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Black Lives Matter: 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:
The recent Town Hall offered insight into our safety protocols as vaccines are becoming more widely available and offered members the opportunity to ask questions and share their thoughts.Members can watch the full event in the member portal - https://t.co/FtS4QVTMm0 pic.twitter.com/Na86oPYoiK— Actors' Equity (@ActorsEquity) April 22, 2021

AFGE:
Our union supports this bill. Education and training are essential tools to get ahead in today's economy. We've got to make sure those tools are accessible and affordable for American workers. https://t.co/vJZcvwL1ZV— AFGE (@AFGENational) April 22, 2021

AFSCME:
The majority of DC residents are Black or Brown. And they get no votes in Congress. Something seem...

Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Workplace Violence Prevention Act Will Save Lives, Shuler Says

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.

On Friday, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler (IBEW) celebrated the House passing the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (H.R. 1195), which directs the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue a federal workplace violence prevention standard to protect workers in health care and social services from injury and death:

“Working people’s lives are on the line. There is an epidemic of violence against health care and social service workers, and it must be stopped. Workplace violence is not ‘just part of the job.’ It is a worsening problem, but it is preventable.

“Of the workers providing critical care on the front lines, women are at the greatest risk, suffering two out of every three serious workplace violence injuries....

'This Fight Is Far from Over': 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.

'This Fight Is Far from Over': Amazon Union Vote Shows Exactly Why We Need the PRO Act: "'Americans want to organize unions,' said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. 'And it should never be this hard to do so.' 'Working people deserve better than the way Amazon has conducted itself during this campaign,' said RWDSU president Stuart Appelbaum in a statement. 'This campaign has proven that the best way for working people to protect themselves and their families is to join together in a union. However, Amazon’s behavior during the election cannot be ignored and our union will seek remedy to each and every improper action Amazon took. We won’t rest until workers’ voices are heard fairly under the law.' Going forward, a clear way to ensure fair, democratic union elections is for the U.S. Senate to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. The PRO Act, which passed the U.S. House in March, would...

Pathway to Progress: The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978

Planned Parenthood

History has long been portrayed as a series of "great men" taking great action to shape the world we live in. In recent decades, however, social historians have focused more on looking at history "from the bottom up," studying the vital role that working people played in our heritage. Working people built, and continue to build, the United States. In our new series, Pathway to Progress, we'll take a look at various people, places and events where working people played a key role in the progress our country has made, including those who are making history right now. Today's topic is the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) of 1978.

In the late 1970s, conditions in the United States were ripe for positive change for working families. Jimmy Carter and a pro-union majority in Congress were pushed by active and organized civil rights and women's movements. Labor unions were ready to push for change.

In 1976, the Supreme Court ruled in General Electric v. Gilbert that employers could refuse benefits to pregnant women. The case was brought by the...