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Hey, New York Times, Women Wear Hard Hats, Too!
Ironworkers
In a tribute to the hard hat, which was invented 100 years ago, The New York Times curiously equates the safety gear with masculinity. But women wear hard hats, too, and always have.
The Times article leads off with: "The hard hat was designed 100 years ago as protective gear for miners and other laborers, but it has grown to become a symbol of status and masculinity."
We know better, though, and present to you many photos through the years of strong union women wearing this iconic headgear.
AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
NABTU
NABTU
Ironworkers
NABTU
NABTU
NABTU
Ironworkers
Ironworkers
Kenneth Quinnell
Thu, 10/03/2019 - 09:28
‘State of the Unions’ Podcast: Dignity of Work
AFL-CIO
On the latest episode of “State of the Unions,” podcast co-hosts Julie Greene and Tim Schlittner talk to Sen. Sherrod Brown (Ohio) about worker power, automation, trade and his decision to stay in the U.S. Senate.
Listen to our previous episodes:
Checking in with AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council Executive Director Brad Markell about the UAW strike at General Motors and interviewing Veena Dubal, an associate law professor at UC Hastings College of the Law, whose work helped pave the way for passage of A.B. 5, the landmark pro-worker legislation in California.
SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris discussing the future of work, sexual harassment and her journey from young actor to labor leader.
North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU) Chief of Staff Mike Monroe exploring the Department of Labor proposal that would undermine world-class apprenticeships in the construction industry.
A discussion with Texas AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Montserrat Garibay (Education Austin/AFT-NEA) in the wake of the deadly mass shooting in El Paso, Texas...
Time to Be Loud: 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.
Now’s the Time to Be Loud. Register to Vote: "We're not staying quiet anymore."
New Trump Overtime Rules Will Cost Workers $1.4 Billion in First Year Alone: "The Trump administration’s Labor Department issued new overtime rules this week that take away $1.4 billion of workers’ pay every year compared to the Obama administration rules they replace. The amount of this pay cut for working people will increase enormously over time."
A Pregnant Target: "Those bundles of joy cost bundles of money, so Victoria Whipple, a quality control worker at Kumho Tire in Macon, Georgia, had been working overtime to get ready for her new arrival."
Walking the Picket Lines: In the States Roundup: "It's time once again to take a look at the ways working people are making progress in the states."
Get to Know AFL-CIO's Affiliates: International Union of Police Associations: "Next up...
Get to Know AFL-CIO's Affiliates: Painters and Allied Trades
AFL-CIO
Next up in our series that takes a deeper look at each of our affiliates is the Painters and Allied Trades.
Name of Union: International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT)
Mission: To shape members' communities through an abiding commitment to service, by fighting passionately for workers’ rights that benefit all working families and through effective and aggressive political mobilization.
Current Leadership of Union: Kenneth E. Rigmaiden serves as general president. Rigmaiden graduated from California State University in San Jose in 1977 and immediately enrolled in the floor covering apprenticeship training program of IUPAT Local 1288. He completed the training and fulfilled the state of California's apprenticeship standards in 1980.
He quickly became involved in the local and, over the next six years, served as an executive board member, trustee, vice president and then president of the union. He also taught floor covering installation to apprentices.
In 1986, Rigmaiden was elected as the local's business...
Pathway to Progress: Sept. 11
IAFF
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 terrorist attacks of 9/11.
Sometimes, progress comes from focused activism that pressures policymakers and other actors to create change. Other times, progress comes from the ways people live their lives and do their jobs. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, are a perfect example of this idea, as union members responded to chaos and horror with courage and grace, many giving their lives in service of the country they loved.
Without even getting into the history of the building and staffing of...
Critical Mass: Elected Union Members Tip Scales Toward Justice in Collective Bargaining Win in Bay State
Massachusetts AFL-CIO
The Massachusetts Legislature last week overrode Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto of a key collective bargaining bill and passed the strongest response to the Janus vs. AFSCME U.S. Supreme Court decision to date. The new law will allow unions to charge non-member employees for representation in arbitration cases and other disputes and is one of the most comprehensive state legislative responses to the court’s Janus decision, which unfairly prohibited those fees.
