Labor & Employment Law

Don?t Wait Up for the Wisconsin State Dems

Posted on February 17, 2011
Democratic members of the Wisconsin state legislature will stay out of the capitol until Gov. Scott Walker and Republican legislators drop their assault on workers, reports Greg Sargent on The Washington Post?s Plum Line blog. Sargent says State Sen. Chris Larson, speaking by cell phone from an undisclosed location, told him the Democrats won?t return until the anti-worker proposals come ?off the table...

Proposed Ohio, Missouri Laws Lower Wages

Posted on February 17, 2011
A new analysis shows workers in states with laws like those proposed in Ohio and Missouri, which supporters misleadingly call ?right to work,? have lower wages, whether they belong to a union or not. The report, ?Compensation Penalty of ?Right-to-Work Laws by Economic Policy Institute (EPI) economists Elise Gould and Heidi Shierholz find that wages in those states are 3...

World?s Unions Call for End of Violence in Bahrain

Posted on February 17, 2011
    Emergency medical teams evacuate wounded demonstrators in Bahrain.          The global union movement is demanding that authorities in Bahrain immediately cease their violent repression of peaceful demonstrations, and start talks with the trade union movement and other groups on the concrete demands which they and the demonstrators have expressed...

Private Sector Workers Join Ohio Fight

Posted on February 17, 2011
In Ohio, Gov. John Kasisch (R) is fighting to eliminate collective bargaining rights for public employees?but private-sector workers know darn well an attack on middle-class jobs hurts all workers in the state. Kasich?s S.B. 5 would eliminate collective bargaining rights for state workers...

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Trumka: Wisconsin Cuts Are Payback for Politicians, CEOs

Posted on February 17, 2011
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker?s attacks on middle-class workers and  state employees? bargaining rights has nothing to do with a budget deficit and everything to do with paying back politicians who helped him get elected, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said today...

Got a Comment or Question for Wisconsin?s Walker?

Posted on February 17, 2011
Just in case any of you have a message or question you want to send Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, here?s his official e-mail address: GovernorWalker@wisconsin.gov. And, here is the switchboard for his office: 608-266-1212 and his fax number: 608-267-7888...

Check Out WIN?s Podcast with Wisconsin Workers, Students

Posted on February 17, 2011
If you missed  the Workers Independent News (WIN) broadcast from inside the Capitol in Madison, Wis., today with interviews of workers, union leaders and students, you can listen to or download a podcast of the show at WIN affiliate WORT 89.9 FM?s website here...

?The Ed Show? Heads to Madison

Posted on February 17, 2011
       MSNBC?s “The Ed Show” will air from Madison, Wis., tonight, where Ed Shultz will cover what he calls ?the most important story in our country right now….I intend to stand up for American workers.? He will talk with the men and women who have been in the streets and inside the state Capitol opposing Gov...

5,000 Rally Against Ohio Anti-Worker Bill

Posted on February 17, 2011
Just got a report from some of our folks on the ground in Columbus, Ohio: more than 5,000 people?firefighters, teachers, small business leaders, community members and other public-service workers?filled the statehouse again today to show their opposition to Senate Bill 5 which would  eliminate collective bargaining rights for all state workers, including faculty and staff at Ohio state colleges and universities...

Wis.?s Walker Sends Police After Democrats

Posted on February 17, 2011
Law enforcement officers have been sent to hunt down Wisconsin Democratic state lawmakers who are boycotting a Senate vote on Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) attempts to gut pay and destroy bargaining rights for state employees. Walker earlier threatened to call the National Guard on public employees and their allies if they protested or went on strike against his attacks on the middle class...

Walker Manufactured Wis.?s So-Called Budget Crisis

Posted on February 17, 2011
This just out from Talking Points Memo: Writes Brian Beutler: Wisconsin’s new Republican governor has framed his assault on public workers’ collective bargaining rights as a needed measure of fiscal austerity during tough times. BUT: …this broadside comes less than a month after the state’s fiscal bureau?the Wisconsin equivalent of the Congressional Budget Office?concluded that Wisconsin isn’t even in need of austerity measures and could conclude the fiscal year with a surplus...

Wis. Capitol Is HOT and Public HOTTER Over Gov.?s Attacks

Posted on February 17, 2011
When you need the doors to stay open in a Wisconsin winter, you know it’s HOT inside the Capitol. sconniejen THOSE BY DOORS AT CAPITOL: Prop open doors now! Need cool air in rotunda. Retweet #killthisbill #wiunion #notmywi lorilorita The Wisconsin State Capitol is electric and sweaty and packed with people...

Wisconsin Rally in Full Swing??Protect Our State?

Posted on February 17, 2011
This in from Organizing for America’s Jessie Lidbury, live from Madison, Wis.: ?Protect our state!? came the cry from the Capitol streets. They were lined with workers, students and rights activists who hope that Gov. Walker and our state legislature will hear their voices above the noise of their own interests...

Listen Live from the Protests in Madison

Posted on February 17, 2011
Starting a noon CST, Workers Independent News (WIN) will be broadcasting live from inside the Capitol in Madison, Wis., with interviews of workers, union leaders, students and lawmakers who have been rallying against Gov. Scott Walker?s (R) attack on workers? rights...

