Archive for August, 2006
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.
Letter Carriers Open Negotiations
Negotiations on a new contract for the nearly 225,000 men and women who deliver your mail got under way when the leaders of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and the U.S Postal Service (USPS) opened talks today in Washington D.C.
Evil Doesn’t Describe Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart isn’t evil.
Take a Minute to Take a Labor Day Quiz
Starting today, the AFL-CIO Labor Day “Quiz of the Day” at the Labor Day 2006 website will give you a chance to test your knowledge of labor history, current working family issues—and, of course, the “union difference.”
The $40 Million Question: Why Does Politics Matter to Organizing?
As the AFL-CIO union movement mobilizes for the upcoming 2006 elections, Judith Freeman, a senior research analyst in the AFL-CIO Politics and Field Department, highlights the need to combine political action with organizing outreach to build strength in today’s union movement.
Katrina One Year Later: ‘I Knew Our Unions Would Come Through’

Today as we continue our series profiling union members who survived Hurricane Katrina, we highlight Michele and Alex Baker, among the lucky survivors.
After losing everything in the storm, Michele and Alex Baker have gotten back on their feet.
But they have jobs and a new start today not because of anything the Bush administration did.










