The AFT and First Book—a nonprofit that has distributed more than 90 million new books to children across the United States—have joined forces with New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) to help encourage a culture of reading for low-income and middle-class students.

This video features AFT’s team-up with First Book to place books in the homes of the children of Freeport, N.Y., a community devastated by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

 

After 45 years of driving a cab in New York City, Beresford Simmons says the emergence of the National Taxi Workers Alliance in the past few years is helping his family and those of other drivers reach the middle class. Simmons’ story is one of three illustrating that unions make the middle class strong, giving workers a voice in our economy, portrayed in a trio of new videos by the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

 

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AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka released the following statement in response to the Senate Judiciary Committee's immigration bill: Today brings to mind Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s wise and hopeful words, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” More than 11 million aspiring Americans took a big step toward becoming citizens today with the bipartisan Senate Judiciary Committee vote. That reflects an enormous step toward healing an injustice, the deportation crisis that has wrecked families, communities and workplaces for far too long. Read more >>>

Wilma Liebman who served 14 years on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—including chairwoman from 2009–2011—says, “Appointments to the NLRB have been a political battleground for decades.” But, in a column in Politico, she says the current attack on the NLRB is the most vicious since the board was created in the 1930s. Read more >>>

After her husband was murdered while working as a journalist in the Philippines, Marivir Montebon arrived in the United States seeking political asylum with the hope of finding a better, safer life for herself, and for her daughter who arrived two years later.

“I always thought of a green card as a second birth certificate—a second life,” Montebon says.

When she presents at the Writing Across Borders Conference in New York on June 1, Montebon will join other women and people of color on a panel to tell their stories about escaping abuse, oppression and the legacy of slavery. See more.

Leading up to the AFL-CIO convention in September 2013, the AFL-CIO is hosting a crucial conversation about the future of working people and of unions—in union halls and online at www.aflcio2013.org.

Rana Plaza, the Bangladesh factory that collapsed three weeks ago, killed more than 1,100 workers, many of them young women. This tragedy adds to the more than 1500 Bangladeshi workers killed in preventable fires and building collapses since 2005. Documents found at the factory show that the workers produced for big names in global retail revealing the link between poor workers in Bangladesh and major retail brands.Obviously, the government must improve local laws and their enforcement to stop these tragedies, but brands must also take responsibility for their supply chains. They must be held accountable to the tragedy that happened in their supply chain. Read more >>>

The partition that separates diners from the inner workings of the restaurant industry toppled for Saru Jayaraman shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Fekkak Mamdouh, one of the headwaiters of the restaurant housed on the top floor of the World Trade Center, approached Jayaraman seven months after the attacks. His former boss deemed him and his former crew “not experienced enough” to work in his new Times Square restaurant. Jayaraman, a 27-year-old organizer of immigrant women, took up the case to advocate for the displaced workers, organized protests and won—most of the workers were awarded the good jobs their former boss promised.

Jayaraman and Mamdouh formed Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United in April 2002 and were flooded with stories of workplace atrocities in New York City and, eventually, across the country. We spoke with Jayaraman earlier this month about her new book on the ills of the restaurant industry, Behind the Kitchen Door.

For Lapronda Eason and the other building service workers at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, the link to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.--who died in Memphis in 1968 advocating for the rights of city sanitation workers to form a union--is as real as the job they do every day.

 

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The time for immigration reform is now, says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. This will be a focus for labor in 2013 as the country needs to create a common-sense immigration process with a road map to citizenship. Read more >>>

Now at the end of its second full day on the road, the Life in Rand Paul’s Radical World Tour has already covered hundreds of miles and hit 8 stops. We’re currently winding our way south from Metropolis, IL, but more on that later. On our way west, we hit worksites in Owensboro and Madisonville, Wickliffe and Paducah.

In Owensboro yesterday, the tour took activists to the Swedish Match Company facility where workers have processed tobacco for smokeless products since 1973. The facility is an anchor of the local economy and a testament to the quality and commitment that union workers bring to the job. More than 270 union members work at the facility in a wide variety of capacities and most of the members to whom we spoke expressed their intention to vote for Jack Conway. All around Owensboro, jobs have been shipped overseas and the need to elect a Senator who will bargain hard for friar trade policies, not just “free trade” policies, is essential if the area is going to succeed in the coming years. Click here to read more...

If you’re reading this post, you likely know that in his quest to reach the U.S. Senate, Rand Paul has waged an all out war on the Kentucky worker.

You know that if he could, Rand Paul would deregulate Kentucky’s mines, leaving thousands of workers at risk.

You know that if he could, Rand Paul would implement a Medicare deductible of $2,000 even if it bankrupts tens of thousands of retirees.

You know that if he could, Rand Paul would dissolve of the U.A.W., an organization that has fought for workers rights, civil rights and progress for decades.

You know that if he could, Rand Paul would grant and extend tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, demolishing entire communities in the process.

And now, if you click here, you'll know the newest front that Rand Paul has opened up in the war against the Kentucky worker...

Under George W. Bush, working families faced an unrelenting assault on their way of life. On his watch, tens of thousands of union jobs were shipped to China and entire communities were devastated just so shareholders could make a buck.

While the last two years have been a struggle, and times are still difficult, signs point to better days ahead. But here in Kentucky, working families are once again in a fight for their life. That’s because Rand Paul, candidate for U.S. Senate, is the greatest threat to the American worker since Ronald Reagan.

And now he wants to see the entire auto industry deunionized. Is your union next?

Click here to read more...

