Union leaders joined President Obama in hailing the historic, if narrow, passage of major health reform legislation in the House this weekend. The bill “is a fiscally responsible bill that will cover 96 percent of Americans, end insurance company discrimination and denials of care and equip health care providers with the tools they need to …
Big Unions Hail Healthcare Bill Passage, as Senate Challenge Begins Read More »
It’s almost Halloween, and you know what that means: buying tons of candy. But why give your money to a company that treats its workers like Oompa-Loompas? They were slaves who got paid in beans, remember! (Don’t be fooled by their catchy songs; that’s just a show they put on for the boss. You should …
When Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) suggested she would block health care reform if it included a public option, Maine workers took action: The Maine AFL-CIO put its convention on hold so attendees could call her and tell her that a public option is essential to make reform work. (Recent polls in Maine suggest Mainers strongly …
Maine Union Members Tell Snowe to Support a Public Option, and More Health Care News Read More »
Business-sponsored ‘scholars’ deliver anti-union talking points. Testifying before the Senate labor and health committee hearing in March, economist Anne Layne-Farrar of the corporate consulting firm LECG warned about the horrendous impact of the Employee Free Choice Act. Its potential to increase union membership from between five and 10 percent, she said, “would result in an …
Today is World Day for Decent Work, and union members in more than 100 countries are mobilizing to address the global economic and employment crisis and demand fundamental reform of the world economy. The deepest global recession since the 1930s has led to a jobs crisis with millions of people out of work. The International …
This post originally appeared in the AFL-CIO blog on October 5, 2009. Reprinted with permission from the author. New contracts for 16,000 AT&T core wireline workers, members of CWA and IBEW, and more news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,200 …
16,000 Workers Ratify New Contracts at AT&T – and More Bargaining News Read More »
The North Carolina union organizer who was the inspiration for the movie “Norma Rae” died on Friday of brain cancer after a battle with her insurance company, which delayed her treatment. She was 68. Crystal Lee Sutton, formerly Crystal Lee Jordan, was fired from her job folding towels at the J.P. Stevens textile plant in …
Real ‘Norma Rae’ Dies of Cancer After Insurer Delayed Treatment Read More »
Unions and progressive coalitions are seeking to add grass-roots organizing power to President Obama’s calls for financial reform, with stepped up activism from the AFL-CIO, Jobs for Justice and the progressive Americans for Financial Reform coalition all starting this week. Following last week’s AFL-CIO convention that aimed to jump-start reform drives and the union movement, …
Unions, Progressives To Launch Wall St. Reform Drives This Week Read More »
“More than ever before, we need to be a labor movement that stands by our friends, punishes its enemies, and criticizes those who, well, can’t seem to decide which side they’re on.” –Rich Trumka, in the Washington Post Sept. 7, 2009 PITTSBURGH – When the history of the bi-partisan undermining of the Employee Free Choice …
Specter In Pittsburgh: Punishment and Reward at AFL-CIO Convention Read More »
(The following post is part of our Taking Back Labor Day blog series. Many people view Labor Day as just another day off from work, the end of summer, or a fine day for a barbecue. We think that it’s a holiday with a rich history, and an excellent occasion to examine what workers, and …
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.