Thousands of Ohioans Gathering to Protest Kasich Cuts

Posted on February 17, 2011
State capitols in Ohio and Wisconsin are filling up with residents outraged over their governors’ attacks on the middle class. Follow the action at the hashtags below: ohioaflcio Over 5000 fill OH Statehouse to oppose SB 5, Kasich assault on workers...

Kasich Calls Police Officer An ?Idiot?

Posted on February 16, 2011
It seems Ohio Gov. John Kasich has a real penchant for degrading and demonizing public workers. Not only is he trying to take away the right of state employees to bargain, but the revelation today that in last month he called a Columbus police officer an “idiot” for giving him a traffic ticket has caused a firestorm of criticism...

Unemployed Can?t Get Jobs Because They Are?Unemployed

Posted on February 16, 2011
As if finding a job isn?t hard enough, unemployed workers now face the added hurdle of being discriminated against because they don?t have a job. Speaking today before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project (NELP),  said that practices barring the unemployed from job availabilities have been growing around the country?and place a disproportionate burden on older workers, African Americans, and other workers facing high levels of long-term unemployment...

Global Marches Demand Workers? Rights in Mexico

Posted on February 16, 2011
    Union members march in front of the Mexican Embassy demanding rights for workers in Mexico          Across the United States and around the world, thousands of working people marched today to demand that Mexico?s government allow its workers to enjoy the freedom to form a union,  to create safe workplaces and bargain for family-supporting wages...

Republican Budget Proposal Attacks Middle Class, Destroys Jobs

Posted on February 16, 2011
How bad is the Republican federal budget proposal? AFL-CIO Legislative Director Bill Samuel describes it as an “all-out assault against middle-class Americans.” In a letter to House members, Samuel summarizes some of the most egregious elements of H...

Wisconsin Rally for Workers Grows to 30,000

Posted on February 16, 2011
      A massive protest against Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker?s attempt to eliminate collective bargaining rights for state workers entered its second day in Madison with as many as 30,000 people, according to some estimates. More demonstrations are expected tomorrow...

Coffee, Tea or Workplace Safety?

Posted on February 16, 2011
Back when flight attendants were stewardesses and airline ads promoted their good looks and winsome smiles to get you on board, these hardworking airline employees had no job safety and health protection.  Today, flight attendants still are not covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and Sen...

AFL-CIO, Chamber in Rare Agreement, Urge Infrastructure Investments

Posted on February 16, 2011
The AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce don?t agree on very much. But today, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Chamber President Thomas Donohue told a Senate committee that labor and business agree on the vital need to invest in the nation?s transportation infrastructure to create jobs and boost the economy...

Huge Protest Greets ?Hosni Walker?s? Attack on Wisconsin Workers

Posted on February 16, 2011
      More than 15,000 people, including public employees, union activists and community supporters, jammed into the Capitol Square in Madison, Wis., yesterday to protest Gov. Scott Walker?s (R) plan to strip away state workers’ rights and decimate family-supporting middle-class jobs...

Washington Hospital Center Nurses Authorize Strike

Posted on February 16, 2011
Registered nurses at Washington (D.C.) Hospital Center have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a one-day strike. No date has been set for a walkout at the hospital, which employs 1,650 RNs. The nurses say the hospital refuses to address serious concerns they have about safe staffing and other patient care issues...

U.S. Workers Fighting to Keep What Other Countries Want

Posted on February 16, 2011
While workers across Egypt and other nations are marching in the streets to advance their countries toward democracy and a better life, workers in the United States are facing attacks on every advance they’ve gained in decades...

Senate Rejects Move to Bar TSA Workers from Bargaining Rights

Posted on February 15, 2011
Good news from the Senate: Today Senators voted 51-47 to reject a measure that would have prohibited tranportation security officers (TSOs) from gaining collective bargaining rights. The measure was introduced by Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Tom Coburn, R-Okla...

Sweeney Receives Medal of Freedom, Nation?s Highest Civilian Honor

Posted on February 15, 2011
AFL-CIO President Emeritus John Sweeney today received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation?s highest civilian honor during a White House ceremony. Sweeney served as president of the AFL-CIO from 1995?2009 and transformed the labor movement into a voice for all working Americans...

Boehner on Job Loss from Republican Budget: ?So Be It?

Posted on February 15, 2011
The truth is finally out. Despite all his cries?and we?re not talking about his tendency to tear up?of ?Where are the jobs?? and criticism about  President Obama?s jobs record during the campaign,  House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) really doesn?t give a (fill in the blank) about jobs or the people who find themselves on the unemployment line...

Wisconsin Students Rally to Side of State Workers

Posted on February 15, 2011
Wisconsin college and high school students are showing their support for their teachers–and for all public employees?who are under fire by Gov. Scott Walker. Walker’s budget proposal attacks family-supporting middle-class jobs through unilateral pay and benefit cuts and takes away nearly all of the workers? collective bargaining rights...

U.S. Manufacturing at ?Make or Break? Point

Posted on February 15, 2011
      The auto industry?s revival proves the value of government investment in competitiveness.          U.S. manufacturing is at a ?make or break? point and it will require more, not less, government investment in key areas to ensure our future prosperity, according to a new book by one of the nation?s top CEOs...

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