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Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Profiles: Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes
Wikimedia Commons
For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various Asian Americans and Pacific Americans who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights. Our next profiles are Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes.
Silme Domingo was born in Killeen, Texas, in 1952. His father was a Filipino immigrant who had served in the U.S. Army during World War II. The family moved to Seattle in 1960, where Silme attended high school and college.
Meanwhile, Gene Viernes was born in Yakima, Washington, in 1951, also the son of immigrants from the Philippines. His father worked as a fruit picker and in local canneries. Gene grew up working in the fields with his father before going to school. At 14, he lied about his age and joined International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 37 and worked in the cannery. He spent many of his summers working as an "Alaskero," the nickname for Alaskan salmon cannery workers. At the time, Local 37 largely consisted of Alaskeros who lived in the Seattle...
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Profiles: Arlene Inouye
UTLA
For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various Asian Americans and Pacific Americans who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights. Our next profile is Arlene Inouye.
Arlene Inouye was born and raised in Los Angeles and has spent her life working for the students and teachers of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). Her grandparents immigrated from Japan, and they and her mother were placed in internment camps during World War II. Inouye went on to earn a bachelor's and a master's degree from Long Beach State University and she has been a Spanish bilingual speech and language specialist for 18 years. She has also worked as an adult education teacher, master teacher, mentor, multicultural and human relations trainer, school reform trainer, and financial manager.
After she began working in education, Inouye quickly got in her union. She ascended to leadership roles, including treasurer for the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), as well as various positions with the AFT...
It's Time to Fix Our Roads and Infrastructure with Funding from Congress
Infrastructure Week
Bent rims. Broken springs. Bridges and roads unfit for drivers. Search #FTDR (short for “Fix the Damn Roads”) on social media, and you’ll find countless stories from Michiganders who are paying the price of crumbling, potholed roads and highways.
Michigan’s roads cost the average driver more than $640 every year, and not a cent of that goes toward actually fixing the problem. The state of Michigan’s infrastructure is downright dangerous. School buses full of kids cross bridges held up with temporary supports. Chunks of concrete from overpasses fly into windshields, causing injuries. We’re running out of time to act.
Unfortunately, nightmare bridges and roads are just one example of how underinvestment in infrastructure hurts working families—and not just in Michigan. Many of America’s transit systems, airports, railways and ports—once a point of deep pride for our country—are sorely outdated and can barely keep up with demand.
As a result, Americans from all walks of life are suffering. Office workers endure grueling...
The PRO Act: Pathway to Power for Workers
Abigail Disney, granddaughter of the co-founder of the Walt Disney Co., called out the family business’ current CEO last month for making what’s supposed to be the happiest place on earth pretty darn miserable for its workers.
All of the company profits shouldn’t be going into executives’ pockets, she said in a Washington Post column. The workers whose labor makes those profits should not live in abject poverty.
This is what labor leaders have said for two centuries. But Disney executives and bank executives and oil company executives don’t play well with others. They won’t give workers more unless workers force them to. And the only way to do that is with collective bargaining—that is, the power of concerted action.
The United States recognized this in the 1930s and gave Americans the right to organize labor unions under the National Labor Relations Act (NRLA). The increase in unionization encouraged by the law significantly diminished income inequality over the next 40 years. American workers prospered as a result of having a voice in the workplace.
But right-wing politicians...
Invest in Infrastructure: In the States Roundup
AFL-CIO
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 AFL-CIO:
Time to tell your legislator to support an Alaska with a strong economy and vital services. #akleg #akgov pic.twitter.com/65gzVsHuxP
— Alaska AFL-CIO (@AKAFLCIO) May 15, 2019
Arizona AFL-CIO:
'It's because we were union members': Boeing fires workers who organized https://t.co/6E2fLhLQH5
— Arizona AFL-CIO (@ArizonaAFLCIO) May 4, 2019
Arkansas AFL-CIO:
Video Games and Drinks, or Union Dues? Delta’s Pitch Draws Fire https://t.co/AtDxvRjEtC
— Arkansas AFL-CIO (@ArkansasAFLCIO) May 15, 2019
California Labor Federation:
Trump's illegal move to revoke #HSR funding from CA is an attempt to "kill thousands of good, family-supporting jobs our state desperately needs. We stand with @GavinNewsom...
