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Dispatches from Hurricane Michael Relief Efforts in Florida
AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO National Media Manager Carolyn Bobb was given access to see how a multifaceted union disaster response comes together. What follows is her experience documenting a four-day period of Hurricane Michael relief efforts in the Florida Panhandle.
The Florida AFL-CIO, Florida Education Association (FEA), Teamsters and other labor organizations are a formidable team as Hurricane Michael relief plans come together. The state federation office in Tallahassee is the command center. Over an intense short period of time, Florida AFL-CIO President Mike Williams coordinates relief efforts with both seasoned experts and eager volunteers. The experts are led by Teamsters National Disaster Relief Coordinator Roy Gillespie who, along with Teamsters Local 991 Secretary-Treasurer Jim Gookins and Teamsters Local 769 Business Agent David Renshaw, will bring together hundreds of people in person, on the phone and over email and text to prepare for the difficult job ahead.
Thursday:
You’re probably wondering where all the supplies for distribution come...
Reaching the Unorganized
DPE
The results of a recent Department for Professional Employees (DPE) campaign with the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (NPEU) demonstrate that low-cost social media advertising is an effective way to generate quality organizing leads.
DPE partnered with NPEU — formerly the International Federation of Professional and Technical Employees (IFPTE) Local 70 — on a campaign to promote NPEU and inform nonunion professionals about the benefits of joining together in union. A large component of the campaign was inexpensive advertising on digital platforms. The campaign resulted in more than 60 organizing leads over eight months with advertising costs of just under $2,600.
The campaign was inspired by the findings of DPE’s October 2016 survey of nonunion professionals. The survey found that a majority of nonunion professionals want to join a union, but only 31% know a fair amount or more about unions representing professionals. For professionals who want to join a union, most do not know which union is right for them. DPE created the NPEU campaign with the goal of bridging this information...
State of the Unions: 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 this week’s Working People Weekly List.
Introducing the 'State of the Unions' Podcast: "The AFL-CIO has launched another tool to bring you the issues and stories that matter to working people. Our new podcast, 'State of the Unions,' officially debuted today with an interview with Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician who helped expose the Flint, Michigan, water crisis."
Best Candidates for Working People, 2018: Martin Heinrich: "This November's elections are shaping up to be among the most consequential in recent U.S. history. Throughout the summer and fall, we've been taking a look at the best candidates for working people. Today, we feature Sen. Martin Heinrich from New Mexico."
The U.S. Needs to Do More to Protect Basic Labor Rights in Honduras: "The U.S. Department of Labor recently issued a 'progress' report on the Honduran government’s implementation of an action plan (MAP) negotiated between the parties in 2015....
Best Candidates for Working People, 2018: Martin Heinrich
AFL-CIO
This November's elections are shaping up to be among the most consequential in recent U.S. history. Throughout the summer and fall, we've been taking a look at the best candidates for working people. Today, we feature Sen. Martin Heinrich from New Mexico.
Here are some of the key reasons why Heinrich is one of the best candidates for working people in 2018:
His father Pete was an immigrant who served in the U.S. military before becoming a lineman with the Electrical Workers (IBEW), so Heinrich grew up in a union household.
As Albuquerque City Council president, he fought to raise the minimum wage, institute community policing and create green building codes.
In the Senate, he serves on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where he is leading efforts to create good jobs and a cleaner energy future.
Heinrich also serves on the Armed Services Committee where he has worked tirelessly to help service members and veterans get prepared for the careers of today and tomorrow.
He has worked to close the gender pay gap....
The U.S. Needs to Do More to Protect Basic Labor Rights in Honduras
AFL-CIO
The U.S. Department of Labor recently issued a “progress” report on the Honduran government’s implementation of an action plan (MAP) negotiated between the parties in 2015. The MAP was developed in response to a complaint filed in 2012 by the AFL-CIO, Honduran unions and Honduran nongovernmental organizations under the Central America Free Trade Agreement’s (CAFTA) labor chapter, which included cases concerning child labor, illegally low pay, and denial of the right to organize and to bargain. The U.S. government found that nearly every claim in the petition was supported by the evidence and that the Honduran government had in fact routinely failed to enforce its laws.
While a handful of the 17 cases in the 2012 complaint have been resolved due to the intervention of the U.S. government, the situation in Honduras is fundamentally unchanged. The majority of cases in the complaint are unresolved, particularly in the agricultural sector. Meanwhile, employers commit new systematic violations. Despite an important new labor inspection law and the...