For many, the back and forth of political campaigns is annoying at best. For most, it's enough for them to throw up their hands in despair.

But with the stakes as high as they are, we cannot afford to let dangerous ideas float past unaccounted for. Now, more than ever, the candidates running for Senate need to be taken to task for the positions they've adopted.

On Sunday, during the first debate of the general election, Rand Paul said that his statements on Medicare had been taken out of context. This, brothers and sisters, is a lie. On no less than SEVEN occassions, Rand Paul has said that he believes the solution to the Medicare "problem" is a $2,000 deductible. And we have the video to prove it: http://bit.ly/aaMqQl

Going even further, Rand Paul, just today, was quoted as calling Medicare a form of welfare. Well, 800,000 Kentucky seniors don't look at it like that. We need to ask ourselves a simple question: can Kentucky afford a Senator so disturbingly out of touch with the reality of so many citizens?

One thing is clear: we need to get some straight answers from Rand Paul. But to do that, we need to know where he's going to be! That's why we've started this new group.

The whole purpose of the Brigade will be track Rand Paul as he travels from public campaign event to public campaign event. Today's encounter with the candidate shows just how powerful you can really be.

To sign-up for the Brigade, just click here and fill out the form.

If you read about a Rand Paul event in the paper, hear about one on tv or from a friend, or see that he's going to be in your town while out and about, please let us know.

It's time for the working men and women of Kentucky to stand up and protect themselves - this is one way you can do just that.

At a public meet and greet in Pineville today, Rand Paul once again refused to discuss Social Security and Medicare with working Kentuckians. Right before closing his car door in our brother's face, Paul even said: "Hell No" he wasn't going to answer any questions. How's that for respect?

The event took place at a Dairy Queen in a region of Kentucky where, as you know, good jobs are scare, the economy is worse than the national average, and many residents depend upon social security as their sole source of survival. Prior to Rand's escape act, a group of working Kentuckians from the UMWA, USW, and IBEW were patiently waiting at tables inside the Dairy Queen, hoping to have the chance to talk with Paul. They never got the opportunity. Click here to watch the video and here to read more...

Important news from this weekend: a new Courier-Journal/WHAS11 Bluegrass Poll shows that the U.S. Senate race, featuring our AFL-CIO endorsed candidate Jack Conway, is all tied-up! This comes after Rand Paul and his George W. Bush-era friends in Washington, D.C. have opened up their coffers to attack Jack in television ads that are filled with misinformation and outright lies. But Kentucky voters are beginning to understand just how radical Rand Paul really is. The Bluegrass Poll shows the Conway campaign absolutely surging, having made up more than ten points in three weeks. Click here to read more...

This week, the Kentucky AFL-CIO is releasing a hard-hitting piece of mail that doesn't editorialize - it just let's Rand speak for himself.

Rand Paul has gone to great lengths to avoid talking about the impact his radical agenda would have on the working class. Since winning the GOP primary, he's refused to give interviews with any reporters except those from Fox News. He's refused to offer specifics on how he'd draw down the national deficit or rework crucial programs like social security. And he's refused to talk to voters, instead preferring the company of his chauffeur...click here to read more

But just because Rand Paul won't talk today about his policies, doesn't mean he hasn't talked about them in the past. We know that Rand Paul is anti-union (the National Right to Work Committee donated $2,500 to his campaign), we know that he is anti-worker (he's been quoted as saying wages need to be lower) and we know he's anti-minority (he supports the business owner's right to discriminate on the basis of skin color), but he's also anti-retiree, anti-unemployed and anti-workplace safety.

Yesterday, Rand Paul, candidate for U.S. Senate, came to Louisville for a “meet and greet” with voters. Over three dozen union members from across Kentucky attended the public forum to ask Paul about his policies. Unfortunately though, Paul forgot to meet or greet anyone in attendance. After speaking for no more than 15 minutes, Paul quickly turned on his heels and headed for the door. Once outside, he immediately jumped into a waiting car, locked his door, and drove away.

Click here to watch the video, and here to read more

One of the most important issues for the working men and women of Kentucky, especially those that have already retired, is that of social security. The Kentucky State AFL-CIO sat down with two retired Steelworkers to discuss social security and why union members can't to have Rand Paul as their next U.S. Senator. Click here to read more; click here to watch the video.

Union members and pro-Labor candidates mobilized today at the Ford Louisville Assembly Plant in support of candidates who understand the importance of the working class in Kentucky. Close to 20 members worked the afternoon shift change, handing out literature focused on: Jack Conway's U.S. Senate race, Congressman John Yarmuth's re-election race, the Louisville Mayoral contest involving Greg Fischer, and Marty Meyer's 38th State Senate District race. Roughly 1,000 Ford employees received information and committed to campaign for pro-Labor candidates over the next 54 days. Click here to learn more...

With only 54 short days to go before Election Day, member action has kicked into high gear here in Kentucky. Two polls launched late yesterday show a statistical tie between the candidates for the open U.S. Senate seat and, riding the momentum built during Labor Day, Jack Conway has begun to raise serious money from the informed voters of the Commonwealth. Additionally, both Kentucky candidates have launched their first advertisements of the general election cycle (so too has one ultra-conservative special interest group run by George Bush’s former advisor Karl Rove). As you can imagine, both media and voter interest in this most important of races has begun to rise in earnest. Click here to learn more...

New video from Louisville Labor Day Now LIVE!

Click here to watch your fellow members and pro-labor candidates talk about the upcoming election and the need to mobilize.