Profiling Asian Pacific American Labor Leaders: The Working People Weekly List
AFL-CIO
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.
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Profiles: Sumi Sevilla Haru: "For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various Asian Americans and Pacific Americans who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights. Our next profile is Sumi Sevilla Haru."
Murdered Trade Unionists: The Truth Behind Colombia’s Trade Agreement: "Any mention of Latin America has become a synonym of mass migration, autocratic governments and unstable economies. Yet, Colombia continues to shine as the exception. This week marks the seventh anniversary since the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) entered into force. It can be argued that during these years this South American nation has become a haven of economic and social stability. Or not."
‘State of the Unions’ Podcast: Confronting the Health...
Murdered Trade Unionists: The Truth Behind Colombia’s Trade Agreement
Any mention of Latin America has become a synonym of mass migration, autocratic governments and unstable economies. Yet, Colombia continues to shine as the exception. This week marks the seventh anniversary since the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) entered into force. It can be argued that during these years this South American nation has become a haven of economic and social stability. Or not.
One only has to look behind all the fanfare and a “parallel reality” appears. Violence in Colombia is still harrowing. From the oil to the sugar to the flower sector, workers and trade unionists report a deterioration of their rights at the workplace, continued labor intermediation that weakens the power of workers, and an increase in the culture of violence and impunity. From January 2016 through April 2019, 681 social leaders and human rights defenders have been murdered; and between 2016 and 2018, 70 trade unionists have been killed. In fact, from the year the TPA went into force until today, 172 trade unionists have been murdered.
When the United...
‘State of the Unions’ Podcast: Confronting the Health Care Crisis
AFL-CIO
In the latest episode of "State of the Unions," Tim talks to National Nurses United Executive Director Bonnie Castillo, RN, about the growing movement of registered nurses organizing for better jobs, a more just society and health care as a fundamental human right.
"State of the Unions" is a tool to help us bring you the issues and stories that matter to working people. It captures the stories of workers across the country and is co-hosted by two young and diverse members of the AFL-CIO team: Mobilization Director Julie Greene and Executive Speechwriter Tim Schlittner. A new episode drops every other Wednesday featuring interesting interviews with workers and our allies across the country, as well as compelling insights from the podcast’s hosts.
Listen to our previous episodes:
Discussing why the new NAFTA is not good enough with trade specialist Celeste Drake.
A chat with Kristen Johnson, a deli manager and shop steward at the Stop & Shop in Somerville, Massachusetts, about why she went on strike.
Talking about the...
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Profiles: Sumi Sevilla Haru
Sumi Sevilla Haru
For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various Asian Americans and Pacific Americans who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights. Our next profile is Sumi Sevilla Haru.
Sumi Haru was born in Orange, New Jersey, to Filipino immigrant parents, and she grew up in Colorado. When she was young, she dreamed of being an actress after meeting the cast and crew of the film "Soldier in the Rain" on a California vacation. When she arrived in Hollywood in the late 1960s, she started getting small roles in movies like "Krakatoa: East of Java" and "M*A*S*H" and TV shows like "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Marcus Welby, M.D." In 1968, she became a member of the Screen Actors Guild.
It wasn't until 1970 that she caught the activism bug. That year, Haru joined a picket line in Los Angeles, protesting the musical "Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen," which cast white actors in Japanese roles. After that protest, she founded or got involved in numerous organizations that promoted the...
Get to Know AFL-CIO's Affiliates: Communications Workers of America
Next up in our series that takes a deeper look at each of our affiliates is the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
Name of Union: Communications Workers of America
Mission: CWA members and retirees fight for economic justice and democracy at the bargaining table, on the job, and in the legislative and political arena. They are committed to building a powerful movement that reaches beyond the workplace to build power for working families.
Current Leadership of Union: Christopher Shelton was elected president of CWA in 2015. Sara Steffens serves as the secretary-treasurer of CWA. In addition to the president and secretary-treasurer, CWA executive board includes vice presidents and leaders from seven geographic districts, seven industry sectors, four at-large members and the Canadian director.
Current Number of Members: 700,000.
Members Work As: A wide range of occupations in communications, customer service, technology, the airline industry, manufacturing, media, the public sector, health care, education, public safety, and many other fields...
