Free Republic

A federal judge in Texas Monday temporarily blocked President Obama's November executive action on immigration. The judge’s action threatens immigration relief for as many as 4 million people. The Obama administration will appeal the ruling. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued the following statement.This temporary setback will not deter the AFL-CIO’s work on the ground to ensure that as many workers as possible are eventually able to gain protections and work authorization under the new deferred action programs. Around the country, we will continue educating workers, training union activists and helping eligible applicants gather the documents they will need to qualify.This lawsuit represents...

Chanting “What time is it? Union time!”, “AFGE! AFGE!,” “AFL-CIO!” the nearly 500 AFGE members who attended the union’s legislative conference marched to Capitol Hill to demand an end to attacks on the federal workforce and job-and-morale-killing sequestration. To remind Congress that our Government Works for America, they held signs that read, “Food Inspectors Keep Our Food Safe,” “VA Doctors and Nurses Serve Our Veterans,” “TSOs Keep Us Safe,” “BPAs Keep Our Borders Safe,” “DoD Employees Protect the Troops,” and “SSA Workers Support Our Seniors.” “We are here to tell Congress that they cannot lift America up without lifting you,” AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer...

Posturing as champion of needed public investments and fairness, President Obama wants new taxes on the overseas earnings of American businesses. That would kill jobs and punish retired Americans. Although special deals permit some corporations to pay low taxes, most pay a heavy burden. The estimated effective U.S. corporate tax rate is about 27 percent, and well above the 20 percent imposed by other industrialized countries. The United States is virtually alone by taxing the overseas profits of its multinationals when those are repatriated. This has encouraged U.S. firms to invest nearly $2.1 trillion of their earnings abroad, instead of...

Setting the tone for 2015, the country’s largest federation of unions, the AFL-CIO, this week announced a Raising Wages Call to Action in which politicians and candidates will be judged based on their actions on raising wages.At the AFL-CIO’s first-ever Summit on Raising Wages held Jan. 7, 2015 in Washington, D.C., AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka launched the Raising Wages campaign, putting in motion plans to raise wages for working Americans and rejecting the notion that nothing can be done about stagnant wages. The AFL-CIO will take the Raising Wages campaign to Atlanta, Columbus, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and...

New York City’s top progressives have backed away from any direct confrontation with the city’s largest police union, even as union leaders continue to criticize the mayor following the shooting of two officers. But the silence of non-police unions may not last long into the new year. That will depend on the actions of Patrick Lynch, the president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, and whether he continues his public campaign against Mayor Bill de Blasio, sources with knowledge of union thinking say. Unions were instrumental in getting de Blasio elected and are considered among his closest allies. “Those that are...

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union is a heavyweight on the labor scene. It pays its president $350,000 a year. It’s holding its next executive board meeting in February at a swanky beachfront resort in Hollywood, Florida. And it just doled out nearly $8 million to influence the last election and lobby Washington. But when it comes to standing by the obligation unions made to provide pensions to retirees, UFCW pleaded poverty in persuading Congress to let chronically underfunded union pension plans cut the benefits of workers, including those already retired.“Declining participation and factors like the Great Recession have...

The day after Thanksgiving is traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Bargain hunters heading to Walmart, in addition to looking for holiday deals, may find workers participating in Black Friday Strikes.Since 2012, Our Walmart, which is an employee labor group, has been staging strikes on the day after Thanksgiving.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued the following statement in reaction to the grand jury decision in the shooting case of Michael Brown:The reactions to today’s grand jury decision in the case of the shooting of unarmed teenager Mike Brown reflect a deeper feeling that our justice system is biased against communities of color. While we can all agree that justice must take its course, we cannot deny or marginalize the perception that the system itself is not yet color blind. As a labor movement, we have begun working with local community organizations to address issues of racial and economic inequality...

President Obama met with more than a dozen prominent civil and immigration rights activists Thursday ahead of his speech debuting a series of new steps that will extend deportation relief and work permits to as many as 5 million illegal immigrants. Attendees at the meeting included AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka, NAACP president Cornell Brooks and Al Sharpton. The MSNBC host has come under fire in recent days after The New York Times reported he and his companies were at one point subject to $4.5 million in state and federal tax liens. Also in attendance was Janet Murguía, the head of...

