Feed items
Are You Ready to Vote?
One hundred years ago today, after a seven-decade campaign, the 19th Amendment gave the vote to millions of women across the United States. And although achieving women’s suffrage in 1920 was a major victory, it was another 45 years before the Voting Rights Act of 1965 eliminated voting barriers for women of color.
That’s a lot of hard-fought, hard-won years of women making a difference through our voices and our votes. And nobody knows this better than union women, who vote at the voting booth and in our unions.
As we approach this historic 2020 election, mobilizing working women to vote is paramount to the goals of electing female candidates and candidates who advocate for women. Women are also critical to getting this country back on track in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and ending its disproportionate impact on women, especially women of color. We know that even as our vote is more crucial than ever, it is also more imperiled, with renewed voter suppression efforts and attacks on voting rights and our democracy.
Are you ready to vote? Go to...
Service + Solidarity Spotlight: ATU and Kentucky AFL-CIO Rally for Hazard Pay, Workplace Safety in Louisville
ATU
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.
Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1447 protested Thursday outside Transit Authority of River City (TARC) offices in Louisville, Kentucky, to call for hazard pay and stronger safety measures to protect members during the COVID-19 pandemic. Local 1447 President Theo Hamilton activated 75 bus drivers to participate at the rally, and the Kentucky AFL-CIO and other affiliated unions participated in solidarity. “This virus is like a bullet. It has no eyes. It’s catching everybody,” Hamilton told WDRB News. “A lot of my drivers are afraid—afraid to death—to come to work.” Five members of the local union have already been infected with the coronavirus.
Kenneth Quinnell
Tue, 08/18/2020 - 11:23
Tags:
COVID-19...
The Strength and Solidarity of Our Membership: Worker Wins
Our latest roundup of worker wins begins with a series of wins in Maine and includes numerous examples of working people organizing, bargaining and mobilizing for a better life.
Bath Iron Works Win Spotlights Series of Victories in Maine: After a successful strike, workers at Bath Iron Works reached a tentative agreement that protects seniority and maintains current subcontracting levels, which will preserve quality jobs in Maine. IAM Local S6 President Chris Wiers said: “What we were able to accomplish at the negotiating table is a testament to the strength and solidarity of our membership. They were educated on the issues, and our negotiating committee knew they had the backing of our membership. I am incredibly proud of our entire team, and we’re excited to get back to work building the best ships in the world for the U.S. Navy.” Elsewhere in the state, Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 4 negotiated a new three-year contract with Eurovia Northeast Paving that gives members a 9% raise and creates new jobs. And members of the Waterville Professional Firefighters (IAFF Local 1608)...
Service + Solidarity Spotlight: NATCA Members Deliver Thanks to Hospital Staff Who Saved One of Their Own from COVID-19
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.
When Chelsea Corcoran, a member of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) in Houston, Texas, fell severely ill with COVID-19, the staff at Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital did everything they could to save her life and the lives of the twins she was carrying. “I wasn’t able to provide enough oxygen for all three of us,” she said. Thanks to the extraordinary care she received from hospital staff, she and her babies survived and are on the road to recovery. Corcoran’s union brothers and sisters expressed their gratitude by delivering lunch to doctors and nurses at the hospital’s intensive care unit. The gesture was part of the union’s “feeding the front lines” campaign to thank health care workers on the front lines fighting the coronavirus.
...Service + Solidarity Spotlight: South Carolina’s Labor Movement Comes Together to Provide Food Relief to Families in Need
Charleston Labor Council
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.A
Members of the Charleston Central Labor Council, the South Carolina AFL-CIO, the Greater Charleston chapter of the A. Philip Randolph Institute and their community allies teamed up last Thursday to provide food relief for some dozens of union families in the Charleston, South Carolina, area. Labor council President April Lott (AFGE) said, “Today, we were able to serve approximately 100 families with meat, milk, cheese, fruits and vegetables.” Last week’s food relief distribution was the third of six such events planned in Charleston, and it was staged at the Longshoremen (ILA) Local 1422 hall.
