Kenneth Quinnell

Brent K. is a musician based in Cleveland and a member of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 4. In addition to his solo career, Kirby performs with Brent Kirby & His Luck and the Jack Fords and leads a monthly Gram Parsons revival. Kirby recently performed in a virtual concert series produced by the Cleveland Federation of Musicians Local 4 and the Local 4 Music Fund.

AFSCME launched two ads calling on Congress and Donald Trump send aid to state and local government to keep front-line public service workers on the job. AFSCME President Lee Saunders said: "Front-line health care workers, corrections officers, home and child care providers, sanitation workers and other public service workers put their lives on the line every day to save ours. America refuses to thank them with pink slips. Public service workers and the services they provide are essential to beating this pandemic and opening the economy."

The U.S. economy lost 20.5 million jobs in April, taking payroll employment back to levels last seen in Spring 2011 when the economy was recovering from the Great Recession, and the unemployment rate jumped by by an historic amount to 14.7%, according to figures released Friday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, including 12.4% for white males, the largest unemployment rate for white men in the post-World War II era and the first time it has been in double digits in that era. 

Welcome to our regular feature, a look at what the various AFL-CIO unions and other working family organizations are doing across the country and beyond. The labor movement is big and active—here's a look at the broad range of activities we're engaged in this week.

The latest episode of the Labor Radio–Podcast Weekly features a daily salute to frontline workers in Electchester, New York, Chicago Teachers tackle remote learning and Richard Trevellick's fight for the eight-hour work day.

Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s the latest edition of the Working People Weekly List.