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AFL-CIO Now

ALEC Not OK in Oklahoma

Not everything is OK in Oklahoma and as far as Sooner State working families are concerned, that includes the extremist and corporate-backed American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).  This afternoon hundreds of union and community activists will join the Fire Fighters (IAFF) for a rally and march in Oklahoma City to ALEC’s annual meeting at the city’s Cox Convention Center.

A live stream of the rally, which will include IAFF President Harold Schaitberger, will begin at 4 p.m. (CDT).  

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Sen. Warren Cosponsors Legislation to Repeal the Job-Killing Sequester

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is inviting supporters to become “citizen cosponsors” of the Job Preservation and Sequester Replacement Act, which would repeal the sequester’s across-the-board spending cuts and ask the wealthiest 2% and corporations to pay their fair share. Warren is cosponsoring the legislation with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse's (D-R.I.). 

Sign the petition from Warren to stop the job-killing sequester here

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'Fix the Debt' Corporations Take at Least $953 Million in Taxpayer Subsidies

'Fix the Debt' Corporations Take at Least $953 Million in Taxpayer Subsidies

new report from the Institute for Policy Studies and Campaign for America's Future shows that the CEOs who run the 90 corporations in the '"Fix the Debt" coalition, which advocates for cuts to earned benefits like Social Security while reducing tax rates for, well, themselves, accept massive subsidies from the U.S. government. The amount they have taken in subsidies ranges from a possible low of $953 million to a possible high of $1.6 billion. The AFL-CIO's Executive PayWatch covers related issues.

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Vegas Taxi Drivers Victorious in 60-Day Strike

Photo courtesy Fintrvlr

Las Vegas taxi drivers represented by the Industrial, Technical and Professional Employees Union (ITPEU)/OPEIU Local 4873 won a new contract as a result of their 60-day strike at Yellow Checker Star Transportation. Drivers will receive a share of the metered fares, reinstatement of eligibility for a four-day/12-hours-a-day workweek, increases in annual bonuses and other benefits. The new contract was signed Thursday morning.

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Chicago Teachers Are Unified and Unionized at UNO

Chicago Teachers Are Unified and Unionized at UNO

The teachers and staff in one of Chicago’s largest charter school networks overwhelmingly voted to join the Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff (Chicago ACTS), an AFT affiliate. The more than 400 educators work at the 13 schools, with about 6,500 students, that are operated by the United Neighborhood Organization (UNO).

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Young Workers...What's on Our Policy Agenda?

Follow the conversations on Twitter: #YEPF

Workers under the age of 34 face higher unemployment rates than older workers and make up nearly half of the currently unemployed. As student debt continues to build up—exceeding even credit card debt—and wages stagnate or fall for workers with or without a college degree, young workers are accruing less wealth than their parents—perhaps the first time in U.S. history when a generation has failed to do better than its parents. Young workers struggle to find work and often take jobs that are below their education and skill level or bounce from contract to unpaid internship to temp job without the stability of a full-time regular job but with all the long hours and hard work.

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Where Does Nationals Player Bryce Harper Get His Work Ethic? His Ironworker Dad, That's Where

Bryce Harper is proud of his union ironworker dad. Image via Wikimedia Commons by UCinternational.

Washington Nationals wunderkind outfielder Bryce Harper works hard.

Where does he get that work ethic? His father, a union ironworker from Las Vegas, who installs rebar on construction sites in sometimes extreme conditions. 

Check out this clip from ESPN's "Bryce Begins." The entire special aired Tuesday night.

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Early Reports in on May Day Actions for Workers' and Immigrant Rights

Wisconsin State AFL-CIO photo

Several major May Day/International Workers' Day marches and rallies—especially in Los Angeles and Las Vegas—are set for late afternoon and early evening start times. But here’s a quick look at some updates from May Day events and tweets from the day’s early actions.

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AFL-CIO Welcomes New Class of Community Services Liaisons

AFL-CIO Welcomes New Class of Community Services Liaisons

Will Fischer, who leads AFL-CIO Community Services, sends us this update welcoming the new class of AFL-CIO Community Services Liaisons:

AFL-CIO Community Services is halfway through wrapping up its annual new staff training. New AFL-CIO Community Services Liaisons and community services representatives from around the country came to Washington, D.C., to receive training that provides them with skills necessary to be more effective in their jobs.

Staff are familiarized with the national AFL-CIO Community Services Network and how Community Services connects to other grassroots work of the AFL-CIO. 

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WaPo Asks: 'Made in America' Manufacturing Revival?

The Washington Post today published a special section—in print and on the Web—about what some say is a resurgence of “Made in America” manufacturing.

In the section’s anchor piece, Brad Plumer writes that some U.S. firms have “reshored” their manufacturing operations in the United States and that even some Chinese companies have located new plants here. He cites a narrowing wage gap between U.S. workers and their foreign counterparts, lower energy and transportation costs and automation as key drivers in moving manufacturing to the United States.

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