“Today the state legislature made a strong statement that unions are in the public interest and will remain a strong force for economic fairness in Massachusetts,” said Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Steven Tolman (IAM) after the bill became law. “The overwhelming bipartisan votes to override Governor Baker’s veto by the House and Senate this week demonstrate that unions are not a partisan issue in Massachusetts.”
Rep. Peter Capano (IUE-CWA), who was elected last fall with full union support, was instrumental in getting the bill passed in...
A Pregnant Target
USW
Those bundles of joy cost bundles of money, so Victoria Whipple, a quality control worker at Kumho Tire in Macon, Georgia, had been working overtime to get ready for her new arrival.
She also got involved in union organizing at the plant, and management decided to teach her a lesson. It didn’t matter that Victoria had seven kids ranging in age from 10 to 1. Or that she was eight months pregnant. Those things just made her a more appealing target.
On Sept. 6, the day Kumho Tire workers wrapped up an election in which they voted to join the United Steelworkers (USW), managers pulled Victoria off the plant floor and suspended her indefinitely without pay, solely because she was supporting the union. In a heartbeat, her income was gone.
“It kind of stressed me out because of the bills,” she explained.
What happened to Victoria happens all the time. Employers face no real financial penalties for breaking federal labor law by retaliating against workers during a union organizing campaign. So they feel free to suspend, fire or threaten anyone they want. Workers are fired in one of every...
New Trump Overtime Rules Will Cost Workers $1.4 Billion in First Year Alone
The Trump administration’s Labor Department issued new overtime rules this week that take away $1.4 billion of workers’ pay every year compared to the Obama administration rules they replace. The amount of this pay cut for working people will increase enormously over time.
Although the economic recovery that started in 2009 under then-President Obama is now officially more than 10 years old, workers’ wages are still barely budging. Something is clearly wrong with the economy. Workers are not getting our fair share of the profits we help produce.
The Obama administration tried to do something about this problem by making millions more workers eligible for overtime pay, restoring protections that have eroded in recent decades.
Instead of defending the Obama administration’s overtime rules against a poorly reasoned and seriously flawed district court decision, the Trump administration decided to replace them with a new set of rules that protect millions fewer workers.
The Obama rules would extend overtime eligibility to 3.2 million more workers...
Walking the Picket Lines: 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.
Alabama AFL-CIO:
Our Alabama and Tennessee AFL-CIO presidents walk the UAW picket line in Spring Hill, Tennessee. #UAWStrike #1U #SolidarityForever pic.twitter.com/aMxJgqNkXv
— Alabama AFL-CIO (@AlabamaAFLCIO) September 20, 2019
Alaska AFL-CIO:
Elections are coming to a city, town, or borough near you (excluding Anchorage and Mat-Su Borough)! #akvotes #voteak #akleg pic.twitter.com/XSjqBD26H8
— Alaska AFL-CIO (@AKAFLCIO) September 21, 2019
Arkansas AFL-CIO:
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!! 6th Annual Arkansas Union Sportsmen's Alliance Dinner. #1u #ARunions #ARLabor #UnionStrong #unionsportsmen pic.twitter.com/VpegjVpjr3
— Arkansas AFL-CIO (@ArkansasAFLCIO) September 22, 2019
California Labor Federation:
BREAKING #AB5 has been signed by @CAgovernor! Big thank you to all the gig workers, union members & activists who spent countless hours...
Now’s the Time to Be Loud. Register to Vote.
We're not staying quiet anymore.
Working people hit the streets last week, marching for climate justice and picketing alongside nearly 50,000 striking General Motors workers.
It was far from a one-off demonstration of our power. Those actions followed in the footsteps of activists, strikers, organizers and countless others who, all this year, have refused to accept a rigged, broken system.
Worker solidarity is at a boiling point. Hundreds of thousands of working people are joining the labor movement, and millions more say they're ready to follow suit if given the chance.
Americans are driving a moment of collective action unlike anything we've seen in decades. From the workplace to the picket line to our communities, we're making our voices heard and fighting for the justice that we're owed.
It's a fight to peel back corporations' stranglehold on our economy and eradicate the inequities that still define our society. This is a struggle for massive changes in the way we work and live, putting our lives and future back into our own hands.
That sort of structural...
