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Economy Gains 661,000 Jobs in September; Unemployment Declines to 7.9%
The U.S. economy gained 661,000 jobs in September, and the unemployment rate declined to 7.9%, according to figures released Friday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The improvements reflect the continued resumption of economic activity that previously was curtailed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response to the September job numbers, AFL-CIO Chief Economist William Spriggs tweeted:
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 661,000 in September, and the unemployment rate declined to 7.9 percent. Employment dropped for women, so this decline reflects lower labor force participation for women. @AFLCIO
— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) October 2, 2020
#JobsReport unemployment rate dropped, but the share of white women and of Black men who were employed dropped, both their labor force participation rates dropped, so the 7.9% unemployment rate is not showing that much improvement for workers. @AFLCIO
— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) October 2, 2020
#JobsReport for the second straight month, the unemployment...
Service + Solidarity Spotlight: MM&P Backs COVID-19 Relief Funding for Maritime Security Program
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Masters, Mates & Pilots (MM&P) thanked the House leadership and supports the new version of the HEROES Act, introduced in Congress earlier this week to provide COVID-19 relief. The legislative package includes emergency funding for the Maritime Security Program, which provides America’s military access to a variety of vessels, including privately owned U.S.-flag ships operated by members of MM&P and other U.S. maritime unions. “Increased funding is needed to maintain the supply chain for American troops overseas and keep the U.S. flag flying aboard merchant ships engaged in international trade,” said MM&P President Donald Marcus. The legislation provides an additional $500,000 in fiscal year 2021 for each vessel participating in the Maritime Security Program.
The...
Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Poor People’s Campaign Marches on the Supreme Court
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, led 100 leaders of different faiths in a silent march from Capitol Hill to the Supreme Court to honor the lives of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Breonna Taylor, and to remind us all of the importance and urgency of voting. “My brothers and sisters, I would rather not be here to render judgment on what’s going on. But I do know there comes a time when the men and women of God have to call it,” Barber explained. “This isn’t about left or right, this is about sin and unrighteousness. It’s about time we use that word in Washington, D.C. It’s about time we call it what it is.” Faith leaders spoke on the steps of the Supreme Court about the injustice America is experiencing. Watch the full event here...
Vote for Worker-Friendly Candidates: In the States Roundup
It's time once again to take a look at the ways working people are making progress in the states. Click on any of the links to follow the state federations on Twitter.
Alaska State AFL-CIO:
On Day 26 of Labor Month, we thank our nurses like Kimberly Kluckman, member of @AlaskaNurses and nurse at Providence, who are on the frontlines of #COVIDー19. Again, for their sake, let’s remember to mask up, wash our hands, and socially distance.#alaskaunionstrong #nursesrock pic.twitter.com/wtnu66oBYK
— Alaska AFL-CIO (@AKAFLCIO) September 26, 2020
California Labor Federation:
We can smell the desperation through the app. Shameful. #NoOnProp22 https://t.co/PY2S3q1wY6
— California Labor Federation #NoOnProp22 (@CaliforniaLabor) September 28, 2020
Connecticut AFL-CIO:
.@AFSCMECT4 Exec. Dir. Jody Barr: "Once again, the state ends up hiring outside consultants rather than partnering with workers to find savings and plan for the future."...
A Big Organizing Win in the South: Worker Wins
Our latest roundup of worker wins begins with one of the largest hospital organizing victories in the South since 1975 and includes numerous examples of working people organizing, bargaining and mobilizing for a better life.
In Landslide Organizing Victory, Asheville Nurses Vote to Form a Union with National Nurses United: By an overwhelming vote of 70% in favor, nurses at Mission Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, have emphatically delivered one of the largest hospital organizing victories in the South since 1975. Some 1,800 registered nurses (RNs) at the for-profit health care facility have been engaged in an organizing struggle for many months to form a union with NNU. What began as a robust grassroots effort before the pandemic became even more urgent as COVID-19 swept across the community. The nurses at Mission Hospital will now have a strong voice on the job to collectively fight for workplace safety and improved care for their patients following the vote tally that concluded early this morning. Along the way, the Mission RNs prevailed over a heavily funded anti-union campaign by the...
