AFL-CIO Staff

As the government shutdown became the longest in U.S. history, thousands of working people took to the streets of Washington, D.C., to send a clear message to the president and Congress to stop the shutdown and let federal government employees get to work. Thousands more rallied at other locations around the country.

President George H.W. Bush will be laid to rest at state funeral today. Remembrances have been flowing in from across the political spectrum, but one thing we all can agree on is that Bush lived a life that was devoted to public service, not only for himself, but for those who answered his call for all of us to help our fellow Americans.

In the wake of the latest NAFTA news, labor leaders noted that the pursuit of an agreement that works for workers was on track while cautioning that the work is far from over. In a joint statement yesterday, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard, UAW President Gary Jones, Machinists (IAM) International President Robert Martinez Jr. and Communications Workers of America (CWA) President Christopher Shelton called for an agreement that addresses the North American Free Trade Agreement’s “deeply ingrained flaws.”

Today, in communities across the country, working people joined together in solidarity with the federal workers who make our country run. In the face of ruthless attacks on these public servants’ fundamental economic rights, AFGE is leading the fight to defend our unions.

Tomorrow marks the eighth anniversary of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a key piece of legislation passed to combat the dangerous corporate behavior that sparked the global financial crisis.