Buy Union for the Holidays, and All Year Long

by James Parks, Dec 12, 2010
This holiday season, union families can use their power to help keep good union jobs in the community by purchasing union-made goods and services. The AFL-CIO Union Label & Service Trades Department (UL&STD) has compiled a list of union-made products you can buy and another list of products and services that the AFL-CIO has approved for boycott.
Start your shopping list with a visit to the Union Label website, www.unionlabel.org, and click on Search for Union Products to see if a product is union made and what union produces it. If you can’t find what you’re looking for there, move on to the websites of individual unions that show up as links on the page.

Join Online Day of Solidarity with the Jobless Dec. 7

by Mike Hall, Dec 3, 2010

Republican lawmakers continue to hold hostage vital unemployment insurance survival help for millions of jobless workers, vowing to keep the Senate gridlocked until the nation’s wealthy are guaranteed continued tax breaks.

More than 900,000 workers already have lost their unemployment insurance since Republicans pulled the plug Nov. 30. Every day another 38,000 job-seekers lose their unemployment insurance.

So please join us Tuesday, Dec. 7 for an online day of solidarity with the jobless via Facebook and Twitter. It’s simple.

Union Plus Helping Prepare Next Generation of Union Leaders

by James Parks, Dec 4, 2010

The future of the union movement will be in the hands of a very diverse group of up-and-coming young union members. Union Plus, part of Union Privilege, the consumer benefits arm of the AFL-CIO, is making sure the next generation of union leaders is well prepared.

For the the past four years, Union Plus has given annual Union Leaders of the Future Awards to young women and people of color. Honorees are paired with experienced leaders from the union movement who make a year-long commitment to provide advice, guidance and encouragement. Since 2007, more than $130,000 has been committed to the program.

Vote for Who ‘Scrooged’ Workers the Most in JwJ’s Scrooge of the Year Contest

by Mike Hall, Dec 5, 2010

The nominations are in and there are seven great—let’s rephrase that—mean, nasty, heartless candidates for the dishonor of winning Jobs with Justice’s (JwJ) Scrooge of the Year contest.

Now in its11th year, the contest highlights the CEO, corporation or politician who has done the most to “scrooge” workers in the spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge before three ghosts scared the you-know-what out of him and he saw the error of his ways. But such a transformation is not likely from these Scrooge nominees.

Take a look at a short description of each, then click here for more details on their dastardly deeds and to vote for your Scrooge.

Protect and Strengthen Social Security

The federal budget deficit commission is floating the idea to raise the retirement age of Social Security, meaning we could work until age 70. In these tough economic times, it is unconscionable to propose cuts to the critical economic lifelines for working people. According to the National Academy of Social Insurance, Social Security provides:


* A typical retiree with the equivalent of a savings account of $225,000.

* A young worker and her or his family with a $414,000 disability insurance policy.

* The family of a young worker with a life insurance policy worth $433,000.

* What Is Social Security?

* Download facts and figures about the current state of Social Security.

* Read the National Academy of Social Insurance report, "Social Security: An Essential Asset and Insurance Protection for All" (2008).

Jobs? What Jobs? Jobless Tell Congress: ‘Maintain Unemployment Insurance Now’

by Mike Hall, Dec 1, 2010

Edrie Irvine, unemployed for more than a year, says Congress must act now to maintain jobless benefits. Jobless workers, Anthony Roebuck (L) and Russ Myer (R), flank her.

Yesterday, Anthony Roebuck’s unemployment insurance (UI) benefits ran out. It was the same day Senate Republicans would not even allow a vote on a bill to maintain the lifeline that has helped keep food on the table and a roof over the heads of Roebuck, his wife and young son—and millions of other jobless workers.

The 44-year-old Sheet Metal Workers (SMWIA) member from Denver, out of work since April, says:

My unemployment insurance ran out yesterday and I don’t know what I’m going to do without it, especially in a hard-hit economy where there are no jobs. No one wants to be on unemployment…we’d all rather be back at work right now. But the jobs just aren’t there.

AIDS Is a Global Human Rights Issue

by James Parks, Dec 1, 2010

Today is World AIDS Day, and union members around the world are calling for increased workplace efforts to combat HIV/AIDS and a renewed commitment by world leaders to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

While funding for HIV and AIDS prevention has been hit hard by the global recession, we need to remember that AIDS itself is not in recession, says Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

Governments have committed to reverse the spread of this disease by 2015, and action in the workplace and union work in the broader social context is critically important to achieving this aim.

AFL-CIO Blog Archives for November 2010

Read the AFL-CIO blog archives for November 2010.