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How to Form a Union 101

"How to Form a Union 101." Part One is Friday, Apr 22nd from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm at Rabble-Rouser. Part Two is Saturday, Apr 23rd from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm at Rabble-Rouser.

VT AFL-CIO Stands with Black Communities in Resistance

-Self Determination For Black People In The U.S.; -Free All Black Political Prisoners; -The Murders Must Be Stopped; -Black Lives Matter. Vermont AFL-CIO Position Statement On The Fight Against Racism: Now Is The Time For Unity & Action! June 28, 2020, Montpelier, VT - Black Lives Matter. The Vermont AFL-CIO understands and recognizes that the United States of America is a nation which has long been governed by a ruling class whose power (social and economic) is rooted in slavery, racism, inequity, and oppression. We further see with clear eyes that Black people, whose ancestors were brought to this country in chains, have suffered (and continue to suffer) oppression on a massive and inexcusable scale. Such facts are made plain by not only looking at history, but also by looking at contemporary unemployment figures, poverty rates, average household income, incarceration rates, and through policing data. People who are Black are also murdered by American police officers with sickening regularity. George Floyd was not an exception. He, like Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, Terence Crutcher, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray (to name but a few), was one of the latest in a long line of martyrs going back hundreds of years (and accounting for thousands of taken lives). We must not become numb to these murders. We cannot accept that Black families must educate their children on how to not become the target of unprovoked police violence. We cannot allow systematic racism and police violence against Black people to continue as the regularity that it has always been. Rather, we must resist.

'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.

AFL-CIO Chief Warns Red to Blue Candidates That Being a Democrat Isn’t Enough

House Democratic candidates in town this week for training at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in Washington got a visit from AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka for some tips on how they can win back working-class voters.

“I don’t have to tell you that you can’t count on the D next to your name to gain our support,” Trumka told Democratic leadership and a room full of candidates on Red to Blue, the DCCC’s program for its strongest candidates.

Belabored Podcast #155: The Future of Collective Action

In the belly of the political beast in DC, grassroots organizers gathered at AFL-CIO headquarters to discuss collective action under Trump, beyond the beltway. Activists representing teachers, housekeepers, graduate students, and airline workers talked about union power in the wake of the Janus decision and keeping hope alive for the next generation of young labor leaders.