Archive for November 17th, 2008
National Ad Campaign Urges New Congress to Pass Employee Free Choice
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As the nation’s economy continues its tailspin, the American public is hungry for measures to strengthen the middle class. With the new 111th Congress set to convene in less than two months, a broad coalition of progressive groups is making sure the lawmakers and the new president hear the message loud and clear that the Employee Free Choice Act must be a key part of efforts to rebuild the economy.
Yesterday, the workers’ advocacy group American Rights at Work launched the first issue advertising campaign for the new Congress. The nationwide TV ad campaign reminds lawmakers of the broad public support for the Employee Free Choice Act, which would give working people the freedom to make their own decision about whether and how to form a union. (Check out the video above.)
Tell Congress to Pass a Bridge Loan for Automakers
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Congress passed a big bailout for Wall Street financial giants last month—so why are some lawmakers on Capitol Hill willing to let the auto industry twist in the wind? Firedoglake’s Jane Hamsher says it just might have something to do with the fact that the auto industry is unionized—and some ideologically driven lawmakers would like to see a big unionized industry fail.
But withholding aid from automakers could literally eliminate millions of good U.S. jobs: The Big Three companies employ some 240,000 workers, and their suppliers an additional 2.3 million, amounting to nearly 2 percent of the nation’s workforce, as Louis Uchitelle points out today.
Nurses Rally in Texas for Patient Protection and More Bargaining News
Hundreds of registered nurses in Texas, represented by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, rallied for the Texas Hospital Patient Protection Act of 2009—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 900 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
WORK STOPPAGES AND ACTIONS
CNA/NNOC, Texas: Hundreds of registered nurses in Texas, represented by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC), rallied at the state Capitol in support of the Texas Hospital Patient Protection Act of 2009, which cracks down on unsafe hospital practices.
Wage Theft: A National Epidemic
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The Bush Labor Department is not enforcing the laws that protect workers from wage theft—workers not being paid what they earn or are due, says Kim Bobo, executive director of Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ). Immediate and major reforms are needed to ensure that in these hard economic times every worker receives each dollar to which he or she is entitled.
In her new book, Wage Theft in America: Why Millions of Working Americans Are Not Getting Paid—And What We Can Do About It, Bobo says wage theft is “an epidemic” in the nation, especially in the low-wage labor market. Click here to order a copy of the book.
Wage theft is a national crisis. As many as two or three million workers are not being paid minimum wage, millions are denied overtime pay.
