News

Tefere Gebre’s American journey: From refugee camp to labor leader

Gebre was still a boy when he was forced to flee Ethiopia, a country that suffered political turmoil and famine during the 1980s.

Trump’s Power to Fire Federal Workers Curtailed by Judge

A federal district judge in Washington struck down most of the key provisions of three executive orders that

Executive Paywatch: The Gap Between CEO and Worker Compensation Continues to Grow

CEO pay for major companies in the United States rose nearly 6% in the past year, as income inequality and the outsourcing of good-paying American jobs have increased. According to the new AFL-CIO Executive Paywatch, the average CEO of an S&P 500 Index company made $13.94 million in 2017—361 times more money than the average U.S. rank-and-file worker.

Belabored Podcast #157: What’s a Strike and How Can I Help?

We’re bringing you a special episode this week. Last week, Sarah was in New Orleans for Netroots Nation, and this week we bring you the recording of the panel, What’s a Strike and How Can I Help?, designed to explain to labor rookies what goes into planning a strike, building community support, and successfully pulling one off.

Too Many Americans Die on the Job. Are Things About to Get Worse?

Maddin won his case, but it’s Gorsuch’s world we’re living in. According to an AFL-CIO report, 5,190 workers died on the job in the United States in 2016. Another 50,000 to 60,000 die annually of occupational diseases, and nearly 4 million experienced work-related injuries or illnesses.

'They Want To Go A different Way': Missouri Voters Scrap ‘Right to Work’ Law

A law to free nonunion workers from paying union dues has been undone by Missouri voters, a victory for labor organizers who spent millions of dollars to organize a “no” campaign.

“It’s a clear message that they want to go a different way,” said AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka. “They want workers to have a bigger say.”

Trump Administration Mulls a Unilateral Tax Cut for the Rich

The Trump administration is considering bypassing Congress to grant a $100 billion tax cut mainly to the wealthy, a legally tenuous maneuver that would cut capital gains taxation and fulfill a long-held ambition of many investors and conservatives.

Worker Wages Remain Stagnant as Wealthy Executives are Rolling in Cash

Congressional Republicans and President Trump continue to push their sole legislative accomplishment, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, as a game-changer for average working Americans — but the benefits of that bill appear to be going mostly to the people at the top.

Actor John Goodman Joins Fight to Stop 'Right to Work' Law in Missouri

The union-backed fight against making Missouri a "Right to Work" state has enlisted some star power to get its message out.

Actor John Goodman is featured in a 30-second radio ad saying a law that will be decided by Missouri voters in the Aug. 7 primary election will hurt the middle class.

"The bill will not give you the right to work," Goodman says. "It’s being sold as a way to help Missouri workers, but look a little deeper and you’ll see it’s all about corporate greed."

AFL-CIO president: ‘Workers Are United to Defeat Kavanaugh’

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says the nation’s labor movement has come to a conclusion about President Donald Trump’s latest U.S. Supreme Court nominee: “Workers are united to defeat Kavanaugh,” he declares.

His statement was part of a much longer July 12 speech behind closed doors to Democratic U.S. House candidates. While Trumka did not cite specific cases and rulings, the federation previously compiled a string of anti-worker decisions and statements by federal appellate judge Brett Kavanaugh in his dozen years on the bench.

Stiglitz: Benefits of Multiple Layers of Financial Regulation So Much Higher Than Costs

Joseph Stiglitz, a professor at Columbia University, who was the Nobel laureate in economics in 2001, spoke at a talk on Monday with Damon Silvers, the director of policy and special counsel at the AFL-CIO, part of a day-long strategy session on “Bargaining for the Common Good in the World of Global Finance” held by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung office in New York, a non-profit political German foundation.