President Bush today said he opposed a housing bill that would help struggling families and communities suffering from the housing crises. John McCain, who has admitted "[t]he issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should," has been reluctant to support important efforts by Democrats in Congress to help families suffering from the housing crisis-- surprising considering he has been campaigning in Ohio, one of the states hardest hit by home foreclosures. [Boston Globe, 12/18/07]
And it's a victory for all workers and union-members. It's also good news for the Networks, since it's a fair deal that, in the words of CBS executive Leslie Moonves, "recognizes the large contribution that writers have made to the industry."
It's the first time membership in unions, as a percentage of workers, has increased in a quarter of a century.
Republican presidential candidates are jumping ahead of one another to cross the picket line of workers who have public opinion handily on their side. First, it was Mike Huckabee, who said he didn't realize that he was going to be crossing the line.
Mike Huckabee is turning to Jay Leno and will appear on the Tonight Show. But the Writers Guild announced this weekend that they planned to picket the late night show, among others.
As profits shift away from television and to the web, you can expect to see new conflicts about how to deal with it. A perfect example comes today, with a strike resulting from...
Rudy Giuliani claimed last night that he has a strong record in support of labor. He even said, "I think union have made a positive contribution." But he has a virulently anti-union record.
About 73,000 United Auto Workers (UAW) members at General Motors (GM) plants across the country went on strike today after an 11 a.m. deadline passed. Negotiations continued through the day as workers walked the picket lines.
Effective today, the first woman of color elected as top officer at the National AFL-CIO, Linda Chavez-Thompson, will retire from her historic position. Chavez-Thompson won election as Executive Vice President of the AFL-CIO in 1995.
A new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research shows the overwhelming benefits of unionization.
The rescue effort to save the Crandall Canyon miners continues, and we must ensure that the effort to save the lives of these workers continues without suffering even greater losses.
As more miners die in Utah, new scrutiny on the Bush recess appointment of Richard Stickler, former mine industry executive, as mine safety czar.
Take a closer look at the anti-worker partnership of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and his wife, Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement following tonight's AFL-CIO Candidate Forum in Chicago.
Democratic presidential candidates meet again, at AFL-CIO forum moderated by Keith Olbermann and attended by 17,000 union members.
Six Utah miners are still trapped underground today in a horrific mine accident, possibly caused by dangerous mining practices at the nonunion mine.
Obstructionist Republicans wouldn't allow it to come to a vote under the last Congress, but the Democrats made sure they made it a priority when they took office earlier this year.
Elaine Chao, the Bush administration's Labor Secretary, thinks that American workers stink.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement after Senate Republicans blocked further consideration of the Employee Free Choice Act.
Today the Department of Labor will release the results of a study on Family and Medical Leave, which allows workers 12 weeks unpaid leave each year. The public likes the program, but guess who doesn't?
Today Republicans blocked a vote on the Employee Free Choice Act, which is extremely important legislation for working families. Governor Dean issued a statement afterwards.
The Senate voted today on the Employee Free Choice Act. This legislation is extremely important for workers' rights.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement expressing support for the Employee Free Choice Act. Union members, labor leaders and Congressional Democrats came together this afternoon to show support for the legislation...
Lately, many of us who value the mail have been outraged about the recent trend by the USPS to contract out work. It's essentially an attempt to privatize the post office by hiring any unscreened non-professional off the street.
Public employees in New Hampshire won a major victory yesterday when Democrats in the state House of Representatives passed legislation strengthening their rights at work. The bill already passed the state Senate earlier this year, and is now on its way to the desk of Gov. John
Lynch (D).
House Democrats passed an increase in the minimum wage on Thursday, raising the wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour. A full-time minimum-wage worker stands to earn an extra $4,000 a year--a raise that could make all the difference when paying rent, buying groceries or filling the tank with gas.
With the Democratic Party celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, it's worth taking a closer look at the lives that Asian Pacific American workers lead.
Today there's a editorial in the Sacramento Bee that provides the important context in which the Employee Free Choice Act is offered. The system is currently broken, with an outdated system that desperately needs reform:
Republicans battling the rights of working families took a hit yesterday as the Senate passed a bill implementing the remaining recommendations of the 9/11 commission, including screening all airport cargo, improving security on railroads, and funding local and state communications. Republicans became hysterical because the bill also gave some union rights to security personnel.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement praising the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act:
Last week, the Employee Free Choice Act passed in the House of Representatives 241 to 185. EFCA restores American workers' right to freely choose whether or not to form a union. Specifically, the bill says that once a majority of workers sign a card authorizing a union, it is then formed. President Bush has already threatened a veto of this vital legislation, which first must go to the Senate.
Just last week the Employee Free Choice Act was introduced in the House of Representatives, and already it has cleared one significant hurdle: the House Education and Labor Committee. From the AFL-CIO blog: The House Education and Labor Committee beat...
Last week, the Employee Free Choice Act was introduced in the House. The bill would make it less difficult for workers to unionize. Democrats support the legislation, but Republicans don't like it one bit. Why? MSNBC.com's First Read gives us...
Union members and supporters have something to smile about this week - the Employee Free Choice Act has been introduced in the House. The bill, aimed at shoring up the ability of workers to organize, is long overdue.
While we can credit unions for helping to create the middle class, the percentage of Americans belonging to unions has steadily been on the decline. That has left many thinking about how to bring unions into the 21st century with a new approach.
An Op/Ed in the New York Times this morning talks about the plight of teachers -- the one not seen on the silver screen. From the article: At the beginning of Ms. Swank's new movie, "Freedom Writers," her character, a...
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement in support of the Employee Free Choice Act.