Introducing the 'State of the Unions' Podcast
AFL-CIO
The AFL-CIO has launched another tool to bring you the issues and stories that matter to working people. Our new podcast, “State of the Unions,” officially debuted today with an interview with Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician who helped expose the Flint, Michigan, water crisis.
One in four Americans listen to podcasts on a monthly basis. “State of the Unions” will capture the stories of workers across the country. It’s hosted by two young and diverse members of the AFL-CIO team: Political Mobilization Director Julie Greene and Executive Speechwriter Tim Schlittner. A new episode will drop every other Wednesday featuring interesting interviews with workers and our allies across the country, as well as compelling insights from the podcast’s hosts.
Learn more about Julie and Tim in their inaugural episode and check out their interview with Dr. Hanna-Attisha.
The upcoming schedule is as follows:
Wednesday, Oct. 31: Mayor Dahlia Vertreese (IUOE) of Hillside, New Jersey.
Wednesday, Nov. 14: Post-election recap and analysis.
“State...
Best Candidates for Working People, 2018: Paulette Jordan
AFL-CIO
This November's elections are shaping up to be among the most consequential in recent U.S. history. Throughout the summer and fall, we've been taking a look at the best candidates for working people. Today, we feature Idaho gubernatorial candidate Paulette Jordan.
Here are some of the key reasons why Jordan is one of the best candidates for working people in 2018:
She will look at every opportunity to raise the minimum wage gradually.
Jordan wants to expand and further develop the state's renewable energy resources, including wind, solar, water, geothermal and biomass.
She will invest in STEM education at the high school level.
Jordan plans to create public-private partnerships among universities, technology companies and the Idaho National Laboratory that will expand job opportunities in the information technology sector.
She will pursue a strategic national marketing campaign to boost the state's tourism industry and create jobs.
Jordan is proposing a plan for a statewide transportation system that will link...
National Hispanic Heritage Month Profiles: Baldemar Velásquez
NC State AFL-CIO
Throughout National Hispanic Heritage Month, the AFL-CIO will be profiling labor leaders and activists to spotlight the diverse contributions Hispanics and Latinos have made to our movement. Today's profile features Baldemar Velásquez.
Baldemar Velásquez was born in 1947 in Pharr, Texas, the son of migrant farm workers who were the second generation to work in that field in the United States. By the time he was five years old, Velásquez joined his family picking sugar beets and tomatoes. He used that experience, along with the inspiration of Mahatma Gandhi, César Chávez and Martin Luther King Jr., to pursue a career improving the lives of migrant farm workers.
At the age of 12, he led his first strike, helping migrant workers at his summer job win better wages. After high school, he attended several colleges, graduating from Bluffton College in 1969 with a degree in sociology. He continued working while in college, and in 1967, Velásquez founded the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) with his father. The initial idea behind the...
An Upsurge in Collective Action: 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 this week’s Working People Weekly List.
AFL-CIO's Trumka Is Optimistic About the Midterms: "Big labor is optimistic about the 2018 midterm elections because, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said, progressives have been working together to oust anti-labor Republicans. 'There’s been this real upsurge in collective action where people say the political system isn’t working for me, the economic system isn’t working for me, so how am I going to make change?' Mr. Trumka said in an interview last week. 'They’ve worked with each other.'"
A Record Number of Women Are Running for Office. This Election Cycle, They Didn't Wait for an Invite: "A record number of women are running for the U.S. House, Senate and state legislatures this year—more than any other election in U.S. history. Traditionally, the major political parties scout out their potential candidates. And typically, says Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for...
National Hispanic Heritage Month Profiles: Linda Chavez-Thompson
Wikimedia Commons
Throughout National Hispanic Heritage Month, the AFL-CIO will be profiling labor leaders and activists to spotlight the diverse contributions Hispanics and Latinos have made to our movement. Today's profile features Linda Chavez-Thompson.
A second-generation American of Mexican descent, Chavez-Thompson grew up in Lubbock, Texas. An oft-told anecdote from her childhood told the story of a young Chavez-Thompson convincing her father that her mother should stay home and care for the household rather than working in the fields. She and her siblings threatened to walk off the job in support of her mother. Her father agreed and Chavez-Thompson got her first organizing victory.
In 1967, she started working as a secretary at the Laborers (LIUNA) local in Lubbock. As the only bilingual staff member, she soon became the union representative for Spanish-speaking LIUNA members. Before long, she was drafting grievances for workers and representing them in administrative proceedings.
Later, she moved to San Antonio and began working with...
