Archive for August, 2006
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on Ed Schultz Show Today
Tune in today at 11 a.m. to the progressive Ed Schultz talk radio show to hear AFL-CIO President John Sweeney discuss the future of unions and the upcoming midterm elections.
Author of Straight Talk from the Heartland: Tough Talk, Common Sense, and Hope from a Former Conservative, Ed Shultz hosts a three-hour daily radio show carried by the progressive network Air America and other channels.
Click here to find out how you can get the Ed Schultz show.
Katrina One Year Later: Flushing Government Services Down the Toilet
In the latest in our series of profiles highlighting Hurricane Katrina survivors, we talk with firefighter Keith Noya, who says the first responders who risked their lives to save others are not getting the respect they deserve.
Drug Companies Get Donut; Seniors Get Donut Hole in Bush Medicare Plan
Last week, we described how seniors such as 86-year-old Paul Sauerland are falling into the donut hole under the Bush Medicare Part D plan. A new report clearly shows the donut hole—a gap in coverage that forces seniors to pay $3,000 out of their own pockets for drugs they need—is just another in a series of moves by President George W. Bush and his Republican cronies in Congress to ensure high profits for their corporate buddies.
Florida Court Blocks Law That Halted Most Voter Registration Drives
A federal judge yesterday blocked a new Florida vote registration law—backed by Gov. Jeb Bush (R) and passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature—that had halted voter registration drives by the Florida AFL-CIO, the League of Women Voters of Florida and virtually all nonpartisan groups since earlier this year. Following yesterday’s ruling, Florida state federation President Cindy Hall asked all the state’s central labor councils to resume registration activities and other nonpartisan groups have done the same.
Had Enough Yet?
Recent economic news has not been good. Lots of info from U.S. Census Bureau figures out today—which show the U.S. poverty rate declined by one-tenth of a percentage point, a statistically insignificant change, according to Census officials, and higher than it was in 2000. But just in the past few days, we hear the following.
Waging a Living: Tonight on PBS
Working poor “ought to be an oxymoron.”
AFSCME Creates Partnership for Redistricting Fights
Calling the 2003 GOP Texas redistricting plan a “Republican power grab” that “redrew Texas congressional districts for pure partisan gain,” AFSCME President Gerald McEntee cited the move as an example of why Democrats need help preparing for the congressional redistricting fights that will occur in a few short years.
Lots to Say
Here are some of the latest comments we’ve received at AFL-CIO Now.
Got news? Send it to blognews@aflcio.org.
Al Gould in North Canaan, Conn., responds to our recent post describing Wal-Mart’s plans to tell its workers in Iowa how to vote in the presidential primaries.
Katrina One Year Later: What’s the Real Cleanup Agenda?
In the latest in our series of profiles highlighting Hurricane Katrina survivors, we talk with former teacher Gwen Adams, whose experiences illustrate what some say is a broader move to use the disaster to further the anti-worker, anti-union agenda.
Concrete Solidarity Wins in Seattle
The “solidarity strike” by nearly 90 Seattle-area concrete workers who hit the picket lines July 31 seeking the right to honor other unions’ picket lines ended in victory last weekend. Workers ratified a three-year contract that includes the provision to honor picket lines.
