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.

Trumka Gets World Peace Prize for Labor Leadership

Richard L. Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, was presented Tuesday with the inaugural “World Peace Prize for Labor Leadership.” The event took place at the headquarters of the AFL-CIO, in Washington, D.C., in the George Meany Conference Room.

The Las Vegas Union That Learned To Beat The House

Monie Stewart-Cariaga recently decided to leave the townhouse she’s renting to buy a new home. For a single cocktail server, she couldn’t be in a better position to do it. Beyond the fair wage and tips she earns at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, Stewart-Cariaga plans to take advantage of a home-buying assistance program run by the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, the powerful union that represents service workers like her on the Vegas strip.

Retiring UAW President Williams: Union Stronger Than Four Years Ago

With growing membership, a budget back in the black and a strike fund that is rising by the year, the Auto Workers are much stronger than they were four years ago, retiring union President Dennis Williams says.

And if you really want a comparison, Williams added one bombshell at the end of his keynote address to the union’s convention, which opened June 11 in Detroit: “We have looked death in the eyes during the Great Recession.”

Why the Salary Question is Bad for Women and People of Color

A federal court in Philadelphia struck down a new city law that barred employers from asking job candidates about their salary history. The ruling has serious ramifications for the fight to narrow the gender wage gap.

Everything You Need To Know About Graduate Student Unions

Graduate student unions are in the news again, with campuses across the US deciding to allow--and not to allow--graduate students to unionize. 

In October 2016, we reported that National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) would require private universities to bargain with graduate student labor unions on compensation and working conditions. 

At This Company, the CEO Makes 6,000 Times a Typical Worker's Pay

It's no secret that the financial divide between CEOs and average worker in the U.S. has been growing. But in one case, the pay gap between corporate chiefs and employees has reached almost 6,000-to-1: Weight Watchers, where CEO Mindy Grossman earned 5,908 times what the median worker took home last year.

Supreme Court Rules Companies Can Require Workers to Accept Individual Arbitration

An ideologically divided Supreme Court ruled Monday that companies may require workers to settle employment disputes through individual arbitration rather than joining to press their complaints, a decision affecting as many as 25 million workers.

The court's conservative majority said that the 5-to-4 ruling was a logical reading of federal law, and Congress' preference for using arbitration to avoid costly and time-consuming litigation.

Let’s Deliver the Mail, Not Myths

President Trump’s attention of late has been focused in part on the United States Postal Service and Amazon, resulting in a new executive order calling for an evaluation of USPS finances. This is a good opportunity to underscore some important facts regarding the Postal Service, a national treasure belonging to all the people of the United States.