File this under always double-check before hitting send.As reporters fell over themselves Wednesday morning to confirm the breaking news that President Obama had plans to announce his immigration executive order Thursday and expand upon it  Friday, some received an e-mail confirmation by mistake.AFL-CIO spokesman Jeff Hauser inadvertently forwarded an e-mail intended for immigration activists to a long list of national reporters, including several at The Washington Post.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is backing construction of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline in comments that downplay divisions among unions in the labor federation over the controversial project. “They are not divided on the pipeline itself,” Trumka said in a C-SPAN interview when asked about differences among unions over Keystone. “They are divided on how the pipeline is done.” ADVERTISEMENT “I think we are all unanimous by saying we should build the pipeline, but we have to do it consistent with all environmental standards, and I think we can work that out, I really do, and we are for...

President Obama is expected to announce his executive order to grant legal status for millions of illegal immigrants in an address Thursday night, according to sources close to the administration. Mr. Obama will give a broad outline of his action Thursday and follow it up with a trip Friday to Las Vegas to provide more details. The White House would not confirm the report Wednesday morning, nor have Mr. Obama’s aides announced any travel plans for later this week. But a spokesman for the AFL-CIO inadvertently disclosed the tentative plans in an email Wednesday. “We hear there will be a...

The incoming chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has been outspoken about his plans to cut federal employees’ pay and pensions. Besides his previous proposal, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin spoke with the Washington Post this week and discussed what he wants to do when he takes over the committee in January. On his chopping block are federal employees’ pay, health insurance, pensions, and the right to join a union.“I think it’s unrealistic for public-service employees to believe they are immune from modifications to their pay and benefit packages,” said Sen. Johnson, who was elected to...

While conservative legislators across the country are gearing up to propose extreme legislation, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued a statement that working families and the labor union are prepared to fight back and make sure that harmful and unpopular policies don't pass. He said the labor federation would continue to focus on the agenda that working families want, one of raising wages and creating an economy that works for all Americans.Trumka's full statement:In the wake of last Tuesday’s elections, many state and local politicians have already begun to signal their intent to wage assaults on working people in their states....

Politically, are labor unions finished? It appears that might be the case. Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker once again humiliated organized labor with his comfortable re-election last Tuesday. While polls showed a close race, Walker beat his Democratic opponent, Mary Burke, by a 6-point margin 52/46. Labor unions had put Walker in the cross hairs ever since his 2010 gubernatorial victory, failed to oust him in the 2012 recall (Walker received more votes in this election than in the 2010 race), and came up short again in this contest. Walker is now a definite 2016 contender, with a reputation...

Vice President Joe Biden will deliver the keynote address at next week’s AFL-CIO/AFT Summit on Career and Technical Education and Workforce Development.    The Nov. 13 event at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C., will focus on the importance of career and technical education (CTE) in preparing K–12 students for both college and career pathways. It also will examine the role of unions as collaborating partners with business, policy makers and local communities to create opportunities that prepare workers for good jobs, raise wages and spur economic development and community revitalization.Scheduled speakers include AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka; Snap-On Tools Chairman and CEO...

Wasting no time after the midterm elections, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka immediately stepped back into the policy arena, calling on President Barack Obama to take executive action on immigration. Executive action is particularly important now that a historically obstructionist Congress is likely to be followed by one that takes even less action on issues important to working families.Trumka's statement:The President needs to take executive action to support immigrant rights. But he also needs to take action on immigration to ensure the rights of all of us.You see, in our country today, nearly 12 million people, and 8 million workers, are...

The AFL-CIO national campaign to build stronger communities by empowering eligible immigrants to become citizens and fully engage in the democratic process has become a reality in New Jersey, with the opening of the state’s first labor-led naturalization and community center.The We Are One New Jersey Hudson County Center officially opened on Oct. 28 in Jersey City. AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Tefere Gebre joined the New Jersey State AFL-CIO for the opening ceremony, along with Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Rep. Albio Sires (D-N.J.), New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech, New Jersey State AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Laurel Brennan...

This week the AFL-CIO threw its considerable weight behind Democrat-turned-independent Greg Orman in his bid for U.S. Senate in Kansas. This came on the heels of a debate that was all about defining who Greg Orman really is: ... The AFL-CIO won't run TV ads for Orman, spokesman Jeff Hauser said, but his campaign will now be incorporated into the union's extensive ground game there. The AFL-CIO had previously endorsed Kansas's Democratic Party's gubernatorial nominee, Paul Davis, who is locked into one of the country's most competitive gubernatorial contests with incumbent Republican Gov. Sam Brownback. During Wednesday's debate, incumbent Sen....

Joyce and Karen Koch aren’t related to each other. But that’s not important; they’re sisters “in spirit.” Besides, what they really want you to know is that they’re not related to the Koch brothers, the billionaire conservatives funding political candidates and causes nationwide. more...