Organization to tackle gender-based violence and harassment at work. Last week, at the ILO’s 100thanniversary, workers, governments and employers votedoverwhelmingly to approve a binding Convention on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work. This victory is a testament to the power of trade unionists organizing …
International Labor Organization Fights Gender-Based Workplace Violence and Harassment Read More »
Here’s the latest edition of the Working People Weekly List. Strive for a Better Trade Deal: “The North American Free Trade Agreement has been nothing short of a disaster for working people. For a quarter-century, Michiganians have watched as corporations shuttered plants, raided pensions and steadily eroded communities that had come to embody the promise of the …
A Better Trade Deal: The Working People Weekly List Read More »
For Pride Month, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various LGBTQ Americans who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights. First, let’s take a look back at LGBTQ Americans we’ve profiled in the past: Bayard Rustin Josette Jaramillo Mara Keisling Marsha P. Johnson Miriam Frank Tom Barbera Check …
Profiling Labor Leaders and Activists for Pride Month 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.
