 As the 2016 presidential battle begins to roll down the campaign trail toward Election Day 18 months from now, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said, “The labor movement's doors are open to any candidate who is serious about transforming our economy with high and rising wages.” In a live-streamed speech Tuesday morning from the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C., Trumka pointed to the skepticism and cynicism many voters feel, especially after nearly two generations national leaders have either “taken steps that worsened inequality or fiddled around the edges, trying to raise wages in an economy fundamentally built to lower wages.” He also stressed that the labor movement opposes Fast Track, saying that “There is no middle ground, and the time for deliberations is drawing to a close.” Read more...
- AFL-CIO Now blog  Help make the 2015 DC LaborFest a success by liking us on Facebook and retweeting us @dclabor. This year’s DC LaborFest launches this Friday, May 1, with a full day of labor arts, film, music and history events. Featured events include a wreath-laying at 12:30p at the Mother Jones Marker in Silver Spring and the 7p screening of “Pride,” click here for tickets; click here for the LaborFest page and here for the calendar of events.
 Saying that “a flood of unregulated, unaccountable money in our politics and media threatens to drown public debate and ravage our civic life, overwhelming authentic conceptions of the public interest,” a consortium of seven organizations—the Albert Shanker Institute, AFSCME, the American Federation of Teachers; the American Prospect; Dissent; Georgetown University’s Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor; and SEIU —has organized “In Defense Of The Public Square,” a two-day conference May 1-2 at Georgetown University. Space is limited and registration is required.
 Every year on April 28, the unions of the AFL-CIO observe Workers Memorial Day to remember those who have suffered and died on the job and to renew our efforts for safe workplaces. This year, the struggle continues to create good jobs in this country that are safe and healthy and pay fair wages and to ensure the freedom of workers to form unions and, through their unions, to speak out and bargain for respect and a better future. Here are some facts about worker safety and health you should know in honor of Workers Memorial Day:
1: In 2013, more than 4,400 workers were killed on the job and more than 50,000 more died from occupational diseases. 2: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), nearly 4 million workplace injuries and illnesses were reported. Research indicates that the numbers may be underestimated and may actually be two or three times greater than what BLS reports. 3: Certain occupations have much greater risk than others. These include agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting, transportation, warehousing, mining and construction…read more. - AFL-CIO Now Blog |
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