Historically, unions benefit all working people — union and nonunion alike — by relentlessly fighting for better wages, health care and retirement security for everyone. This couldn’t be more apparent than AFSCME Local 3299’s most recent fight to gather support for equal pay for University of California’s subcontracted workforce.
Read More
, Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO and
Page Gardner, Founder and President of the Voter Participation Center
Today we celebrate Women’s Equality Day, a day that commemorates the 19th amendment being ratified granting millions of women the right to vote. In the 95 years since, women have used their votes to better their lives, strengthen their families and protect their communities. But women have yet to maximize their power at the polls – about a third of all U.S. women and close to 40 percent of unmarried women are not registered to vote — or in the workplace. The labor movement provides nearly seven million women with a voice on the job through union membership and is a driving force in the fight for economic equality and security for women.
Whenever we start a new job, we expect to have a stack of paperwork to fill out, with documents to sign. But what we don’t expect is for the boss to demand that we sign a document that basically nullifies our rights. Under the latest scheme to cheat workers, that’s exactly what’s happening. Just ask car wash worker Yoel Matute.
Jackie Tortora, AFL-CIO
Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer. While the day honors the hardworking women and men who make this nation go and grow, the weekend also gives us a chance for one more big backyard barbecue blowout. Here’s some union-made food and drink to get your barbecue off to a great start.
Read More
I’ll be honest…I’m not a fan of most tax breaks for businesses. More often than not, they add up to a massive giveaway to corporate CEOs that does little to nothing to create jobs or help workers. For evidence, look no further than Scott Walker’s Wisconsin.
Read More
A big, severe drought inevitably leads to a big, severe fire season. The Rocky Fire is the first, but probably not the last, massive fire to sweep through northern California this summer, which means it will be a busy season for the IBEW Local 1245 members at PG&E who work to restore and repair power poles and lines.
Read More
