October 2015 - California Labor Federation

On Workers’ Rights, California Makes the Grade

by Steve Smith
October 30, 2015

This week the Congressional Democrats released a report showing how states stack up on a range of workplace issues from minimum wage and paid sick day laws to nondiscrimination protections for LGBT workers and accommodations for pregnant workers. California made the grade, with a perfect score on the issues the report graded.

UDW member champions law that keeps people with disabilities safer in their communities

by Astrid Zuniga
October 29, 2015

astrid and son 2

On October 3, 2015, Governor Brown signed into law Senate Bills 11 and 29. These new laws mandate training for California law enforcement that will give them the skills needed to safely interact with people with mental illness, intellectual disabilities, and substance abuse disorders.

Our Days, Our Lives: Working Women Need a Voice on the Job

by Liz Shuler
October 28, 2015

, Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO

Shirley Chisholm broke ground as the first African-American woman elected to Congress. But back in 1970, she knew her story was the exception, not the rule. Speaking during a debate on the Equal Rights Amendment, she said and I quote: “Discrimination against women, solely on the basis of their sex, is so widespread that it seems…normal, natural and right.”

Congress needs our motivation to act on infrastructure!

by International Brotherhood of Teamsters
October 20, 2015

International Brotherhood of Teamsters

America's infrastructure has seen better days. The Teamsters have stressed that point repeatedly as part of our “Let's Get America Working” (LGAW) campaign. But too many in Congress seem to be content not moving forward on a plan to rebuild, maintain and repair the nation's transportation network.

AFSCME Strong is Key to Increase Membership

October 15, 2015

Through AFSCME Strong, Tina Rees, a locksmith for the Elk Grove Unified School District in Sacramento, Calif., may have found the key to success.

In less than six months, Rees has single-handedly signed up 315 of her coworkers as members of AFSCME Local 258, Council 57. Her local is at 90 percent membership. Since participating in the AFSCME Strong training, Rees’s efforts have intensified, her motivation has increased, and her ability to have structured conversations with her coworkers on the importance of standing together has improved.

Workers Win Historic Victory as Gov. Brown Signs Wage Theft Bill

October 13, 2015

Fair Day’s Pay Act will make the promise of California’s labor laws real; Community and labor advocates aim for California to lead the nation in enforcement

Fully Engulfed: Local 1245 member Charles Rowe recounts harrowing Valley Fire experience

by Rebecca Band
October 12, 2015

IBEW 1245 member Charles Rowe used to love waking up around sunrise every Sunday to listen to the wind blow through the trees and enjoy the peaceful, majestic scenery outside his home in Cobb, California.

CA Makes Huge Strides on Equal Pay with New Law, But We Mustn’t Stop There

by Rachel Warino
October 8, 2015

By Rachel Johnson

This has been a historic week for California! On Tuesday, Governor Brown signed historic legislation aimed to squash the gender wage gap in California. Signing SB 358 (Jackson), the California Fair Pay Act closes decades-old loopholes that have helped employers work around the Equal Pay Act, signed by President Kennedy in 1963.

IBEW Local 1245 Supports “Yes” on Proposition H in San Francisco

by Hunter Stern
October 8, 2015

We all want more clean power, and in a few months, San Franciscans will be automatically enrolled in a new power system called “CleanPowerSF.” But simply calling energy “clean” or “green” is not enough.

Paz en Acción, Spanish translation of Living Peace available now!

October 5, 2015

Longtime labor activist and scholar Victor Narro has published Paz en Acción, the Spanish translation of Living Peace: Connecting Your Spirituality with Your Work for Justice.