Pickets, not Picnics, for San Francisco Labor Day
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Steve Stallone is president of the International Labor Communications Association (ILCA) and secretary/editor of the Pacific Media Workers Guild.
Labor Day in San Francisco would not be complete without a large community picket at UNITEHERE! Local 2’s latest target. Tourism is the city’s biggest industry and the country’s largest hotel chains seemingly can’t resist providing the labor movement with a villain all can despise.
This year, the winner—and still champion—is Hyatt, with credentials that would make Cruella De Vil blush.
Biden: Only Unions Can Stop Middle-Class Onslaught
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The union movement is in a fight for its life and the other side is determined to take away our right to exist, Vice President Joe Biden told a gathering of working families.
Speaking at a Labor Day rally yesterday in Cincinnati, Biden said unions are the only non-governmental power with the power and capacity to stop the onslaught against the middle class.
The middle class is under attack because labor is under the most direct assault in generations. The other side has declared war on labor’s house and it’s about time we stand up.
Obama: A Voice on the Job Is Everyone’s Right
President Obama spent Labor Day in Detroit speaking with working families in an event sponsored by the Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and other top union leaders joined Obama, who asserted his strong support for workers’ freedom to seek a voice at work through a union.
And I want everybody here to know, as long as I’m in the White House I’m going to stand up for collective bargaining….Because having a voice on the job and a chance to organize and a chance to negotiate for a fair day’s pay after a hard day’s work, that is the right of every man and woman in America—not just the CEO in the corner office, but also the janitor who cleans that office after the CEO goes home. Everybody has got the same right.
Obama blasted efforts by lawmakers to take away workers’ ability to collectively bargain for good middle-class jobs.
When I hear some of these folks trying to take collective bargaining rights away, trying to pass so-called “right to work” laws for private sector workers—that really mean the right to work for less and less and less—when I hear some of this talk I know this is not about economics. This is about politics.
In his remarks, Trumka pointed to Labor Day as the:
Honor Work and Workers by Joining America Wants to Work Campaign
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Each Labor Day, the nation takes the time to honor the value of work and all who do it. But in this Labor Day video message, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says we also should remember the millions of jobless workers by joining the fight to put America back to work.
It’s time to think about the millions of men and women who have lost their jobs and have spent weeks, months—even years—struggling to get back to work….Together as activists, it’s our job to demand that our leaders—local and state officials, Congress and the president—take big bold action to create good jobs and put America back to work.
You can sign the America Wants to Work pledge here, or text PLEDGE to 235246, and we will keep you informed about the America Wants to Work campaign and when and how you can make a difference.
Show a Little Love for America’s Workers Today
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Happy Labor Day! Before you head out for a Labor Day parade, picnic, barbecue or maybe even a political action, head on over to www.aflcio.org/iheart, where you can honor America’s workers and their hard work this Labor Day.
As part of the AFL-CIO’s America Wants to Work Labor Day actions, you can select the worker you HEART and then, with just two clicks, share your tribute via Facebook and Twitter.
We offer suggestions, such as teachers, truck drivers and steelworkers, but you can choose your own. Maybe it’s the air traffic controller who’s guiding you and your family home, the nurse who took such great care of your mom, or maybe the snowplow driver who freed you and your neighbors after one of last year’s big blizzards.
So click here and tell us who you HEART this Labor Day.
Shout Out to Public Workers in Presidential Proclamation
Some good stuff in the Presidential Proclamation on Labor Day issued by President Obama today.
The right to organize and collectively bargain is a fundamental American value. Since its beginnings in our country, organized labor has raised our living standards and built our middle class. It is the reason we have a minimum wage, weekends away from work to rest and spend time with family, and basic protections in our workplaces….The principles upheld by the honorable laborers of generations past and their unions continue to fuel the growth of our economy and a strong middle class.
And more:
This year has seen a vigorous fight to protect these rights and values, and on this Labor Day, we reaffirm that collective bargaining is a cornerstone of the American dream. From public employees — including teachers, firefighters, police, and others who perform public services — to workers in private industries, these men and women hold the power of our Nation in their hands.
Read the full proclamation here.
And check out a Labor Day video message from Labor Secretary Hilda Solis here.
AFT Labor Day Message: Time to Work Together for Good Jobs
A strong public education system is central to achieving individual goals and restoring our nation’s economic strength–and the teachers in AFT are in a unique position to both prepare students for future opportunities and advocate for economic dignity as union members.
In the union’s Labor Day message, AFT President Randi Weingarten says AFT will continue to fight for educational opportunity for all our children, and for economic respect for all Americans who want decent jobs, fairness and a voice in the workplace, and a reinvigorated democracy. It is in tough times like these that “Americans must put aside our differences and work to heal our economic wounds and strengthen our country,” she says.
America’s unions are the product of tough times, and they are built for tough times…ours is a proud history of grace, grit, perseverance and progress.
The fight for economic dignity, collective voice and a check against unfettered power is as important today as ever before.
Weingarten invites union members to sign the AFL-CIO’s America Wants to Work pledge to help lead the movement for good jobs, saying, “Let us recommit ourselves to the fundamental premise that all Americans deserve economic dignity and security, and that we will not rest until we have achieved it.”
Join Us and Honor America’s Workers This Labor Day
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The long Labor Day weekend is about to kick off and our special Labor Day action page (click here) gives you an opportunity to honor American workers and the work they do. Along with being able to select the worker you HEART the most, there are several other features on the page.
- * Watch a video honoring America’s workers and their commitment to putting the nation back to work.
- * Find Labor Day events in your area, from the Central Oregon Labor Council’s Solidarity Day picnic in Bend to the Western Maine Labor Council’s free barbecue in Lewiston and hundreds in between.
- Sign up to receive AFL-CIO rapid action alerts and fast-breaking news about working people directly to your mobile phone.
- Learn about Labor Day history and facts.
And make sure you sign the America Wants to Work pledge here to indicate your support for bold, new job creation, or text PLEDGE to 235246 and we will keep you informed about the America Wants to Work campaign and when and how you can make a difference.
Labor Day: Build Esprit de Corps for Action
Celebrate Labor Day. Really, celebrate. It’s important.
Wear a T-shirt announcing to the world the name of your union and march in a parade, chanting and whooping it up about how glad you are to belong to an organization whose members are devoted to looking out for each other. If you’re among those without a union, proclaim your profession and declare your pride in the hard work you do. Make some happy noise. Infect your fellow marchers with your zeal.
Invite your most beleaguered neighbors, friends and co-workers over for a picnic. Raise a pint, braise some burgers and praise your companions for their skill, devotion and compassion. Recognize them for all they’ve persevered through since this relentless recession began in December of 2007. Build esprit de corps among your fellow workers.
This is one day devoted to labor, to the middle class, to the majority. One day out of 365. On this holiday, everyone gives an obligatory nod to workers. So don’t fret this Labor Day. Don’t waste it away in apathetic doldrums. Don’t let the minority rich and their purchased politicians take this celebration away from us, too.
Religious Leaders Call for Jobs, Decent Wages on Labor Day
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With the economy in crisis, many of the nation’s religious leaders are speaking out in favor of economic policies that create jobs and spur economic growth. Decent jobs at decent wages are the best path out of poverty and restoring growth is a powerful way to reduce deficits, they say.
In a Labor Day statement, Bishop Stephen Blaire, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops committee on domestic justice and human development, says Congress cannot balance the federal budget on the backs of the poor and working people:
