Archive for August, 2006
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.
Unions: Training the Next Gen
The UAW Women’s Department sends us the following from the UAW Solidarity magazine.
Lisa Young jokes that her son, Eric, was born a union activist because after finishing maternity leave in 1992, she headed straight for her bargaining unit’s negotiations. By the time he was in fourth grade, his hero was [former UAW President] Walter Reuther.
So a couple of years ago, Young jumped at the chance to speak to Eric’s class about labor union history.
“I want my children to know what the worker goes through,” said Young, mother to Eric, 13, and Ashley, 17. “Too many of our kids are used to asking for what they want and getting it. That’s how they think real life works too.”
New AFL-CIO Online: En Espanol
More than 18 million Latinos live in the United States and many work for low wages and often are exploited by unscrupulous employers. In fact, a new Bureau of Labor Statistics report shows that among immigrant Latino workers, the job death toll increased to 625 from 596 in 2004.
Katrina One Year Later: No Job, No Way to Pay Rent
Today, we continue a series of profiles highlighting the experiences of Hurricane Katrina survivors—and exposing the gap between Bush administration spin and on-the-ground reality for the tens of thousands of survivors whose lives are still torn apart one year after the storm.
UPDATE–Bush Administration Backs Northwest Against Flight Attendants
Just in. A federal judge ruled this afternoon that Northwest Airlines flight attendants cannot begin their planned series of unannounced strikes against the airline. The judge granted the injunction sought by the Bush administration and Northwest against the Flight Attendants-CWA.
Court Sides with Mine Owners in Safety Case; Sago Families Sue ICG
The lone survivor of January’s Sago Mine disaster and two of the families of the 12 miners killed in the methane explosion filed suits this week in a West Virginia court alleging poor safety practice by the company and others.
