Federal labor laws exclude farmworkers from overtime pay and other protections. After years of advocacy by farm labor groups, lawmakers in Oregon, Washington and Colorado are working to change that. Oregon state Rep. Ricki Ruiz grew up the son of two farmworkers, and he remembers his family’s struggles vividly. “We almost faced eviction five times because …
For Farmworkers, the Fight for the 8-Hour Day Isn’t Over Read More »
The Trump administration’s Labor Department issued new overtime rules this week that take away $1.4 billion of workers’ pay every year compared to the Obama administration rules they replace. The amount of this pay cut for working people will increase enormously over time. Although the economic recovery that started in 2009 under then-President Obama is …
New Trump Overtime Rules Will Cost Workers $1.4 Billion in First Year Alone Read More »
The Rhode Island AFL-CIO has been busy in 2019, leading the fight on a number of important legislative initiatives. There are numerous union members who have been elected to the state legislature and that has provided an opportunity to pass legislation that will make a huge difference for our members and for working people across …
As the partial government shutdown stretches into its third week — making it the second longest shutdown in U.S. history — federal workers in Philadelphia took to the streets Tuesday to protest the White House and congressional inaction that has left them without work and pay for 18 days. About 150 workers from various government …
Federal workers protest against government shutdown across the country Read More »
Amidst headlines about porn stars and bromance with Russian President Vladimir Putin, it can be hard to track the many ways the Trump administration is hurting workers in the United States. The Supreme Court’s Janus ruling that struck a blow to unions’ ability to collect membership dues held a brief spotlight in the national news …
Five former Houston Texans cheerleaders are suing the NFL team, claiming they weren’t paid for many hours of work and were subjected to intimidation and harassment on the job. “We were harassed, bullied, and body shamed for $7.25 an hour,” former cheerleader Ainsley Parish said at a press conference Friday. The women, who are represented …
Former Houston Texans cheerleaders sue team over low pay and harassment Read More »
January 20th marks the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Since taking office, President Trump has overseen a string of policies that will harm working people and benefit corporations and the rich. Here we present a list of the 10 worst things Congress and Trump have done to undermine pay growth and erode working conditions …
Here Are the 10 Worst Attacks on Workers From Trump’s First Year Read More »
Lawrence Mishel, the outgoing President of the Economic Policy Institute, is finally – after 30 years at the progressive economic research organization – seeing one of his wishes come true. Leaders in both major political parties are talking about wage stagnation, and how to address it. “I’ve always wanted to elevate the concerns about people’s …
Lifelong Wage Warrior Larry Mishel Takes On Trump’s Tax Scam Read More »
On September 5, the administration of Donald Trump formally announced that they won’t try to save Obama’s overtime rule, effectively killing a potential raise for millions of Americans. This disturbing development has largely slipped under the radar during a busy news week, marked by Trump’s scrapping of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. …
With All Eyes on DACA, the Trump Administration Is Quietly Killing Overtime Protections Read More »
Donald Trump’s major life goal at this point seems to be rolling back everything good President Barack Obama did for the country and its people—and now he’s coming for your overtime pay. Obama had sought to raise the overtime eligibility threshold to include millions more workers, a change that was supposed to go into effect in December but …
Trump has bad news for millions of workers in line for overtime pay under Obama 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.
