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Legislative Alert

Letter to Representatives in Opposition to an Amendment Attacking Federal Employees' Collective Bargaining Rights

… Dear Representative: The AFL-CIO urges you to vote against the Meadows Amendment to the FY 2015 Financial Services Appropriations Bill (H.R. 5016) that would prohibit the federal government from offering a … political attack on federal employees’ collective bargaining rights and an attempt to silence the voices of employees who work on behalf of the American people. The AFL-CIO strongly opposes this amendment. Sincerely, William Samuel, Director …
Executive Council Statement

Hobby Lobby: Yet Another Supreme Court Decision That Harms Women's Health and Threatens Worker Rights

… five male justices on the Supreme Court ruled that owners of certain for-profit corporations who have religious objections to contraception—objections their employees may not share—can withhold health insurance coverage for their employees’ birth … struggle for women’s health and threatens the Affordable Care Act’s goal of ensuring that all working families have access to cost-effective preventive health care. By allowing the owners of companies to pick and choose which provisions of the law they will follow, the Supreme Court’s ruling undermines workers’ rights and, …
Executive Council Statement

Young Worker Advisory Council Representation Process Statement of the Civil and Human Rights Committee

… convention and it was adopted on the convention floor.  Resolution 19 recognizes the critical importance of young workers to the future of the labor movement; the necessity of building young worker engagement at all levels of the federation, … and local activism; and affirmed the AFL-CIO’s Next Up program will “lead a diverse and vibrant young labor movement … [to] advance social and economic justice and ensure that all people have the opportunity to secure a better future.” Resolution 19 resolved three things: First, the “Young Worker Advisory Council [YWAC] will …
Speech

Trumka to SMART Delegates: Work Must Lift Us Up

… Thank you, Brother Joe [Nigro] , for your kind words of introduction. Thank you for inviting me to your convention. It’s good to be here with this important, and powerful union, at such a critical point in your history. I … in the past, and this merger to some, represents the prospect of giving some of that up. It’s difficult to find the right balance, but it’s worth the effort, because that’s how you’ll achieve greater strength, without losing those traditions that are so dear to us all. And so I commend you for the work you’ve done, and the work you will do. As I said, it may not be easy, but it’s important—the merging of cultures for …
Executive Council Statement

On the Retirement of James Little

… Retired Transport Workers Union International President James Little dedicated much of his working life to his union and the labor movement.  Little was first elected to the AFL-CIO Executive Council in November 2006. His … the Organizing Committee.  But beyond committee assignments, Little always understood the important of the federation’s work to unify working people around an agenda about good jobs and workers’ rights. Little succeeded Mike O'Brien as president … aggressive agenda focused on job creation, increased investments in our transportation system, safety and security and the right to form and join unions. We wish to thank Little for his years of service and dedication to America's working families …
Legislative Alert

Letter to Senators Urging the Swift Confirmation of EEOC Nominees

… Dear Senator: I am writing on behalf of the AFL-CIO to urge swift confirmation of David Patrick Lopez as General Counsel and Charlotte Burrows as Commissioner of the Equal … Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Confirmation of these two extraordinarily well-qualified nominees will allow the EEOC to continue to ensure equal opportunity for all workers in the United States. Charlotte Burrows has had a stellar professional career and …
Executive Council Statement

In Support of Volkswagen Workers

… Today, America’s workers need a lot of courage to stand up for a better future in their workplaces. The AFL-CIO salutes the women and men of Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant … fair and democratic, conducted under conditions that permit the free and untrammeled choice by workers to exercise their right to vote. Volkswagen, in contrast to many employers in the United States, respected the right of employees to make their own choice about union representation.  Volkswagen acknowledged that worker input on …
Speech

Trumka to Alaska AFL-CIO Delegates: We're Taking Back Our Country

… Thank you, Brother Vince [Beltrami] , for that kind introduction. And thank you for inviting me to your convention. It’s good to be back in Alaska. Let me tell you something, Alaska is a beautiful place. I’ll be honest, I … thank you and congratulate you for being one of the few state federations of labor to successfully endorse, fight for and work with Democratic and Republican leaders. That’s political independence. I’m not saying things are perfect today, but your … your family a decent life and a strong future, it all comes back to a union contract. Yet politicians can rob us of the right to have or keep a union on the job. Politics matter. Anchorage politics matter. Fairbanks politics matter. You’re on …
Executive Council Statement

Broad-Based Wage Growth Is the Defining Challenge of Our Time

… The purpose of the labor movement is to give voice to working people so we can improve our lives, our nation and our world.  The principle that all working people … speech last December, President Obama warned of a “dangerous and growing inequality” and declared that making our economy work for every working American was the “defining challenge of our time.”  Pope Francis similarly warned last year that … in the minimum wage, an end to the exclusion of tipped workers from the minimum wage laws and, most importantly, the right to bargain collectively over wages.  Now, as the 2014 elections approach and workers at Walmart and T-Mobile, workers …
Speech

Trunka to Painters Convention: "We're done with the downward spiral."

… , for your truly over-generous words of introduction. And thank you for your friendship and your solidarity. I’m proud to call you my friend, and I’m glad to call you my brother. Thank you for all you are and all you do. You know, I don’t think … because every time the IUPAT says something, you back it up with action. And, let me just say how much I admire the work your members do. I see it every day. Literally. At the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, we’re wrapping up a major … IUPAT. Your hours are increasing. People are getting back to work. We’re not where we need to be, but we’re headed in the right direction, especially if we can convince Congress to start funding American infrastructure on the scale we need, so we …