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Blog

Pathway to Progress: The Charleston Hospital Strike

… History has long been portrayed as a series of "great men" taking great action to shape the world we live in. In recent decades, however, social historians have focused more on looking at history "from … events where working people played a key role in the progress our country has made, including those who are making history right now. Today's topic is the Charleston hospital strike. … In the late 1960s, Charleston, South Carolina, was NOT primed … with Coretta Scott King as honorary chairperson. While reflecting upon the success in Charleston, King said that right before his death, her husband had concluded that "the key to battling poverty is winning jobs for workers with decent …
Press Release

Make-or-Break Moment in NAFTA Renegotiation Plans

… Free Trade Agreement: Working people have lived the failures of NAFTA, and President Donald Trump has made big promises to fix it. On Monday, we will find out if he truly means to make good on those promises or continue the same rigged rules written to benefit the wealthiest 1%. Bold objectives that are beneficial to working families would include changes to labor and …
Press Release

Importance of Walsh Confirmation Cannot Be Overstated

… Statement from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka after the Senate’s vote to confirm Marty Walsh as secretary of labor: Congratulations to Secretary Walsh. It’s difficult to overstate the importance … union jobs. It means raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour. And most of all, it means strengthening working people’s right to organize together by finally passing the PRO Act. Our work has only just begun, and we will be stronger with Secretary Walsh in the fight ahead. Contact: John Weber (202) 637-5018 …
Press Release

Minimum Wage Proposals are Important, Positive Steps for the Raising Wages Agenda

… a Living Wage Act and the New York State Wage Board recommendation that fast food workers’ minimum wage be increased to $15 an hour: In the past week there has been significant upward pressure on wages. Fast food workers in New York State … was increased. We need game changing policies that drive up the wages of working people. From increasing the minimum wage to strengthening the right for workers to join together in a union, we’re done waiting on Washington. All across America, working people are …
Speech

Trumka to Earth Week Forum: Addressing Climate Change Will Confront Deep-Rooted Equity

… Good afternoon and Happy Earth Week. Thank you, Brother Cecil (Roberts). Ernie, I want you to know how much I appreciate working together through the Labor Energy Partnership.  Secretary (Jennifer) Granholm, on behalf of the 12.5 million working people in the 56 unions of the AFL-CIO, thank you for being here.  And to you both, I want to say how much it helps working families when the Secretary of Energy is pro-worker.  Look, we’re facing … My union won job safety and quality through collective bargaining, not corporate benevolence.  We had to fight for every right. Every protection. Every raise.  Workers paid in blood spilled by Coal and Iron police. We can’t answer the climate …
Blog

Women's History Month Profiles: Dolores Huerta

… working at the intersection of civil and labor rights. Today's profile is Dolores Huerta. … Huerta was born in 1930 to Alicia and Juan Fern á ndez in Dawson, New Mexico. Her father was a farmworker and miner who became a state legislator after her parents divorced and Huerta moved with her mother to California. There, her mother worked as a waitress and cannery worker before eventually buying a small hotel and … Farm Workers (UFW), which formed in 1965. With UFW, Huerta organized workers, negotiated contracts and advocated for safer work conditions for farmworkers. She was a key organizer in the 1965 Delano grape workers strike and lead negotiator for the …
Speech

Trumka to Midwest District Meeting: "We can choose to do better."

… This has been a very productive meeting. We covered a lot of ground. We talked about the political landscape, the need to increase our density and the ways we can use the 2018 election to engage with our members. We talked about the Workers’ … our Path to Power program which is helping elect more union members to office. We talked about the threats of Janus and right to work and our capacity to overcome them. I am confident that we will leave here today with a clear vision and mission for …
Blog

Women's History Month Profiles: Frances Perkins

… farmers and craftsmen. At Mount Holyoke College, she studied the natural sciences and economic history and was exposed to a variety of works and lectures who exposed her to new ways of thinking about the social problems she witnessed. After … in New York's settlement houses. She heard stories directly from workers about the dangerous conditions of factory work and the desperation of being unable to collect promised wages or secure medical care for workplace injuries. She left … to the challenges faced by working people. She held to a strong belief that legislation was the most important avenue to "right industrial wrongs," and she simultaneously championed labor organizing and collective action. In 1918, she was invited …
Press Release

Remarks of AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka in Support of Proposition 47, Los Angeles, California

… Thank you, Sister Maria Elena [Durazo] for that warm introduction, and I want to thank you for inviting me to Homeboy Industries, which demonstrates so effectively how opportunities and support can help … it. That brings me to why we are here. Our vision is a nation where redemption is possible through the virtues of hard work.  Yes, people make mistakes and commit crimes.  But they can learn from those mistakes and move on to productive lives … fully restoring all the rights of American citizenship for those who have served their time. Of course, that includes the right to vote and the right to serve on a jury but also public aid for education, housing and employment assistance. Some of …
Blog

Pride Month Profiles: Jeanne Laberge and Ruth Jacobsen

… For Pride Month, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various LGBTQ Americans who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights. Our next profile is Jeanne Laberge and Ruth Jacobsen. … In the early … to do the job well and the toughness to deal with the small-minded men that opposed women's inclusion. D'Inzillo found the right women to challenge the system with Jeanne Laberge and Ruth Jacobsen, a lesbian couple who were willing to fight for …