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… Chicago, Ill. Whereas the Bush Administration submitted legislation to eliminate virtually all civil service protections for the Department of Defense’s civilian workforce days after it … the war against Iraq, and Whereas these 720,000 civilian employees performed heroically, professionally and successfully to prepare not only our troops but also their weapons, military aircraft, ships, vehicles and other supplies for the combat … replace the federal pay and classification systems that are based upon the principle of equal pay for substantially equal work, which has gone a long way to prevent pay discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity and gender. Both bills would …

… statement was approved by the AFL-CIO Executive Council in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 2001. The AFL-CIO is committed to working with President-elect Bush and his administration to advance the interests and well-being of working Americans and … issues. Most of the nominees do not support our agenda to benefit working families. But we have confidence that we can work together to find common ground, and recognize that it is divisive as well as self-defeating to refuse to support … We believe it is the job of ordinary citizens to pass final judgement on cabinet appointees, just as it is our legal right to elect the president and members of the U.S. Congress. The working men and women and the unions of the AFL-CIO will, …

… the U.S. economy is seriously out of balance, and working families are paying the price. The trade deficit continues to shatter records, and even mainstream economists warn that the United States cannot continue indefinitely to borrow from … and trade unionists globally.  The AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Center, together with our affiliated unions, will continue to work with our allies and trade union partners around the world to address the challenges facing workers worldwide.  These … the worst, least democratic, and most repressive regimes at the expense of struggling democracies trying to do the right thing. Meanwhile, multinational corporations mouth the rhetoric of democracy and free trade, while they reap huge …

… million Central Americans struggling in poverty and the millions of hard-working immigrants in this nation most vulnerable to layoffs and mistreatment. Flawed trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the proposed CAFTA widen our trade deficit, subject domestic laws protecting our workers, consumers, public services and health to challenge by foreign corporations, and do nothing to promote democracy, workers’ rights, or the building of a middle class … q       Through the AFL-CIO political mobilization structure, including our state federations and central labor councils, work to hold elected officials and candidates from both political parties accountable for their position on flawed trade …

… New Orleans, Louisiana U.S. trade negotiators at the World Trade Organization (WTO) are currently seeking to expand an existing trade agreement called the General Agreement on Trade in Services, or GATS. Negotiators are not only … unions and other civil society groups from around the world. The assessment is necessary to guide negotiators in their work and to enable politicians and the public to provide educated input into these negotiations. As a condition of future … the core labor standards, which are defined by the International Labor Organization to include freedom of association, the right to organize and bargain collectively, and prohibitions on child labor, forced labor, and discrimination in employment. …

… The U.S. Census Bureau is required by the Constitution to conduct a count of the population every 10 years. The Census provides a historic opportunity to secure full and accurate data about the population in the United States and is vital for our nation’s workers and their … the confidentiality of the information gathered. We urge all unions, state federations and central labor councils to work with local Census Bureau staff in their communities to ensure a full and accurate count for Census 2010. …

… Los Angeles, CA The AFL-CIO believes that the United States government should take every step to support a peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba by expanding support for initiatives to aid the Cuban people in their struggle for democracy and human rights on the island. The AFL-CIO will continue to work with its allies in the international labor movement to support these initiatives, and to call for increased …

… in Seattle for the World Trade Organization's (WTO) third ministerial conference. The ministers will decide whether or not to launch a new round of trade negotiations and what that round will cover. The WTO's preamble explicitly commits the WTO to increasing the standard of living worldwide through reduced unemployment and increasing incomes. It has failed to fulfill … into WTO rules with strong enforcement procedures. These core workers' rights must include: freedom of association; the right to organize and bargain collectively; prohibition on the use of any form of forced or compulsory labor; a minimum age …