Search Results for 'LCLAA'
In the States, Organizing & Bargaining |
Nov 6 |
Florida Activist Training Draws 200 Union Members
 |
||||
|
||||
Joshua Anijar, a zone coordinator for the Florida AFL-CIO, sends us this report on a recent activist training session that drew more than 200 union members from Central Florida Labor Council unions in Orlando late last month.
This was the Central Florida AFL-CIO’s first activist training and it will become an annual event to help equip union members with the skills and training that will help in organizing, political and other mobilizations. We had rank-and-file union members from more than two dozen unions and constituency and other labor groups.
Fernando Redon from Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 606 says the daylong session with speakers and workshops
gave my members a chance to get training on topics that can help them be more active in their local meetings or on the job site, while giving them a larger perspective and education of worker struggle, dignity and justice.
Organizing & Bargaining |
Oct 15 |
Union Movement Rallies in Solidarity with Puerto Rican Workers
 |
|
| Thousands of workers rallied in Puerto Rico against the governor’s drastic layoffs. The sign says “Give me back my job.” | |
In states across the country, working people marched and rallied in solidarity today with their Puerto Rican brothers and sisters against draconian budget cuts and cancellation of their collective bargaining rights.
As 200,000 people march in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to protest Gov. Luis Fortuño’s plan to slash the budget deficit on the backs of workers, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka sent a letter of support and solidarity and rallies were held in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and other cities.
In his letter of support, which was read at the San Juan rally, Trumka said:
We are fully aware of the attacks being afflicted on the workers and their families on your island and we will do whatever we can to stop them. We are completely committed to bringing the full force of the AFL-CIO to fighting for the rights and well being of our affiliated unions, their members, and the people of Puerto Rico.
Organizing & Bargaining |
Oct 14 |
Mass Work Stoppage Set to Protest Puerto Rico’s Layoffs, Union-Busting
 |
||||
|
||||
More than 200,000 people are expected to march in a mass rally tomorrow in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as part of a one-day work stoppage to protest Gov. Luis Fortuño’s plan to trim the budget deficit on the backs of workers.
Using recently passed legislation known as Public Law 7, the governor plans to lay off as many as 30,000 public employees and deny collective bargaining to the remainder of the island’s public employees. The U.S. Commonwealth, where unemployment is already at 15 percent, is set to receive $6 billion in federal economic recovery funds, more than enough to cover a projected $3.2 billion budget deficit.
Fortuño, a former Republican delegate to the U.S. Congress, is using the island’s deep budget deficit as a pretext to busting the union and privatizing public services, the Puerto Rican union movement says.
Legislation & Politics, Organizing & Bargaining |
Sep 7 |
CEO Says Workers Who Create Profit Should Be Able to Share in It
 |
|
As we celebrate Labor Day, Roger Smith, CEO of American Income Life and National Income Life Insurance Co., reminds us that for America’s economy to grow and flourish, workers must be paid a fair wage and allowed to freely join unions. Smith also serves on the board of the Alliance for Retired Americans and is a consultant to the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement.
Labor Day 2009 is a good time to reflect on the state of America’s workers. For the millions of workers who are unemployed, underemployed or underpaid, their plight is one of empty pockets.
Nothing instills hope and optimism like the sound of change in your pocket. Nothing is more terrifying and bleak than an empty pocket and no prospect to fill it.
Legislation & Politics |
Jun 19 |
Report: Reviving Latino Workforce Key to Rebuilding America
The recession has hurt all America’s workers, especially Latino workers. Despite their growing political power, Latinos are still at the bottom of the economic ladder. Until the nation enacts policies that help lift Latinos and other communities of color, the economy cannot fully recover, according to a new report.
“Reviving the Latino Workforce: Complex Problems Demand Comprehensive Solutions,” released June 17 by the AFL-CIO constituency group, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), points out the interconnections fueling this economic hardship, and the need for comprehensive solutions.
Legislation & Politics |
May 5 |
Latino Workers Mobilizing for Employee Free Choice
 |
|
Update: The LCLAA leadership forum set for this weekend has been rescheduled to Oct. 1-4.
Latinos make up the fastest growing segment of the workforce and union movement. To gain a better life for themselves and their families, Latinos and all workers need the freedom to form unions and bargain.
As part of that effort, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), an AFL-CIO constituency group, is stepping up its efforts to mobilize in support of the Employee Free Choice Act.
LCLAA members from across the Midwest will meet this weekend in Chicago for the first of three regional leadership development forums. At this forum and at future gatherings in Philadelphia and in Orange County, Calif., LCLAA members will develop strategies to build support for the legislation and expand organizing.
Legislation & Politics |
Apr 2 |
LCLAA: Union Membership Good for Latino Community
To get a stake in America’s economy and a better life for themselves and their families, Latinos need the freedom to form unions and bargain—which means they need the Employee Free Choice Act.
That’s the conclusion of a new article by Gabriela Lemus, executive director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), a national organization for Latino working families and an AFL-CIO constituency group. LCLAA has joined other prominent voices in the Latino community, including the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and the National Latino Congreso, in supporting the Employee Free Choice Act. Lemus says Latinos should “wholeheartedly support” the Employee Free Choice Act.
Lemus says the union advantages of better health care, pensions and wages—Latino union members make 43 percent higher median wages than Latinos who don’t have a union—are critical to giving this community a shot at being part of a strong middle class. The demographics of the Latino community, Lemus says, make union membership especially helpful to Latinos.
Legislation & Politics |
Mar 10 |
Religious, Civil Rights, Environmental Groups Support Employee Free Choice
 |
|
Today’s introduction of the Employee Free Choice Act in the U.S. House and Senate was a long-awaited day for working families and those concerned about the freedom to form unions.
The bill has widespread support, including a broad coalition of allies from the civil rights, religious, environmental and human-rights community.
Here’s what some of these groups had to say about the Employee Free Choice Act.
Christine L. Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project:
Workers have a fundamental right to join together into unions, but any semblance of a free and fair process for exercising that right is destroyed by ruthless employer opposition to organizing and a legal framework favoring employers every step of the way. By insisting that workers alone get to decide whether to form a union and the process for making that choice, the Employee Free Choice Act will renew workplace democracy, improve jobs, strengthen the economy and rebuild America’s middle class.
Economy, Legislation & Politics, Organizing & Bargaining |
Dec 30 |
2008 in Review: Workers Win Unions, Crown Bad Bosses
Here’s the fourth part in our series taking a look back at 2008. Check out Part 1 here, Part 2 here and Part 3 here.
********
 |
|
In July, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka gave a speech to delegates at the United Steelworkers (USW) convention warning that as the presidential campaign heats up, there will be attempts to divide workers by race. His bold and much-needed statement went on to became a YouTube, Internet and blog sensation throughout the campaign season:
Barack Obama has always, always been on our side. This is a guy who’s voted with labor 98 percent of the time….There’s not a single good reason for any worker—especially any union member—to vote against Barack Obama. There’s only one really bad reason to vote against him: because he’s not white.
Legislation & Politics |
Nov 3 |
‘My Vote, My Right’ Ready to Protect Voters on Election Day
 |
|
On the eve of the most important vote of a lifetime for American workers, volunteers for the AFL-CIO-led My Vote, My Right program are in place, ready to help ensure that all eligible voters can cast a ballot and that their votes are counted.
Hundreds of volunteer union members will monitor polls, and volunteer lawyers will field calls and complaints from voters who believe their right to vote has been denied.
Speaking to the Gannett News Service, Ohio AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Petee Talley, who is coordinating the voter-protection program in the Buckeye State, says polling monitors are needed as much now as they were in 2004 and 2006.
