Lots More Union Events at Netroots Nation
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- The California Labor Federation is taking part this year with a panel on the strategies behind its 2010 electorial victories. In Microtargeting to Win: Lessons from California, panelists discuss how progressives in California used the most sophisticated microtargeting program in the country to identify swing voters and communicate with them using a convergence of online, field, direct mail and traditional media. As a result, Jerry Brown defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman by 13 points, even though Whitman ran the most expensive campaign in state history, spending more than $170 million.
- AFT President Randi Weingarten will speak at the opening session on June 16, which begins at 7 p.m. CST. AFT also is sponsoring the panel, ”Bullies and the Blogosphere: Creating Safe Spaces in Our Schools and Online.” The panel Read the rest of this entry »
Union Values: Made In America
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Dave Johnson writes for the Campaign for America’s Future and adapted this post for us.
Our country was born out of a fight to cast off colonial rule by a wealthy elite and govern ourselves as We, the People. This fight continues, and nothing more clearly represents this American effort to lift each other up than organized labor. On July 4, as we celebrate our independence I encourage people to recognize our ongoing battle by buying Made in USA goods, and by working for democracy and the rights of workers everywhere. Read the rest of this entry »
Georgetown University Grants Highest Honor to President John Sweeney
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It’s rare for a major university like Georgetown to grant honorary degrees. But rare are individuals like AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. Last night in a formal robe and gown ceremony followed by a celebration with Archbishop Donald Wuerl in Georgetown’s elegant Riggs Library, Georgetown University President John DeGioia conferred upon Sweeney the degree, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.
Sweeney has dedicated his life to improving the lives of America’s working families, motivated in large part by his religious faith, one infused with the social justice teachings of the Catholic Church. Recognizing how Catholic doctrine influenced Sweeney’s life-long quest for justice and fairness for working people, DeGioia explained the importance of honoring Sweeney:
For many years, John Sweeney has worked to champion the dignity of workers—and work. And we at Georgetown take seriously the Catholic commitment to social justice for working people that has inspired John Sweeney’s remarkable career. That commitment has recently led us, with the help of the Kalmanovitz Charitable Foundation, to inaugurate a new effort here, the “Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor,” which we will formally inaugurate later this fall—and in whose work we hope to engage many of you in the years to come. Through its work, we hope to contribute, in our own way, to the tradition that John Sweeney has so well exemplified.
