SCOTUS Puts American Dream in Jeopardy with Friedrichs

by Rachel Warino

By Rachel Johnson

The US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) announced this morning that it would hear a case that has the potential to adversely affect millions of American workers. The case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association will challenge existing precedent and would allow people to have the benefits of a union contract without paying an “agency fee” or “fair share” fee. These fees cover the costs of bargaining workers’ contracts with employers and are typically less than full union membership dues.  This system is covered by legal precedent dating back to the 1970’s when the Supreme Court heard Abood v. Board of Education and determined that fair share fees are legal and just.

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July 4 Made-in-America BBQ Shopping List

by Kenneth Quinnell

This week, in the lead-up to the nation's birthday on July 4, we'll be spotlighting union-made products. Stay tuned for a new list each day.

Many of us will celebrate Independence Day with a barbecue. We can keep the red, white and blue in the holiday with this made-in-America, union label backyard barbecue checklist, compiled from the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM), the LA Labor 411's website, Union Plus and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).

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All Aboard for a Union Apprenticeship Bus Tour

by Rachel Warino

By Rachel Johnson

Everywhere you look, union apprenticeships and careers in the trades are being applauded. Earlier this year, LeDaya Epps, a graduate of a Laborer’s apprenticeship was invited as a special guest to the State of the Union. President Obama recognized her and called for more paid apprenticeships and “opportunities that give workers the chance to earn higher-paying jobs, even if they don’t have a higher education.” Governor Brown also expressed similar sentiments during the groundbreaking ceremony for California’s High Speed rail, extoling how vital it is to strengthen our infrastructure through skilled workers in the trades. He said, “You've got to get these building trades men and women doing stuff. That's what makes America — what makes the world — go 'round.”

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In Wake of Senate Vote, Workers Remain Committed to Fair Trade

by Rachel Warino

By Rachel Johnson

Yesterday the U.S. Senate voted 60-37 to invoke cloture on Trade Promotion Authority (aka “Fast Track”) for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, effectively ensuring the passage of Fast Track. This vote was all the more disappointing because Sen. Feinstein joined 12 other Senate Democrats to cast decisive votes that pushed this job-killing corporate trade deal forward.

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L.A. Tackles the Infrastructure Crisis

Marc Haefele

Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger once termed it the “stuff used to blow up in the movies.” But America’s vital infrastructure—highways, railways, bridges and thruways—now face a doom worse than the Terminator ever imagined. That’s the destruction from the rust, decay and corrosion of trillions of dollars worth of elderly tracks, canals, ports, structures and causeways that carry our trade and traffic all over the United States.

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