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Economy Gains 196,000 Jobs in March; Unemployment Unchanged at 3.8%

The U.S. economy gained 196,000 jobs in March, and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.8%, according to figures released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Continued lower levels of job growth provide good reason for the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee to express caution in considering any interest rate hikes.

In response to the March job numbers, AFL-CIO Chief Economist William Spriggs tweeted:

Payroll numbers up 196,000 in March according to @BLS_gov unemployment holds steady at 3.8%, payroll numbers adjusted up for January and February by a combined 14,000 jobs. @AFLCIO
— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) April 5, 2019
Average hourly earnings moderate to a 3.2% increase comparing March 2018 to March 2019. Moderating wage growth and job growth under 200,000 for two months coincide with moderation in GDP growth. @AFLCIO— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) April 5, 2019

After three straight months of increase in the Black unemployment rate, it falls to 6.7% in March, but for the wrong reasons, labor force participation...

The Center of Victory

Natasha Lindstrom/Tribune-Review

The labor movement helped elect a wave of union members and pro-worker allies across the country last night. We proved that if you support working people, we’ll have your back. And we sent a resounding message to every candidate and elected official that if you seek to divide and destroy us, we’ll fight back with everything we have.

The labor movement fought for our issues, union candidates and proven allies, and we filled the halls of power with our own.

We’re still tracking races and results, but here are the main takeaways:

Pam Iovino (USW) flipped Pennsylvania’s 37th state Senate District.

Union members Eric Genrich (AFSCME) and Satya Rhodes-Conway (AFT) were elected as the mayors of Green Bay and Madison, Wisconsin, respectively.

A slate of union members (from the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association and AFSCME) and allies swept the Milwaukee School Board elections, and Danielle Shelton (AFT) won the election for a seat on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court.

In Missouri, Tommie Pierson Sr. (UAW) and Mike Corcoran (UA)...

Closing the Gap: 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.

The House Just Passed a Bill to Close the Gender Pay Gap: "House Democrats easily passed the Paycheck Fairness Act on Wednesday—their latest in a long series of attempts to make sure women and men are paid equally. The final vote was 242-187. Democrats were joined by seven Republicans. To give you a sense of how long bill author Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) has been fighting for this cause, she first introduced the bill in 1997."

Vice Media Agrees to $1.87 Million Settlement for Paying Female Staffers Less Than Men: "Vice has agreed to a $1.875 million deal to resolve a class action lawsuit brought by some of the media company's female workforce. The proposed settlement was quietly submitted for approval to a Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Monday. By the looks of the court papers, Vice was likely saved from paying millions more because the company tends to employ younger women."...

Get to Know AFL-CIO's Affiliates: AFT

AFL-CIO

Next up in our series that will take a deeper look at each of our affiliates is the AFT. The series will run weekly until we've covered all 55 of our affiliates.

Name of Union: American Federation of Teachers

Mission: The AFT "is a union of professionals that champions fairness; democracy; economic opportunity; and high-quality public education, health care and public services for our students, their families and our communities. We are committed to advancing these principles through community engagement, organizing, collective bargaining and political activism, and especially through the work our members do."

Current Leadership of Union: Randi Weingarten was elected president of AFT in 2008 after serving for 12 years as the president of the United Federation of Teachers, representing 200,000 educators in New York City's public schools. After graduating from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the Cardozo School of Law, she worked as a lawyer and was active in numerous professional, civic and philanthropic organizations. Weingarten...