Kenneth Quinnell
Fri, 08/14/2020 - 10:41
Tags:
COVID-19,...
Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Washington State Labor Council Launches First-of-Its-Kind Naturalization Legal Aid Program
The Stand
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 Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) is launching a program to offer legal aid to permanent residents seeking naturalization. The program will prioritize union members, helping members obtain the resources and legal aid needed to become citizens. In places like Yakima, permanent residents in the state who work in agriculture often are denied access to the political process, preventing them from using their voices to effectively advocate for safety and better work conditions.
“What we’ve seen in Yakima County is that you have ranchers that have the capital power to do things like union-busting, or lobby and spend money on trying to create policies that are anti-labor,” said Dulce Gutiérrez (OPEIU), an organizer with WSLC. “With a largely...
Working People Demand Action: 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 State AFL-CIO:
Call @lisamurkowski and @SenDanSullivan NOW and tell them to pass the #HEROESActNOW to invest in infrastructure which creates good jobs during this crisis. pic.twitter.com/LdSIMMjsS5
— Alaska AFL-CIO (@AKAFLCIO) August 7, 2020
Arizona AFL-CIO:
Mitch McConnell’s proposal offers:
- $0 for U.S. Postal Service
- $0 for state and local governments
- $0 for elections
- $0 for the uninsured/underinsured
- No safety standard to protect front-line workers from COVID-19
Pass the HEROES Act NOW! https://t.co/koS5ItFUff
— Arizona AFL-CIO (@ArizonaAFLCIO) August 5, 2020
California Labor Federation:
We're with you judge. We've all lost patience with these law-breaking, worker-exploiting, tax-cheating companies and their mansion-buying, tone-deaf...
Service + Solidarity Spotlight: New Jersey Unions Distribute 2,000 Food Kits to Unemployed Workers During Heavy Rain
New Jersey AFL-CIO
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.
Driving rain and thunder couldn’t stop New Jersey’s working people from helping out Atlantic City families struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. The New Jersey State AFL-CIO, in connection with the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, distributed more than 2,000 food kits to laid-off union members and their families. Volunteers from the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the Operating Engineers (IUOE) and UNITE HERE helped Operation Feed Atlantic City go smoothly. The state federation plans to continue similar food distribution events as long as there is a need and President Charles Wowkanech (IUOE) attributes the success of the program to the generosity of the affiliates and members throughout...
Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Colorado Restaurant Workers Rally for Unemployment Insurance Extension and Distribute Groceries to Unemployed Workers
Chase Woodruff
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.
Colorado Restaurant Workers United, a joint project of Denver DSA and UNITE HERE Local 23, rallied outside of U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner’s downtown Denver office in support of the extension of federal unemployment benefits. In addition to delivering the message “We Feed You, Don’t Let Us Starve,” the participating organizations bagged and distributed groceries to unemployed working families. Participating along with Restaurant Workers United were Local 23, the Colorado AFL-CIO, the Denver Area Labor Federation, Denver DSA, SEIU Local 105 and Colorado Jobs With Justice.
Kenneth Quinnell
Tue, 08/11/2020 - 10:06
Tags:
COVID-19, Community Service...
Protect and Enhance Essential: 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:
What are the resources available, and what steps can each member take, to ensure their workplaces are safe and inclusive? View our full Workplace Inclusion Lab webinar or read the transcript in the Member Portal - https://t.co/4OWPWolFLg pic.twitter.com/89si8cdRiO
— Actors' Equity (@ActorsEquity) August 4, 2020
AFGE:
More than 1 million veterans — 13.2% of all veterans — work for state & local govts. The Senate’s failure to provide crucial aid will take away thousands of jobs from these front-line heroes maintaining our essential public services. #FundtheFrontLines #COVIDfrontlines #HEROESAct
— AFGE (@AFGENational) August 4, 2020
AFSCME:
“Our choice to come together in...