Union leaders nationwide are preparing for the reintroduction of the Employee Free Choice Act. The legislation would protect workers against employer interference in organizing drives, help workers win contracts after voting for a union, and protects workers from intimidation when forming unions. This weekend, 700 union organizers, leaders and activists will meet in Washington D.C. for an organizing summit to plan and strategize for the future.
Union Leader: [Democrats are] championing a consensus legislative agenda geared toward helping families that have been left behind by the GOP. They're standing up for America's shrinking middle class. Pelosi has pledged to spend her first 100 hours on key bread-and-butter economic issues long neglected under Republican rule.
This is a leader who understands her mandate.
Nurses working to negotiate lower staffing ratios so they can provide better care for their patients were locked out of local hospitals and replacements were brought in when contract negotiations failed in Nevada.
Today the Supreme Court will hear arguments for two cases that involve racial integration. The WaPost has more: More than 50 years after the Supreme Court decided in Brown v. Board of Education that separate schools are inherently unequal, the...
Good news for those who value safety standards, human rights, and a clean environment. Key labor and environmental standards will again be inserted into applicable treaties. The WaPost explains: As Democrats prepare to take control of Congress, incoming leaders are...
The Democratic Party's "Get Out the Vote" drive to push voters to the polls has begun. Election Day is Tuesday, November 7. Be a part of the new direction. Volunteer with your state Democratic Party and help get Democrats out to vote.
Over at the AFL-CIO blog, they're featuring Joe and Jim, two TWU (Transport Workers Union) members from the Philly area. They're giving a daily update for the next few days on the failure of the Bush administration to protect the...
Congressman Mike Honda, DNC Vice Chair, kicked-off The 50-State Turnout with New Jersey congressional candidate, Linda Stender, beginning the morning by canvassing with members of Plumbers Local 24 before heading to the Asian Trade Show and Chinese Festival.
The Republican-dominated National Labor Relations Board voted Tuesday to classify millions of workers as supervisors. Under federal labor law, supervisors are prohibited from forming unions.
As Americans observe Labor Day today, new figures this week showed consumer confidence numbers drop, the typical family income decrease by nearly $1,300 since President Bush took office, and the ranks of the uninsured grow to more than 46 million Americans.
By adding Nevada and South Carolina, the Democratic Party is significantly increasing the early participation of African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, Native Americans and labor members. Also, states are required to adopt new Inclusion Plans for LGBT Americans, Americans with disabilities, and many others.
The following resolution was passed by the Democratic National Committee at its meeting on August 19, 2006. Submitted by: Linda Chavez-Thompson, DNC Vice Chair/Texas Alice Germond, DNC Secretary/West Virginia Lottie Shackelford, DNC Vice Chair/Arkansas Steven K. Alari, California Barbara Easterling,...
The following resolution was passed by the Democratic National Committee at its meeting on August 19, 2006. Submitted by: Chris Stampolis, California Resolution honoring boycott of Krug-Mondavi wineries WHEREAS, the Democratic Party continues its long-standing leadership for civil rights and...
Democrats in the Senate successfully blocked Republican efforts to blackmail them into voting to gut the estate tax by combining the measure with an increase in the minimum wage - an issue Democrats have repeatedly tried to bring up for...
On Friday, the House passed a disastrous bill, coupling an increase in the minimum wage with a revision in the estate tax that would give a tax break to a few thousand of the richest families in America. The bill...
While President Bush touts his economic record, families are struggling with lower incomes and rising health care and energy costs, poverty has increased, and a rising number of Americans lack healthcare insurance.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement on workers' actions this week and expectations that the Bush Labor Relations Board will continue its assault in the Kentucky River cases, expanding the law's definition of supervisor to potentially strip as many as 8 million workers around the nation of collective bargaining and organizing rights.
Governor Dean was in Chicago yesterday to meet with community leaders and discuss immigration reform. Representatives from several Chicago communities including: African-American, Arab American, Asian American, Hispanic, Irish American and Muslim American, as well as labor, Jewish and faith-based communities...
Today, President Bush will meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao at the White House to discuss a number of issues. Since taking office in 2001, President Bush’s policy toward China has been a failure on the economic front.
Today, while President Bush tried yet again to put a fresh face on the problems confronting our nation, he did not offer a fresh commitment to change his failed policies.
Republicans in Washington continue to undermine the economic security of America's working families. The Bush Administration and Republicans in Congress have repeatedly blocked attempts to raise the federal minimum wage, which was last increased a decade ago in 1996.
Today, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean gave remarks at a rally in Memphis, Tennessee, held by local labor leaders from American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees 1733.
The Bush Administration's bungling of a deal to allow a foreign government-owned firm to run some of our nation's largest seaports has put the spotlight on the White House's continuing efforts to put the priorities of corporate special interests above the concerns of the American people.
And to think Democrats and labor unions get mocked and vilified by the GOP when we go to bat for worker's rights in the form workplace safety protections. From a Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer piece aptly titled, "Under Bush, mine-safety enforcement...
On May 28, 2004, Bush signed the Central America Free Trade Agreement, which will eventually eliminate all tariffs between the United States and Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. Yet, a secret Bush Administration report - that the Administration tried to prevent from being made public - reveals that these nations subject their workers to extremely poor conditions.
From the Ashbury Park Press Union officials have pressed legislators both in New Jersey and Washington, D.C., to change the process. Under two bills, a union would be certified if a majority of employees signed authorization cards rather than going...
From the Washington Post: In introducing the Health Care Accountability Act, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), Rep. Anthony D. Weiner (D-N.Y.), and Sen. Jon S. Corzine (D-N.J.) said they are concerned that large employers such as Wal-Mart are transferring responsibility...
