AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued the following statement on the immigration reform bill introduced in the House today by a group of Democratic lawmakers:

Today, as House Republicans continue to hold the country hostage, a group of Democrats introduced a bill that will fix the immigration system and move our country in a positive direction. The bill, which is based on bipartisan legislation that passed the Senate by a wide margin in April, has overwhelming support from the labor movement, faith organizations, immigrant communities, civil and human rights groups, business and many others.

Several hundred union and community activists and music lovers joined the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM) members of the Minnesota Orchestra in a downtown Minneapolis rally Tuesday to mark the one-year anniversary of the lockout by orchestra management, the Minnesota Orchestral Association.

Bipartisan legislation to provide retroactive pay for the more than 800,000 federal workers furloughed because of the irresponsible House Republican government shutdown was introduced Tuesday in the House and Senate. Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), chief sponsor of the House bill (H.R. 3223), said:

Nearly a million federal workers could lose their pay because Congress failed to do its job and keep the government up and running....Our civil servants have weathered furloughs, frozen pay and diminished benefits. Now they may go without their pay altogether because of this reckless Tea Party-led government shutdown.

If you are in the Washington, D.C., area Thursday, come join hands with members of the Alliance for Retired Americans and the Congressional Progressive Caucus in a Human Chain Against "Chained" CPI on Capitol Hill.  

The action kicks off at 10 a.m. EDT on the House Triangle of the U.S. Capitol. Click here for a map and to RSVP.

More than 5,000 registered nurses and professional health care employees have become part of the Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU) with the affiliation of the Florida Nurses Association (FNA)/Labor & Employment Relations Council (LERC).

The history of the AFL-CIO in 40 million documents contained in 20,000 boxes that take up six miles of shelf space have a new home today, with the donation and transfer of the George Meany Memorial Archives from the National Labor College to the University of Maryland Libraries.

This Saturday, Oct. 5, a broad and diverse coalition of immigrant, faith, labor, civil rights and family groups will march and rally in more than 80 actions across the nation and call on Congress to pass immigration reform with a road map to citizenship that promotes family unity and protects workers’ rights.

Take the pledge to hit the streets Oct. 5. 

The U.S. Department of Justice filed suit yesterday to block North Carolina’s new voter suppression law that would disenfranchise more than 300,000 voters, mostly African American, young people and seniors. In a press conference, Attorney General Eric Holder said the law passed by the Republican-dominated legislature and signed by Gov. Pat McCrory (R) in August was a deliberate attempt to exclude voters of color. 

Workers at two Army medical centers voted to join AFGE in an election that concluded last week. The 3,700 health care employees were part of the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center and were transferred to two new medical centers and other regional facilities when Walter Reed was shut down in 2001.

After a series of strikes during the past two years protesting sweeping reductions in patient care, nurses’ standards and workplace conditions that Sutter Health system demanded during contract talks at San Francisco Bay area hospitals, some 3,000 registered nurses have reached a tentative agreement that eliminates more than 200 concession demands.