Service + Solidarity Spotlight: UWUA Helps America’s Veterans Transition to Good Jobs
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
The Utility Workers’ (UWUA’s) Power for America Training Trust Fund (P4A) announced last week it is the recipient of a $200,000 Lumina Foundation grant to help service members successfully transition into post-military careers. The union said this grant will help P4A replicate the success of its gas sector training-to-placement program that’s benefited more than 700 veterans since 2012. “The utility sector has a lot to offer veterans and service members, including a supportive team environment and a mission-driven ethos to serve communities,” said UWUA President James Slevin. “This important grant funding will help more individuals take full advantage of the skills they learned in the military and smoothly launch them into high-wage, family-supporting careers.” The funding will help some 100 service...
A Model for the Labor Movement: The Working People Weekly List
Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s the latest edition of the Working People Weekly List.
Organizing Wins in Minneapolis Serve as a Model for the Labor Movement: "More than six months have passed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., and more workers across America are joining together in solidarity to create changes in our workplaces. Minneapolis is one city that has seen a wave of worker actions and organizing wins in the hospitality sector, and the labor movement’s successes there will undoubtedly inspire workers in other parts of the country who are looking to form a union."
National Hispanic Heritage Month Profiles: Dora Cervantes: "Throughout National Hispanic Heritage Month, the AFL-CIO will be profiling labor leaders and activists to spotlight the diverse contributions Hispanics and Latinos have contributed to our movement. Today's profile covers Dora Cervantes."
50 Reasons the Trump Administration Is Bad for Workers: "As a candidate, Donald Trump...
#ExtendPSP: What Working People Are Doing This Week
Welcome to our regular feature, a look at what the various AFL-CIO unions and other working family organizations are doing across the country and beyond. The labor movement is big and active—here's a look at the broad range of activities we're engaged in this week.
Actors' Equity:
Justice has not been served - Not for Breonna Taylor, not for her family or for the community of Louisville. Her death was a tragedy and Wednesday’s decision acts as a reminder of the systemic racism that still plagues our country.
— Actors' Equity (@ActorsEquity) September 25, 2020
AFGE:
“We feel like our Commander in Chief has waged war on his troops. The staff is burned out and living in fear.” https://t.co/3ty6yPqjPr
— AFGE (@AFGENational) September 25, 2020
AFSCME:
To ensure Election Day runs smoothly, AFSCME launched a new poll worker program during a tele-town hall last night. https://t.co/NGqzqBFRr0
— AFSCME (@...
Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Western Kentucky Labor Movement and Faith Community Demand McConnell Support Workers and Racial Justice
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
J.W. Cleary remembered his friend and union brother, the late W.C. Young, a national labor and civil rights leader from Paducah, Kentucky. “W.C. always said, ‘I’ve got my union card in one hand and my NAACP card in my other hand,’” said Cleary, the Paducah-McCracken County NAACP branch president and a retired member of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 550. “The unions and the NAACP have always walked hand in hand.” Cleary was one of several dozen union members who joined a 30-vehicle caravan sponsored by the Kentucky Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival that converged on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office in Paducah this past Monday afternoon to protest his “meanness, mayhem and misery.” Benny Heady (UA) said, “McConnell...
National Hispanic Heritage Month Profiles: Dora Cervantes
IAM
Throughout National Hispanic Heritage Month, the AFL-CIO will be profiling labor leaders and activists to spotlight the diverse contributions Hispanics and Latinos have contributed to our movement. Today's profile covers Dora Cervantes.
In nearly 30 years in the labor movement, Cervantes has participated in nearly every aspect of the fight for the rights of working people, and she has a distinguished career that is still going stronger than ever. Cervantes joined the labor movement in 1989, when she became a reservations agent for Southwest Airlines in Houston. Before long, she was an active member of Machinists (IAM) Local 2198, serving as an organizer, shop steward, recording secretary and then vice president.
After a decade of dedicated service, she was chosen to serve as an apprentice organizer for Air Transport District 142 and then became a general chairperson for the district the following year. Tom Buffenbarger, then-IAM international president, later appointed her to serve on IAM's 2002 Blue Ribbon Commission. In the following years, she served as a...
